Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/37

19 a girl like the full moon.” “How so?” quoth I. “To-morrow,” replied he, “don thou thy richest clothes and mount thy mule, with the saddle of gold, and ride to the forage-market. There enquire for the shop of the Sherif and sit down beside him and say to him, ‘I come to thee a suitor for thy daughter’s hand.’ If he say to thee, ‘Thou hast neither money nor condition nor family,’ pull out a thousand dinars and give them to him; and if he ask more, give him more and tempt him with money.” “I hear and obey,” answered I; “to-morrow, if it please God, I will do thy bidding.”

So on the morrow I donned my richest clothes and mounting my mule with trappings of gold, rode, attended by half a score slaves, black and white, to the forage-market, where I found the Sherif sitting in his shop. I alighted and saluting him, seated myself beside him. Quoth he, “Haply, thou hast some business with us, which we may have the pleasure of transacting?” “Yes,” answered I; “I have business with thee.” “And what is it?” asked he. Quoth I, “I come to thee as a suitor for thy daughter’s hand.” And he said, “Thou hast neither money nor condition nor family;” whereupon I pulled out a thousand dinars of red gold and said to him, “This is my rank and family; and he whom God bless and keep hath said, ‘The best of ranks is wealth.’ And how well saith the poet:

Whoso hath money, though it be but dirhems twain, his lips Have learnt all manner speech and he can speak and fear no slight. His brethren and his mates draw near and hearken to his word And ’mongst the folk thou seest him walk, a glad and prideful wight. But for the money, in the which he glorieth on this wise, Thou’dst find him, midst his fellow-men, in passing sorry plight.