第64章

When it was the Eight Hundred and Fortieth Night； She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the maiden；Kut al-Kulub，after singing these songs and sweeping the strings in presence of the Lady Zubaydah，rose and exhibited tricks of sleight of hand and legerdemain and all manner pleasing arts；till the Princess came near to fall in love with her and said to herself，'Verily，my cousin Al-Rashid is not to blame for loving her！'Then the damsel kissed ground before Zubaydah and sat down，whereupon they set food before her.Presently they brought her the drugged dish of sweetmeats and she ate thereof；and hardly had it settled in her stomach when her head fell backward and she sank on the ground sleeping.With this，the Lady said to her women，'Carry her up to one of the chambers，till I summon her'；and they replied，'We hear and we obey.'Then said she to one of her eunuchs，'Fashion me a chest and bring it hitherto to me！'，and shortly afterwards she bade make the semblance of a tomb and spread the report that Kut al-Kulub had choked and died；threatening her familiars that she would smite the neck of whoever should say，'She is alive.'Now，behold，the Caliph suddenly returned from the chase，and the first enquiry he made was for the damsel.So there came to him one of his eunuchs；whom the Lady Zubaydah had charged to declare she was dead，if the Caliph should ask for her and，kissing ground before him；said，'May thy head live，O my lord！ Be certified that Kut al-Kulub choked in eating and is dead.'Whereupon cried Al-Rashid；'God never gladden thee with good news，O thou bad slave！'and entered the Palace，where he heard of her death from every one and asked，'Where is her tomb？'So they brought him to the sepulchre and showed him the pretended tomb，saying，'This is her burial-place.'When he saw it，he cried out and wept and embraced it，quoting these two couplets，[232]'By Allah，O tomb，have her beauties ceased and disappeared from sight * And is the countenance changed and wan，that shone so wonder-bright？

O tomb，O tomb，thou art neither heaven nor garden，verily： * How comes it then that swaying branch and moon in thee unite？

The Caliph，weeping sore for her，abode by the tomb a full hour；after which he arose and went away，in the utmost distress and the deepest melancholy.So the Lady Zubaydah saw that her plot had succeeded and forthright sent for the eunuch and said；'Hither with the chest！'He set it before her，when she bade bring the damsel and locking her up therein，said to the Eunuch；'Take all pains to sell this chest and make it a condition with the purchaser that he buy it locked；then give alms with its price.'[233]So he took it and went forth，to do her bidding.Thus fared it with these；but as for Khalifah the Fisherman，when morning morrowed and shone with its light and sheen，he said to himself，'I cannot do aught better to-day than visit the Eunuch who bought the fish of me，for he appointed me to come to him in the Palace of the Caliphate.'So he went forth of his lodging，intending for the palace，and when he came thither，he found Mamelukes，negro-slaves and eunuchs standing and sitting；and looking at them，behold，seated amongst them was the Eunuch who had taken the fish of him，with the white slaves waiting on him.Presently，one of the Mameluke-lads called out to him；whereupon the Eunuch turned to see who he was an lo！ it was the Fisherman.Now when Khalifah was ware that he saw him and recognized him，he said to him，'I have not failed thee，O my little Tulip！ [234]On this wise are men of their word.'

Hearing his address，Sandal the Eunuch [235] laughed and replied，'By Allah，thou art right，O Fisherman，'and put his hand to his pouch，to give him somewhat；but at that moment there arose a great clamour.So he raised his head to see what was to do and finding that it was the Wazir Ja'afar the Barmecide coming forth from the Caliph's presence，he rose to him and forewent him，and they walked about，conversing for a longsome time.

Khalifah the Fisherman waited awhile；then，growing weary of standing and finding that the Eunuch took no heed of him，he set himself in his way and beckoned to him from afar，saying，'O my lord Tulip，give me my due and let me go！'The Eunuch heard him；but was ashamed to answer him because of the minister's presence；

so he went on talking with Ja'afar and took no notice whatever of the Fisherman.Whereupon quoth Khalifah，'O Slow o'Pay！

[236]May Allah put to shame all churls and all who take folks's goods and are niggardly with them！ I put myself under thy protection，O my lord Bran-belly，[237] to give me my due and let me go！'The Eunuch heard him，but was ashamed to answer him before Ja'afar；and the Minister saw the Fisherman beckoning and talking to him，though he knew not what he was saying；so he said to Sandal，misliking his behaviour，'O Eunuch，what would yonder beggar with thee？'Sandal replied，'Dost thou not know him，O my lord the Wazir？'；and Ja'afar answered，'By Allah，I know him not！ How should I know a man I have never seen but at this moment？'Rejoined the Eunuch，'O my lord，this is the Fisherman whose fish we seized on the banks of the Tigris.I

came too late to get any and was ashamed to return to the Prince of True Believers，empty-handed，when all the Mamelukes had some.