There lived once in the city of Bassora a tailor, who was
openhanded and loved pleasure and merrymaking: and he was wont,
he and his wife, to go out by times, a-pleasuring, to the
public places of recreation. One day they went out as usual and
were returning home in the evening, when they fell in with a
hunchback, the sight of whom would make the disappointed laugh
and dispel chagrin from the sorrowful. So they went up to look at
him and invited him to go home and make merry with them that
night. He consented and accompanied them to their house;
whereupon, the night being now come, the tailor went out to the
market and buying fried fish and bread and lemon and conserve of
roses by way of dessert, set them before the hunchback, and they
ate. Presently, the tailor's wife took a great piece of fish and
cramming it into the hunchback's mouth, clapped her hand over it,
saying, 'By Allah, thou must swallow it at one gulp; and I will
give thee no time to chew it.' So he bolted it; but there was a
great bone in it, which stuck in his gullet, and his hour being
come, it choked him, and he died at once. When the tailor saw
this, he exclaimed, 'There is no power and no virtue but in God!
Alas, poor wretch, that he should have come by his death at our
hands!' 'Why dost thou waste time in idle lamentation?' rejoined
his wife. 'Hast thou not heard it said......?' And she repeated
the following verses:
What ails me that I waste the time in idle grief, Until I find no
friend mishap for me to bear?
Who but a fool would sit upon an unquenched fire? To wait upon
mischance as great a folly were.
'What is to be done?' asked he; and she replied, 'Rise and take
the hunchback in thine arms and cover him with a silk handkerchief:
then go out with him, and I will go before thee: and if thou meet
any one, say, "This is my son: his mother and I are taking him
to the doctor, that he may look at him." So he rose and taking
the hunchback in his arms, carried him along the streets, preceded
by his wife, who kept saying, 'O my son, God keep thee! Where has
this smallpox attacked thee and in what part dost thou feel pain?'
So that all who saw them said, 'It is a child ill of smallpox.'
They went along, enquiring for a doctor, till the people directed
them to the house of one, who was a Jew. They knocked at the gate,
and a black servant-maid came down and opened the door and seeing
a man carrying a child and a woman with him, said to them, 'What
is your business?' 'We have a sick child here,' answered the
tailor's wife, 'whom we want the doctor to look at: so take
this quarter-dinar and give it to thy master, and let him come
down and see my son.' The girl went up to tell her master,
leaving the tailor and his wife in the vestibule, whereupon
the latter said to her husband, 'Let us leave the hunchback
here and be off.' So the tailor carried the dead man to the
top of the stairs and propping him up against the wall, went
away, he and his wife. Meanwhile the serving-maid went in to the
Jew and said to him, 'There are a man and a woman at the gate,
with a sick child; and they have given me a quarter-dinar for
thee, that thou mayst go down and see the child and prescribe for
him.' When the Jew saw the quarter-dinar, he was glad and rose
hastily and went down in the dark. Hardly had he made a step,
when he stumbled on the dead body and threw it down, and it
rolled to the bottom of the stairs. So he cried out to the girl
to make haste with the light, and she brought it, whereupon he
went down and examining the hunchback, found that he was dead. 'O
Esdras and Moses and the ten Commandments!' exclaimed he; 'O
Aaron and Joshua, son of Nun! I have stumbled against the sick
person and he has fallen downstairs and is dead! How shall I get
the body out of my house?' Then he took it up and carrying it
into the house, told his wife what had happened. Quoth she, 'Why
dost thou sit still? If he be found here when the day rises, we
shall both of us lose our lives. Let us carry him up to the roof
and throw him over into the house of our neighbour the Muslim;
for if he abide there a night, the dogs will come down on him
from the terraces and eat him all up.' Now the neighbour in
question was controller of the Sultan's kitchen and was wont to
bring home great store of fat and broken meats; but the cats and
mice used to eat it, or, if the dogs scented a fat sheep's tail,
they would come down from the roofs and tear at it; and in this
way he lost much of what he brought home. So the Jew and his wife
carried the hunchback up to the roof, and letting him down,
through the windshaft, into the controller's house, stood him up
against the wall and went away. Hardly had they done so, when the
controller, who had been spending the evening with some of his
friends, hearing a recitation of the Koran, came home and going
up with a lighted candle, found a man standing in the corner,
under the ventilator. When he saw this, he said, 'By Allah, this
is a fine thing! He who steals my goods is none other than a
man.' Then he turned to the hunchback and said to him, 'So it is
thou that stealest the meat and fat. I thought it was the cats
and dogs, and I kill the cats and dogs of the quarter and sin
against them. And all the while it is thou comest down through
the windshaft! But I will take my wreak of thee with my own
hand.' So he took-a great cudgel and smote him on the breast, and
he fell down. Then he examined him and finding that he was dead,
cried out in horror, thinking that he had killed him, and said,
'There is no power and no virtue but in God the Supreme, the
Omnipotent!' And he feared for himself and said, 'May God curse
the fat and the sheep's tails, that have caused this man's death
to be at my hand!' Then he looked at the dead man and seeing him
to be humpbacked, said, 'Did it not suffice thee to be a
hunchback, but thou must turn thief and steal meat and fat? O
Protector, extend to me Thy gracious protection!' Then he took
him up on his shoulders and going forth with him, carried him to
the beginning of the market, where he set him on his feet against
the wall of a shop, at the corner of a dark lane, and went away.
