peace, and the mercy of God, and his blessings ! *-She then said, Know that this lady hath conferred on me a benefit for which I am unable to requite her; for she rescued me from death, by killing my enemy; and I, having seen what her sisters had done to her, determined to take vengeance upon them; therefore I transformed them by enchantment into two bitches; and, indeed, I had wished rather to kill them, fearing lest they should trouble her; but now, if thou desire their restoration, O Prince of the Faithful, I will restore them, as a favour to thee and to her; for I am one of the true believers.-Do so, said the Khalifeh; and then we will enter upon the consideration of the affair of the lady who hath been beaten, and examine her case, and if her veracity be established, I will take vengeance for her upon him who hath oppressed her. The Jinniyeh replied, O Prince of the Faithful, I will guide thee to the discovery of him who acted thus to this lady, and oppressed her, and took her property: he is thy nearest relation. She then took a cup of water, and, having pronounced a spell over it, sprinkled the faces of the two bitches, saying, Be restored to your original human forms! -whereupon they became again two young ladies.-Extolled be the perfection of their Creator! Having done this, the Jinniyeh said, O Prince of the Faithful, he who beat the lady is thy son El-Emin, who had heard of her beauty and loveliness-and she proceeded to relate what had happened. The Khalifeh was astonished, and exclaimed, Praise be to God for the restoration of these two bitches which hath been effected through my means!—and immediately he summoned before him his son El-Emin, and inquired of him the history of the lady; and he related to him the truth. He then sent for Kadis and witnesses, and the first lady and her two sisters who had been transformed into bitches he married to the three mendicants who had related that they were the sons of Kings; and these he made chamberlains of his court, appointing them all that they required, and allotting them apartments in the palace of Baghdad. The lady who had been beaten he restored to his son El-Emin, giving her * This salutation and its reply are to be given only to and by Muslims. a large property, and ordering that the house should be rebuilt in a more handsome style. Lastly, the lady-cateress he took as his own wife; he admitted her at once to his own apartment, and, on the following day, he appointed her a separate lodging for herself, with female slaves to wait upon her: he also allotted to her a regular income; and afterwards built for her a palace. CHAPTER IV THE STORY OF THE THREE APPLES, &c. ONE night, after the adventure above described, the Khalifeh Harun Er-Rashid said to Ja'far, his Wezir, We will go down to-night into the city, and inquire respecting the affairs of those who are at present in authority, and him against whom any one shall complain we will displace. Ja'far replied, I hear and obey :-and when the Khalifeh had gone forth with him and Mesrur, and they had passed through several of the market-streets, they proceeded along a lane, and saw there an old man, with a net and basket upon his head, and a staff in his hand, walking at his leisure, and reciting these verses : They say to me, Thou shinest among mankind, by thy knowledge, like the moonlight night: But I answer, Abstain from thus addressing me, since there is no knowledge without power: For if they would pawn me, and my knowledge with me, and all my papers and inkhorn too, For one day's food, they would never find the pledge accepted to the day of judgment. As for the poor, and his condition, and his whole life, how full of trouble! In the summer he fails to earn his food, and in winter he warms himself over the fire-pot. The dogs follow him wherever he goes, and any reviler, and he cannot repel him. If he states his case, and proves himself wronged, the judge will not admit his plea. Such, then, being the poor man's life, his fittest place is in the burial-ground. The Khalifeh, when he heard his recitation, said to Ja'far, Observe this poor man, and consider these verses; for they indicate his necessity. Then approaching the man, he said to him, O sheykh, what is thine occupation?-O my master, answered the old man, I am a fisherman, and have a family to maintain, and I went forth from my house at noon, and have remained until now, but God hath allotted me nothing wherewith to obtain food for my household; therefore I have hated myself, and wished for death.-Wilt thou, said the Khalifeh, return with us to the river, and station thyself on the bank of the Tigris, and cast thy net for my luck? If thou wilt do so I will purchase of thee whatever cometh up for a hundred pieces of gold.-The fisherman rejoiced when he heard these words, and said, On my head be your commands: I will return with you.So he went again to the river, and cast his net, and, having waited till it sank, drew the cords, and dragged back the net, and there came up in it a chest, locked and heavy. When the Khalifeh saw it, he felt its weight, and found it to be heavy; and he gave a hundred pieces of gold to the fisherman, who went away, while Mesrur, assisted by Ja'far, took up the chest, and conveyed it, in company with the Khalifeh, to the palace, where they lighted the candles, and placed the chest before the Khalifeh. Ja'far and Mesrur then broke it open, and they found in it a basket of palmleaves sewed up with red worsted; and they cut the threads, and saw within it a piece of carpet, and, lifting up this, they found beneath it an izar, and when they had taken up the izar they discovered under it a damsel like molten silver, killed, and cut in pieces. When the Khalifeh beheld this, tears ran down his cheeks, and, looking towards Ja'far, he exclaimed, O dog of Wezirs, shall people be murdered in my time, and be thrown into the river, and become burdens upon my responsibility? By Allah, I must retaliate for this damsel upon him who killed her, and put him to death !—Then said he to Ja'far, By the truth of my descent from the Khalifehs of the sons of El-'Abbas, if thou do not bring to me him who killed this woman, that I may avenge her upon him, I will crucify thee at the gate of my palace, together with forty of thy kinsmen!" And the Khalifeh was enraged.-Grant me, said Ja'far, a delay of three days.—I grant thee the delay, replied the Khalifeh. Ja'far then went forth from his presence, and took his route through the city, sorrowful, and saying within himself, How shall I discover him who killed this damsel, that I may take him before the Khalifeh? And if I take to him any other person, he will become a weight upon my conscience. I know not what to do.-For three days he remained in his house, and on the fourth day the Khalifeh sent to summon him, and, when he had presented himself before him, said to him, Where is the murderer of the damsel ?-O Prince of the Faithful, answered Ja'far, am I acquainted with things hidden from the senses, that I should know who is her murderer? The Khalifeh, incensed at this answer, gave orders to crucify him at the gate of his palace, and commanded a crier to proclaim through the streets of Baghdad, Whosoever desireth to amuse himself by seeing the crucifixion of Ja'far El-Barmeki, the Wezir of the Khalifeh, and the crucifixion of his kinsmen, at the gate of the Khalifeh's palace, let him come forth and amuse himself. -So the people came forth from every quarter to see the crucifixion of Ja'far and his kinsmen; and they knew not the cause of this. The Khalifeh then gave orders to set up the crosses; and they did so, and placed the Wezir and his kinsmen beneath, to crucify them, and were awaiting the Khalifeh's permission, while the people wept for Ja'far and his relatives. But while they were thus waiting, a handsome and neatly-dressed young man came forward quickly through the crowd, and, approaching the Wezir, said to him, Safety to thee from this predicament, O chief of Emirs, and refuge of the poor! It was I who killed the woman whom ye found in the chest: kill me therefore for her, and retaliate her death upon me.-When Ja'far heard these words, he rejoiced for his own deliverance, and grieved for the young man: but while he was speaking to him, lo, an old sheykh pressed hastily through the crowd to him and the young man, and, having saluted them, said, O Wezir, believe not the words of this young man, for no one killed the damsel but myself; therefore retaliate her death upon me. The young man, however, said, O Wezir, this is an old man, imbecile through age; he knoweth not what he saith: it was I who killed |