come between thee and him." Thereupon Nur al-Din, who was stout
of heart as he was stalwart of limb, went up to the Wazir and,
dragging him over the pommel of his saddle, threw him to the
ground. Now there was in that place a puddling- pit for brick-
clay,[FN#34] into the midst of which he fell, and Nur al-Din kept
pummelling and fisti-cuffing him, and one of the blows fell full
on his teeth, and his beard was dyed with his blood. Also there
were with the minister ten armed slaves who, seeing their master
entreated after this fashion, laid hand on sword-hilt and would
have bared blades and fallen on Nur al-Din to cut him down; but
the merchants and bystanders said to them, "This is a Wazir and
that is the son of a Wazir; haply they will make friends some
time or other, in which case you will forfeit the favour of both.
Or perchance a blow may befal your lord, and you will all die the
vilest of deaths; so it were better for you not to interfere."
Accordingly they held aloof and, when Nur al-Din had made an end
of thrashing the Wazir, he took his handmaid and fared homewards.
Al-Mu'in also went his ways at once, with his raiment dyed of
three colours, black with mud, red with blood and ash coloured
with brick-clay. When he saw himself in this state, he bound a
bit of matting[FN#35] round his neck and, taking in hand two
bundles of coarse Halfah-grass,[FN#36] went up to the palace and
standing under the Sultan's windows cried aloud, "O King of the
age, I am a wronged man! I am foully wronged!" So they brought
him before the King who looked at him; and behold, it was the
chief Minister; whereupon he said, "O Wazir who did this deed by
thee?" Al-Mu'in wept and sobbed and repeated these lines,

"Shall the World oppress me when thou art in't? * In the lion's
presence shall wolves devour?