第76章

So he told her all that had betided him，from first to last，and how he had bought the chest；wherefore she knew that the Lady Zubaydah had played her false；and she ceased not talking with him till the morning，when she said to him，'O Khalif，seek me from some one inkcase and reed-pen and paper and bring them to me.'So he found with one of the neighbours what she sought and brought it to her；whereupon she wrote a letter and folded it and gave it to him；saying，'O Khalif，take this paper and carry it to the jewel-market，where do thou enquire for the shop of Abu al-Hasan the jeweller and give it to him.'Answered the Fisherman，'O my lady，this name is difficult to me；I cannot remember it.'And she rejoined，'Then ask for the shop of Ibn al-'Uk b.'[291]

Quoth he，'O my lady，what is an'Ukab？'and quoth she，''Tis a bird which folk carry on fist with eyes hooded.'And he exclaimed，'O my lady，I know it.'Then he went forth from her and fared on，repeating the name，lest it fade from his memory；

but，by the time he reached the jewel-market，he had forgotten it.So he accosted one of the merchants and said to him，'Is there any here named after a bird？'Replied the merchant，'Yes；thou meanest Ibn al-Ukab.'Khalif cried，'That's the man I want，'

and making his way to him，gave him the letter，which when he read and knew the purport thereof，he fell to kissing it and laying it on his head；for it is said that Abu al-Hasan was the agent of the Lady Kut al-Kulub and her intendant over all her property in lands and houses.Now she had written to him，saying；'From Her Highness the Lady Kut al-Kulub to Sir Abu al-Hasan the jeweller.The instant this letter reacheth thee，set apart for us a saloon completely equipped with furniture and vessels and negro-slaves and slave-girls and what not else is needful for our residence and seemly，and take the bearer of the missive and carry him to the bath.Then clothe him in costly apparel and do with him thus and thus.'So he said'Hearing and obeying，'and locking up his shop，took the Fisherman and bore him to the bath；where he committed him to one of the bathmen，that he might serve him，according to custom.Then he went forth to carry out the Lady Kut al-Kulub's orders.As for Khalif，he concluded，of his lack of wit and stupidity，that the bath was a prison and said to the bathman，'What crime have I committed that ye should lay me in limbo？'They laughed at him and made him sit on the side of the tank，whilst the bathman took hold of his legs，that he might shampoo them.Khalif thought he meant to wrestle with him and said to himself，'This is a wrestling-place[292] and I knew naught of it.'Then he arose and seizing the bathman's legs；lifted him up and threw him on the ground and broke his ribs.The man cried out for help，whereupon the other bathmen came in a crowd and fell upon Khalif and overcoming him by dint of numbers；delivered their comrade from his clutches and tunded him till he came to himself.Then they knew that the Fisherman was a simpleton and served him till Abu al-Hasan came back with a dress of rich stuff and clad him therein；after which he brought him a handsome she-mule，ready saddled，and taking him by the hand；carried him forth of the bath and said to him，'Mount.'Quoth he；'How shall I mount？ I fear lest she throw me and break my ribs into my belly.'Nor would he back the mule，save after much travail and trouble，and they stinted not faring on，till they came to the place which Abu al-Hasan had set apart for the Lady Kut al-Kulub.Thereupon Khalif entered and found her sitting；with slaves and eunuchs about her and the porter at the door；staff in hand，who when he saw the Fisherman sprang up and kissing his hand，went before him，till he brought him within the saloon.Here the Fisherman saw what amazed his wit，and his eye was dazzled by that which he beheld of riches past count and slaves and servants，who kissed his hand and said，'May the bath be a blessing to thee！'[293] When he entered the saloon and drew near unto Kut al-Kulub，she sprang up to him and taking him by the hand，seated him on a high-mattrassed divan.Then she brought him a vase of sherbet of sugar，mingled with rosewater and willow-water，and he took it and drank it off and left not a single drop.Moreover，he ran his finger round the inside of the vessel[294] and would have licked it，but she forbade him；saying，'That is foul.'Quoth he，'Silence；this is naught but good honey；'and she laughed at him and set before him a tray of meats，whereof he ate his sufficiency.Then they brought an ewer and basin of gold，and he washed his right hand and abode in the gladdest of life and the most honourable.Now hear what befel the Commander of the Faithful.When he came back from his journey and found not Kut al-Kulub，he questioned the Lady Zubaydah of her and she said，'She is verily dead，may thy head live，O Prince of True Believers！'But she had bidden dig a grave amiddlemost the Palace and had built over it a mock tomb，for her knowledge of the love the Caliph bore to Kut al-Kulub： so she said to him，'O Commander of the Faithful，I made her a tomb amiddlemost the Palace and buried her there.'Then she donned black，[295] a mere sham and pure pretence；and feigned mourning a great while.