After awhile, there came up a Christian, the Sultan's broker, who
had sallied forth, in a state of intoxication, intending for the
bath, for in his drunkenness he thought that matins were near.
He came staggering along, till he drew near the hunchback and
squatted down over against him to make water, when, happening to
look round, he saw a man standing against the wall. Now some one
had snatched off the broker's turban early in the night, and
seeing the hunchback standing there he concluded that he meant
to play him the same trick. So he clenched his fist and smote him
on the neck. Down fell the hunchback, whilst the broker called to
the watchman of the market and fell on the dead man, pummelling
and throttling him in the excess of his drunken rage. Presently,
the watchman came up and finding a Christian kneeling on a Muslim
and beating him, said to the former, 'What is the matter?' 'This
fellow tried to snatch off my turban,' answered the broker;
and the watchman said, 'Get up from him.' So he rose, and
the watchman went up to the hunchback and finding him dead,
exclaimed, 'By Allah, it is a fine thing that a Christian should
kill a Muslim!' Then he seized the broker and tying his hands
behind him, carried him to the house of the prefect of police,
where they passed the night; and all the while the broker kept
saying, 'O Messiah! O Virgin! how came I to kill this man?
Indeed, he must have been in a great hurry to die of one blow
with the fist!' And his drunkenness left him and reflection came
in its stead. As soon as it was day, the prefect came out and
commanded to hang the supposed murderer and bade the executioner
make proclamation of the sentence. So they set up a gallows,
under which they made the broker stand, and the hangman put the
rope round his neck and was about to hoist him up, when behold,
the controller of the Sultan's kitchen, passing by, saw the
broker about to be hanged, and pressing through the crowd, cried
out to the executioner, saying, 'Stop! Stop! I am he who killed
the hunchback.' Quoth the prefect, 'What made thee kill him?' And
he replied, 'I came home last night and found this man who had
come down the windshaft to steal my goods; so I struck him with a
cudgel on the breast and he died. Then I took him up and carried
him to the market and set him up against the wall in such a
place. Is it not enough for me to have killed a Muslim, without
burdening my conscience with the death of a Christian also? Hang
therefore none but me.' When the prefect heard this, he released
the broker and said to the executioner, 'Hang up this man on his
own confession.' So he loosed the rope from the broker's neck and
threw it round that of the controller, and placing him under the
gallows, was about to hang him, when behold, the Jewish physician
pushed through the press and cried out, 'Stop! It was I and none
else who killed him! I was sitting at home last night, when a man
and a woman knocked at the door, carrying this hunchback, who was
sick, and gave my servant a quarter-dinar, bidding her give it to
me and tell me to come down to see him. Whilst she was gone, they
brought the hunchback into the house and setting him on the
stairs, went away. Presently, I came down and not seeing him,
stumbled on him in the dark, and he fell to the foot of the stair
and died forthright. Then we took him up, I and my wife, and
carried him on to the roof, whence we let him down, through the
windshaft, into the house of this controller, which adjoins my
own. When he came home and found the hunchback, he took him for a
robber and beat him, so that he fell to the ground, and he
concluded that he had killed him. So is it not enough for me to
have killed one Muslim unwittingly, without burdening myself with
the death of another wittingly?' When the prefect heard the Jew's
story, he said to the hangman, 'Let the controller go, and hang
the Jew.' So the hangman took the Jew and put the rope round his
neck, when behold, the tailor pressed through the folk and cried
out to him, 'Hold thy hand! None killed him save I, and it fell
