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Speaker 1: The king who made mats from the Persian. In ancient times,

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there was in the country of Aberbaijan a king who

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cherished wisdom and administered justice. The tiller of his equity,

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loving nature kept the garden of his kingdom always clean

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of the chaff and trash of oppression, and preserved, with

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the light of the torture of highmindedness and largesses the

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surface of the breast of those that hoped and solicited

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from the darkness of hardship and destitution. By means of

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his discernment, he became acquainted with the worth and station

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due to men of profession, and always honored the high

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polish of the speculum of accomplishments and perfections, with the

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throne of dignity and the place of respect. One day,

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whilst he was sitting in the palace of pomp and splendor,

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dispensing justice and retribution, and engaged in diving into the

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depths of the circumstances of the people, two men took

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hold of the of complaint. One of them had no trade,

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and the other was skillful and accomplished. And although the

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one who had no trade brought forward arguments and evidences

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in support of his claim, and it became clear that

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he was in the right. The King purposely turned the

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scales in favor of the clever fellow, and ordered the

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man without a trade to be punished. The king happened

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to have a vizier equal to Plato in science, and

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who always drew upon the leaves of the book of

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Circumstances with the pen of propriety of opinion and prudence

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of arrangement. Wondering at the decision of the King, he

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rose from his place and said, O, thou leader of

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the caravan of prosperity of realms. By the blows of

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whose world conquering scimetur, the peace of the breasts of

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opponents is destroyed, and from the fruits of whose convoy success,

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the countries of the hearts of the amicable are made

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populous and flourishing. I have a request to make first

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that the skyward flying home, may a bird of happy

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omen it is said never to touch the ground, and

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every headed overshades will wear a crown of your gracious

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disposition may pervade the atmosphere of compliance with my solicitation,

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The king said, explain. The vizier answered, I pray that

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the life of this innocent youth, whose guiltlessness must be

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visible upon the mirror of your Majesty's mind, may be

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spared for my sake, and that it might be disclosed

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to me why your Majesty pardoned the guilty and condemned

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the innocent man. The King said, I have absolved him

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whom you call guilty, because I have arrived at the

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certainty that he is unblameable and has the right on

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his side. I also have reason to believe that this

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is not the proper time to elucidate the matter, but

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it will be done as soon as we are alone.

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A short time afterwards, the tree of the Assembly shed

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the leaves and fruit of its multitude. The lamp of

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the Apartment of Privacy was trimmed and made bright. When

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the King spoke thou contessence of acuteness, something happened to

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me once which plunged me into the sea of astonishment.

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Since that time I made a vow to show favor

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to a man who has a profession, even if he

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should be blameworthy otherwise, and to punish and persecute him

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who has no trade or occupation, even if he should

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be my own son, so that the high and the low,

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seeing this, be induced to teach their children trades in

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conformity with their circumstances, because labor is too simple and gentle,

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a refuge from misfortune, and a means to attain prosperity.

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Know thou that when my father was yet walking in

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the garden of life, and was sitting upon the throne

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of happiness and government, on a certain day, those who

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were present at the audience were discussing the advantages of

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trades and accomplishments. And although I had made myself acquainted

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with several sciences and accomplishments befitting a royal prince, I

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was anxious to learn yet some other trade. I determined

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that each of the tradesmen established in the city should

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display his skill before my eyes, in order that I

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might apply myself to any trade which should captivate my

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fancy after having seen them. No one pleased me so

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much as map making, because the master of that art

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had introduced into the specimen which he worked all sorts

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of pretty figures. The instructor was engaged, and I was taught.

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I assisted every day until I became skillful in this business.

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One day I happened to entertain a desire of making

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an excursion of pleasure on the sea, I took leave

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of the king and embarked on board a boat with

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a number of courtiers. We amused ourselves for two days

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with fishing, but as all mortals are subject to the

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vicissitudes of fortune, on the third day a dreadful storm arose.

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The sea was lashed by it into furious waves. Our

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boat went to pieces, and my companions became food for

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the palate of the wail of destiny. I was floating

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about on a broken plank with two of my associates

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for several days, earring like chaff in the ebb and

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hide of the abyss, and having our throat choked every

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moment by the gripe of mortal fear. We humbled and

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turned ourselves to the footstool of the answerer of prayers,

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because nobody ever besought him in vain by this favor.

