landing, entered the town and hired them a closet in a khan. Abu Sir
furnished it, and buying a cooking pot and a platter and spoons and

what else they needed, fetched meat and cooked it. But Abu Kir fell
asleep the moment he entered the caravanserai and awoke not till Abu

Sir aroused him and set the tray of food before him. When he awoke, he
ate, and saying to Abu Sir, "Blame me not, for I am giddy," fell

asleep again. Thus he did forty days, whilst every day the barber took
his gear, and making the round of the city, wrought for that which

fell to his lot, and returning, found the dyer asleep and aroused him.
The moment he awoke he fell ravenously upon the food, eating as one

who cannot have his fill nor be satisfied, after which he went
asleep again.

On this wise he passed other forty days, and whenever the barber
said to him, "Sit up and be comfortable and go forth and take an

airing in the city, for 'tis a gay place and a pleasant and hath not
its equal among the cities," he would reply, "Blame me not, for I am

giddy." Abu Sir cared not to hurt his feelings nor give him hard
words, but on the forty-first day, he himself fell sick and could

not go abroad, so he engaged the porter of the khan to serve them
both, and he did the needful for them and brought them meat and

drink whilst Abu Kir would do nothing but eat and sleep. The man
ceased not to wait upon them on this wise for four days, at the end of

which time the barbees malady redoubled on him, till he lost his
senses for stress of sickness; and Abu Kir, feeling the sharp pangs of

hunger, arose and sought in his comrade's clothes, where he found a
thousand silver bits. He took them and, shutting the door of the

closet upon Abu Sir, fared forth without telling any, and the
doorkeeper was then at market and thus saw him not go out.

Presently Abu Kir betook himself to the bazaar and clad himself in
costly clothes, at a price of five hundred half-dirhams. Then he

proceeded to walk about the streets and divert himself by viewing
the city, which he found to be one whose like was not among cities.

But he noted that all its citizens were clad in clothes of white and
blue, without other color. Presently he came to a dyer's, and seeing

naught but blue in his shop, pulled out to him a kerchief and said, "O
master, take this and dye it and win thy wage." Quoth the dyer, "The

cost of dyeing this will be twenty dirhams," and quoth Abu Kir, "In
our country we dye it for two." "Then go and dye it in your own

country! As for me, my price is twenty dirhams and I will not bate a
tittle thereof." "What color wilt thou dye it?" "I will dye it

blue." "But I want it dyed red." "I know not how to dye red." "Then
dye it green." "I know not how to dye it green." "Yellow." "Nor yet

yellow." Thereupon Abu Kir went on to name the different tints to him,
one after other, till the dyer said: "We are here in this city forty

master dyers, not one more nor one less, and when one of us dieth,
we teach his son the craft. If he leave no son, we abide lacking

one, and if he leave two sons, we teach one of them the craft, and
if he die, we teach his brother. This our craft is strictly ordered,

and we know how to dye but blue and no other tint whatsoever."
Then said Abu Kir: "Know that I too am a dyer, and wot how to dye

all colors, and I would have thee take me into thy service on hire,
and I will teach thee everything of my art, so thou mayst glory

therein over all the company of dyers." But the dyer answered, "We
never admit a stranger into our craft." Asked Abu Kir, "And what if

I open a dyery for myself?" whereto the other answered, "We will not
suffer thee to do that on any wise." Whereupon he left him, and

going to a second dyer, made him the like proposal, but he returned
him the same answer as the first. And he ceased not to go from one

to other till he had made the round of the whole forty masters, but
they would not accept him either to master or apprentice. Then he

repaired to the Sheikh of the dyers and told what had passed, and he
said, "We admit no strangers into our craft."

Hereupon Abu Kir became exceeding wroth, and going up to the King of
that city, made complaint to him, saying, "O King of the Age, I am a

stranger and a dyer by trade," and he told him whatso had passed
between himself and the dyers of the town, adding: "I can dye

various kinds of red, such as rose-color and jujubel-color and various
kinds of green, such as grass-green and pistachio-green and olive

and parrot's wing, and various kinds of black, such as coal-black
and kohl-black, and various shades of yellow, such as orange and

lemon-color," and went on to name to him the rest of the colors.
Then said he, "O King of the Age, all the dyers in thy city cannot

turn out of hand any one of these tints, for they know not how to
dye aught but blue. Yet they will not admit me amongst them, either to

master or apprentice." Answered the King: "Thou sayst sooth for that
matter, but I will open to thee a dyery and give thee capital, and

have thou no care anent them; for whoso offereth to do thee let or
hindrance, I will hang him over his shop door."

Then he sent for builders and said to them, "Go round about the city
with this master dyer, and whatsoever place pleaseth him, be it shop

or khan or what not, turn out its occupier and build him a dyery after
his wish. Whatsoever he biddeth you, that do ye, and oppose him not in

aught." And he clad him in a handsome suit and gave him two white
slaves to serve him, and a horse with housings of brocade and a

thousand dinars, saying, "Expend this upon thyself against the
building be completed." Accordingly Abu Kir donned the dress, and

mounting the horse, became as he were an emir. Moreover the King
assigned him a house, and bade furnish it, so they furnished it for

him and he took up his abode therein. On the morrow he mounted and
rode through the city, whilst the architects went before him, and he

looked about him till he saw a place which pleased him and said, "This
stead is seemly," whereupon they turned out the owner and carried

him to the King, who gave him as the price of his holding, what
contented him and more.

Then the builders fell to work, whilst Abu Kir said to them,
"Build thus and thus and do this and that," till they built him a

dyery that had not its like. Whereupon he presented himself before the
King and informed him that they had done building the dyery and that

there needed but the price of the dyestuffs and gear to set it
going. Quoth the King, "Take these four thousand dinars to thy capital

and let me see the first fruits of thy dyery." So he took the money
and went to the market where, finding dyestuffs plentiful and

well-nigh worthless, he bought all he needed of materials for
dyeing; and the King sent him five hundred pieces of stuff, which he

set himself to dye of all colors, and then he spread them before the
door of his dyery.

When the folk passed by the shop, they saw a wonder sight whose like
they had never in their lives seen, so they crowded about the

entrance, enjoying the spectacle and questioning the dyer and
saying, "O master, what are the names of these colors?" Quoth he,

"This is red and that yellow and the other green," and so on, naming
the rest of the colors. And they fell to bringing him longcloth and

saying to him, "Dye it for us like this and that, and take what hire
thou seekest." When he had made an end of dyeing the King's stuffs, he

took them and went up with them to the Divan, and when the King saw
them he rejoiced in them and bestowed abundantbounty on the dyer.

Furthermore, all the troops brought him stuffs, saying, "Dye for us
thus and thus," and he dyed for them to their liking, and they threw

him gold and silver. After this his fame spread abroad, and his shop
was called the Sultan's Dyery. Good came in to him at every door and

none of the other dyers could say a word to him, but they used to come
to him kissing his hands and excusing themselves to him for past

affronts they had offered him and saying, "Take us to thine
apprentices." But he would none of them, for he had become the owner