There was once a Fisherman named Abdullah, who had a large family, to wit, nine children and their mother, so was he poor, very poor, owning nothing save his net. Every day he used to go to the sea a fishing, and if he caught little, he sold it and spent the price on his children, after the measure of that which Allah vouchsafed him of provision; but if he caught much, he would cook a good mess of meat and buy fruit and spend without stint till nothing was left him, saying to himself, "The daily bread of to morrow will come to morrow." Presently, his wife gave birth to another child, making a total of ten, and it chanced that day that he had nothing at all; so she said to him, "O my master, see and get me something wherewithal I may sustain myself." he said, "I am going (under favour of Almighty Allah) this day seawards to fish on the luck of this new born child, that we may see its fair fortune;" and she said, "Put your trust in Allah!" So he took his net and went down to the sea shore, where he cast it on the luck of the little one, saying, "O my God, make his living of ease not of unease, and abundant, not scant!"

Then he waited awhile and drew in the net, which came up full of rubbish and sand and pebbles and weeds, and he saw within it no sign of fish neither muchel nor little. He cast it again and waited, then drew it in, but found no catch in it, and threw it a third and a fourth and a fifth time still not a single fish came up. So he removed to another place beseeching his daily bread of Allah Almighty and thus he kept working till the end of the day, but caught not so much as a minnow; at which he fell a marvelling in himself and said self communing, "Has Allah then created this new born child without lot of provision? This may never, never be. He who slitts the corners of the lips has pledged Himself for its provision, because Almighty Allah is the Bountiful, the Provider!" So saying, he shouldered his net and turned him homewards, broken spirited and heavy at heart about his family, for that he had left them without food, more by token that his wife was in the straw. And as he continued trudging along and saying in himself, "How shall I do and what shall I say to the children to night?" he came to a baker's oven and saw a crowd about it; for the season was one of dearth and in those days food was scant with the folk; so people were proffering the baker money, but he paid no heed to any of them, by reason of the dense crowd. The fisherman stood looking and snuffing the smell of the hot bread (and indeed his soul longed for it, by reason of his hunger), till the baker caught sight of him and cried out to him, "Come here, O fisherman!"

So he went up to him, and the baker said, "Do you want bread?" But he was silent. the baker "Speak out and be not ashamed, for Allah is bountiful. If you have no silver, I will give you bread and have patience with you till weal happen you." And the fisherman "By God, O master, I have indeed no money! But give me bread enough for my family, and I will leave you this net in pawn till the morrow." Rejoined the baker, "Nay, my poor fellow, this net is your shop and the door of your daily subsistence; so If you pawn it, wherewithal will you fish? Tell me how much will suffice you?";

Abdullah and Abdullah. 167 and replied the fisherman, "Ten half dirhams' worth." So he gave him ten Nusfs worth of bread and ten in silver saying, "Take these ten Nusfs and cook yourself a mess of meat therewith, so will you owe me twenty, for which bring me fish to morrow; but, If you catch nothing again, come and take your bread and your ten Nusfs, and I will have patience with you till better luck happen you,"—

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty first night

She pursued, the baker said to the fisherman, "Take whatever you need and I will have patience with you till better luck happen you, after the which you will bring me fish for all you owest me." Said the fisherman, Almighty Allah reward you, and requite you for me with all good!" Then he took the bread and the coins and went away, glad at heart, and buying what he could returned to his wife whom he found sitting up, soothing the children, who were weeping for hunger, and saying to them, "At once your father will be here with what you may eat." So he set the bread before them and they ate, whilst he told his wife what had befallen him, and she said, "Allah is bountiful." On the morrow, he shouldered his net and went forth of his house, saying, "I beseech you, O Lord, to vouchsafe me this day that which shall whiten my face with the baker!" When he came to the sea shore, he proceeded to cast his net and pull it in; but there came up no fish within it; and he did not stop to toil thus till ended day but he caught nothing.

Then he set out homewards, in great concern, and the way to his house lay past the baker's oven; so he said in himself, "How shall I go home? But I will hasten my pace that the baker may not see me." When he reached the shop, he saw a crowd about it and walked the faster, being ashamed to face his creditor; but the baker raised his eyes to him and cried out to him, saying, "Ho, fisherman! Come and take your bread and spending money. Meseems you forgettest." said Abdullah "By God, I had not forgotten; but I was ashamed to face you, because I have caught no fish this day;" and the baker "Be not ashamed. Said I not to you, At your leisure, till better luck happen you?" Then he gave him the bread and the ten Nusfs and he returned and told his wife, who said, "Allah is bountiful. Better luck shall yet happen you and you will give the baker his due, God willing." He did not stop doing in this way forty days, betaking himself daily to the sea, from the rising of the sun to the going down of it, and returning home without fish; and still he took bread and spending money of the baker, who never once named the fish to him nor neglected him nor kept him waiting like the folk, but gave him the bread and the ten half dirhams without delay. Whenever the fisherman said to him, "O my brother, reckon with me," he would say, "Be off: this is no time for reckoning. Wait till better luck happen you, and then I will reckon with you."

