The Khaleefeh was delighted at this, and said, O Kereem, strip off thy clothes:—and he did so. He was clad in a jubbeh[29] in which were a hundred patches of coarse woollen stuff, containing vermin of the most abominable kind, and among them fleas in such numbers that he might almost have been transported by their means over the face of the earth; and he took from his head a turban which for three years he had never unwound; but when he happened to find a piece of rag he twisted it around it: and when he had taken off the jubbeh and turban, the Khaleefeh pulled off from his own person two vests of silk of Alexandria and Baạlabekk, and a melwaṭah[30] and a farajeeyeh,[31] and said to the fisherman, Take these, and put them on. The Khaleefeh then put on himself the fisherman's jubbeh and turban, and, having drawn a lithám[32] over his face, said to the fisherman, Go about thy business;—and he kissed the feet of the Khaleefeh, and thanked him, reciting these two verses:—
Thou hast granted me favours beyond my power to acknowledge, and completely satisfied all my wants. I will thank thee, therefore, as long as I live; and when I die, my bones will thank thee in their grave.[33]
But scarcely had he finished his verses, when the vermin overran the person of the Khaleefeh, and he began to seize them with his right hand and his left from his neck, and to throw them down; and he exclaimed, O fisherman, wo to thee! What are these abundant vermin in this jubbeh?—O my lord, he answered, at present they torment thee; but when a week shall have passed over thee, thou wilt not feel them, nor think of them. The Khaleefeh laughed, and said to him, How can I suffer this jubbeh to remain upon me? The fisherman replied, I wish to tell thee something; but I am ashamed, through my awe of the Khaleefeh. Impart, said the Khaleefeh, what thou hast to tell me. So he said to him, It hath occurred to my mind, O Prince of the Faithful, that thou desirest to learn the art of fishing, in order that thou mayest be master of a trade that may profit thee; and if such be thy desire, this jubbeh is suitable to thee. And the Khaleefeh laughed at his words.
The fisherman then went his way, and the Khaleefeh took the basket of fish, and, having put upon it a little grass, went with it to Jaạfar, and stood before him; and Jaạfar, thinking that he was Kereem the fisherman, feared for him, and said, O Kereem, what brought thee hither? Save thyself by flight; for the Khaleefeh is here this night.—And when the Khaleefeh heard the words of Jaạfar, he laughed until he fell down upon his back. So Jaạfar said, Perhaps thou art our lord the Prince of the Faithful?—Yes, O Jaạfar, answered the Khaleefeh, and thou art my Wezeer, and I came with thee hither, and thou knowest me not. How then should the sheykh Ibráheem know me when he is drunk? Remain where thou art until I return to thee.—Jaạfar replied, I hear and obey:—and the Khaleefeh advanced to the door of the palace, and knocked. The sheykh Ibráheem arose, therefore, and said, Who is at the door? He answered, I, O sheykh Ibráheem. The sheykh said, Who art thou?—and the Khaleefeh answered, I am Kereem the fisherman: I heard that there were guests with thee, and have therefore brought thee some fish; for it is excellent.—Now Noor-ed-Deen and the damsel were both fond of fish, and when they heard the mention of it they rejoiced exceedingly, and said, O my master, open to him, and let him come in to us with the fish which he hath brought. So the sheykh Ibráheem opened the door, and the Khaleefeh, in his fisherman's disguise, entered, and began by salutation; and the sheykh Ibráheem said to him, Welcome to the robber, the thief, the gambler! Come hither, and shew us the fish which thou hast brought.—He therefore shewed it to them; and lo, it was alive, and moving; and the damsel exclaimed, By Allah, O my master, this fish is excellent! I wish it were fried!—By Allah, said the sheykh Ibráheem, thou hast spoken truth. Then, addressing the Khaleefeh, he said, O fisherman, I wish thou hadst brought this fish fried. Arise, and fry it for us, and bring it.—On the head be thy commands, replied the Khaleefeh: I will fry it, and bring it.—Be quick, said they, in doing it.
The Khaleefeh therefore arose and ran back to Jaạfar, and said, O Jaạfar, they want the fish fried.—O Prince of the Faithful, replied he, give it me, and I will fry it. But the Khaleefeh said, By the tombs of my ancestors, none shall fry it but myself; with my own hand will I do it! He then repaired to the hut of the superintendent, and, searching there, found in it everything that he required, the frying-pan, and even the salt, and wild marjoram, and other things. So he approached the fire-place, and put on the frying-pan, and fried it nicely; and when it was done, he put it upon a banana-leaf, and having taken from the garden some limes, he went up with the fish, and placed it before them. The young man, therefore, and the damsel and the sheykh Ibráheem advanced and ate; and when they had finished, they washed their hands, and Noor-ed-Deen said, By Allah, O fisherman, thou hast done us a kindness this night. Then putting his hand into his pocket, he took forth for him three pieces of gold, of those which Senjer had presented to him when he was setting forth on his journey, and said, O fisherman, excuse me; for, by Allah, if I had known thee before the events that have lately happened to me, I would have extracted the bitterness of poverty from thy heart: but take this as accordant with my present circumstances. So saying, he threw the pieces of gold to the Khaleefeh, who took them, and kissed them,[34] and put them in his pocket. The object of the Khaleefeh in doing this was only that he might hear the damsel sing: so he said to him, Thou hast treated me with beneficence, and abundantly recompensed me; but I beg of thy unbounded indulgence that this damsel may sing an air, that I may hear her. Noor-ed-Deen therefore said, O Enees-el-Jelees! She replied, Yes.—By my life, said he, sing to us something for the gratification of this fisherman; for he desireth to hear thee. And when she had heard what her master said, she took the lute, and tried it with her fingers, after she had twisted its pegs, and sang to it these two verses:—
The fingers of many a fawn-like damsel have played upon the lute, and the soul hath been ravished by the touch. She hath made the deaf to hear her songs; and the dumb hath exclaimed, Thou hast excelled in thy singing!
Then she played again, in an extraordinary manner, so as to charm the minds of her hearers, and sang the following couplet:—