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One New Year's day I had invited the damsels of Bassorah and amongst them a girl belonging to Siran, who had bought her out of Oman for four score thousand dirhams. Presently, the fumes of the wine moved her to strike her hand on the inkle of my petticoat trousers, whereby it became loosed, unknown of either of us, and my trousers fell down in our play.
Then quoth I to Badr al-Din, "What is the price they asked thee for this piece?"; and quoth he, "Eleven hundred dirhams." I rejoined, "The odd hundred shall be thy profit: bring me a sheet of paper and I will write thee a discharge for it."
When the watchman came back, he found him seated in the shop, account- books inhand, and reckoning with his fingers; nor did he cease to do thus till point of day, when he said to the man, "Fetch me a camel-driver and his camel, to carry some goods for me." Then he gave the watchman two dirhams and went away after the camel-driver, leaving the watchman believing him to be the owner of the shop.
Now when it was the morrow, the Jew carried it to one of his brethren which was an expert in jewels, and the man asked, "O such an one! whence haddest thou this pearl?"; whereto the Jew answered, "It was a gift of Almighty Allah to us," and the other said, "It is worth a thousand dirhams and I will give thee that; but take it to such an one, for he hath more money and skill than I." So the Jew took it to the jeweller, who said, "It is worth seventy thousand dirhams and no more."
He fared thus a long while, till one day, as he was sitting in his shop, there came up an old man and long o' the beard, who laid down some silver and said, "Give me meat for this." He gave him his money s worth of flesh and the oldster went his ways. My brother examined the Shaykh's silver, and, seeing that the dirhams were white and bright, he set them in a place apart.
At last the man said to the Governor, "Dispatch some one with me to bring thee the money; for these fellows will not open their eyes, lest they incur disgrace before the folk." So the Governor sent to fetch the money and gave the man his pretended share, three thousand dirhams; and, keeping the rest for himself, banished the three blind men from the city.
Now when I heard her words, O Commander of the Faithful, I knew she would do as she threatened for her knowledge of my sluggishness; so I said to her, 'Help me to sit up. She did so, and I wept the while and said to her, 'Bring me my shoes. Accordingly, she brought them and I said, 'Put them on my feet. She put them on my feet and I said, 'Lift me up off the ground. So she lifted me up and I said, 'Support me, that I may walk. So she supported me and I continued to fare a foot, at times stumbling over my skirts, till we came to the river bank, where we saluted the Shaykh and I said to him, 'O my uncle, art thou Abu al-Muzaffar? 'At thy service, answered he, and I, 'Take these dirhams and with them buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply Allah may vouchsafe me a profit of it. Quoth the Shaykh to his companions, 'Do ye know this youth? They answered, 'Yes, he is known as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and we never saw him stir from his house till this moment. Then said he to me, 'O my son, give me the silver with the blessing of Almighty Allah! So he took the money, saying, 'Bismillah in the name of Allah! and I returned home with my mother.
When Al-Hajjaj heard this, he turned back and went his way, unseen of Hind; and, being minded to put her away, he sent Abdullah bin Tahir to her, to divorce her. So Abdullah went in to her and said to her, "Al-Hajjaj Abu Mohammed saith to thee: 'Here be the two hundred thousand dirhams of thy contingent dowry he oweth thee'; and he hath deputed me to divorce thee."
Then the Prince called to one of his servants to bring him fifty thousand dirhams and a thousand and five hundred dinars to boot, and gave them all to Yunus, saying, "Take the slave's price: the thousand dinars are for thy fair opinion of us and the five hundred are for thy viaticum and for what present thou shalt buy for thy people. Art thou content?"
Now when the carousal was at an end, Al-Amin commanded one of his servants to fill the boat, wherein Ja'afar had come, with dirhams and dinars and all manner of jewels and jacinths and rich raiment and goods galore.
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