us. Bid him fare forth from before our face." Quoth Ja'afar: "By the

claims of thy pious forefathers, let him take a third paper. It may be
it will bring him alimony," and quoth the Caliph, "Let him take one

and no more."
So he put out his hand and took a third paper, and behold, therein

was written, "Let the Fisherman be given one dinar." Ja'afar cried
to him, "I sought good fortune for thee, but Allah willed not to

thee aught save this dinar." And Khalifah answered: "Verily, a dinar
for every hundred sticks were rare good luck. May Allah not send thy

body health!" The Caliph laughed at him and Ja'afar took him by the
hand and led him out. When he reached the door, Sandal the eunuch

saw him and said to him: "Hither, O Fisherman! Give us portion of that
which the Commander of the Faithful hath bestowed on thee whilst

jesting with thee." Replied Khalifah: "By Allah, O Tulip, thou art
right! Wilt thou share with me, O nigger? Indeed, I have eaten stick

to the tune of a hundred blows and have earned one dinar, and thou art
but too welcome to it." So saying, he threw him the dinar and went

out, with the tears flowing down the plain of his cheeks.
When the eunuch saw him in this plight, he knew that he had spoken

sooth and called to the lads to fetch him back. So they brought him
back and Sandal, putting his hand to his pouch, pulled out a red

purse, whence he emptied a hundred golden dinars into the
fisherman's hand, saying, "Take this gold in payment of thy fish,

and wend thy ways." So Khalifah, in high good humor, took the
hundred ducats and the Caliph's one dinar and went his way, and forgot

the beating.
Now as Allah willed it for the furthering of that which He had

decreed, he passed by the mart of the handmaidens, and seeing there
a mighty ring where many folks were forgathering, said to himself,

"What is this crowd?" So he brake through the merchants and others,
who said, "Make wide the way for Skipper Rapscallion, and let him

pass." Then he looked, and behold, he saw a chest, with a eunuch
seated thereon and an old man standing by it,-and the Sheikh was

crying: "O merchants, O men of money, who will hasten and hazard his
coin for this chest of unknown contents from the palace of the Lady

Zubaydah bint al-Kasim, wife of the Commander of the Faithful? How
much shall I say for you? Allah bless you all!" Quoth one of the

merchants; "By Allah, this is a risk! But I will say one word, and
no blame to me. Be it mine for twenty dinars." Quoth another, "Fifty,"

and they went on bidding, one against other, till the price reached
a hundred ducats.

Then said the crier, "Will any of you bid more, O merchants?" And
Khalifah the fisherman said, "Be it mine for a hundred dinars and

one dinar." The merchants, hearing these words, thought he was jesting
and laughed at him, saying, "O Eunuch, sell it to Khalifah for a

hundred dinars and one dinar!" Quoth the eunuch: "By Allah, I will
sell it to none but him! Take it, O Fisherman. The Lord bless thee

in it, and here with thy gold." So Khalifah pulled out the ducats
and gave them to the eunuch, who, the bargain being duly made,

delivered to him the chest and bestowed the price in alms on the spot,
after which he returned to the palace and acquainted the Lady Zubaydah

with what he had done, whereat she rejoiced. Meanwhile the fisherman
hove the chest on shoulder, but could not carry it on this wise for

the excess of its weight, so he lifted it onto his head and thus
bore it to the quarter where he lived. Here he set it down, and

being weary, sat awhile bemusing what had befallen him and saying in
himself, "Would Heaven I knew what is in this chest!"

Then he opened the door of his lodging and haled the chest till he
got it into his closet, after which he strove to open it, but

failed. Quoth he: "What folly possessed me to buy this chest? There is
no help for it but to break it open and see what is herein." So he

applied himself to the lock, but could not open it, and said to
himself, "I will leave it till tomorrow." Then he would have stretched

him out to sleep, but could find no room, for the chest filled the
whole closet. So he got upon it and lay him down. But when he had lain

awhile, behold, he felt something stir under him, whereat sleep
forsook him and his reason fled. So he arose and cried: "Meseems there

be Jinns in the chest. Praise to Allah Who suffered me not to open it!
For had I done so, they had risen against me in the dark and slain me,

and from them would have befallen me naught of good."
Then he lay down again, when lo! the chest moved a second time, more

than before, whereupon he sprang to his feet and said: "There it
goes again. But this is terrible!" And he hastened to look for the

lamp, but could not find it and had not the wherewithal to buy
another. So he went forth and cried out, "Ho, people of the

quarter!" Now the most part of the folk were asleep, but they awoke at
his crying and asked, "What aileth thee, O Khalifah?" He answered,

"Bring me a lamp, for the Jinn are upon me." They laughed at him and
gave him a lamp, wherewith he returned to his closet. Then he smote

the lock of the chest with a stone and broke it, and opening it, saw a
damsel like a houri lying asleep within. Now she had been drugged with

bhang, but at that moment she threw up the stuff and awoke. Then she
opened her eyes, and feeling herself confined and cramped, moved.

