n the doorkeeper came running in (just as she had told him
to do) to say, "My master's boat has arrived, and he is coming up to
the house. He will be here directly." "Now what shall I do?" said the
king, who was as frightened as the others had been. "Here is your
husband. He must not see me. You must hide me somewhere." "I have no
place to hide you in," she said, "but a big chest. You can get into
that if you like, and I will let you out to-morrow morning." So she
shut the lid of the fourth chest down on the king and locked him up.
Then she went to bed, and to sleep, and slept till morning.

The next day, after she had bathed and dressed, and eaten her
breakfast, and done all her household work, she said to her servants,
"I want four coolies." So the servants went for the coolies; and when
they came she showed them the four chests, and said, "Each of you must
take one of these chests on your head and come with me." Then they set
out with her, each carrying a chest.

Meanwhile the kotwal's son, the wazir's son, the kazi's son, and the
king's son, had been roaming about looking everywhere for their
fathers, and asking every one if they had seen them, but no one knew
anything about them.

The merchant's wife went first to the kotwal's house, and there she
saw the kotwal's son. She had the kotwal's chest set down on the
ground before his door. "Will you buy this chest?" she said to his
son. "What is in it?" he asked. "A most precious thing," she answered.
"How much do you want for it?" said his son. "One thousand rupees,"
she said; "and when you open the chest, you will see the contents are
worth two thousand. But you must not open it till you are in your
father's house." "Well," said the kotwal's son, "here are a thousand
rupees." The woman and the other three chests went on their way, while
he took his into the house. "What a heavy chest!" he said. "What can
be inside?" Then he lifted the lid. "Why, there's my father!" he
cried. "Father, how came you to be in this chest?" The kotwal was very
much ashamed of himself. "I never thought she was the woman to play me
such a trick," he said; and then he had to tell his son the whole
story.

The merchant's wife next stopped at the wazir's house, and there she
saw the wazir's son. The wazir's chest was put down before his door,
and she said to his son, "Will you buy this chest?" "What is inside of
it?" he asked. "A most precious thing," she answered. "Will you buy
it?" "How m