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Story Of The Larrikin And The Cook
ONE of the ne'er do-wells found himself one fine morning without aught,
and the world was straitened upon him and patience failed him. So he lay
down to sleep, and ceased not slumbering till the sun stang him and the
foam came out upon his mouth, whereupon he arose, and he was penniless and
had not even so much as a single dirham. Presently he arrived at the shop
of a cook, who had set his pots and pans over the fire and washed his
saucers and wiped his scales and swept his shop and sprinkled it. And
indeed his fats and oils were clear and clarified and his spices fragrant,
and he himself stood behind his cooking pots ready to serve customers. So
the larrikin, whose wits had been sharpened by hunger, went in to him and
saluting him, said to him, "Weigh me half a dirham's worth of meat
and a quarter of a dirham's worth of boiled grain, and the like of
bread." So the kitchener weighed it out to him and the
good-for-naught entered the shop, whereupon the man set the food before
him and he ate till he had gobbled up the whole and licked the saucers and
sat perplexed, knowing not how he should do with the cook concerning the
price of that he had eaten, and turning his eyes about upon everything in
the shop.
And as he looked, behold, he caught sight of an earthen pan lying
arsy-versy upon its mouth, so he raised it from the ground and found under
it a horse's tail, freshly cut off and the blood oozing from it, whereby
he knew that the cook adulterated his meat with horseflesh. When he
discovered this default, he rejoiced therein, and washing his hands, bowed
his head and went out. And when the kitchener saw that he went and gave
him naught, he cried out, saying, "Stay, O pest, O burglar!" So
the larrikin stopped and said to him, "Dost thou cry out upon me and
call to me with these words, O comute?" Whereat the cook was angry,
and coming down from the shop, cried: "What meanest thou by thy
speech, O low fellow, thou that devourest meat and millet and bread and
kitchen and goest forth with 'the peace be on thee!' as it were the thing
had not been and down naught for it?" Quoth the lackpenny, "Thou
liest, O accursed son of a cuckold!" Whereupon the cook cried out,
and laying hold of his debtor's collar, said, "O Moslems, this fellow
is my first customer this day, and he hath eaten my food and given me
naught."
So the folk gathered about them and blamed the ne'er-do-well and said to
him, "Give him the price of that which thou hast eaten." Quoth
he, "I gave him a dirham before I entered the shop," and quoth
the cook: "Be everything I sell this day forbidden to me, if he gave
me so much as the name of a coin! By Allah, he gave me naught, but ate my
food and went out and would have made off, without aught said."
Answered the larrikin, "I gave thee a dirham," and he reviled
the kitchener, who returned his abuse, whereupon he dealt him a buffet and
they gripped and grappled and throttled each other. When the folk saw them
fighting, they came up to them and asked them, "What is this strife
between you, and no cause for it?" and the lackpenny answered,
"Ay, by Allah, but there is a cause for it, and the cause hath a
tail!" Whereupon cried the cook: "Yea, by Allah, now thou
mindest me of thyself and thy dirham! Yes, he gave me a dirham, and but a
quarter of the coin is spent. Come back and take the rest of the price of
thy dirham." For he understood what was to do, at the mention of the
tail.
"And I, O my brother," added Abu al-Hasan, "my story hath a
cause, which I will tell thee." The Caliph laughed at his speech and
said: "By Allah, this is none other than a pleasant tale! Tell me thy
story and the cause."
Replied the host: "With love and goodly gree! Know, O my lord, that
my name is Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a and that my father died and left me
abundant wealth, of which I made two parts. One I laid up, and with the
other I betook myself to enjoying the pleasures of friendship and
conviviality and consorting with intimates and boon companions and the
sons of the merchants, nor did I leave one but I caroused with him and he
with me. And I lavished all my money on comrades and good cheer, till
there remained with me naught. Whereupon I betook myself to the friends
and fellow topers upon whom I wasted my wealth, so perhaps they might
provide for my case, but when I visited them and went round about to them
all, I found no vantage in one of them, nor would any so much as break a
bittock of bread in my face. So I wept for myself, and repairing to my
mother, complained to her of my case. Quoth she: 'Such are friends. An
thou have aught, they frequent thee and devour thee, but an thou have
naught, they cast thee off and chase thee away.' Then I brought out the
other half of my money and bound myself by an oath that I would never more
entertain any save one single night, after which I would never again
salute him nor notice him. Hence my saying to thee: 'Far be it, alas! that
what is past should again come to pass, for I will never again company
with thee after this night."'
When the Commander of the Faithful heard this, he laughed a loud laugh and
said: "By Allah, O my brother, thou art indeed excused in this
matter, now that I know the cause and that the cause hath a tail.
Nevertheless, Inshallah, I will not sever myself from thee." Replied
Abu al-Hasan: "O my guest, did I not say to thee, 'Far be it, alas!
that what is past should again come to pass?' For indeed I will never
again forgather with any!" Then the Caliph rose and the host set
before him a dish of roast goose and a bannock of first bread, and sitting
down, fell to cutting off morsels and morseling the Caliph therewith. They
gave not over eating till they were filled, when Abu al-Hasan brought
basin and ewer and potash and they washed their hands. Then he lighted
three wax candles and three lamps, and spreading the drinking cloth,
brought strained wine, clear, old, and fragrant, whose scent was as that
of virgin musk. He filled the first cup and saying, "O my boon
companion, be ceremony laid aside between us by thy leave! Thy slave is by
thee, may I not be afflicted with thy loss!" drank if off and filled
a second cup, which he handed to the Caliph with due reverence.
His fashion pleased the Commander of the Faithful, and the goodliness of
his speech, and he said to himself, "By Allah, I will assuredly
requite him for this!" Then Abu al-Hasan filled the cup again and
handed it to the Cahph, reciting these two couplets:
"Had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice
Have poured thee out heart's blood or blackness of the eyes.
Ay, and we would have spread our bosoms in thy way,
That so thy feet might fare on eyelids, carpet-wise."
When the Caliph heard his verses, he took the cup from his hand and
kissed it and drank it off and returned it to Abu al-Hasan, who made him
an obeisance and filled and drank. Then he filled again, and kissing the
cup thrice, recited these lines:
"Your presence honoreth the base,
And we confess the deed of grace.
An you absent yourself from us,
No freke we find to fill your place."