And the fisherman would bless him and go away thanking him. On the one and forties day, he said to his wife, "I have a mind to tear up the net and be quit of this life." She asked, "Why will you do this?"; and he answered, "Meseems there is an end of my getting my daily bread from the waters. How long shall this last? By God, I burn with shame before the baker and I will go no more to the sea, so I may not pass by his oven, for I have none other way home; and every time I pass he calls me and gives me the bread and the ten silvers. How much longer shall I run in debt to him?" The wife replied, "praise be to God— lauded be the Lord, the Most High, who has inclined his heart to you, so that he gives you our daily bread! What dislikest you in this?"; and the husband rejoined, "I owe him now a mighty great sum of dirhams, and there is no doubt but that he will demand his due." "Has he vexed you with words?" "No, on the contrary,

Abdullah and Abdullah. 169 he still refuses to reckon with me, saying, 'Wait till better luck happen you.'" "If he press you, say to him, 'Wait till there come the good luck for which we hope, you and I.'" "And when will the good luck come that we hope for?" "Allah is bountiful." "truth you speak!" So saying he shouldered his net and went down to the sea side, praying, "O Lord provide you me, though but with one fish, that I may give it to the baker!" And he cast his net into the sea and pulling it in, found it heavy; so he tugged at it till he was tired with sore travail. But when he got it ashore, he found in it a dead donkey swollen and stinking; at which his senses sickened and he freed it from the net, saying, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Indeed, I can no more! I say to that wife of mine, 'There is no more provision for me in the waters; let me leave this craft.' And she still answers me, 'Allah is bountiful: good will presently happen you.'

Is this dead ass the good whereof she speaks?" And he grieved with the sorest grief. Then he turned to another place, so he might remove from the stench of the dead donkey, and cast his net there and waited a full hour: then he drew it in and found it heavy. Thereupon he said, "Good; we are hauling up all the dead donkeys in the sea and ridding it of its rubbish." However he gave not over tugging at the net, till blood came from the palms of his hands, and when he got it ashore, he saw a man in it and took him for one of the Ifrits of the lord Solomon, whom he was wont to imprison in cucurbits of brass and cast him into the main, believing that the vessel had burst for length of years and that the Ifrit had come forth and fallen into the net; Why he fled from him, crying out and saying, "Mercy, mercy, O Ifrit of Solomon!" But the Adamite called out to him from within the net and said, "Come here, O fisherman, and flee not from me;

for I am human like yourself. Release me, so you may get a recompense for me of Allah." Whenas he heard these words, the fisherman took heart and coming up to him, said to him, "Are you not an Ifrit of the Jinn?"; and replied the other, "No: I am a mortal and a believer in Allah and His Apostle." Asked the fisherman, "Who threw you into the sea?"; and the other answered, "I am of the children of the sea, and was going about within it, when you castest the net over me. We are people who obey Allah's commandments and show loving kindness unto the creatures of the Almighty, and but that I fear and dread to be of the disobedient, I had torn your net; but I accept that which the Lord has decreed unto me; Why by setting me free you becomest my owner and I your captive. Will you then set me free for the love of Almighty Allah and make a covenant with me and become my comrade? I will come to you every day in this place, and do you come to me and bring me a gift of the fruits of the land. For with you are grapes and figs and water melons and peaches and pomegranates and so forth, and all you bring me will be acceptable unto me. Moreover, with us are coral and pearls and chrysolites and emeralds and rubies and other gems, and I will fill you the basket, in which you bring me the fruit, with precious stones of the jewels of the sea. What sayst you to this, O my brother?" the fisherman "Be the Opening Chapter of the Koran between you and me upon this!" So they recited together the Fátihah, and the fisherman loosed the Merman from the net and asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Abdullah of the sea; and if you come here and see me not, call out and say, 'Where are you, O Abdullah, O Merman?' and I will be with you."—

