In the great city of Isfahan lived Ahmed the cobbler, an honest and
industrious man, whose wish was to pass through life quietly; and he
might have done so, had he not married a handsome wife, who, although
she had condescended to accept of him as a husband, was far from being
contented with his humble sphere of life.
Sittara, such was the name of Ahmed's wife, was ever forming foolish
schemes of riches and grandeur; and though Ahmed never encouraged
them, he was too fond a husband to quarrel with what gave her
pleasure. An incredulous smile or a shake of the head was his only
answer to her often-told day-dreams; and she continued to persuade
herself that she was certainly destined to great fortune.
It happened one evening, while in this temper of mind, that she went
to the Hemmam, where she saw a lady retiring dressed in a magnificent
robe, covered with jewels, and surrounded by slaves. This was the very
condition Sittara had always longed for, and she eagerly inquired the
name of the happy person who had so many attendants and such fine
jewels. She learned it was the wife of the chief astrologer to the
king. With this information she returned home. Her husband met her at
the door, but was received with a frown, nor could all his caresses
obtain a smile or a word; for several hours she continued silent, and
in apparent misery. At length she said--
"Cease your caresses, unless you are ready to give me a proof that you
do really and sincerely love me."
"What proof of love," exclaimed poor Ahmed, "can you desire which I
will not give?"
"Give over cobbling; it is a vile, low trade, and never yields more
than ten or twelve dinars a day. Turn astrologer! your fortune will be
made, and I shall have all I wish, and be happy."
"Astrologer!" cried Ahmed,--"astrologer! Have you forgotten who I
am--a cobbler, without any learning--that you want me to engage in a
profession which requires so much skill and knowledge?"
"I neither think nor care about your qualifications," said the enraged
wife; "all I know is, that if you do not turn astrologer immediately I
will be divorced from you to-morrow."
The cobbler remonstrated, but in vain. The figure of the astrologer's
wife, with her jewels and her slaves, had taken complete possession of
Sittara's imagination. All night it haunted her; she dreamt of
nothing else, and on awaking declared she would leave the house if her
husband did not comply with her wishes. What could poor Ahmed do? He
was no astrologer, but he was dotingly fond of his wife, and he could
not bear the idea of losing her. He promised to obey, and, having sold
his little stock, bought an astrolabe, an astronomical almanac, and a
table of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Furnished with these he went
to the market-place, crying, "I am an astrologer! I know the sun, and
the moon, and the stars, and the twelve signs of the zodiac; I can
calculate nativities; I can foretell everything that is to happen!"
No man was better known than Ahmed the cobbler. A crowd soon gathered
round him. "What! friend Ahmed," said one, "have you worked till your
head is turned?" "Are you tired of looking down at your last," cried
another, "that you are now looking up at the planets?" These and a
thousand other jokes assailed the ears of the poor cobbler, who,
notwithstanding, continued to exclaim that he was an astrologer,
having resolved on doing what he could to please his beautiful wife.
It so happened that the king's jeweller was passing by. He was in
great distress, having lost the richest ruby belonging to the crown.
Every search had been made to recover this inestimable jewel, but to
no purpose; and as the jeweller knew he could no longer conceal its
loss from the king, he looked forward to death as inevitable. In this
hopeless state, while wandering about the town, he reached the crowd
around Ahmed and asked what was the matter. "Don't you know Ahmed the
cobbler?" said one of the bystanders, laughing; "he has been inspired,
and is become an astrologer."
A drowning man will catch at a broken reed: the jeweller no sooner
heard the sound of the word astrologer, than he went up to Ahmed, told
him what had happened, and said, "If you understand your art, you must
be able to discover the king's ruby. Do so, and I will give you two
hundred pieces of gold. But if you do not succeed within six hours, I
will use all my influence at court to have you put to death as an
impostor."
Poor Ahmed was thunderstruck. He stood long without being able to move
or speak, reflecting on his misfortunes, and grieving, above all, that
his wife, whom he so loved, had, by her envy and selfishness, brought
him to such a fearful alternative. Full of these sad thoughts, he
exclaimed aloud, "O woman, woman! thou art more baneful to the
happiness of man than the poisonous dragon of the desert!"
