# The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night/The Generous Dealing of Yehya Ben Khalid with a Man Who Forged a Letter in His Name

First-level story, told by Shehrzad
THE GENEROUS DEALING OF YEHYA BEN KHALID WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER IN HIS NAME.
There was between Yehya ben Khalid and Abdallah ben Malik el Khuzaï a secret enmity, the reason whereof was that Haroun er Reshid loved the latter with an exceeding love, so that Yehya and his sons were wont to say that he had bewitched the Khalif; and thus they abode a long while, with rancour in their hearts, till it fell out that the Khalif invested Abdallah with the government of Armenia and sent him thither. Soon after he had established himself in his seat of government, there came to him one of the people of Irak, a man of excellent parts and good breeding, who had lost his wealth and wasted his substance, and his estate was come to nought; so he forged a letter to Abdallah in Yehya’s name and set out therewith for Armenia. When he came to the governor’s gate, he gave the letter to one of the chamberlains, who carried it to his master. Abdallah read it and considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent for the man, who presented himself before him and called down blessings upon him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth Abdallah to him, ‘What moved thee to weary thyself thus and bring me a forged letter? But be of good heart; for we will not disappoint thy travail.’ ‘God prolong the life of our lord the Vizier!’ replied the other. ‘If my coming irk thee, cast not about for a pretext to repel me, for God’s earth is wide and the Divine Provider liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring thee from Yehya ben Khalid is true and no forgery.’ Quoth Abdallah, ‘I will write a letter to my ​agent at Baghdad and bid him enquire concerning the letter. If it be true, as thou sayest, I will bestow on thee the government of one of my cities; or, if thou prefer a present, I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhems, besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if the letter prove a forgery, I will have thee beaten with two hundred blows of a stick and thy beard shaven.’
Accordingly, he bade confine him in a privy chamber and furnish him therein with all he needed, till his case should be made manifest. Then he despatched a letter to his agent at Baghdad, to the following purport: ‘There is come to me a man with a letter purporting to be from Yehya ben Khalid. Now I have my doubts of this letter: so delay thou not, but go thyself and learn the truth of the case and let me have an answer in all speed.’ When the letter reached the agent, Night cccvii.he mounted at once and betook himself to the house of Yehya ben Khalid, whom he found sitting with his officers and boon-companions. So he gave him the letter and he read it and said to the agent, ‘Come back to me to-morrow, against I write thee an answer.’
When the agent had gone away, Yehya turned to his companions and said, ‘What doth he deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and carrieth it to my enemy?’ They all answered, saying this and that, each proposing some kind of punishment; but Yehya said, ‘Ye err in that ye say and this your counsel is of the meanness and baseness of your spirits. Ye all know the close favour of Abdallah with the Khalif and what is between him and us of despite and enmity; and now God the Most High hath made this man an intermediary, to effect a reconciliation between us, and hath appointed him to quench the fire of hate in our hearts, which hath been growing this score years; and by his means our differences shall be accorded. Wherefore it behoves me to requite him by confirming his ​expectation and amending his estate; so I will write him a letter to Abdallah, to the intent that he may use him with increase of honour and liberality.’
When his companions heard what he said, they called down blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the greatness of his magnanimity. Then he called for paper and ink and wrote Abdallah a letter in his own hand, to the following effect: ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! Thy letter hath reached me (may God give thee long life!) and I have read it and rejoice in thy health and well-being. It was thy thought that yonder worthy man had forged a letter in my name and that he was not the bearer of any message from me; but the case is not so, for the letter I myself wrote, and it was no forgery; and I hope, of thy courtesy and benevolence and the nobility of thy nature, that thou wilt fulfil this generous and excellent man of his hope and wish and use him with the honour he deserves and bring him to his desire and make him the special object of thy favour and munificence. Whatever thou dost with him, it is to me that thou dost it, and I am beholden to thee accordingly.’ Then he superscribed the letter and sealing it, delivered it to the agent, who despatched it to Abdallah.
When the latter read it, he was charmed with its contents and sending for the man, said to him, ‘Now will I give thee which thou wilt of the two things I promised thee.’ ‘The gift were more acceptable to me than aught else,’ replied the man; whereupon Abdallah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhems and ten Arab horses, five with housings of silk and other five with richly ornamented saddles of state, besides twenty chests of clothes and ten mounted white slaves and a proportionate quantity of jewels of price. Moreover, he bestowed on him a dress of honour and sent him to Baghdad in great state. When he came thither, he repaired to Yehya’s house, before he ​went to his own folk, and sought an audience of him. So the chamberlain went in to Yehya and said to him, ‘O my lord, there is one at our door who craves speech of thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth and consideration, comely of aspect and attended by many servants.’ Yehya bade admit him; so he entered and kissed the ground before him. ‘Who art thou?’ asked Yehya; and he answered, ‘O my lord, I am one who was dead from the tyranny of fortune; but thou didst raise me again from the grave of calamities and preferredst me to the paradise of [my] desires. I am he who forged a letter in thy name and carried it to Abdallah ben Malek el Khuzaï.’ ‘How hath he dealt with thee,’ asked Yehya, ‘and what did he give thee?’ Quoth the man, ‘He hath made me rich and overwhelmed me with presents and favours, thanks to thee and thy great generosity and magnanimity and to thine exceeding goodness and abounding munificence and thine all-embracing liberality. And now, behold, I have brought all that he gave me, and it is at thy door; for it is thine to command, and the decision is in thy hand.’ ‘Thou hast done me better service than I thee,’ rejoined Yehya; ‘and I owe thee thanks without stint and abundant largesse, for that thou hast changed the enmity that was between me and yonder man of worship into love and friendship. Wherefore I will give thee the like of what Abdallah gave thee.’ Then he ordered him money and horses and apparel, such as Abdallah had given him; and thus that man’s fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these two generous men.
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