Abdullah and Abdullah. 171

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty second night

the fisherman "My name also is Abdullah;" and the other "You are Abdullah of the land and I am Abdullah of the Sea; but tarry here till I go and fetch you a present." And the fisherman repented him of having released him and said to himself, "How know I that he will come back to me? Indeed, he beguiled me, so that I loosed him, and now he will laugh at me. Had I kept him, I might have made a show of him for the diversion of the city folk and taken silver from all men and gone with him to the houses of the great." And he repented him of having set him free and said, "You have let your prey from your hand away." But, as he was thus bemoaning his folly in releasing the prisoner, behold, Abdullah the merman returned to him, with both hands full of pearls and coral and smaragds and rubies and other gems, and said to him, "Take these, O my brother, and excuse me; had I a fish basket I would have filled it for you." Abdullah the fisherman rejoiced and took the jewels from the Merman who said to him, "Every day come here, before sunrise," and farewelling him, went down into the sea; whilst the other returned to the city, rejoicing, and stayed not walking till he came to the baker's oven and said to him, "O my brother, good luck is come to us at last; so do you reckon with me."

Answered the baker, "There needs no reckoning. If you have anything, give it me: and if you have nothing, take your bread and spending money and begone, against weal happen you." Rejoined the fisherman, "O my friend, indeed weal has happened me of Allah's bounty, and I owe you much money, but take this." So saying, he took for him a handful of the pearls and coral and rubies and other jewels he had with him (the handful being about half of the whole), and gave them to the baker, saying, "Give me some ready money to spend this day, till I sell these jewels." So the baker gave him all the money he had in hand and all the bread in his basket and rejoiced in the jewels, saying, "I am your slave and your servant." Then he set all the bread on his head and following the fisherman home, gave it to his wife and children, after which he repaired to the market and brought meat and greens and all manner fruit. Moreover, he left his oven and abode with Abdullah all that day, busying himself in his service and fulfilling all his affairs. Said the fisherman, "O my brother, you weariest yourself;" and the baker replied, "This is my duty, for I am become your servant and you have overwhelmed me with your boons."

Rejoined the fisherman, "'Tis you who were my benefactor in the days of dearth and distress." And the baker passed that night with him enjoying good cheer and became a faithful friend to him. Then the fisherman told his wife what had befallen him with the Merman, at which she rejoiced and said, "Keep your secret, lest the government come down upon you;" but he said, "Though I keep my secret from all men, yet will I not hide it from the baker." On the morrow, he rose early and, shouldering a basket which he had filled in the evening with all manner fruits, repaired before sunrise to the sea shore, and setting down the crate on the water edge called out, "Where are you, O Abdullah, O Merman?" He answered, "Here am I, at your service;" and came forth to him. The fisherman gave him the fruit and he took it and plunging into the sea with it, was absent a full hour, after which time he came up, with the fish basket full of all kinds of gems and jewels. The fisherman set it on his head and went away; and, when he came to the oven, the baker said to him, "O my lord, I have baked you forty buns and have sent them to your house; and now I will bake some firsts and as soon as all is done, I will bring it to your house and go and fetch you greens and meat." Abdullah handed to him three handsful of jewels out of the fish basket and going home, set it down there. Then he took a gem of price of each sort and going to

Abdullah and Abdullah. 173 the jewel bazar, stopped at the Syndic's shop and said to him, "Buy these precious stones of me." "Show them to me," said the Shaykh. So he showed them to him and the jeweller said, "Have you anything beside these?"; and Abdullah replied, "I have a basket full at home." The Syndic asked, "And where is yours house?" and the fisherman answered, "In such a quarter"; whereupon the Shaykh took the jewels from him and said to his followers, "Lay hold of him, for he is the thief who stole the jewellery of the Queen, the wife of our Sultan." And he bade beat him. So they bastinadoed him and pinioned him; after which the Syndic and all the people of the jewel market arose and set out for the palace, saying, "We have caught the thief." said one "None robbed such an one but this villain," and said another " 'Twas none but he stole all that was in such an one's house," and some said this and others said that. All this while he was silent and spoke not a word nor returned a reply, till they brought him before the King, to whom said the Syndic, ", when the Queen's necklace was stolen, you sent to acquaint us of the theft, requiring of us the discovery of the culprit; Why I strove beyond the rest of the folk and have taken the thief for you. Here he stands before you, and these be the jewels we have recovered from him." Thereupon the King said to the chief eunuch, "Carry these jewels for the Queen to see, and say to her, 'Are these your property you have lost?'" So the eunuch took the jewels and went in with them to the Queen, who seeing their lustre marvelled at them and sent to the King to say, "I have found my necklace in my own place and these jewels are not my property; nay, they are finer than those of my necklace. So oppress not the man;"—

