276
and tied the rope about himself and she let him down into the well. Now there was much water therein and she said to him, ‘The rope is too short; loose thyself and drop down.’ So he did himself loose from the rope and dropped into the water, in which he sank fathoms deep, without touching the bottom of the well; whilst Night dccxii.she veiled herself and taking his clothes, returned to her mother, to whom said she, ‘I have stripped Ali the Egyptian and cast him into the Amir Hassan’s well, from which there is no chance of his escaping.’
Presently, the Amir Hassan, the master of the house, who had been absent at the Divan, came home and finding the door open, said to his groom, ‘Why didst thou not lock the door?’ ‘O my lord,’ answered the groom, ‘indeed I locked it with my own hand.’ Quoth the Amir, ‘As my head liveth, some thief hath entered my house!’ Then he went in and searched right and left, but found none and said to the groom, ‘Fill the ewer, that I may make the ablution.’ So the man lowered the bucket into the well; but, when he drew it up, he found it heavy and looking down, saw one sitting therein; whereupon he let it fall into the water and cried out, saying, ‘O my lord, an Afrit came up to me out of the well!’ Quoth the Amir, ‘Go and fetch four doctors of the law, that they may read the Koran over him, till he go away.’ So he fetched the doctors and the Amir said to them, ‘Sit round the well and exorcise me this Afrit.’ They did as he bade them; after which the groom and another servant lowered the bucket again and Ali clung to it and hid himself under it, till he came near the top, when he sprang out and landed among the doctors, who fell a-cuffing each other and crying out, ‘Afrit! Afrit!’
The Amir looked at Ali and seeing him a young man, said to him, ‘Art thou a thief?’ ‘No,’ answered Ali. ‘Then what dost thou in the well?’ asked the Amir; and
