Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/267

242 him to his presence and awarded him a handsome recompense. Moreover, he commanded that they should cook together, he and the cook, and the old man obeyed his commandment.

Awhile after this, there came two merchants to the king with two pearls of price and each of them avouched that his pearl was worth a thousand dinars, but there was none who availed to value them. Then said the cook, ‘God prosper the king! Verily, the old man whom I bought avouched that he knew the quintessence of jewels and that he was skilled in cookery. We have made proof of him in cookery and have found him the skilfullest of men; and now, if we send after him and prove him on jewels, [the truth or falsehood of] his pretension will be made manifest to us.’

So the king bade fetch the old man and he came and stood before the Sultan, who showed him the two pearls. Quoth he, ‘As for this one, it is worth a thousand dinars.’ And the king said, ‘So saith its owner.’ ‘But for this other,’ continued the old man, ‘it is worth but five hundred.’ The folk laughed and marvelled at his saying, and the merchant, [the owner of the second pearl], said to him, ‘How can this, which is greater of bulk and purer of water and more perfect of rondure, be less of worth than that?’ And the old man answered, ‘I have said what is with me.’ Then said the king to him, ‘Indeed, the