There was a man called Abul Hussain who was once very rich, but had
been so foolish in entertaining all his friends that he lost all his
money, and became very poor.
He and his old mother lived together, and sometimes, when he felt
lonely, he would walk out and call in two or three men, any passing
strangers whom he chanced to meet, and ask them to come in and have a
talk and smoke with him. When they left his house, he never expected
to see them again.
On one occasion he accosted a man dressed in plain clothes, who,
with two others, was taking a stroll, and said: "Friend, come in and
have a chat with me."
The man--who was really the King--with his two followers, went in; and,
after they had talked some time and made merry over wine, Abul said:
"I should like to exchange places with the King for just one day."
"Why?" asked the King.
"Because the Priest who prays in the Musjid here, and his four friends,
are very wicked men, and I should like to have them killed."
The King, while talking, took out some powder which had the effect
of putting a person to sleep, and secretly dropped it into the wine
Abul was drinking. Shortly afterwards Abul fell into a deep sleep.
The King then said to his servants: "Remove this man and take him
to my Palace; change his clothes for some of mine, place him in my
bed, and, until I give further orders, recognise him as your King,
and let him use as much money as he likes."
The servants did as he told them, took up the sleeping man and put
him to bed in the King's Palace.
Early next morning the servants came to wake Abul, and said: "Will
Your Majesty rise this morning?"
Abul rubbed his eyes and looked, and behold, he was in a King's room
and the King's servant was addressing him! He saw his clothes, and
wondered who he was, and what had happened: then he turned to the
man and said: "Who am I?"