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hear and obey,’ answered Khelifeh and unbound the [three] apes, which went down into the river. Then he washed the shad and wrapping it in grass, laid it in the basket, and shouldering the latter, set out for Baghdad, chanting the following quatrain:
Commit thy case to God and thou shalt have security: Do kindness ever, so thou shalt be from repentance free.
Consort not with suspected folk, lest doubt should fall on thee, And guard thy tongue, reviling not, lest thou reviléd be.
Night dcccxxxiv.When he came to the city, the people knew him and cried out to him, saying, ‘What hast thou there, O Khelifeh?’ But he paid no heed to them and went on till he came to the money-changers’ bazaar and passing between the shops, found the Jew seated at the upper end, with his servants in attendance upon him, as he were a king of the kings of Khorassan. So he went up to him and stood before him, whereupon Aboussaadat raised his eyes and knowing him, said, ‘Welcome, O Khelifeh! What wantest thou? If any have missaid thee or picked a quarrel with thee, tell me and I will go with thee to the Master of Police, who shall do thee justice on him.’ ‘Nay, as thy head liveth, O chief of the Jews,’ replied Khelifeh, ‘none hath missaid me. But I went forth this morning and casting my net into the Tigris, in thy name, brought up this fish.’
Therewith he opened the basket and threw the fish before the Jew, who admired it and said, ‘By the Pentateuch and the Ten Commandments, I dreamt last night that the Virgin[1] came to me and said, “Know, O Aboussaadat, that I have sent thee a fine present!” And doubtless it
- ↑ A characteristic trait of ignorance in the story-teller, arising out of the sublime indifference and contempt with which the ordinary Muslim regards the religion, manners and customs of the “Barbarians,” as (in common with the Chinese) he styles all peoples not of his own race.