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The wind drove the broken plank towards the shore, and

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all three of us, having landed safe and sound, made

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our way to an oasis which contained various fruits and

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aromatic plants, numerous beyond conception. We disported ourselves several days

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in that place, and during the night we took refuge

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on the trees for fear of rapacious beasts, until we

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reached the end of the oasis and entered the desert,

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through the ups and downs of which we progressed for

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several days till the guide of our destinies led us

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into the city of Baghdad. I possessed several rings of

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great value and went to the bazaar in the company

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of my friends in order to purchase food. Having sold

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a ring, we entered the shop of a cook who

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had displayed a variety of dishes, and in whose service

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a handsome boy was busying himself. We handed to him

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a few dirhams to obtain some victuals. He cast a

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glance at us and said, young men, nobility and greatness

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shine from your foreheads. In this city. It is considered

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disgraceful that youths like yourselves should be eating their food

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in the bazaar. In the neighborhood, there is a very

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beautiful room to which people like you are accustomed to resort.

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Do me the favor to adjourn to that place, that

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I may send there something worthy of you. He sent

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his boy with us, whom we followed After a short time,

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we arrived at the house, stepped into the porch, and

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entered the mansion, which we found to be very neat

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and variously ornamented. We wished to remain there. The boy, however,

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opened the door of another apartment and affirmed it to

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be a very pleasant place. I entered it with my companions,

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and we were beginning to amuse ourselves by contemplating the

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exquisite and wonderful paintings that ornamented its walls, when the

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boy said, I am going to bring you your meal.

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As soon as he was gone, the floor of the

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house began to move, as if a great earthquake had happened.

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We wished to take to our heels, but the pavement separated,

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and all three of us were precipitated into a subterranean well,

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which was dark like the graves of infidels and black

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like their hearts. We lost all hope and were ready

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to die. We said, this time, our adverse fortune has

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let fly the arrow of a strange event, and we

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have fallen into an uncommon place of destruction, so that

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the signification of our rescue would become as a word

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without meaning, like the name of the fabulous bird unka.

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That cook happened to be a Jew and an enemy

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of Mohammedan's. It was his habit from a long time

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to make use of those compliments in order to decoy

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Mussulman foreigners to that house, whom he threw into that well,

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roasted their flesh and sold it to other Musulmans. Our

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necks were pledged in this affair, and we were in

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apprehension what turn it would take when the same youth

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descended into the depth of the well, having a sword

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in his hand, and was about to murder us, when

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we said to him, friend, what advantage is going to

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accrue to you from killing us unhappy wretches? If gained

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me your object, we know the trade of mat making,

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which is very profitable in this town. Bring the tools

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necessary for that occupation to this place, and we will

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make a mat every day. The wretch hastened away and

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informed his master of our intention. They provided us with

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the required materials. We made a mat, for which they

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threw down to us every day a loaf of barley bread.

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We were continuing the state for some time and were

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despairing of our condition, when a stratagem occurred to me.

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I finished a mat with all possible care and ornaments,

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and wove into its borders the description of my circumstances

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in the Arabic language. This happened during the reign of

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Harun al Rashid. So I said, if this carpet were

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to be offered to the Caliph, a considerable sum might

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be gained. The greediness of the Jew having become an

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obstacle to his circumspection and to his regard of consequences.

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He carried the mat to the palace of the Caliph,

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who highly approved of it. But after he had examined

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it more minutely, he discovered the explanation round its borders, And,

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having by the perusal of it, arrived at the state

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of things, he asked the Jew where he got the

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mat from and whose work it was. He answered, I

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have a friend in Busrah who sent it to me.

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The Caliph said, wait a little, that I may present

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thee with a reward worthy of it. Having called for

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a servant, he whispered something into his ear. The servant left, and,

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having delivered me and my companions from the well, carried

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me to Haroun. As soon as the Jew perceived us,

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he began to tremble. The Caliph asked, who are these?

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The Jew struck with his hand the ring of the

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door of negation and said, I do not know. The

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Caliph ordered the instruments of torture to be brought forward.

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When the Jew heard this, he confessed everything. Harun commanded

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the Jew to be suspended upon the tree of punishment,

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and a poison of peredition to be poured into the

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throat of his existence. My prudent plan was highly approved of.

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I was sent to the bath and presented with rich clothes.

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The Caliph asked me about my adventures, which I related

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to him from beginning to end. And as the long

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service of my father had laid the Caliph under obligations

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to him, and as the Caliph knew that I was

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the apple of the eye of that monarch, he was

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the more kind to me, and said, be of good cheer.

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Please God, we will help you to go to your country.

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After having entertained me for several days, he presented me

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with nearly ten strings of camels and all sorts of

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articles which are necessary or useful to grandees, and despatched

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me with fifty men and a letter to my father

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to my own country. When I arrived in my own capital,

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the corpse of my father was just being carried out

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of the city. After having mourned over the death of

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my father, I established myself upon the throne of dominion.

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Although my peace was for some time in jeopardy from

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the misfortune just mentioned. Nevertheless, it is by the help

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of a trade that I was saved. I have perfect

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confidence in skillful men, and I have decided always to

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honor men that have a profession, and to despise those

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that have none.