Then he gave the cup to the Caliph, saying: "Drink it in health
and soundness! It doeth away malady and bringeth remedy and setteth the
runnels of health to flow free." So they ceased not carousing and
conversing till middle night, when the Caliph said to his host, "O my
brother, hast thou in thy heart a concupiscence thou wouldst have
accomplished, or a contingency thou wouldst avert?" Said he: "By
Allah, there is no regret in my heart save that I am not empowered with
bidding and forbidding, so I might manage what is in my mind!" Quoth
the Commander of the Faithful, "By Allah, and again by Allah, O my
brother, tell me what is in thy mind!" And quoth Abu al-Hasan:
"Would Heaven I might be Caliph for one day and avenge myself on my
neighbors, for that in my vicinity is a mosque, and therein four sheikhs,
who hold it a grievance when there cometh a guest to me, and they trouble
me with talk and worry me in words and menace me that they will complain
of me to the Prince of True Believers, and indeed they oppress me
exceedingly. And I crave of Allah the Most High power for one day, that I
may beat each and every of them with four hundred lashes, as well as the
imam of the mosque, and parade them round about the city of Baghdad and
bid cry before them: 'This is the reward and the least of the reward of
whoso exceedeth in talk and vexeth the folk and turneth their joy to
annoy.' This is what I wish, and no more."
Said the Caliph: "Allah grant thee that thou seekest! Let us crack
one last cup and rise ere the dawn draw near, and, tomorrow night I will
be with thee again." Said Abu al-Hasan, "Far be it!" Then
the Caliph crowned a cup, and putting therein a piece of Cretan bhang,
gave it to his host and said to him, "My life on thee, O my brother,
drink this cup from my hand!" and Abu al-Hasan answered, "Ay, by
thy life, I will drink it from thy hand." So he took it and drank it
off, but hardly had it settled in his stomach when his head forewent his
heels and he fell to the ground like one slain. Whereupon the Caliph went
out and said to his slave Masrur: "Go in to yonder young man, the
housemaster, and take him up and bring him to me at the palace. And when
thou goest out, shut the door." So saying, he went away, whilst
Masrur entered, and taking up Abu al-Hasan, shut the door behind him, and
made after his master till he reached with him the palace what while the
night drew to an end and the cocks began crowing, and set him down before
the Commander of the Faithful, who laughed at him.
Then he sent for Ja'afar the Barmecide and when he came before him, said
to him, "Note thou yonder young man," pointing to Abu al-Hasan,
"and when thou shalt see him tomorrow seated in my place of estate
and on the throne of my caliphate and clad in my royal clothing, stand
thou in attendance upon him, and enjoin the emirs and grandees and the
folk of my household and the officers of my realm to be upon their feet,
as in his service, and obey him in whatso he shall bid them do. And thou,
if he speak to thee of aught, do it, and hearken unto his say and gainsay
him not in anything during this coming day." Ja'afar acknowledged the
order with "Hearkening and obedience" and withdrew, whilst the
Prince of True Believers went in to the palace women, who came up to him,
and he said to them: "When this sleeper shall awake tomorrow, kiss ye
the ground between his hands, and do ye wait upon him and gather round
about him and clothe him in the royal clothing and serve him with the
service of the caliphate, and deny not aught of his estate, but say to
him, 'Thou art the Caliph."' Then he taught them what they should say
to him and how they should do with him, and withdrawing to a retired room,
let down a curtain before himself and slept.
Thus fared it with the Caliph, but as regards Abu al-Hasan, he gave not
over snoring in his sleep till the day brake clear and the rising of the
sun drew near, when a woman in waiting came up to him and said to him,
"O our lord, the morning prayer!" Hearing these words, he
laughed, and opening his eyes, turned them about the palace and found
himself in an apartment whose walls were Painted with gold and lapis
lazuli and its ceiling dotted and starred with red gold. Around it were
sleeping chambers with curtains of gold-embroidered silk let down over
their doors, and all about vessels of gold and porcelain and crystal and
furniture and carpets dispread and lamps burning before the niche wherein
men prayed, and slave girls and eunuchs and Mamelukes and black slaves and
boys and pages and attendants.
When he saw this, he was bewildered in his wit and said: "By Allah
either I am dreaming a dream, or this is Paradise and the Abode of
Peace!" And he shut his eyes and would have slept again. Quoth one of
the eunuchs, "O my lord, this is not of thy wont, O Commander of the
Faithful!" Then the rest of the handmaids of the palace came up to
him and lifted him into a sitting posture, when he found himself upon a
mattress raised a cubit's height from the ground and all stuffed with
floss silk. So they seated him upon it and propped his elbow with a
pillow, and he looked at the apartment and its vastness and saw those
eunuchs and slave girls in attendance upon him and standing about his
head, whereupon he laughed at himself and said, "By Allah, 'tis not
as I were on wake, yet I am not asleep!" And in his perplexity he
bowed his chin upon his bosom, and then opened his eyes, little by little,
smiling, and saying, "What is this state wherein I find myself?"
Then he arose and sat up, whilst the damsels laughed at him privily, and
he was bewildered in his wit, and bit his finger, and as the bite pained
him, he cried "Oh!" and was vexed. And the Caliph watched him
whence he saw him not, and laughed.
Presently Abu al-Hasan turned to a damsel and called to her, whereupon she
answered, "At thy service, O Prince of True Believers!" Quoth
he, "What is thy name?" and quoth she, "Shajarat al-Durr."
Then he said to her, "By the protection of Allah, O damsel, am I
Commander of the Faithful?" She replied, "Yes, indeed, by the
protection of Allah thou in this time art Commander of the Faithful."
Quoth he, "By Allah, thou liest, O thousandfold whore!" Then he
glanced at the chief eunuch and called to him, whereupon he came to him
and kissing the ground before him, said, "Yes, O Commander of the
Faithful." Asked Abu al-Hasan, "Who is Commander of the
Faithful?" and the eunuch answered "Thou." And Abu al-Hasan
said, "Thou Hest, thousandfold he-whore that thou art!" Then he
turned to another eunuch and said to him, "O my chief, by the
protection of Allah, am I Prince of the True Believers?" Said he:
"Ay, by Allah, O my lord, thou art in this time Commander of the
Faithful and Viceregent of the Lord of the Three Worlds."
