The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IV

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Title: The Book Of The Thousand Nights And One Night, Volume IV

Author: Anonymous

Translator: John Payne

Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8658] [This file was first posted on July 30, 2003]

Edition: 10

Language: English

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT, VOLUME IV ***

Text scanned by JC Byers (www.wollamshram.ca/1001) and proofread by JC Byers, Graeme Houston, Renate Preuss, Coralee Sheehan, Marryann Short, and Anne Soulard

Editorial Note: Project Gutenberg also has the translation of this work by

                Richard F. Burton in 16 volumes.

THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT:

             Now First Completely Done Into English

           Prose and Verse, From The Original Arabic,

                         By John Payne

(Author of The Masque of Shadows, Intaglios: Sonnets, "Songs

                      of Life and Death,"

 Lautrec, The Poems of Master Francis Villon of Paris, "New

                      Poems," Etc, Etc.).

In Nine Volumes:

VOLUME THE FOURTH.

1901

Delhi Edition

Contents of The Fourth Volume.

1. The Imam Abou Yousuf With Haroun er Reshid and his Vizier Jaafer 2. The Lover Who Feigned Himself a Thief to save His Mistress's Honour 3. Jaafer the Barmecide and the Bean-seller 4. Abou Mohammed the Lazy 5. Yehya Ben Khalid and Mensour 6. Yehya Ben Khalid and the Man Who Forged a Letter in His Name 7. The Khalif el Mamoun and the Strange Doctor 8. Ali Shar and Zumurrud 9. The Loves of Jubeir Ben Umeir and the Lady Budour 10. The Man of Yemen and His Six Slave Girls 11. Haroun er Reshid with the Damsel and Abou Nuwas 12. The Man Who Stole The Dog's Dish of Gold 13. The Sharper of Alexandria and the Master of Police 14. El Melik en Nasir and the Three Masters of Police a. Story of the Chief of the New Cairo Police b. Story of the Chief of the Boulac Police c. Story of the chief of the Old Cairo Police 15. The Thief and the Money-Changer 16. The Chief of the Cous Police and the Sharper 17. Ibrahim Ben el Mehdi and the Merchant's Sister 18. The Woman Whose Hands Were Cut Off For Almsgiving 19. The Devout Israelite 20. Abou Hassan ez Ziyadi and the Man From Khorassan 21. The Poor Man and his Generous Friend 22. The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream 23. El Mutawekkil and his Favourite Mehboubeh 24. Werdan the Butcher's Adventure with the Lady and the Bear 25. The King's Daughter and the Ape 26. The Enchanted Horse 27. Uns El Eoujoud and the Vizier's Daughter Rose-in-Bud 28. Abou Nuwas with the Three Boys and the Khalif Haroun er Reshid 29. Abdallah Ben Maamer with the Man of Bassora and His Slave Girl 30. The Lovers of the Benou Udhreh 31. The Vizier of Yemen and His Young Brother 32. Loves of the Boy and Girl at School 33. El Mutelemmis and His Wife Umeimeh 34. Haroun er Reshid and Zubeideh in the Bath 35. Haroun er Reshid and the Three Poets 36. Musab Ben ez Zubeir and Aaisheh His Wife 37. Aboulasweh and His Squinting Slave Girl 38. Haroun er Reshid ad the Two Girls 39. Hroun er Reshid and the Three Girls 40. The Miller and his Wife 41. The Simpleton and the Sharper 42. The Imam Abou Yousuf with Haroun er Reshid and Zubeideh 43. The Khalif el Hakim and the Merchant 44. King Kisra Anoushirwan and the Village Damsel 45. The Water-Carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife 46. Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman 47. Yehya Ben Khalid and the Poor Man 48. Mohammed El Amin and Jaafer Ben el Hadi 49. Said Ben Salim and the Barmecides 50. The Woman's Trick Against Her Husband 51. The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders 52. Jaafer the Barmecide and the Old Bedouin 53. Omar Ben Khettab and the Young Bedouin 54. El Mamoun and the Pyramids of Egypt 55. The Thief Turned Merchant and the Other Thief 56. Mesrour and Ibn El Caribi 57. The Devout Prince 58. The Schoolmaster Who Fell in Love by Report 59. The Foolish Schoolmaster 60. The Ignorant Man Who Set up For a Schoolmaster 61. The King and the Virtuous Wife 62. Abdurrehman the Moor's Story of the Roc 63. Adi Ben Zeid and the Princess Hind 64. Dibil el Khuzai With the Lady and Muslim Ben el Welid 65. Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant 66. The Three Unfortunate Lovers 67. The Lovers of the Benou Tai 68. The Mad Lover 69. The Apples of Paradise 70. The Loves of Abou Isa and Current El Ain 71. El Amin and His Uncle Ibrahim Ben el Mehdi 72. El Feth Ben Khacan and El Mutawekkil 73. The Man's Dispute with the Learned Woman of the Relative Excellence of the Male and the Female 74. Abou Suweid and the Handsome Old Woman 75. Ali Ben Tahir and the Birl Mounis 76. The Woman Who Has a Boy and the Other Who Had a Man to Lover 77. The Haunted House in Baghdad 78. The Pilgrim and the Old Woman Who Dwelt in the Desert 79. Aboulhusn and His Slave Girl Taweddud

THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT

HOW THE IMAM ABOU YOUSUF EXTRICATED THE KHALIF HAROUN ER RESHID AND HIS VIZIER JAAFER FROM A DILEMMA.

It is said that Jaafer the Barmecide was one night carousing with Er Reshid, when the latter said to him, 'O Jaafer, I hear that thou hast bought such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long sought her and my heart is taken up with love of her, for she is passing fair; so do thou sell her to me.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied Jaafer, 'I will not sell her.' 'Then give her to me,' rejoined the Khalif. 'Nor will I give her,' answered Jaafer. 'Be Zubeideh triply divorced,' exclaimed Haroun, 'if thou shalt not either sell or give her to me!' Quoth Jaafer, 'Be my wife triply divorced, if I either sell or give her to thee!' After awhile they recovered from their intoxication and were ware that they had fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not how to extricate themselves. Then said Er Reshid, 'None can help us in this strait but Abou Yousuf.'[FN#1] So they sent for him, and this was in the middle of the night. When the messenger reached the Imam, he arose in alarm, saying in himself, 'I should not be sent for at this hour, save by reason of some crisis in Islam.' So he went out in haste and mounted his mule, saying to his servant, 'Take the mule's nose-bag with thee; it may be she has not finished her feed; and when we come to the Khalif's palace, put the bag on her, that she may eat what is left of her fodder, whilst I am with the Khalif.' 'I hear and obey,' replied the man.

So the Imam rode to the palace and was admitted to the presence of Er Reshid, who made him sit down on the couch beside himself, whereas he was used to seat none but him, and said to him, 'We have sent for thee at this hour to advise us upon a grave matter, with which we know not how to deal' And he expounded to him the case. 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied Abou Yousuf, 'this is the easiest of things.' Then he turned to Jaafer and said to him, 'O Jaafer, sell half of her to the Commander of the Faithful and give him the other half; so shall ye both be quit of your oaths.' The Khalif was delighted with this and they did as he prescribed. Then said Er Reshid, 'Bring me the girl at once, for I long for her exceedingly.' So they brought her and the Khalif said to Abou Yousuf, 'I have a mind to lie with her forthright; for I cannot endure to abstain from her during the prescribed period of purification; how is this to be done?' 'Bring me one of thine unenfranchised male slaves,' answered the Imam, 'and give me leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before consummation. So shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her before purification.' This expedient pleased the Khalif yet more than the first and he sent for the slave. When he came, Er Reshid said to the Imam, 'I authorize thee to marry her to him.' So the Imam proposed the marriage to the slave, who accepted it, and performed the due ceremony; after which he said to the slave, 'Divorce her, and thou shalt have a hundred diners.' But he refused to do this and the Imam went on to increase his offer, till he bid him a thousand diners. Then said the slave to him, 'Doth it rest with me to divorce her, or with thee or the Commander of the Faithful?' 'With thee,' answered the Imam. 'Then, by Allah,' quoth the slave, 'I will never do it!'

