Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 3.djvu/248

226 vouchsafed us a safe arrival at the island of Serendib. We landed and went up to the city, where I carried the letter and present to the king and kissing the earth fell [prostrate before him], invoking blessings on him. When he saw me, ‘Welcome to thee, O Sindbad!’ quoth he. ‘By the Most Great God, we have longed for thy sight and the day is blessed on which we behold thee once more.’ Then he took my hand and seating me by his side, welcomed me and entreated me friendly and rejoiced in me with an exceeding joy; after which he fell to conversing with me and caressing me and said, ‘What brings thee to us, O Sindbad?’ I kissed his hand and thanking him, said, ‘O my lord, I bring thee a present and a letter from my lord the Khalif Haroun er Reshid.’ Then I brought out to him the present and the letter and he read the latter and accepted the former, rejoicing therein with an exceeding joy.

Now this present was a horse worth ten thousand dinars and all its housings and trappings of gold set with jewels, and a book and five different kinds of suits of apparel and an hundred pieces of fine white linen cloths of Egypt and silks of Suez and Cufa and Alexandria and a crimson carpet and another of