not cast his nets a second time, but walked into the town to sell
his fish at the palace.

When the Sultan saw the fish he was much astonished. He looked at
them one after the other, and when he had admired them long enough,
"Take these fish," he said to his first vizir, "and given them
to the clever cook the Emperor of the Greeks sent me. I think they
must be as good as they are beautiful."

The vizir took them himself to the cook, saying, "Here are four fish
that have been brought to the Sultan. He wants you to cook them."

Then he went back to the Sultan, who told him to give the fisherman
four hundred gold pieces. The fisherman, who had never before
possessed such a large sum of money at once, could hardly believe
his good fortune. He at once relieved the needs of his family,
and made good use of it.

But now we must return to the kitchen, which we shall find
in great confusion. The cook, when she had cleaned the fish,
put them in a pan with some oil to fry them. When she thought
them cooked enough on one side she turned them on the other.
But scarcely had she done so when the walls of the kitchen opened,
and there came out a young and beautiful damsel. She was dressed
in an Egyptian dress of flowered satin, and she wore earrings,
and a necklace of white pearls, and bracelets of gold set with rubies,
and she held a wand of myrtle in her hand.

She went up to the pan, to the great astonishment of the cook,
who stood motionless at the sight of her. She struck one of the fish