Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/362

334 the Vizier’s tyranny. Then Muïn looked at the broker and said to him, ‘What ails thee to stand still? Go and offer four thousand dinars for her, and the five hundred shall be for thyself.’ So the broker went to Noureddin and said to him, ‘O my lord, thy slave is gone for nothing!’ ‘How so?’ said he. The broker answered, ‘We had opened the biddings for her at four thousand five hundred dinars, when that tyrant Muïn ben Sawa passed through the market and when he saw the damsel, she pleased him and he said to me, “Call me the buyer for four thousand dinars, and thou shalt have five hundred for thyself.” I doubt not but he knows she belongs to thee, and if he would pay thee down her price at once, it were well; but I know, of his avarice and upright, he will give thee a written order on some of his agents and will send after thee to say to them, “Give him nothing.” So as often as thou shalt go to seek the money, they will say, “We will pay thee presently,” and so they will put thee off day after day, for all thy high spirit, till at last, when they are tired of thine importunity, they will say, “Show us the bill.” Then, as soon as they get hold of it, they will tear it up, and so thou wilt lose the girl’s price.’ When Noureddin heard this, he looked at the broker and said to him, ‘What is to be done?’ ‘I will give thee a counsel,’ answered he, ‘which if thou follow, it will be greatly to thine advantage.’ ‘What is that?’ asked Noureddin. ‘Do thou come to me presently,’ said the broker, ‘when I am standing in the midst of the market and taking the girl from my hand, give her a cuff and say to her, “O baggage, I have kept my vow and brought thee down to the market, because I swore that I would put thee up for sale and make the brokers cry thee.” If thou do this, it may be the device will impose upon the Vizier and the folk, and they will believe that thou broughtest her not to the market but for the quittance of thine oath.’