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When he ended his verse we said to him, "Allah upon thee, tell us

thy reason for refusing to eat of the cumin ragout?" "If so it

be," he replied, "and needs must I eat of it, I will not do so

except I wash my hand forty times with soap, forty times with

potash and forty times with galangale,[FN#555] the total being

one hundred and twenty washings." Thereupon the hospitable host

bade his slaves bring water and whatso he required; and the young

man washed his hand as afore mentioned. Then he sat down, as if

disgusted and frightened withal, and dipping his hand in the

ragout, began eating and at the same time showing signs of anger.

And we wondered at him with extreme wonderment, for his hand

trembled and the morsel in it shook and we saw that his thumb had

been cut off and he ate with his four fingers only. So we said to

him, "Allah upon thee, what happened to thy thumb?