Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/96

76 thee to be sorrowful?’ And he answered, ‘Methought thou wouldst not pay me my due; so I took of the grain, after the measure of my hire; and now thou hast paid me my due and I went to bring back to thee that which I had hidden from thee, but found it gone, for those who had happened upon it had stolen it.’ The old man was wroth, when he heard this, and said to the merchant, ‘There is no device [can cope] with ill luck! I had given thee this, but, of the sorriness of thy luck and thy fortune, thou hast done this deed, O oppressor of thine own self! Thou deemedst I would not acquit thee thy wage; but, by Allah, nevermore will I give thee aught.’ And he drove him away from him.

So the merchant went forth, afflicted, sorrowful, weeping, [and wandered on along the sea-shore], till he came to a sort of divers diving in the sea for pearls. They saw him weeping and mourning and said to him, ‘What is thy case and what maketh thee weep?’ So he acquainted them with his history, from first to last, whereby they knew him and said to him, ‘Art thou [such an one] son of such an one?’ ‘Yes,’ answered he; whereupon they condoled with him and wept sore for him and said to him, ‘Abide here till we dive for thy luck this next time and whatsoever betideth us shall be between us and thee.’ Accordingly, they dived and brought up ten oysters, in each two great pearls; whereat they marvelled and said to him, ‘By Allah, thy luck hath returned and thy good star is in the ascendant!’ Then they gave him ten pearls and said to him, ‘Sell two of them and make them thy capital [whereon to trade]; and hide the rest against