When Haroun er Reshid put Jaafer the Barmecide to deathhe commanded that all who wept or made moan for him should be crucified；so the folk abstained from this. Now there was a Bedouin from a distant desertwho used every year to make and bring to Jaafer an ode in his honourfor which he rewarded him with a thousand diners；and the Bedouin took them and returning to his own countrylived upon themhe and his familyfor the rest of the year. Accordinglyhe came with his ode at the wonted time and finding Jaafer done to deathbetook himself to the place where his body was hangingand there made his camel kneel down and wept sore and mourned grievously. Then he recited his ode and fell asleep. In his sleep Jaafer the Barmecide appeared to him and said'Thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us as thou seest；but go to Bassora and ask for such a man there of the merchants of the town and say to him'Jaafer the Barmecide salutes thee and bids thee give me a thousand dinersby the token of the bean.'
When the Bedouin awokehe repaired to Bassorawhere he sought out the merchant and repeated to him what Jaafer had said in the dream；whereupon he wept soretill he was like to depart the world. Then he welcomed the Bedouin and entertained him three days as an honoured guest；and when he was minded to departhe gave him a thousand and five hundred dinerssaying'The thousand are what is commanded to theeand the five hundred are a gift from me to thee；and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand diners.'When the Bedouin was about to take leavehe said to the merchant'I conjure theeby Allahtell me the story of the beanthat I may know the origin of all this.'In the early part of my life，'replied the merchant'I was miserably poor and hawked hot boiled beans about the streets of Baghdad for a living.
I went out one coldrainy daywithout clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weathernow shivering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of rain-waterand altogether in so piteous a plight as would make one shudder to look upon. Now it chanced that Jaafer was seated that daywith his officers and favouritesin an upper chamber overlooking the streetand his eye fell on me；so he took pity on my case and sending one of his servants to fetch me to himsaid to me'Sell thy beans to my people.'So I began to mete out the beans with a measure I had with meand each who took a measure of beans filled the vessel with gold piecestill the basket was empty. Then I gathered together the money I had gottenand Jaafer said to me'Hast thou any beans left？'I know not，'answered I and sought in the basketbut found only one bean. This Jaafer took and splitting it in twainkept one half himself and gave the other to one of his favouritessaying'For how much wilt thou buy this half-bean？'For the tale of all this money twice-told，'replied she；whereat I was confounded and said in myself'This is impossible.'Butas I stood wonderingshe gave an order to one of her handmaids and the girl brought me the amount twice-told.
Then said Jaafer'And I will buy my half for twice the sum of the whole. Take the price of thy bean.'And he gave an order to one of his servantswho gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my basket；and I took it and departed. Then I betook myself to Bassorawhere I traded with the money and God prospered meto Him be the praise and the thanks！ Soif I give thee a thousand diners a year of the bounty of Jaaferit will in no wise irk me.'Consider then the munificence of Jaafer's nature and how he was praised both alive and deadthe mercy of God the Most High be upon him！