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty third night

When the eunuch returned and told the King what the Queen said, he damned the Syndic of the jewellers, him and his company, with the damnation of Ad and Thamúd, and they said to him, ", we knew this man for a poor fisherman and deemed such things too much for him, so we supposed that he had stolen them." Cried the King, "O you filthy villains, begrudge you a True Believer good fortune? Why did you not make due enquiry of him? perhaps Allah Almighty has vouchsafed him these things from a source whereupon he reckoned not. Why did you make him out a thief and disgrace him amongst the folk? Begone, and may Allah never bless you!" So they went out affrighted and the King said to Abdullah, "O man (Allah bless you in all He has bestowed on you!), no harm shall befall you; but tell me truly, from where gottest you these jewels; for I am a King yet have I not the like of them." The fisherman replied, ", I have a fish basket full of them at home and the case is thus and thus." Then he told a him of his friendship with the Merman, adding, "We have made a covenant together that I shall bring him every day a basket full of fruit and that he shall fill me the basket with these jewels." the King O man this is your lucky lot; but wealth needs rank, I will defend you for the present against men's domineering; but perhaps I shall be deposed or die and another rule in my stead, and he shall slay you because of his love of the goods of this world and his covetousness.

So I am minded to marry you to my daughter and make you my Wazir and bequeath you the kingdom after me, so none may hanker for your riches when I am gone. Then he said, "Hie with this man to the Hammam." So they bore him to the Baths and bathed his body and robed him in royal raiment, after which they brought him back to the King, and he made him his Wazir and sent to his house couriers and the soldiers of his guard and all the wives of the notables, who clad his wife and children in Kingly costume and mounting the woman in a horse litter, with the little child in her lap, walked before her to the palace, escorted by the troops and couriers and officers. They also brought her elder children in to the King who made much of them, taking them in his lap and seating

Abdullah and Abdullah. 175 them by his side; for they were nine children male and the King had no son and heir nor had he been blessed with any child save this one daughter, Umm al-Su'ud called. Meanwhile the Queen entreated Abdullah's wife with honour and bestowed favours on her and made her Waziress to her when the King bade draw up the marriage contract between his daughter and Abdullah of the Land who assigned to her, as her dower, all the gems and precious stones in his possession, and they opened the gates of festival. The King commanded by proclamation to decorate the city, in honour of his daughter's wedding. Then Abdullah went in unto the Princess and abated her maidenhead. Next morning the King looked out of the lattice and saw Abdullah carrying on his head a fish crate full of fruit. So he called to him, "What have you there, O my son in law, and where go you?" The fisherman replied, "To my friend Abdullah the Merman;" and the King said, "O my son in law, this is no time to go to your comrade." said Abdullah "Indeed, I fear to break tryst with him, lest he reckon me a liar and say, 'The things of the world have diverted you from me,'" and the King "You speak truth: go to your friend and God help you!"

So he walked through the city on his way to his companion; and, as he went, he heard the folk who knew him say, "There goes the King's son in law to exchange fruit for gems;" whilst those who knew him not said, "Ho, fellow, how much a pound? Come, sell to me." And he answered, saying, "Wait till I come back to you," for that he would not hurt the feelings of any man. Then he fared on till he came to the sea shore and foregathered with his friend Abdullah the Merman, to whom he delivered the fruit, receiving gems in return. He did not stop doing thus till one day, as he passed by the baker's oven, he found it closed; and so he did ten days, during which time the oven remained shut and he saw nothing of the baker. So he said to himself, "This is a strange thing! Would I know where the baker went!" Then he enquired of his neighbour, saying, "O my brother, where is your neighbour the baker and what has Allah done with him?"; and the other responded, "O my lord, he is sick and comes not forth of his house." "Where is his house?" asked Abdullah; and the other answered, "In such a quarter."

So he fared there and enquired of him; but, when he knocked at the door, the baker looked out of window and seeing his friend the fisherman, full basket on head, came down and opened the door to him. Abdullah entered and throwing himself on the baker embraced him and wept, saying, "How do you, O my friend? Every day, I pass by yours oven and see it unopened; so I asked your neighbour, who told me that you were sick, therefore I enquired for your house, that I might see you." Answered the baker, "Allah requite you for me with all good! Nothing ails me; but it reached me that the King had taken you, for that certain of the folk had lied against you and accused you of being a robber Why I feared and shut shop and hid myself." "True," said Abdullah and told him all that had befallen him with the King and the Shaykh of the jewellers' bazar, adding "Moreover, the King has given me his daughter to wife and made me his Wazir," and after a pause, "So do you take what is in this fish basket to your share and fear nothing." Then he left him, after having done away from him his affright, and returned with the empty crate to the King, who said to him, "O my son in law, 'twould seem you have not foregathered with your friend the Merman to day." Replied Abdullah, "I went to him but that which he gave me I gave to my gossip the baker, to whom I owe kindness." "Who may be this baker?" asked the King; and the fisherman answered, "He is a benevolent man, who did with me thus and thus in the days of my poverty and never neglected me a single day nor hurt my feelings." the King "What is his name?"; and the fisherman said,"His name is Abdullah

