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Then he took Alaeddin and clothing him anew, carried him to his daughter's house, where he left him at the door, whilst he himself went in to the young lady and gave her the bond, saying, 'Take the bond of thy dowry, for I have married thee to a handsome youth by name Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat; so do thou use him with all consideration. Then he left her and went to his own lodging.
He said, "Hearkening and obedience," and, going in to his mother put the question; whereupon quoth she, "Thy sire is the Emir Khalid!" "Not so," rejoined he, "my father was none other than Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat." At this the mother wept and said, "Who acquainted thee with this, O my son?" And he answered "Ahmad al-Danaf, Captain of the Guard."
When the slave saw him, he alighted and kissed his hands: and Alaeddin said, 'What dost thou want? Quoth he, 'I am the slave of my load Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, son of Shemseddin, Provost of the merchants of Cairo, who has sent me to him with this charge. Then he gave him the letter and Alaeddin, opening it, read what follows: Harkye, my letter, when my beloved sees thee, Kiss thou the earth before him and his shoes.
The Amir's son was vexed at this and said to the broker, 'Who is it that bids against me for the slave-girl? 'It is the Vizier Jaafer, answered the broker, 'who is minded to buy her for Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat. Alaeddin continued to bid for her till he brought her price up to ten thousand dinars, and her owner sold her to him for that sum.
'Harkye, traitor, said the Khalif, 'whence hadst thou this lantern? And Kemakim replied, 'I bought it, O Commander of the Faithful! 'Where didst thou buy it? said the Khalif, 'and who could come by its like to sell it to thee? Then they beat him, till he confessed that he had stolen the lantern and the rest, and the Khalif said, 'O traitor, what moved thee to do this thing and ruin Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, the Trusty and Well-beloved? Then he bade lay hands on him and on the Chief of the Police, but the latter said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I am unjustly entreated; thou badest me hang him, and I had no knowledge of this plot, for the thing was contrived between Ahmed Kemakim and his mother and my wife.
Now the reason for their failure to come was that the Khalif had sent to a great merchant, saying to him, 'Bring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from Cairo, each worth a thousand dinars, and write on each bale its price; and bring me also a male Abyssinian slave. The merchant did the bidding of the Khalif, who write a letter to Alaeddin, as from his father Shemseddin, and committed it to the slave, together with the fifty loads and a basin and ewer of gold and other presents, saying to him, 'Take these bales and what else and go to such and such a quarter and enquire for Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, at the house of the Provost of the merchants. So the slave took the letter and the goods and went out on his errand.
When the latter saw him, he took him in his lap and glorified his Lord for that which He had created and fashioned forth; then eyeing him straitly, he saw that he was the likest of all creatures to Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat; and God informed his heart with love of the boy.
The merchant did the bidding of the Caliph who committed to the slave a basin and ewer of gold and other presents, together with the fifty loads; and wrote a letter to Ala al-Din as from his father Shams al-Din and said to him, "Take these bales and what else is with them, and go to such and such a quarter wherein dwelleth the Provost of the merchants and say, 'Where be Ala al-Din Abu al Shamat? till folk direct thee to his quarter and his house."
The latter, spying his mother, would have thrown himself upon her: but the Amir held him back and said to Jessamine, 'Come hither, O damsel. So she came to him, and he said to her, 'Whose son is this? Quoth she, 'He is my son and the darling of my heart. 'Who is his father? asked the Amir; and she answered, 'His father was Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, but now he is become thy son. Quoth Khalid, 'Alaeddin was a traitor. 'God deliver him from treason! replied she.
"O Zubeideh," answered she, "know that I am predestined to marry thy husband Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat: wilt thou then accept of me to fellow-wife, a night for me and a night for thee?" "I hear and obey, O my lady," rejoined I; "but where is my husband?"
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