The lost ruby had been secreted by the jeweller's wife, who,
disquieted by those alarms which ever attend guilt, sent one of her
female slaves to watch her husband. This slave, on seeing her master
speak to the astrologer, drew near; and when she heard Ahmed, after
some moments of apparent abstraction, compare a woman to a poisonous
dragon, she was satisfied that he must know everything. She ran to her
mistress, and, breathless with fear, cried, "You are discovered, my
dear mistress, you are discovered by a vile astrologer. Before six
hours are past the whole story will be known, and you will become
infamous, if you are even so fortunate as to escape with life, unless
you can find some way of prevailing on him to be merciful." She then
related what she had seen and heard; and Ahmed's exclamation carried
as complete conviction to the mind of the terrified mistress as it had
done to that of her slave.
The jeweller's wife, hastily throwing on her veil, went in search of
the dreaded astrologer. When she found him, she threw herself at his
feet, crying, "Spare my honour and my life, and I will confess
everything!"
"What can you have to confess to me?" exclaimed Ahmed in amazement.
"Oh, nothing! nothing with which you are not already acquainted. You
know too well that I stole the ruby from the king's crown. I did so to
punish my husband, who uses me most cruelly; and I thought by this
means to obtain riches for myself, and to have him put to death. But
you, most wonderful man, from whom nothing is hidden, have discovered
and defeated my wicked plan. I beg only for mercy, and will do
whatever you command me."
An angel from heaven could not have brought more consolation to Ahmed
than did the jeweller's wife. He assumed all the dignified solemnity
that became his new character, and said, "Woman! I know all thou hast
done, and it is fortunate for thee that thou hast come to confess thy
sin and beg for mercy before it was too late. Return to thy house, put
the ruby under the pillow of the couch on which thy husband sleeps;
let it be laid on the side furthest from the door; and be satisfied
thy guilt shall never be even suspected."
The jeweller's wife returned home, and did as she was desired. In an
hour Ahmed followed her, and told the jeweller he had made his
calculations, and found by the aspect of the sun and moon, and by the
configuration of the stars, that the ruby was at that moment lying
under the pillow of his couch, on the side furthest from the door. The
jeweller thought Ahmed must be crazy; but as a ray of hope is like a
ray from heaven to the wretched, he ran to his couch, and there, to
his joy and wonder, found the ruby in the very place described. He
came back to Ahmed, embraced him, called him his dearest friend and
the preserver of his life, and gave him the two hundred pieces of
gold, declaring that he was the first astrologer of the age.
These praises conveyed no joy to the poor cobbler, who returned home
more thankful to God for his preservation than elated by his good
fortune. The moment he entered the door his wife ran up to him and
exclaimed, "Well, my dear astrologer! what success?"
"There!" said Ahmed, very gravely,--"there are two hundred pieces of
gold. I hope you will be satisfied now, and not ask me again to hazard
my life, as I have done this morning." He then related all that had
passed. But the recital made a very different impression on the lady
from what these occurrences had made on Ahmed. Sittara saw nothing but
the gold, which would enable her to vie with the chief astrologer's
wife at the Hemmam. "Courage!" she said, "courage! my dearest husband.
This is only your first labour in your new and noble profession. Go on
and prosper, and we shall become rich and happy."
In vain Ahmed remonstrated and represented the danger; she burst into
tears, and accused him of not loving her, ending with her usual threat
of insisting upon a divorce.
Ahmed's heart melted, and he agreed to make another trial.
Accordingly, next morning he sallied forth with his astrolabe, his
twelve signs of the zodiac, and his almanac, exclaiming, as before, "I
am an astrologer! I know the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the
twelve signs of the zodiac; I can calculate nativities; I can
foretell everything that is to happen!" A crowd again gathered round
him, but it was now with wonder, and not ridicule; for the story of
the ruby had gone abroad, and the voice of fame had converted the poor
cobbler Ahmed into the ablest and most learned astrologer that was
ever seen at Isfahan.
While everybody was gazing at him, a lady passed by veiled. She was
the wife of one of the richest merchants in the city, and had just
been at the Hemmam, where she had lost a valuable necklace and
earrings. She was now returning home in great alarm lest her husband
should suspect her of having given her jewels to a lover. Seeing the
crowd around Ahmed, she asked the reason of their assembling, and was
informed of the whole story of the famous astrologer: how he had been
a cobbler, was inspired with supernatural knowledge, and could, with
the help of his astrolabe, his twelve signs of the zodiac, and his
almanac, discover all that ever did or ever would happen in the world.
