" Then he let load the saddle-bags and the
carpets on the mule and carried Noureddin to his own house, where
he lodged him in a pleasant place and made much of him, for he
had conceived a great affection for him. After awhile, he said to
him, "O my son, I am an old man and have no male child, but God
has given me a daughter who is thy match for beauty, and I have
refused many suitors for her hand. But love of thee has got hold
upon my heart; so wilt thou accept of my daughter to thine
handmaid and be her husband? If thou consent to this, I will
carry thee to the Sultan of Bassora and tell him that thou art my
brother's son and bring thee to be appointed Vizier in my stead,
that I may keep the house, for, by Allah, O my son, I am a very
old man and I am weary." When Noureddin heard the Vizier's
proposal, he bowed his head awhile, then raised it and answered,
"I hear and obey." At this the Vizier rejoiced and bade his
servants decorate the great hall, in which they were wont to
celebrate the marriages of nobles. Then he assembled his friends
and the notables of the kingdom and the merchants of Bassora and
said to them, "I had a brother who was Vizier in Cairo, and God
vouchsafed him two sons, whilst to me, as you know, He has given
a daughter. My brother proposed to me to marry my daughter to one
of his sons, to which I consented; and when my daughter came at a
marriageable age, he sent me one of his sons, this young man now
present, to whom I purpose now to marry her, for he is better
than a stranger, and that he shall go in to her in my house this
night.
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