Abu al-Hasan laughed at himself and doubted of his reason and was
bewildered at what he beheld, and said: "In one night do I become
Caliph? Yesterday I was Abu al-Hasan the Wag, and today I am Commander of
the Faithful." Then the Chief Eunuch came up to him and said: "O
Prince of True Believers (the name of Allah encompass thee!), thou art
indeed Commander of the Faithful and Viceregent of the Lord of the Three
Worlds!" And the slave girls and eunuchs flocked round about him,
till he arose and abode wondering at his case. Hereupon the eunuch brought
him a pair of sandals wrought with raw silk and green silk and purfled
with red gold, and he took them and after examining them, set them in his
sleeve. Whereat the castrato cried out and said: "Allah! Allah! O my
lord, these are sandals for the treading of thy feet, so thou mayst wend
to the wardrobe." Abu al-Hasan was confounded, and shaking the
sandals from his sleeve, put them on his feet, whilst the Caliph died of
laughter at him. The slave forewent him to the chapel of ease, where he
entered, and doing his job, came out into the chamber, whereupon the slave
girls brought him a basin of gold and a ewer of silver and poured water on
his hands, and he made the wuzu ablution. Then they spread him a prayer
carpet and he prayed.
Now he knew not how to pray, and gave not over bowing and prostrating for
twenty inclinations, pondering in himself the while and saying: "By
Allah, I am none other than the Commander of the Faithful in very truth!
This is assuredly no dream, for all these things happen not in a
dream." And he was convinced and determined in himself that he was
Prince of True Believers, so he pronounced the salaam and finished his
prayers, whereupon the Mamelukes and slave girls came round about him with
bundled suits of silken and linen stuffs and clad him in the costume of
the caliphate and gave the royal dagger in his hand.
Then the chief eunuch came in and said, "O Prince of True Believers,
the Chamberlain is at the door craving permission to enter." Said he,
"Let him enter!" whereupon he came in, and after kissing ground,
offered the salutation, "Peace be upon thee, O Commander of the
Faithful!" At this Abu al-Hasan rose and descended from the couch to
the floor, whereupon the official exclaimed: "Allah! Allah! O Prince
of True Believers, wottest thou not that all men are thy lieges and under
thy rule and that it is not meet for the Caliph to rise to any man?"
Presently the eunuch went out before him, and the little white slaves
behind him, and they ceased not going till they raised the curtain and
brought him into the hall of judgment and the throne room of the
caliphate. There he saw all curtains and the forty doors and Al-'Ijli and
Al-Rakashi the poet, and 'Ibdan and Jadim and Abu Ishak the cup companion,
and beheld swords drawn and the lions compassing the throne as the white
of the eye encircleth the black, and gilded glaives and death-dealing bows
and Ajams and Arabs and Turks and Daylamites and folk and peoples and
emirs and wazirs and captains and grandees and lords of the land and men
of war in band, and in very sooth there appeared the might of the House of
Abbas and the majesty of the Prophet's family.
So he sat down upon the throne of the caliphate and set the dagger on his
lap, whereupon all present came up to kiss ground between his hands and
called down on him length of life and continuance of weal. Then came
forward Ja'afar the Barmecide and, kissing the ground, said: "Be the
wide world of Allah the treading of thy feet, and may Paradise be thy
dwelling place and the fire the home of thy foes! Never may neighbor defy
thee, nor the lights of fire die out for thee, O Caliph of all cities and
ruler of all countries!" Therewithal Abu al-Hasan cried out at him
and said, "O dog of the sons of Barmak, go down forthright, thou and
the chief of the city police, to such a place in such a street, and
deliver a hundred dinars of gold to the mother of Abu al-Hasan the Wag,
and bear her my salutation. Then go to such a mosque and take the four
Sheikhs and the imam and scourge each of them with a thousand lashes and
mount them on beasts, face to tail, and parade them round about all the
city and banish them to a place other than this city. And bid the crier
make cry before them, saying: 'This is the reward and the least of the
reward of whoso multiplieth words and molesteth his neighbors and damageth
their delights and stinteth their eating and drinking!'"
Ja'afar received the command and answered "With obedience,"
after which he went down from before Abu al-Hasan to the city and did all
he had ordered him to do. Meanwhile, Abu al-Hasan abode in the caliphate,
taking and giving, bidding and forbidding and carrying out his command
till the end of the day, when he gave leave and permission to withdraw,
and the emirs and officers of state departed to their several occupations
and he looked toward the Chamberlain and the rest of the attendants and
said, "Begone!" Then the eunuchs came to him, and calling down
on him length of life and continuance of weal, walked in attendance upon
him and raised the curtain, and he entered the pavilion of the harem,
where he found candles lighted and lamps burning and singing women smiting
on instruments, and ten slave girls, high-bosomed maids. When he saw this,
he was confounded in his wit and said to himself, "By Allah, I am in
truth Commander of the Faithful!" presently adding: "Or haply
these are of the Jann, and he who was my guest yesternight was one of
their kings who saw no way to requite my favors save by commanding his
Ifrits to address me as Prince of True Believers. But an these be of the
Jann, may Allah deliver me in safety from their mischief!"
As soon as he appeared, the slave girls rose to him, and carrying him up
on to the dais, brought him a great tray bespread with the richest viands.
So he ate thereof with all his might and main, till he had gotten his
fill, when he called one of the handmaids and said to her, "What is
thy name?" Replied she, "My name is Miskah," and he said to
another, "What is thy name?" Quoth she, "My name is Tarkah."
Then he asked a third, "What is thy name?" who answered,
"My name is Tohfah." And he went on to question the damsels of
their names, one after other, till he had learned the ten, when he rose
from that place and removed to the wine chamber. He found it every way
complete, and saw therein ten great trays, covered with all fruits and
cates and every sort of sweetmeats. So he sat down and ate thereof after
the measure of his competency, and finding there three troops of singing
girls, was amazed, and made the girls eat.
Then he sat and the singers also seated themselves, whilst the black
slaves and the white slaves and the eunuchs and pages and boys stood, and
of the slave girls some sat and others stood. The damsels sang and warbled
all varieties of melodies and the place rang with the sweetness of the
songs, whilst the pipes cried out and the lutes with them wailed, till it
seemed to Abu al-Hasan that he was in Paradise, and his heart was
heartened and his breast broadened. So he sported, and joyaunce grew on
him and he bestowed robes of honor on the damsels and gave and bestowed,
challenging this girl and kissing that and toying with a third, plying one
with wine and morseling another with meat, till nightfall.
