KARIM GOES TO MARKET
KARIM'S first work was to help take care of the horses. It was not
always easy, for they were splendid animals, high spirited and vicious,
and ready to break away, if possible, in order to get into a fierce
fight with each other. After Karim learned to ride, he asked Nasr'ullah
if he could not be one of the attendants of Ardashir Khan, the agha's
son, on his horseback rides.
"I can let you have a horse," said Nasr'ullah, "but I have no good
saddle to spare. The khan is very particular."
"May I go if I get a new saddle?" asked Karim, eagerly.
"If God will, I am willing," said Nasr'ullah.
So Karim got his money and started to the shops or "bazaars." He went
down the narrow street and past the graveyard, with its rude slabs of
untrimmed stone, and on to the bazaars. Here the street was roofed
over by a row of little domes, with round openings above for light and
air. It was crowded with people. There were women wrapped in shapeless
masses of blue cloth, with faces carefully covered; long robed "sayids"
with green turbans on to show that they were descendants of the prophet
Muhammad; peasants passed in old and ragged coats; city men in blue
broadcloth and tall black hats, and Kurds from the mountains, wearing
bright coloured coats, baggy trousers, and wide red belts, in which
were thrust big daggers.
Here, in a corner, sat a man roasting "kabobs," bits of meat which he
deftly wrapped in flaps of bread and sold. The purchasers took them
in their fingers and ate them at once. Here were shops where a dozen
men were making a great noise hammering out brass vases, bowls and tea
urns. Just beyond were the shops of the saddle makers. There Karim
saw just the saddle he wanted. He stepped to the edge of the shop and
looked at it. The shop keeper looked up from the strap he was cutting.
"Peace be to you," said Karim.
"Peace be to you," replied the shop keeper, eyeing Karim's good coat
and new hat. "With God's blessing have you come. I can see by your
looks that you are a good rider and know good saddles. Let me show you
this one. It is fit for King Solomon himself."
"I am looking for a saddle," replied Karim, feeling pleased, "and it
must be a good one, suited to an attendant of Ardashir Khan, the son
of the governor. But I am not as rich as King Solomon, and cannot buy
saddles fitted for him."
"Indeed, may I be your sacrifice!" cried the shop keeper. "This saddle
is a very poor gift, but take it, for you are a servant of our good
governor, whom I hope God will bless. It is a present. My eyes for it,
just command me, and it's yours."
"O no," said Karim, "of course I could not rob you so. I shall buy it,
and pay you good money. What's your price?"
"No!" insisted the shop keeper, "take it. It is yours, with God's
blessing."
"I cannot," said Karim. "I will buy it. What is your price?"
The shop keeper looked disappointed. "If you won't take the saddle as a
present," he said, "you must name your own price. I can _sell_ nothing
to the servant of our governor, whom I hope God will bless. Name a
price, my soul; anything, and it is yours."
"Since you say I must name a price," said Karim, feeling rather at sea,
"I will give one toman."
"What!" screamed the shop keeper, "only one toman for a saddle fit for
the hero Rustem! What pack horse's saddle would cost so little? Ten
tomans could not buy it."
"Fit for Rustem, indeed!" said Karim, scornfully. "My master's mule
driver would be ashamed to ride on it. See how the leather is worn,
here, and here, and here. One toman is too much, but my master is
generous, and so I must be. Take eleven krans, and thank God."
"This is the way you servants of the khans laugh at my beard, and
grind the faces of us who are poor. The leather alone of this saddle
cost more than eleven krans. If I sold it for seven tomans, I would be
giving it away."
"Your beard indeed saves you," said Karim, "for it is long, and I must
treat you with respect. For the sake of your beard I'll offer fifteen
krans."
"It is plain you are a country bumpkin, and do not know what saddles
are worth," said the shop keeper. "Ask any one of these merchants here,
and he will tell you that if I sell the saddle for six tomans I shall
lose money. But our governor, your master, is a good man. For his sake
take it for five and a half."
In reply Karim offered two tomans.
The shop keeper came down to five.
They kept on disputing in this way until at last Karim bought the
saddle for three tomans. He carried it home on his shoulder, and began
to brag to the other servants about his bargain.
But the groom laughed at him.
"The shop keeper was right," he said, "you are a bumpkin. Why did you
tell him you were a servant of the governor? They sell saddles like
this in the bazaars every day for two tomans."