was considered in the mirror showed exceedingly dark and dull,
and the inspector would dismiss the girl. This endured until the
crone had brought to him all the damsels in Cairo, and not one
was found whose reflection in the mirror showed clear-bright and
whose honour was pure and clean, in fact such an one as described
by the King of the Jann. Herewith Mubarak, seeing that he had not
found one in Cairo to please him, or who proved pure and
unsullied as the King of the Jann had required, determined to
visit Baghdad: so they rose up and equipped them and set out and
in due time they made the City of Peace where they hired them a
mighty fine mansion amiddlemost the capital. Here they settled
themselves in such comfort and luxury that the Lords of the land
would come daily to eat at their table, even the thirsty and
those who went forth betimes,[FN#48] and what remained of the
meat was distributed to the mesquin and the miserable; also every
poor stranger lodging in the Mosques would come to the house and
find a meal. Therefore the bruit of them for generosity and
liberality went abroad throughout the city and won for them
notable name and the fairest of fame; nor did any ever speak of
aught save the beneficence of Zayn al-Asnam and his generosity
and his opulence. Now there chanced to be in one of the
cathedral-mosques and Imam,[FN#49] Abu Bakr hight, a ghostly man
passing jealous and fulsome, who dwelt hard by the manion wherein
the Prince and Mubarak abode; and he, when he heard of their
lavish gifts and alms deeds, and honourable report, smitten by
envy and malice and hatred, fell to devising how he might draw
them into some calamity that might despoil the goods they enjoyed
and destroy their lives, for it is the wont of envy to fall not
save upon the fortunate. So one day of the days, as he lingered
in the Mosque after mid-afternoon prayer, he came forwards amidst