Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/26

8 Paradise and made high his degree [among His blessed].’ Then he laid his hands on Iskender’s head and said, ‘Whether of these twain art thou?’ Whereupon Iskender wept sore and straining the king to his bosom, said, ‘An thou be minded to consort with me, I will commit to thee the government of my affairs and share with thee in my kingdom.’ ‘Away! away!’ replied the other. ‘I have no mind to this.’ ‘Why so?’ asked Iskender, and the King answered, ‘Because all men are thine enemies by reason of the wealth and possessions thou hast gotten, and all men are my friends in verity, because of my contentment and poverty, for that I possess nothing, neither covet aught of the goods of the world; I have no desire unto them nor wish for them, neither reck I of aught save contentment.’ So Iskender pressed him to his bosom and kissed him between the eyes and went his way. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANOUSHIRWAN.

It is told of the just King Anoushirwan that he once feigned himself sick and bade his stewards and intendants go round about the provinces of his empire and the quarters of his realm and seek him out a rotten brick from some ruined village, that he might use it as medicine, avouching that the physicians had prescribed this to him. So they went the round of the provinces of his realm and of all the lands under his dominion and returned and said to him, ‘In all the realm we have found no ruined place nor old rotten brick.’ At this he rejoiced and returned thanks to God, saying, ‘I was but minded to prove my kingdom and try my empire, that I might know if there were therein any ruined [or deserted] place, so I