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tug hard at it, or it will break and by Allah, I will take thy she-ass in payment of it!’
The Khalif laughed at his words and drew up the net, little by little, till he brought it ashore and found it full of fish; which when Khelif saw, his reason fled for joy and he said, ‘By Allah, O trumpeter, thy luck is good in fishing! Never in my life will I part with thee! But now I mean to send thee to the fish market, where do thou enquire for the shop of Ahmed the fisherman and say to him, “My master Khelif salutes thee and bids thee send him a pair of frails and a knife, so he may bring thee fish more than yesterday.” Run and return to me in haste.’
‘On my head, O master!’ replied Er Reshid, laughing, and mounting his mule, rode back to Jaafer, who said to him, ‘Tell me what hath befallen thee.’ So the Khalif told him all that had passed between the fisherman and himself, from first to last, and added, ‘I left him awaiting my return to him with the baskets and I am resolved that he shall teach me how to scale fish and clean them.’ ‘And I,’ said Jaafer, ‘will go with thee, to sweep up the scales and clean out the shop.’ And the affair abode thus.
Then said Er Reshid to his vizier, ‘O Jaafer, I desire of thee that thou despatch the young slaves, saying to them, “Whoso bringeth me a fish from before yonder fisherman, I will give him a dinar;” for I love to eat of my own catching.’ Accordingly Jaafer repeated to the slaves what the Khalif had said and directed them where to find the fisherman. So they came down upon Khelif and snatched the fish from him; and when he saw them and noted their goodliness, he doubted not but that they were of the black-eyed boys of Paradise; so he caught up a couple of fish and plunging into the river, said, ‘O my God, by the secret [virtue] of these fish, forgive me!’
