There came one day an old woman to the stuff-bazar, with a casket of
mighty fine workmanship, containing trinkets, and she was accompanied by
a young baggage big with child. The crone sat down at the shop of a
draper and giving him to know that the girl was pregnant by the
Prefect[74] of Police of the city, took of him, on credit, stuffs to the
value of a thousand dinars and deposited with him the casket as
security. She opened the casket and showed him that which was therein
and he found it full of trinkets of price; so he trusted her with the
goods and she farewelled him and carrying the stuffs to the girl who was
with her, went her way. Then the old woman was absent from him a great
while, and when her absence was prolonged, the draper despaired of her;
so he went up to the Prefect’s house and asked anent the woman of his
household who had taken his stuffs on credit; but could obtain no
tidings of her nor happen on any trace of her. Then he brought out the
casket of jewellery and showed it to experts, who told him that the
trinkets were gilt and that their worth was but an hundred dirhams. When
he heard this, he was sore concerned thereat and presenting himself
before the Deputy of the Sultan made his complaint to him; whereupon the
official knew that a sleight had been served upon him and that the sons
of Adam[75] had cozened him and conquered him and cribbed his stuffs.
Now the magistrate in question was a man of experience and judgment,
well versed in affairs; so he said to the draper, “Remove somewhat from
thy shop, including the casket, and to-morrow morning break the lock and
cry out and come to me and complain that they have plundered all thy
shop.[76] Also mind thou call upon Allah for aid and wail aloud and
acquaint the people, so that a world of folk may flock to thee and sight
the breach of the lock and that which is missing from thy shop: and on
this wise display it to every one who presenteth himself that the news
may be noised abroad, and tell them that thy chief concern is for a
casket of great value, deposited with thee by a great man of the town
and that thou standest in fear of him. But be thou not afraid and still
say ever and anon in thy saying:—My casket was the casket of
Such-an-one, and I fear him and dare not bespeak him; but you, O company
and all ye who are present, I call you to witness of this for me. And if
there be with thee more than this saying, say it; and the old woman will
assuredly come to thee.” The draper answered with “To hear is to obey”
and going forth from the Deputy’s presence, betook himself to his shop
and brought out thence the casket and a somewhat making a great display,
which he removed to his house. At break of day he arose and going to his
shop, broke the lock and shouted and shrieked and called on Allah for
aid, till each and every of the folk assembled about him and all who
were in the city were present, whereupon he cried out to them, saying
even as the Prefect had bidden him; and this was bruited abroad. Then he
made for the Prefecture and presenting himself before the Chief of
Police, cried out and complained and made a show of distraction. After
three days, the old woman came to him and bringing him the thousand
dinars, the price of the stuffs, demanded the casket.[77] When he saw
her, he seized her and carried her to the Prefect of the city; and when
she came before the Kazi, he said to her, “Woe to thee O Sataness; did
not thy first deed suffice thee, but thou must come a second time?” She
replied, “I am of those who seek their salvation[78] in the cities, and
we foregather every month; and yesterday we foregathered.” He asked her,
“Canst thou cause me to catch them?” and she answered, “Yes; but, an
thou wait till to-morrow, they will have dispersed; so I will deliver
them to thee to-night.” The Emir said to her, “Go;” and said she, “Send
with me one who shall go with me to them and obey me in whatso I shall
say to him, and all that I bid him he shall not gainsay and therein
conform to my way.” Accordingly, he gave her a company of men and she
took them and bringing them to a certain door, said to them, “Stand ye
here, at this door, and whoso cometh out to you, seize him; and I will
come out to you last of all.” “Hearing and obeying,” answered they and
stood at the door, whilst the crone went in. They waited a whole hour,
even as the Sultan’s deputy had bidden them, but none came out to them
and their standing waxed longsome, and when they were weary of waiting,
they went up to the door and smote upon it a heavy blow and a violent,
so that they came nigh to break the wooden bolt. Then one of them
entered and was absent a long while, but found naught; so he returned to
his comrades and said to them, “This is the door of a dark passage,
leading to such a thoroughfare; and indeed she laughed at you and left
you and went away.”[79] When they heard his words, they returned to the
Emir and acquainted him with the case, whereby he knew that the old
woman was a cunning craft-mistress and that she had mocked at them and
cozened them and put a cheat on them, to save herself. Witness, then,
the wiles of this woman and that which she contrived of guile, for all
her lack of foresight in presenting herself a second time to the draper
and not suspecting that his conduct was but a sleight; yet, when she
found herself hard upon calamity, she straightway devised a device for
her deliverance. When the company heard the seventh constable’s story,
they were moved to mirth galore, than which naught could be more; and
Al-Malik al-Zahir Bibars rejoiced in that which he heard and said,
“Verily, there betide things in this world wherefrom kings are shut out,
by reason of their exalted degree!” Then came forward another person
from amongst the company and said, “There hath reached me through one of
my friends a similar story bearing on the malice of women and their
wiles, and it is more wondrous and marvellous, more diverting and more
delectable than all that hath been told to you.” Quoth the company there
present, “Tell us thy tale and expound it unto us, so we may see that
which it hath of extraordinary.” And he began to relate