Haroun er Rachid was seated amongst his friends when the negress brought the plate to him. He took it and examined it, but did not understand the meaning of its being sent to him by his wife. At last he handed it to one of his poets, who, having looked at it attentively, recited to him the following verses:
Er Rachid was surprised at the wit shown by the woman, and at the poet's penetration. Thus that which was to remain a mystery remained hidden, and that which was to be known was divulged.
`She has sent you coriander
White as sugar;
I have placed it in my palm,
And concentrated all my thoughts upon it,
In order to find out its meaning;
And I have seized it.
O my master, what she wants to say,
Is, "My vulva is restored to health."'
A drawn sword is a sign of war, and the victory will remain with him who holds its hilt.
A bridle means servitude and oppression.
A long beard points to good fortune and prosperity; but it is said that it is a sign of death if it reaches down to the ground.
Others pretend that the intelligence of each man is in an inverse proportion to the length of his beard; that is to say, a big beard denotes a small mind. A story goes in this respect, that a man who had a long beard saw one day a book with the following sentence inscribed on its back: `He whose chin is garnished with a large beard is as foolish as his beard is long.' Afraid of being taken for a fool by his acquaintances, he thought of getting rid of what there was too much of, and to this end, it being night-time, he grasped a handful of his beard close to the chin, and set the remainder on fire by the light of the lamp. The flame ran rapidly up the beard and reached his hand, which he had to withdraw precipitately on account of the heat. Thus his beard was burnt off entirely. Then he wrote on the back of the book, under the above- mentioned sentence, `These words are entirely true. I, who am now writing this, have proved their truth.' Being himself convinced that the weakness of the intellect is proportioned to the length of the beard.
On the same subject it is related that Haroun er Rachid, being in a kiosk, saw a man with a long beard. He ordered the man to be brought before him, and when he was there he asked him, `What is your name?'
`Abou Arouba,' replied the man.
`What is your profession?'
`I am a master in controversy.'
Haroun then gave him the following case to solve. A man buys a he-goat, who, in voiding his excrements, hits the buyer's eye with part of it and injures the same. `Who has to pay for damages?' `The seller,' promptly says Abou Arouba. `And why?' asked the Caliph. `Because he has sold the animal without warning the buyer that it has a catapult in its anus,' answered the man. At these words the Caliph began to laugh immoderately, and recited the following verses:
When the beard of the young manIt is averred by many authors that amongst proper names there are such as bring luck, and others that bring ill luck, according to the meaning they bear.
Has grown down to his navel,
The shortness of his intellect is, in my eyes,
Proportioned to the length his beard has grown.
The names Ahmed, Mohammed, Hamdonna and Hamdoun indicate in encounters and in dreams the lucky issue arrived at in a transaction. Ali and Alia, indicate the height and elevation of rank. Naserouna, Naseur, Mansour and Naseur Allah signify triumph over enemies. Salem, Salema, Selim and Selimane indicate success in all affairs; also security for him who is in danger. Fetah Allah and Fetah indicate victory, like all the other names which in their meaning speak of lucky things. The names Râd and Râda signify thunder, tumult, and comprise everything in connection with this meaning. Abou el Feurdj and Ferendj indicate joy; Ranem and Renime success, Khalf Allah and Khaleuf compensation for a loss, and
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