"Man is known among me as his deeds attest; * Which make noble origin manifest: Backbite not, lest other men bit thy back; * Who saith aught, the same shall to him be addrest: Shun immodest words and indecent speech * When thou speakest in earnest or e'en in jest.[FN#229] We bear with the dog which behaves itself * But the lion is chained lest he prove a pest: And the desert carcases swim the main * While union-pearls on the sandbank rest[FN#230]: No sparrow would hustle the sparrow-hawk, * Were it not by folly and weakness prest: A-sky is written on page of air * 'Who doth kindly of kindness shall have the best!' 'Ware of gathering sugar from bitter gourd:[FN#231] * 'Twill prove to its origin like in taste." After this Abu Sir abode awhile, till Allah took him to Himself, and they buried him hard by the tomb of his comrade Abu Kir; wherefore that place was called Abu Kir and Abu Sir; but it is now known as Abu Kir only. This, then, is that which hath reached us of their history, and glory be to Him who endureth for ever and aye and by whose will interchange the night and the day. And of the stories they tell is one anent ABDULLAH[FN#232] THE FISHERMAN AND ABDULLAH THE MERMAN. There was once a Fisherman named Abdullah, who had a large family, to wit, nine children and their mother, so was he poor, very poor, owning naught save his net. Every day he used to go to the sea a-fishing, and if he caught little, he sold it and spent the price on his children, after the measure of that which Allah vouchsafed him of provision; but if he caught much, he would cook a good mess of meat and buy fruit and spend without stint till nothing was left him, saying to himself, "The daily bread of to-morrow will come to-morrow." Presently, his wife gave birth to another child, making a total of ten, and it chanced that day that he had nothing at all; so she said to him, "O my master, see and get me somewhat wherewithal I may sustain myself." Quoth he, "I am going (under favour of Almighty Allah) this day seawards to fish on the luck of this new-born child, that we may see its fair fortune;" and quoth she, "Put thy trust in Allah!" So he took his net and went down to the sea-shore, where he cast it on the luck of the little one, saying, "O my God, make his living of ease not of unease, and abundant, not scant!" Then he waited awhile and drew in the net, which came up full of rubbish and sand and pebbles and weeds, and he saw therein no sign of fish neither muchel nor little. He cast it again and waited, then drew it in, but found no catch in it, and threw it a third and a fourth and a fifth time still not a single fish came up. So he removed to another place beseeching his daily bread of Allah Almighty and thus he kept working till the end of the day, but caught not so much as a minnow;[FN#233] whereat he fell a-marvelling in himself and said self-communing, "Hath Allah then created this new-born child without