The Three Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Bhang-eater holding up his bag-trowsers ran after the Sultan purposing to bepiss him and caught up the fugitive at the doorway when he fell over the threshold and began a-piddling upon his own clothes.  In like manner the Kazi attempted to bepiss the Wazir and ran after him to the entrance, where he also fell upon the Bhang-eater and took to making water over him.  So the Bhang-eater and the Kazi lay each bewraying other, and the Sultan and the Wazir stood laughing at then and saying, “By Allah, too much Hashish injureth man’s wits;” and presently they left and went their ways returning to their palaces.  But the two drunkards ceased not lying in their own water till day broke; and when the fumes of the drug had left heir brains, they arose and found themselves dripping and befouled with their own filth.  Thereupon each said to other, “What be this cross hath betided us?” Presently they arose and washed themselves and their clothes; then sitting down together they said, “None did this deed by us save and except the two fellows who were with us; and who knoweth what they were, or citizens of this city or strangers; for ’twas they brought the intoxicant which we ate and it bred a madness in our brains.  Verily ’twas they did the mischief; but, an they come to us a third time, needs must we be instant with them and learn from them and they be foreigners or folk of this city:  we will force them to confess, but if they hide them from us we will turn them out.”  On the next night they met again and the two sat down and ate a quantity of Hashish after they had supped:  and they lit the waxen tapers and each of them drank a cup of coffee.[FN#237] Presently their heads whirled round under the drug and they sat down to talk and enjoy themselves when their drunkenness said to them, “Up with you and dance.”  Accordingly they arose and danced, when behold, the Sultan and his Wazir suddenly came in upon them and salam’d to them:  so they returned the salutation but continued the salutation.  The new comers considered them in this condition and forthwith the King turned to the Minister and said, “What shall we do with them?” Said the other, “Patience until their case come to end in somewhat whereof we can lay hold.”  Then they chose seats for themselves and solaced them with the spectacle, and the dancers kept on dancing until they were tired and were compelled to sit down and take their rest.  Presently the Bhang-eater looked at the Sultan and exclaimed, “You, whence are you?” and he replied, “We be foreigner folk and never visited this city before that night