benefits five-fold rise;
The soothing of sorrow and winning of bread, ✿ Knowledge, manners and
commerce with good men and wise.
An they say that in travel are travail and care, ✿ And disunion of
friends and much hardship that tries;
Yet to generous youth death is better than life ✿ In the house of
contempt betwixt haters and spies.
When they agreed to travel together Abu Kir said to Abu Sir, “O my
neighbour, we are become brethren and there is no difference between us,
so it behoveth us to recite the Fátihah[190] that he of us who gets work
shall of his gain feed him who is out of work, and whatever is left, we
will lay in a chest; and when we return to Alexandria, we will divide it
fairly and equally.” “So be it,” replied Abu Sir, and they repeated the
Opening Chapter of the Koran on this understanding. Then Abu Sir locked
up his shop and gave the key to its owner, whilst Abu Kir left his door
locked and sealed and let the key lie with the Kazi’s serjeant; after
which they took their baggage and embarked on the morrow in a
galleon[191] upon the salt sea. They set sail the same day and fortune
attended them, for, of Abu Sir’s great good luck, there was not a barber
in the ship albeit it carried an hundred and twenty men, besides captain
and crew. So, when they loosed the sails, the barber said to the dyer,
“O my brother, this is the sea and we shall need meat and drink; we have
but little provaunt with us and haply the voyage will be long upon us;
wherefore methinks I will shoulder my budget and pass among the
passengers, and may be some one will say to me:—Come hither, O barber,
and shave me, and I will shave him for a scone or a silver bit or a
draught of water: so shall we profit by this, I and thou too.” “There’s
no harm in that,” replied the dyer and laid down his head and slept,
whilst the barber took his gear and water-tasse[192] and throwing over
his shoulder a rag, to serve as napkin (because he was poor), passed
among the passengers. Quoth one of them, “Ho, master, come and shave
me.” So he shaved him, and the man gave him a half-dirham;[193]
whereupon quoth Abu Sir, “O my brother, I have no use for this bit;
hadst thou given me a scone ’twere more blessed to me in this sea, for I
have a shipmate and we are short of provision.” So he gave him a loaf
and a slice of cheese and filled him the tasse with sweet water. The
barber carried all this to Abu Kir and said, “Eat the bread and cheese
and drink the water.” Accordingly he ate and drank, whilst Abu Sir again
took up his shaving gear and, tasse in hand and rag on shoulder, went
round about the deck among the passengers. One man he shaved for two
scones and another for a bittock of cheese, and he was in demand,
because there was no other barber on board. Also he bargained with every
one who said to him, “Ho, master, shave me!” for two loaves and a
half-dirham, and they gave him whatever he sought, so that, by sundown,
he had collected thirty loaves and thirty silvers with store of cheese
and olives and botargoes.[194] And besides these he got from the
passengers whatever he asked for and was soon in possession of things
galore. Amongst the rest he shaved the Captain,[195] to whom he
complained of his lack of victual for the voyage, and the skipper said
to him, “Thou art welcome to bring thy comrade every night and sup with
me and have no care for that so long as ye sail with us.” Then he
returned to the dyer, whom he found asleep; so he roused him; and when
Abu Kir awoke, he saw at his head an abundance of bread and cheese and
olives and botargoes and said, “Whence gottest thou all this?” “From the
bounty of Allah Almighty,” replied Abu Sir. Then Abu Kir would have
fallen to, but the barber said to him, “Eat not of this, O my brother;
but leave it to serve us another time; for know that I shaved the
Captain and complained to him of our lack of victual: whereupon quoth
he:—Welcome to thee! Bring thy comrade and sup both of ye with me every
night. And this night we sup with him for the first time.” But Abu Kir
replied, “My head goeth round with sea-sickness and I cannot rise from
my stead; so let me sup off these things and fare thou alone to the
Captain.” Abu Sir replied, “There is no harm in that;” and sat looking
at the other as he ate, and saw him hew off gobbets, as the quarryman
heweth stone from the hill-quarries and gulp them down with the gulp of
an elephant which hath not eaten for days, bolting another mouthful ere
he had swallowed the previous one and glaring the while at that which
was before him with the glowering of a Ghul and blowing as bloweth the
hungry bull over his beans and bruised straw. Presently up came a sailor
and said to the barber, “O craftsmaster, the Captain biddeth thee come
to supper and bring thy comrade.” Quoth the barber to the dyer, “Wilt
thou come with us?”; but quoth he, “I cannot walk.” So the barber went
by himself and found the Captain sitting before a tray whereon were a
score or more of dishes and all the company were awaiting him and his
mate. When the Captain saw him he asked, “Where is thy friend?”; and Abu
Sir answered, “O my lord, he is sea-sick.” Said the skipper, “That will
do him no harm; his sickness will soon pass off; but do thou carry him
his supper and come back, for we tarry for thee.” Then he set apart a
porringer of Kabábs and putting therein some of each dish, till there
was enough for ten, gave it to Abu Sir, saying, “Take this to thy chum.”