The story of the jeweller and the king's ruby was then told her,
accompanied by a thousand wonderful circumstances which had never
occurred. The lady, quite satisfied of his skill, went up to Ahmed and
mentioned her loss, saying: "A man of your knowledge and penetration
will easily discover my jewels; find them, and I will give you fifty
pieces of gold."
The poor cobbler was quite confounded, and looked down, thinking only
how to escape without a public exposure of his ignorance. The lady, in
pressing through the crowd, had torn the lower part of her veil.
Ahmed's downcast eyes noticed this; and wishing to inform her of it in
a delicate manner, before it was observed by others, he whispered to
her, "Lady, look down at the rent." The lady's head was full of her
loss, and she was at that moment endeavouring to recollect how it
could have occurred. Ahmed's speech brought it at once to her mind,
and she exclaimed in delighted surprise: "Stay here a few moments,
thou great astrologer. I will return immediately with the reward thou
so well deservest." Saying this, she left him, and soon returned,
carrying in one hand the necklace and earrings, and in the other a
purse with the fifty pieces of gold. "There is gold for thee," she
said, "thou wonderful man, to whom all the secrets of Nature are
revealed! I had quite forgotten where I laid the jewels, and without
thee should never have found them. But when thou desiredst me to look
at the rent below, I instantly recollected the rent near the bottom of
the wall in the bathroom, where, before undressing, I had hid them. I
can now go home in peace and comfort; and it is all owing to thee,
thou wisest of men!"
After these words she walked away, and Ahmed returned to his home,
thankful to Providence for his preservation, and fully resolved never
again to tempt it. His handsome wife, however, could not yet rival
the chief astrologer's lady in her appearance at the Hemmam, so she
renewed her entreaties and threats, to make her fond husband continue
his career as an astrologer.
About this time it happened that the king's treasury was robbed of
forty chests of gold and jewels, forming the greater part of the
wealth of the kingdom. The high treasurer and other officers of state
used all diligence to find the thieves, but in vain. The king sent for
his astrologer, and declared that if the robbers were not detected by
a stated time, he, as well as the principal ministers, should be put
to death. Only one day of the short period given them remained. All
their search had proved fruitless, and the chief astrologer, who had
made his calculations and exhausted his art to no purpose, had quite
resigned himself to his fate, when one of his friends advised him to
send for the wonderful cobbler, who had become so famous for his
extraordinary discoveries. Two slaves were immediately despatched for
Ahmed, whom they commanded to go with them to their master. "You see
the effects of your ambition," said the poor cobbler to his wife; "I
am going to my death. The king's astrologer has heard of my
presumption, and is determined to have me executed as an impostor."
On entering the palace of the chief astrologer, he was surprised to
see that dignified person come forward to receive him, and lead him to
the seat of honour, and not less so to hear himself thus addressed:
"The ways of Heaven, most learned and excellent Ahmed, are
unsearchable. The high are often cast down, and the low are lifted up.
The whole world depends upon fate and fortune. It is my turn now to be
depressed by fate; it is thine to be exalted by fortune."
His speech was here interrupted by a messenger from the king, who,
having heard of the cobbler's fame, desired his attendance. Poor Ahmed
now concluded that it was all over with him, and followed the king's
messenger, praying to God that he would deliver him from this peril.
When he came into the king's presence, he bent his body to the ground,
and wished his majesty long life and prosperity. "Tell me, Ahmed,"
said the king, "who has stolen my treasure?"
"It was not one man," answered Ahmed, after some consideration; "there
were forty thieves concerned in the robbery."
"Very well," said the king; "but who were they? and what have they
done with my gold and jewels?"
"These questions," said Ahmed, "I cannot now answer; but I hope to
satisfy your Majesty, if you will grant me forty days to make my
calculations."
"I grant you forty days," said the king; "but when they are past, if
my treasure is not found, your life shall pay the forfeit."
Ahmed returned to his house well pleased; for he resolved to take
advantage of the time allowed him to fly from a city where his fame
was likely to be his ruin.
"Well, Ahmed," said his wife, as he entered, "what news at Court?"
"No news at all," said he, "except that I am to be put to death at the
end of forty days, unless I find forty chests of gold and jewels which
have been stolen from the royal treasury."
"But you will discover the thieves."
"How? By what means am I to find them?"
"By the same art which discovered the ruby and the lady's necklace."
