ye not the favours wherewith his father fulfilled you, and remember ye not the bread which ye ate in his household and from his family? Indeed ‘twas but a little while since his sire chose you out to escort him that his son might take solace with you instead of himself, and he entrusted unto you his heart's core, and now ye are pleased to do him die and thereby destroy the life of his parents. Furthermore, say me doth your judgment decide that such ill-work can possibly abide hidden from his father? Now I swear by the loyalty[FN#411] of the Arabs there will not remain for us a wight or any who bloweth the fire alight, however mean and slight, who will receive us after such deed. So do ye at least befriend and protect your households and your clans and your wives and your children whom ye left in the tribal domain. But now you design utterly to destroy us, one and all, and after death affix to our memories the ill-name of traitors, and cause our women be enslaved and our children enthralled, nor leave one of us aught to be longed for." Quoth they jeeringly, "Bring what thou hast of righteous rede:" so quoth he, "Have you fixed your intent upon slaying him and robbing his good?" and they answered, "We have." However, he objected again and cried, "Come ye and hear from me what it is I advise you, albeit I will take no part[FN#412] in this matter;" presently adding, "Established is your resolve in this affair, and ye wot better than I what you are about to do. But my mind is certified of this much; do ye not transgress in the matter of his blood and suffer only his crime be upon you;[FN#413] moreover, if ye desire to lay hands upon his camels and his moneys and his provisions, then do ye carry them off and leave him where he lieth; then if he live, 'twere well, and if he die 'twill be even better and far better." "Thy rede is right and righteous," they replied. Accordingly they seized his steed and his habergeon and his sword and his gear of battle and combat, and they carried off all he had of money and means, and placing him naked upon the bare ground they drove away his camels. Presently asked one of other, "Whenas we shall reach the tribe what shall we say to his father and his mother?" "Whatso Rabi'a shall counsel us," quoth they, and quoth Rabi'a, "Tell them, 'We left not travelling with your son; and, as we fared along, we lost sight of him and we saw him nowhere until we came upon him a-swoon and lying on the road senseless: then we called to him by name but he returned no reply, and when we shook him with our hands behold, he had become a dried-up wand. Then seeing him dead we buried him and brought back to you his good and his belongings.'" "And if they ask you," objected one, "'In what place did ye bury him and in what land, and is the spot far or near,' what shall ye make answer; also if they say to you, 'Why did ye not bear his corpse with you,' what then shall be your reply?"