"Oh, I know then," said the khoja; and he came back with a _Seyyid_ in full robes. "Here's the egg-plant, wife. What shall I do with it?" he demanded. "Rip it open and cut off its head," came the voice from the kitchen, "and then put it in the pot." The khoja, obedient man, did his best to follow instructions, and a very dishevelled _Seyyid_ succeeded in escaping into the street. Khoja[112] Nazr-ed-din is a sort of Oriental Joe Miller, upon whom any story can be fathered, from Stamboul to Kandahar. But how completely the "Arabian Nights" atmosphere survives in Urmi to this day may be judged from the following story, which was told to us as a true one, and which the narrator at any rate believed implicitly. Let us call it, THE STORY OF HAJI KAS, AND HOW HIS OWN SON BOUGHT HIM There lived of late in the city of Urmi a _Seyyid_ of the _Seyyids_, whose name was Haji Kas. And he was a rich man and a powerful, who had thrice performed the Pilgrimage to Mecca; and who was a friend to the governor and the kadi, and had in repute among the mollahs and imaums. Now it is said by the Poet (upon whom be peace), "if thy neighbour hath made the Pilgrimage once, beware of him; if twice remove into the next street." And Haji Kas had three times made the Pilgrimage. Wherefore all men feared him greatly, for he regarded neither God nor man. Now there was a certain householder in the city who had a garden which Haji Kas coveted; and forasmuch as he would not sell, Haji Kas reviled him and persecuted him, and brought false accusation against him before the kadi in the courts of law. So that householder went to his house sorrowful and sore vexed; and sat him down in an inner chamber, and ate not, and covered his face. Howbeit that householder had a wife, and she was a fair woman and a wise; and when she saw her husband sorrowing, she said unto him, "What aileth thee, O my lord, that thou eatest nothing and art sad?" And he answered, "Because of Haji Kas the _Seyyid_; for he seeketh to take from me my garden, and hath brought false accusation against me; and moreover the kadi hath eaten bribes at his hand." And the woman laughed, and said, "Truly, thou doest ill to fret thyself for such a matter. Leave Haji Kas to me. I will give thee vengeance on Haji Kas."