That afternoon, King Harun Al-Rashid was strolling, enjoying the twilight air around the royal square. As he admired the lush date palm trees growing along the edge of the square, he spotted a man who had long been famous in his kingdom.
“Hmmm...!!! Where is that man going?” Lord Harun grumbled, stepping towards the man.
The man had a humorous face, wore a cotton hat, and never stopped smiling when he met the King. He merely smiled gently when he saw Lord Harun approaching him with a curious expression.
“Abu Nawas! Where are you going?” Abu Nawas, instead, hummed cheerfully. Lord Al-Rashid felt offended by Abu Nawas's attitude. He blocked Abu Nawas's path.
“Oh, my Lord! Please allow me to pass, for I am carrying the shy young maiden!” Abu Nawas said, reciting a verse.
“Young maiden? Who do you mean? I see you're not carrying anything!”
Abu Nawas pulled out a bottle containing a red liquid and showed it to Lord Al-Rashid.
“Here, my Lord!
“How insolent! Are you trying to deceive me, Abu Nawas? That must be wine! Let me see!” Lord Al-Rashid snatched the bottle from Abu Nawas.
“It would be truly sinful if I were carrying wine, my Lord. That is merely a bottle of milk!” Lord Al-Rashid looked unconvinced.
“Since when is milk red, Abu Nawas!? You're making things up.” Lord Al-Rashid handed the bottle back to Abu Nawas.
“It's like this, my Lord: before you came to interrupt my journey, the milk was still white. But when it heard the voice of Lord Harun Al-Rashid, it blushed red out of shyness upon seeing the valiant and mighty King. If the King were to leave, this milk would surely turn white again.” King Harun Al-Rashid burst into laughter upon hearing Abu Nawas's story.
“Nawas...Nawas! As if milk could feel shy. You always come up with something!”
From then on, Abu Nawas was often summoned to the palace to entertain royal guests. It turned out that the milk Abu Nawas carried was slightly mixed with red syrup. However, the King thought it was wine.