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Had I been a man of many words, a meddler, a busy body, I had not

acted thus kindly by him; but now I will tell you a tale which

befell me, that you may be well assured I am a man sparing of

speech in whom is no forwardness and a very different person from

those six Brothers of mine; and this it is."

The Barber's Tale of Himself.

I was living in Baghdad during the times of Al-Mustansir

bi'llah,[FN#632] Son of Al-Mustazi bi'llah the then Caliph, a

prince who loved the poor and needy and companied with the

learned and pious. One day it happened to him that he was wroth

with ten persons, highwaymen who robbed on the Caliph's highway,

and he ordered the Prefect of Baghdad to bring them into the

presence on the anniversary of the Great Festival.[FN#633] So the

Prefect sallied out and, making them His prisoners, embarked with

them in a boat. I caught sight of them as they were embarking and

said to myself, "These are surely assembled for a marriage feast;

methinks they are spending their day in that boat eating and

drinking, and none shall be companion of their cups but I

myself." So I rose, O fair assembly; and, of the excess of my

courtesy and the gravity of my understanding, I embarked with

them and entered into conversation with them.