' When he heard this,
he was troubled and his colour changed and he said to me, 'O my
brother, tell me what hath happened.' 'O my lord,' replied I,
'such and such things have happened and thou art lost without
recourse, if thou abide in this thy house till the end of the
day.' At this he was confounded and his soul well-nigh departed
his body, but he recovered himself and said to me, 'What shall I
do, O my brother, and what is thine advice?' 'My advice,'
answered I, 'is that thou take what thou canst of thy property
and whom of thy servants thou trustest and flee with me to a land
other than this, ere the day come to an end.' And he said, 'I
hear and obey.' So he rose, giddy and dazed, now walking and now
falling down and took what came under his hand. Then he made an
excuse to his household and gave them his last injunctions, after
which he loaded three camels and mounted his hackney. I did the
like and we went forth privily in disguise and fared on all day
and night, till nigh upon morning, when we unloaded and hobbling
our camels, lay down to sleep; but, being worn with fatigue, we
neglected to keep watch, so that there fell on us robbers, who
stripped us of all we had and slew our servants, when they would
have defended us, after which they made off with their booty,
leaving us naked and in the sorriest of plights.
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