down into the underground, found the four chambers and in each
four jars of gold. He passed them by with all care and
precaution, even as the Maugrabin had bidden him, and entering
the garden, fared on there through till he came to the dais and
mounting the stair, entered [FN#235] and found the lamp. So he
quenched it and pouring out the oil that was therein, put it in
his sleeve; then, going down into the garden, he fell to gazing
upon its trees, whereon were birds extolling with their
songs [FN#236] the perfection of the Great Creator, and he had not
seen them as he entered. Now the fruits of these trees were all
precious stones, each tree bearing fruit of one colour and kind
of jewel, and these fruits were of all colours, green and white
and yellow and red and what not else of colours. Their
glitterance outshone the rays of the sun in its forenoon
splendour and the bigness of each jewel overpassed description;
suffice it that not one of them might be found with the greatest
of the kings of the world, [FN#237] no, nor a gem half the bigness
of the smallest that was there.

Alaeddin [FN#238] entered among the trees and proceeded to gaze
upon them and upon these things which amazed the sight and
ravished the sense and observing them, saw that, instead of
fruits, they bore magnificent jewels from the mines, emeralds and
diamonds and rubies and pearls and topazes [FN#239] and the like
of precious stones, such as confounded the wit. Now, for that
this was a thing Alaeddin had never in his life seen, neither was
he of ripe age, so he should know the value of these jewels, by
reason of his being yet a young lad, he thought that they were
all glass or crystal; so he gathered of them what filled his
sleeves [FN#240] and fell to looking an they were grapes or figs