Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 2.djvu/69

49 ‘O my lord, O such an one, thou goest under a delusion. The purse is with me, for it was with me that thou depositedst it, and this elder is innocent of it.’ But the sharper answered him with impatience and impetuosity, saying, ‘Extolled be the perfection of God! As for the purse that is with thee, O noble and trusty man, I know that it is in the warrant of God and my heart is at ease concerning it, for that it is with thee as it were with me; but I began by demanding that which I deposited with this man, of my knowledge that he coveteth the folk’s good.’ At this the friend was confounded and put to silence and returned not an answer; [and the] only [result of his interference was that] each of them paid a thousand dinars.

So the sharper took the two thousand dinars and made off; and when he was gone, the merchant said to his friend, the [self-styled] man of wit and intelligence, ‘Harkye, such an one! Thou and I are like unto the hawk and the locust.’ ‘What was their case?’ asked the other; and the merchant said,

VOL. II.