Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/311

299 colours; but he never kept faith with any one; so poverty had gotten the better of him. Then he would take the stuff and say, ‘Give me my hire in advance and come to-morrow and take the stuff.’ So the stranger would give him the money and go his way; whereupon Aboukir would carry the stuff to the market and sell it and buy meat and vegetables and tobacco and fruit and what not else he needed with the price; but, whenever he saw any one who had given him stuff to dye standing at the door of his shop, he would not show himself to him.

On this wise he abode years and years, till it chanced one day that he received stuff to dye from a masterful man and sold it and spent the price. The owner came to him every day, but found him not in his shop; for, whenever he espied any one who had a claim against him, he would flee from him into the shop of the barber Abousir. At last, the angry man, finding that he was not to be seen and growing weary of coming, repaired to the Cadi and bringing one of the latter’s serjeants to the shop, nailed up the door, in presence of a number of Muslims, and sealed it, for that he found therein nothing but some broken pans, to stand him instead of his stuff; after which the serjeant took the key, saying to the neighbours, ‘Tell him to bring back this man’s goods and take the key of his shop,’ and went his way, he and the man.

Then said Abousir to Aboukir, ‘What aileth thee? Whoever brings thee aught, thou losest it for him. What is gone of this angry man’s stuff?’ ‘O my neighbour,’ answered the dyer, ‘it was stolen from me.’ ‘Wonderful!’ exclaimed the barber. ‘Whenever any one gives thee aught, a thief steals it from thee! Art thou then the resort of the whole college of thieves? But I doubt me thou liest: so tell me the truth.’ ‘O my neighbour,’ replied Aboukir, ‘none hath stolen aught from me.’ ‘What then dost thou with the people’s goods?’ asked Abousir. And the dyer