They thanked him for this，and Taj alMuluk ceased not to wash him and to pour water over him and he thought his soul in Paradise.When they had made an end of his service，he blessed them and sat by the side of the Wazir，talking but gazing the while on the youths.Presently，the servants brought them towels，and they dried themselves and donned their dress.Then they went out，and the Minister turned to the Syndic and said to him，'O my lord！ verily the bath is the Paradise[21] of this world.'Replied the Overseer，'Allah vouchsafe to thee such Paradise，and health to thy sons and guard them from the evil eye！ Do ye remember aught that the eloquent have said in praise of the bath.？'Quoth Taj alMuluk，'I will repeat for thee a pair of couplets；'and he recited，The life of the bath is the joy of man's life，[22]Save that time is short for us there to bide：
A Heaven where irksome it were to stay；A Hell，delightful at enteringtide.'
When he ended his recital，quoth Aziz，'And I also remember two couplets in praise of the bath.'The Overseer said，'Let me hear them，'so he repeated the following，'A house where flowers from stones of granite grow，Seen at its best when hot with living lows：
Thou deem'st it Hell but here，forsooth，is Heaven，And some like suns and moons within it show.'
And when he had ended his recital，his verses pleased the Overseer and he wondered at his words and savoured their grace and fecundity and said to them，'By Allah，ye possess both beauty and eloquence.But now listen to me，you twain！'And he began chanting，and recited in song the following verses，'O joy of Hell and Heaven！ whose tormentry Enquickens frame and soul with lively gree：
I marvel so delightsome house to view，And most when 'neath it kindled fires I see：
Sojourn of bliss to visitors，withal Pools on them pour down tears unceasingly.'
Then his eyesight roamed and browsed on the gardens of their beauty and he repeated these two couplets，'I went to the house of the keeperman；He was out，but others to smile began：
I entered his Heaven[23] and then his Hell；[24]And I said 'Bless Malik[25] and bless Rizwan.'[26]
When they heard these verses they were charmed，and the Over seer invited them to his house； but they declined and returned to their own place，to rest from the great heat of the bath.So they took their ease there and ate and drank and passed that night in perfect solace and satisfaction，till morning dawned，when they arose from sleep and making their lesser ablution，prayed the dawn prayer and drank the morning draught.[27] As soon as the sun had risen and the shops and markets opened，they arose and going forth from their place to the bazar opened their shop，which their servants had already furnished，after the handsomest fashion，and had spread with prayer rugs and silken carpets and had placed on the divans a pair of mattresses，each worth an hundred dinars.On every mattress they had disposed a rug of skin fit for a King and edged with a fringe of gold； and amiddlemost the shop stood a third seat still richer，even as the place required.Then Taj alMuluk sat down on one divan，and Aziz on another，whilst the Wazir seated himself on that in the centre，and the servants stood before them.The city people soon heard of them and crowded about them，so that they sold some of their goods and not a few of their stuffs； for Taj alMuluk's beauty and loveliness had become the talk of the town.Thus they passed a trifle of time，and every day the people flocked to them and pressed upon them more and more，till the Wazir，after exhorting Taj alMuluk to keep his secret，commended him to the care of Aziz and went home，that he might commune with himself alone and cast about for some contrivance which might profit them.Meanwhile，the two young men sat talking and Taj alMuluk said to Aziz，'Haply some one will come from the Lady Dunya.'So he ceased not expecting this chance days and nights，but his heart was troubled and he knew neither sleep nor rest； for desire had got the mastery of him，and love and longing were sore upon him，so that he renounced the solace of sleep and abstained from meat and drink； yet ceased he not to be like the moon on the night of fullness.Now one day as he sat in the shop，behold，there came up an ancient woman.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Thirtythird Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Wazir Dandan continued to Zau alMakan： Now one day as Taj alMuluk sat in his shop，behold，there appeared an ancient woman，who came up to him followed by two slave girls.She ceased not advancing till she stood before the shop of Taj alMuluk and，observing his symmetry and beauty and loveliness，marvelled at his charms and sweated in her petticoat trousers，exclaiming，'Glory to Him who created thee out of vile water，and made thee a temptation to all beholders！'And she fixed her eyes on him and said，'This is not a mortal，he is none other than an angel deserving the highest respect.'[28] Then she drew near and saluted him，whereupon he returned her salute and rose to his feet to receive her and smiled in her face （all this by a hint from Aziz）； after which he made her sit down by his side and fanned her with a fan，till she was rested and refreshed.Then she turned to Taj alMuluk and said，'O my son！ O thou who art perfect in bodily gifts and spiritual graces； say me，art thou of this country？'He replied，in voice the sweetest and in tone the pleasantest，'By Allah，O my mistress，I was never in this land during my life till this time，nor do I abide here save by way of diversion.'Rejoined she，'May the Granter grant thee all honour and prosperity！ And what stuffs hast thou brought with thee？Show me something passing fine； for the beauteous should bring nothing but what is beautiful.