out thus. I had been out a-pleasuring yesterday and coming back
in the evening, met this hunchback, who was drunk and singing
lustily to a tambourine. So I carried him to my house and bought
fish, and we sat down to eat. Presently, my wife took a piece of
fish and crammed it down the hunchback's throat; but it went the
wrong way and stuck in his gullet and choked him, so that he died
at once. So we lifted him up, I and my wife, and carried him to
the Jew's house, where the girl came down and opened the door to
us, and I said to her, "Give thy master this quarter-dinar and
tell him that there are a man and a woman at the door, who have
brought a sick person for him to see." So she went in to tell her
master, and whilst she was gone, I carried the hunchback to the
top of the stair, where I propped him up, and went away with my
wife. When the Jew came out, he stumbled over him and thought
that he had killed him.' Then he said to the Jew, 'Is not this
the truth?' 'It is,' replied the Jew. And the tailor turned to
the prefect and said, 'Let the Jew go, and hang me.' When the
prefect heard the tailor's story, he wondered at the adventure of
the hunchback and exclaimed, 'Verily, this is a matter that
should be recorded in books!' Then he said to the hangman, 'Let
the Jew go, and hang the tailor on his own confession.' So the
hangman took the tailor and put the rope round his neck, saying,
'I am tired of taking this man and loosing that, and no one
hanged after all.'
Now the hunchback in question was the favourite buffoon of the
Sultan, who could not bear him out of his sight: so when he got
drunk and did not make his appearance that night or next day, the
Sultan asked the courtiers about him and they replied, 'O our
lord, the chief of the police has come upon him dead and ordered
his murderer to be hanged: but, as the hangman was about to
hoist him up, there came a second and a third and a fourth,
each declaring himself to be the sole murderer and giving the
prefect an account of the manner in which the crime had been
committed.' When the King heard this, he cried out to one of his
chamberlains, saying, 'Go down to the chief of the police and
bring me all four of them.' So the chamberlain went down at once
to the place of execution, where he found the hangman on the
point of hanging the tailor and cried out to him to stop. Then he
gave the King's order to the prefect, who took the tailor, the
physician, the controller and the broker, and brought them all,
together with the dead hunchback, before the King. When he came
into the presence, he kissed the earth and told the King all that
had passed; whereat he was moved to wonder and mirth and
commended the story to be written in letters of gold, saying to
the courtiers, 'Did you ever hear a more wonderful story than
that of this hunchback?' With this came forward the Christian
broker and said, 'O King of the age, with thy leave, I will tell
thee a thing that happened to myself and which is still stranger
and more wonderful and pleasant than the story of the hunchback.'
Quoth the King, 'Let us hear it.' Then said the broker, 'O King
of the age, I came to this city with merchandise, and Fate made
me settle here with you, but
The Christian Broker's Story.
I am by birth a Copt, and a native of Cairo, where I was brought
up. My father was a broker, and when I came to man's estate, he
died and I became a broker in his stead. One day, as I was
sitting in my shop, there came up to me a young man as handsome
as could be, richly clad and riding on an ass. When he saw me, he
saluted me, and I rose to do him honour. Then he pulled out a
handkerchief, containing a sample of sesame, and said to me,
"What is the worth of an ardebb[FN#74] of this?" "A hundred
dirhems," replied I; and he said, "Take porters and measures and
come to-morrow to the Khan of El Jaweli, by the Gate of Victory,
where thou wilt find me." Then he went away, leaving with me the
handkerchief containing the sample of sesame; and I went round to
the buyers and agreed for a hundred and twenty dirhems an ardebb.
