Marids, wherefore my sons have done thy desire and are honoured
by such service. So ask what thou wilt beside this." Quoth
Ma'aruf, "Canst thou bring me he-mules and chests and fill the
chests with the treasure and load them on the mules?" Quoth Abu
al-Sa'adat, "Nothing easier," and cried a great cry; whereupon
his sons presented themselves before him, to the number of eight
hundred, and he said to them, "Let some of you take the semblance
of he-mules and others of muleteers and handsome Mamelukes, the
like of the least of whom is not found with any of the Kings; and
others of you be transmewed to muleteers, and the rest to
menials." So seven hundred of them changed themselves into
bat-mules and other hundred took the shape of slaves. Then Abu
al-Sa'adat called upon his Marids, who presented themselves
between his hands and he commanded some of them to assume the
aspect of horses saddled with saddles of gold crusted with
jewels. And when Ma'aruf saw them do as he bade he cried, "Where
be the chests?" They brought them before him and he said, "Pack
the gold and the stones, each sort by itself." So they packed
them and loaded three hundred he-mules with them. Then asked
Ma'aruf, "O Abu al-Sa'adat, canst thou bring me some loads of
costly stuffs?"; and the Jinni answered, "Wilt thou have Egyptian
stuffs or Syrian or Persian or Indian or Greek?" Ma'aruf said,
"Bring me an hundred loads of each kind, on five hundred mules;"
and Abu al-Sa'adat, "O my lord accord me delay that I may dispose
my Marids for this and send a company of them to each country to
fetch an hundred loads of its stuffs and then take the form of
he-mules and return, carrying the stuffs." Ma'aruf enquired,
"What time dost thou want?"; and Abu al-Sa'adat replied, "The
time of the blackness of the night, and day shall not dawn ere
thou have all thou desirest." Said Ma'aruf, "I grant thee this