My mother thinks that I will get nowhere in the world because I’m idle and we are penniless, and, worst of all, I’m bald.

Well, I never had much passion for anything until I saw the princess riding by the other day. Her face was veiled but from the moment I caught a glimpse of her, I resolved to marry her. My mother thinks I’m out of my mind. Why would the sultan give his daughter to a bald-pate like me?

Why wouldn’t he?

The Bald Suitor in Madschun, Olive Fairy Book. Illustration by H.J. Ford.