Sherik ben Amrou, what device avails the hand of death to stay?  O
     brother of the brotherless, brother of all th’ afflicted,
     say. 
Brother of En Numan, with thee lies an old man’s anguish to
     allay, A graybeard slain, may God make fair his deeds upon
     the Reckoning-Day! 
Quoth Sherik, “On me be his warranty, may God assain the king!”
     So the Tai departed, after a term had been assigned him for
     his coming.

When the appointed day arrived, En Numan sent for Sherik and said to him, “Verily the first part of this day is past.”  And Sherik answered, “The king hath no recourse against me till it be eventide.”  When it evened, there appeared one afar off and En Numan fell to looking upon him and on Sherik, and the latter said to him, “Thou hast no right over me till yonder fellow come, for belike he is my man.”  As he spoke, up came the Tai in haste and En Numan said “By Allah, never saw I [any] more generous than you two!  I know not whether of you is the more generous, this one who became warrant for thee in [danger of] death or thou who returnest unto slaughter.”  Then said he to Sherik, “What prompted thee to become warrant for him, knowing that it was death?” And he said, “[I did this] lest it be said, ’Generosity hath departed from viziers.’” Then said En Numan to the Tai, “And thou, what prompted thee to return, knowing that therein was death and thine own destruction?” Quoth the Arab, “[I did this] lest it be said, ‘Fidelity hath departed from the folk.’” And En Numan said, “By Allah, I will be the third of you,[FN#173] lest it be said, ‘Clemency hath departed from kings.’” So he pardoned him and bade abolish the day of ill-omen; whereupon the Arab recited the following verses: 

Full many a man incited me to infidelity, But I refused, for all
     the talk wherewith they set on me. 
I am a man in whom good faith’s a natural attribute; The deeds of
     every upright man should with his speech agree.

Quoth En Numan, “What prompted thee to keep faith, the case being as thou sayest?” “O king,” answered the Arab, “it was my religion.”  And En Numan said, “What is thy religion?” “The Christian,” replied the other.  Quoth the king, “Expound it unto me.” [So the Tai expounded it to him] and En Numan became a Christian.[FN#174]

Firouz and his wife[FN#175]

A certain king sat one day on the roof of his palace, diverting himself with looking about him, and presently, chancing to look aside, he espied, on [the roof of] a house over against his palace, a woman, never saw his eyes her like.  So he turned to those who were present and said to them, “To whom belongeth yonder house?” “To thy servant Firouz,” answered they, “and that is his wife.”  So he went down, (and indeed love had made him drunken and he was passionately enamoured of her), and calling Firouz, said to him, “Take this letter and go with it to such a city and bring me the answer.”  Firouz took the letter and going to his house, laid it under his head and passed that night.  When the morning morrowed, he took leave of his wife and set out for the city in question, unknowing what the king purposed against him.