Then without a moment's delay he returned to
Khalifah and said to him, "What aileth thee, O man, to stand here, and
what is thy calling.?" The fisherman cried: "This is a stranger and
sillier question than that about the water! Seest thou not the gear of
my craft on my shoulder?" Said the Caliph, "Belike thou art a
fisherman?" and he replied, "Yes." Asked Al-Rashid, "Where is thy
gabardine, and where are thy waistcloth and girdle, and where be the
rest of thy raiment?"
Now these were the very things which had been taken from Khalifah,
like for like, so when he heard the Caliph name them, he got into
his head that it was he who had stolen his clothes from the riverbank,
and coming down from the top of the mound, swiftlier than the blinding
levin, laid hold of the mule's bridle, saying, "Hark ye, man, bring me
back my things and leave jesting and joking." Al-Rashid replied, "By
Allah, I have not seen thy clothes, nor know aught of them!" Now the
Caliph had large cheeks and a small mouth, so Khalifah said to him:
"Belike thou art by trade a singer, or a piper on pipes? But bring
me back my clothes fairly and without more ado, or I will bash thee
with this my staff till thou bepiss thyself and befoul thy clothes.
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