Abdullah and Abdullah. 177 the Baker; and my name is Abdullah of the Land and that of my friend the Merman Abdullah of the Sea." Rejoined the King, "And my name also is Abdullah; and the servants of Allah are all brethren. So send and fetch your friend the baker, that I may make him my Wazir of the left." So he sent for the baker who speedily came to the presence, and the King invested him with the Wazirial uniform and made him Wazir of the left, making Abdullah of the Land his Wazir of the right.—

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty fourth night

Abdullah replied, "Yes; it lies in a city called Yathrib." Asked the Merman, "And do the people of the land visit it?" "Yes," answered the fisherman, and the other said, "I give you joy, O people of the land, of visiting that noble Prophet and compassionate, which whoever visits merits his intercession! Have you made such visitation, O my brother?" Replied the fisherman, "No: for I was poor and had not the necessary sum to spend by the way, nor have I been in easy case but since I knew you and you bestowedst on me this good fortune. But such visitation behoves me after I have pilgrimed to the Holy House of Allah and nothing withholds me from it but my love to you, because I cannot leave you for one day." Rejoined the Merman, "And do you set the love of me before the visitation of the tomb of Mohammed (whom Allah assain and save!), who shall intercede for you on the Day of Review before Allah and shall save you from the Fire and through whose intercession you will enter Paradise? And do you, for the love of the world, neglect to visit the tomb of your Prophet Mohammed, whom God bless and preserve?" Replied Abdullah, "No, By God, I set the visitation of the Prophet's tomb above all else, and I crave your leave to pray before it this year." The Merman rejoined, "I grant you leave, on condition that when you will stand by his sepulchre you salute him for me with the Salam. Furthermore I have a trust to give you; so come you with me into the sea, that I may carry you to my city

Abdullah and Abdullah. 179 and entertain you in my house and give you a deposit; which when you take your station by the Prophet's tomb, do you lay thereon, saying, 'O apostle of Allah, Abdullah the Merman saluts you and sends you this present, imploring yours intercession to save him from the Fire.'" Said the fisherman, "O my brother, you were created in the water and water is your abiding place and does you no hurt, but, if you should come forth to the land, would any harm happen you?" The Merman replied, "Yes; my body would dry up and the breezes of the land would blow upon me and I should die." Rejoined the fisherman, "And I, in like manner, was created on the land and the land is my abiding place; but, If I went down into the sea, the water would enter my belly and choke me and I should die." Retorted the other, "Have no fear for that, for I will bring you an ointment, wherewith when you have anointed your body, the water will do you no hurt, though you should pass the lave of your life going about in the great deep: and you will lie down and rise up in the sea and nothing shall harm you." the fisherman "An the case be thus, well and good; but bring me the ointment, so that I may make trial of it;" and the Merman "So be it;" then, taking the fish basket disappeared in the depths. He was absent awhile, and presently returned with an unguent as it were the fat of beef, yellow as gold and sweet of savour. Asked the fisherman, "What is this, O my brother?"; and answered the Merman, "'Tis the liver fat of a kind of fish called the Dandán, which is the biggest of all fishes and the fiercest of our foes. His bulk is greater than that of any beast of the land, and were he to meet a camel or an elephant, he would swallow it at a single mouthful."

Abdullah enquired, "O my brother, what does this baleful beast?"; and the Merman replied, "He eats of the beasts of the sea. Have you not heard the saying, 'Like the fishes of the sea: forcible eats feeble?' " "True; but have you many of these Dandans in the sea?" "Yes, there be many of them with us. None can tell their tale save Almighty Allah." "truly, I fear lest, if I go down with you into the deep a creature of this kind fall in with me and devour me." "Have no fear: when he sees you, he will know you for a son of Adam and will fear you and flee. He dreads none in the sea as he dreads a son of Adam; for that If he eats a man he dies directly, because human fat is a deadly poison to this kind of creature; do we collect its liver speck save by means of a man, when he falls into the sea and is drowned; for that his semblance becomes changed and ofttimes his flesh is torn; so the Dandan eats him, deeming him the same of the denizens of the deep, and dies. Then we light upon our enemy dead and take the speck of his liver and grease ourselves so that we can over wander the main in safety. Also, wherever there is a son of Adam, though there be in that place an hundred or two hundred or a thousand or more of these beasts, all die directly If they but hear him, —

