第64章

and Allah give thee a blessing of him！'So he made over the beast and received his money； and the Shaykh's slaves took the ape and tied him up in the ship.Then they loosed sail and made for another island，where they cast anchor； and there came down divers，who plunged for precious stones，pearls and other gems；

so the merchants hired them to dive for money and they dived.Now when the ape saw them doing this，he loosed himself from his bonds and，jumping off the ship's side，plunged with them，whereupon quoth Abu al-Muzaffar，'There is no Majesty and there is no Might，save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！ The monkey is lost to us with the luck of the poor fellow for whom we bought him.'And they despaired of him； but，after a while，the company of divers rose to the surface，and behold，among them was the ape，with his hands full of jewels of price，which he threw down before Abu al-Muzaffar.The Shaykh marvelled at this and said，'There is much mystery in this monkey！'Then they cast off and sailed till they came to a third island，called the Isle of the Zunuj，[232] who are a people of the blacks，which eat the flesh of the sons of Adam.When the blacks saw them，they boarded them in dug-outs[233] and，taking all in the vessel，pinioned them and carried them to their King，who bade slaughter certain of the merchants.So they slaughtered them by cutting their throats and ate their flesh； and the rest of the traders passed the night in bonds and were in sore concern.But when it was midnight，the ape arose and going up to Abu al-Muzaffar，loosed his bonds； and，as the others saw him free，they said，'Allah grant our deliverance may be at thy hands，O Abu al-Muzaffar！'

But he replied，'Know that he who delivered me，by leave of Allah Almighty，was none other than this monkey''--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Second Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Abu al-Muzaffar declared，'None loosed me，by leave of Allah Al-mighty，save this monkey and I buy my release of him at a thousand dinars！'whereupon the merchants rejoined，'And we likewise，each and every，will pay him a thousand dinars if he release us.'With this the ape arose and went up to them and loosed their bonds one by one，till he had freed them all，when they made for the vessel and boarding her，found all safe and nothing missing from her.So they cast off and set sail； and presently Abu al-Muzaffar said to them，'O merchants，fulfil your promise to the monkey.''We hear and we obey，'answered they； and each one paid him one thousand dinars，whilst Abu al-Muzaffar brought out to him the like sum of his own monies，so that a great heap of coin was collected for the ape.Then they fared on till they reached Bassorah-city where their friends came out to meet them； and when they had landed，the Shaykh said，'Where is Abu Mohammed Lazybones？'The news reached my mother，who came to me as I lay asleep and said to me，'O my son，verily the Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar hath come back and is now in the city； so rise and go thou to him and salute him and enquire what he hath brought thee； it may be Allah Almighty have opened to thee the door of fortune with somewhat.'Quoth I，'Lift me from the ground and prop me up，whilst I go forth and walk to the river bank.'

After which I went out and walked on，stumbling over my skirts，till I met the Shaykh，who exclaimed at sight of me，'Welcome to him whose money hath been the means of my release and that of these merchants，by the will of Almighty Allah.'Then he continued，'Take this monkey I bought for thee and carry him home and wait till I come to thee.'So I took the ape and went off，saying in my mind，'By Allah，this is naught but rare merchandise！'and led it home，where I said to my mother，'Whenever I lie down to sleep，thou biddest me rise and trade；

see now this merchandise with thine own eyes.'Then I sat me down and as I sat，up came the slaves of Abu al-Muzaffar and said to me，'Art thou Abu Mohammed Lazybones？''Yes'answered I； and behold，Abu al-Muzaffar appeared behind them.So I rose up to him and kissed his hands： and he said，'Come with me to my home.'