Aladdin heard very calmly all that his mother could say to endeavour to dissuade him from his design, and after he had weighed her representation in all points, made answer: “I own, mother, it is great rashness in me to presume to carry my pretensions so far; and a great want of consideration, to ask you with so much heat and precipitancy to go and make the proposal of my marriage, to the sultan, without first taking proper measures to procure a favourable reception, and therefore beg your pardon. But be not surprised, that through the violence of my passion I did not at first see everything that was necessary to be done, to procure me that happiness I seek after. I love the princess Badr-oul-boudour beyond all you can imagine; or rather I adore her, and shall always persevere in my design of marrying her; which is a thing I am determined and resolved on. I am obliged to you for the hint you have given me, and look upon it as the first step I ought to take to procure me the happy success I promise myself.
“You say, it is not customary to go to the sultan without a present, and that I have nothing worthy of his acceptance. As to what you say about the present, I agree with you, and own that I never thought of it; but as to what you say that I have nothing fit to present him with, do not you think, mother, that what I brought home with me that day on which I was delivered from an inevitable death, may be an agreeable present. I mean those things you and I both took for coloured glasses; but now I am undeceived, and can tell you that they are jewels of an inestimable value, and fit for the greatest monarchs. I know the worth of them by frequenting the jewellers’ shops; and you may take my word for it, all the jewels that I saw in the most capital jewellers’ shops were not to be compared to those we have, either for size or beauty, and yet they value them at an excessive price. In short, neither you nor I know the value of ours, but be it as it will, by the little experience I have, I am persuaded that they will be received very favourably by the sultan: you have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and let us see how they will look, when we have ranged them according to their different colours.”