Next day, I took four gaugers and carried them to the Khan, where
I found him awaiting me. As soon as he saw me, he rose and opened
his magazines, and we measured the contents and found them fifty
ardebbs of sesame, making five thousand dirhems. Then said he to
me, "Thou shalt have ten dirhems an ardebb to thy brokerage; so
take the price and lay by four thousand five hundred dirhems for
me; and when I have made an end of selling my other goods, I will
come to thee and take the amount." "It is well," replied I, and
kissed his hand and went away, having made that day a profit of a
thousand dirhems, besides the brokerage. I saw no more of him for
a month, at the end of which time he came to me and said, "Where
is the money?" I rose and saluted him and said to him, "Wilt thou
not eat somewhat with me?" But he refused, saying, "Get the money
ready, and I will come back for it." So I brought out the money
and sat down to await his return, but saw no more of him for
another month, at the end of which time he came to me and said,
"Where is the money?" I rose and saluted him and said, "Wilt thou
not eat a morsel with me?" But he refused, saying, "Have the
money ready against my return," and rode away. So I fetched the
dirhems and sat awaiting him; but he did not come near me for
another month, and I said, "Verily, this young man is the
incarnation of liberality." At the end of the month, he came up,
riding on a mule and clad in sumptuous raiment. His face shone
like the moon at its full and he seemed as if he had just come
from the bath, with his rosy cheeks and flower-white forehead and
mole like a grain of ambergris, even as says the poet:
Within one mansion of the sky the sun and moon combine; With all
fair fortune and delight of goodliness they shine.
Their beauty stirs all those that see to passion and to love:
Good luck to them, for that they move to ravishment divine!
In grace and beauty they increase and aye more perfect grow: All
souls yearn out to them for love, all hearts to them
incline.
Blessed be God, whose creatures are so full of wonderment!
Whate'er He wills He fashions forth, even as He doth design.
When I saw him, I rose and saluted him and kissed his hand,
saying, "O my lord, wilt thou not take thy money?" "What hurry is
there?" replied he; "wait till I have made an end of my business,
when I will come and take it." Then he went away, and I said to
myself, "By Allah, when he comes next time, I must press him to
eat with me," for I had traded with his money and profited
largely by it. At the end of the year he came again, dressed even
more richly than before, and I conjured him to dismount and eat
of my victual; and he said to me, "I consent, on condition that
what thou expendest on me shall be of my money in thy hands." "So
be it," replied I, and made him sit down, whilst I made ready
what was needful of meat and drink and so forth and set the tray
before him, saying, "In the name of God." So he came to the table
and put out his left hand and ate with me; and I wondered at his
using his left hand.[FN#75] When we had done eating, I poured
water on his hand and gave him wherewith to wipe it. Then we sat
talking, after I had set sweetmeats before him, and I said to
him, "O my lord, I prithee relieve my mind by telling me why thou
eatest with thy left hand. Belike something ails thy right hand?"
When he heard my words, he recited the following verses:
Ask not, I prithee, my friend, of the anguish that burns in my
heart 'Twould but the infirmities show that now in my bosom
lie hid.
If with Selma I company now and harbour with Leila no more,
Believe me, 'tis none of my will; needs must, if necessity
bid.
Then he drew his right arm out from his sleeve, and behold, it
was a stump without a hand, the latter having been cut off at the
wrist. I was astonished at this, and he said to me, "Thou seest
that my eating with the left hand arose, not from conceit, but
from necessity; and there hangs a strange story by the cutting
off of my right hand." "And how came it to be cut off?" asked I.
"Know," answered he, "that I am a native of Baghdad and the son
of one of the principal men of that city. When I came to man's
estate, I heard the pilgrims and travellers and merchants talk of
the land of Egypt, and this abode in my thought till my father
died, when I laid out a large sum of money in the purchase of
stuffs of Baghdad and Mosul, with which I set out on my travels
and God decreed me safety, till I reached this your city." And he
wept and recited the following verses:
It chances oft that the blind man escapes a pit, Whilst he that
is clear of sight falls into it:
The ignorant man can speak with impunity A word that is death to
the wise and the ripe of wit:
The true believer is pinched for his daily bread, Whilst infidel
rogues enjoy all benefit.
What is a man's resource and what shall he do? It is the
Almighty's will: we must submit.
"So I entered Cairo," continued he, "and put up at the Khan of
Mesrour, where I unpacked my goods and stored them in the
magazines. Then I gave the servant money to buy me something to
eat and lay down to sleep awhile. When I awoke, I went to the
street called Bein el Kesrein[FN#76] and presently returned and
passed the night at the Khan. Next morning, I said to myself, 'I
will walk through the bazaars and see the state of the market.'
