'To a merchant or a
passer-by?' asked she. 'For my heart forethinketh me of
separation.' 'To a merchant, of course,' replied he. But she
rejoined, 'Tell me the truth of the case, that I may order my
affair; and what wantest thou with the mug of water?' 'To give
the broker a drink,' answered he; whereupon she exclaimed, 'There
is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!'
And repeated the following verses:
O thou that seekest parting, stay thy feet: Let clips and kisses
not delude thy spright.
Softly, for fortune's nature is deceit And parting is the end of
love-delight.
Then he took the mug and going out, found the Christian within
the vestibule and said to him, 'O dog, how darest thou enter my
house without my leave?' 'O my lord,' answered he, 'there is no
difference between the door and the vestibule and I will not
budge hence, save to go out; and I am beholden to thee for thy
kindness.' Then he took the mug and emptying it, returned it to
Ali, who took it and waited for him to go; but he did not move.
So Ali said to him, 'Why dost thou not rise and go thy way?' 'O
my lord,' answered the Christian, 'be not of those that do a
kindness and after make a reproach of it, nor one of whom saith
the poet:
Gone, gone are they who, if thou stoodst before their door of
old, Had, at thy seeking, handselled thee with benefits
untold!
And if thou stoodest at their door who follow after them, These
latter would begrudge to thee a draught of water cold.
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