Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/272

246 said: "Since God has made known to thee all this, there is nobody so great in understanding and in wisdom as thou; therefore thou shalt be the second in the kingdom, and I will give thee my daughter."

In the meantime the father of the young man was impoverished; in fact his poverty was such that there never was any so poor as he, for there did not remain to him and his wife sufficient to clothe themselves, they were naked and put to shame. The young man then said to the king: "My lord the king, if I have found grace in thy sight, grant me this request, which I shall ask of thee, by which I may know that thou art pleased with me." "Ask what thou desirest," said the king, "and I will fulfil it." lie then said: "Let the king issue a command, and make it known in all the kingdom, that there shall not remain either old man or old woman, poor or rich, who shall not have come to the wedding of thy daughter; I shall be willing to supply water for them to wash their hands when they come in to partake of the banquet." Letters were accordingly sent to all the provinces in the kingdom, by means of messengers, commanding every person to come to the wedding of the king's daughter. They accordingly came from all sides and from every corner. The young man's father and mother were also among those who came, according to the command of the king. When his parents came, they remained behind the door, for they were naked and were ashamed. The young man then went and sought them on every side and in every corner, until he discovered them behind the door. He then said to them: "Come forward, ye blessed of the Lord; why do you stand there? Come inside the house with the others, and do not remain here." They replied: "If it please thee, let us remain here; for we are naked and dirty, and are therefore ashamed to enter with the others." The young man thereupon commanded the overseer of his house to bring this man and woman into the palace (house), to wash them, and anoint them, and to give them of the very best food and drink, and clothe them with garments of fine linen and lace. "Moreover do whatever seems proper to them, but say nothing to anybody. Thou shalt do for them whatever is in thy power for three days." He did so. On the fourth day the young man came to see his father and mother, and found them rejoicing and of good cheer. He then said to them: "Who are you, and in what place do you dwell? Have you any children, and if so what are their occupations?" They replied: "We dwell in such and such a place, and have only had one son. I used to be a very rich merchant, and was so until very recently. But now old age has crept over me, and I am in poverty as thou hast seen. Now, however, God has granted us the blessing of finding favour and kindness before thee. Blessed be He who exalts thee, who hast bestowed all these favours upon us, so that thou hast given us the wherewith to live and to maintain ourselves." "Where is this son of whom thou speakest? Tell me now whether he is dead or alive, and in which place he dwells?" They were no longer able to restrain themselves and began to cry. "Why do you weep?" said he, "do you lack anything or do you perhaps desire anything to eat or drink?" They replied: "No my lord. Nothing has been withheld from us." "What then is the