seated therein, a very old man, whom he acquainted with his case and that which had betided him.  The Shaykh grieved for him with sore grieving, when he heard his tale and set food before him.  He ate of it and the old man said to him, “Tarry here with me, so I may make thee my overseer[FN#152] and factor over a farm I have here, and thou shalt have of me five dirhams a day.”  Answered the merchant, “Allah make fair thy reward, and requite thee with His boons and bounties.”  So he abode in this employ, till he had sowed and reaped and threshed and winnowed, and all was clean in his hand and the Shaykh appointed neither agent nor inspector, but relied utterly upon him.  Then the merchant bethought himself and said, “I doubt me the owner of this grain will never give me my due; so the better rede were to take of it after the measure of my wage; and if he give me my right, I will return to him that I have taken.”  So he laid hands upon the grain, after the measure of that which fell to him, and hid it in a hiding place.  Then he carried the rest and meted it out to the old man, who said to him “Come, take thy wage, for which I conditioned with thee, and sell the grain and buy with the price clothes and what not else; and though thou abide with me ten years, yet shalt thou still have this hire and I will acquit it to thee on this wise.”  Quoth the merchant in himself, “Indeed, I have done a foul deed by taking it without his permission.”  Then he went to fetch that which he had hidden of the grain, but found it not and returned, perplexed, sorrowful, to the Shaykh, who asked him, “What aileth thee to be mournful?” and he answered, “Methought thou wouldst not pay me my due; so I took of the grain, after the measure of my hire; and now thou hast paid me all my right and I went to bring back to thee that which I had hidden from thee, but found it gone, for those who had come upon it have stolen it.”  The Shaykh was wroth, when he heard these words, and said to the merchant, “There is no device against ill luck!  I had given thee this but, of the sorriness of thy doom and thy fortune, thou hast done this deed, O oppressor of thine own self!  Thou deemedst I would not fulfil to thee thy wage; but, by Allah, nevermore will I give thee aught.”  Then he drove him away from him.  So the merchant went forth, woeful, grieving, weeping-eyed, and wandered along the sea-shore, till he came to a sort of duckers[FN#153] diving in the sea for pearls.  They saw him weeping and wailing and said to him, “What is thy case and what garreth thee shed tears?” So he acquainted them with his history, from incept to conclusion, whereby the duckers knew him and asked him “Art thou Such-an-one, son of Such-an-one?” He answered “Yes;” whereupon they condoled with him and wept sore for him and said to him, “Abide here till we dive upon thy luck this next time and whatso betideth us shall be between us and thee."[FN#154] Accordingly, they ducked and brought up ten oyster-shells, in each two great unions:  whereat they marvelled