As for thy father, neither dost thou know him nor yet do
we, for the Sultan married thy mother to the hunchbacked horse
groom, but the Jinni came and slept with her and thou hast no known
father. Leave, then, comparing thyself too advantageously with the
littles ones of the school, till thou know that thou hast a lawful
father, for until then thou wilt pass for a child of adultery
amongst them. Seest thou not that even a huckster's son knoweth his
own sire? Thy grandfather is the Wazir of Egypt, but as for thy
father, we wot him not and we say indeed that thou hast none. So
return to thy sound senses!"
When Ajib heard these insulting words from the monitor and the
schoolboys and understood the reproach they put upon him, he went
out at once and ran to his mother, Sitt al-Husn, to complain, but he
was crying so bitterly that his tears prevented his speech for a
while. When she heard his sobs and saw his tears, her heart burned
as though with fire for him, and she said: "O my son, why dost thou
weep? Allah keep the tears from thine eyes! Tell me what hath
betided thee." So he told her all that he heard from the boys and from
the monitor and ended with asking, "And who, O my mother, is my
father?" She answered, "Thy father is the Wazir of Egypt.
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