Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/108

 me: O my son, repent to the Almighty of these thy transgressions.  But I took my staff and beat her, whereupon she cursed me and Allah changed me into an ass and caused me fall into thy hands, where I have remained till this moment. However, to-day, my mother called me to mind and her heart yearned towards me; so she prayed for me and the Lord restored me to my former shape amongst the sons of Adam.  Cried the silly one, There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Allah upon thee, O my brother, acquit me of what I have done with thee in the way of riding and so forth.  Then he let the cony-catcher go and returned home, drunken with chagrin and concern as with wine. His wife asked him, What aileth thee and where is the donkey?; and he answered, Thou knowest not what was this ass; but I will tell thee.  So he told her the story, and she exclaimed, Alack and alas for the punishment we shall receive from Almighty Allah! How could we have used a man as a beast of burden, all this while? And she gave alms by way of atonement and prayed pardon of Heaven. [FN#119]  Then the man abode awhile at home, idle and feckless, till she said to him, How long wilt thou sit at home doing naught? Go to the market and buy us an ass and ply thy work with it.  Accordingly, he went to the market and stopped by the ass-stand, where behold, he saw his own ass for sale. So he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its ear, said to it, Woe to thee, thou neer-do-well! Doubtless thou hast been getting drunk again and beating thy mother! But, by Allah, I will never buy thee more. [FN#120]  and he left it and went away. And they tell a tale concerning