There once lived an exceeding rich merchant, who was a great traveller
and who visited all manner of places. One day, being minded to journey
to a certain city, he asked those who came thence, saying, “What kind
of goods brought most profit there?” and they answered, “Chanders-wood;
for it selleth at a high price.” So he laid out all his money in sandal
and set out for that city; and arriving there at close of day, behold,
he met and old woman driving her sheep. Quoth she to him, “Who art
thou, O man?” and quoth he, “I am a stranger, a merchant.” “Beware of
the townsfolk,” said she, “for they are cheats, rascals, robbers who
love nothing more than imposing on the foreigner that they may get the
better of him and devour his substance. Indeed I give thee good
counsel.” Then she left him and on the morrow there met him one of the
citizens who saluted him and asked him, “O my lord, whence comest
thou?” Answered the merchant, “From such a place.” “And what
merchandise hast thou brought with thee?” enquired the other; and
replied he, “Chanders-wood, for it is high of price with you.” Quoth
the townsman, “He blundered who told thee that; for we burn nothing
under our cooking-pots save sandal-wood, whose worth with us is but
that of fuel.” When the merchant heard this he sighed and repented and
stood balanced between belief and unbelief. Then he alighted at one of
the khans of the city, and, when it was night, he saw a merchant make
fire of chanders-wood under his cooking pot. Now this was the man who
had spoken with him and this proceeding was a trick of his. When the
townsman saw the merchant looking at him, he asked, “Wilt thou sell me
thy sandal-wood for a measure[FN#245] of whatever thy soul shall
desire?” “I sell it to thee,” answered the merchant; and the buyer
transported all the wood to his own house and stored it up there;
whilst the seller purposed to take an equal quantity of gold for it.
Next morning the merchant, who was a blue-eyed man, went out to walk in
the city but, as he went along, one of the townsfolk, who was blue-eyed
and one-eyed to boot, caught hold of him, saying, “Thou are he who
stole my eye and I will never let thee go.”[FN#246] The merchant denied
this, saying, “I never stole it: the thing is impossible.” Whereupon
the folk collected round them and besought the one-eyed man to grant
him till the morrow, that he might give him the price of his eye. So
the merchant procured one to be surety for him, and they let him go.
Now his sandal had been rent in the struggle with the one-eyed man; so
he stopped at a cobbler’s stall and gave it to him, saying, “Mend it
and thou shalt have of me what shall content thee.” Then he went on,
till he came to some people sitting at play of forfeits and sat down
with them, to divert his cark and care. They invited him to play with
them and he did so; but they practised on him and overcoming him,
offered him his choice,[FN#247] either to drink up the sea or disburse
all the money he had. “Have patience with me till to-morrow,” said he,
and they granted him the delay he sought; whereupon he went away, sore
concerned for what had betided him and knowing not how he should do,
and sat down in a solitary place heart-heavy, care-full,
thought-opprest. And behold, the old woman passed by and seeing him
thus, said to him, “Peradventure the townsfolk have gotten the better
of thee, for I see the troubled at that which hath befallen thee:
recount to me what aileth thee.” So he told her all that had passed
from first to last, and she said, “As for him who diddled thee in the
matter of the chanders-wood, thou must know that with us it is worth
ten gold pieces a pound. But I will give thee a rede, whereby I trust
thou shalt deliver thyself; and it is this. Go to such and such a gate
whereby lives a blind Shaykh, a cripple, who is knowing, wise as a
wizard and experienced; and all resort to him and ask him what they
require, when he counsels them what will be their advantage; for he is
versed in craft[FN#248] and magic and trickery. Now he is a sharper and
the sharpers resort to him by night; therefore, I repeat, go thou to
his lodging and hide thyself from thine adversaries, so thou mayst hear
what they say, unseen of them; for he telleth them which party got the
better and which got the worse; and haply thou shalt learn from them
some plan which may avail to deliver thee from them.” —And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Six Hundred and Fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman
said to the merchant, “Go this night to that expert who is frequented
by the townsfolk and hide thine identity: haply shalt thou hear from
him some plea which shall deliver thee from thine adversaries.” So he
went to the place she mentioned and hid himself albeit he took seat
near the blind man. Before long, up came the Shaykh’s company who were
wont to choose him for their judge: they saluted the oldster and one
another and sat down round him, whereupon the merchant recognised his
four adversaries. The Chief set somewhat of food before them and they
ate; then each began to tell what had befallen him during his day, and
amongst the rest came forward he of the chanders-wood and told the
Shaykh how he had bought of one man sandal below its price, and had
agreed to pay for it a Sá’a or measure of whatever the seller should
desire.[FN#249] Quoth the old man, “Thine opponent hath the better of
thee.” Asked the other, “How can that be?”; and the Shaykh answered,
“What if he say, I will take the measure full of gold or silver, wilt
thou give it to him?” “Yes,” replied the other, “I will give it to him
and still be the gainer.” And the Shaykh answered, “And if he say,
I will take the measure full of fleas,[FN#250] half male and half
female, what wilt thou do?” So the sharper knew that he was worsted.
