When the Lady Zubaydah's letter reached the Caliph，and reading it he saw that she confessed her offence and sent her excuses to him therefor，he said to himself，'Verily，all sins doth Allah forgive；aye，Gracious，Merciful is He！'[258]And he returned her an answer，expressing satisfaction and pardon and forgiveness for what was past，whereat she rejoiced greatly.As for Khalifah，the Fisherman，the Caliph assigned him a monthly solde of fifty dinars and took him into especial favour，which would lead to rank and dignity，honour and worship.Then he kissed ground before the Commander of the Faithful and went forth with stately gait.When he came to the door，the Eunuch Sandal；who had given him the hundred dinars，saw him and knowing him；said to him，'O Fisherman，whence all this？'So he told him all that had befallen him，first and last，whereat Sandal rejoiced；because he had been the cause of his enrichment，and said to him；'Wilt thou not give me largess of this wealth which is now become thine？'So Khalifah put hand to pouch and taking out a purse containing a thousand dinars，gave it to the Eunuch，who said；'Keep thy coins and Allah bless thee therein！'and marvelled at his manliness and at the liberality of his soul，for all his late poverty.[259]Then leaving the eunuch，Khalifah mounted his she-mule and rode，with the slaves'hands on her crupper，till he came to his lodging at the Khan，whilst the folk stared at him in surprise for that which had betided him of advancement.When he alighted from his beast they accosted him and enquired the cause of his change from poverty to prosperity，and he told them all that had happened to him from incept to conclusion.Then he bought a fine mansion and laid out thereon much money，till it was perfect in all points.And he took up his abode therein and was wont to recite thereon these two couplets；'Behold a house that's like the Dwelling of Delight；[260] *
Its aspect heals the sick and banishes despite.
Its sojourn for the great and wise appointed it，* And Fortune fair therein abideth day and night.'
Then，as soon as he was settled in his house，he sought him in marriage the daughter of one of the chief men of the city，a handsome girl，and went in unto her and led a life of solace and satisfaction，joyaunce and enjoyment；and he rose to passing affluence and exceeding prosperity.So，when he found himself in this fortunate condition，he offered up thanks to Allah （extolled and excelled be He！） for what He had bestowed on him of wealth exceeding and of favours ever succeeding，praising his Lord with the praise of the grateful and chanting the words of the poet；'To Thee be praise，O Thou who showest unremitting grace；* O Thou whose universal bounties high and low embrace！
To Thee be praise from me！ Then deign accept my praise for I *
Accept Thy boons and gifts with grateful soul in every case.
Thou hast with favours overwhelmed me，benefits and largesse *
And gracious doles my memory ne'er ceaseth to retrace.
All men from mighty main，Thy grace and goodness，drain and drink；* And in their need Thou，only Thou，to them art refuge-place！
So for the sake of him who came to teach mankind in ruth *
Prophet，pure，truthful-worded scion of the noblest race；
Ever be Allah's blessing and His peace on him and all * His aids [261] and kin while pilgrims fare his noble tomb to face！
And on his helpmeets [262] one and all，Companions great and good，* Though time Eternal while the bird shall sing in shady wood！'
And thereafter Khalifah continued to pay frequent visits to the Caliph Harun al-Rashid，with whom he found acceptance and who ceased not to overwhelm him with boons and bounty： and he abode in the enjoyment of the utmost honour and happiness and joy and gladness and in riches more than sufficing and in rank ever rising；brief，a sweet life and a savoury，pure as pleasurable；till there came to him the Destroyer of delights and the Sunderer of societies；and extolled be the perfection of Him to whom belong glory and permanence and He is the Living，the Eternal；who shall never die！
NOTE.I have followed the example of Mr.Payne and have translated in its entirety the Tale of Khalifah the Fisherman from the Breslau Edit.（Vol.iv.Pp.315-365，Night ccxxi-ccxxxii.） in preference to the unsatisfactory process of amalgamating it with that of the Mac.Edit.given above.
Khalifah The Fisherman of Baghdad.
There was once，in days of yore and in ages and times long gone before，in the city of Baghdad，a fisherman，by name Khalif，a man of muckle talk and little luck.One day，as he sat in his cell，[263] he bethought himself and said，'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！
Would Heaven I knew what is my offence in the sight of my Lord and what caused the blackness of my fortune and my littleness of luck among the fishermen，albeit （and I say it who should not） in the city of Baghdad there is never a fisherman like myself.'Now he lodged in a ruined place called a Khan，to wit，an inn，[264] without a door，and when he went forth to fish，he would shoulder the net，without basket or fish-slicers，[265]
and when the folk would stare at him and say to him，'O Khalif；why not take with thee a basket，to hold the fish thou catchest？'；he would reply，'Even as I carry it forth empty，so would it come back，for I never manage to catch aught.'One night he arose，in the darkness before dawn，and taking his net on his shoulder，raised his eyes to heaven and said，'Allah mine，O Thou who subjectedst the sea to Moses son of Imr n，give me this day my daily bread，for Thou art the best of bread-givers！'Then he went down to the Tigris and spreading his net，cast it into the river and waited till it had settled down，when he haled it in and drew it ashore，but behold，it held naught save a dead dog.
