14 AlJ Laylah wa Lay la h. such knave and whoreson." Then he went up to the next door and sent in a like message to the house-master, who denied himself as the first had done, whereupon he began repeating : He is gone who when to his gate thou go'st, o Fed thy famisht maw with his boiled and roast. When he had ended his verse he said, " By Allah, there is no help but that I make trial of them all : perchance there be one amongst them who will stand me in the stead of all the rest." So he went the round of the ten, but not one of them would open his door to him or show himself or even break a bit of bread before him ; where- upon he recited : Like a tree is he who in wealth doth wone, o And while fruits he the folk to his fruit shall run : But when bared the tree of what fruit it bare, o They leave it to suffer from dust and sun. Perdition to all of this age ! I find o Ten rogues for every righteous one. Then he returned to his slave-girl and his grief had grown more grievous and she said to him, "O my lord, did I not tell thee, none would profit thee with aught of aid ?" And he replied, " By Allah, not one of them would show me his face or know me !" "O my lord," quoth she, " sell some of the moveables and household stuff, such as pots and pans, little by little ; and expend the proceeds until Allah Almighty shall provide." So he sold all of that was in the house till nothing remained when he turned to Anis al-Jalis and asked her "What shall we do now?"; and she answered, "O my lord, it is my advice that thou rise forthwith and take me down to the bazar and sell me. Thou knowest that thy father bought me for ten thousand dinars : haply Allah may open thee a way to get the same price, and if it be His will to bring us once more together, we shall meet again." "O Anis al-Jalis," cried he, "by Allah it is no light matter for me to be parted from thee for a single hour ! " " By Allah, O my lord,'* she replied, nor is it easy to me either, but Need hath its own law, as the poet said : Need drives a man into devious roads, o And pathways doubtful of trend and scope: No man to a rope 1 will entrust his weight, o Save for cause that calleth for case of rope.
Arab. " Sabab," the orig. and material sense of the word ; hence " a cause," etc.