At this the Khalif was exceeding wroth and said to the Imam, 'What is to be done, O Abou Yousuf?' 'Be not concerned, O Commander of the Faithful,' replied the Imam; 'the thing is easy. Make this slave the damsel's property.' Quoth Er Reshid, 'I give him to her;' and the Imam said to the girl, 'Say, I accept.' So she said, 'I accept:' whereupon quoth Abou Yousuf, 'I pronounce divorce between them, for that he hath become her property, and so the marriage is annulled.' With this, Er Reshid sprang to his feet and exclaimed, 'It is the like of thee that shall be Cadi in my time.' Then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied them before Abou Yousuf, to whom he said, 'Hast thou wherein to put this ?' The Imam bethought him of the mule's nose-bag; so he sent for it and filling it with gold, took it and went home; and on the morrow, he said to his friends, 'There is no easier or shorter road to the goods of this world and the next, than that of learning; for, see, I have received all this money for answering two or three questions.' Consider, then, O polite [reader], the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it comprises divers goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of Jaafer to Er Reshid and the wisdom[FN#2] of the Khalif and the exceeding wisdom of Abou Yousuf, may God the Most High have mercy on all their souls!

THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF TO SAVE HIS MISTRESS'S HONOUR.

There came one day to Khalid ibn Abdallah el Kesri,[FN#3] governor of Bassora, a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and lofty bearing, whose aspect expressed good breeding and dignity and abundant wit They brought him before the governor, who asked what was to do with him, and they replied, 'This fellow is a thief, whom we caught last night in our dwelling.' Khalid looked at him and was struck with wonder at his well-favouredness and elegance; so he said to the others, 'Loose him,' and going up to the young man, asked what he had to say for himself. 'The folk have spoken truly,' answered he; 'and the case is as they have said.' 'And what moved thee to this,' asked Khalid, 'and thou so noble and comely of aspect?' 'The lust after worldly good,' replied the other, 'and the ordinance of God, glorified and exalted be He!' 'May thy mother be bereaved of thee!' rejoined Khalid. 'Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and sound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?' 'O Amir,' answered the young man, 'leave this talk and proceed to what God the Most High hath ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and God is no oppressor of His creatures.'[FN#4] Khalid was silent awhile, considering the matter; then he said to the young man, 'Verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexes me, for I cannot believe thee to be a thief. Surely thou hast some story that is other than one of theft. Tell it me'. 'O Amir,' replied the youth, 'deem thou nought save what I have confessed; for I have no story other than that I entered these folk's house and stole what I could lay hands on, and they caught me and took the stuff from me and carried me before thee.' Then Khalid bade clap him in prison and commanded a crier to make proclamation throughout Bassora, saying, 'Ho, whoso is minded to look upon the punishment of such an one, the thief, and the cutting off of his hand, let him be present tomorrow morning at such a place!'

When the youth found himself in prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and repeated the following verses, whilst the tears streamed from his eyes:

Khalid doth threaten me with cutting off my hand, Except I do

     reveal to him my mistress' case.

But, God forbid, quoth I, "that I should e'er reveal That which

     of love for her my bosom doth embrace!"

The cutting-off my hand, for that I have confessed Unto, less

     grievous were to me than her disgrace.

The warders heard him and went and told Khalid, who sent for the youth after nightfall and conversed with him. He found him well-bred and intelligent and of a pleasant and vivacious wit; so he ordered him food and he ate. Then said Khalid, 'I know thou hast a story to tell that is no thief's; so, when the Cadi comes to-morrow morning and questions thee before the folk, do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the cutting-off of thy hand; for the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve) saith, In cases of doubt, eschew [or defer] punishment.' Then he sent him back to the prison, where he passed the night.

On the morrow, the folk assembled to see his hand cut off, nor was there man or woman in Bassora but came forth to look upon his punishment. Then Khalid mounted in company of the notables of the city and others and summoning the Cadi, sent for the young man, who came, hobbling in his shackles. There none saw him but wept for him, and the women lifted up their voices in lamentation. The Cadi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, 'These folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling and steal their goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar?'[FN#5] 'Nay,' replied he, 'I stole more than that.' 'Peradventure,' rejoined the Cadi, 'thou art partner with them in some of the goods?' 'Not so,' replied the young man; 'it was all theirs. I had no right in it.' At this Khalid was wroth and rose and smote him on the face with his whip, applying this verse to his own case:

Man wisheth and seeketh his wish to fulfil, But Allah denieth save that which He will.

