第117章 NOUREDDIN ALI AND THE DAMSEL ENIS EL JELIS.(6)

do I need thy pricethat I should sell thee？ The furniture of my house would fetch many times thy valueif I sold it.'When Muin saw thishe said to Noureddin'Out on thee！Hast thou aught left to sell？'And he made to lay violent hands on him；but the merchants interposedfor they all loved Noureddinand the latter said to them'BeholdI am in your handsand ye all know his tyranny！'By Allah，'exclaimed the Vizier'but for youI would have killed him！'Then all the merchants signed to Noureddin with their eyes as who should say'Work thy will of him；not one of us will come betwixt him and thee.'Whereupon Noureddinwho was a stout-hearted fellowwent up to the Vizier and dragging him from his saddlethrew him to the ground. Now there was in that place a mortar-pitinto the midst of which he felland Noureddin fell to cuffing and pummelling himand one of the blows smote his teethdyeing his beard with his blood.

There were with the Vizier ten armed slaveswhoseeing their master thus evil entreatedclapped their hands to their swords and would have drawn them and fallen on Noureddinto kill him；but the bystanders said to them'This is a Vizier and that a Vizier's son；it may be they will make peace with one another anonin which case you will have gotten the hatred of both of them. Or a blow may fall on your lordand you will all die the foulest of deaths；so you would do wisely not to interfere.'So they held aloof and when Noureddin had made an end of beating the Vizierhe took his slave-girl and went home；and Muin rosewith his white clothes dyed of three colours with black mudred blood and ashes. When he saw himself in this plighthe put a halter round his neck and taking a bundle of coarse grass in either handwent up to the palace and standing under the King's windowscried out'O King of the ageI am a man aggrieved！'So they brought him before the Sultanwho looked at him and knowing him for his chief Vizierasked who had entreated him thus.

Whereupon he wept and sobbed and repeated the following verses：

Shall fortune oppress meand that in thy dayO King？ Shall wolves devour mewhilst thou art a lion proud？

Shall all that are thirsty drink of thy water-tanks And shall I thirst in thy courtswhilst thou art a rain-fraught cloud？

'O my lord，'continued he'thus fare all who love and serve thee.'Make haste，'said the Sultan'and tell me how this happened and who hath dealt thus with theewhose honour is a part of my own honour.'Know thenO my lord，'replied the Vizier'that I went out this day to the slave-market to buy me a cook-maidwhen I saw in the bazaar a damselwhose like for beauty I never beheld. She pleased me and I thought to buy her for our lord the Sultan；so I asked the broker of her and her ownerand he replied'She belongs to Noureddin Ali son of Fezl ben Khacan.'Now our lord the Sultan aforetime gave his father ten thousand dinars to buy him a handsome slave-girland he bought therewith this damselwho pleased himso that he grudged her to our lord the Sultan and gave her to his own son. When Fezl diedhis son sold all that he possessed of houses and gardens and household stuff and squandered the pricetill he became penniless. Then he brought the girl down to the marketto sell herand handed her to the brokerwho cried her and the merchants bid for hertill her price reached four thousand dinars；whereupon I said to myself'I will buy her for our lord the Sultanfor it was his money that paid for her.'So I said to Noureddin'O my sonsell her to me for four thousand dinars.'

He looked at me and replied'O pestilent old manI will sell her to a Jew or a Christian rather than to thee！'I do not buy her for myself，'said I'but for our lord and benefactor the Sultan.'When he heard my wordshe flew into a passion and dragging me off my horsefor all I am an old manbeat me till he left me as thou seest；and all this has befallen me but because I thought to buy the girl for thee.'Then the Vizier threw himself on the ground and lay thereweeping and trembling.

When the Sultan saw his condition and heard his storythe vein of anger started out between his eyesand he turned to his guardswho stood before himforty swordsmenand said to them，'Go down at once to the house of Noureddin ben Fezland sack it and raze it；then take him and the damsel and drag them hither with their hands bound behind them.'We hear and obey，'answered they： and arming themselvesset out for Noureddin's house. Now there was with the Sultan a man called Ilmeddin Senjerwho had aforetime been servant to Noureddin's father Fezl ben Khacanbut had left his service for that of the Sultanwho had advanced him to be one of his chamberlains. When he heard the Sultan's order and saw the enemies intent upon killing his master's sonit was grievous to him；so he went out from before the Sultan and mounting his steedrode to Noureddin's house and knocked at the door. Noureddin came out and knowing himwould have saluted him： but he said'O my lordthis is no time for greeting or converse.'O Ilmeddin，'asked Noureddin'what is the matter？'

'Arise and flee for your livesthou and the damsel，'replied he：

'for Muin ben Sawa hath laid a snare for you；and if you fall into his handshe will kill you. The Sultan hath despatched forty swordsmen against you and I counsel you flee ere evil overtake you.'Then Senjer put his hand to his pouch and finding there forty dinarstook them and gave them to Noureddinsaying，'O my lordtake these and journey with them. If I had moreI would give them to thee；but this is no time to take exception.'