"The same art!" replied Ahmed. "Foolish woman! thou knowest that I
have no art, and that I have only pretended to it for the sake of
pleasing thee. But I have had sufficient skill to gain forty days,
during which time we may easily escape to some other city; and with
the money I now possess, and the aid of my former occupation, we may
still obtain an honest livelihood."
"An honest livelihood!" repeated his lady, with scorn. "Will thy
cobbling, thou mean, spiritless wretch, ever enable me to go to the
Hemmam like the wife of the chief astrologer? Hear me, Ahmed! Think
only of discovering the king's treasure. Thou hast just as good a
chance of doing so as thou hadst of finding the ruby, and the necklace
and earrings. At all events, I am determined thou shalt not escape;
and shouldst thou attempt to run away, I will inform the king's
officers, and have thee taken up and put to death, even before the
forty days are expired. Thou knowest me too well, Ahmed, to doubt my
keeping my word. So take courage, and endeavour to make thy fortune,
and to place me in that rank of life to which my beauty entitles me."
The poor cobbler was dismayed at this speech; but knowing there was no
hope of changing his wife's resolution, he resigned himself to his
fate. "Well," said he, "your will shall be obeyed. All I desire is to
pass the few remaining days of my life as comfortably as I can. You
know I am no scholar, and have little skill in reckoning; so there are
forty dates: give me one of them every night after I have said my
prayers, that I may put them in a jar, and, by counting them may
always see how many of the few days I have to live are gone."
The lady, pleased at carrying her point, took the dates, and promised
to be punctual in doing what her husband desired.
Meanwhile the thieves who had stolen the king's treasure, having been
kept from leaving the city by fear of detection and pursuit, had
received accurate information of every measure taken to discover them.
One of them was among the crowd before the palace on the day the king
sent for Ahmed; and hearing that the cobbler had immediately declared
their exact number, he ran in a fright to his comrades, and exclaimed,
"We are all found out! Ahmed, the new astrologer, has told the king
that there are forty of us."
"There needed no astrologer to tell that," said the captain of the
gang. "This Ahmed, with all his simple good-nature, is a shrewd
fellow. Forty chests having been stolen, he naturally guessed that
there must be forty thieves, and he has made a good hit, that is all;
still it is prudent to watch him, for he certainly has made some
strange discoveries. One of us must go to-night, after dark, to the
terrace of this cobbler's house, and listen to his conversation with
his handsome wife; for he is said to be very fond of her, and will, no
doubt, tell her what success he has had in his endeavours to detect
us."
Everybody approved of this scheme; and soon after nightfall one of the
thieves repaired to the terrace. He arrived there just as the cobbler
had finished his evening prayers, and his wife was giving him the
first date. "Ah!" said Ahmed, as he took it, "there is one of the
forty."
The thief, hearing these words, hastened in consternation to the gang,
and told them that the moment he took his post he had been perceived
by the supernatural knowledge of Ahmed, who immediately told his wife
that one of them was there. The spy's tale was not believed by his
hardened companions; something was imputed to his fears; he might have
been mistaken;--in short, it was determined to send two men the next
night at the same hour. They reached the house just as Ahmed, having
finished his prayers, had received the second date, and heard him
exclaim, "My dear wife, to-night there are two of them!"
The astonished thieves fled, and told their still incredulous comrades
what they had heard. Three men were consequently sent the third night,
four the fourth, and so on. Being afraid of venturing during the day,
they always came as evening closed in, and just as Ahmed was receiving
his date, hence they all in turn heard him say that which convinced
them he was aware of their presence. On the last night they all went,
and Ahmed exclaimed aloud, "The number is complete! To-night the whole
forty are here!"
All doubts were now removed. It was impossible that Ahmed should have
discovered them by any natural means. How could he ascertain their
exact number? and night after night, without ever once being mistaken?
He must have learnt it by his skill in astrology. Even the captain now
yielded, in spite of his incredulity, and declared his opinion that it
was hopeless to elude a man thus gifted; he therefore advised that
they should make a friend of the cobbler, by confessing everything to
him, and bribing him to secrecy by a share of the booty.
His advice was approved of, and an hour before dawn they knocked at
Ahmed's door. The poor man jumped out of bed, and supposing the
soldiers were come to lead him to execution, cried out, "Have
patience! I know what you are come for. It is a very unjust and wicked
deed."