He took it and carried it to the dyer, whom he found grinding away with
his dog-teeth[196] at the food which was before him, as he were a camel,
and heaping mouthful on mouthful in his hurry. Quoth Abu Sir, “Did I not
say to thee:—Eat not of this? Indeed the Captain is a kindly man. See
what he hath sent thee, for that I told him thou wast sea-sick.” “Give
it here,” cried the dyer. So the barber gave him the platter, and he
snatched it from him and fell upon his food, ravening for it and
resembling a grinning dog or a raging lion or a Rukh pouncing on a
pigeon or one well-nigh dead for hunger who seeing meat falls ravenously
to eat. Then Abu Sir left him and going back to the Captain, supped and
enjoyed himself and drank coffee[197] with him; after which he returned
to Abu Kir and found that he had eaten all that was in the porringer and
thrown it aside, empty.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Abu Sir
returned to Abu Kir he saw that he had eaten all that was in the
porringer and had thrown it aside empty. So he took it up and gave it to
one of the Captain’s servants, then went back to Abu Kir and slept till
the morning. On the morrow he continued to shave, and all he got by way
of meat and drink he gave to his shipmate, who ate and drank and sat
still, rising not save to do what none could do for him, and every night
the barber brought him a full porringer from the Captain’s table. They
fared thus twenty days until the galleon cast anchor in the harbour of a
city; whereupon they took leave of the skipper and landing, entered the
town and hired them a closet in a Khan. Abu Sir furnished it and buying
a cooking pot and a platter and spoons[198] and what else they needed,
fetched meat and cooked it; but Abu Kir fell asleep the moment he
entered the Caravanserai and awoke not till Abu Sir aroused him and set
the tray of food[199] before him. When he awoke, he ate and saying to
Abu Sir, “Blame me not, for I am giddy,” fell asleep again. Thus he did
forty days, whilst, every day, the barber took his gear and making the
round of the city, wrought for that which fell to his lot,[200] and
returning, found the dyer asleep and aroused him. The moment he awoke he
fell ravenously upon the food, eating as one who cannot have his fill
nor be satisfied; after which he went asleep again. On this wise he
passed other forty days and whenever the barber said to him, “Sit up and
be comfortable[201] and go forth and take an airing in the city, for
’tis a gay place and a pleasant and hath not its equal among the
cities,” he would reply, “Blame me not, for I am giddy.” Abu Sir cared
not to hurt his feelings nor give him hard words; but, on the
forty-first day, he himself fell sick and could not go abroad; so he
engaged the porter of the Khan to serve them both, and he did the
needful for them and brought them meat and drink whilst Abu Kir would do
nothing but eat and sleep. The man ceased not to wait upon them on this
wise for four days, at the end of which time the barber’s malady
redoubled on him, till he lost his senses for stress of sickness; and
Abu Kir, feeling the sharp pangs of hunger, arose and sought in his
comrade’s clothes, where he found a thousand silver bits. He took them
and, shutting the door of the closet upon Abu Sir, fared forth without
telling any; and the doorkeeper was then at market and thus saw him not
go out. Presently Abu Kir betook himself to the bazar and clad himself
in costly clothes, at a price of five hundred half-dirhams; then he
proceeded to walk about the streets and divert himself by viewing the
city which he found to be one whose like was not among cities; but he
noted that all its citizens were clad in clothes of white and blue,
without other colour. Presently he came to a dyer’s and seeing naught
but blue in his shop, pulled out to him a kerchief and said, “O master,
take this and dye it and win thy wage.” Quoth the dyer, “The cost of
dyeing this will be twenty dirhams;” and quoth Abu Kir, “In our country
we dye it for two.” “Then go and dye it in your own country! As for me,
my price is twenty dirhams and I will not bate a little thereof.” “What
colour wilt thou dye it?” “I will dye it blue.” “But I want it dyed
red.” “I know not how to dye red.” “Then dye it green.” “I know not how
to dye green.” “Yellow.” “Nor yet yellow.” Thereupon Abu Kir went on to
name the different tints to him, one after other, till the dyer said,
“We are here in this city forty master-dyers, not one more nor one less;
and when one of us dieth, we teach his son the craft. If he leave no
son, we abide lacking one, and if he leave two sons, we teach one of
them the craft, and if he die, we teach his brother. This our craft is
strictly ordered, and we know how to dye but blue and no other tint
whatsoever.” Then said Abu Kir, “Know that I too am a dyer and wot how
to dye all colours; and I would have thee take me into thy service on
hire, and I will teach thee everything of my art, so thou mayst glory
therein over all the company of dyers.” But the dyer answered, “We never
admit a stranger into our craft.” Asked Abu Kir, “And what if I open a
dyery for myself?”; whereto the other answered, “We will not suffer thee
to do that on any wise;” whereupon he left him and going to a second
dyer, made him the like proposal; but he returned him the same answer as
the first; and he ceased not to go from one to other, till he had made
the round of the whole forty masters; but they would not accept him
either to master or apprentice. Then he repaired to the Shaykh of the
Dyers and told him what had passed, and he said, “We admit no strangers
into our craft.” Hereupon Abu Kir became exceeding wroth and going up to
