come to thee. How many pounds wilt thou have?" "Five pounds,"
answered Ma'aruf. So the man weighed him out five pounds of
vermicelli-cake and said to him, "I have clarified butter, but no
bees' honey. Here is drip-honey,[FN#7] however, which is better
than bees' honey; and what harm will there be, if it be with
drip-honey?" Ma'aruf was ashamed to object, because the
pastry-cook was to have patience with him for the price, and
said, "Give it me with drip-honey." So he fried a vermicelli-cake
for him with butter and drenched it with drip-honey, till it was
fit to present to Kings. Then he asked him, "Dost thou want
bread[FN#8] and cheese?"; and Ma'aruf answered, "Yes." So he gave
him four half dirhams worth of bread and one of cheese, and the
vermicelli was ten nusfs. Then said he, "Know, O Ma'aruf, that
thou owest me fifteen nusfs; so go to thy wife and make merry and
take this nusf for the Hammam;[FN#9] and thou shalt have credit
for a day or two or three till Allah provide thee with thy daily
bread. And straiten not thy wife, for I will have patience with
thee till such time as thou shalt have dirhams to spare." So
Ma'aruf took the vermicelli-cake and bread and cheese and went
away, with a heart at ease, blessing the pastry-cook and saying,
"Extolled be Thy perfection, O my Lord! How bountiful art Thou!"
When he came home, his wife enquired of him, "Hast thou brought
the vermicelli-cake?"; and, replying "Yes," he set it before her.
She looked at it and seeing that it was dressed with
cane-honey,[FN#10] said to him, "Did I not bid thee bring it with
bees' honey? Wilt thou contrary my wish and have it dressed with
cane-honey?" He excused himself to her, saying, "I bought it not
save on credit;" but said she, "This talk is idle; I will not eat
Kunafah save with bees' honey." And she was wroth with it and
threw it in his face, saying, "Begone, thou pimp, and bring me