There was once aforetime a certain sharper, who [was so eloquent
that he] would turn the ear inside out, and he was a man of
understanding and quick wit and skill and perfection. It was his
wont to enter a town and [give himself out as a merchant and]
make a show of trafficking and insinuate himself into the
intimacy of people of worth and consort with the merchants, for
he was [apparently] distinguished for virtue and piety. Then he
would put a cheat on them and take [of them] what he might spend
and go away to another city; and he ceased not to do thus a great
while.
It befell one day that he entered a certain city and sold
somewhat that was with him of merchandise and got him friends of
the merchants of the place and fell to sitting with them and
entertaining them and inviting them to his lodging and his
assembly, whilst they also invited him to their houses. On this
wise he abode a long while, till he was minded to leave the city;
and this was bruited abroad among his friends, who were concerned
for parting from him. Then he betook himself to him of them, who
was the richest of them in substance and the most apparent of
them in generosity, and sat with him and borrowed his goods; and
when he was about to take leave, he desired him to give him the
deposit that he had left with him. 'And what is the deposit?'
asked the merchant. Quoth the sharper, 'It is such a purse, with
the thousand dinars therein.' And the merchant said, 'When didst
thou give it me?' 'Extolled be the perfection of God!' replied
the sharper. 'Was it not on such a day, by such a token, and thus
and thus?' 'I know not of this,' rejoined the merchant, and words
were bandied about between them, whilst the folk [who were
present also] disputed together concerning their affair and their
speech, till their voices rose high and the neighbours had
knowledge of that which passed between them.
Then said the sharper, 'O folk, this is my friend and I deposited
with him a deposit, but he denieth it; so in whom shall the folk
put trust after this?' And they said, 'This [FN#49] is a man of
worth and we have found in him nought but trustiness and loyality
and good breeding, and he is endowed with understanding and
generosity. Indeed, he avoucheth no falsehood, for that we have
consorted with him and mixed with him and he with us and we know
the sincerity of his religion.' Then quoth one of them to the
merchant, 'Harkye, such an one! Bethink thee and consult thy
memory. It may not be but that thou hast forgotten.' But he said,
'O folk, I know nothing of that which he saith, for indeed he
deposited nought with me.' And the affair was prolonged between
them. Then said the sharper to the merchant, 'I am about to make
a journey and have, praised be God the Most High, wealth galore,
and this money shall not escape me; but do thou swear to me.' And
the folk said, 'Indeed, this man doth justice upon
himself.'[FN#50] Whereupon the merchant fell into that which he
misliked[FN#51] and came near upon [suffering] loss and ill
repute.
Now he had a friend, who pretended to quickwittedness and
understanding; so he came up to him privily and said to him, 'Let
me do, so I may put the change on this trickster, for I know him
to be a liar and thou art near upon having to pay the money; but
I will turn suspicion from thee and say to him, "The deposit is
with me and thou erredst in imagining that it was with other than
myself," and so divert him from thee.' 'Do so,' replied the
merchant, 'and rid the folk of their [false] debts.'
So the friend turned to the sharper and said to him, 'O my lord,
O such an one, thou goest under a delusion. The purse is with me,
for it was with me that thou depositedst it, and this elder is
innocent of it.' But the sharper answered him with impatience and
impetuosity, saying, 'Extolled be the perfection of God! As for
the purse that is with thee, O noble and trusty man, I know that
it is in the warrant of God and my heart is at ease concerning
it, for that it is with thee as it were with me; but I began by
demanding that which I deposited with this man, of my knowledge
that he coveteth the folk's good.' At this the friend was
confounded and put to silence and returned not an answer; [and
the] only [result of his interference was that] each of them
[FN#52] paid a thousand dinars.
So the sharper took the two thousand dinars and made off; and
when he was gone, the merchant said to his friend, the
[self-styled] man of wit and intelligence, 'Harkye, such an one!
Thou and I are like unto the hawk and the locust.' 'What was
their case?' asked the other; and the merchant said,