Then he called for the executioner, who came and taking the prisoner's hand, set the knife to it and was about to cut it off, when, behold, a damsel, clad in tattered clothes, pressed through the crowd of women and cried out and threw herself on the young man. Then she unveiled and showed a face like the moon; whereupon the people raised a mighty clamour and there was like to have been a riot amongst them. But she cried out her loudest, saying, 'I conjure thee, by Allah, O Amir, hasten not to cut off this man's hand, till thou have read what is in this scroll!' So saying, she gave him a scroll, and he took it and read therein the following verses:

O Khalid, this man is love-maddened, a cave of desire, Transfixed

     by the glances that sped from the bows of my eye.

The shafts of my looks 'twas that pierced him and slew him;

     indeed, He a bondsman of love, sick for passion and like for

     to die.

Yea, rather a crime, that he wrought not, he choose to confess

     Than suffer on her whom he cherished dishonour to lie.

Have ruth on a sorrowful lover; indeed he's no thief, But the

     noblest and truest of mortals for passion that sigh.

When he had read this, he called the girl apart and questioned her; and she told him that the young man was her lover and she his mistress. He came to the dwelling of her people, thinking to visit her, and threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his coming. Her father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all the household stuff and made as if he would have stolen it, to cover his mistress's honour. 'So they seized him,' continued she, 'saying, A thief! and brought him before thee, whereupon he confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he might spare me dishonour; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature.'

'He is indeed worthy to have his desire,' replied Khalid and calling the young man to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then he sent for the girl's father and bespoke him, saying, 'O elder, we thought to punish this young man by cutting off his hand; but God (to whom belong might and majesty) hath preserved us from this! and I now adjudge him the sum of ten thousand dirhems, for that he would have sacrificed his hand for the preservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and the sparing you both reproach. Moreover, I adjudge other ten thousand dirhems to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the case; and I ask thy leave to marry him to her.' 'O Amir,' rejoined the old man, 'thou hast my consent.' So Khalid praised God and thanked Him and offered up a goodly exhortation and prayer; after which he said to the young man, 'I give thee this damsel to wife, with her own and her father's consent; and her dowry shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhems. 'I accept this marriage at thy hands,' replied the youth and Khalid let carry the money on trays in procession to the young man's house, whilst the people dispersed, full of gladness. And surely [quoth he who tells the tale[FN#6]] never saw I a rarer day than this, for that its beginning was weeping and affliction and its end joy and gladness.

JAAFER THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEANSELLER.

When Haroun er Reshid put Jaafer the Barmecide to death, he commanded that all who wept or made moan for him should be crucified; so the folk abstained from this. Now there was a Bedouin from a distant desert, who used every year to make and bring to Jaafer an ode in his honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand diners; and the Bedouin took them and returning to his own country, lived upon them, he and his family, for the rest of the year. Accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and finding Jaafer done to death, betook himself to the place where his body was hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept sore and mourned grievously. Then he recited his ode and fell asleep. In his sleep Jaafer the Barmecide appeared to him and said, 'Thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us as thou seest; but go to Bassora and ask for such a man there of the merchants of the town and say to him, Jaafer the Barmecide salutes thee and bids thee give me a thousand diners, by the token of the bean.'

When the Bedouin awoke, he repaired to Bassora, where he sought out the merchant and repeated to him what Jaafer had said in the dream; whereupon he wept sore, till he was like to depart the world. Then he welcomed the Bedouin and entertained him three days as an honoured guest; and when he was minded to depart, he gave him a thousand and five hundred diners, saying, 'The thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the five hundred are a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand diners.' When the Bedouin was about to take leave, he said to the merchant, 'I conjure thee, by Allah, tell me the story of the bean, that I may know the origin of all this.' 'In the early part of my life,' replied the merchant, 'I was miserably poor and hawked hot boiled beans about the streets of Baghdad for a living.