All this while the Commander of the Faithful was diverting himself with
watching him and laughing, and when night fell he bade one of the slave
girls drop a piece of bhang in the cup and give it to Abu al-Hasan to
drink. So she did his bidding and gave him the cup, which no sooner had he
drunk than his head forewent his feet. Therewith the Caliph came forth
from behind the curtain laughing, and calling to the attendant who had
brought Abu al-Hasan to the palace, said to him, "Carry this man to
his own place." So Masrur took him up, and carrying him to his own
house, set him down in the saloon. Then he went forth from him, and
shutting the saloon door upon him, returned to the Caliph, who slept till
the morrow.
As for Abu al-Hasan, he gave not over slumbering till Almighty Allah
brought on the morning, when he recovered from the drug and awoke, crying
out and saying: "Ho, Tuffahah! Ho, Rahat al-Kulub! Ho, Miskah! Ho,
Tohfah!" And he ceased not calling upon the palace handmaids till his
mother heard him summoning strange damsels, and rising, came to him and
said: "Allah's name encompass thee! Up with thee, O my son, O Abu al-Hasan!
Thou dreamest." So he opened his eyes, and finding an old woman at
his head, raised his eyes and said to her, "Who art thou?" Quoth
she, "I am thy mother," and quoth he: "Thou liest! I am the
Commander of the Faithful the Viceregent of Allah." Whereupon his
mother shrieked aloud and said to him: "Heaven preserve thy reason!
Be silent, O my son, and cause not the loss of our lives and the wasting
of thy wealth, which will assuredly befall us if any hear this talk and
carry it to the Caliph."
So he rose from his sleep, and finding himself in his own saloon and his
mother by him, had doubts of his wit, and said to her: "By Allah, O
my mother, I saw myself in a dream in a palace, with slave girls and
Mamelukes about me and in attendance upon me, and I sat upon the throne of
the Caliphate and ruled. By Allah, O my mother, this is what I saw, and in
very sooth it was no dream!" Then he bethought himself awhile and
said: "Assuredly, I am Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a, and this that I saw
was only a dream when I was made Caliph and bade and forbade." Then
he bethought himself again and said: "Nay, but 'twas not a dream, and
I am none other than the Caliph, and indeed I gave gifts and bestowed
honor robes." Quoth his mother to him: "O my son, thou sportest
with thy reason. Thou wilt go to the madhouse and become a gazingstock.
Indeed, that which thou hast seen is only from the Foul Fiend, and it was
an imbroglio of dreams, for at times Satan sporteth with men's wits in all
manner of ways."
Then said she to him, "O my son, was there anyone with thee
yesternight?" And he reflected and said: "Yes, one lay the night
with me and I acquainted him with my case and told him my tale. Doubtless,
he was of the devils, and I, O my mother, even as thou sayst truly, am Abu
al-Hasan al-Khali'a." She rejoined: "O my son, rejoice in
tidings of all good, for yesterday's record is that there came the Wazir
Ja'afar the Barmecide and his many, and beat the Sheikhs of the mosque and
the imam, each a thousand lashes, after which they paraded them round
about the city, making proclamation before them and saying, 'This is the
reward and the least of the reward of whoso faileth in goodwill to his
neighbors and troubleth on them their lives!' And he banished them from
Baghdad. Moreover, the Caliph sent me a hundred dinars and sent to salute
me."
Whereupon Abu al-Hasan cried out and said to her: "O ill-omened
crone, wilt thou contradict me and tell me that I am not the Prince of
True Believers? 'Twas I who commanded Ja'afar the Barmecide to beat the
Sheikhs and parade them about the city and make proclamation before them,
and 'twas I, very I, who sent thee the hundred dinars and sent to salute
thee, and I, O beldam of ill luck, am in very deed the Commander of the
Faithful, and thou art a liar, who would make me out an idiot." So
saying, he rose up and fell upon her and beat her with a staff of almond
wood, till she cried out "Help, O Moslems!" And he increased the
beating upon her till the folk heard her cries, and coming to her, found
Abu al-Hasan bashing his mother and saying to her: "Old woman of ill
omen, am I not the Commander of the Faithful? Thou hast ensorceled
me!" When the folk heard his words, they said, "This man raveth,"
and doubted not of his madness.
So they came in upon him, and seizing him, pinioned his elbows, and bore
him to the bedlam. Quoth the superintendant, "What aileth this
youth?" and quoth they, "This is a madman, afflicted of the
Jinn." "By Allah," cried Abu al-Hasan, "they lie
against me! I am no madman, but the Commander of the Faithful." And
the superintendent answered him, saying, "None lieth but thou, O
foulest of the Jinn-maddened!" Then he stripped him of his clothes,
and clapping on his neck a heavy chain, bound him to a high lattice and
fell to beating him two bouts a day and two a-nights, and he ceased not
abiding on this wise the space of ten days. Then his mother came to him
and said: "O my son, O Abu al-Hasan, return to thy right reason, for
this is the Devil's doing." Quoth he: "Thou sayest sooth, O my
mother, and bear thou witness of me that I repeat me of that talk and turn
me from my madness. So do thou deliver me, for I am nigh upon death."
Accordingly his mother went out to the superintendent and procured his
release, and he returned to his own house.
Now this was at the beginning of the month, and when it ended, Abu al-Hasan
longed to drink liquor and, returning to his former habit, furnished his
saloon and made ready food and bade bring wine. Then, going forth to the
bridge, he sat there, expecting one whom he should converse and carouse
with, according to his custom. As he sat thus, behold, up came the Caliph
and Masrur to him, but Abu al-Hasan saluted them not and said to Al-Rashid,
"No friendly welcome to thee, O King of the Jann!" Quoth Al-Rashid,
"What have I done to thee?" and quoth Abu al-Hasan, "What
more couldst thou do than what thou hast done to me, O foulest of the Jann?
I have been beaten and thrown into bedlam, where all said I was Jinn-mad,
and this was caused by none save thyself. I brought thee to my house and
fed thee with my best, after which thou dist empower thy Satans and Marids
to disport themselves with my wits from morning to evening. So avaunt and
aroynt thee and wend thy ways!"
