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Begin with the sister; and he answered, 'With joy and goodwill. So she came down and he showed me her hand and behold, she was the owner of the hand and wrist. And I begot on her this boy that standeth in thy presence." Then Al-Maamun marvelled at the man's generosity and said, "Gifted of Allah is he! Never heard I of his like."
And never have I seen, O Commander of the Faithful, any when or any where, aught fairer than these six damsels fair." Now when Al-Maamun heard this story from Mohammed of Bassorah, he turned to him and said, "O Mohammed, knowest thou the abiding-place of these damsels and their master, and canst thou contrive to buy them of him for us?"
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Al-Maamun attempting to pull down the Pyramids, expended his mint of money, but succeeded only in opening up a small tunnel in one of them, where in it is said he found treasure to the exact amount of the monies he had spent in the works, neither more nor less; whereat he marvelled and taking what he found there, desisted from his determination.
Then said al-Maamun to her, "What is thy name, O damsel?"; and she replied, "My name is Kurrat al-Ayn. O Commander of the Faithful," and he rejoined, "Sing to us, O Kurrat al-Ayn." So she sang these two couplets,
Presently the discussion ended when water was brought and they washed their hands after which food was set on and they ate; and the doctors arose and withdrew; but Al-Maamun forbade the stranger to depart with them and, calling him to himself, treated him with especial-favour and promised him honour and profit. Answered the Caliph, "Say what thou wilt."
"Who doth kindness to men shall be paid again; * Ne'er is kindness lost betwixt God and men." It is told that the Caliph Al-Maamun, son of Harun al-Rashid, when he entered the God-guarded city of Cairo, was minded to pull down the Pyramids, that he might take what was therein; but, when he went about to do this, he could not succeed, albeit his best was done.
So I brought all that to my lodging, feeling as I were lord of the whole world, for exceeding delight in her; then I rode forthright to Al-Maamun.
Then Al-Maamun showed me honour and favour and said to me, 'O uncle, Abu Ishak and Al-Abbas counselled me to put thee to death. So I answered, 'And they both counselled thee right, O Commander of the Faithful, but thou hast done after thine own nature and hast put away what I feared with what I hoped. Rejoined Al Maamun, 'O uncle, thou didst extinguish my rancour with the modesty of thine excuse, and I have pardoned thee without making thee drink the bitterness of obligation to intercessors. Then he prostrated himself in prayer a long while, after which he raised his head and said to me, 'O uncle, knowest thou why I prostrated myself? Answered I, 'Haply thou didst this in thanksgiving to Allah, for that He hath given thee the mastery over thine enemy. He replied, 'Such was not my design, but rather to thank Allah for having inspired me to pardon thee and for having cleared my mind towards thee.
Then said al-Maamun, "Bring up 'the Flyer," being minded to embark and depart: but Ali bin Hisham said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have a slave girl, whom I bought for ten thousand diners; she hath taken my heart in whole and part, and I would fain display her to the Commander of the Faithful.
At last when his patience was at an end and his passion was sore on him and he was helpless in the matter, he went in to al-Maamun, one day of state after the folk had retired, and said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, if thou wilt this day make trial of thine Alcaydes by taking them unawares, thou wilt know the generous from the mean and note each one's place, after the quality of his mind. But, in saying this he purposed only to sit with Kurrat al-Ayn in her lord's house.
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