Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/115

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KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN


King Khusrau [FN#128] Shahinshah of Persia loved fish; and one day, as he sat in his saloon, he and Shirin his wife, there came a fisherman, with a great fish, and he laid it before the King, who was pleased and ordered the man four thousand dirhams. [FN#129]  Thereupon Shirin said to the King, “Thou hast done ill.”  Asked he, “And why?”, and she answered, “Because if, after this, though give one of thy courtiers a like sum, he will disdain it and say, ‘He hath but given me the like of what he gave the fisherman.’  And if thou give him less, the same will say, ‘He despiseth me and giveth me less than he gave the fisherman.’”  Rejoined Khusrau, “Thou art right, but it would dishonour a king to go back on his gift; and the thing is done.”  Quoth Shirin, “If thou wilt, I will contrive thee a means to get it back from him.”  Quoth he, “How so?”; and she said, “Call back, if thou so please, the fisherman and ask him if the fish be male or female.  If he say, ‘Male,’ say thou, ‘We want a female,’ and if he say, ‘Female,’ say, ‘We want a male.’”  So the King sent for the fisherman, who was a man of wit and astuteness, and said to him, “Is this fish male or female?” whereupon the fisherman kissed the ground and answered, “This fish is an hermaphrodite, [FN#130] neither male nor female.”  Khusrau laughed at his clever reply and ordered him other four thousand dirhams.  So the fisherman went to the treasurer and, taking his eight thousand dirhams, put them in a sack he had with him.  Then, throwing it over his shoulder, he was going away, when he dropped a dirham; so he laid the bag off his back and stooped down to pick it up.  Now the King