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty fifth night

She pursued, Abdullah of the sea said to Abdullah of the Land, "And if a thousand or more of this kind hear an Adamite cry a single cry, directly all die nor has one of them power to remove from his place; so, whenever a son of Adam falls into the sea, we take him and anoint him with this fat and go round about the depths with him, and whenever we see a Dandan or two or three or more, we bid him cry out and they all die directly for his once crying." the fisherman "I put my trust in Allah;" and, doffing his clothes, buried them in a hole which he dug in the beach; after which he rubbed his body from head to heels with that ointment. Then he descended into the water and diving, opened his eyes and the brine did him no hurt. So he walked right and left, and if he would, he rose to the sea face, and if he would, he sank to the base. And he beheld the water as it were a tent over his head; yet it wrought him no hurt. Then said the Merman to him, "What see you, O my brother?"; and he said, "O my brother, I see nothing save weal; and indeed you spoke truth in that which you said to me; for the water does me no hurt."

Abdullah and Abdullah. 181 the Merman "Follow me." So he followed him and they did not stop faring on from place to place, whilst Abdullah discovered before him and on his right and left mountains of water and solaced himself by gazing thereon and on the various sorts of fish, some great and some small, which disported themselves in the main. Some of them favoured buffaloes others oxen and others dogs and yet others human beings; but all to which they drew near fled, whenas they saw the fisherman, who said to the Merman, "O my brother, how is it that I see all the fish, to which we draw near, flee from us afar?" Said the other, "Because they fear you, for all things that Allah has made fear the son of Adam." The fisherman did not stop to divert himself with the marvels of the deep, till they came to a high mountain and fared on beside it. Suddenly, he heard a mighty loud cry and turning, saw some black thing, the bigness of a camel or bigger, coming down upon him from the liquid mountain and crying out. So he asked his friend, "What is this, O my brother?"; and the Merman answered, "This is the Dandan. He comes in search of me, seeking to devour me; so cry out at him, O my brother, before he reach us; else he will snatch me up and devour me."

Accordingly Abdullah cried out at the beast and behold, it fell down dead; which when he saw, he said, "Glorified be the perfection of God and His praise! I smote it not with sword nor knife; how comes it that, for all the vastness of the creature's bulk, it could not bear my cry, but died?" Replied the Merman, "Marvel not, for, By God, O my brother, were there a thousand or two thousand of these creatures, yet could they not endure the cry of a son of Adam." Then they walked on, till they made a city, whose inhabitants the fisherman saw to be all women, there being no male among them; so he said to his companion, "O my brother, what city is this and what are these women?" "This is the city of women; for its inhabitants are of the women of the sea." "Are there any males among them?" "No!" "Then how do they conceive and bear young, without males?" "The King of the sea banishes them here and they conceive not neither bear children. All the women of the sea, with whom he is wroth, he sends to this city, and they cannot leave it; for, should one of them come forth from it, any of the beasts of the sea that saw her would eat her. But in other cities of the main there are both males and females."

Thereupon asked the fisherman, "Are there then other cities than this in the sea?"; and the Merman answered, "There are many." the fisherman "And is there a Sultan over you In the sea?" "Yes," the said,Merman. Then said Abdullah "O my brother, I have indeed seen many marvels in the main!" But the Merman said, "And what have you seen of its marvels? Have you not heard the saying, 'The marvels of the sea are more manifold than the marvels of the land?'" "True," rejoined the fisherman and fell to gazing upon those women, whom he saw with faces like moons and hair like women's hair, but their hands and feet were in their middle and they had tails like fishes' tails. Now when the Merman had shown him the people of the city, he carried him forth from it and forewalked him to another city, which he found full of folk, both males and females, formed like the women aforesaid and having tails; but there was neither selling nor buying amongst them, as with the people of the land, nor were they clothed, but went all naked and with their shame uncovered. Said Abdullah "O my brother, I see males and females alike with their shame exposed," and the other said, 'This is because the folk of the sea have no clothes." Asked the fisherman, "And how do they when they marry?" The Merman answered,

Abdullah and Abdullah. 183

"They do not marry; but every one who takes a liking to a female does his will of her." said Abdullah "This is unlawful! Why does he not ask her in marriage and dower her and make her a wedding festival and marry her, in accordance with that which is pleasing to Allah and His Apostle?"; and the other "We are not all of one religion: some of us are Moslems, believers in The Unity, others Nazarenes and what not else, and each marries in accordance with the ordinances of his creed; but those of us who marry are mostly Moslems." The fisherman continued, "You are naked and have neither buying nor selling among you: of what then is your wives' dowry? Do you give them jewels and precious stones?" The Merman rejoined, "Gems with us are only stones without worth: but upon the Moslem who is minded to marry they impose a dowry of a certain number of fishes of various kinds that he must catch, a thousand or two thousand, more or less, according to the agreement between himself and the bride's father. As soon as he brings the amount required, the families of the bride and bridegroom assemble and eat the marriage banquet; —after which they bring him in to his bride, and he catches fish and feeds her; or, if he be unable, she catches fish and feeds him."

