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‘I desire that thou tell me the cause of the paleness of thy face, whether it be acquired or natural from thy birth. ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered he, ‘my case is rare and my affair extraordinary; were it graven with needles on the corners of the eye, it would serve as an admonition to him who will be admonished.’ ‘Tell it me,’ said the Khalif. ‘Peradventure, thy healing may be at my hand.’ ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ said the young man, ‘lend me thine ears and give me thy whole mind.’ ‘Come,’ said the Khalif, ‘tell it me, for thou makest me long to hear it.’
‘Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,’ replied the young man, ‘that I am a merchant of the merchants of the sea and come from the city of Oman, where my father was a rich merchant, having thirty ships trading upon the sea, whose yearly hire was thirty thousand dinars; and he had partners trading with his money and journeying on the sea. He was a man of worth and generosity and taught me writing and all whereof a man hath need. When his last hour drew near, he called me to him and gave me the customary injunctions; then God the Most High admitted him to His mercy and may He continue the Commander of the Faithful [on life!]
One day, as I sat in my house with a company of merchants, one of my servants came in to me and said, “O my lord, there is a man at the door, who craves admittance to thee.” So I gave leave and he came in, bearing on his head a covered box. He set it down and uncovered it, and behold, therein were fruits out of season and [vegetables] conserved in salt and fresh, such as are not found in our country. I thanked him and gave him a hundred dinars, and he went away, grateful. Then I divided these things amongst my guests and asked them whence they came. Quoth they, “They come from Bassora,” and praised them and went on to expatiate upon
