In my passion I smote him with right hand and left, Till my
wrath was assuaged; after which I arose
And returning, betook me in haste to my house, Where I hid
me for feat of the wrath of my foes.
Then the king of the city decreed my arrest: But a
kind-hearted chamberlain pitied my woes
And warned me to flee from the city forthright, Ere my
enemies' springes my life should enclose.
So we fled from our house in the dead of the night And came
to Baghdad for a place of repose.
I have nothing of value, nor treasures nor gold, Or I'd
handsel thee, fisherman, freely with those!
But I give thee, instead, the beloved of my soul, And in her
thou hast gotten my heart's blood, God knows!
When he had finished, the Khalif said to him, 'O my lord
Noureddin, explain to me thy case more fully!' So he told him the
whole story from beginning to end, and the Khalif said to him,
'Whither dost thou now intend?' 'God's world is wide!' replied
he. Quoth the Khalif, 'I will write thee a letter to carry to the
Sultan Mohammed ben Suleiman ez Zeini, which when he reads, he
will do thee no hurt.' 'Who ever heard of a fisherman writing to
kings?' said Noureddin. 'Such a thing can never be.' 'True,'
replied the Khalif; 'but I will tell thee the reason. Know that
he and I learnt in the same school, under one master, and that I
was his monitor.
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