So I opened a bale and took out certain stuffs, which I gave to
one of my servants to carry, then repaired to the Bazaar of
Jergis, where I was accosted by the brokers, who had heard of my
arrival. They took my stuffs and cried them for sale, but could
not get the prime cost of them. I was vexed at this; but the
chief of the brokers said to me, 'O my lord, I will tell thee
how thou mayst make a profit of thy goods. Thou shouldst do
as the other merchants do and sell thy goods on credit, for a
fixed period, on a contract drawn up by a scrivener, and duly
witnessed, and employ a money-changer and take thy money every
Monday and Thursday. So shalt thou profit two dirhems for every
one; and besides this, thou canst amuse thyself meanwhile at
leisure in viewing Cairo and the Nile.' Quoth I, 'This advice is
good,' and carried the brokers to the Khan. They took my stuffs
and transported them to the bazaar, where I sold them to various
merchants, taking their bonds for the value. These bonds I
deposited with a money-changer, who gave me an acknowledgment in
writing, with which I returned to my Khan. Here I abode a month,
breaking my fast with a cup of wine every morning and sending out
for mutton and sweetmeats, till the time came when my receipts
began to fall due. So, every Monday and Thursday, I used to
repair to the bazaar and sit in the shop of one or other of the
merchants, whilst the scrivener and money-changer went round to
collect the money from the different merchants, till after the
time of afternoon-prayer, when they brought me the amount, and I
counted it and gave receipts for it, then took it and returned to
my Khan. One day I went to the bath and retured to the Khan,
where I broke my fast on a cup of wine, after which I slept a
little. When I awoke, I ate a fowl, and scenting myself, repaired
to the shop of a merchant called Bedreddin el Bustani, who
welcomed me; and I sat talking with him till the market should
open. Presently, there came up a lady of stately figure, wearing
a magnificent head-dress and exhaling perfumes, as she walked
along with a swimming gait. She stopped before Bedreddin and
saluted him, raising her kerchief and showing a pair of large
black eyes. He returned her salute and stood talking with her;
and when I heard her speech, the love of her got hold upon my
heart. Then she said to Bedreddin, 'Hast thou any stuffs of
figured cloth of gold?' So he brought out to her a piece that he
had had of me and she bought it of him for twelve hundred
dirhems, saying, 'I will take it with me and send thee the
price.' 'It may not be, O my lady,' answered he. 'This is the
owner of the stuff and I owe him the price of it.' 'Out on thee!'
said she. 'Do I not use to take great store of costly stuffs of
thee, at a greater profit than thou askest, and send thee the
money?' 'Yes,' rejoined he; 'but I am in pressing need of the
price to-day.' With this she took the piece of stuff and threw it
back into his lap, saying, 'You merchants have no respect for any
one!' Then she turned to go, and I felt as if my soul went with
her; so I rose and stopped her, saying, 'O my lady, favour me by
retracing thy gracious steps!' She smiled and saying, 'For thy
sake, I will return,' came back and sat down in the shop opposite
me. Then I said to Bedreddin, 'What is the price set upon this
piece?' And he replied, 'Eleven hundred dirhems.' 'The other
hundred shall be thy profit,' rejoined I. 'Give me a piece of
paper and I will write thee a discharge for it! So I wrote him a
docket to that effect and gave the piece of stuff to the lady,
saying, 'Take it and, if thou wilt, bring me the price next
market-day; or, better still, accept it as a gift from me to
thee.' 'May God requite thee with good,' answered she, 'and make
thee my husband and master of my property!'[FN#77] (And God heard
her prayer.) 'O my lady,' replied I, 'this piece of stuff is
thine and another like it, if thou wilt but let me see thy face.'