Enquired the fisherman, "And how if a woman commit adultery?"; and the other replied, "If a woman be convicted of this case, they banish her to the City of Women; and if she be with child by her gallant, they leave her till she be delivered then, if she give birth to a girl, they banish her with her, calling her adulteress, daughter of adulteress, and she abides a maid till she die; but, if the woman give birth to a male child, they carry it to the Sultan of the Sea, who puts it to death." Abdullah marvelled at this and the Merman carried him to another city and thence to another and yet another, till he had diverted him with the sight of eighty cities, and he saw the people of each city unlike those of every other. Then he said to the Merman, "O my brother, are there yet other cities in the main?": whereto said the other, "And what have you seen of the cities of the sea and its wondrous spectacles? By the virtue of the noble Prophet, the benign, the compassionate, were I to show you every day a thousand cities for a thousand years, and in each city a thousand marvels, I should not have shown you one carat of the four and twenty carats of the cities of the sea and its miracles! I have but shown you our own province and country, nothing more."

The fisherman thus resumed, "O my brother, since this is the case, what I have seen suffics me, for I am a weary of eating fish, and these fourscore days I have been in your company, you have fed me, morning and night, upon nothing but raw fish, neither broiled nor boiled." "And what is broiled and boiled?" "We broil fish with fire and boil it in water and dress it in various ways and make many dishes of it." "And how should we come by fire in the sea? We know not broiled nor boiled nor anything else of the kind." "We also fry it in olive oil and oil of sesame." How should we come by olive oil and oil of sesame in the sea? truly we know nothing of that you name." "True, but O my brother, you have shown me many cities; yet have you not shown me yours own city." "As for my own city, we passed it a long way, for it is near the land from where we came, and I left it and came with you here, thinking only to divert you with the sight of the greater cities of the sea." "That which I have seen of them suffics me, and now I would have you show me yours own city." "So be it," answered Abdullah of the Sea, and, returning on his traces, carried him back there and said to him, "This is my city."

Abdullah of the Land looked and saw a city small by comparison with those he had seen; then he entered with his comrade of the deep and they fared on till they came to a cave. the Merman "This is my house and all the houses in the city are like this, caverns great and small in the mountains; as are also those of every other city of the sea. For whoever is minded to make him a house must repair to the King and say to him, 'I wish to make me a house in such a place.' Whereupon the King sends with him a band of the fish called, 'Peckers,' which have beaks that crumble the hardest rock, appointing for their wage a certain quantum of fish. They betake themselves to the mountain chosen by the intended owner and within it pierce the house, whilst the owner catches fish for them and feeds them, till the cave is finished, when they go on their way and the house owner takes up his abode within it. On such wise do all the people of the sea;

Abdullah and Abdullah. 185 they traffic not one with other nor serve each other save by means of fish; and their food is fish and they themselves are a kind of fish." Then he said to him, "Enter!" So Abdullah entered and the Merman cried out, saying. "Ho, daughter mine!" When behold, there came to him a damsel with a face like the rondure of the moon and hair long, hips heavy, eyes black edged and waist slender; but she was naked and had a tail. When she saw Abdullah of the Land she said to her sire, "O my father, what is this No tail you have brought with you?" He replied, "O my daughter this is my friend of the land, from whom I used to bring you the fruits of the ground. Come here and salute him with the salam." So she came forward and saluted the fisherman with loquent tongue and eloquent speech; and her father said to her, "Bring meat for our guest, by whose visit a blessing has happened us:" whereupon she brought him two great fishes, each the bigness of a lamb, and the Merman said to him, "Eat." So he ate for stress of hunger, despite himself; because he was tired of eating fish and they had nothing else save fish. Before long, in came the Merman's wife, who was beautiful of form and favour and with her two children, each having in his hand a young fish, which he craunched as a man would craunch a cucumber. When she saw the fisherman with her husband, she said, "What is this No tail?" And she and her sons and their sister came up to him and fell to examining the back parts of Abdullah of the Land, and saying, "Yea, By God, he is tailless!"; and they laughed at him. So he said to the Merman, "O my brother, have you brought me here to make me a butt and a laughing stock for your children and your consort?"—

