Question

on the merchants advice, he sent an invitation to the king and princess of khaistan, together with all their traveling court, down to the very humblest servant, to come and be his guests. for three nights and days a great feast was held in honor of the royal guests. every evening the king and his nobles were served on golden plates and golden cups. the others were served with silver plates and silver cups, and at each meal they were told to keep the plates and cups as a memento of the evening. never had anything so splendid been seen. in addition to the daily feasts, there were sports and hunting, dances and amusements of all kinds. on the fourth day the king of khaistan took his host aside and asked him whether it was true, as he suspected, that wall dâd wished to marry his daughter. wall dâd, after thanking him very much for the compliment, said that he had never dreamed of so great an honor and that he was far too old and ugly for so fair a lady. but he begged the king to stay with him until he could send for the prince of nekabad, who was a most excellent, brave and honorable young man who would surely be delighted to try and win the hand of the beautiful princess. to this the king agreed, and wall dâd sent the merchant off to nekabad with a number of attendants and with such handsome presents that the prince came at once, fell head over ears in love with the princess, and married her in wall dâds palace amidst great rejoicing. then the king of khaistan and the prince and princess of nekabad went back to their own lands, and wall dâd lived to a good old age, befriending all who were in trouble. in spite of his prosperity, he preserved to the end the simple - hearted and generous nature that he had when he was only wall dâd, the old bald grass cutter. 4. as you read this passage, try to figure out which characters actions most affect the storys theme. which character had the greatest impact on the development of the storys theme? king of khaistan the merchant wall dâd princess of khaistan/nekabad

Explanation:

The merchant's advice sets the events in motion by initiating the invitation to the king and princess. This leads to the interactions and developments in the story, such as the feasts, the prince's actions, and the eventual marriage. Without the merchant's action (sending the invitation), many of the story's key events (like the king and princess coming, the prince meeting the princess, etc.) would not have occurred. So, the merchant's action has a domino - effect on the story's progression and thus its theme (which could be about honor, love, or social interactions depending on how the story unfolds further).

Answer:

The Merchant