The lady soon stopped before a closed door, at which she knocked. It
was opened by an old man with a long white beard, to whom the lady held
out money without speaking. The old man, who seemed to understand what
she wanted, vanished into the house, and returned bringing a large jar
of wine, which the porter placed in his basket. Then the lady signed
to him to follow, and they went their way.
The next place she stopped at was a fruit and flower shop, and here she
bought a large quantity of apples, apricots, peaches, and other things,
with lilies, jasmine, and all sorts of sweet-smelling plants. From
this shop she went to a butcher's, a grocer's, and a poulterer's, till
at last the porter exclaimed in despair, "My good lady, if you had only
told me you were going to buy enough provisions to stock a town, I
would have brought a horse, or rather a camel." The lady laughed, and
told him she had not finished yet, but after choosing various kinds of
scents and spices from a druggist's store, she halted before a
magnificent palace, at the door of which she knocked gently. The
porteress who opened it was of such beauty that the eyes of the man
were quite dazzled, and he was the more astonished as he saw clearly
that she was no slave. The lady who had led him hither stood watching
him with amusement, till the porteress exclaimed, "Why don't you come
in, my sister? This poor man is so heavily weighed down that he is
ready to drop."