Avoid dissensions and litigation；and leave that which causeth doubt in thee for things which breed no doubt：[372] so shalt thou be at peace.Enjoin beneficence and forbid malevolence：so shalt thou be loved of Allah.Adorn thine inner man and Allah shall adorn thine outer man.Accept the excuse of him who excuseth self to thee and hate not any one of the Moslems.Draw near unto those who withdraw from thee and excuse those that misuse thee：so shalt thou be the friend of the Prophets.Let thine affairs，both public and private，be in Allah's charge，and fear Him with the fear of one who knoweth he is dead and who fareth towards Resurrection and Judgement stead between the hands of the Lord of Dread；and remember that to one of two houses thou art sped，either for Heavens eterne or to the Hell fires that burn.'Thereupon the old woman sat down beside the damsels.Now when thy father，who hath found mercy，heard their discourse，he knew that they were the most accomplished of the people of their time；and，seeing their beauty and loveliness and the extent of their wisdom and lore，he showed them all favour.Moreover，he turned to the ancient dame and treated her with honour，and set apart for her and her damsels the palace which had lodged Princess Abrizah，daughter of the King of Greece，to which he bade carry all the luxuries they needed.They abode with him ten days and the old woman abode with them；and，whenever the King visited them，he found her absorbed in prayer，watching by night and fasting by day；whereby love of her took hold upon his heart and he said to me，'O Wazir，verily this old woman is of the pious，and awe of her is strong in my heart.'Now on the eleventh day，the King visited her，that he might pay her the price of the damsels；but she said to him，'O King，know that the price of these maidens surpasseth the competence of men；indeed I seek not for them either gold or silver or jewels，be it little or much.'
Now when thy father heard these words he wondered and asked her，'O my lady and what is their price？'；whereto she answered，'I will not sill them to thee save on condition that thou fast，watching by night a whole month，and abstaining by day，all for the love of Allah Almighty；and，if thou do this，they are thy property to use in thy palace as thou please.'So the King wondered at the perfection of her rectitude and piety and abnegation；she was magnified in his eyes and he said，'Allah make this pious woman to profit us！'Then he agreed with her to fast for a month as she had stipulated，and she said to him，'I
will help thee with the prayers I pray for thee and now bring me a gugglet of water.'They brought one and she took it and recited over it and muttered spells，and sat for an hour speaking in speech no one understood or knew aught thereof.Lastly she covered it with a cloth and，sealing it with her signet ring，gave it to thy sire，saying，'When thou hast fasted the first ten days，break thy fast on the eleventh night with what is in this gugglet，for it will root out the love of the world from thy heart and fill it with light and faith.As for me，tomorrow I will go forth to my brethren，the Invisible[373] Controuls，for I yearn after them，and I will return to thee when the first ten days are past.Thy father took the gugglet and arose and set it apart in a closet of his palace，then locked the door and put the key in his pocket.Next day the King fasted and the old woman went her ways.'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eighty-fifth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Wazir Dandan thus continued to Zau al-Makan，'Now when came the day for the Sultan's fast，the old woman went her ways.And after he had accomplished the ten days thereof，on the eleventh he opened the gugglet and drank what was therein and found it cordial to his stomach.Within the second ten days of the month the old woman returned，bringing sweetmeats wrapped in a green leaf，like no leaf of known tree.She went in to thy sire and saluted him；and，when he saw her，he rose to her saying，'Welcome，O pious lady！''O King，'quoth she，'the Invisible Controuls salute thee，for I told them of thee，and they rejoiced in thee and have sent thee their Halwa，[374] which is of the sweetmeats of the other world.Do thou break thy fast on it at the end of the day.'The King rejoiced at this with great joy，and exclaimed，'Praised be Allah，who hath given me brethren of the Invisible World！'
Thereupon he thanked the ancient dame and kissed her hands；and he honoured her and the damsels with exceeding honour.She went forth for the twenty days of thy father's fast at the end of which time she came to him and said，'Know，O King，that I told the Invisible Controuls of the love which is between me and thee，and informed them how I had left the maidens with thee，and they were glad that the damsels should belong to a King like thee；for they were wont，when they saw them，to be strenuous in offering on their behalf prayers and petitions ever granted.So I would fain carry them to the Invisible Controuls that they may benefit by the breath of their favour，and peradventure，they shall not return to thee without some treasure of the treasures of the earth，that thou，after completing thy fast，mayst occupy thyself with their raiment and help thyself by the money they shall bring thee，to the extent of thy desires.'When thy sire heard her words，he thanked her for them and said，'Except that I fear to cross thee，I would not accept the treasure or aught else；but when wilt thou set out with them？'Replied she，'On the seven and twentieth night；and I will bring them back to thee at the head of the month，by which time thou wilt have accomplished thy fast and they will have had their courses and be free from impurity；and they shall become thine and be at thy disposal.By Allah，each damsel of them is worth many times thy kingdom！'He said，'I know it，O pious lady！'Then quoth the old woman，'There is no help but that thou send with them someone in thy palace who is dear to thee，that she may find solace and seek a blessing of the Invisible Controuls.'Quoth he，'I have a Greek slave called Sophia，by whom I have been blessed with two children，a girl and a boy；but they were lost；years ago.Take her with thee that she may get the blessing'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
