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Burton, Richard Francis

"The Arabian Nights"

Hereat straightway its servitor appeared to him
and said: "Ask whatso thou wantest. Thy slave is between thy hands,"
and said Aladdin, "'Tis my desire that thou finish the window which
was left unfinished." The Marid replied, "On my head be it, and also
upon mine eyes!" Then he vanished, and after a little while
returned, saying, "O my lord, verily that thou commandedst me do is
completed." So Aladdin went upstairs to the kiosque and found the
whole window in wholly finished state, and whilst he was he was
still considering it, behold, a castrato came in to him and said: "O
my lord, the Sultan hath ridden forth to visit thee and is passing
through the pavilion gate."
So Aladdin at once went down and received his father-in-law. The
Sultan, on sighting his son-in-law, cried to him: "Wherefore, O my
child, hast thou wrought on this wise and sufferedst not the
jewelers to complete the kiosque window, leaving in the pavilion an
unfinished place?" Aladdin replied: "O King of the Age, I left it
not imperfect save for a design of mine own, nor was I incapable of
perfecting it, nor could I purpose that thy Highness should honor me
with visiting a pavilion wherein was aught of deficiency.


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