Yeawhensoe'er the rich man speaksthough in his speech he err，'Thou hast not spoken a vain thing，'they say；'indeed，thou'rt right.'
Butfor the poor manan he speakalbeit he say soothThey say'Thou liest，'and make void his speech and hold it light For moneyverilyin all the lands beneath the sunWith goodliness and dignity cloth its possessors dight.
A very tongue it is for him who would be eloquent And eke a weapon to his hand who hath a mind to fight.'
When he heard thishe bowed his head awhilethenraising it，said'If it must be soI will have of thee other three thousand diners.'I hear and obey，'answered I and sent one of my servants to my house for the money. When he came back with itI handed it to the Sherifwho rose and bidding his servants shut his shopinvited his brother-merchants to the wedding；after which he carried me to his house and drew up the contract of marriage between his daughter and myselfsaying to me'After ten daysI will bring thee in to her.'So I went home rejoicing and shutting myself up with the apetold him what had passed；
and he said'Thou hast done well.'
When the time appointed by the Sherif drew nearthe ape said to me'There is a thing I would fain have thee do for me；and afterthou shalt have of me what thou wilt.'What is that？'
asked I. Quoth he'At the upper end of the bridechamber stands a cabineton whose door is a padlock of brass and the keys under it. Take the keys and open the cabinetin which thou wilt find a coffer of ironwith four talismanic flags at its angles. In its midst is a brass basin full of moneywherein is tied a white cock with a cleft comb；and on one side of the coffer are eleven serpents and on the other a knife. Take the knife and kill the cock；cut away the flags and overturn the chest；then go back to the bride and do away her maidenhead. This is what I have to ask of thee.'I hear and obey，'answered I and betook myself to the Sherif's house.
As soon as I entered the bridechamberI looked for the cabinet and found it even as the ape had described it. Then I went in to the bride and marvelled at her beauty and grace and symmetryfor indeed they were such as no tongue can set forth. So I rejoiced in her with an exceeding joy；and in the middle of the night，when she sleptI rose and taking the keysopened the cabinet.