Book excerpt: Iznogoud is Grand Vizier to Haroun al Plassid, ruler of Baghdad. And he has only one dream: becoming Caliph instead of the Caliph. With the lazy assistance of his faithful servant Wa’at Alahf, he tries his worst again and again–to no avail. But the usually oblivious Caliph has finally caught a hint of Iznogoud’s evil reputation among the people. To help the one he believes to be his friend, he sets off on a quest to find the legendary vegetable that brings out a man’s kinder nature: the carrot!