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Updated: June 14, 2025
The servant went in and told his master, who came out and found Masrur, the Caliph's Chamberlain, and a company of the Governor's men at the door. So he kissed ground before Masrur and said, "I hear and obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but first enter ye my house."
Then he called for the food-trays; so they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he exclaimed, "By Allah, never did I behold the like of these appointments in the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!" Then said Masrur to him, "We can tarry no longer for fear of the Caliph's displeasure."
Then Masrur read him the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid, to which he replied, "I hear and I obey," and forthwith despatched him, with a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed's house. When they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page came out and Masrur said to him, "Tell thy lord, The Commander of the Faithful summoneth thee."
Quoth the Caliph, "Say on," and quoth Ibn al- Karibi, "Masrur made it a condition with me and I a covenant with him, that whatsoever largesse might come to me of the bounties of the Commander of the Faithful, one-third thereof should be mine and the rest his; nor did he agree to leave me so much as one- third, save after much higgling and haggling.
The Caliph examined it and lifted it finding it weighty; so he gave the fisherman two hundred dinars and sent him about his business; whilst Masrur, aided by the Caliph, carried the chest to the palace and set it down and lighted the candles. Ja'afar and Masrur then broke it open and found therein a basket of palm-leaves corded with red worsted.
Before him they beheld a man, as he were the Wazir Ja'afar, and at his head stood an eunuch, as he were Masrur, with a drawn sword in his hand; besides a score of cup-companions. Now when the Caliph saw this, he turned and said, "O Ja'afar," and the Minister replied, "At thy service, O Prince of True Believers." Then quoth the Caliph, "Belike this is one of my sons, Al Amin or Al-Maamun."
And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say. When it was the Four Hundred and First Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Masrur cried out, "O Commander of the Faithful! The one-third sufficeth me; give him the two-thirds." So the Caliph laughed at them and ordered them a thousand dinars each, and they went away, rejoicing at the largesse.
She opened the door to them, when said they to her, "Have we thy leave to come in?" "Come in," quoth she; and the Caliph entered followed by Ja'afar and Masrur; and when the girls saw them they stood up to them in respect and made them sit down and looked to their wants, saying, "Welcome, and well come and good cheer to the guests, but with one condition!"
The Caliph replied, "O Masrur, the palace is my palace and the girls are my property: furthermore my soul inclineth not to aught of this." Then Masrur rejoined, "O my lord, summon the doctors of law and religion and the sages of science and poets, and bid them contend before thee in argument and disputation and recite to thee songs and verses and tell thee tales and anecdotes."
Then said the Commander of the Faithful, "Now hast thou earned the beating," and gave him a blow with the bag, wherein were four pebbles each two rotols in weight. The blow fell on his neck and he gave a great cry, then calling to mind his compact with Masrur, said, "Pardon, O Commander of the Faithful! Hear two words from me."
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