At this sight quoth Khalifah, "By Allah, O my lady, whence art
thou?" and quoth she, "Bring me jessamine, and narcissus." And

Khalifah answered, "There is naught here but henna flowers."
Thereupon she came to herself, and considering Khalifah, said to

him, "What art thou?" presently adding, "And where am I?" He said,
"Thou art in my lodging." Asked she, "Am I not in the palace of the

Caliph Harun al-Rashid?" And quoth he: "What manner of thing is
Al-Rashid? O madwoman, Thou art naught but my slave girl. I bought

thee this very day for a hundred dinars and one dinar, and brought
thee home, and thou wast asleep in this here chest." When she heard

these words she said to him, "What is thy name?" Said he: "My name
is Khalifah. How comes my star to have grown propitious, when I know

my ascendant to have been otherwise?" She laughed and cried: "Spare me
this talk! Hast thou anything to eat?" Replied he: "No, by Allah,

nor yet to drink! I have not eaten these two days, and am now in
want of a morsel." She asked, "Hast thou no money?" and he said:

"Allah keep this chest which hath beggared me. I gave all I had for it
and am become bankrupt."

The damsel laughed at him and said: "Up with thee and seek of thy
neighbors somewhat for me to eat, for I am hungry." So he went forth

and cried out, "Ho, people of the quarter!" Now the folk were
asleep, but they awoke and asked, "What aileth thee, O Khalifah?"

Answered he, "O my neighbors, I am hungry and have nothing to eat." So
one came down to him with a bannock and another with broken meats

and a third with a bittock of cheese and a fourth with a cucumber, and
so on till his lap was full and he returned to his closet and laid the

whole between her hands, saying, "Eat." But she laughed at him,
saying: "How can I eat of this when I have not a mug of water

whereof to drink? I fear to choke with a mouthful and die." Quoth
he, "I will fill thee this pitcher." So he took the pitcher, and going

forth, stood 'm the midst of the street and cried out, saying, "Ho,
people of the quarter!" Quoth they, "What calamity is upon thee

tonight, O Khalifah!" And he said, "Ye gave me food and I ate, but now
I am athirst, so give me to drink."

Thereupon one came down to him with a mug and another with an ewer
and a third with a gugglet, and he filled his pitcher, and bearing

it back, said to the damsel, "O my lady, thou lackest nothing now."
Answered she, "True, I want nothing more at this present." Quoth he,

"Speak to me and say me thy story." And quoth she: "Fie upon thee!
An thou knowest me not, I will tell thee who I am. I am Kut al-Kulub,

the Caliph's handmaiden, and the Lady Zubaydah was jealous of me, so
she drugged me with bhang and set me in this chest," presently adding:

"Alhamdolillah- praised be God- for that the matter hath come to easy
issue and no worse! But this befell me not save for thy good luck, for

thou wilt certainly get of the Caliph Al-Rashid money galore, that
will be the means of thine enrichment." Quoth Khalifah, "Is not

Al-Rashid he in whose palace I was imprisoned?" "Yes," answered she,
and he said: "By Allah, never saw I more niggardly wight than he, that

piper little of good and wit! He gave me a hundred blows with a
stick yesterday and but one dinar, for all I taught him to fish and

made him my partner, but he played me false." Replied she: "Leave this
unseemly talk, and open thine eyes and look thou bear thyself

respectfully whenas thou seest him after this, and thou shalt win
thy wish."

When he heard her words, it was if he had been asleep and awoke, and
Allah removed the veil from his judgment, because of his good luck,

and he answered, "O my head and eyes!" Then said he to her, "Sleep, in
the name of Allah." So she lay down and fell asleep (and he afar

from her) till the morning, when she sought of him ink case and paper,
and when they were brought, wrote to Ibn al-Kirnas, the Caliph's

friend, acquainting him with her case and how at the end of all that
had befallen her she was with Khalifah the fisherman, who had bought

her. Then she gave him the scroll, saying-"Take this and hie thee to
the jewel market and ask for the shop of Ibn al-Kirnas the Jeweler and

give him this paper, and speak not." "I hear and I obey," answered
Khalifah, and going with the scroll to the market, inquired for the

shop of Ibn al-Kirnas. They directed him thither, and on entering it
he saluted the merchant, who returned his salaam with contempt and

said to him, "What dost thou want?" Thereupon he gave him the letter
and he took it, but read it not, thinking the fisherman a beggar who

sought an alms of him, and said to one of his lads, "Give him half a
dirham." Quoth Khalifah: "I want no alms. Read the paper."

So Ibn al-Kirnas took the letter and read it, and no sooner knew its
import than he kissed it and laid it on his head. Then he arose and

said to Khalifah, "O my brother, where is thy house?" Asked
Khalifah: "What wantest thou with my house? Wilt thou go thither and

steal my slave girl?" Then Ibn al-Kirnas answered: "Not so. On the
contrary, I will buy thee somewhat whereof you may eat, thou and she."

So he said, "My house is in such a quarter," and the merchant
rejoined: "Thou hast done well. May Allah not give thee health, O

unlucky one!" Then he called out to two of his slaves and said to
them: "Carry this man to the shop of Mohsin the shroff and say to him,

'O Mohsin, give this man a thousand dinars of gold,' then bring him
back to me in haste."

