An I bury it，they will take it，and if I put it out on deposit，they will deny that I did so，and if I carry it on my head，[278] they will snatch it，and if I tie it to my sleeve，they will cut it away.'Presently，he espied a little breast-pocket in the gown and said，'By Allah，this is fine！'Tis under my throat and hard by my mouth： if any put out his hand to hend it，I can come down on it with my mouth and hide it in my throttle.'So he set the rag containing the gold in the pocket and lay down，but slept not that night for suspicion and trouble and anxious thought.On the morrow，he fared forth of his lodging on fishing intent and，betaking himself to the river，went down into the water，up to his knees.Then he threw the net and shook it with might and main；whereupon the purse fell down into the stream.So he tore off gown and turband and plunged in after it；saying，'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah；the Glorious，the Great！'Nor did he give over diving and searching the stream-bed，till the day was half spent，but found not the purse.Now one saw him from afar diving and plunging and his gown and turband lying in the sun at a distance from him；with no one by them；so he watched him，till he dived again when he dashed at the clothes and made off with them.Presently；Khalif came ashore and，missing his gown and turband，was chagrined for their loss with passing cark and care and ascended a mound，to look for some passer-by，of whom he might enquire concerning them，but found none.Now the Caliph Harun al-Rashid had gone a-hunting and chasing that day；and，returning at the time of the noon heat，was oppressed thereby and thirsted；so he looked for water from afar and seeing a naked man standing on the mound said to Ja'afar，'Seest thou what I see？'Replied the Wazir，'Yes，O Commander of the Faithful；I see a man standing on a hillock.'Al-Rashid asked，'What is he？'；and Ja'afar answered；'Haply he is the guardian of a cucumber-plot.'Quoth the Caliph；'Perhaps he is a pious man[279]；I would fain go to him；alone，and desire of him his prayers；and abide ye where you are.'So he went up to Khalif and saluting him with the salam said to him，'What art thou，O man？'Replied the fisherman，'Dost thou not know me？ I am Khalif the Fisherman；'and the Caliph rejoined，'What？ The Fisherman with the woollen gown and the honey-coloured turband[280]？'When Khalif heard him name the clothes he had lost，he said in himself，'This is he who took my duds： belike he did but jest with me.'So he came down from the knoll and said，'Can I not take a noontide nap[281] but thou must trick me this trick？ I saw thee take my gear and knew that thou wast joking with me.'At this，laughter got the better of the Caliph and he said；'What clothes hast thou lost？ I know nothing of that whereof thou speakest，O Khalif.'Cried the Fisherman，'By God the Great，except thou bring me back the gear；I will smash thy ribs with this staff！'（For he always carried a quarterstaff.） Quoth the Caliph，'By Allah，I have not seen the things whereof thou speakest！'；and quoth Khalif'I will go with thee and take note of thy dwelling-place and complain of thee to the Chief of Police，so thou mayst not trick me this trick again.
By Allah，none took my gown and turband but thou，and except thou give them back to me at once，I will throw thee off the back of that she-ass thou ridest and come down on thy pate with this quarterstaff，till thou canst not stir！'Thereupon he tugged at the bridle of the mule so that she reared up on her hind legs and the Caliph said to himself，'What calamity is this I have fallen into with this madman？'Then he pulled off a gown he had on；worth an hundred dinars，and said to Khalif，'Take this gown in lieu of thine own.'He took it and donning it saw it was too long；so he cut it short at the knees and turbanded his head with the cut-off piece；then said to the Caliph，'What art thou and what is thy craft？ But why ask？ Thou art none other than a trumpeter.'Al-Rashid asked，'What showed thee that I was a trumpeter by trade？'；and Khalif answered，'Thy big nostrils and little mouth.'Cried the Caliph，'Well guessed！ Yes，I am of that craft.'Then said Khalif，'An thou wilt hearken to me，I will teach thee the art of fishing：'twill be better for thee than trumpeting and thou wilt eat lawfully[282].'Replied the Caliph，'Teach it me so that I may see whether I am capable of learning it.'And Khalif said，'Come with me，O trumpeter.'So the Caliph followed him down to the river and took the net from him，whilst he taught him how to throw it.Then he cast it and drew it up，when，behold，it was heavy，and the fisherman said；'O trumpeter，an the net be caught on one of the rocks，drag it not too hard，or I twill break and by Allah，I will take thy she-ass in payment thereof！'The Caliph laughed at his words and drew up the net，little by little，till he brought it ashore and found it full of fish；which when Khalif saw，his reason fled for joy and presently he cried，'By Allah，O trumpeter，thy luck is good in fishing！ Never in my life will I part with thee！ But now I mean to send thee to the fish-bazar，where do thou enquire for the shop of Humayd the fisherman and say to him，'My master Khalif saluteth thee and biddeth thee send him a pair of frails and a knife，so he may bring thee more fish than yesterday.' Run and return to me forthright！'The Caliph replied （and indeed he was laughing），'On my head，O master！'and，mounting his mule；rode back to Ja'afar，who said to.him，'Tell me what hath betided thee.'
