Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/32

16 meats thou wouldest have; but tell us what thou hast a mind to, and we will set it before thee without delay.’ ‘By Allah, O my lord the pilgrim,’ replied Jouder, ‘I love all kinds of meat and mislike none; so ask me not of aught, but bring all that cometh to thy thought, for I have nought to do but to eat.’

He abode twenty days with the Moor, who clad him in a new dress every day, and all this time they ate from the saddle-bags; for the Moor bought neither meat nor bread nor aught else nor cooked, but brought everything out of the bags, even to various kinds of fruit. On the twenty-first day, he said to Jouder, ‘Come, this is the day appointed for opening the treasure of Shemerdel.’ So he rose and they went afoot without the city, where they found two slaves, each holding a mule. The Moor mounted one mule and Jouder the other, and they rode on till noon, when they came to a stream of running water, on whose banks they alighted and Abdussemed signed with his hand to the slaves and said, ‘To it!’ So they took the mules and going each his own way, were absent awhile, after which they returned, bearing, one a tent, which he pitched, and the other carpets, which he spread in the tent and laid cushions thereabout. Then they brought the saddle-bags and the caskets containing the two fish; whereupon the Moor arose and said, ‘Come, O Jouder!’ So Jouder followed him into the tent and sat down beside him; and he brought out dishes of meat from the saddle-bags and they ate the morning meal.morning-meal. [sic]

Then the Moor took the two caskets and conjured over them, whereupon there came from within voices that said, ‘Here are we, at thy service, O diviner of the world! Have mercy on us!’ But he ceased not to repeat conjurations and they to call for help, till the two caskets flew in sunder and there came forth two men, with their hands bound behind them, saying, ‘Pardon, O diviner of the