Tales from the Arabic | Page 5

on them their joys.' This is what
I wish and no more."
Quoth the Khalif, "God grant thee that thou seekest! Let us drink one
last cup and rise before the dawn draw near, and to-morrow night I will
be with thee again." "Far be it!" said Aboulhusn. Then the Khalif filled
a cup and putting therein a piece of Cretan henbane, gave it to his host
and said to him, "My life on thee, O my brother, drink this cup from my
hand!" "Ay, by thy life," answered Aboulhusn, "I will drink it from thy
hand." So he took it and drank it off; but hardly had he done so, when
his head forewent his feet and he fell to the ground like a slain man;
whereupon the Khalif went out and said to his servant Mesrour, "Go in
to yonder young man, the master of the house, and take him up and
bring him to me at the palace; and when thou goest out, shut the door."
So saying, he went away, whilst Mesrour entered and taking up
Aboulhusn, shut the door after him, and followed his master, till he

reached the palace, what while the night drew to an end and the cocks
cried out, and set him down before the Commander of the Faithful, who
laughed at him. Then he sent for Jaafer the Barmecide and when he
came before him, he said to him, "Note this young man and when thou
seest him to-morrow seated in my place of estate and on the throne of
my Khalifate and clad in my habit, stand thou in attendance upon him
and enjoin the Amirs and grandees and the people of my household and
the officers of my realm to do the like and obey him in that which he
shall command them; and thou, if he bespeak thee of anything, do it
and hearken unto him and gainsay him not in aught in this coming
day." Jaafer answered with, "Hearkening and obedience,"[FN#17] and
withdrew, whilst the Khalif went in to the women of the palace, who
came to him, and he said to them, "Whenas yonder sleeper awaketh
to-morrow from his sleep, kiss ye the earth before him and make
obeisance to him and come round about him and clothe him in the
[royal] habit and do him the service of the Khalifate and deny not aught
of his estate, but say to him, 'Thou art the Khalif.'" Then he taught them
what they should say to him and how they should do with him and
withdrawing to a privy place, let down a curtain before himself and
slept.
Meanwhile, Aboulhusn gave not over snoring in his sleep, till the day
broke and the rising of the sun drew near, when a waiting-woman came
up to him and said to him, "O our lord [it is the hour of] the morning-
prayer." When he heard the girl's words, he laughed and opening his
eyes, turned them about the place and found himself in an apartment
the walls whereof were painted with gold and ultramarine and its
ceiling starred with red gold. Around it were sleeping-chambers, with
curtains of gold-embroidered silk let down over their doors, and all
about vessels of gold and porcelain and crystal and furniture and
carpets spread and lamps burning before the prayer-niche and
slave-girls and eunuchs and white slaves and black slaves and boys and
pages and attendants. When he saw this, he was confounded in his wit
and said, "By Allah, either I am dreaming, or this is Paradise and the
Abode of Peace!"[FN#18] And he shut his eyes and went to sleep again.
Quoth the waiting-woman, "O my lord, this is not of thy wont, O
Commander of the Faithful!"

Then the rest of the women of the palace came all to him and lifted him
into a sitting posture, when he found himself upon a couch, stuffed all
with floss-silk and raised a cubit's height from the ground.[FN#19] So
they seated him upon it and propped him up with a pillow, and he
looked at the apartment and its greatness and saw those eunuchs and
slave-girls in attendance upon him and at his head, whereat he laughed
at himself and said, "By Allah, it is not as I were on wake, and [yet] I
am not asleep!" Then he arose and sat up, whilst the damsels laughed at
him and hid [their laughter] from him; and he was confounded in his
wit and bit upon his finger. The bite hurt him and he cried "Oh!" and
was vexed; and the Khalif watched him, whence he saw him not, and
laughed.
Presently Aboulhusn turned to a damsel and called to her; whereupon
she came to him and he said to her, "By the