Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/289

 with me, so may Allah have mercy on thee!' But he said, 'I am a chattel and the Book enjoineth me to obey my lesser master.' So we followed him afar off, till we saw him enter the house of a slave-broker. Now the first half of the night was past and the last half was longsome upon us, so we went away; but next morning, we repaired to the slave-dealer and said to him, 'Hast thou a lad to sell us for service?' He answered, 'Yes, I have an hundred lads or so and they are all for sale.' Then he showed us slave after slave; till he had shown us some seventy; but my friend was not amongst them, and the dealer said, 'These are all I have.' But, as we were going out from him we saw a ruinous hut behind his house and going in behold, we found the black standing there. I cried, ''Tis he, by the Lord of the Ka'abah!' and turning to the dealer, said to him, 'Sell me yonder slave.' Replied he, 'O Abu Yahya, this is a pestilent unprofitable fellow, who hath no concern by night but weeping and by day but repentance.' I rejoined, 'It is for that I want him.' So the dealer called him, and he came out, showing drowsiness. Quoth his master, 'Take him at thine own price, so thou hold me free of all his faults.' I bought him for twenty dinars and asked 'What is his name?' and the dealer answered 'Maymun, the monkey;' and I took him by the hand and went out with him, intending to go home; but he turned to me and said, 'O my lesser lord, why and wherefore didst thou buy me? By Allah, I am not fit for the service of God's creatures!' Replied I, 'I bought thee that I might serve thee myself; and on my head be it.' Asked he, 'Why so?' and I answered, 'Wast thou not in company with us yesterday in the place of prayer?' Quoth he, 'And didst thou hear me?'; and quoth I, 'It was I accosted thee yesterday and spoke with thee.' Thereupon he advanced till we came to a mosque, where he entered and prayed a two-bow prayer; after which he said, 'O my God and my Lord and Master, the secret that was between me and Thee Thou hast discovered unto Thy creatures and hast brought me to shame before the worldling. How then shall life be sweet to me, now that other than Thou hath happened upon that which is between Thee and me? I conjure Thee to take my soul to Thee forthright. [FN#471] So saying, he prostrated himself, and I awaited