She alighted at my shop and seating herself by me, said to me,
"Art thou Mohammed the jeweller?" "Yes," answered I, "I am he, at
thy service." "Hast thou a necklace of jewels fit for me?" asked
she, and I replied, "O my lady, I will show thee what I have; and
if any please thee, it will be of thy slave's good luck; if not,
of his ill-fortune." I had by me a hundred necklaces and showed
them all to her; but none of them pleased her and she said, "I
want a better than those I have seen." Now I had a small
necklace, that my father had bought for a hundred thousand dinars
and the like whereof was not to be found with any of the great
kings; so I said to her, "O my lady, I have yet one necklace of
fine stones, whose like none possesseth, great or small." "Show
it me," said she. So I showed it her and she said, "This is what
I sought and what I have wished for all my life. What is its
price?" Quoth I, "It cost my father a hundred thousand dinars;"
and she said, "I will give thee five thousand dinars to thy
profit." "O my lady," answered I, "the necklace and its owner are
at thy service and I cannot gainsay thee [in aught]." "Not so,"
rejoined she; "needs must thou have the profit, and I am still
much beholden to thee.
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