Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 3.djvu/350

320 hundred,’ said the Bedouin. ‘Too much,’ said Maan. ‘Two hundred.’ ‘Too much.’ ‘One hundred.’ ‘Too much.’ ‘Fifty.’ ‘Too much.’ At last the Bedouin came down to thirty dinars; but Maan still replied, ‘Too much.’ ‘By Allah,’ cried the Bedouin, ‘the man I met in the desert brought me ill luck! But I will not go lower than thirty dinars.’ The Amir laughed and said nothing; whereupon the Bedouin knew that it was he whom he had met and said, ‘O my lord, except thou bring the thirty dinars, there is the ass tied ready at the door and here sits Maan.’ At this, Maan laughed, till he fell backward, and calling his steward, said to him, ‘Give him a thousand dinars and five hundred and three hundred and two hundred and one hundred and fifty and thirty and leave the ass where he is.’ So the Bedouin, to his amazement, received two thousand and nine score dinars, and may God have mercy on them both! THE CITY OF LEBTAIT.

There was once a city in the land of the Franks, called the City of Lebtait. It was a royal city and in it stood a tower which was always shut. Whenever a King died and another King of the Franks took the Kingship after him, he set a new and strong lock on the tower, till there were four-and-twenty locks upon the gate. After this time, there came to the throne a man who was not of the old royal house, and he had a mind to open the locks, that he might see what was within the tower. The grandees of his kingdom forbade him from this and were instant with him to desist, offering him all that their hands possessed of riches and things of price, if he would but forego his desire; but he would not be baulked and said, ‘Needs must I open this tower.’ So he did off the locks and entering,