"Of course," said his friend. “Of course.”I see that you are in a sad mood." So Ali walked out of the city and down to the beach, where he sat down on a rock near the sea. He sighed like the desperate lover he was: “I wish I were invited to the palace for the birthday party of the princess.”

Suddenly, he heard a voice. Was it not his friend’s voice? A high wave approached the beach. When it subsided he saw an enormous fish, very similar to … yes, it was surely the same fish that he had saved so long ago. Again he heard the familiar voice, but it was the fish who spoke. “My friend, if you offer the princess the dress she will choose tomorrow as a birthday present, you will be invited to the party.” The fish disappeared.

The next day, the princess selected her third dress, which was made of the finest silk, in the red and gold colors of dawn. With a trembling voice the fisherman’s son, who was now a wealthy merchant, asked her if—with the permission of the great sultan—she would accept it as a humble birthday present. The commander of the faithful graciously permitted it.

After his return to his shop, Ali indeed received an invitation from the sultan to his daughter’s birthday party. But the next day the fisherman’s son was again sad and distracted. “I see that your mood is melancholy,” his friend observed. “What presses your heart?”

“Alas, I am in love with the sultan’s daughter,” Ali replied. “But I am only a common man, what should I do?” His friend answered: “The more we receive, the more we wish. You are a man of no high birth, but you are wealthy. Just go and ask the sultan for the hand of his daughter.” Ali found this most surprising advice, but since his friend had always been right in whatever he counseled, Ali decided to follow his words. After all, what other way was there to receive what he desired most on earth?

So, the next day, he asked for an audience and, when he was admitted to the sultan’s presence, he asked him the great question. The sultan looked at him pensively for a while, then said: “I will answer your question tomorrow.” That night, the sultan asked his wife, after having told her about Ali’s question, what she thought of it. The sultana answered: “Here I have a large pearl of exceptional beauty and inestimable value. Tell the young merchant to bring me a pearl of equal value and beauty. If he can find a match for this pearl, he will be a match for our daughter, for he will have proved his taste and ability.”