Page:Swahili tales.djvu/191

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MOHAMMED THE LANGUID.
171

gave him that he should send me these chests? I gave him five dirhems, and the price of the five dirhems is this monkey, which he has brought me. He has no call then to make a jest of me, a poor man.'

"And he who brought the deposit, the chests, said to me, 'He is not making in game of you, by Allah, he is not a man to make a jest of you, and he will come himself directly.'

"We had not yet finished talking in this way, when at once I heard, Hodi! And I saw it was the Sheikh Abalmathfár, and I arose of myself and sat up and welcomed him.

"And he sat down, and explained to me his news, from beginning to the end, what had occurred to them from their setting out. And he told me, 'These chests are your profit, and what is in them; and this monkey is the chief of your possessions.' And he begged my forgiveness heartily, and said, 'I am not the man to make a jest of you,' and we took leave of one another, and he went out and went away.

"And we opened a chest and looked, and saw great wealth. And my mother said to me, 'You were idle, you saw nothing; and now Almighty God has given you good luck. Get up then and look for a house that is good, and live in it.' So I got up and went and looked for a house, and bought a good house, and bought furniture for the house, and bought slaves for the house, girls, homeborn slaves and Abyssinians. And I put them in my house, and everything that was wanted for the house, I bought and put into it. And I bought merchandize and set up a shop.

"And I sat myself in the shop, and my ape sat with me. But in the morning the ape got up and went away, and did not return until the evening: and when it came it