As for Aboulhusn, he gave not over sleeping till God the Most High brought on the morning, when he awoke, crying out and saying, “Ho, Tuffaheh!  Ho, Rahet el Culoub!  Ho, Miskeh!  Ho, Tuhfeh!” And he gave not over calling upon the slave-girls till his mother heard him calling upon strange damsels and rising, came to him and said, “The name of God encompass thee!  Arise, O my son, O Aboulhusn!  Thou dreamest.”  So he opened his eyes and finding an old woman at his head, raised his eyes and said to her, “Who art thou?” Quoth she, “I am thy mother;” and he answered, “Thou liest!  I am the Commander of the Faithful, the Vicar of God.”  Whereupon his mother cried out and said to him, “God preserve thy reason!  Be silent, O my son, and cause not the loss of our lives and the spoiling of thy wealth, [as will assuredly betide,] if any hear this talk and carry it to the Khalif.”

So he rose from his sleep and finding himself in his own saloon and his mother by him, misdoubted of his wit and said to her, “By Allah, O my mother, I saw myself in a dream in a palace, with slave-girls and servants about me and in attendance upon me, and I sat upon the throne of the Khalifate and ruled.  By Allah, O my mother, this is what I saw, and verily it was not a dream!” Then he bethought himself awhile and said, “Assuredly, I am Aboulhusn el Khelia, and this that I saw was only a dream, and [it was in a dream that] I was made Khalif and commanded and forbade.”  Then he bethought himself again and said, “Nay, but it was no dream and I am no other than the Khalif, and indeed I gave gifts and bestowed dresses of honour.”  Quoth his mother to him, “O my son, thou sportest with thy reason:  thou wilt go to the hospital and become a gazing-stock.  Indeed, that which thou hast seen is only from the Devil and it was a delusion of dreams, for whiles Satan sporteth with men’s wits in all manner ways.”

Then said she to him, “O my son, was there any one with thee yesternight?” And he bethought himself and said, “Yes; one lay the night with me and I acquainted him with my case and told him my story.  Doubtless, he was from the Devil, and I, O my mother, even as thou sayst truly, am Aboulhusn el Khelia.”  “O my son,” rejoined she, “rejoice in tidings of all good, for yesterday’s record is that there came the Vivier Jaafer the Barmecide [and his company] and beat the sheikhs of the mosque and the Imam, each four hundred lashes; after which they paraded them about the city, making proclamation before them and saying, ’This is the reward and the least of the reward of whoso lacketh of goodwill to his neighbours and troubleth on them their lives!’ and banished them from Baghdad.  Moreover, the Khalif sent me a hundred dinars and sent to salute me.”  Whereupon Aboulhusn cried out and said to her, “O old woman of ill-omen, wilt thou contradict me and tell me that I am not the Commander of the Faithful?  It was I who commanded Jaafer the Barmecide to beat the sheikhs and parade them about the city and make proclamation before them and who sent thee the hundred dinars and sent to salute thee, and I, O beldam of ill-luck, am in very deed the Commander of the Faithful, and thou art a liar, who would make me out a dotard.”