needful for a carouse.  Then he said to his servant, “Go, fetch a porter and take this chest to the house of Khoja Such-an-one, and say, ‘My master has sent this to remain in your charge,’ and leave it and come away.  And again on the morrow go and fetch it, saying, ‘My master wishes the chest.’” So the servant went for a porter, and the Khoja hid himself in the chest.  Then the boy laded the porter with the chest and took it to the other Khoja’s house, where he left it and went away.  When it was night the Khoja came forth from the chest, and he saw a moon-face sleeping in the bed-clothes, and a candle was burning in a candlestick at his head; and when the Khoja beheld this he was confounded and exclaimed, “And blessed be God, the fairest of Creators!"[FN#426] Then the Khoja laid out the wine and so forth; and he went up softly and waked the boy.  And the boy arose from his place and addressed himself to speak, saying, “Wherefore hast thou come here?” Straight-way the Khoja filled a cup and gave it to him, saying, “Drink this, and then I shall tell thee what manner of man I am.”  And he besought the boy and spread out sequins before him.  So the boy took the cup and drank what was in it.  When the Khoja had given him to drink three or four cups the face of the boy grew tulip-hued, and he became heated with the wine and began to sport with the Khoja.  So all that night till morning did the Khoja make merry with the boy; and whatsoever his desire was, he attained thereto.  When it was morning, the Khoja again went into the chest; and the servant came and laded the porter with the same and took it back to his house.  And on the morrow, when the boy and his father were sitting together, the mu’ezzin chanted the call to prayer, whereupon the boy exclaimed, “Out on thee, father; and the boy who is undone dies, and so this fellow goes up there and bawls out; last night they undid me; how is it that I am not dead?” Then the father smote the boy on the mouth and said, “Speak not such words; they are a shame.”  And then he knew why the chest had come.

Arabian Nights, Volume 14
Footnotes

[FN#1] From the Wortley Montague Ms. vol. iii. pp. 80-96.  J. Scott:  vol. vi. pp. 1-7.  Histoire du Sulthan d’Yemen et de ses trots fils; Gauttier vol. vi. pp. 158-165.

[FN#2] The worst disease in human life, now recognised as “Annus Domini.”

[FN#3] Arab.  “Mal wa Ghawal”:  in Badawi parlance “Mal” would=flocks and herds (pecunia, pecus); and amongst the burghers=ready money, coin.  Another favourite jingle of similar import is “Mal wa Nawal.”

There is an older form of the Sultan of Al Yaman and his three sons, to be found in M. Zotenberg’s “Chronique de Tabari,” vol. ii. pp. 357-61.

[FN#4] In the W. M. Ms. the sisters are called “Shahrzadeh” (=City born) and “Dinarzadeh” (=ducat born) and the royal brothers Shahrbaz (=City player or City falcon) and Kahraman (vol. i. p. 1) alias Samarban (ibid.).  I shall retain the old spelling.