Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/328

316 thee at that price.’ So the king sent to his treasurer for the money and he brought it and gave Abousir the whole of the price, in full; after which the king restored the slaves to their former owners, saying, ‘Let each of you who knoweth his slaves take them; for they are a gift from me to you.’ So they obeyed his commandment and took each his own; whilst the barber said to the king, ‘God ease thee, O king of the age, even as thou hast eased me of these ghouls, whom none may fill save God!’ The king laughed, and gave him reason; then, taking the grandees of his realm, returned to his palace; but Abousir passed the night in counting his money and laying it up in bags and sealing them; and he had with him twenty black slaves and a like number of white and four slave-girls to serve him.

On the morrow, as soon as it was day, he opened the bath and sent out a crier to make proclamation, saying, ‘Whoso entereth the bath and washeth shall give that which he can afford and which his generosity deemeth fit.’ Then he seated himself by the chest and customers flocked in upon him, each putting down that which was easy to him, nor was eventide come before the chest was full of the good gifts of God the Most High. Presently the queen desired to go to the bath, and when this came to Abousir’s knowledge, he divided the day, on her account, into two parts, appointing the time between daybreak and noon to the men and that between noon and sundown to the women. When the queen came, he stationed a female slave behind the pay-chest; for he had taught four slave-girls the service of the bath, so that they were become expert bathwomen. So, when the queen entered, this pleased her and her breast dilated and she laid down a thousand dinars.

On this wise his report was noised abroad in the city, and all who entered the bath he entreated with honour,