Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/350

322 Presently, up came the chief eunuch, in quest of fish, but found none and seeing Khelif ducking and rising in the water, with the two fish in his hands, called out to him, saying, ‘Harkye, Khelif, what hast thou there?’ ‘Two fish,’ answered the fisherman, and the eunuch said, ‘Give them to me and take a hundred dinars for them.’ When Khelif heard speak of a hundred dinars, he came up out of the water and said, ‘Hand over the hundred dinars.’ Quoth the eunuch, ‘Follow me to the house of Er Reshid and take the money, O Khelif,’ and taking the fish, made off to the Khalif’s palace.

Meanwhile Khelif betook himself to Baghdad, clad as he was in the Khalif’s gown, which barely reached to his knees, turbaned with the piece which he had cut off therefrom and girt about the middle with a rope, and passed through the midst of the city. The folk fell a-laughing and marvelling at him and saying, ‘Whence hadst thou that gown?’ And he went on, saying, ‘Where is the house of Er Reshad?’ Quoth they, ‘Say, “The house of Er Reshid;”’ and he answered, ‘It is all one,’ and fared on, till he came to the palace of the Khalifate.

Now the tailor, who had made the gown, was standing at the door, and when he saw it upon the fisherman, he said to him, ‘How many years hast thou had [admission to the palace]?’ ‘Ever since I was a boy,’ answered Khelif, and the tailor said, ‘Whence hadst thou that gown, that thou hast ruined thus?’ Quoth Khelif, ‘I had it of my apprentice the trumpeter.’ Then he went up to the door, where he found the chief eunuch sitting and seeing him exceeding black of hue, said to him, ‘Wilt thou not bring the hundred dinars, O uncle Rosy-cheeks?’ Quoth he, ‘On my head, O Khelif;’ when, behold, out came Jaafer from the presence of the Khalif and seeing the fisherman talking with the eunuch and saying to him,