第106章 (106)

appoint thee such and such monthly allowances.So fear Allah （to whom be honour and glory！） end be mindful of the solicitude of His Apostle （whom may He bless and keep！） on thine account.'Then the folk marvelled at the Caliph's words and asked me their meaning； whereupon I told them the story from beginning to end and it spread abroad amongst the people.''And'（quoth he who telleth the tale） 'Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi ceased not to be Kazi of Al-Medinah，the Holy City，till he died in the days of Al-Maamun the mercy of Allah be on him！'And among the tales men tell is one of THE POOR MAN AND HIS FRIEND IN NEED.

There was once a rich man who lost all he had and became destitute，whereupon his wife advised him to ask aid and assistance of one of his intimates.So he betook himself to a certain friend of his and acquainted him with his necessities；

and he lent him five hundred dinars to trade withal.Now in early life he had been a jeweller； so he took the gold and went to the jewel-bazar，where he opened a shop to buy and sell.Presently，as he sat in his shop three men accosted him and asked for his father，and when he told them that he was deceased，they said，'Say，did he leave issue？'Quoth the jeweller，'He left the slave who is before you.'They asked，'And who knoweth thee for his son？'； and he answered，'The people of the bazar whereupon they said，'Call them together，that they may testify to us that thou art his very son.'So he called them and they bore witness of this； whereupon the three men delivered to him a pair of saddle-

bags，containing thirty thousand dinars，besides jewels and bullion of high value，saying，'This was deposited with us in trust by thy father.'Then they went away； and presently there came to him a woman，who sought of him certain of the jewels，worth five hundred dinars which she bought and paid him three thousand for them.Upon this he arose and took five hundred dinars and carrying them to his friend who had lent him the money，said to him，'Take the five hundred dinars I borrowed of thee； for Allah hath opened to me the gate of prosperity.'Quoth the other，'Nay； I gave them to thee outright，for the love of Allah； so do thou keep them.And take this paper，but read it not till thou be at home，and do according to that which is therein.'

So he took the money and the paper and returned home，where he opened the scroll and found therein inscribed these couplets，'Kinsmen of mine were those three men who came to thee；*My sire and uncles twain and Salih bin Ali.

So what for cash thou coldest，to my mother 'twas*Thou soldest it，and coin and gems were sent by me.

Thus doing I desired not any harm to thee*But in my presence spare thee and thy modesty.'

And they also recount the story of THE RUINED MAN WHO BECAME RICH AGAIN

THROUGH A DREAM.[424]

There lived once in Baghdad a wealthy man and made of money，who lost all his substance and became so destitute that he could earn his living only by hard labour.One night，he lay down to sleep，dejected and heavy hearted，and saw in a dream a Speaker[425]

who said to him，'Verily thy fortune is in Cairo； go thither and seek it.'So he set out for Cairo； but when he arrived there evening overtook him and he lay down to sleep in a mosque Presently，by decree of Allah Almighty，a band of bandits entered the mosque and made their way thence into an adjoining house； but the owners，being aroused by the noise of the thieves，awoke and cried out； whereupon the Chief of Police came to their aid with his officers.The robbers made off； but the Wali entered the mosque and，finding the man from Baghdad asleep there，laid hold of him and beat him with palm-rods so grievous a beating that he was well-nigh dead.Then they cast him into jail，where he abode three days； after which the Chief of Police sent for him and asked him，'Whence art thou？'； and he answered，'From Baghdad.'

Quoth the Wali，'And what brought thee to Cairo？'； and quoth the Baghdadi，'I saw in a dream One who said to me，Thy fortune is in Cairo； go thither to it.But when I came to Cairo the fortune which he promised me proved to be the palm-rods thou so generously gavest to me.'The Wali laughed till he showed his wisdom-teeth and said，'O man of little wit，thrice have I seen in a dream one who said to me： 'There is in Baghdad a house in such a district and of such a fashion and its courtyard is laid out garden-wise，at the lower end whereof is a jetting-fountain and under the same a great sum of money lieth buried.Go thither and take it.'Yet I went not； but thou，of the briefness of thy wit，hast journeyed from place to place，on the faith of a dream，which was but an idle galimatias of sleep.'Then he gave him money saying，'Help thee back herewith to thine own country；'--

And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When It was the Three Hundred and Fifty-second Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Wali gave the Baghdad man some silver，saying，'Help thee back herewith to thine own country；'and he took the money and set out upon his homewards march.Now the house the Wali had described was the man's own house in Baghdad； so the wayfarer returned thither and，digging underneath the fountain in his garden，discovered a great treasure.And thus Allah gave him abundant fortune； and a marvellous coincidence occurred.And a story is also current of CALIPH AL-MUTAWAKKIL AND HIS CONCUBINE

MAHBUBAH.

There were in the palace of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil ala'llah[426] four thousand concubines，whereof two thousand were Greeks and other two thousand slave born Arabians[427]