decree

 

All the attendants were silent till Masrur finished his words, and then everyone started to offer his suggestion to solve such a problem.

 

The grand vizier said, "You are right master, it is a conspiracy."

 

The chief of the night watchmen said, "The best solution is to imprison Maqrur."

 

The spymaster said, "The accusation is clear, Maqrur intends to set the system of the empire on fire, he despises and disdains our gods too."

 

The chief judge said, "The cause is ready, the decree is clear, such accusations deserve burning to death."

 

When Masrur laughed, the guests were relieved, they thought the problem was over but they were astonished by his comment when he said, "You still talk like boys: a conspiracy, an accusation, a cause and a decree. We are then turning the attention of the people towards such a man. We would be making a martyr out of him without reason. The best solution for him is to die as a result of a deplorable accident. He should go into a very long sleep -an eternal one- after drinking a cup of water. Then, the violent wind will open the door, throw the flame and the hut will burn and Maqrur with it. Everything will take place calmly without anybody noticing and without

Announcement. The night watchmen will then report that the man neglected to close his door and his negligence caused his death."

 

All the attendants nodded in agreement.

 

Masrur ordered the maid to pour wine again for the guests. The attendants drank wine which had the color of fire. Then, the guests started to compete in flattering their host.

 

The grand vizier said, "If it had not been for you, the whole empire would be lost."

 

The spymaster said, "What would we do without you? You are always our source of inspiration."

 

The chief of the night watchmen said, "Today, I learnt a lesson that my whole experience in all the previous years failed to teach me."

 

The chief judge found that it was his turn to speak, so he cleared his throat then said, "This is the first case in which the verdict of justice was delivered very swiftly, it was pronounced even before we finished dinner. The death sentence will be the penalty inflicted upon him. For a long time justice has complained of laziness but today it proved itself to be very speedy! This is actually a great achievement."