" "Doubtless thou hast been dreaming,"
rejoined they, "and hast seen all this in sleep." So he bethought
himself awhile, then said to them, "By Allah, it was no dream! I
certainly went to Cairo and they displayed the bride before me,
in the presence of the hunchback. By Allah, O my brethren, this
was no dream; or if it was a dream, where is the purse of gold I
had with me and my turban and trousers and the rest of my
clothes?" Then he rose and entered the town and passed through
its streets and markets; but the people followed him and pressed
on him, crying out, "Madman! Madman!" till he took refuge in a
cook's shop. Now this cook had been a robber and a sharper, but
God had made him repent and turn from his evil ways and open a
cookshop; and all the people of Damascus stood in awe of him and
feared his mischief. So when they saw Bedreddin enter his shop,
they dispersed for fear of him and went their ways. The cook
looked at Bedreddin and noting his beauty and grace, fell in love
with him and said to him, "Whence comest thou, O youth? Tell me
thy case, for thou art become to me dearer than my soul." So
Bedreddin told him all that had befallen him from first to last;
and the cook said, "O my lord Bedreddin, this is indeed a strange
thing and a rare story; but, O my son, keep thy case secret, till
God grant thee relief, and abide here with me meanwhile, for I am
childless and will adopt thee as my son.
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