Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/315

303 Presently up came a sailor and said to the barber, ‘O master, the captain bids thee come to supper and bring thy comrade.’ Quoth the barber to the dyer, ‘Wilt thou come with us?’ But he answered, ‘I cannot walk.’ So the barber went by himself and found the captain and his company sitting awaiting him, with a tray before them, wherein were a score or more of dishes. When the captain saw him, he said, ‘Where is thy friend?’ And Abousir answered, ‘O my lord, he is sea-sick.’ ‘That will do him no harm,’ answered the captain; ‘his sickness will pass off; but do thou carry him his supper and come back, for we await thee.’ Then he set apart a dish of kabobs and putting therein some of each dish, till there was enough for ten, gave it to Abousir, who took it and carried it to the dyer, whom he found grinding away with his dog-teeth at that which was before him, as he were a camel, and heaping mouthful on mouthful in his haste. Quoth Abousir, ‘Did I not say to thee, “Eat not [of this]?”this]”? [sic] Indeed the captain is a man of exceeding kindness. See what he hath sent thee, for that I told him thou wast sick.’ ‘Give it here,’ answered the dyer. So the barber gave it to him and he snatched it from him and fell upon it, like a ravening dog or a raging lion or a roc pouncing on a pigeon or one who is well-nigh dead for hunger and seeing victual, falls to eating thereof.

Then Abousir left him and going back to the captain, supped and enjoyed himself and drank coffee with him; after which he returned to Aboukir and found that he had eaten all that was in the platter and thrown it aside, empty. So he took the empty dish and gave it to one of the captain’s servants, then went back to Aboukir and slept till the morning. On the morrow he continued to shave, and all he got by way of meat and drink he gave to Aboukir, who ate and drank and sat still, rising not save to do his natural occasions, and