When I heard this，I was filled with delight and marvelled exceedingly.Then I slept and awoke not till past nightfall，when I washed my face，with a mind full of the high worth of this barber-surgeon；after which I aroused him and taking out a purse I had with me，containing a considerable sum of money，threw it to him，saying，'I commend thee to God，for I am about to go forth from thee，and beg thee to spend what is in this purse on thine occasions；and thou shalt have an abounding reward of me，when I am quit of my fear.'But he returned it to me，saying，'O my lord，poor wretches like myself are of no value in thine eyes；
but how，for mine own dignitys sake，can I take a price for the boon which fortune hath vouchsafed me of thy favour and company？
By Allah，if thou repeat thy words and throw the purse to me again，I will kill myself.'So I put the purse in my sleeve （and indeed its weight was irksome to me） and would have gone away；
but when I came to the door of the house，he said to me，'O my lord，this is a safer hiding-place for thee than another，and thy keep is no burden to me；so do thou abide with me，till God grant thee relief.'So I turned back，saying，'On condition that thou spend of the money in this purse.'He let me believe that he consented to this，and I abode with him some days in the utmost comfort；but，perceiving that he spent none of the contents of the purse，I revolted at the idea of abiding at his charge and thought shame to be a burden on him；so I disguised myself in womens apparel，donning walking-boots and veil，and left his house.
When I found myself in the street，I was seized with excessive fear，and going to pass the bridge，came to a place sprinkled with water，where a trooper，who had been in my service，saw me and knowing me，cried out，saying，'This is he whom Mamoun seeks！'Then he laid hold of me，but the love of life lent me strength and I gave him a push，which threw him and his horse down in that slippery place，so that he became an example to those who will take warning and the folk hastened to him.
Meanwhile，I hurried on over the bridge and entered a street，where I saw the door of a house open and a woman standing in the vestibule.So I said to her，'O my lady，have pity on me and save my life；for I am a man in fear.'Quoth she，'Enter and welcome；'and carried me into an upper chamber，where she spread me a bed and brought me food，saying，'Calm thy fear，for not a soul shall know of thee.'As she spoke，there came a loud knocking at the door；so she went and opened，and lo，it was my friend whom I had thrown down on the bridge，with his head bound up，the blood running down upon his clothes and without his horse.'O so and so，'said she，'what hath befallen thee？'
Quoth he，'I made prize of the man [whom the Khalif seeks] and he escaped from me.'And told her the whole story.So she brought out tinder and applying it to his head，bound it up with a piece of rag；after which she spread him a bed and he lay sick.Then she came up to me and said，'Methinks thou art the man in question？'I am，'answered I，and she said，'Fear not： no harm shall befall thee，'and redoubled in kindness to me.
I abode with her three days，at the end of which time she said to me，'I am in fear for thee，lest yonder man happen upon thee and betray thee to what thou dreadest；so save thyself by flight.'I besought her to let me tarry till nightfall，and she said，'There is no harm in that.'So，when the night came，I put on my womans attire and taking leave of her，betook me to the house of a freed woman，who had once been mine.When she saw me，she wept and made a show of affliction and praised God the Most High for my safety.Then she went forth，as if she would go to the market，in the interests of hospitality，and I thought no harm；
but，ere long，I espied Ibrahim el Mausili[132] making for the house，with his servants and troopers，led by a woman whom I knew for the mistress of the house.She brought them to my hiding-place and delivered me into their hands，and I saw death face to face.They carried me，in my womans attire，to Mamoun，who called a general council and let bring me before him.When I entered I saluted him by the title of Khalif，saying，'Peace be on thee，O Commander of the Faithful！'and he replied，'May God neither give thee peace nor bless thee！'At thy leisure，Commander of the Faithful！'rejoined I.'It is for him in whose hand is revenge[133] to decree retaliation or forgiveness；but forgiveness is nigher to the fear of God，and God hath set thy forgiveness above all other，even as He hath made my sin to excel all other sin.So，if thou punish，it is of thy right，and if thou pardon，it is of thy bounty.'And I repeated the following verses：
Great is my sin，in sooth，gainst thee，But thou art greater still，perdie.
So take thy due of me，or else Remit it of thy clemency.
If of the noble Ive not been Indeed，yet do thou of them be.
At this he raised his head to me and I hastened to add these verses：
Indeed，Ive offended full sore，But thou art disposed to forgive.
Twere justice to punish my crime And grace to allow me to live.
Then he bowed his head and repeated the following verses：
