thou have a mind to traffic and travel to thy native land, none
shall hinder thee, and thy property will be at thy sole disposal;
so do as thou wilt." "By Allah, O my uncle," replied I, "thou art
become to me even as my father, and I am a stranger and have
undergone many hardships: while for stress of that which I have
suffered naught of judgment or knowledge is left to me. It is for
thee, therefore, to decide what I shall do." Hereupon he sent his
servants for the Kazi and the witnesses and married me to his
daughter making us for a noble marriage-feast[FN#93] and high
festival. When I went in to her, I found her perfect in beauty
and loveliness and symmetry and grace, clad in rich raiment and
covered with a profusion of ornaments and necklaces and other
trinkets of gold and silver and precious stones, worth a mint of
money, a price none could pay. She pleased me and we loved each
other; and I abode with her in solace and delight of life, till
her father was taken to the mercy of Allah Almighty. So we
shrouded him and buried him, and I laid hands on the whole of his
property and all his servants and slaves became mine. Moreover,
the merchants installed me in his office, for he was their Shaykh
and their Chief; and none of them purchased aught but with his
knowledge and by his leave. And now his rank passed on to me.
When I became acquainted with the townsfolk, I found that at the
beginning of each month they were transformed, in that their
faces changed and they became like birds and they put forth wings
wherewith they flew unto the upper regions of the firmament and
none remained in the city save the women and children; and I said
in my mind, "When the first of the month cometh, I will ask one
of them to carry me with them, whither they go." So when the time
came and their complexion changed and their forms altered, I went
in to one of the townsfolk and said to him, "Allah upon thee!