s
you to dress them." He then returned to the sultan, who commanded him to
give the fisherman four hundred pieces of gold, which he did
accordingly.

The fisherman, who had never seen so much money, could scarcely believe
his good fortune, but thought the whole must be a dream, until he found
it otherwise, by being able to provide necessaries for his family with
the produce of his nets.

As soon as the sultan's cook had cleaned the fish, she put them upon the
fire in a frying-pan, with oil, and when she thought them fried enough
on one side, she turned them upon the other; but, O monstrous prodigy!
scarcely were they turned, when the wall of the kitchen divided, and a
young lady of wonderful beauty entered from the opening. She held a rod
in her hand and was clad in flowered satin, with pendants in her ears, a
necklace of large pearls, and bracelets of gold set with rubies. She
moved toward the frying-pan, to the great amazement of the cook, and
striking one of the fish with the end of the rod, said: "Fish, fish, are
you in your duty?" The fish having answered nothing, she repeated these
words, and then the four fish lifted up their heads, and replied: "Yes,
yes: if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if
you fly, we overcome, and are content." As soon as they had finished
these words, the lady overturned the frying-pan, and returned into the
open part of the wall, which closed immediately, and became as it was
before.

The cook was greatly frightened at what had happened, and coming a
little to herself went to take up the fish that had fallen on the
hearth, but found them blacker than coal and not fit to be carried to
the sultan. This grievously troubled her, and she fell to weeping most
bitterly. "Alas!" said she, "what will become of me? If I tell the
sultan what I have seen, I am sure he will not believe me, but will be
enraged against me."

While she was thus bewailing herself, the grand vizier entered, and
asked her if the fish were ready. She told him all that had occurred,
which we may easily imagine astonished him; but without speaking a word
of it to the sultan he invented an excuse that satisfied him, and
sending immediately for the fisherman bid him bring four more such fish,
for a misfortune had befallen the others, so that they were not fit to
be carried to the royal table. The fisherman, without saying anything of
what the genie had told him, told the vizier he had a great way t