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went out, without telling any; and the doorkeeper of the inn was then at market and thus saw him not go out.
Aboukir betook himself to the bazaar and clad himself in rich apparel, at a cost of five hundred paras; then he proceeded to walk about and divert himself by viewing the place, which he found a city whose like was not among cities; but he noted that all its people were clad in clothes of white and blue, without other colour. Presently he came to a dyer’s and seeing nought but blue in his shop, pulled out to him a kerchief and said, ‘O master, take this kerchief and dye it and take thy hire.’ Quoth the dyer, ‘The cost of dying this will be twenty dirhems.’ ‘In our country,’ said Aboukir, ‘we dye it for two.’ ‘Then go and dye it in your own country,’ answered the dyer. ‘As for me, my price is twenty dirhems and I will not bate a tittle thereof.’ ‘What colour wilt thou dye it?’ asked Aboukir; and the dyer said, ‘I will dye it blue.’ Quoth Aboukir, ‘But I want it dyed red.’ ‘I know not how to dye red,’ answered the dyer. ‘Then dye it green,’ rejoined Aboukir. But the dyer said, ‘I know not how to dye green.’ ‘Yellow,’ said Aboukir. ‘Nor yet yellow,’ answered the dyer; and Aboukir went on to name the different colours to him, one after another, till the dyer said, ‘We are here in this city forty master-dyers, neither more nor less; and when one of us dies, we teach his son the craft. If he leave no son, we abide wanting one, and if he leave two sons, we teach one of them the craft, and if he die, we teach his brother. This our craft is straitly ordered and we know not how to dye aught but blue.’
Then said Aboukir, ‘Know that I also am a dyer and know how to dye all colours; and I would have thee take me into thy service on hire, and I will teach thee my art, so thou mayst glory therein over all the company of dyers.’ But the dyer answered, ‘We never admit a
