When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,

Quoth Dunyazad, "O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, do
tell us some of thy pleasant tales," whereupon Shahrazad replied,
"With love and good will."--It hath reached me, O King of the
Age, that Alaeddin said to his mother, "Because verily that which
I deemed glass or crystal was nothing but precious stones and I
hold that all the Kings of the World have never possessed any
thing like one of the smallest thereof. For, by frequenting the
jeweller-folk, I have learned that they are the costliest gems
and these are what I brought in my pockets from the Hoard,
whereupon, an thou please, compose thy mind. We have in our house
a bowl of China porcelain; so arise thou and fetch it, that I may
fill it with these jewels, which thou shalt carry as a gift to
the King, and thou shalt stand in his presence and solicit him
for my requirement. I am certified that by such means the matter
will become easy to thee; and, if thou be unwilling, O my mother,
to strive for the winning of my wish as regards the lady Badr al-
Budur, know thou that surely I shall die. Nor do thou imagine
that this gift is of aught save the costliest of stones and be
assured, O my mother, that in my many visits to the Jewellers'
Bazar I have observed the merchants selling for sums man's
judgment may not determine jewels whose beauty is not worth one
quarter carat of what we possess; seeing which I was certified
that ours are beyond all price. So arise, O my mother, as I bade
thee and bring me the porcelain bowl aforesaid, that I may
arrange therein some of these gems and we will see what semblance
they show." So she brought him the China bowl saying in herself,
"I shall know what to do when I find out if the words of my child
concerning these jewels be soothfast or not;" and she set it