I went out one cold, rainy day, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather, now shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of rain-water, and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make one shudder to look upon. Now it chanced that Jaafer was seated that day, with his officers and favourites, in an upper chamber overlooking the street, and his eye fell on me; so he took pity on my case and sending one of his servants to fetch me to him, said to me, Sell thy beans to my people. So I began to mete out the beans with a measure I had with me, and each who took a measure of beans filled the vessel with gold pieces, till the basket was empty. Then I gathered together the money I had gotten, and Jaafer said to me, Hast thou any beans left? I know not, answered I and sought in the basket, but found only one bean. This Jaafer took and splitting it in twain, kept one half himself and gave the other to one of his favourites, saying, For how much wilt thou buy this half-bean? For the tale of all this money twice-told, replied she; whereat I was confounded and said in myself, This is impossible. But, as I stood wondering, she gave an order to one of her handmaids and the girl brought me the amount twice-told. Then said Jaafer, And I will buy my half for twice the sum of the whole. Take the price of thy bean. And he gave an order to one of his servants, who gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my basket; and I took it and departed. Then I betook myself to Bassora, where I traded with the money and God prospered me, to Him be the praise and the thanks! So, if I give thee a thousand diners a year of the bounty of Jaafer, it will in no wise irk me.' Consider then the munificence of Jaafer's nature and how he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of God the Most High be upon him!

ABOU MOHAMMED THE LAZY.

It is told that Haroun er Reshid was sitting one day on the throne of the Khalifate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchs, bearing a crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner other jewels, such as money might not buy, and kissing the ground before him, said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, the lady Zubeideh kisses the earth before thee and saith to thee, thou knowest she hath let make this crown, which lacks a great jewel for its top; and she hath made search among her treasures, but cannot find a jewel to her mind.' Quoth the Khalif to his chamberlains and officers, 'Make search for a great jewel, such as Zubeideh desires.' So they sought, but found nothing befitting her and told the Khalif, who was vexed thereat and exclaimed, 'Am I Khalif and king of the kings of the earth and lack of a jewel? Out on ye! Enquire of the merchants.' So they enquired of the merchants, who replied, 'Our lord the Khalif will not find a jewel such as he requires save with a man of Bassora, by name Abou Mohammed the Lazy.' They acquainted the Khalif with this and he bade his Vizier Jaafer send a letter to the Amir Mohammed ez Zubeidi, governor of Bassora, commanding him to equip Abou Mohammed the Lazy and bring him to Baghdad.

Jaafer accordingly wrote a letter to that effect and despatched it by Mesrour, who set out forthright for Bassora and went in to the governor, who rejoiced in him and entreated him with the utmost honour. Then Mesrour read him the Khalif's mandate, to which he replied, 'I hear and obey,' and forthwith despatched him, with a company of his followers, to Abou Mohammed's house. When they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a servant came out and Mesrour said to him, 'Tell thy master that the Commander of the Faithful calls for him.' The servant went in and told his master, who came out and found Mesrour, the Khalif's chamberlain, and a company of the governor's men at the door. So he kissed the earth before Mesrour and said, 'I hear and obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but enter ye my house.' 'We cannot do that,' replied Mesrour, 'save in haste; for the Commander of the Faithful awaits thy coming.' But he said, 'Have patience with me a little, till I set my affairs in order.' So, after much pressure and persuasion, they entered and found the corridor hung with curtains of blue brocade, figured with gold, and Abou Mohammed bade one of his servants carry Mesrour to the bath. Now this bath was in the house and Mesrour found its walls and floor of rare and precious marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. The servants served Mesrour and his company on the most perfect wise and clad them, on their going forth of the bath, in robes of honour of brocade, interwoven with gold.

Then they went in to Abou Mohammed and found him seated in his upper chamber upon a couch inlaid with jewels. Over his head hung curtains of gold brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the place was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. When he saw Mesrour, he rose to receive him and bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. Then he called for food: so they brought the table of food, which when Mesrour saw, he exclaimed, 'By Allah, never saw I the like of this in the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!' For indeed it comprised all manner of meats, served in dishes of gilded porcelain. So they ate and drank and made merry till the end of the day, when Abou Mohammed gave Mesrour and each of his company five thousand diners; and on the morrow he clad them in dresses of honour of green and gold and entreated them with the utmost honour. Then said Mesrour to him, 'We can abide no longer, for fear of the Khalif's displeasure.' 'O my lord,' answered Abou Mohammed, 'have patience with us till to-morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then depart with you.' So they tarried that day and night with him; and next morning, Abou Mohammed's servants saddled him a mule with housings and trappings of gold, set with all manner pearls and jewels; whereupon quoth Mesrour in himself, 'I wonder if, when he presents himself in this equipage before the Commander of the Faithful, he will ask him how he came by all this wealth.'

