Ye must clothe him with this dress, and mount him upon the mule, and bring him hither. So they came to the ship, and, taking me from the captain, clad me with the dress; and the people were astonished, and flocked to amuse themselves with the sight of me. And when they brought me to the King, and I beheld him, I kissed the ground before him three times, and he ordered me to sit down: so I sat down upon my knees; and the persons present were surprised at my polite manners, and especially the King, who presently ordered his people to retire. They, therefore, did so; none remaining but the King, and a eunuch, and a young memluk, and myself. The King then commanded that a repast should be brought; and they placed before him a service of viands, such as gratified the appetite and delighted the eye; and the King made a sign to me that I should eat; whereupon I arose, and, having kissed the ground before him seven times, sat down to eat with him; and when the table was removed, I washed my hands, and, taking the ink-case, and pen and paper, I wrote these two verses:
Great is my appetite for thee, O Kunafeh![1] I cannot be happy nor endure without thee.
Be thou every day and night my food; and may drops of honey not be wanting to moisten thee.
Having done this, I arose, and seated myself at a distance; and the King, looking at what I had written, read it with astonishment, and exclaimed, Can an ape possess such fluency and such skill in calligraphy? 'This is, indeed, a wonder of wonders!Afterwards, a chess-table was brought to the King, and he said to me, Wilt thou play? By a motion of my head I answered, Yes:and I advanced, and arranged the pieces. I played with him twice, and beat him; and the King was perplexed, and said, Were this a man, he would surpass all the people of his age.
He then said to his eunuch, Go to thy mistress, and say to her, Answer the summons of the King:that she may come and gratify her curiosity by the sight of this wonderful ape. The eunuch, there-fore, went, and returned with his mistress, the King's daughter, who,
- ↑ A kind of pastry resembling vermicelli, made of wheat-flour. It is moistened with clarified butterthen baked, and sweetened with honey or sugar.
