Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 3.djvu/96

78 rejoiced in his neighbourhood and left him not night nor day, so that the prince said to him, “By Allah, I distract thee from thy livelihood.” “God on thee, O my lord,” replied the merchant, “name not to me aught of this, or thou wilt break my heart, for the best of traffic is thy company and thou art the best of livelihood.” So there befell strait friendship between them and ceremony was laid aside from between them.

Meanwhile the king said to his vizier, “How shall we do in the matter of yonder youth, the Yemani, on whom we thought to confer largesse, but he hath largessed us with tenfold [our gift] and more, and we know not if he be a sojourner with us or no?” Then he went into the harem and gave the rubies to his wife Afifeh, who said to him, “What is the worth of these with thee and with [other] the kings?” And he answered, “They are not to be found save with the greatest of kings and none may avail to price them with money.” Quoth she, “Whence gottest thou them?” So he recounted to her the story of El Abbas from first to last, and she said, “By Allah, the claims of honour are imperative on us and the king hath fallen short of his due; for that we have not seen him bid him to his assembly, nor hath he seated him on his left hand.”

[When the king heard his wife’s words], it was as if he had been asleep and awoke; so he went forth of the harem and bade slaughter fowls and dress meats of all kinds and colours. Moreover, he assembled all his retainers and let bring sweetmeats and dessert and all that beseemeth unto kings’ tables. Then he adorned