of a farthing, and at last she came home weary and disappointed.  Quoth the fisherman to her, “Hast thou been to Hasan al-Habbal?” and quoth she, “Nay, I have not tried at his place.  It is the furthest of all the neighbours’ houses and fanciest thou, even had I gone there, I could thence have brought back aught?” “Off with thee, O laziest of hussies and good for nothing of baggages,” cried the fisherman, “away with thee this instant; perchance he hath a copper to lend us.”  Accordingly the woman, grumbling and muttering, fared forth and coming to my dwelling knocked at the door, saying, “O Hasan al-Habbal, my husband is in sore need of a pice wherewith to buy some twine for mending his nets.”  Minding me of the coin which Sa’d had given me and where it had been put away, I shouted out to her, “Have patience, my spouse will go forth to thee and give thee what thou needest.”  My wife, hearing all this hubbub, woke from sleep, and I told her where to find the bit of money, whereupon she fetched it and gave it to the woman, who joyed with exceeding joy, and said, “Thou and thy husband have shown great kindness to my man, wherefore I promise thee that whatsoever fish he may chance to catch at the first throw of the net shall be thine; and I am assured that my goodman, when he shall hear of this my promise, will consent thereto.”  Accordingly when the woman took the money to her husband and told him of what pledge she had given, he was right willing, and said to her, “Thou hast done well and wisely in that thou madest this covenant.”  Then having bought some twine and mended all the nets he rose before dawn and hastened riverwards to catch fish according to his custom.  But when he cast the net into the stream for the first throw and haled it in, he found that it contained but one fish and that a full span[FN#280] or so in thickness, which he placed apart as my portion.  Then he threw the net again and again and at each cast he caught many fishes both small and great, but none reached in size that he first had netted.  As soon as he returned home the fisherman came at once to me and brought the fish he had netted in my name, and said, O our neighbour, my wife promised over night that thou shouldst have whatever fishes should come to ground at the first net throw; and this fish is the only one I caught.  Here it is, prithee take it as a thanks offering for the kindness of last night, and as fulfilment of the promise.  If Allah Almighty had vouchsafed to me of fish a seine-full, all had been thine but ’tis thy fate that only this one was landed at the first cast.”  Said I, “The mite I gave thee yesternight was not of such value that I should look for somewhat in return;” and refused to accept it.  But after much “say and said” he would not take back the fish, and he insisted that it was mine:  wherefore I agreed to keep it and gave it to my wife, saying, “O woman, this fish is a return for the mite I gave last night to the fisherman our neighbour.  Sa’d