often worse than the crime,' and the poet offered
to convince the monarch of it before the night was over. The Khalif,
with a grim humour peculiarly his own, promised to take off his
jester's head if he failed to do so, and went out in a rage. After
awhile Harun came in a somewhat surly temper to his harem, and the
first thing which greeted him was a kiss from a rough-bearded face. On
calling out violently for a light and an executioner, he found that
his assailant was Abu Nuwas himself. 'What on earth, you scoundrel, do
you mean by this conduct?' asked the enraged Sovereign. 'I beg your
Majesty's most humble pardon,' said Abu Nuwas, 'I thought it was your
Majesty's favourite wife.' 'What!' shrieked Harun, 'why the excuse is
worse than the crime.' 'Just what I promised to prove to your
Majesty,' replied Abu Nuwas, and retired closely followed by one of
the imperial slippers.

V.

An Arab whose camel had strayed swore an oath that he would, on
finding it, sell it for one dirhem. When he had again obtained
possession of the animal he repented of his oath, but tied a cat to
the neck of the camel and shouted: 'Who will buy a camel for one
dirhem, and a cat for a hundred dirhems? But I will not sell them
separately.' A man who was there said: 'How cheap would this camel be
if it had no collar on the neck!' Something of the same kind happened
in France the other day. A peasant died, leaving his property to be
sold by his wife. Among other things there was a dog and a horse,
which the woman put up for sale together, saying that the dog's price
was twenty pounds, and the horse's one pound, but that they must be
sold together. It turned out that the deceased husband had left the
dog to his wife, and the horse to another relation, the monies
realized by the sale of each to be paid to the respective parties.

VI.

An Arab of the desert said to his boy: 'O son! on the day of
resurrection thou wilt be asked what merit thou hast gained, and not
from whom thou art descended; that is to say, thou wilt be asked what
thy merit is, and not who thy father was.'

VII.

A learned man relates the following: 'I stood with a friend on a road
conversing with him when a woman halted opposite to me, looking at me
steadfastly. When this staring had passed all bounds, I despatched my
slave to ask the woman what she was listening to. He came back and
reported that the woman had said: "My eyes had committed a great sin.
I intende