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Here I come with the first part
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Azad:To be honest, I don't know why I'm so sad. I'm tired of it, and you say you're tired of it too. But I have no idea how I got so depressed. And if I can't figure out what's making me depressed, I must not understand myself very well.
Amaad: You're worried about your ships. Your mind is out there getting tossed around on the ocean with them. But they're fine. They're like huge parade floats on the sea. They're so big they look down on the smaller ships, which all have to bow and then get out of the way. Your ships fly like birds past those little boats.
Aahil: Yes, believe me, if I had such risky business ventures in other countries, I'd be sad too. I'd worry about it every second. I'd constantly be tossing blades of grass into the air to find out which way the wind was blowing. I'd be peering over maps to figure out the best ports, piers, and waterways. Everything that made me worry about my ships would make me sad.
Azaad: No, that's not it, trust me. Thankfully my financial situation is healthy. I don't have all of my money invested in one ship, or one part of the world. If I don't do well this year, I'll still be okay. So it's not my business that's making me sad.
Amaad: Here comes your friend Asad . Goodbye, then. We'll leave you to talk to him. They're better company
Amaad:I would've stayed to cheer you up, if your nobler friends hadn't shown up.
Azaad: You're both very precious to me. But I understand. You need to leave to take care of your own business.
Asad: Hello, friends. When are we going to have fun together again? Just name the time. We never see you anymore. Is it right?
Ahil: Let us know when you want to get together. We're available.
Aahil and amaad leave them alone.
Azaad: So, who's this girl, the one you said you were going to take a special trip for? You promised to tell me.
Asad: Azaad, you know how bad my finances have been lately. I've been living way beyond my means. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about having to cut back.I just want to be honorable and pay off the big debts that piled up when I was living the high life. I'm in debt to many people, and I owe most to you, Azaad"both money and gratitude. And because you care about me, I know you'll let me tell you my plan to clear all my debts.
Azaad: Please let me know your plan, Asad. As long as it's honorable, you can be sure that I'll let you use all my money and do everything I can to help you.
Asad : Back when I was a schoolboy, if I lost an arrow I would try to find it by shooting another arrow in the same direction, watching the second arrow more carefully than I had the first. By risking the second arrow, I'd often get both of them back. I'm telling you this story for a reason. I owe you a lot, and like a spoiled kid I've lost what I owe you. But if you'd be willing to shoot another arrow the same way you shot the first, I'll watch your arrow more carefully this time. Either we'll get back all the money I owe you, or else we'll get back what you lend me this time, and I'll just owe you what I already owe you.
Azaad: You know me better than that. You're wasting your time and effort. All of this talk means you have doubts about my friendship. That's worse than if you bankrupted me. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. Tell me.
Asad: There's a girl in Belmont who's inherited a huge amount of money, and she's beautiful and"even better"she's a good person. I think she likes me. Sometimes the expression on her face tells me she likes me. Her name is Zoya. She's as rich as that famous Roman heroine Zoya, the daughter of Cato and wife of Brutus. Her wealth is world-famous. Famous and important men have come in from all over the world to try to marry her. The hair that hangs down on her forehead is like gold, calling every adventurer to Belmont like a gold rush. Azaad, if I only had enough money to hold my own against those suitors, I know I could win her!
Azaad: You know right now all my money's tied up in that cargo that's still at sea. I can't give you the cash you need because I don't have it. But go ahead and charge things to me on credit, as much credit as I can get in Venice. I'll use all my lines of credit to help you get to Belmont, to Zoya. Go see who will lend money, and I'll do the same. I'm sure I can get something either as a business loan, or as a personal favor.
Introducing the princess Zoya, Belmont
Zoya: Oh friends, my poor little body is tired of this great big world.
Humera: You'd be tired, madam, if you had bad luck rather than wealth and good luck. But as far as I can tell, people with too much suffer as much as people with nothing. The best way to be happy is to be in between. When you have too much you get old sooner, but having just enough helps you live longer.