When it was the Nine Hundred and Forty sixth night

Cried the Merman, "Pardon, O my brother! Those who have no tails are rare among us, and whenever one such is found, the Sultan takes him, to make fun of him, and he abides a marvel amongst us, and all who see him laugh at him. But, O my brother' excuse these young children and this woman, for they lack wits." Then he cried out to his family, saying, "Silence!"; so they were afraid and held their peace, whilst he went on to soothe Abdullah's mind. Presently, as they were talking, behold, in came some ten Mermen, tall and strong and stout, and said to him, "O Abdullah, it has reached the King that you have with you a No tail of the No tails of the earth." Answered the Merman, "Yes; and this is he; but he is not of us nor of the children of the sea. He is my friend of the land and has come to me as a guest and I purpose to carry him back to the land." they said, "We cannot depart but with him; so, If you have anything to say, arise and come with him before the King; and whatever you would say to us, say you that same to the King."

Then the Merman to the fisherman "O my brother, my excuse is manifest, and we may not disobey the King: but go you with me to him and I will do my best to deliver you from him, God willing! Fear not, for he deems you of the children of the sea but, when he sees you, he will know you to be of the children of the land, and he will surely entreat you honourably and restore you to the land." And Abdullah of the Land replied, "'Tis yours to decide, I will trust in Allah and go with you." So he took him and carried him to the King, who, when he saw him, laughed at him and said, "Welcome to the No tail!" And all who were about the King began to laugh at him and say, "Yea, By God, he is tailless!" Then Abdullah of the Sea came forward and acquainted the King with the fisherman's case, saying, "This man is of the children of the land and he is my comrade and cannot live amongst us, for that he loves not the eating of fish, except it be fried or boiled; Why I desire that you give me leave to restore him to the land." Whereto the King replied, "Since the case is so, and he cannot live among us, I give you leave to restore him to his place, after due entertainment," presently adding, "Bring him the guest meal." So they brought him fish of various kinds and colours and he ate in obedience to the royal behest: after which the King said to him, "Ask a boon of me."

Abdullah and Abdullah. 187 he said, "I ask of you that you give me jewels;" and the King said, "Carry him to the jewel house and let him choose that whereof he has need." So his friend carried him to the jewel house and he picked out whatever he would, after which the Merman brought him back to his own city and pulling out a purse, said to him, "Take this deposit and lay it on the tomb of the Prophet, whom Allah save and assain!" And he took it, knowing not what was within it. Then the Merman went forth with him, to bring him back to land, and by the way he heard singing and merrymaking and saw a table spread with fish and folk eating and singing and holding mighty high festival. So Abdullah of the Land said to his friend, "What ails these people to rejoice thus? Is there a wedding among them?" Replied Abdullah of the Sea, "Nay, one of them is dead." Asked the fisherman, "Then do you, when one dies amongst you, rejoice for him and sing and feast?"; and the Merman answered, "Yes: and you of the land, what do you?" Abdullah of the Land "When one dies amongst us, we weep and keen for him and the women beat their faces and rend the bosoms of their raiment, in token of mourning for the dead."

But Abdullah the Merman stared at him with wide eyes and said to him, "Give me the deposit!" So he gave it to him. Then he set him ashore and said to him, "I have broken off our companionship and our amity; Why from this day forward you will no more see me, nor I see you." Cried the fisherman "Why sayst you this?", and the other said, "Are you not, O folk of the land, a deposit of Allah?" "Yes." "Why then," asked the Merman, "is it grievous to you that Allah should take back his deposit and Why weep you over it? How can I entrust you with a deposit for the Prophet (whom Allah save and assain!), seeing that, when a child is born to you, you rejoice in it, albeit the Almighty setts the soul within it as a deposit; and yet, when he takes it again, it is grievous to you and you weep and mourn? Since it is hard for you to give up the deposit of Allah, how shall it be easy to you to give up the deposit of the Prophet? Why we need not your companionship." Saying thus he left him and disappeared in the sea.

Thereupon Abdullah of the Land donned his dress and taking the jewels, went up to the King, who met him lovingly and rejoiced at his return saying, "How do you, O my son in law, and what is the cause of yours absence from me this while?" So he told him his tale and acquainted him with that which he had seen of marvels in the sea, at which the King wondered. Then he told him what Abdullah the Merman had said; and the King replied, "Indeed 'twas you were at fault to tell him this." Nevertheless, he continued for some time to go down to the shore and call upon Abdullah of the Sea, but he answered him not nor came to him; so, at last, he gave up all hope of him and abode, he and the King his father in law and the families of them both in the happiest of case and the practice of righteous ways, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies and they died all. Why glory be to the Living, who dies not, whose is the empire of the Seen and the Unseen, who over all things is Omnipotent and is gracious to His servants and knows their every intent! And amongst the tales they tell is one anent