The Sultan took upon himself the care of his daughter 's education , and brought her up in his palace with the three Princes , proposing to marry her when she arrived at a proper age , and to contract an alliance with some neighboring prince by that means . But when he perceived that the three Princes , his sons , loved her passionately , he thought more seriously on that affair . He was very much concerned ; the difficulty he foresaw was to make them agree , and that the two youngest should consent to yield her up to their elder brother . As he found them positively obstinate , he sent for them all together , and said to them : `` Children , since for your good and quiet I have not been able to persuade you no longer to aspire to the Princess , your cousin , I think it would not be amiss if every one traveled separately into different countries , so that you might not meet each other . And , as you know I am very curious , and delight in everything that 's singular , I promise my niece in marriage to him that shall bring me the most extraordinary rarity ; and for the purchase of the rarity you shall go in search after , and the expense of traveling , I will give you every one a sum of money . '' As the three Princes were always submissive and obedient to the Sultan 's will , and each flattered himself fortune might prove favorable to him , they all consented to it . The Sultan paid them the money he promised them ; and that very day they gave orders for the preparations for their travels , and took their leave of the Sultan , that they might be the more ready to go the next morning . Accordingly they all set out at the same gate of the city , each dressed like a merchant , attended by an officer of confidence dressed like a slave , and all well mounted and equipped . They went the first day 's journey together , and lay all at an inn , where the road was divided into three different tracts . At night , when they were at supper together , they all agreed to travel for a year , and to meet at that inn ; and that the first that came should wait for the rest ; that , as they had all three taken their leave together of the Sultan , they might all return together . The next morning by break of day , after they had embraced and wished each other good success , they mounted their horses and took each a different road . Prince Houssain , the eldest brother , arrived at Bisnagar , the capital of the kingdom of that name , and the residence of its king . He went and lodged at a khan appointed for foreign merchants ; and , having learned that there were four principal divisions where merchants of all sorts sold their commodities , and kept shops , and in the midst of which stood the castle , or rather the King 's palace , he went to one of these divisions the next day . Prince Houssain could not view this division without admiration . It was large , and divided into several streets , all vaulted and shaded from the sun , and yet very light too . The shops were all of a size , and all that dealt in the same sort of goods lived in one street ; as also the handicrafts-men , who kept their shops in the smaller streets . The multitude of shops , stocked with all sorts of merchandise , as the finest linens from several parts of India , some painted in the most lively colors , and representing beasts , trees , and flowers ; silks and brocades from Persia , China , and other places , porcelain both from Japan and China , and tapestries , surprised him so much that he knew not how to believe his own eyes ; but when he came to the goldsmiths and jewelers he was in a kind of ecstacy to behold such prodigious quantities of wrought gold and silver , and was dazzled by the lustre of the pearls , diamonds , rubies , emeralds , and other jewels exposed to sale . Another thing Prince Houssain particularly admired was the great number of rose-sellers who crowded the streets ; for the Indians are so great lovers of that flower that no one will stir without a nosegay in his hand or a garland on his head ; and the merchants keep them in pots in their shops , that the air is perfectly perfumed . After Prince Houssain had run through that division , street by street , his thoughts fully employed on the riches he had seen , he was very much tired , which a merchant perceiving , civilly invited him to sit down in his shop , and he accepted ; but had not been sat down long before he saw a crier pass by with a piece of tapestry on his arm , about six feet square , and cried at thirty purses . The Prince called to the crier , and asked to see the tapestry , which seemed to him to be valued at an exorbitant price , not only for the size of it , but the meanness of the stuff ; when he had examined it well , he told the crier that he could not comprehend how so small a piece of tapestry , and of so indifferent appearance , could be set at so high a price .
The crier , who took him XXXXX a merchant , replied : `` If this price seems so extravagant to you , your amazement will be greater when I tell you I have orders to raise it to forty purses , and not to part with it under . ''
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