Whenever
the Sultan went on a journey, they took it in turns to accompany
him; and the two brothers lived in one house, and there was
perfect accord between them. It chanced, one night, that the
Sultan purposed setting out on a journey on the morrow and the
elder, whose turn it was to attend him, was sitting talking with
his brother and said to him, "O my brother, it is my wish that
we both marry and go in to our wives on the same night." "O my
brother," replied Noureddin, "do as thou wilt; I will conform to
thee." So they agreed upon this and Shemseddin said, "If it be
the will of God that we both marry on the same night, and our
wives be brought to bed on the same day, and thy wife bear a boy
and mine a girl, we will marry the children to one another, for
they will be cousins." "O my brother," asked Noureddin, "what
dowry wilt thou require of my son for thy daughter!" Quoth the
other, "I will have of him three thousand dinars and three
gardens and three farms, for it would not be fitting that he
bring her a smaller dowry than this." When Noureddin heard this,
he said, "What dowry is this thou wouldst impose on my son?
Knowest thou not that we are brothers and both by God's grace
Viziers and equal in rank? It behoves thee to offer thy daughter
to my son, without dowry: or if thou must have a dower, it should
be something of nominal value, for mere show; for thou knowest
the male to be more worthy than the female, and my son is a male,
and our memory will be preserved by him, not by thy daughter; but
I see thou wouldst do with me according to the saying, 'If thou
wouldst drive away a purchaser, ask him a high price,' or as did
one, who, being asked by a friend to do him a favour, replied,
'In the name of God; I will comply with thy request, but not till
tomorrow.
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