Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/260

235 house, but found no one and overlooked the oven. So he stood meditating and swore that he would not go forth of the house till the morrow.

As for the singer, when his [stay in the oven] grew long upon him, he came forth therefrom, thinking that her husband had gone away. Then he went up to the roof and looking down, beheld his friend the druggist; whereat he was sore concerned and said in himself, ‘Alas, the disgrace of it! This is my friend the druggist, who dealt kindly with me and wrought me fair and I have requited him with foul.’ And he feared to return to the druggist; so he went down and opened the first door and would have gone out; but, when he came to the outer door, he found it locked and saw not the key. So he stole up again to the roof and cast himself down into the [next] house. The people of the house heard him and hastened to him, deeming him a thief. Now the house in question belonged to a Persian; so they laid hands on him and the master of the house began to beat him, saying to him, ‘Thou art a thief.’ ‘Nay,’ answered he, ‘I am no thief, but a singing-man, a stranger. I heard your voices and came to sing to you.’

When the folk heard his words, they talked of letting him go; but the Persian said, ‘O folk, let not his speech beguile you. This fellow is none other than a thief who knoweth how to sing, and when he happeneth on the like of us, he is a singer.’ ‘O our lord,’ answered they, ‘this man is a stranger, and needs must we release him.’ Quoth he, ‘By Allah, my heart revolteth from this fellow! Let me make an end of him with beating.’ But they