Thereupon he rushed off and cut grass as fast he could . When he got back , with as much grass as he could possibly carry , he was greatly discomfited to find that the horses were all for himself . At first he could not think what to do with them , but , after a little , a brilliant idea struck him ! He gave two to the merchant , and begged him to take the rest to the princess of Khaistan , who was clearly the fittest person to possess such beautiful animals . The merchant departed , laughing . But , true to his old friend 's request , he took the horses with him on his next journey , and eventually presented them safely to the princess . This time the princess sent for the merchant , and questioned him about the giver . Now , the merchant was usually a most honest man , but he did not quite like to describe Wali Dad in his true light as an old man whose income was five halfpence a day , and who had hardly clothes to cover him . So he told her that his friend had heard stories of her beauty and goodness , and had longed to lay the best he had at her feet . The princess then took her father into her confidence , and begged him to advise her what courtesy she might return to one who persisted in making her such presents . ` Well , ' said the king , ` you can not refuse them ; so the best thing you can do is to send this unknown friend at once a present so magnificent that he is not likely to be able to send you anything better , and so will be ashamed to send anything at all ! ' Then he ordered that , in place of each of the ten horses , two mules laden with silver should be returned by her . Thus , in a few hours , the merchant found himself in charge of a splendid caravan ; and he had to hire a number of armed men to defend it on the road against the robbers , and he was glad indeed to find himself back again in Wali Dad 's hut . ` Well , now , ' cried Wali Dad , as he viewed all the wealth laid at his door , ' I can well repay that kind prince for his magnificent present of horses ; but to be sure you have been put to great expenses ! Still , if you will accept six mules and their loads , and will take the rest straight to Nekabad , I shall thank you heartily . ' The merchant felt handsomely repaid for his trouble , and wondered greatly how the matter would turn out . So he made no difficulty about it ; and as soon as he could get things ready , he set out for Nekabad with this new and princely gift . This time the prince , too , was embarrassed , and questioned the merchant closely . The merchant felt that his credit was at stake , and whilst inwardly determining that he would not carry the joke any further , could not help describing Wali Dad in such glowing terms that the old man would never have known himself had he heard them . The prince , like the king of Khaistan , determined that he would send in return a gift that would be truly royal , and which would perhaps prevent the unknown giver sending him anything more .
So he made up a caravan on twenty splendid horses caparisoned in gold embroidered cloths , with fine morocco saddles and silver bridles and stirrups , also twenty camels XXXXX the best breed , which had the speed of race-horses , and could swing along at a trot all day without getting tired ; and , lastly , twenty elephants , with magnificent silver howdahs and coverings of silk embroidered with pearls .
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