"Most wonderful man!" said the captain, as the door was opened, "we
are fully convinced that thou knowest why we are come, nor do we mean
to justify the action of which thou speakest. Here are two thousand
pieces of gold, which we will give thee, provided thou wilt swear to
say nothing more about the matter."
"Say nothing about it!" said Ahmed. "Do you think it possible I can
suffer such gross wrong and injustice without complaining, and making
it known to all the world?"
"Have mercy upon us!" exclaimed the thieves, falling on their knees;
"only spare our lives, and we will restore the royal treasure."
The cobbler started, rubbed his eyes to see if he were asleep or
awake; and being satisfied that he was awake, and that the men before
him were really the thieves, he assumed a solemn tone, and said:
"Guilty men! ye are persuaded that ye cannot escape from my
penetration, which reaches unto the sun and moon, and knows the
position and aspect of every star in the heavens. Your timely
repentance has saved you. But ye must immediately restore all that ye
have stolen. Go straightway, and carry the forty chests exactly as ye
found them, and bury them a foot deep under the southern wall of the
old ruined Hemmam, beyond the king's palace. If ye do this punctually,
your lives are spared; but if ye fail in the slightest degree,
destruction will fall upon you and your families."
The thieves promised obedience to his commands and departed. Ahmed
then fell on his knees, and returned thanks to God for this signal
mark of his favour. About two hours after the royal guards came, and
desired Ahmed to follow them. He said he would attend them as soon as
he had taken leave of his wife, to whom he determined not to impart
what had occurred until he saw the result. He bade her farewell very
affectionately; she supported herself with great fortitude on this
trying occasion, exhorting her husband to be of good cheer, and said a
few words about the goodness of Providence. But the fact was, Sittara
fancied that if God took the worthy cobbler to himself, her beauty
might attract some rich lover, who would enable her to go to the
Hemmam with as much splendour as the astrologer's lady, whose image,
adorned with jewels and fine clothes, and surrounded by slaves, still
haunted her imagination.
The decrees of Heaven are just: a reward suited to their merits
awaited Ahmed and his wife. The good man stood with a cheerful
countenance before the king, who was impatient for his arrival, and
immediately said, "Ahmed, thy looks are promising; hast thou
discovered my treasure?"
"Does your Majesty require the thieves or the treasure? The stars will
only grant one or the other," said Ahmed, looking at his table of
astrological calculations. "Your Majesty must make your choice. I can
deliver up either, but not both."
"I should be sorry not to punish the thieves," answered the king; "but
if it must be so, I choose the treasure."
"And you give the thieves a full and free pardon?"
"I do, provided I find my treasure untouched."
"Then," said Ahmed, "if your majesty will follow me, the treasure
shall be restored to you."
The king and all his nobles followed the cobbler to the ruins of the
old Hemmam. There, casting his eyes towards heaven, Ahmed muttered
some sounds, which were supposed by the spectators to be magical
conjurations, but which were in reality the prayers and thanksgivings
of a sincere and pious heart to God for his wonderful deliverance.
When his prayer was finished, he pointed to the southern wall, and
requested that his majesty would order his attendants to dig there.
The work was hardly begun, when the whole forty chests were found in
the same state as when stolen, with the treasurer's seal upon them
still unbroken.
The king's joy knew no bounds; he embraced Ahmed, and immediately
appointed him his chief astrologer, assigned to him an apartment in
the palace, and declared that he should marry his only daughter, as it
was his duty to promote the man whom God had so singularly favoured,
and had made instrumental in restoring the treasures of his kingdom.
The young princess, who was more beautiful than the moon, was not
dissatisfied with her father's choice; for her mind was stored with
religion and virtue, and she had learnt to value beyond all earthly
qualities that piety and learning which she believed Ahmed to possess.
The royal will was carried into execution as soon as formed. The wheel
of fortune had taken a complete turn. The morning had found Ahmed in a
wretched hovel, rising from a sorry bed, in the expectation of losing
his life; in the evening he was the lord of a rich palace, and married
to the only daughter of a powerful king. But this change did not alter
his character. As he had been meek and humble in adversity, he was
modest and gentle in prosperity. Conscious of his own ignorance, he
continued to ascribe his good fortune solely to the favour of
Providence. He became daily more attached to the beautiful and
virtuous princess whom he had married; and he could not help
contrasting her character with that of his former wife, whom he had
ceased to love, and of whose unreasonable and unfeeling vanity he was
now fully sensible.