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Anonymous

"The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Volume 01"

How, replied the gardener, do you imagine I will take
these riches as mine which you found out? The property of them is
yours; I have no right to them. For fourscore years, (so long my
father has been dead) I have done nothing but dig in this garden,
and could not discover this treasure, which is a sign that it was
destined to you by fate, or Heaven had revealed it to me. It
agrees with your quality as a prince, and suits your age, too,
better than mine: I am old, and have one foot in the grave, and
cannot tell what to do with so much wealth. Providence has
bestowed it upon you at a time when you are returning to that
country which will one day be your own, where you may make a good
use of it for the advantage of yourself, and the people over whom
you are to reign.
Prince Camaralzaman would not be outdone in generosity by the
gardener; they had a long dispute who should refuse it, for
neither of them would have it from the other. At last the prince
solemnly protested that he would have none of it, unless the
gardener would divide it with him, and take half. The good man
consented to please the prince; so they parted it between them,
which amounted to twenty-five urns each.
Having divided it, Son, said the gardener to the prince, it is
not enough that you have got this treasure; we must now contrive
to carry it so privately on board a ship, that nobody may know
any thing of the matter, otherwise you will run the risk of
losing it.


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