She alighted at my shop and seating herself by me，said to me，'Art thou Mohammed the jeweller？'Yes，'answered I，'I am he，at thy service.'Hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me？'asked she，and I replied，'O my lady，I will show thee what I have；and if any please thee，it will be of thy slaves good luck；if not，of his ill-fortune.'I had by me a hundred necklaces and showed them all to her；but none of them pleased her and she said，'I want a better than those I have seen.'Now I had a small necklace，that my father had bought for a hundred thousand dinars and the like whereof was not to be found with any of the great kings；so I said to her，'O my lady，I have yet one necklace of fine stones，whose like none possesseth，great or small.'Show it me，'said she. So I showed it her and she said，'This is what I sought and what I have wished for all my life. What is its price？'Quoth I，'It cost my father a hundred thousand dinars；
and she said，'I will give thee five thousand dinars to thy profit.'O my lady，'answered I，'the necklace and its owner are at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee [in aught].'Not so，'rejoined she；'needs must thou have the profit，and I am still much beholden to thee.'Then she rose and mounting the mule in haste，said to me，'O my lord，in Gods name，favour us with thy company，to receive the money；for this thy day is a milk-white day[148] with us.'So I shut the shop and accompanied her，in all security，till we came to a house，on which were manifest the signs of fortune. Its door was wrought with gold and silver and lapis lazuli，and thereon were written these verses：
Nay mourning never enter thee，I pray，O house，nor fortune eer thy lord bewray！
A goodly sojourn art thou to the guest，When strait on him is every place and way.
She dismounted and entered the house，bidding me sit down on the stone bench at the door，till the money-changer should come. So I sat awhile，till presently a damsel came out to me and said，'Q my lord，enter the vestibule；for it is not seemly that thou shouldst sit at the door.'Accordingly，I entered the vestibule and sat down on the settle there. As I sat，another damsel came out and said to me，'O my lord，my mistress bids thee enter and sit down at the door of the saloon，to receive thy money.'So I entered and sat down，nor had I sat a moment，before a curtain of silk was drawn aside and I saw the lady seated on a throne of gold，with the necklace about her neck，unveiled and showing a face as it were the round of the moon. At this sight，my wit was troubled and my mind confounded，by reason of her exceeding beauty and grace；but，when she saw me，she rose and coming up to me，said，'O light of mine eyes，is every handsome one like thee pitiless to his mistress？'O my lady，'answered I，'beauty，all of it，is in thee and is one of thine attributes.'O jeweller，'rejoined she，'know that I love thee and can hardly credit that I have brought thee hither.'Then she bent to me and I kissed her，and she kissed me，and drawing me towards her，pressed me to her bosom. She knew by my case that I had a mind to enjoy her；so she said to me，'O my lord，dost thou think to foregather with me unlawfully？By Allah，may he not live who would do the like of this sin and who takes pleasure in foul talk！I am a clean virgin，whom no man hath approached，nor am I unknown in the city. Knowest thou who I am？'No，by Allah，O my lady！'replied I. Quoth she，'I am the lady Dunya，daughter of Yehya ben Khalid the Barmecide and sister of Jaafer，the Khalifs Vizier.'When I heard this，I drew back from her，saying，'O my lady，it is no fault of mine if I have been over-bold with thee；it was thou didst encourage me to aspire to thy love，by giving me access to thee.'No harm shall befall thee，'answered she；'and needs must thou attain thy desire in the way that is pleasing to God. I am my own mistress and the Cadi shall act as my guardian，in consenting to the marriage-contract；for it is my will that I be thy wife and thou my husband.'Then she sent for the Cadi and the witnesses and busied herself with the necessary preparations.
When they came，she said to them，'Mohammed Ali ben Ali the jeweller seeks me in marriage and hath given me the necklace to my dowry；and I accept and consent.'So they drew up the contract of marriage between us；after which the servants brought the wine-service and the cups passed round，after the goodliest ordinance： and when the wine mounted to our heads，she ordered a damsel，a lute-player，to sing. So she took the lute and sang thereto the following verses：
He comes and shows me，all in one，fawn，moon and sapling slight：
Foul fall the heart for thought of him that watches not the night！
A fair one，Allah had a mind t extinguish from his cheek One ravishment，and straight，instead，another sprang to light.
Whenas my censors speak of him，I cavil at their word，Feigning as if I did mislike the mention of the wight；
Yea，and I hearken，when they speak of other than of him，Though for the thought of him，nathelesse，I am consumed outright.
Prophet of beauty，all in him s a very miracle Of grace，and greatest of them all his faces splendid sight.
The sable mole upon his cheek hath taken up its stead，Against the troubles of this life to ward his forehead bright.
The censors，of their ignorance，bid me forget；but I From true-believer cannot turn an infidel forthright.
We were ravished by the sweet music she made and the beauty of the verses she sang and the other damsels went on to sing，one after another，till ten had done so；when the lady Dunya took the lute and playing a lively measure，sang these verses：
By the softness of thy graceful-gaited shape I swear，For estrangement from thy presence the pangs of hell I bear.
Have pity on a heart that burns i the hell-fire of thy love，O full moon in the darkness of the night that shinest fair！
Vouchsafe to me thy favours，and by the wine-cups light To blazon forth thy beauties，henceforth，Ill never spare.
A rose hath taen me captive，whose colours varied are，Whose charms outvie the myrtle and make its thorns despair.
