belike he is the keeper of a garden or of a cucumber-plot，and in whatso wise water will not be lacking in his neighborhood；'presently adding，'I will go to him and fetch thee some.'But Al-Rashid said，'My mule is swifter than thy mule；so do thou abide here，on account of the troops，whilst I go myself to him and get of this person [219] drink and return.'So saying，he urged his she-mule，which started off like racing wind or railing-water and，in the twinkling of an eye，made the mound；where he found the figure he had seen to be none other than Khalifah the Fisherman，naked and wrapped in the net；and indeed he was horrible to behold，as to and fro he rolled with eyes for very redness like cresset-gleam and dusty hair in dishevelled trim，as he were an Ifrit or a lion grim.Al-Rashid saluted him and he returned his salutation；but he was wroth and fires might have been lit at his breath.Quoth the Caliph，'O man，hast thou any water？'；and quoth Khalifah，'Ho thou，art thou blind，or Jinn-mad？ Get thee to the river Tigris，for'tis behind this mound.'So Al-Rashid went around the mound and going down to the river，drank and watered his mule： then without a moment's delay he returned to Khalifah and said to him，'What aileth thee，O man，to stand here，and what is thy calling？'The Fisherman cried，'This is a stranger and sillier question than that about the water！ Seest thou not the gear of my craft on my shoulder？'
Said the Caliph，'Belike thou art a fisherman？'；and he replied；'Yes.'Asked Al-Rashid，'Where is thy gaberdine，[220] and where are thy waistcloth and girdle and where be the rest of thy raiment？'Now these were the very things which had been taken from Khalifah，like for like；so，when he heard the Caliph name them，he got into his head that it was he who had stolen his clothes from the river-bank and coming down from the top of the mound，swiftlier than the blinding leven，laid hold of the mule's bridle，saying，'Harkye，man，bring me back my things and leave jesting and joking.'Al-Rashid replied，'By Allah，I have not seen thy clothes nor know aught of them！'Now the Caliph had large cheeks and a small mouth；[221] so Khalifah said to him；'Belike，thou art by trade a singer or a piper on pipes？ But bring me back my clothes fairly and without more ado，or I will bash thee with this my staff till thou bepiss thyself and befoul they clothes.'When Al-Rashid saw the staff in the Fisherman's hand and that he had the vantage of him，he said to himself，'By Allah，I cannot brook from this mad beggar half a blow of that staff！'Now he had on a satin gown；so he pulled it off and gave it to Khalifah，saying，'O man，take this in place of thy clothes.'The Fisherman took it and turned it about and said，'My clothes are worth ten of this painted'Aba-cloak；'and rejoined the Caliph，'Put it on till I bring thee thy gear.'So Khalifah donned the gown，but finding it too long for him，took a knife he had with him，tied to the handle of his basket，[222] and cut off nigh a third of the skirt，so that it fell only beneath his knees.Then he turned to Al-Rashid and said to him，'Allah upon thee，O piper，tell me what wage thou gettest every month from thy master，for thy craft of piping.'Replied the Caliph，'My wage is ten dinars a month，'and Khalifah continued，'By Allah；my poor fellow，thou makest me sorry for thee！ Why，I make thy ten dinars every day！ hast thou a mind to take service with me and I will teach thee the art of fishing and share my gain with thee？ So shalt thou make five dinars a day and be my slavey and I will protect thee against thy master with this staff.'Quoth Al-Rashid，'I will well'；and quoth Khalifah，'Then get off thy she-ass and tie her up，so she may serve us to carry the fish hereafter，and come hither，that I may teach thee to fish forthright.'So Al-Rashid alighted and hobbling his mule，tucked his skirts into his girdle，and Khalifah said to him，'O piper；lay hold of the net thus and put it over thy forearm thus and cast it into the Tigris thus.'Accordingly，the Caliph took heart of grace and，doing as the fisherman showed him，threw the net and pulled at it，but could not draw it up.So Khalifah came to his aid and tugged at it with him；but the two together could not hale it up： where upon said the fisherman，'O piper of ill-omen，for the first time I took thy gown in place of my clothes；
but this second time I will have thine ass and will beat thee to boot，till thou bepiss and beskite thyself！ An I find my net torn.'Quoth Al-Rashid，'Let the twain of us pull at once.'So they both pulled together and succeeded with difficulty in hauling that net ashore，when they found it full of fish of all kinds and colours；--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night； She pursued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Khalifah the Fisherman and the Caliph hauled that net ashore；they found it full of fish of all kinds；and Khalifah said to Al-
Rashid，'By Allah，O piper，thou art foul of favor but，an thou apply thyself to fishing，thou wilt make a mighty fine fisherman.
But now'twere best thou bestraddle thine ass and make for the market and fetch me a pair of frails，[223] and I will look after the fish till thou return，when I and thou will load it on thine ass's back.I have scales and weights and all we want，so we can take them with us and thou wilt have nothing to do but to hold the scales and pouch the price；for here we have fish worth twenty dinars.So be fast with the frails and loiter not.'
Answered the Caliph，'I hear and obey'and mounting，left him with his fish，and spurred his mule，in high good humour，and ceased not laughing over his adventures with the Fisherman，till he came up to Ja'afar，who said to him，'O Commander of the Faithful，belike，when thou wentest down to drink，thou found a pleasant flower-garden and enteredst and tookest thy pleasure therein alone？'
