the noise of the blows and the crying, and repaired to Khalifah's
room, but they found the door locked and said one to other: "Belike
the robbers have come in upon him from the back of the adjoining
saloon. It behooveth us to climb over by the roofs."
So they clomb over the roofs, and coming down through the
skylight, saw him naked and flogging himself, and asked him, "What
aileth thee, O Khalifah?" He answered: "Know, O folk, that I have
gained some dinars and fear lest my case be carried up to the Prince
of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid, and he send for me and demand of
me those same gold pieces; whereupon I should deny, and I fear that if
I deny, he will torture me, so I am torturing myself, by way of
accustoming me to what may come." The merchants laughed at him and
said: "Leave this fooling. May Allah not bless thee and the dinars
thou hast gotten! Verily thou hast disturbed us this night and hast
troubled our hearts."
So Khalifah left flogging himself and slept till the morning, when
he rose and would have gone about his business, but bethought him of
his hundred dinars and said in his mind: "An I leave them at home,
thieves will steal them, and if I put them in a belt about my waist,
peradventure someone will see me and lay in wait for me till he come
upon me in some lonely place and slay me and take the money.
Pages:
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554