Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/371

353 thee with honour and restore thee to the land.’ ‘It is thine to decide,’ replied Abdallah. ‘I will put my trust in God and go with thee.’

So he took him and carried him to the king, who, when he saw him, laughed at him and said, ‘Welcome to the lacktail!’ And all who were about the king fell to laughing at him and saying, ‘Yea, by Allah, he is tailless!’ Then Abdallah of the sea came forward and acquainted the king with the fisherman’s case, saying, ‘This man is of the children of the land and he is my friend and cannot live amongst us, for that he loves not the eating of fish, except it be fried or boiled; wherefore I desire that thou give me leave to restore him to the land.’ ‘Since the case is so,’ answered the king, ‘I give thee leave to restore him to his place, after due entertainment. Bring him the guest-meal.’

So they brought him fish of various kinds and colours and he ate, in obedience to the king’s commandment; after which the latter said to him, ‘Ask a boon of me.’ Quoth he, ‘I ask of thee that thou give me jewels;’ and the king said, ‘Carry him to the jewel-house and let him choose that whereof he hath need.’ So his friend carried him to the jewel-house and he chose out what he would, after which the merman brought him back to his own city and pulling out a purse, said to him, ‘Take this deposit and lay it on the tomb of the Prophet, whom God bless and preserve!’ And he took it, knowing not what was therein.

Then the merman went forth with him, to bring him back to land, and by the way he heard singing and merry-making and saw a table spread with fish and folk eating and singing and holding high festival. So he said to his friend, ‘What ails these people to rejoice thus? Is there a wedding toward amongst them?’ ‘Nay,’ answered Abdallah of the sea; ‘only one of them is dead.’ ‘Do ye then,’ asked the fisherman, ‘when one dieth amongst you, VOL. VIII.