thee Kazi," and the judge began to relate




How Drummer Abu Kasim Became a Kazi.



There was once, O King of the Age, a merchant and a man of
Bassorah who went about trading with eunuchs and slave-boys and
who bore his goods in bales[FN#250] from Bassorah to Ajam-land
there to sell them and to buy him other merchandise for vending
in Syria. On this wise he tarried a long while until one year of
the years he packed up his property, as was his wont, and fared
forth with it to Persia. But at that time there fortuned to be a
famine and when he arrived at one of the cities of the Ajam-land,
where formerly the traders bought his goods, on this occasion
none of them would come near him. In such case he continued a
long while till at last a Khwajah appeared before him, a man who
owned abundant riches in Persia, but his home was distant three
days from the place. The visitor asked saying, "O Bassorite, wilt
thou sell me thy stock-in-trade?" whereto the other answered,
"And how? Of course I'll sell it!" So the buyer opened the gate
of bidding and offered such-and-such; but the Bassorah man cried,
"Allah openeth." Then the purchaser added somewhat and the seller
rejoined, "Give me yet more?" At last the buyer exclaimed, "I
will give nothing more than 'Anaught';"[FN#251] and the seller
accepted the offer saying, "May Allah grant us gain!" Thereupon
the Persian Khwajah took over all the goods from the vendor and