Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/45

25 May God accept of thee and increase thee of His bounties! Go, O my son, fetch us some victual, for I slept not last night for stress of hunger, having gone to bed supperless.’

He laughed and said, ‘Welcome to thee, O my mother! Call for what thou wilt to eat, and I will set it before thee forthright; for I have no occasion to buy from the market, nor need I any to cook.’ ‘O my son,’ replied she, ‘I see nought with thee.’ And he said, ‘I have with me in these saddle-bags all manner of meats.’ ‘O my son,’ rejoined she, ‘whatever is ready will serve to stay hunger.’ ‘True,’ answered he, ‘when there is no choice, men are content with the least thing; but where there is plenty, they like to eat what is good: and I have plenty; so call for what thou hast a mind to.’ ‘O my son,’ said she, ‘give me some hot bread and a piece of cheese:’ but he answered, saying, ‘O my mother, this befits not thy condition.’ ‘Then give me to eat of that which befits my condition,’ quoth she; ‘for thou knowest it.’ ‘O my mother,’ rejoined he, ‘what befits thy condition is rissoled meat and fricasseed fowls and savoury rice and sausages and stuffed cucumbers and stuffed lamb and stuffed ribs [of mutton] and vermicelli with pounded almonds and nuts and honey and sugar and fritters and almond patties.’ But she thought he was laughing at her and making mock of her; so she said to him, ‘Alas! Alas! what is come to thee? Dost thou dream or art thou mad?’ ‘Why deemest thou that I am mad?’ asked he, and she replied, ‘Because thou namest to me all manner rich meats; who can avail unto their price, and who knows how to dress them?’ Quoth he, ‘As I live, thou shalt eat of all that I have named to thee, and that forthright.’ And she said, ‘I see nothing.’ Then said he, ‘Bring me the saddle-bags.’

So she fetched them and feeling them, found them empty. However, she laid them before him and he thrust in his hand and pulled out dish after dish, till he had set