The Caliph smiled and, seating himself by his side, said to him, "O
my brother, did I not tell thee that I would return to thee?" Quoth
Abu al-Hasan, "I have no need of thee, and as the byword sayeth in
verse:
"Fro' my friend, 'twere meeter and wiser to part,
For what eye sees not born shall ne'er sorrow heart."
And indeed, O my brother, the night thou camest to me and we conversed
and caroused together, I and thou, 'twas as if the Devil came to me and
troubled me that night." Asked the Caliph, "And who is he, the
Devil?" and answered Abu al-Hasan, "He is none other than
thou." Whereat the Caliph laughed and coaxed him and spake him fair,
saying: "O my brother, when I went out from thee, I forgot the door
and left it open, and perhaps Satan came in to thee." Quoth Abu al-Hasan:
"Ask me not of that which hath betided me. What possessed thee to
leave the door open, so that the Devil came in to me and there befell me
with him this and that?" And he related to him all that had betided
him, first and last (and in repetition is no fruition), what while the
Caliph laughed and hid his laughter.
Then said he to Abu al-Hasan: "Praised be Allah who hath done away
from thee whatso irked thee, and that I see thee once more in weal!"
And Abu al-Hasan said: "Never again will I take thee to cup companion
or sitting comrade, for the proverb saith, 'Whoso stumbleth on a stone and
thereto returneth, upon him be blame and reproach.' And thou, O my
brother, nevermore will I entertain thee nor company with thee, for that I
have not found thy heel propitious to me." But the Caliph coaxed him
and said, "I have been the means of thy winning to thy wish anent the
imam and the Sheikhs." Abu al-Hasan replied, "Thou hast,"
and Al-Rashid continued, "And haply somewhat may betide which shall
gladden thy heart yet more." Abu al-Hasan asked, "What dost thou
require of me?" and the Commander of the Faithful answered:
"Verily, I am thy guest. Reject not the guest." Quoth Abu al-Hasan:
"On condition that thou swear to me by the characts on the seal of
Solomon, David's son (on the twain be the peace!) that thou wilt not
suffer thine Ifrits to make fun of me." He replied, "To hear is
to obey!"
Whereupon the wag took him and brought him into the saloon and set food
before him and entreated him with friendly speech. Then he told him all
that had befallen him, whilst the Caliph was like to die of stifled
laughter. After which Abu al-Hasan removed the tray of food, and bringing
the wine service, filled a cup and cracked it three times, then gave it to
the Caliph, saying: "O boon companion mine, I am thy slave, and let
not that which I am about to say offend thee, and be thou not vexed,
neither do thou vex me." And he recited these verses:
"Hear one that wills thee well! Lips none shall bless
Save those who drink for drunk and all transgress.
Ne'er will I cease to swill while night falls dark
Till lout my forehead low upon my tass.
In wine like liquid sun is my delight
Which clears all care and gladdens allegresse."
When the Caliph heard these his verses and saw how apt he was at
couplets, he was delighted with exceeding delight, and taking the cup,
drank it off, and the twain ceased not to converse and carouse till the
wine rose to their heads. Then quoth Abu al-Hasan to the Caliph: "O
boon companion mine, of a truth I am perplexed concerning my affair, for
meseemed I was Commander of the Faithful and ruled and gave gifts and
largess, and in very deed, O my brother, it was not a dream." Quoth
the Caliph, "These were the imbroglios of sleep," and crumbling
a bit of bhang into the cup, said to him, "By my life, do thou drink
this cup," and said Abu al-Hasan, "Surely I will drink it from
thy hand." Then he took the cup and drank it off, and no sooner had
it settled in his stomach than his head fell to the ground before his
feet. Now his manners and fashions pleased the Caliph, and the excellence
of his composition and his frankness, and he said in himself, "I will
assuredly make him my cup companion and sitting comrade." So he rose
forthright, and saying to Masrur, "Take him up," returned to the
palace.
Accordingly, the eunuch took up Abu al-Hasan, and carrying him to the
palace of the caliphate, set him down before Al-Rashid, who bade the
slaves and slave girls compass him about, whilst he himself hid in a place
where Abu al-Hasan could not see him. Then he commanded one of the
handmaidens to take the lute and strike it over the wag's head, whilst the
rest smote upon their instruments. So they played and sang, till Abu al-Hasan
awoke at the last of the night and heard the symphony of lutes and
tambourines and the sound of the flutes and the singing of the slave
girls, whereupon he opened eyes, and finding himself in the palace, with
the handmaids and eunuchs about him, exclaimed: "There is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Come to my
help this night, which meseems more unlucky than the former! Verily, I am
fearful of the madhouse and of that which I suffered therein the first
time, and I doubt not but the Devil is come to me again, as before. O
Allah, my Lord, put thou Satan to shame!" Then he shut his eyes and
laid his head in his sleeve, and fell to laughing softly and raising his
head betimes, but still found the apartment lighted and the girls singing.
Presently one of the eunuchs sat down at his head and said to him,
"Sit up, O Prince of True Believers, and look on thy palace and thy
slave girls." Said Abu al-Hasan: "Under the veil of Allah, am I
in truth Commander of the Faithful, and dost thou not lie? Yesterday I
rode not forth, neither ruled, but drank and slept, and this eunuch cometh
to make me rise." Then he sat up and recalled to thought that which
had betided him with his mother and how he had beaten her and entered the
bedlam, and he saw the marks of the beating wherewith the superintendant
had beaten him, and was perplexed concerning his affair and pondered in
himself, saying, "By Allah, I know not how my case is nor what is
this that betideth me!" Then, gazing at the scene around him, he said
privily, "All these are of the Jann in human shape, and I commit my
case to Allah."
Presently he turned to one of the damsels and said to her, "Who am
I?" Quoth she, "Thou art the Commander of the Faithful,"
and quoth he: "Thou liest, O calamity! If I be indeed the Commander
of the Faithful, bite my finger." So she came to him and bit it with
all her might, and he said to her, "It doth suffice." Then he
asked the chief eunuch, "Who am I?" and he answered, "Thou
art the Commander of the Faithful." So he left him and returned to
his wonderment. Then, turning to a little white slave, said to him,
"Bite my ear," and he bent his head low down to him and put his
ear to his mouth. Now the Mameluke was young and lacked sense, so he
closed his teeth upon Abu al-Hasan's ear with all his might, till he came
near to sever it. And he knew not Arabic, so as often as the wag said to
him, "It doth suffice," he concluded that he said, "Bite
like a vice," and redoubled his bite and made his teeth meet in the
ear, whilst the damsels were diverted from him with hearkening to the
singing girls, and Abu al-Hasan cried out for succor from the boy and the
Caliph lost his senses for laughter.
