The Three Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Bhang-eater holding up his bag-trowsers ran after the Sultan purposing to bepiss him and caught up the fugitive at the doorway when he fell over the threshold and began a-piddling upon his own clothes. In like manner the Kazi attempted to bepiss the Wazir and ran after him to the entrance, where he also fell upon the Bhang-eater and took to making water over him. So the Bhang-eater and the Kazi lay each bewraying other, and the Sultan and the Wazir stood laughing at then and saying, "By Allah, too much Hashish injureth man's wits;" and presently they left and went their ways returning to their palaces. But the two drunkards ceased not lying in their own water till day broke; and when the fumes of the drug had left heir brains, they arose and found themselves dripping and befouled with their own filth. Thereupon each said to other, "What be this cross hath betided us?" Presently they arose and washed themselves and their clothes; then sitting down together they said, "None did this deed by us save and except the two fellows who were with us; and who knoweth what they were, or citizens of this city or strangers; for 'twas they brought the intoxicant which we ate and it bred a madness in our brains. Verily 'twas they did the mischief; but, an they come to us a third time, needs must we be instant with them and learn from them an they be foreigners or folk of this city: we will force them to confess, but if they hide them from us we will turn them out." On the next night they met again and the two sat down and ate a quantity of Hashish after they had supped: and they lit the waxen tapers and each of them drank a cup of coffee.[237] Presently their heads whirled round under the drug and they sat down to talk and enjoy themselves when their drunkenness said to them, "Up with you and dance." Accordingly they arose and danced, when behold, the Sultan and his Wazir suddenly came in upon them and salam'd to them: so they returned the salutation but continued the saltation. The new comers considered them in this condition and forthwith the King turned to the Minister and said, "What shall we do with them?" Said the other, "Patience until their case come to end in somewhat whereof we can lay hold." Then they chose seats for themselves and solaced them with the spectacle, and the dancers kept on dancing until they were tired and were compelled to sit down and take their rest. Presently the Bhang-eater looked at the Sultan and exclaimed, "You, whence are you?" and he replied, "We be foreigner folk and never visited this city before that night when we met you; and as we heard you making merry we entered to partake of your merriment." On this wise the device recoiled upon the Bhang-eater and presently the King asked them, saying, "Fear ye not lest the Sultan hear of you, and ye in this condition which would cause your disgrace at his hands?" The Bhang-eater answered, "The Sultan! What tidings of us can he have? He is in the royal Palace and we in our place of Bhang-eating." The Sovran rejoined, "Why not go to him! Belike he will gift you and largesse you;" but the Bhang-eater retorted, "We fear his people lest they drive us away." Whereto quoth the King, "They will not do on such wise and if thou require it we will write thee a note to his address, for we know him of old inasmuch as both of us learned to read in the same school." "Write thy writ," quoth the other to the Sultan who after inditing it and sealing it placed it in their hands and presently the two visitors departed. Then the Bhang-eater and the Kazi sat together through the night until daylight did appear when the fumes of the Hashish had fled their brains and the weather waxed fine and clear. So they said, each to other, "Let us go to the Sultan," and the twain set out together and walked till they reached the square facing the Palace. Here, finding a crowd of folk, they went up to the door and the Bhang-eater drew forth his letter and handed it to one of the Sultan's suite, who on reading it fell to the ground and presently rising placed it upon his head.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was