253
Whenas thou com’st to know of folk in evil plight, Think thou must answer it upon the Judgment Day;
And when thou bearest forth the dead unto the tombs, Think that thou, too, must pass upon the self-same way!
Then I left him and went home. On the morrow, I returned, at the appointed hour, and found him indeed dead, the mercy of God be on him! So I washed him and unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby worth thousands of dinars and said to myself, “By Allah, this youth was indeed abstracted from the things of this world!” After I had buried him, I made my way to Baghdad and going to the Khalif’s palace, waited till he came forth, when I accosted him in one of the streets and gave him the ruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a swoon. His attendants laid hands on me, but he revived and bade them unhand me and bring me courteously to the palace. They did his bidding, and when he returned, he sent for me and carrying me into his closet, said to me, “How doth the owner of this ruby?” Quoth I, “He is dead;” and told him what had passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, “The son hath profited, but the father is disappointed.” Then he called out, saying, “Ho, such an one!” And behold, a woman came out to him. When she saw me, she would have withdrawn; but he said to her, “Come; and heed him not.” So she entered and saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which when she knew, she gave a great shriek and fell down in a swoon. As soon as she came to herself, she said, “O Commander of the Faithful, what hath God done with my son?” And he said to me, “Do thou tell her;” for he could not speak for weeping. So I repeated the story to her, and she began to weep and say in a failing voice, “How I have longed for thy sight, O consolation of my eyes! Would I might have given thee to drink, when thou hadst none to tend thee! Would I might have