the King of that city, made complaint to him, saying, “O King of the
age, I am a stranger and a dyer by trade”; and he told him whatso had
passed between himself and the dyers of the town, adding, “I can dye
various kinds of red, such as rose-colour and jujube-colour and various
kinds of green, such as grass-green and pistachio-green and olive and
parrot’s wing, and various kinds of black, such as coal-black and
Kohl-black, and various shades of yellow, such as orange[202] and
lemon-colour,” and went on to name to him the rest of the colours. Then
said he, “O King of the age, all the dyers in thy city can not turn out
of hand any one of these tincts, for they know not how to dye aught but
blue; yet will they not admit me amongst them, either to master or
apprentice.” Answered the King, “Thou sayst sooth for that matter, but I
will open to thee a dyery and give thee capital and have thou no care
anent them; for whoso offereth to do thee let or hindrance, I will hang
him over his shop-door.” Then he sent for builders and said to them, “Go
round about the city with this master-dyer, and whatsoever place
pleaseth him, be it shop or Khan or what not, turn out its occupier and
build him a dyery after his wish. Whatsoever he biddeth you, that do ye
and oppose him not in aught.” And he clad him in a handsome suit and
gave him two white slaves to serve him, and a horse with housings of
brocade and a thousand dinars, saying, “Expend this upon thyself against
the building be completed.” Accordingly Abu Kir donned the dress and
mounting the horse, became as he were an Emir. Moreover the King
assigned him a house and bade furnish it; so they furnished it for
him.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King
assigned a house to Abu Kir and bade furnish it and he took up his abode
therein. On the morrow he mounted and rode through the city, whilst the
architects went before him; and he looked about him till he saw a place
which pleased him and said, “This stead is seemly;” whereupon they
turned out the owner and carried him to the King, who gave him as the
price of his holding, what contented him and more. Then the builders
fell to work, whilst Abu Kir said to them, “Build thus and thus and do
this and that,” till they built him a dyery that had not its like;
whereupon he presented himself before the King and informed him that
they had done building the dyery and that there needed but the price of
the dye-stuffs and gear to set it going. Quoth the King, “Take these
four thousand dinars to thy capital and let me see the first fruits of
thy dyery.” So he took the money and went to the market where, finding
dye-stuffs[203] plentiful and well-nigh worthless, he bought all he
needed of materials for dyeing; and the King sent him five hundred
pieces of stuff, which he set himself to dye of all colours and then he
spread them before the door of his dyery. When the folk passed by the
shop, they saw a wonder-sight whose like they had never in their lives
seen; so they crowded about the entrance, enjoying the spectacle and
questioning the dyer and saying, “O master, what are the names of these
colours?” Quoth he, “This is red and that yellow and the other green”
and so on, naming the rest of the colours. And they fell to bringing him
longcloth and saying to him, “Dye it for us like this and that and take
what hire thou seekest.” When he had made an end of dyeing the King’s
stuffs, he took them and went up with them to the Divan; and when the
King saw them he rejoiced in them and bestowed abundant bounty on the
dyer. Furthermore, all the troops brought him stuffs, saying, “Dye for
us thus and thus;” and he dyed for them to their liking, and they threw
him gold and silver. After this his fame spread abroad and his shop was
called the Sultan’s Dyery. Good came in to him at every door and none of
the other dyers could say a word to him, but they used to come to him
kissing his hands and excusing themselves to him for past affronts they
had offered him and saying, “Take us to thine apprentices.” But he would
none of them for he had become the owner of black slaves and handmaids
and had amassed store of wealth. On this wise fared it with Abu Kir; but
as regards Abu Sir, after the closet door had been locked on him and his
money had been stolen, he abode prostrate and unconscious for three
successive days, at the end of which the Concierge of the Khan, chancing
to look at the door, observed that it was locked and bethought himself
that he had not seen and heard aught of the two companions for some
time. So he said in his mind, “Haply they have made off, without paying
rent,[204] or perhaps they are dead, or what is to do with them?” And he
waited till sunset, when he went up to the door and heard the barber
groaning within. He saw the key in the lock; so he opened the door and
entering, found Abu Sir lying, groaning, and said to him, “No harm to
thee: where is thy friend?” Replied Abu Sir, “By Allah, I came to my
senses only this day and called out; but none answered my call. Allah
upon thee, O my brother, look for the purse under my head and take from
it five half-dirhams and buy me somewhat nourishing, for I am sore
anhungered.” The porter put out his hand and taking the purse, found it
empty and said to the barber, “The purse is empty; there is nothing in
it.” Whereupon Abu Sir knew that Abu Kir had taken that which was
therein and had fled and he asked the porter, “Hast thou not seen my
friend?” Answered the doorkeeper, “I have not seen him these three days;
and indeed methought you had departed, thou and he.” The barber cried,
“Not so; but he coveted my money and took it and fled seeing me sick.”
