director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Basha
fell in love with the girl by hearsay and without eye-seeing: so
he changed his habit and donning a dress of Darwaysh-cut left his
mansion and threaded the streets passing from house to house
until he reached that of the old woman. He then knocked at the
entrance and she came behind it and asked "Who's at the door?" "A
Darwaysh and a stranger," answered he, "who knoweth no man in
this town and who is sore anhungered." Now the ancient dame was
by nature niggardly and she had lief put him off, but the damsel
said to her, "Turn him not away," and quoting "Honour to the
foreigner is a duty," said, "So do thou let him in." She admitted
him and seated him when the maiden brought him a somewhat of food
and stood before him in his service. He ate one time and ten
times he gazed at the girl until he had eaten his sufficiency
when he washed his hands and rising left the house and went his
ways. But his heart flamed with love of the Princess and he was
deeply enamoured of her and he ceased not walking until he
reached his mansion whence he sent for the old woman. And when
they brought her, he produced a mint of money and a sumptuous
dress in which he requested and prayed her to attire the damsel:
then the old woman took it and returned to her protegee, saying
to herself, "By Allah, if the girl accept the Basha and marry him
she will prove sensible as fortunate; but an she be not content
so to do I will turn her out of my door." When she went in she
gave her the dress and bade her don it, but the damsel refused
till the old woman coaxed her and persuaded her to try it on. Now
when the dame left the Basha, he privily assumed a woman's habit
and followed in her footsteps; and at last he entered the house
close behind her and beheld the Princess in the sumptuous dress.