THE MAN WHO STOLE THE DISH OF GOLD WHEREIN
THE DOG ATE.
Sometime erst there was a man, who had accumulated debts, and his
case was straitened upon him, so that he left his people and
family and went forth in distraction; and he ceased not wandering
on at random till he came after a time to a city tall of walls
and firm of foundations. He entered it in a state of despondency
and despair, harried by hunger and worn with the weariness of his
way. As he passed through one of the main streets, he saw a
company of the great going along; so he followed them till they
reached a house like to a royal-palace. He entered with them, and
they stayed not faring forwards till they came in presence of a
person seated at the upper end of a saloon, a man of the most
dignified and majestic aspect, surrounded by pages and eunuchs,
as he were of the sons of the Wazirs.When he saw the visitors, he
rose to greet them and received them with honour; but the poor
man aforesaid was confounded at his own boldness, when
beholding----And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the poor
man aforesaid was confounded at his own boldness, when beholding
the goodliness of the place and the crowd of servants and
attendants; so drawing back, in perplexity and fear for his life
sat down apart in a place afar off. where none should see him.
Now it chanced that whilst he was sitting, behold, in came a man
with four sporting-dogs, whereon were various kinds of raw silk
and brocade[FN#392] and wearing round their necks collars of gold
with chains of silver, and tied up each dog in a place set privy
for him; after which he went out and presently returned with four
dishes of gold, full of rich meats, which he set severally before
the dogs, one for each. Then he went away and left them, whilst
the poor man began to eye the food, for stress of hunger, and
longed to go up to one of the dogs and eat with him, but fear of
them withheld him. Presently, one of the dogs looked at him and
Allah Almighty inspired the dog with a knowledge of his case; so
he drew back from the platter and signed to the man, who came and
ate till he was filled. Then he would have withdrawn, but the dog
again signed to him to take for himself the dish and what food
was left in it, and pushed it towards him with his fore-paw. So
the man took the dish and leaving the house, went his way, and
none followed him. Then he journeyed to another city where he
sold the dish and buying with the price a stock-in-trade,
returned to his own town. There he sold his goods and paid his
debts; and he throve and became affluent and rose to perfect
prosperity. He abode in his own land; but after some years had
passed he said to himself, "Needs must I repair to the city of
the owner of the dish, and, carry him a fit and handsome present
and pay him the money-value of that which his dog bestowed upon
me." So he took the price of the dish and a suitable gift; and,
setting out, journeyed day and night, till he came to that city;
he entered it and sought the place where the man lived; but he
found there naught save ruins mouldering in row and croak of
crow, and house and home desolate and all conditions in changed
state. At this, his heart and soul were troubled, and he repeated
the saying of him who saith,
"Void are the private rooms of treasury: * As void were hearts of
fear and piety:
Changed is the Wady nor are its gazelles * Those fawns, nor sand-
hills those I wont to see."
And that of another,
"In sleep came Su'adá's[FN#393] shade and wakened me * Near dawn,
when comrades all a-sleeping lay:
But waking found I that the shade was fled, * And saw air empty
and shrine far away."
Now when the man saw these mouldering ruins and witnessed what
the hand of time had manifestly done with the place, leaving but
traces of the substantial-things that erewhiles had been, a
little reflection made it needless for him to enquire of the
case; so he turned away. Presently, seeing a wretched man, in a
plight which made him shudder and feel goose-skin, and which
would have moved the very rock to rush, he said to him, "Ho thou!
What have time and fortune done with the lord of this place?
Where are his lovely faces, his shining full moons and splendid
stars; and what is the cause of the ruin that is come upon his
abode, so that nothing save the walls thereof remain?" Quoth the
other, "He is the miserable thou seest mourning that which hath
left him naked. But knowest thou not the words of the Apostle
(whom Allah bless and keep!), wherein is a lesson to him who will
learn by it and a warning to whoso will be warned thereby and
guided in the right way, 'Verily it is the way of Allah Almighty
to raise up nothing of this world, except He cast it down
again?'[FN#394] If thou question of the cause of this accident,
indeed it is no wonder, considering the chances and changes of
Fortune. I was the lord of this place and I builded it and
founded it and owned it; and I was the proud possessor of its
full moons lucent and its circumstance resplendent and its
damsels radiant and its garniture magnificent, but Time turned
and did away from me wealth and servants and took from me what it
had lent (not given); and brought upon me calamities which it
held in store hidden. But there must needs be some reason for
this thy question: so tell it me and leave wondering." Thereupon,
the man who had waxed wealthy being sore concerned, told him the
whole story, and added, "I have brought thee a present, such as
souls desire, and the price of thy dish of gold which I took; for
it was the cause of my affluence after poverty, and of the
replenishment of my dwelling-place, after desolation, and of the
dispersion of my trouble and straitness." But the man shook his
head, and weeping and groaning and complaining of his lot
answered, "Ho thou! methinks thou art mad; for this is not the
way of a man of sense. How should a dog of mine make generous
gift to thee of a dish of gold and I meanly take back the price
of what a dog gave? This were indeed a strange thing! Were I in
extremest unease and misery, by Allah, I would not accept of thee
aught; no, not the worth of a nail-paring! So return whence thou
camest in health and safety."[FN#395] Whereupon the merchant
kissed his feet and taking leave of him, returned whence he came,
praising him and reciting this couplet,
"Men and dogs together are all gone by, * So peace be with all of
them! dogs and men!'
And Allah is All knowing! Again men tell the tale of
