There may or may not once have lived a merchant so prosperous that his house was as great as the house of a king. He was very pleased with his good fortune, and wanted those around him to honor his luck and skill. So one day he called his three daughters before him, and asked them to explain how he came to be so prosperous.

Now, the first two daughters were well aware what sort of answer their father desired. "Your own skill and effort have given you great riches," they said, "and allow you to provide for us in so fine a manner." Their father smiled, well-pleased with their answer, and turned to his third daughter.

This girl, though no less intelligent than her sisters, was also possessed of greater faith and an unwillingness to compromise her true opinion. "Your blessings, like all others, are from Allah."

The merchant raged at her. "If that is the truth as you see it, then go now from my house! Let us see how well Allah alone provides for you!"

That very day, she left the house with only a few pieces of clothing, and her faith in Allah. She walked until dusk, at which time she came upon stables used by a band of mule-drivers. She spent the night in these poor buildings, and in the morning, one of the mule-drivers approached her.

"I am searching for a wife," he said, and added with some embarassment: "I do not have much to offer as bride-money."

"And I do not even have a place to live," replied the girl, pleased that Allah had provided for her so promptly. "I think that we are a good match."

And so they were married, and the girl soon became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The midwives marveled at the child's fairness, even when she was still bloody from her mother's body, but they marveled even more when they washed her tiny body. For each drop of water that touched her turned into a bead of gold. And whenever this child spoke, jasmines and lilies fell from her mouth.

This blessed child made her parents rich, and word of the wonderous girl-child spread far and wide. Her mother's sisters came to investigate the rumors for themselves; finding them true, they returned home overcome with envy.

When the time came to talk of marriage, a great prince announced his desire to be wed to the girl who spoke flowers. The betrothal took place, and the plans to send the girl to her husband's city were laid.

The merchant's eldest daughter went to see her sister. "My niece is so young and delicate," she said. "She needs an escort on this journey: and who better to go with her than her aunt and my daughter her cousin."

And so it was arranged, and for many days the girl, her aunt and her cousin traveled. "I am thirsty," said the girl in the bridal litter.

"I shall not give you water," said her aunt. The girl begged, and finally her aunt agreed to give her water. "But you must give me your right eye in exchange."

The girl could do nothing but agree, and so her aunt cut out her right eye. And, after more days had passed, the girl again begged for water, and this time her aunt demanded her left eye. "If that is what Allah wills," the poor girl said. And after she was blinded, her aunt threw her from the bridal litter. "You are no longer a bride fit for a prince." She placed her own daughter in the litter, and abandoned her niece to die.

The blinded girl walked as far as she was able before falling upon the ground. A kind, poor old man chanced upon her, and could not let this beautiful girl die in the desert. So he carried her home on his donkey's back, where his family despaired. "We can barely feed ourselves; how shall we ever feed this girl? And she has no eyes! How can she work? Who would take her as a wife?"

But they let the girl sleep, and when she woke she thanked the man who had saved her. Fragrant blossoms fell from her lips, and the household marveled at this wondrous girl. "May I bathe?" the girl asked, and when she bathed in the water they brought, it turned to gold and they rejoiced at their good fortune.

Even as the girl made her rescuer rich, her aunt and cousin arrived in the city. There was a great celebration, for the people were overjoyed that their prince was to wed such a beautiful and famous girl. The prince himself was not so happy. He remembered the shape of his betrothed beneath her clothing, and the girl presented to him did not look the same. And when she greeted him, no flowers spilled forth.

"All flowers have their season," the girl said when he questioned her. The prince frowned, and asked after a ring that he had given her upon their betrothal. "Alas, it was lost in the desert," she said. The prince was sure that this was a different girl, but he could not say so publicly, for it would shame him if the people knew that he had been deceived.

Out in the desert, the girl had devised a plan to improve her sorry state, and enlisted the aid of the kind old man who had saved her life. So he went to the city with a basket of jasmines and lilies, and went from door to door calling out:

"I sell jasmines, I sell lilies!

I don't want silver, I don't want money!

The basketful for one eye, my lady!"

And of course, of all the people who heard him, only one understood his words. The aunt, certain that the prince doubted the identity of his bride and anxious for her daughter's position, cut out her daughter's right eye and gave it to the old man. "When you next see the prince, say that these fell from your mouth while he was hunting," the aunt instructed.

The old man brought the eye to the blind girl, who prayed to Allah and set the eye in her own empty socket, and lo! she could see once more. So the next day, she sent the old man back to the city, to repeat his cries with another basket of flowers. Knowing that a single basket had not been enough to satisfy the prince, she cut out her daughter's left eye. "Pretend to be sick," the aunt instructed her blind daughter. "Say that speaking so much has made you tired."

And so the old man brought the second eye to the girl in the desert, and once more Allah answered her prayer, and she could see as well as before. "I must go to the city myself," she said to the old man and his family. "I thank you for your kindness. I have one favor to ask of you: may I take a boy's clothes with me, and leave you my bridal robes?"

They agreed easily, and bid her farewell. When she arrived in the city, she sought out the palace gardener. "May this poor boy work for you?" she asked. "I can lead the mule that drives the millstone." The gardener agreed, staring with wonder at the blossoms spilling from the girl's lips.

She was the daughter of a mule-driver, so knew how best to treat the animal. Each morning, she lead the mule round as normal, grinding down the wheat. But after noon, when all others rested, she would remove her clothes and rings and bathe in one of the pools in the garden. The mule, wishing to see more of her beauty, would continue to walk round and round, so that the next day's flour was always finished early.

The cooks marveled at this slight new boy's efficiency, and the prince heard of it. The next morning, he stole into the garden to watch. Throughout the morning, he was puzzled, since it did not seem that the boy was leading the mule any faster than before. Then noon passed, and the mule soon moved faster.

But the prince was not watching the mule: he was staring at the beautiful vision bathing in the garden pool. He approached carefully, and when she was not looking, took one of the rings, which he thought looked familiar. His suspicion was confirmed when he looked at the ring more closely: it was the very ring he had given his true bride.

The girl climbed out of the pool and dressed, and cried out when she counted her rings. "Where can it be, where can it be?" Distressed to see her pain, the prince came into view. "I have your ring here; it is safe," he said. "Will you tell me who you are, and how you came to be here, in this garden, dressed in boy's clothing?"

And so she told him, jasmines and lilies spilling from her lips with each word. The prince rejoiced at having found his true bride, and she thanked Allah for having put an end to her misfortunes. The prince drove away his false bride and her mother, leaving their punishment in the hands of Allah and all men who heard the tale. Then he held an even greater wedding feast, and the celebration continued for forty days and forty nights.

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