Then they took leave of Ez Zubeidi and setting out from Bassora, fared on, without stopping, till they reached Baghdad and presented themselves before the Khalif who bade Abou Mohammed be seated. So he sat down and addressing the Khalif in courtly wise, said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought with me a present by way of homage: have I thy leave to produce it?' 'There is no harm in that,' replied the Khalif; whereupon Abou Mohammed caused bring in a chest, from which he took a number of rarities and amongst the rest, trees of gold, with leaves of emerald and fruits of rubies and topazes and pearls. Then he fetched another chest and brought out of it a pavilion of brocade, adorned with pearls and rubies and emeralds and chrysolites and other precious stones; its poles were of the finest Indian aloes-wood, and its skirts were set with emeralds. Thereon were depicted all manner beasts and birds and other created things, spangled with rubies and emeralds and chrysolites and balass rubies and other precious stones.

When Er Reshid saw these things, he rejoiced exceedingly, and Abou Mohammed said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, deem not that I have brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting aught; but I knew myself to be but a man of the people and that these things befitted none save the Commander of the Faithful. And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion, something of what I can do.' 'Do what thou wilt,' answered Er Reshid, 'that we may see.' 'I hear and obey,' said Abou Mohammed and moving his lips, beckoned to the battlements of the palace, whereupon they inclined to him; then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their place. Then he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before him cabinets with closed doors, to which he spoke, and lo, the voices of birds answered him [from within]. The Khalif marvelled exceedingly at this and said to him, 'How camest thou by all this, seeing that thou art only known as Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and they tell me that thy father was a barber-surgeon, serving in a public bath, and left thee nothing?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered he, 'listen to my story, for it is an extraordinary one and its particulars are wonderful; were it graven with needles upon the corners of the eye, it would serve as a lesson to him who can profit by admonition.' 'Let us hear it,' said the Khalif.

'Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,' replied Abou Mohammed, '(may God prolong to thee glory and dominion,) that the report of the folk, that I am known as the Lazy and that my father left me nothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, but a barber- surgeon in a bath. In my youth I was the laziest wight on the face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness that, if I lay asleep in the sultry season and the sun came round upon me, I was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the shade; and thus I abode till I reached my fifteenth year, when my father was admitted to the mercy of God the Most High and left me nothing. However, my mother used to go out to service and feed me and give me to drink, whilst I lay on my side.

One day, she came in to me, with five silver dirhems, and said to me, O my son, I hear that the Sheikh Aboul Muzeffer is about to go a voyage to China. (Now this Sheikh was a good and charitable man and loved the poor.) So come, let us carry him these five dirhems and beg him to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of China, so haply thou mayst make a profit of it, by the bounty of God the Most High! I was too lazy to move; but she swore by Allah that, except I rose and went with her, she would neither bring me meat nor drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to die of hunger and thirst. When I heard this, O Commander of the Faithful, I knew she would do as she said; so I said to her, Help me to sit up. She did so, and I wept the while and said to her, Bring me my shoes. Accordingly, she brought them and I said, Put them on my feet. She put them on my feet and I said, Lift me up. So she lifted me up and I said, Support me, that I may walk. So she supported me and I went along thus, still stumbling in my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we saluted the Sheikh and I said to him, O uncle, art thou Aboul Muzeffer? At thy service, answered he, and I said, Take these dirhems and buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply, God may vouchsafe me a profit of it. Quoth the Sheikh to his companions, Do ye know this youth? Yes, replied they; he is known as Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and we never saw him stir from his house till now. Then said he to me, O my son, give me the dirhems and the blessing of God the Most High go with them! So he took the money, saying, In the name of God! and I returned home with my mother.

Meanwhile the Sheikh set sail, with a company of merchants, and stayed not till they reached the land of China, where they bought and sold, and having done their intent, set out on their homeward voyage. When they had been three days at sea, the Sheikh said to his company, Stay the ship! And they asked him what was to do with him. Know, replied he, that I have forgotten the commission with which Abou Mohammed the Lazy charged me; so let us turn back, that we may buy him somewhat whereby he may profit. We conjure thee, by God the Most High, exclaimed they, turn not back with us; for we have traversed an exceeding great distance and endured sore hardship and many perils. Quoth he, There is no help for it; and they said Take from us double the profit of the five dirhems and turn not back with us. So he agreed to this and they collected for him a great sum of money.

