Arabian 1001 Nights Tales

On the other hand, if I give him all the money, then the king to whom it belongs will undoubtedly kill me. The only thing that I can do is to win the favor of the unjust king by giving him a little bit of the money and protect myself and preserve the rest of it. This land is fertile enough to allow me to feed myself until I can buy the gems I want. In this way, I shall have pleased the unjust king with my gift and, then, having taken my fair share from his land, I shall take my master what he wants. Thanks to his justice and forbearance. I can hope that he will not punish me for what this king has taken, especially if it is only a small amount.’ Then he called to the king and said: ‘Your majesty, I wish to ransom myself and protect this money by giving you a small part of it to cover the time between my entering your country and leaving it. The king accepted his offer and let him go free, after which the merchant used the rest to buy gems before returning to his master.