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It is also related that, during the caliphate of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, there lived a celebrated man named Yunus the Scribe. He set out for Syria with a slave girl of surpassing beauty, furnished with everything she needed, whose value was a hundred thousand dirhams. As they drew near to Syria, the caravan halted beside a pool of water, and he settled in a secluded spot on its bank. He ate some of the food he had brought and took out a leather flask of wine. While he was thus occupied, a handsome, imposing young man rode up on a chestnut horse, accompanied by two servants. He greeted Yunus and asked, “Will you receive a guest?” “Gladly,” he replied. The young man dismounted beside him and said, “Give us some of your drink.” Yunus poured him a cup. Then the young man said, “Perhaps you would sing us a song.” So Yunus sang this verse:

“She holds such beauty as no mortal ever bore; for love of her, tears and sleeplessness are sweet to me.” The young man was transported with delight, and Yunus gave him cup after cup until he began to sway with drunkenness. Then he said, “Tell your girl to sing.” And she sang this verse:

“A houri whose beauty leaves my heart bewildered: neither a slender bough, nor sun, nor moon can rival her.” He was overcome with delight, and Yunus poured him drink after drink. He remained with him until they had offered the night prayer, then asked, “What has brought you to this country?” Yunus replied, “I seek the means to pay my debts and better my circumstances.” “Will you sell me this girl for thirty thousand dirhams?” he asked. “How greatly I stand in need of God’s bounty, and of still more of it!” Yunus answered. “Would forty thousand satisfy you?” “That would pay my debts, but leave me empty-handed.” “Then we shall take her for fifty thousand dirhams. Besides that, you shall have clothing and the expenses of your journey, and I shall share my good fortune with you as long as I live.” “I have sold her to you,” Yunus replied. The young man asked, “Will you trust me to send you her price tomorrow and let me take her with me now, or shall she stay with you until I send you the money tomorrow?” Drink and embarrassment, together with a certain fear of the young man, moved Yunus to say, “Yes, I trust you. Take her, and may God bless you in her.” The young man said to one of his servants, “Set her on your mount, ride behind her, and take her away.” Then he mounted his horse, bade Yunus farewell, and departed. Scarcely had he been gone an hour when the seller began to reflect and realized that he had made a mistake in selling her. “What have I done?” he said to himself. “I have handed my girl over to a man I do not know, with no idea who he is! And even if I knew him, how could I reach him?” He sat brooding until he had offered the dawn prayer. His companions entered Damascus, but he remained where he was, bewildered and uncertain what to do. He sat there until the sun scorched him and he could bear the place no longer. He was about to enter Damascus when he thought, “If I go in, the messenger may come and fail to find me, and then I shall have done myself a second injury.” So he sat in the shade of a wall nearby.

As the day was waning, one of the two servants who had accompanied the young man came towards him. At the sight of him Yunus was filled with joy, and said to himself, “I cannot remember ever being happier at anything than I am now at seeing this servant.” When the servant reached him, he said, “My master, we have kept you waiting.” Yunus said nothing of the anguish he had suffered. Then the servant asked, “Do you know the man who took the girl?” “No,” he replied. “He is al-Walid ibn Sahl, the heir apparent.” At this Yunus fell silent. Then the servant said, “Come, mount.” He had brought a riding beast, and he helped Yunus onto it. They went on until they reached a house and entered. When the girl saw Yunus, she sprang up and greeted him. He asked her, “How have you fared with the man who bought you?” She replied, “He lodged me in this chamber and ordered that I be given everything I needed.” Yunus sat with her for a while, until a servant of the master of the house came and said, “Come.” He rose and followed him into his master’s presence, where he found his guest of the day before seated on his couch. “Who are you?” he asked. “Yunus the Scribe,” he replied. “Welcome! By God, I have long wished to see you, for I have heard much of you. How did you pass the night?” “Well, may Almighty God exalt you.” Then al-Walid said, “Perhaps you regretted what you did last night and said to yourself, ‘I have handed my girl over to a man I do not know, whose name and country are unknown to me.’” Yunus replied, “God forbid, my prince, that I should regret parting with her! Had I presented her to the prince as a gift, she would have been the least of the gifts he deserves.” But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving off her permitted tale.

When it was the six hundred and eighty-fifth night

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that Yunus the Scribe said to al-Walid ibn Sahl, “God forbid that I should regret it! Had I presented her to the prince as a gift, she would have been the least of the gifts he deserves. What is this girl beside his lofty station?” Al-Walid replied, “By God, I regretted taking her from you. I said to myself, ‘Here is a stranger who does not know me, and I have descended upon him and treated him thoughtlessly in my haste to take the girl.’ Do you remember the terms we agreed upon?” “Yes,” I answered. “Will you sell me this girl for fifty thousand dirhams?” “Yes,” I replied. “Boy, bring the money.” The servant set it before him. Then he said, “Boy, bring fifteen hundred dinars.” When these were brought, he said, “Here is the price of your girl; take it. These thousand dinars are for your good opinion of us, and these five hundred are for the expenses of your journey and whatever you wish to buy for your family. Are you satisfied?” “I am satisfied,” I replied. I kissed his hands and said, “By God, you have filled my eyes, my hands, and my heart.” Then al-Walid said, “By God, I have not yet been alone with her, nor have I had my fill of her singing. Bring her to me.” She came, and he bade her sit. When she had seated herself, he said, “Sing.” And she sang these verses:

“O you who possess all beauty, whose ways and coyness are so sweet! All the beauty of Turks and Arabs holds none like you, my gazelle. Be tender, lovely one, to him who loves you; grant him a promise, though only as a vision in a dream. For your sake I welcome humiliation and disgrace, and sleepless nights are sweet to my eyes. I am not the first whom love of you has maddened: how many men before me have you slain! I am content to have you as my portion in this world, for you are dearer than my soul and all my wealth.” He was moved to great delight and thanked me for the skill with which I had trained and taught her. Then he said, “Boy, bring him a mount with its saddle and all its gear, and a mule to carry his belongings.” Then he said to me, “Yunus, when you hear that the rule has passed to me, come and join me. By God, I shall fill your hands with riches, raise you to high rank, and keep you in affluence as long as I live.” I took the money and departed. When the caliphate passed to him, I went to him, and, by God, he fulfilled his promise and showed me still greater honour. I lived with him in the happiest circumstances and enjoyed the highest standing. My fortunes prospered and my wealth increased, until I possessed estates and riches sufficient to maintain me to the end of my days, and my heirs after me. I remained with him until he was killed. May Almighty God have mercy on him.