Then came forward the one-eyed man and said, “O Shaykh, I met to-day a
blue-eyed man, a stranger to the town; so I picked a quarrel with him
and caught hold of him, saying, ‘’Twas thou robbedst me of my eye’;
nor did I let him go, till some became surety for him that he should
return to me to-morrow and satisfy me for my eye.” Quoth the oldster,
“If he will he may have the better of thee and thou the worse.” “How
so?” asked the sharper; and the Chief said, “he may say to thee, ‘Pluck
out thine eye, and I will pluck out one of mine; then we will weigh
them both, and if thine eye be of the same weight as mine, thou sayest
sooth in what thou avouchest.’ So wilt thou owe him the legal price of
his eye and be stone blind, whilst he will still see with his other
eye.” So the sharper knew that the merchant might baffle him with such
plea. Then came the cobbler; and said, “O Shaykh, a man brought me his
sandal-shoe to-day, saying, ‘Mend this;’ and I asked him, ‘What wage
wilt thou give me?’; when he answered, ‘Thou shalt have of me what will
content thee.’ Now nothing will content me but all the wealth he hath.”
Quoth the oldster, “And he will, he may take his sandal from thee and
give thee nothing.” “How so?” quoth the cobbler, and quoth the Shaykh,
“He has but to say to thee, ‘The Sultan’s enemies are put to the rout;
his foes are waxed weak and his children and helpers are multiplied.
Art thou content or no?’ If thou say, ‘I am content,’[FN#251] he will
take his sandal and go away; and if thou say, ‘I am not content,’ he
will take his sandal and beat thee therewith over the face and neck.”
So the cobbler owned himself worsted. Then came forward the gamester
and said, “O Shaykh, I played at forfeits with a man to-day and beat
him and quoth I to hime, ‘If thou drink the sea I will give thee all
my wealth; and if not I will take all that is thine.’” Replied the
Chief, “An he will he may worst thee.” “How so?” asked the sharper,
and the Shaykh answered, “He hath but to say, ‘Hold for me the mouth
of the sea in thine hand and give it me and I will drink it.’ But thou
wilt not be able to do this; so he will baffle thee with this plea.”
When the merchant heard this, he knew how it behoved him to deal with
his adversaries. Then the sharpers left the Shaykh and the merchant
returned to his lodging. Now when morning morrowed, the gamester came
to him and summoned him to drink the sea; so he said to him, “Hold for
me its mouth and I will drink it up.” Whereupon he confessed himself
beaten and redeemed his forfeit by paying an hundred gold pieces.
Then came the cobbler and sought of him what should content him.
Quoth the merchant, “Our lord the Sultan hath overcome his foes and
hath destroyed his enemies and his children are multiplied. Art thou
content or no?” “I am content,” replied the cobbler and, giving up the
shoe[FN#252] without wage, went away. Next came the one-eyed man and
demanded the legal price of his eye. Said the merchant, “Pluck out
thine eye, and I will pluck out mine: then we will weigh them, and if
they are equal in weight, I will acknowledge thy truth, and pay thee
the price of thine eye; but, if they differ, thou liest and I will sue
thee for the price of mine eye.” Quoth the one-eyed man, “Grant me
time;” but the merchant answered, saying, “I am a stranger and grant
time to none, nor will I part from thee till thou pay.” So the sharper
ransomed his eye by paying him an hundred ducats and went away. Last
of all came the buyer of the chanders-wood and said, “Take the price
of thy ware.” Asked the merchant, “What wilt thou give me?”; and the
other answered, “We agreed for a Sá’a-measure of whatever thou shouldst
desire; so, if thou wilt, take it full of gold and silver.” “Not I,”
rejoined the merchant, “Not I! nothing shall serve me but I must have
it full of fleas, half male and half female.” Said the sharper, “I can
do nothing of the kind;” and, confessing himself beaten, returned him
his sandal-wood and redeemed himself from him with an hundred sequins,
to be off his bargain. Then the merchant sold the chanders-wood at
his own price and, quitting the city of sharpers, returned to his own
land,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.