Now when he had reached the King's capital wherein was Aladdin, he
alighted at one of the khans, and when he had rested from the
weariness of wayfare, he donned his dress and went down to wander
about the streets, where he never passed a group without hearing
them prate about the pavilion and its grandeur and vaunt the beauty of
Aladdin and his lovesomeness, his liberality and generosity, his
fine manners and his good morals. Presently he entered an
establishment wherein men were drinking a certain warm beverage, and
going up to one of those who were loud in their lauds, he said to him,
"O fair youth, who may be the man ye describe and commend?"
"Apparently thou art a foreigner, O man," answered the other, "and
thou comest from a far country. But even this granted, how happeneth
it thou hast not heard of the Emir Aladdin, whose renown, I fancy,
hath filled the universe, and whose pavilion, known by report to far
and near, is one of the wonders of the world? How, then, never came to
thine ears aught of this or the name of Aladdin (whose glory and
enjoyment Our Lord increase!) and his fame?" The Moorman replied: "The
sum of my wishes is to look upon this pavilion, and if thou wouldest
do me a favor, prithee guide me thereunto, for I am a foreigner.
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