So they carried him to the money-changer, who paid him the money,
and returned with him to their master, whom they found mounted on a

dapple she-mule worth a thousand dinars, with Mamelukes and pages
about him, and by his side another mule like his own, saddled and

bridled. Quoth the jeweler to Khalifah, "Bismillah, mount this
mule." Replied he, "I won't, for by Allah, I fear she throw me," and

quoth Ibn al-Kirnas, "By God, needs must thou mount." So he came up,
and mounting her, face to crupper, caught hold of her tail and cried

out, whereupon she threw him on the ground and they laughed at him.
But he rose and said, "Did I not tell thee I would not mount this

great jenny-ass?" Thereupon Ibn al-Kirnas left him in the market,
and repairing to the Caliph, told him of the damsel, after which he

returned and removed her to his own house.
Meanwhile Khalifah went home to look after the handmaid and found

the people of the quarter forgathering and saying: "Verily, Khalifah
is today in a terrible pickle! Would we knew whence he can have gotten

this damsel!" Quoth one of them: "He is a mad pimp. Haply he found her
lying on the road drunken, and carried her to his own house, and his

absence showeth that he knoweth his offense." As they were talking,
behold, up came Khalifah, and they said to him: "What a plight is

thine, O unhappy! Knowest thou not what is come to thee?" He
replied, "No, by Allah!" and they said: "But just now there came

Mamelukes and took away thy slave girl whom thou stolest, and sought
for thee, but found thee not." Asked Khalifah, "And how came they to

take my slave girl?" and quoth one, "Had he fallen in their way,
they had slain him."

But he, so far from heeding them, returned running to the shop of
Ibn al-Kirnas, whom he met riding, and said to him: "By Allah, 'twas

not right of thee to wheedle me and meanwhile send thy Mamelukes to
take my slave girl!" Replied the jeweler, "O idiot, come with me,

and hold thy tongue." So he took him and carried him into a house
handsomely builded, where he found the damsel seated on a couch of

gold, with ten slave girls like moons round her. Sighting her, Ibn
al-Kirnas kissed ground before her, and she said, "What hast thou done

• fisherman [´fiʃəmən] n.渔民，渔夫，打鱼人 (初中英语单词)
• portion [´pɔ:ʃən] n.嫁妆；命运 vt.分配 (初中英语单词)
• commander [kə´mɑ:ndə] n.指挥员，司令员 (初中英语单词)
• faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)
• welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)
• payment [´peimənt] n.支付；报酬；报偿 (初中英语单词)
• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
• hasten [´heisən] vt.催促；促进 vi.赶紧 (初中英语单词)
• contents [´kɔ:ntents] n.容纳物；要旨 (初中英语单词)
• bargain [´bɑ:gin] n.买卖合同 v.议(价) (初中英语单词)
• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• excess [´ekses] n.超过 a.过分的 (初中英语单词)
• awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)
• closet [´klɔzit] n.橱；私室；盥洗室 (初中英语单词)
• sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
• damsel [´dæmzəl] n.姑娘，未婚少女 (初中英语单词)
• cheese [tʃi:z] n.干酪，乳酪 (初中英语单词)
• pitcher [´pitʃə] n.大水罐；投掷者 (初中英语单词)
• jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
• thither [´ðiðə] ad.到那里 a.那边的 (初中英语单词)
• thereupon [,ðeərə´pɔn] ad.因此；于是 (初中英语单词)
• beggar [´begə] n.乞丐 (初中英语单词)
• drunken [´drʌŋkən] a.喝醉的；常醉的 (初中英语单词)
• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• plight [plait] n.境况；困境；苦境 (高中英语单词)
• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
• hazard [´hæzəd] n.危险 vt.冒...险 (高中英语单词)
• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
• lodging [´lɔdʒiŋ] n.寄宿，住宿 (高中英语单词)
• strove [strəuv] strive的过去式 (高中英语单词)
• naught [nɔ:t] n.无；零 (高中英语单词)
• contempt [kən´tempt] n.轻蔑；受辱；不顾 (高中英语单词)
• whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)
• skipper [´skipə] n.&vi.(当)船长 (英语四级单词)
• whereat [weər´æt] ad.对于...；在这里 (英语四级单词)
• befallen [bi´fɔ:lən] befall的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)
• considering [kən´sidəriŋ] prep.就...而论 (英语四级单词)
• cucumber [´kju:kʌmbə] n.黄瓜 (英语四级单词)
• mouthful [´mauθful] n.一口；少量 (英语四级单词)
• calamity [kə´læmiti] n.灾害，大灾难 (英语四级单词)
• befell [bi´fel] befall的过去式 (英语四级单词)
• whereof [weər´ɔv] ad.关于什么；关于那事 (英语四级单词)
• sandal [´sændl] n.凉鞋；便鞋 (英语六级单词)
• eunuch [´ju:nək] n.太监 (英语六级单词)
• wherewith [wɛə´wiθ] ad.用什么；用以 (英语六级单词)
• scroll [skrəul] n.卷轴；纸卷 (英语六级单词)
• jeweler [´dʒu:ələ] n.珠宝商；宝石工人 (英语六级单词)