gripped the line firmly and haled it in but the dog had the
better of him and dragged him to the very marge of the moonlight;
so the fisherman waxed afraid and began to cry, "Alack! Alack!
Alack![FN#228] To my rescue ye braves![FN#229] Help me for a
monster of the deep would drown me! Yallah, hurry ye, my fine
fellows, hasten to my aid!" Now at that hour people were enjoying
the sweets of sleep and when they heard these unseasonable
outcries they flocked about him from every side and accosting him
asked, "What is it? What maketh thee cry aloud at such an hour?
What hath befallen thee?" He answered, "Save me, otherwise a
river-monster will cause me fall into the stream and be drowned."
Then, finding him tucked up to the hips, the folk approached him
and enquired, "Where is the stream of which thou speakest?" and
he replied, "Yonder's the river; be ye all blind?" Thereat they
understood that he spoke of the moonbeams, whose sheen was
dispread upon earth, deeming it a river-surface, and they told
him this; but he would not credit them and cried, "So ye also
desire to drown me; be off from me! our Lord will send me other
than you to lend me good aid at this hour of need." They replied,
"O well-born one, this be moonshine;" but he rejoined, "Away from
me, ye low fellows,[FN#230] ye dogs!" Then derided him and the
angrier he grew the more they laughed, till at last they said one
to other, "Let us leave him and wend our ways," and they quitted
him in such condition--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her Sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where
is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming
night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the
next night and that was