Then he dealt the boy a cuff, and he let go his ear, whereupon all present
fell down with laughter and said to the little Mameluke, "Art mad
that thou bitest the Caliph's ear on this wise?" And Abu al-Hasan
cried to them: "Sufficeth ye not, O ye wretched Jinns, that which
hath befallen me? But the fault is not yours. The fault is of your chief,
who transmewed you from Jinn shape to mortal shape. I seek refuge against
you this night by the Throne Verse and the Chapter of Sincerity and the
Two Preventives!" So saying, the wag put off his clothes till he was
naked, with prickle and breech exposed, and danced among the slave girls.
They bound his hands and he wantoned among them, while they died of
laughing at him and the Caliph swooned away for excess of laughter.
Then he came to himself, and going forth the curtain to Abu al-Hasan, said
to him: "Out on thee, O Abu al-Hasan! Thou slayest me with
laughter." So he turned to him, and knowing him, said to him,
"By Allah, 'tis thou slayest me and slayest my mother and slewest the
Sheikhs and the imam of the mosque!" After which he kissed ground
before him and prayed for the permanence of his prosperity and the
endurance of his days. The Caliph at once robed him in a rich robe and
gave him a thousand dinars, and presently he took the wag into especial
favor and married him and bestowed largess on him and lodged him with
himself in the palace and made him of the chief of his cup companions, and
indeed he was preferred with him above them, and the Caliph advanced him
over them all, so that he sat with him and the Lady Zubaydah bint al-Kasim,
whose treasuress, Nuzhat al-Fuad hight, was given to him in marriage.
After this Abu al-Hasan the wag abode with his wife in eating and drinking
and all delight of life, till whatso was with them went the way of money,
when he said to her, "Harkye, O Nuzhat al-Fuad!" Said she,
"At thy service," and he continued, "I have it in mind to
play a trick on the Caliph, and thou shalt do the like with the Lady
Zubaydah, and we will take of them at once, to begin with, two hundred
dinars and two pieces of silk." She rejoined, "As thou willest,
but what thinkest thou to do?" And he said: "We will feign
ourselves dead, and this is the trick. I will die before thee and lay
myself out, and do thou spread over me a silken napkin and loose my turban
over me and tie my toes and lay on my stomach a knife and a little salt.
Then let down thy hair and betake thyself to thy mistress Zubaydah,
tearing thy dress and slapping thy face and crying out. She will ask thee,
'What aileth thee?' and do thou answer her, 'May thy head outlive Abu al-Hasan
the wag, for he is dead.' She will mourn for me and weep and bid her new
treasuress give thee a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and will say to
thee, 'Go, lay him out and carry him forth.' So do thou take of her the
hundred dinars and the piece of silk and come back, and when thou
returnest to me, I will rise up and thou shalt lie down in my place, and I
will go to the Caliph and say to him, 'May thy head outlive Nuzhat al-Fuad,'
and rend my raiment and pluck out my beard. He will mourn for thee and say
to his treasurer, 'Give Abu al-Hasan a hundred dinars and a piece of
silk.' Then he will say to me, 'Go, lay her out and carry her forth,' and
I will come back to thee."
Therewith Nuzhat al-Fuad rejoiced and said, "Indeed, this is an
excellent device." Then Abu al-Hasan stretched himself out forthright
and she shut his eyes and tied his feet and covered him with the napkin
and did whatso her lord had bidden her. After which she tare her gear and
bared her head and letting down her hair, went in to the Lady Zubaydah,
crying out and weeping. When the Princess saw her in this state, she
cried: "What plight is this? What is thy story, and what maketh thee
weep?" And Nuzhatal-Fuad answered, weeping and loud-wailing the
while: "O my lady, may thy head live and mayst thou survive Abu al-Hasan
al-Khali'a, for he is dead!" The Lady Zubaydah mourned for him and
said, "Alas, poor Abu al-Hasan the wag!" and she shed tears for
him awhile. Then she bade her treasuress give Nuzhat al-Fuad a hundred
dinars and a piece of silk and said to her, "O Nuzhat al-Fuad, go,
lay him out and carry him forth."
So she took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and returned to her
dwelling, rejoicing, and went in to her spouse and acquainted him what had
befallen, whereupon he arose and rejoiced and girdled his middle and
danced and took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and laid them up.
Then he laid out Nuzhat al-Fuad and did with her as she had done with him,
after which he rent his raiment and plucked out his beard and disordered
his turban and ran out, nor ceased running till he came in to the Caliph,
who was sitting in the judgment hall, and he in this plight, beating his
breast. The Caliph asked him, "What aileth thee, O Abu al-Hasan?"
and he wept and answered, "Would Heaven thy cup companion had never
been, and would his hour had never come!" Quoth the Caliph,
"Tell me thy case," and quoth Abu al-Hasan, "O my lord, may
thy head outlive Nuzhat al-Fuad!" The Caliph exclaimed, "There
is no god but God," and smote hand upon hand. Then he comforted Abu
al-Hasan and said to him, "Grieve not, for we will bestow upon thee a
bedfellow other than she." And he ordered the treasurer to give him a
hundred dinars and a piece of silk. Accordingly the treasurer did what the
Caliph bade him, and Al-Rashid said to him, "Go, lay her out and
carry her forth and make her a handsome funeral."
So Abu al-Hasan took that which he had given him and returning to his
house, rejoicing, went in to Nuzhat al-Fuad and said to her, "Arise,
for our wish" is won." Hereat she arose and he laid before her
the hundred ducats and the piece of silk, whereat she rejoiced, and they
added the gold to the gold and the silk to the silk and sat talking and
laughing each to other.
Meanwhile, when Abu al-Hasan fared forth the presence of the Caliph and
went to lay out Nuzhat al-Fuad, the Commander of the Faithful mourned for
her, and dismissing the Divan, arose and betook himself, leaning upon
Masrur, the Sworder of his vengeance, to the Lady Zubaydah, that he might
condole with her for her handmaid. He found her sitting weeping and
awaiting his coming, so she might condole with him for his boon companion
Abu al-Hasan the wag. So he said to her, "May thy head outlive thy
slave girl Nuzhat al-Fuad!" and said she: "O my lord, Allah
preserve my slave girl! Mayst thou live and long survive thy boon
companion Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a, for he is dead." The Caliph smiled
and said to his eunuch: "O Masrur, verily women are little of wit.
