第59章

When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Caliph Harun al-Rashid commanded，'Bring me the girl at once，for I long for her exceedingly.' So they brought her and the Caliph said to Abu Yusuf，I have a mind to have her forthright，for I cannot bear to abstain from her during the prescribed period of purification； now how is this to be done？' Abu Yusuf replied，'Bring me one of thine own male slaves who hath never been manumitted.' So they brought one and Abu Yusuf said，'Give me leave to marry her to him； then let him divorce her before consummation； and thus shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her before purification.' This second expedient pleased the Caliph yet more than the first； he sent for the Mameluke and，whenas he came，said to the Kazi 'I authorise thee to marry her to him.' So the Imam proposed the marriage to the slave，who accepted it，and performed the ceremony； after which he said to the slave，'Divorce her，and thou shalt have an hundred dinars.'

But he replied，'I won't do this；' and the Imam went on to increase his offer，and the slave to refuse till he bid him a thousand dinars.Then the man asked him，'Doth it rest with me to divorce her，or with thee or with the Commander of the Faithful？'

He answered，'It is in thy hand.' 'Then by Allah，' quoth the slave，'I will never do it； no，never！' Hearing these words the Caliph was exceeding wroth and said to the Imam，'What is to be done，O Abu Yusuf？' Replied he，'Be not concerned，O Commander of the Faithful； the thing is easy.Make this slave the damsel's chattel.' Quoth Al-Rashid，'I give him to her；' and the Imam said to the girl，'Say： I accept.' So she said，I accept；' whereon quoth Abu Yusuf，'I pronounce separation from bed and board and divorce between them，for that he hath become her property，and so the marriage is annulled.' With this，Al-Rashid rose to his feet and exclaimed，'It is the like of thee that shall be Kazi in my time.' Then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied them before Abu Yusuf，to whom he said，'Hast thou wherein to put this？' The Imam bethought him of the mule's nose-bag； so he sent for it and，filling it with gold，took it and went home.And on the morrow，he said to his friends，'There is no easier nor shorter road to the goods of this world and the next，than that of religious learning； for，see，I have gotten all this money by answering two or three questions.' So consider thou，O polite reader，[217] the pleasantness of this anecdote，for it compriseth divers goodly features，amongst which are the complaisance of Ja'afar to Al Rashid，and the wisdom of the Caliph who chose such a Kazi and the excellent learning of Abu Yusuf，may Almighty Allah have mercy on their souls one and all！

And they also tell the TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF.

When Khalid bin Abdallah al-Kasri[218] was Emir of Bassorah，there came to him one day a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and lofty bearing and perfumed attire； whose aspect expressed good breeding，abundant wit and dignity of the gravest.They brought him before the Governor，who asked what it was and they replied，'This fellow is a thief，whom we caught last night in our dwelling-house.' Whereupon Khalid looked at him and was pleased with his well-favouredness and elegant aspect； so he said to the others，'Loose him，' and going up to the young man，asked what he had to say for himself.He replied，'Verily the folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said.'

Quoth Khalid，'And what moved thee to this and thou so noble of port and comely of mien？' Quoth the other 'The lust after worldly goods，and the ordinance of Allah （extolled exalted be He！）.'

Rejoined Khalid，'Be thy mother bereaved of thee！[219] Hadst thou not，in thy fair face and sound sense and good breeding，what should restrain thee from thieving？' Answered the young man，'O Emir，leave this talk and proceed to what Almighty Allah hath ordained； this is what my hands have earned，and，'God is not unjust towards mankind.''[220] So Khalid was silent awhile considering the matter then he bade the young man draw near him and said，'Verily，thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me，for I cannot believe thee to be a thief： haply thou hast some story that is other than one of theft； and if so tell it me.'

Replied the youth 'O Emir，imagine naught other than what I have confessed to in thy presence； for I have no tale to tell save that verily I entered these folks' house and stole what I could lay hands on and they caught me and took the stuff from me and carried me before thee.' Then Khalid bade clap him in gaol and commended a crier to cry throughout Bassorah，'O yes！ O yes！

Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment of such an one，the thief，and the cutting-off of his hand，let him be present to-morrow morning at such a place！' Now when the young man found himself in prison，with irons on his feet，he sighed heavily and with tears streaming from his eyes extemporized these couplets，'When Khalid menaced off to strike my hand*If I refuse to tell him of her case；

Quoth I，'Far，far fro' me that I should tell*A love，which ever shall my heart engrace；

Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed*To me were easier than to shame her face.'

The warders heard him and went and told Khalid who，when it was dark night，sent for the youth and conversed with him.He found him clever and well-bred，intelligent，lively and a pleasant companion； so he ordered him food and he ate.Then after an hour's talk said Khalid，'I know indeed thou hast a story to tell that is no thief's； so when the Kazi shall come to-morrow morning and shall question thee about this robbery，do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the pain and penalty of cutting off thy hand； for the Apostle （whom Allah bless and keep！） saith，'In cases of doubt，eschew punishment.'' Then he sent him back to prison，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.