Then they sailed on, till they came to an island, wherein was much people; so they moored thereto and the merchants went ashore, to buy thence precious metals and pearls and jewels and so forth. Presently, Aboul Muzeffer saw a man seated, with many apes before him, and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off. As often as the man's attention was diverted from them, the other apes fell upon the plucked one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon the latter rose and beat them and bound them and punished them for this; and all the apes were wroth with the plucked ape therefor and beat him the more. When Aboul Muzeffer saw this, he took compassion upon the plucked ape and said to his master, Wilt thou sell me yonder ape? Buy, replied the man, and Aboul Muzeffer rejoined, I have with me five dirhems, belonging to an orphan lad. Wilt thou sell me the ape for that sum? He is thine, answered the ape-merchant. May God give thee a blessing of him! So the Sheikh paid the money and his slaves took the ape and tied him up in the ship.

Then they loosed sail and made for another island, where they cast anchor; and there came down divers, who dived for pearls and corals and other jewels. So the merchants hired them for money and they dived. When the ape saw this, he did himself loose from his bonds and leaping off the ship's side, dived with them; whereupon quoth Aboul Muzeffer, There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! The ape is lost to us, by the [ill] fortune of the poor fellow for whom we bought him. And they despaired of him; but, after awhile, the company of divers rose to the surface, and with them the ape, with his hands full of jewels of price, which he threw down before Aboul Muzeffer, who marvelled at this and said, There hangs some great mystery by this ape!

Then they cast off and sailed till they came to a third island, called the Island of the Zunonj,[FN#7] who are a people of the blacks, that eat human flesh. When the blacks saw them, they boarded them in canoes and taking all in the ship, pinioned them and carried them to their king who bade slaughter certain of the merchants. So they slaughtered them and ate their flesh; and the rest passed the night in prison and sore concern. But, when it was [mid]night, the ape arose and going up to Aboul Muzeffer, did off his bonds. When the others saw him free, they said, God grant that our deliverance may be at thy hands, O Aboul Muzeffer! But he replied, Know that he who at delivered me, by God's leave, was none other than this ape; and I buy my release of him at a thousand dinars. And we likewise, rejoined the merchants, will pay him a thousand diners each, if he release us. With this, the ape went up to them and loosed their bonds, one by one, till he had freed them all, when they made for the ship and boarding her, found all safe and nothing missing. So they cast off and set sail; and presently Aboul Muzeffer said to them, O merchants, fulfil your promise to the ape. We hear and obey, answered they and paid him a thousand diners each, whilst Aboul Muzeffer brought out to him the like sum of his own monies, so that there was a great sum of money collected for the ape.

Then they fared on till they reached the city of Bassora, where their friends came out to meet them; and when they had landed, the Sheikh said, Where is Abou Mohammed the Lazy? The news reached my mother, who came to me, as I lay asleep, and said to me, O my son, the Sheikh Aboul Muzeffer has come back and is now in the city; so go thou to him and salute him and enquire what he hath brought thee; it may be God hath blessed thee with somewhat. Lift me from the ground, quoth I, and prop me up, whilst I walk to the river-bank. So she lifted me up and I went out and walked on, stumbling in my skirts, till I met the Sheikh, who exclaimed, at sight of me, Welcome to him whose money has been the means of my delivery and that of these merchants, by the will of God the Most High! Take this ape that I bought for thee and carry him home and wait till I come to thee. So I took the ape, saying in myself, By Allah, this is indeed rare merchandise! and drove it home, where I said to my mother, Whenever I lie down to sleep, thou biddest me rise and trade; see now this merchandise with thine own eyes.

Then I sat down, and presently up came Aboul Muzeffer's slaves and said to me, Art thou Abou Mohammed the Lazy? Yes, answered I; and behold, Aboul Muzeffer appeared behind them. So I went up to him and kissed his hands; and he said to me, Come with me to my house. I hear and obey, answered I and followed him to his house, where he