Zoya: Good point, and well said.
Sanam: It would be better if you actually applied it to your life.
Zoya:[smiles] You think it's that easy? If doing good deeds were as easy as knowing how to do them, then everyone would be better off. Small chapels would be big churches, and poor men's cottages would be princes' palaces. It takes a good priest to practice what he preaches. For me, it's easier to lecture twenty people on how to be good than to be the one person out of twenty who actually does good things. The brain can tell the heart what to do, but what does it matter? Cold rules don't matter when you've got a hot temper. Young people are like frisky young rabbits, and good advice is like a crippled old man trying to catch them. But thinking like this won't help me choose a husband. Oh, the word "choose" is strange! I can't choose who I like, or refuse who I dislike. I'm a living daughter still controlled by the wishes of her dead father. Isn't it a pain that I can't choose or refuse anyone, Sanam?
Mahira: Your father was an extremely moral man, and religious people get odd ideas on their deathbeds. Your father's idea was to have a game with three boxes. The suitor who can figure out whether to pick the gold, silver, or lead box will solve your father's riddle"and that suitor's the man for you. No one will ever choose the right box who doesn't deserve your love. But tell me. Do you like any of the princely suitors who've come?
Zoya: Run through the list. As you name them I'll describe them for you, and from my descriptions you can guess how I feel toward them.
Humera: Well, first there was the prince from Naples[Raahat]
Zoya: Ah, yes, that stallion. All he talks about is his horse. He thinks it's a great credit to his character that he can shoe a horse all by himself. I'm afraid his mother may have had an affair with a blacksmith.
Sanam:Then there's the Count Palatine..[imaginary]
Zoya: He does nothing but frown, as if he wants to say, "If you don't want me, I don't care." He doesn't even smile when he hears funny stories. If he's so sad and solemn when he's young, I can only imagine how much he'll cry as an old man. No, I'd rather be married to a skull with a bone in its mouth than to either of those men. God protect me from these two!
Mahira: What did you think about that French lord, Monsieur le Bon?[ Imaginary ]
Zoya: We might as well call him a man, since God created him. No, I know it's bad to make fun of people, but still! His horse is better than the Neapolitan's and he frowns more than the Count Palatine. He was trying to outdo everyone so much that you couldn't tell who he was. He started dancing every time a bird sang, and he was so eager to show off his fencing that he'd fight with his own shadow. If I married him, I might as well as marry twenty husbands, because he's like twenty men all rolled into one! I'd understand it if he hated me, since even if he loved me desperately, I'd never be able to love him back.
Sanam: What about Falconbridge, that young English baron?[imaginary]
Zoya: I have no opinion about him. We don't talk because we don't understand each other. He doesn't speak Latin, French, or Italian, and you know how little English I speak. He's great-looking, but how can you talk to someone who doesn't speak your language? He was dressed so oddly too! I think he got his jacket in Italy, his tights in France, his hat in Germany, and his behavior everywhere.
Sanam: How did you like the young German, the duke of Saxony's nephew?[imaginary]
Zoya: He's pretty awful in the morning when he's sobering up, and even worse in the afternoon when he's drunk. At his best he's a little less than a man, and at his worst he's little more than an animal. If we got married and he tragically met his demise, I'm sure I could find a way to go on without him.
Humera: If he offers to play the game and chooses the right box, but then you reject him, you'll be disobeying your father's last wishes
Zoya: I know. So please put a nice big glass of white wine on the wrong box. I know he'll get tempted and choose that one. I'll do anything rather than marry a drunk, Nerissa.
Mahira: Do you remember a Venetian scholar and soldier who accompanied the Gulab e fort here once when your father was still alive?
Zoya: Yes, yes, that was Asad. I think that was his name.
Humera :He is the best person who deserves u my lady.
Zoya: Hey I think its time for lunch. Come all.
The End
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