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I had in my pocket a purse of blue silk lined with twenty good

gold pieces and he took it, whilst I was in the crush." Quoth the

Governor, "Was any one by thee at the time?"; and quoth the

soldier, "No." Thereupon the Governor cried out to the Chief of

Police who seized me, and on this wise the curtain of the Lord's.

protection was withdrawn from me. Then he said "Strip him;" and,

when they stripped me, they found the purse in my clothes. The

Wali took it, opened it and counted it; and, finding in it twenty

dinars as the soldier had said, waxed exceeding wroth and bade

his guard bring me before him. Then said he to me, "Now, O youth,

speak truly: didst thou steal this purse?"[FN#544] At this I hung

my head to the ground and said to myself, "If I deny having

stolen it, I shall get myself into terrible trouble." So I raised

my head and said, "Yes, I took it." When the Governor heard these

words he wondered and summoned witnesses who came forward and

attested my confession.