"
Whereupon Abu al-Hasan cried out and said to her: "O ill-omened
crone, wilt thou contradict me and tell me that I am not the Prince of
True Believers? 'Twas I who commanded Ja'afar the Barmecide to beat
the Sheikhs and parade them about the city and make proclamation
before them, and 'twas I, very I, who sent thee the hundred dinars and
sent to salute thee, and I, O beldam of ill luck, am in very deed
the Commander of the Faithful, and thou art a liar, who would make
me out an idiot." So saying, he rose up and fell upon her and beat her
with a staff of almond wood, till she cried out "Help, O Moslems!" And
he increased the beating upon her till the folk heard her cries, and
coming to her, found Abu al-Hasan bashing his mother and saying to
her: "Old woman of ill omen, am I not the Commander of the Faithful?
Thou hast ensorceled me!" When the folk heard his words, they said,
"This man raveth," and doubted not of his madness.
So they came in upon him, and seizing him, pinioned his elbows,
and bore him to the bedlam. Quoth the superintendant, "What aileth
this youth?" and quoth they, "This is a madman, afflicted of the
Jinn.
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