Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/338

324 into the sea,’ for fear of the troops, lest they should rise against him and slay him.

Meanwhile, Abousir cast the net into the sea and drew it up full of fish. Then he cast it again and it came up full of fish; nor did he cease to cast it and pull it up full, till there was a great heap of fish before him. So he said to himself, ‘By Allah, I have not eaten fish this long while!’ And chose himself a large fat fish, saying, ‘When the captain comes back, I will bid him fry it for me, so I may make the morning mealmorning-meal [sic] of it.’ Then he cut its throat with a knife he had with him; but the knife stuck in its gills and there he saw the king’s seal-ring; for the fish had swallowed it and destiny had driven it to the island, where it had fallen into the net. So he took the ring and put it on his little finger, not knowing its properties. Presently, up came two of the cook’s underlings in quest of fish and seeing Abousir, said to him, ‘O man, whither is the captain gone?’ ‘I know not,’ answered he and signed to them with his right hand; when, behold, their heads dropped from their shoulders.

At this Abousir was amazed and said, ‘I wonder who slew them!’ And their case was grievous to him and he was still musing upon it, when the captain returned and seeing the two men lying dead and the ring on Abousir’s finger, said to him, ‘O my brother, move not thy hand whereon is the ring; else thou wilt slay me.’ Abousir wondered at this speech and the captain coming up to him, said, ‘Who slew these two men?’ ‘By Allah, O my brother,’ answered the barber, ‘I know not!’ ‘Thou sayst sooth,’ rejoined the captain; ‘but tell me whence hadst thou that ring?’ Quoth Abousir, ‘I found it in this fish’s gills.’ ‘True,’ said the captain, ‘for I saw it fall flashing from the king’s palace and disappear in the sea, what time he signed toward [the sack in which he deemed] thee [to be], saying, “Cast him in.” So I cast