Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/44

24 gold and half with jewels and precious stones, and sending for a slave and a mule, said to him, ‘Mount this mule, and the slave shall go before thee and guide thee in the way, till thou come to the door of thy house, where do thou take the two pairs of saddle-bags and give him the mule, that he may bring it back. But let none into thy secret; and so we commend thee to God.’ ‘May God increase thy good!’ replied Jouder and laying the two pairs of saddle-bags on the mule’s back, mounted and set forth. The slave went on before him and the mule followed him all that day and night, and on the morrow he entered Cairo by the Gate of Victory, where he saw his mother seated, saying, ‘Charity, for the love of God!’ At this sight he well-nigh lost his wits and alighting, threw himself upon her: and when she saw him, she wept. Then he mounted her on the mule and walked by her stirrup, till they came to the house, where he set her down and taking the saddle-bags, left the mule to the slave, who took her and returned with her to his master, for that both slave and mule were Afrits.

As for Jouder, it was grievous to him that his mother should beg; so, when they were in the house, he said to her, ‘O my mother, are my brothers well?’ And she replied, ‘They are both well.’ Quoth he, ‘Why dost thou beg by the wayside?’ ‘Because I am hungry, O my son,’ answered she; and he, ‘Before I went away I gave thee a hundred dinars one day, the like the next and a thousand on the day of my departure.’ ‘O my son,’ replied she, ‘they cheated me and took the money from me, saying, “We will buy goods with it.” Then they drove me away, and I fell to begging by the wayside, for stress of hunger.’ ‘O my mother,’ said Jouder, ‘no harm shall befall thee, now I am come; so have no concern, for these saddle-bags are full of gold and jewels and good aboundeth [with me].’ Quoth she, ‘Verily, thou art blessed, O my son!