331
his comeliness was manifest and the goodliness of his fashion, and the folk marvelled at this. Presently, the eunuch saw him, who had given him the hundred dinars, that had been the cause of his good fortune; so he went in to the Khalif and said to him, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, Khelif the fisherman is become a king, and on him is a dress worth a thousand dinars.’ The Khalif bade admit him; so he entered and said, ‘Peace be on thee, O Commander of the Faithful and Vicar of the Lord of the Worlds and Protector of the people of the Faith! May God the Most High prolong thy days and advance thy dominion and exalt thy station to the loftiest!’
The Khalif looked at him and marvelled at him and how fortune had come to him at unawares; then he said to him, ‘O Khelif, whence hadst thou that dress that is upon thee?’ ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered he, ‘it comes from my house.’ Quoth the Khalif, ‘Hast thou then a house?’ ‘Yes,’ replied Khelif, ‘and thou, O Commander of the Faithful, art my guest this day.’ And Er Reshid said, ‘I alone, O Khelif, or I and those who are with me?’ And he answered, saying, ‘Thou and whom thou wilt.’ So Jaafer turned to him and said, ‘We will be thy guests this night;’ whereupon he kissed the earth again and withdrawing, mounted his mule and rode off, attended by his servants, leaving the Khalif marvelling at this and saying to Jaafer, ‘Sawst thou Khelif, with his mule and dress and servants, and his dignity? But yesterday I knew him for a buffoon and a laughing-stock.’ And they marvelled at this.
[Then they mounted and rode, till they drew] near Khelif’s house, when the latter alighted and taking a parcel from one of his attendants, opened it and pulled out therefrom a piece of tabby silk and spread it under the hoofs of the Khalif’s mule; then he brought out a piece of velvet and another of cloth of gold and a third of
