THE SCENE: This passage is pure smut.
THE TEXT: It is related that one night Harun al-Rashid, lying between two fair girls whom he loved equally and of whom one was from Madinah and the other from Kufah, did not wish to decide with whom he should finish, especially since if one gained, the other would have to lose.
Therefore he decided that the prize should go to her who should win it. At once the slave from Madinah clasped his hands and began to caress them gently, while the one from Kufah, lying lower, rubbed his feet and took advantage of her position to slip up her hand from time to time and handle the principal merchandise.
Under the influence of these delicate touches the merchandise suddenly began to increase considerably in weight; then the girl from Kufah laid open hold of it and, pulling it towards her, shut it all up in the hollow of her hand. On this the Madinah woman exclaimed: “You are keeping the capital for yourself and you will not even let me have any of the interest.” Then with a quick movement she pushed her rival away and, taking hold of the capital herself, shut it carefully in her hands. The cheated slave, who was deeply learned in the traditions of the Prophet, said to the other: “I have a right to the capital, according to these words of the Prophet (upon whom be prayer and peace!): He who makes the dead earth live again shall own it for himself!” But the slave from Madinah, who was no less versed in the Book than her rival, kept hold of the merchandise and answered: “The capital belongs to me, according to these words of the Prophet (on whom be prayer and peace!): Game shall belong, not to him who starts it, but to him who kills it.”
When the Khallfah heard these quotations, he considered them so much to the point that he satisfied both the girls on that one night.
– One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, 15th Century AD