Then he fell a-weeping and a-wailing but the doorkeeper said to him, “No
harm shall befal thee, and Allah will requite him his deed.” So he went
away and cooked him some broth, whereof he ladled out a plateful and
brought it to him; nor did he cease to tend him and maintain him with
his own monies for two months’ space, when the barber sweated[205] and
the Almighty made him whole of his sickness. Then he stood up and said
to the porter, “An ever the Most High Lord enable me, I will surely
requite thee thy kindness to me; but none requiteth save the Lord of His
bounty!” Answered the porter, “Praised be He for thy recovery! I dealt
not thus with thee but of desire for the face of Allah the Bountiful.”
Then the barber went forth of the Khan and threaded the market-streets
of the town, till Destiny brought him to the bazar wherein was Abu Kir’s
dyery, and he saw the vari-coloured stuffs dispread before the shop and
a jostle of folk crowding to look upon them. So he questioned one of the
townsmen and asked him, “What place is this and how cometh it that I see
the folk crowding together?”; whereto the man answered, saying, “This is
the Sultan’s Dyery, which he set up for a foreigner Abu Kir hight; and
whenever he dyeth new stuff, we all flock to him and divert ourselves by
gazing upon his handiwork, for we have no dyers in our land who know how
to stain with these colours; and indeed there befel him with the dyers
who are in the city that which befel.”[206] And he went on to tell him
all that had passed between Abu Kir and the master-dyers and how he had
complained of them to the Sultan who took him by the hand and built him
that dyery and gave him this and that: brief, he recounted to him all
that had occurred. At this the barber rejoiced and said in himself,
“Praised be Allah who hath prospered him, so that he is become a master
of his craft! And the man is excusable, for of a surety he hath been
diverted from thee by his work and hath forgotten thee; but thou actedst
kindly by him and entreatedst him generously, what time he was out of
work; so, when he seeth thee, he will rejoice in thee and entreat thee
generously, even as thou entreatedst him.” According he made for the
door of the dyery and saw Abu Kir seated on a high mattress spread upon
a bench beside the doorway, clad in royal apparel and attended by four
blackamoor slaves and four white Mamelukes all robed in the richest of
raiment. Moreover, he saw the workmen, ten negro slaves, standing at
work; for, when Abu Kir bought them, he taught them the craft of dyeing,
and he himself sat amongst his cushions, as he were a Grand Wazir or a
mighty Monarch putting his hand to naught, but only saying to the men,
“Do this and do that.” So the barber went up to him and stood before
him, deeming he would rejoice in him when he saw him and salute him and
entreat him with honour and make much of him; but, when eye fell upon
eye, the dyer said to him, “O scoundrel, how many a time have I bidden
thee stand not at the door of the workshop? Hast thou a mind to disgrace
me with the folk, thief[207] that thou art? Seize him.” So the
blackamoors ran at him and laid hold of him; and the dyer rose up from
his seat and said, “Throw him.” Accordingly they threw him down and Abu
Kir took a stick and dealt him an hundred strokes on the back; after
which they turned him over and he beat him other hundred blows on his
belly. Then he said to him, “O scoundrel, O villain, if ever again I see
thee standing at the door of this dyery, I will forthwith send thee to
the King, and he will commit thee to the Chief of Police, that he may
strike thy neck. Begone, may Allah not bless thee!” So Abu Sir departed
from him, broken-hearted by reason of the beating and shame that had
betided him; whilst the bystanders asked Abu Kir, “What hath this man
done?” He answered, “The fellow is a thief, who stealeth the stuffs of
folk.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Nine Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,