And
now, O my mother, thou hast no excuse, so compose thy thoughts and
arise. Take thou this bowl, and away with it to the palace."
His mother rejoined: "O my son, 'tis true that the present is
highpriced exceedingly and the costliest of the costly, also that
according to thy word none owneth its like. But who would have the
boldness to go and ask the Sultan for his daughter, the Lady Badr
al-Budur? I indeed dare not say to him, 'I want thy daughter!' when he
shall ask me, 'What is thy want?' For know thou, O my son, that my
tongue will be tied. And granting that Allah assist me and I
embolden myself to say to him, 'My wish is to become a connection of
thine through the marriage of thy daughter the Lady Badr al-Budur,
to my son Aladdin,' they will surely decide at once that I am demented
and will thrust me forth in disgrace and despised. I will not tell
thee that I shall thereby fall into danger of death, for 'twill not be
I only, but thou likewise. However, O my son, of my regard for thine
inclination I needs must embolden myself and hie thither. Yet, O my.
child, if the King receive me and honor me on account of the gift
and inquire of me what thou desirest, and in reply I ask of him that
which thou desirest in the matter of thy marriage with his daughter,
how shall I answer him and he ask me, as is man's wont, 'What
estates hast thou, and what income?' And perchance, O my son, he
will question me of this before questioning me of thee.
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