wealth that he had been enabled to pay honourably and sumptuously all the expenses he had incurred when building his palace.  Then the Wazir, returned to the Caliph, and gave him a full account of whatso he had heard, whereat cried the Prince of True Believers, “I must see this Khwajah Hasan al-Habbal:  do thou therefore, O Wazir, go and tell him to come to my palace, at the same hour thou hast appointed for the other twain.”  The Minister did his lord’s bidding and the next day, after mid-afternoon prayers, the Caliph retired to his own apartment and Ja’afar introduced the three persons whereof we have been speaking and presented them to the Caliph.  All prostrated themselves at his feet and when they rose up, the Commander of the Faithful asked his name of the blind man, who answered he was hight Baba Abdullah.  “O Servant of Allah,” cried the Caliph, “thy manner of asking alms yesterday seemed so strange to me that, had it not been for certain considerations I should not have granted thy petition; nay, I would have prevented thy giving further offence to the folk.  And now I have bidden thee hither that I may know from thyself what impelled thee to swear that rash oath whereof thou toldest me, that I may better judge whether thou have done well or ill, and if I should suffer thee to persist in a practice which meseemeth must set so pernicious an example.  Tell me openly how such mad thought entered into thy head, and conceal not aught, for I will know the truth and the full truth.”—­And as the morn began to dawn Shahrazad held her peace till

          The end of the Six Hundred and Sixth Night.

Then said she:—­I have heard, O auspicious King, that Baba Abdullah terrified by these words, cast himself a second time at the Caliph’s feet with his face prone to the ground, and when he rose again, said, “O Commander of the Faithful, I crave pardon of thy Highness for my audacity, in that I dared require, and well nigh compelled thee to do a thing which verily seemeth contrary to sound sense.  I acknowledge mine offence; but as I knew not thy Highness at that time, I implore thy clemency, and I pray thou wilt consider my ignorance of thine exalted degree.  And now as to the extravagance of my action, I readily admit that it must be strange to the sons of Adam; but in the eye of Allah ’tis but a slight penance wherewith I have charged myself for an enormous crime of which I am guilty, and wherefor, an all the people in the world were each and every to give me a cuff on the ear ’twould not be sufficient atonement.  Thy Highness shall judge of it thyself, when I, in telling my tale according to thy commandment, will inform thee of what was my offence.”  And here he began to relate

The Story of the Blind Man, Baba Abdullah.[FN#252]