Allah upon thee, say, was not Abu al-Hasan with me but now?" Quoth
the Lady Zubaydah, laughing from a heart full of wrath: "Wilt thou
not leave thy jesting? Sufficeth thee not that Abu al-Hasan is dead, but
thou must put to death my slave girl also and bereave us of the twain, and
style me little of wit?" The Caliph answered, "Indeed, 'tis
Nuzhat al-Fuad who is dead." And the Lady Zubaydah said: "Indeed
he hath not been with thee, nor hast thou seen him, and none was with me
but now save Nuzhat al-Fuad, and she sorrowful, weeping, with her clothes
torn to tatters. I exhorted her to patience and gave her a hundred dinars
and a piece of silk, and indeed I was awaiting thy coming, so I might
console thee for thy cup companion Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a, and was about
to send for thee." The Caliph laughed and said, "None is dead
save Nuzhat al-Fuad," and she, "No, no, good my lord; none is
dead but Abu al-Hasan the wag."
With this the Caliph waxed wroth, and the hashimi vein started out from
between his eyes and throbbed, and he cried out to Masrur and said to him,
"Fare thee forth to the house of Abu al-Hasan the wag, and see which
of them is dead." So Masrur went out, running, and the Caliph said to
the Lady Zubaydah, "Wilt thou lay me a wager?" And said she,
"Yes, I will wager, and I say that Abu al-Hasan is dead."
Rejoined the Caliph: "And I wager and say that none is dead save
Nuzhat al-Fuad, and the stake between me and thee shall be the Garden of
Pleasaunce against thy palace and the Pavilion of Pictures." So they
agreed upon this and sat awaiting Masrur's return with the news.
As for the eunuch, he ceased not running till he came to the by-street
wherein was the stead of Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a. Now the wag was
comfortably seated and leaning back against the lattice, and chancing to
look round, saw Masrur running along the street and said to Nuzhat al-Fuad,
"Meseemeth the Caliph, when I went forth from him, dismissed the
Divan and went in to the Lady Zubaydah to condole with her, whereupon she
arose and condoled with him, saying, 'Allah increase thy recompense for
the loss of Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a!' And he said to her, 'None is dead
save Nuzhat al-Fuad, may thy head outlive her!' Quoth she, ''Tis not she
who is dead, but Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a, thy boon companion.' And quoth
he, 'None is dead save Nuzhat al-Fuad.' And they waxed so obstinate that
the Caliph became wroth and they laid a wager, and he hath sent Masrur the
Sworder to see who is dead. Now, therefore, 'twere best that thou lie
down, so he may sight thee and go and acquaint the Caliph and confirm my
saying."
So Nuzhat al-Fuad stretched herself out and Abu al-Hasan covered her with
her mantilla and sat weeping at her head. Presently, Masrur, the eunuch,
suddenly came in to him and saluted him, and seeing Nuzhat al-Fuad
stretched out, uncovered her face and said: "There is no god but God!
Our sister Nuzhat al-Fuad is dead indeed. How sudden was the stroke of
Destiny! Allah have ruth on thee and acquit thee of all charge!" Then
he returned and related what had passed before the Caliph and the Lady
Zubaydah, and he laughing as he spoke. "O accursed one," cried
the Caliph: "this is no time for laughter! Tell us which is dead of
them." Masrur replied: "By Allah, O my lord, Abu al-Hasan is
well, and none is dead but Nuzhat al-Fuad." Quoth the Caliph to
Zubaydah, "Thou hast lost thy pavilion in thy play," and he
jeered at her. and said, "O Masrur, tell her what thou sawest."
Quoth the eunuch: "Verily, O my lady, I ran without ceasing till I
came in to Abu al-Hasan in his house, and found Nuzhat al-Fuad lying dead
and Abu al-Hasan sitting tearful at her head. I saluted him and condoled
with him and sat down by his side and uncovered the face of Nuzhat al-Fuad
and saw her dead and her face swollen. So I said to him, 'Carry her out
forthwith, so we may pray over her.' He replied, ''Tis well,' and I left
him to lay her out and came hither, that I might tell you the news."
The Prince of True Believers laughed and said, "Tell it again and
again to thy lady Little-wits." When the Lady Zubaydah heard Masrur's
words and those of the Caliph she was wroth and said, "None is little
of wit save he who believeth a black slave." And she abused Masrur,
whilst the Commander of the Faithful laughed; and the eunuch, vexed at
this, said to the Caliph, "He spake sooth who said, 'Women are little
of wits and lack religion."'
Then said the Lady Zubaydah to the Caliph: "O Commander of the
Faithful, thou sportest and jestest with me, and this slave hoodwinketh
me, the better to please thee. But I will send and see which of them be
dead." And he answered, saying, "Send one who shall see which of
them is dead." So the Lady Zubaydah cried out to an old duenna, and
said to her: "Hie thee to the house of Nuzhat al-Fuad in haste and
see who is dead, and loiter not." And she used hard words to her. So
the old woman went out running, whilst the Prince of True Believers and
Masrur laughed, and she ceased not running till she came into the street.
Abu al-Hasan saw her, and knowing her, said to his wife: "O Nuzhat
al-Fuad, meseemeth the Lady Zubaydah hath sent to us to see who is dead
and hath not given credit to Masrur's report of thy death. Accordingly she
hath dispatched the old crone, her duenna, to discover the truth. So it
behooveth me to be dead in my turn for the sake of thy credit with the
Lady Zubaydah."
Hereat he lay down and stretched himself out, and she covered him and
bound his eyes and feet and sat in tears at his head. Presently the old
woman came in to her and saw her sitting at Abu al-Hasan's head, weeping
and recounting his fine qualities; and when she saw the old trot, she
cried out and said to her: "See what hath befallen me! Indeed Abu al-Hasan
is dead and hath left me lone and lorn!" Then she shrieked out and
rent her raiment and said to the crone, "O my mother, how very good
he was to me!" Quoth the other, "Indeed thou art excused, for
thou wast used to him and he to thee."
