When the merchant and mules arrived back at the hut, Wali Dad 
     moaned. "What have I done to deserve this? Friend, spare an old man! 
     Keep two mules and their silver for yourself, and take the rest to the 
     King of Nekabad!" 
          The merchant was getting uneasy, but he could not refuse such a 
     generous offer. So, not long after, he found himself presenting the 
     silver-laden mules to the King of Nekabad. 
          The King too was perplexed and asked his Prime Minister for 
     advice. 
          "Perhaps this Wali Dad seeks to prove himself your better," said 
     the Prime Minister. "Why not send him a gift he can never surpass?" 
          So the King sent back twenty horses with golden bridles and 
     stirrups, twenty camels draped with gold-embroidered cloth, twenty 
     elephants with golden seats mounted on their backs, and twenty 
     liveried servants to care for them all.