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when she saw the jewels and the beauty of the damsels, and was cheered; whilst her father rejoiced exceedingly in her joy, in that he saw her put off chagrin and dejection. Then he said to her, “O my daughter Bedrulbudour, doth this please thee? Indeed, methinketh this thy bridegroom is goodlier[1] than the Vizier’s son, and God willing, O my daughter, thou shalt rejoice with him abundantly.”[2]
So much for the Sultan and as for Alaeddin, when his mother came to the house and entered and he saw her laughing of the excess of her joy, he foreboded good news and said, “To God Everlasting[3] be praise! Accomplished is that which I sought.” And she said to him, “Glad tidings, O my son! Let thy heart rejoice and thine eye be solaced in the attainment of thy desire, for that the Sultan accepteth thine offering, to wit, the bride-gift and the dowry of the Lady Bedrulbudour, and she is thy bride and this, O my son, is the night of your[4] bridal and thy going in to the Lady Bedrulbudour. Nay, the Sultan, that he might certify me of his word, proclaimed thee his son-in-law before the folk and declared that this
