The Seven Hundred and Seventh 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 when Ibrahim reached Baghdad and went up to the Palace of the Commander of the Faithful and stood in the presence he was asked, "What hast thou brought for us from thy journey, O Ibrahim?" whereto he answered, "O our lord, I have come to thee with all thou willest and wishest that of rede be right and of word apposite." Quoth he, "And what may that be?" and quoth the other, "The ten handmaids:" and so saying he set them before the Caliph, whereupon they kissed ground and did him suit and service and deprecated for him and greeted him with blessings, and each and every of them addressed him in tongue most eloquent and with theme most prevalent. The Prince of True Believers hugely admired them, marvelling at their deftness of address and their sweetness of speech which he had never witnessed in any other; and he was delighted with their beauty and loveliness and their stature and symmetrical grace, and he wondered with extreme wonderment how their lord had consented they should be brought before him. Then cried he, "O Ibrahim, what hath been thy case with the owner of these damsels, and did he commit them to thee despite himself in anger and care or with resignation of mind and broadening of bosom and joy and satisfaction?" "O my lord," said Ibrahim, "verily he made them over to me in none except the best of dispositions, and Allah give him length of life for a youth! How benign was his countenance and how beautiful, and how perfect and how liberal were his hands and prompt to act, and how excellent were his wits and how goodly and gracious was his society and how yielding was his nature and how great was his dignity and how just were his dealings with his lieges! By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, when I went to him from thee I found him outside his city intending for the hunt and chase and about to enjoy himself in pleasurable case, but seeing our coming he met me and salam'd to me and greeted me and rejoiced in me with extreme joy. All this, and he knew me not nor did I on my part know him; but he took me with him and returned to town, and as we entered he was met by the Lords of the land and the lieges who prayed for him; so I knew that man to be their King and Captain of commandment, also that he was equitable to his subjects. Then he made me alight in his House of Hospitality, and went up into his Palace, after which he sent to call me and I obeyed his summons, when he set apart for me an apartment under his own roof and taking me by the hand led me thereto, where I found everything the best that could be. Anon he despatched for us wine and wax candles and perfumes and fruits fresh and dry and whatnot of that which becometh such assembly; and, when this was done, he bade summon the ten handmaidens, and they also took their seats in the session, and they smote their instruments and they sang verse wherein each one excelled her companion. But one of them insisted in her song upon the name of me, saying, 'None availeth to compose such lines save Ibrahim the Cup-companion, the son of Ishak.' Now I had denied myself to their lord and acquainted him not with my name; but when the damsel had finished her verse, I largessed to her a thousand gold pieces and asked her, 'Who may be this Ibrahim whereat thou hast hinted in thy song?' Said she, 'He is the boon-companion of the Caliph and he is unique among the pleasant'; then she fell to praising me with praise galore than which naught could be more, unknowing me the while, until I took the lute from her hand and smote it with a touch unlike their play. Hereby their lord discovered me and said in his verse, 'Thou art Ibrahim without doubt or mistake'; but still I denied myself, replying, 'I am a man from Al-Basrah and a familiar of Ibrahim the Master-Musician': And on this wise I answered him, when behold, there came up to us a page bearing a rescript from thee. So King Yusuf took it from his hand and read the address when he made certain that I was Ibrahim, the Cup-companion, and having learnt my name he blamed me saying, 'O Ibrahim, thou hast denied thyself to me.' 'O my lord,' I replied, 'Twas that I feared for thee excess of trouble'; after which quoth he, 'Verily these ten damsels are a free gift from me to the Commander of the Faithful.' Hearing these words I refused to receive them and promised on my return to the Caliph that I would defend their lord from all detraction, but he cried, 'O Ibrahim, unless thou take them I will forward them with other than thyself.' And lastly, O Prince of True Believers, he presented to me fifty slave-girls and as many Mamelukes and an hundred and fifty negro-serviles and twenty steeds of purest blood, with their housings and furniture, and four hundred she-camels and twenty pods of musk."[298] Then having told his tale, the Cup-companion fell to commending Yusuf, and the Caliph inclined ear to him admiring at this man and his generosity and his openness of hand and the eloquence of his tongue and the excellence of his manners, until Al-Maamun desired to forgather with him and work him weal and gift him with liberal gifts. Presently the Caliph bade summon the ten handmaidens and the hour was past supper-tide, at which time Ibrahim the Cup-companion was seated beside him without other being present. And as soon as the girls came before him the Caliph bade them take their seats, and when they obeyed his order the wine cups went merrily round, and the ten were directed to let him hear somewhat of their chaunting and playing. So they fell to smiting their instruments of mirth and merriment and singing their songs, one after other, and each as she ended her poetry touched the Caliph with delight until it came to the last of them, who was hight Muhjat al-Kulúb;—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 King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was