time ask his daughter in marriage for myself.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was The Three Hundred and Forty-fourth Night, Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Sultan of Cairo continued:[FN#58]?So I took it and repaired with it to the King of that city, and a slave whom the youth had bought bore the bundle. Now when I approached the Palace I found thereabout the Chamberlains and Eunuchs and Lords of the Land: so I drew near them and when they saw me in that suit they approved my appearance and questioned me saying, "What be thy business and what dost thou require?" I replied, "My wish is to have audience of the King," and they rejoined, "Wait a little while till we obtain for thee his permission." Then one of the ushers went in and reported the matter to the Sultan who gave orders to admit me; so the man came out and led me within and on entering the presence I salamed to the Sovran and wished him welfare and presently set before him the bundle, saying, "O King of the Age, this be in the way of a gift which besitteth my station not thine estate." The Sultan bade the package be spread out, and he looked into it and saw a suit of royal apparel whose like he never had owned. So he was astonished at the sight and said in his mind, "By Allah, I possess naught like this, nor was I ever master of so magnificent a garment;" presently adding, "It shall be accepted, O Shaykh, but needs must thou have some want or requisition from me." I replied, "O King of the Age, my wish is to become thy connection through that lady concealed and pearl unrevealed, thy daughter." When the Sultan heard these words, he turned to his Wazir and said, "Counsel me as to what I should do in the matter of this man?" Said he, "O King of the Age, show him thy most precious stone and say him, 'An thou have a jewel evening this one it shall be my daughter's marriage-dowry.'" The King did as he was advised, whereat I was wild with wonderment and asked him, "An I bring thee such a gem wilt thou give me the Princess?" He answered, "Yea, verily!" and I took my leave bearing with me the jewel to the young man who was awaiting me in the room.[FN#59] He enquired of me, "Hast thou proposed for the Princess?" and I replied, "Yes: I have spoken with the Sultan