Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/71

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Then said Ali, ‘Wait here, whilst I lock the saloon and fetch thee somewhat from the market.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ said the Christian. So Ali shut up the saloon and locking the door with a padlock, put the key in his pocket: after which he repaired to the market and bought fried cheese and virgin honey and bananas and bread, with which he returned to the Christian. When the latter saw this, he said, ‘O my lord, this is [too] much; thou hast brought enough for half a score men and I am alone; but belike thou wilt eat with me.’ ‘Eat by thyself,’ replied Ali; ‘I am full.’ ‘O my lord,’ rejoined the Christian, ‘the wise say, “He who eats not with his guest is a base-born churl.”’

When Ali heard this, he sat down and ate a little with him, after which he would have held his hand: but [whilst he was not looking] the Christian took a banana and peeled it, then, splitting it in twain, put into one half concentrated henbane, mixed with opium, a drachm whereof would overthrow an elephant. This half he dipped in the honey and gave to Ali Shar, saying, ‘O my lord, I swear by thy religion that thou shalt take this.’ Ali was ashamed to make him forsworn; so he took the half banana and swallowed it; but hardly had it reached his stomach, when his head fell down in front of his feet and he was as though he had been a year asleep.

When the Nazarene saw this, he rose, as he had been a bald wolf or a baited cat, and taking the saloon key, made off at a run, leaving Ali Shar prostrate. Now this Christian was the brother of the decrepit old man who thought to buy Zumurrud for a thousand dinars, but she would have none of him and flouted him in verse. He was an

VOL. IV.