With this Hasan gave the rod to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus，who joyed therein with exceeding joy and thanking him and securing it mounted and returned to his own place.Then Hasan took horse with his wife and children and departed from the Palace of the Princesses，who went forth[183] with him，to farewell him.
Then they turned back and Hasan fared on，over wild and wold，two months and ten days，till he came to the city of Baghdad，the House of Peace，and repairing to his home by the private postern which gave upon the open country，knocked at the door.Now his mother，for long absence，had forsworn sleep and given herself to mourning and weeping and wailing，till she fell sick and ate no meat，neither took delight in slumber but shed tears night and day.She ceased not to call upon her son's name albeit she despaired of his returning to her；and as he stood at the door；he heard her weeping and reciting these couplets；'By Allah，heal，O my lords，the unwhole * Of wasted frame and heart worn with dole：
An you grant her a meeting'tis but your grace * Shall whelm in the boons of the friend her soul：
I despair not of Union the Lord can grant * And to weal of meeting our woes control！'
When she had ended her verses，she heard her son's voice at the door，calling out，'O mother，mother ah！ fortune hath been kind and hath vouchsafed our reunion！'Hearing his cry she knew his voice and went to the door，between belief and misbelief；but；when she opened it she saw him standing there and with him his wife and children；so she shrieked aloud，for excess of joy，and fell to the earth in a fainting-fit.Hasan ceased not soothing her，till she recovered and embraced him；then she wept with joy；and presently she called his slaves and servants and bade them carry all his baggage into the house.[184]So they brought in every one of the loads，and his wife and children entered also；whereupon Hasan's mother went up to the Princess and kissed her head and bussed her feet，saying，'O daughter of the Supreme King，if I have failed of thy due，behold，I crave pardon of Almighty Allah.'Then she turned to Hasan and said to him，'O my son，what was the cause of this long strangerhood？'He related to her all his adventures from beginning to end；and when she heard tell of all that had befallen him，she cried a great cry and fell down a-fainting at the very mention of his mishaps.He solaced her，till she came to herself and said，'By Allah，O my son，thou hast done unwisely in parting with the rod and the cap for，hadst thou kept them with the care due to them，thou wert master of the whole earth，in its breadth and length；but praised be Allah，for thy safety，O my son，and that of thy wife and children！'They passed the night in all pleasance and happiness，and on the morrow Hasan changed his clothes and donning a suit of the richest apparel，went down into the bazar and bought black slaves and slave-girls and the richest stuffs and ornaments and furniture such as carpets and costly vessels and all manner other precious things，whose like is not found with Kings.Moreover；he purchased houses and gardens and estates and so forth and abode with his wife and his children and his mother，eating and drinking and pleasuring： nor did they cease from all joy of life and its solace till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies.And Glory be to Him who hath dominion over the Seen and the Unseen，[185] who is the Living；the Eternal，Who dieth not at all！ And men also recount the adventures of Khalifah the Fisherman of Baghdad There was once in tides of yore and in ages and times long gone before，in the city of Baghdad，a fisherman，Khalifah hight，a pauper wight，who had never once been married in all his days.
[186]It chanced one morning，that he took his net and went with it to the river，as was his wont，with the view of fishing before the others came.When he reached the bank，he girt himself and tucked up his skirts；then stepping into the water；he spread his net and cast it a first cast and a second but it brought up naught.He ceased not to throw it，till he had made ten casts，and still naught came up therein；wherefore his breast was straitened and his mind perplexed concerning his case and he said，'I crave pardon of God the Great，there is no god but He；the Living，the Eternal，and unto Him I repent.There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！ Whatso He willeth is and whatso He nilleth is not！ Upon Allah （to whom belong Honour and Glory！） dependeth daily bread！
Whenas He giveth to His servant，none denieth him；and whenas He denieth a servant，none giveth to him.'And of the excess of his distress，he recited these two couplets；'An Fate afflict thee，with grief manifest，* Prepare thy patience and make broad thy breast；
For of His grace the Lord of all the worlds * Shall send to wait upon unrest sweet Rest.'
Then he sat awhile pondering his case，and with his head bowed down recited also these couplets；'Patience with sweet and with bitter Fate！ * And weet that His will He shall consummate：
Night oft upon woe as on abscess acts * And brings it up to the bursting state：
And Chance and Change shall pass o'er the youth * And fleet from his thoughts and no more shall bait.'
Then he said in his mind，'I will make this one more cast；trusting in Allah，so haply He may not disappoint my hope；'and he rose and casting into the river the net as far as his arm availed，gathered the cords in his hands and waited a full hour；after which he pulled at it and，finding it heavy，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
