第48章

And when she ended her song she said to me，'And is thy cousin also a merchant？'I answered，'Yes，'and she said，'Indeed，ye resemble each other nearly.'But when Al-Maamun had drunk three pints，[180] he grew merry with wine and called out，saying，'Ho，Isaac！'And I replied，'Labbayk，Adsum，O Commander of the Faithful，'whereupon quoth he，'Sing me this air.'Now when the young lady learned that he was the Caliph，she withdrew to another place and disappeared； and，as I had made an end of my song，Al-Maamun said to me，'See who is the master of this house'，whereupon an old woman hastened to make answer，saying，'It belongs to Hasan bin Sahl.'[181] 'Fetch him to me，'said the Caliph.So she went away and after a while behold，in came Hasan，to whom said Al-Maamun 'Hast thou a daughter？'He said，'Yes，and her name is Khadijah.'Asked the Caliph，'Is she married？'Answered Hasan，'No，by Allah！'Said Al-Maamun，Then I ask her of thee in marriage.'Replied her father，'O Commander of the Faithful，she is thy handmaid and at thy commandment.'Quoth Al-Maamun，'I take her to wife at a present settlement of thirty thousand dinars，which thou shalt receive this very morning，and，when the money has been paid thee，do thou bring her to us this night.'And Hasan answered，'I hear and I obey.'Thereupon we went forth and the Caliph said to me，'O Isaac，tell this story to no one.'So I kept it secret till Al-Maamun's death.Surely never did man's life gather such pleasures as were mine these four days'time，whenas I companied with Al-Maamun by day and Khadijah by night； and，by Allah，never saw I among men the like of Al-Maamun nor among women have I ever set eyes on the like of Khadijah； no，nor on any that came near her in lively wit and pleasant speech！ And Allah is All knowing.But amongst stories is that of THE SWEEP AND THE NOBLE LADY.

During the season of the Meccan pilgrimage，whilst the people were making circuit about the Holy House and the place of compassing was crowded，behold，a man laid hold of the covering of the Ka'abah[182] and cried out，from the bottom of his heart，saying，'I beseech thee，O Allah，that she may once again be wroth with her husband and that I may know her！'A company of the pilgrims heard him and seized him and carried him to the Emir of the pilgrims，after a sufficiency of blows； and，said they，'O Emir，we found this fellow in the Holy Places，saying thus and thus.'So the Emir commanded to hang him； but he cried，'O Emir，I conjure thee，by the virtue of the Apostle （whom Allah bless and preserve！），hear my story and then do with me as thou wilt.'

Quoth the Emir，'Tell thy tale forthright.''Know then，O Emir，'quoth the man，'that I am a sweep who works in the sheep-slaughterhouses and carries off the blood and the offal to the rubbish-heaps outside the gates.And it came to pass as I went along one day with my ass loaded，I saw the people running away and one of them said to me，'Enter this alley，lest haply they slay thee.'Quoth I，'What aileth the folk running away？'and one of the eunuchs，who were passing，said to me，'This is the Harim[183] of one of the notables and her eunuchs drive the people out of her way and beat them all，without respect to persons.'So I turned aside with the donkey''--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Eighty-third Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that quoth the man，'So I turned aside with the donkey and stood still awaiting the dispersal of the crowd； and I saw a number of eunuchs with staves in their hands，followed by nigh thirty women slaves，and amongst them a lady as she were a willow-wand or a thirsty gazelle，perfect in beauty and grace and amorous languor，and all were attending upon her.Now when she came to the mouth of the passage where I stood，she turned right and left and，calling one of the Castratos，whispered in his ear； and behold，he came up to me and laid hold of me，whilst another eunuch took my ass and made off with it.And when the spectators fled，the first eunuch bound me with a rope and dragged me after him till I knew not what to do； and the people followed us and cried out，saying，'This is not allowed of Allah！ What hath this poor scavenger done that he should be bound with ropes？'and praying the eunuchs，'Have pity on him and let him go，so Allah have pity on you！'And I the while said in my mind，'Doubtless the eunuchry seized me，because their mistress smelt the stink of the offal and it sickened her.Belike she is with child or ailing； but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！'So I continued walking on behind them，till they stopped at the door of a great house； and，entering before me，brought me into a big hall--I know not how I shall describe its magnificence--furnished with the finest furniture.And the women also entered the hall； and I bound and held by the eunuch and saying to myself，'Doubtless they will torture me here till I die and none know of my death.'However，after a while，they carried me into a neat bath-room leading out of the hall； and as I sat there，behold，in came three slave-girls who seated themselves round me and said to me，'Strip off thy rags and tatters.'So I pulled off my threadbare clothes and one of them fell a-rubbing my legs and feet whilst another scrubbed my head and a third shampooed my body.When they had made an end of washing me，they brought me a parcel of clothes and said to me，'Put these on'；

and I answered，'By Allah，I know not how！'So they came up to me and dressed me，laughing together at me the while； after which they brought casting-bottles full of rose-water，and sprinkled me therewith.Then I went out with them into another saloon； by Allah，I know not how to praise its splendour for the wealth of paintings and furniture therein； and entering it，I saw a person seated on a couch of Indian rattan'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.