And when the money
was weighed, they twain stowed it into the hole, which they
carefully filled up with earth. Then the good wife took back the
scales to her kinswoman, all unknowing that an ashrafi had adhered
to the cup of the scales. But when Kasim's wife espied the gold
coin, she fumed with envy and wrath, saying to herself: "So ho! They
borrowed my balance to weigh out ashrafis?" And she marveled greatly
whence so poor a man as Ali Baba had gotten such store of wealth
that he should he obliged to weigh it with a pair of scales.
Now after long pondering the matter, when her husband returned
home at eventide, she said to him: "O man, thou deemest thyself a
wight of wealth and substance, but lo! thy brother Ali Baba is an emir
by the side of thee, and richer far than thou art. He hath such
heaps of gold that he must needs weigh his moneys with scales,
whilst thou, forsooth, art satisfied to count thy coin." "Whence
knowest thou this?" asked Kasim. And in answer his wife related all
anent the pair of scales, and how she found an ashrafi stuck to
them, and shewed him the gold coin, which bore the mark and
superscription of some ancient king.
Pages:
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873