So she lifted her veil, and I took one look at her face, that
caused me a thousand regrets, and fell so violently in love with
her, that I was no longer master of my reason. Then she let down
her veil and taking the piece of stuff, said, 'O my lord, leave
me not desolate!'[FN#78] and went away, whilst I remained sitting
in the shop till the time of afternoon-prayer was past, lost to
the world and fairly distraught for love; and the violence of my
passion prompted me to make enquiries about her of the merchant,
who replied, 'She is a lady of wealth, the daughter of an Amir,
who died and left her a large fortune.' Then I took leave of him
and returned to the Khan, where they set the evening meal before
me; but I could not eat, for thinking of her, and laid down to
rest. But sleep came not to me and I lay awake till daylight,
when I rose and changed my dress. I broke my fast on a cup of
wine and a morsel of bread and going to the market, saluted
Bedreddin and sat down by him in his shop. Presently up came the
lady, followed by a slave-girl, and more richly dressed than
before, and saluting me, instead of Bedreddin, said to me, in a
voice than which I never heard a sweeter or softer, 'Send with me
some one to take the twelve hundred dirhems, the price of the
stuff.' 'What hurry is there?' asked I. And she said, 'May we
never lose thee!' And gave me the money. Then I sat talking with
her, and presently I made signs to her, by which she understood
that I desired to enjoy her and rose hastily, as if vexed with
me, and went away. My heart clung to her and I rose and followed
in her track; but as I went along, a slave-girl accosted me,
saying. 'O my lord, my mistress would speak with thee.' At this I
was astonished, and said, 'There is no one who knows me here.' 'O
my lord,' answered the slave, 'how quickly thou hast forgotten
her! My mistress is she who was to-day at the shop of the
merchant Bedreddin.' So I followed her to the money-changer's,
where I found the lady, who drew me to her side and said to me,
'O my beloved, thou hast made prize of my heart, and love of thee
has conquered my soul. Since the day I saw thee first, I have
taken no delight in sleep nor in meat nor drink.' 'My sufferings
have been still greater than thine,' answered I; 'and my state
dispenses me from complaint.' Then said she, 'O my lord, shall I
come to thee or wilt thou come to me?' Quoth I, 'I am a stranger
here and have no lodging but the Khan; so by thy favour, it
shall be at thy house.' 'It is well,' replied she; 'to-night
is Friday eve, and nothing can be done; but to-morrow, after
the morning-prayer, mount thine ass and enquire for the house
of Berekat the Syndic, known as Abou Shameh, in the Hebbaniyeh
quarter; for I live there; and do not delay, for I shall be
expecting thee.' At this, I rejoiced greatly and took leave of
her and returned to the Khan, where I passed a sleepless night.
As soon as it was day, I rose and changed my clothes and
perfumed myself with essences and sweet-scented smoke. Then I
took fifty dinars in a handkerchief and went out to the Zuweyleh
Gate, where I hired an ass, bidding the driver carry me to the
Hebbaniyeh. So he set off with me and brought me in the twinkling
of an eye to a by-street called El Munkeri, where I bade him go
in and enquire for the Syndic's house. After a little he returned
and said, 'Alight.' But I made him guide me to the house, where I
dismounted and giving him a quarter-dinar, said, 'Come back
to-morrow at daybreak and fetch me away.' 'In the name of God,'
answered he, and went away. Then I knocked at the gate and there
came out two young girls, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons,
and said to me, 'Enter, for our mistress awaits thee, and she
slept not last night for joyance in thee.' So I entered and they
brought me, through a vestibule, into an upper chamber with seven
doors, paved with vari-coloured marbles and furnished with
hangings and carpets of coloured silk. The walls were plastered
with stucco-royal, in which one might see his own face, and the
roof was ribbed with gold and bordered with inscriptions
emblazoned in ultramarine. All around were latticed windows
overlooking a garden, full of fruits of all colours, with streams
running and birds singing on the branches, and midmost the hall
was a fountain, at whose angles stood birds fashioned in red
gold, spouting forth water as it were pearls and jewels; and
indeed the place comprised all kinds of beauty and dazzled the
beholder with its radiance. I entered and sat down; but hardly
had I done so, when the lady came up to me, crowned with a diadem
of pearls and jewels and having her eyebrows pencilled and her
hands stained with henna. When she saw me, she smiled on me and
embraced me and pressed me to her bosom; and she set her mouth to
mine and sucked my tongue, and I did the like with her. Then she
said, 'Can it be true that thou art indeed come to me?' 'I am thy
slave,' answered I; and she said, 'Welcome, a thousand times! By
Allah, since I first saw thee, sleep has not been sweet to me nor
food pleasant!' Quoth I, 'So has it been with me also.' Then we
sat down to converse, and I bowed my head for bashfulness.
