Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/108

88 lord,’ answered the merchant, ‘this youth had a brother and I [in my haste] cast them both into the sea.’ And he related to him his story from first to last, whereupon the king cried out with an exceeding great cry and casting himself down from the throne, embraced his father and brother and said to the former, ‘By Allah, thou art my very father and this is my brother and thy wife is our mother.’ And they abode weeping, all three.

Then the king acquainted the people [of his court] with the matter and said to them, ‘O folk, how deem ye of my looking to the issues of affairs?’ And they all marvelled at his wisdom and foresight. Then he turned to his father and said to him, ‘Hadst thou looked to the issue of thine affair and dealt deliberately in that which thou didst, there had not betided thee this repentance and grief all this time.’ Then he let bring his mother and they rejoiced in each other and lived all their days in joy and gladness. What then,” continued the young treasurer, “is more grievous than the lack of looking to the issues of affairs? Wherefore hasten thou not in the slaying of me, lest repentance betide thee and sore concern.”

When the king heard this, he said, “Restore him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his affair; for that deliberation in affairs is advisable and the slaughter of this [youth] shall not escape [us].”