The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 2

Quoth Shahrazad:—It hath reached me, O auspicious King of intelligence penetrating, that there was, amongst the Kings of Bassorah, a King who loved the poor and needy and cherished his lieges, and gave of his wealth to all who believed in Mohammed (whom Allah bless and assain!), and he was even as one of the poets described him,

“A King who when hosts of the foe invade, * Receives them with lance-lunge and sabre-sway; Writes his name on bosoms in thin red lines, * And scatters the horsemen in wild dismay.”

His name was King Mohammed bin Sulayman al-Zayni, and he had two Wazirs, one called Al-Mu’ín, son of Sáwí and the other Al-Fazl son of Khákán. Now Al-Fazl was the most generous of the people of his age, upright of life, so that all hearts united in loving him and the wise flocked to him for counsel; whilst the subjects used to pray for his long life, because he was a compendium of the best qualities, encouraging the good and lief, and preventing evil and mischief. But the Wazir Mu’ín bin Sáwí on the contrary hated folk and loved not the good and was a mere compound of ill; even as was said of him,