Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/370

342 Spring was come and the place beamed with its brightness; whilst the birds sang and the stream rippled and the breeze blew softly, for the attemperance of the air. Ibrahim carried them up into the pavilion, and they gazed on its beauty and on the lamps aforesaid in the windows; and Noureddin called to mind his banquetings of time past and said, ‘By Allah, this is a charming place!’ Then they sat down and the gardener set food before them; and they ate their fill and washed their hands; after which Noureddin went up to one of the windows and calling the damsel, fell to gazing on the trees laden with all manner of fruits. Then he turned to the gardener and said to him, ‘O Gaffer Ibrahim, hast thou no drink here, for folk use to drink after eating?’ The old man brought him some fresh sweet cold water, but he said, ‘This is not the kind of drink I want.’ ‘Belike,’ said Ibrahim, ‘thou wishest for wine?’ ‘I do,’ replied Noureddin. ‘God preserve me from it!’ said the old man. ‘It is thirteen years since I did this thing, for the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve!) cursed its drinker, its presser, its seller and its carrier.’ ‘Hear two words from me,’ said Noureddin. ‘Say on,’ replied Ibrahim. ‘If,’ said Noureddin, ‘that unlucky ass there be cursed, will any part of the curse fall on thee?’ ‘Not so,’ replied the old man. ‘Then,’ said Noureddin, ‘take this dinar and these two dirhems and mount the ass and stop at a distance (from the wineshop); then call the first man thou seest buying, and say to him, “Take these two dirhems and buy me this dinar’s worth of wine and set it on the ass.” Thus thou wilt be neither the purchaser nor the carrier of the wine and no part of the curse will fall on thee.’ At this the gardener laughed and said, ‘O my son, never have I seen one readier-witted than thou nor heard aught sweeter than thy speech.’ So he did as Noureddin had said, and the latter thanked him, saying, ‘We are dependent on thee,