Quoth she'Hear what I shall say in answer；then put off thy clothesthat I may expound to thee.'Then the Khalif said'Expoundand he shall put off his clothes.'So she said'Thatwhich is sweeter than honeyis the love of pious children to their parents；thatwhich is sharper than the swordis the tongue；thatwhich is swifter than poison，is the evil eye；the delight of a moment is coition and the contentment of three days is the depilatory for women；the pleasantest of days is that of profit on merchandise；the joy of a week is the bride；the debtwhich the worst payer denieth notis death；the prison of the tomb is an ill son；the joy of the heart is a woman obedient to her husband（and it is said also thatwhen fleshmeat descends upon the heartit rejoiceth therein）；the snare [or vexation] of the soul is a disobedient slave；death in life is poverty；the maladythat may not be healedis an ill nature and the reproachthat may not be done awayis an ill daughter；lastlythe beast that harbours not in cultivated fieldsbut lodges in waste places and hates mankind and hath in it somewhat of the make of seven strong beastsis the locustwhose head is as the head of the horse，its neck as the neck of the bullits wings as the wings of the vultureits feet as the feet of the camelits tail as the tail of the serpentits body as the body of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the gazelle.'
The Khalif was astounded at her quickness and understanding and said to Ibrahim'Put off thy clothes.'So he rose and said'I call all who are present in this assembly to witness that she is more learned than I and all the learned men.'And he put off his clothes and gave them to hersaying'Take them and may God not bless them to thee！'The Khalif ordered him fresh clothes and said to Taweddud'There is one thing left of that for which thou didst engagenamelychess.'And he sent for professors of chess and draughts and backgammon. The chess-player sat down before herand they set the piecesand he moved and she moved；butevery move he made she speedily counteredtill she beat him and he found himself check-mated.
Quoth he'I did but lead thee onthat thou mightest think thyself skilful；but set up againand I will show thee.'So they placed the pieces a second timeand he said to himself，'Open thine eyesor she will beat thee.'And he fell to moving no piecesave after calculationand ceased not to playtill she said'Check-mate.'When he saw thishe was confounded at her quickness and skill；but she laughed and said'O master，I will make a wager with thee on this third game. I will give thee the queen and the right-hand rook and the left-hand knight；if thou beat metake my clothesand if I beat theeI will take thine.'I agree to this，'replied heand they replaced the piecesshe giving him the queenrook and knight. Then said she'MoveO master.'So he movedsaying in himself，'I cannot but winwith such an advantage，'and made a combination；but she moved onlittle by littletill she made one of her pawns a queen and pushing up to him pawns and other piecesto take off his attentionset one in his way and tempted him with it.