Then she considered what Masrur had reported to the Caliph and the Lady
Zubaydah and said to her, "Indeed, Masrur goeth about to cast discord
between the Caliph and the Lady Zubaydah." Asked Nuzhat al-Fuad,
"And what is the cause of discord, O my mother?" and the other
replied: "O my daughter, Masrur came to the Caliph and the Lady
Zubaydah and gave them news of thee that thou wast dead and that Abu al-Hasan
was well." Nuzhat al-Fuad said to her: "O naunty mine, I was
with my lady just now and she gave me a hundred dinars and a piece of
silk, and now see my case and that which hath befallen me! Indeed I am
bewildered, and how shall I do, and I lone and lorn? Would Heaven I had
died and he had lived!" Then she wept and with her wept the old
woman, who, going up to Abu al-Hasan and uncovering his face, saw his eyes
bound and swollen for the swathing. So she covered him again and said,
"Indeed, O Nuzhat al-Fuad, thou art afflicted in Abu al-Hasan!"
Then she condoled with her, and going out from her, ran along the street
till she came into the Lady Zubaydah and related to her the story, and the
Princess said to her, laughing: "Tell it over again to the Caliph,
who maketh me out little of wit, and lacking of religion, and who made
this ill-omened liar of a slave presume to contradict me." Quoth
Masrur, "This old woman lieth, for I saw Abu al-Hasan well and Nuzhat
al-Fuad it was who lay dead." Quoth the duenna, "'Tis thou that
liest, and wouldst fain cast discord-between the Caliph and the Lady
Zubaydah." And Masrur cried, "None lieth but thou, O old woman
of ill omen, and thy lady believeth thee, and she must be in her
dotage." Whereupon the Lady Zubaydah cried out at him, and in very
sooth she was enraged with him and with his speech and shed tears.
Then said the Caliph to her: "I lie and my eunuch lieth, and thou
liest and thy waiting-woman lieth, so 'tis my rede we go, all four of us
together, that we may see which of us telleth the truth." Masrur
said: "Come, let us go, that I may do to this ill-omened old woman
evil deeds and deal her a sound drubbing for her lying." And the
duenna answered him: "O dotard, is thy wit like into my wit? Indeed
thy wit is as the hen's wit." Masrur was incensed at her words and
would have laid violent hands on her, but the Lady Zubaydah pushed him
away from her and said to him, "Her truthspeaking will presently be
distinguished from thy truth-speaking and her leasing from thy
leasing." Then they all four arose, laying wagers one with other, and
went forth afoot from the palace gate and hied on till they came in at the
gate of the street where Abu al-Hasan al-Khali'a dwelt.
He saw them, and said to his wife, Nuzhat al-Fuad: "Verily, all that
is sticky is not a pancake they cook, nor every time shall the crock
escape the shock. It seemeth the old woman hath gone and told her lady and
acquainted her with our case and she hath disputed with Masrur, the
eunuch, and they have laid wagers each with other about our death and are
come to us, all four, the Caliph and the eunuch and the Lady Zubaydah and
the old trot." When Nuzhat al-Fuad heard this, she started up from
her outstretched posture and asked, "How shall we do?" whereto
he answered, "We will both feign ourselves dead together and stretch
ourselves out and hold out breath." So she hearkened unto him and
they both lay down on the place where they usually slept the siesta and
bound their feet and shut their eyes and covered themselves with the veil
and held their breath.
Presently up came the Caliph, Zubaydah, Masrur, and the old woman, and
entering, found Abu al-Hasan the wag and wife both stretched out as dead,
which when the Lady saw, she wept and said: "They ceased not to bring
ill news of my slave girl till she died. Methinketh Abu al-Hasan's death
was grievous to her and that she died after him." Quoth the Caliph:
"Thou shalt not prevent me with thy prattle and prate. She certainly
died before Abu al-Hasan, for he came to me with his raiment rent and his
beard plucked out, beating his breast with two bits of unbaked brick, and
I gave him a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said too him, 'Go,
bear her forth, and I will give thee a bedfellow other than she and
handsomer, and she shall be instead of her.' But it would appear that her
death was no light matter to him and he died after her, so it is I who
have beaten thee and gotten thy stake." The Lady Zubaydah answered
him in words galore, and the dispute between them waxed sore.
At last the Caliph sat down at the heads of the pair and said: "By
the tomb of the Apostle of Allah (whom may He save and assain!) and the
sepulchers of my fathers and forefathers, whoso will tell me which of them
died before the other, I will willingly give him a thousand dinars!"
When Abu al-Hasan heard the Caliph's words, he sprang up in haste and
said: "I died first, O Commander of the Faithful! Here with the
thousand dinars, and acquit thee of thine oath and the swear thou sworest."
Nuzhat al-Fuad rose also and stood up before the Caliph and the Lady
Zubaydah, who both rejoiced in this and in their safety, and the Princess
chid her slave girl. Then the Caliph and Zubaydah gave them joy of their
well-being and knew that this death was a trick to get the gold, and the
Lady said to Nuzhat al-Fuad: "Thou shouldst have sought of me that
which thou neededst, without this fashion, and not have burned my heart
for thee." And she, "Verily, I was ashamed, O my lady."
As for the Caliph, he swooned away for laughing and said, "O Abu al-Hasan,
thou wilt never cease to be a wag and do peregrine things and
prodigious!" Quoth he: "O Commander of the Faithful, this trick
I played off for that the money which thou gavest me was exhausted, and I
was ashamed to ask of thee again. When I was single, I could never keep
money in hand, but since thou marriedst me to this damsel, if I possessed
even thy wealth, I should lay it waste. Wherefore when all that was in my
hand was spent, I wrought this sleight so I might get of thee the hundred
dinars and the piece of silk, and all this is an alms from our lord. But
now make haste to give me the thousand dinars and acquit thee of thine
oath." The Caliph and the Lady Zubaydah laughed and returned to the
palace, and he gave Abu al-Hasan the thousand dinars saying, "Take
them as a douceur for thy perservation from death," whilst her
mistress did the like with Nuzhat al-Fuad, honoring her with the same
words. Moreover, the Caliph increased the wag in his solde and supplies,
and he and his wife ceased not to live in joy and contentment till there
came to them the Destroyer of delights and Severer of societies, the
Plunderer of palaces, and the Gamerer of graves.
And among tales they tell is one touching Aladdin;
Or, The Wonderful Lamp.
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