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fisherman and go away, leaving me sitting guarding the fish, and never return! For, before I was aware, there came up slaves, on beasts of all manner colours, and snatched away the fish from me; and this was all of thy fault; for, hadst thou returned presently with the frails, we had sold a hundred dinars’ worth of fish. And now I come to seek my due, and they have arrested me. But who hath imprisoned thee also in this place?’
The Khalif smiled and raising a corner of the curtain, said to the fisherman, ‘Come hither and take one of these papers.’ Quoth Khelifeh, ‘Yesterday thou wast a fisherman, and now I find thee an astrologer: but the more trades a man hath, the poorer he is.’ But Jaafer said, ‘Do as the Commander of the Faithful bids thee and take the paper at once, without prating.’ So he came forward, saying, ‘God forbid that this piper should ever again be my journeyman and fish with me!’ Then he put out his hand and taking a paper, handed it to the Khalif, saying, ‘O piper, what hath come up for me therein. Hide nought thereof.’ Er Reshid gave the paper to Jaafer and said to him, ‘Read what is therein.’ So he looked at it and said, Night dcccxlii.‘There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ ‘[God grant thou hast] good news, O Jaafer!’ said the Khalif. ‘What seest thou therein?’ ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered the vizier, ‘there appeareth on the paper, “Let the fisherman receive a hundred blows with a stick.”’
So the Khalif commanded to beat the fisherman and they gave him a hundred blows with a stick; after which he rose, saying, ‘Confound this play, O Bran-belly! Are imprisonment and beating part of the game?’ Then said Jaafer, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, this poor wretch is come to the river, and how shall he go away