Presently, she set before me a tray of the most exquisite meats,
such as ragouts and fritters soaked in honey and fricassees and
fowls stuffed with sugar and pistachio-nuts, and we ate till we
were satisfied. Then they brought ewer and basin and I washed my
hands, after which we scented ourselves with rose-water mingled
with musk and sat down again to converse. We complained to each
other of the sufferings we had undergone, and my love for her
took such hold on me, that all my wealth was of little account to
me, in comparison with her. We passed the time in toying and
kissing and dalliance, till nightfall, when the damsels set
before us a banquet of food and wine and we sat carousing half
the night. Then we went to bed and I lay with her till the
morning, never in my life saw I the like of that night. As soon
as it was day, I arose and took leave of her, after having
slipped under the mattress the handkerchief containing the
dinars; and she wept and said 'O my lord, when shall I see that
fair face again?' 'I will be with thee at eventide,' answered I,
and going out, found the ass-man waiting for me at the door. So I
mounted and rode to the Khan of Mesrour, where I alighted and
gave the driver half a dinar, saying, 'Come back at sun down.'
And he said, 'Good.' Then I broke my fast and went out to seek
the price of my stuffs, after which I returned and taking a roast
lamb and some sweetmeats, called a porter and despatched them by
him to the lady, paying him his hire in advance. I occupied
myself with my affairs till sunset, when the ass-driver came for
me and I took fifty dinars in a handkerchief and rode to the
house, where I found the marble floor swept, the brass burnished,
the lamps filled and the candles lighted, the meats ready dished
and the wines strained. When my mistress saw me, she threw her
arms round my neck and exclaimed, 'Thou hast desolated me by
thine absence!' Then they set the tables and we ate till we were
satisfied, when the serving-maids took away the tray of food and
set on wine. We gave not over drinking till midnight, when we
went to the sleeping-chamber and lay together till morning. Then
I rose and went away, leaving the fifty dinars with her as
before. I found the ass-driver at the door and mounting, rode to
the Khan, where I slept awhile, then went out to prepare the
evening-meal. I took a brace of geese with broth on two platters
of dressed rice, together with colocasia-roots[FN#79], fried and
soaked in honey, and wax candles and fruits and conserves and
flowers and nuts and almonds, and sent them all to her. As soon
as it was night, I mounted the ass as usual, taking with me fifty
dinars in a handkerchief, and rode to the house, where we ate and
drank and lay together till morning, when I left the handkerchief
and dinars with her and rode back to the Khan. I ceased not to
lead this life, till one fine morning I found myself without a
single dirhem and said, 'This is Satan's doing!' And I repeated
the following verses:
When a rich man grows poor, his lustre dies away, Like to the
setting sun that pales with ended day.
Absent, his name is not remembered among men: Present, he hath no
part in life and its array.
He passes through the streets and fain would hide his head And
pours out floods of tears in every desert way.
By Allah, when distress and want descend on men, But strangers
midst their kin and countrymen are they.
Then I left the Khan and walked along Bein el Kesrein till I came
to the Zuweyleh Gate, where I found the folk crowded together and
the gate blocked up for the much people. As Fate would have it, I
saw there a trooper, against whom I pressed, without meaning it,
so that my hand came on his pocket and I felt a purse inside. I
looked and seeing a string of green silk hanging from the pocket,
knew that it belonged to the purse. The crowd increased every
moment and just then, a camel bearing a load of wood jostled the
trooper on the other side and he turned to ward it off from him,
lest it should tear his clothes. When I saw this, Satan tempted
me; so I pulled the string and drew out a little purse of blue
silk, full of something that chinked like money. Hardly had
I done so, when the soldier turned and feeling his pocket
lightened, put his hand to it and found it empty; whereupon he
turned to me and raising his mace, smote me on the head I fell to
the ground, whilst the people came round us and seizing the
soldier's horse by the bridle, said to him, 'Is it because he
pushed against thee in the throng, that thou smitest this young
man such a blow?' But he cried out at them and said, 'This fellow
is an accursed thief!' With this I came to myself and stood up,
and the folk looked at me and said, 'This is a comely youth and
would not steal aught.' Some took part for me and others against
me and there was a great clamour, and the people pulled at me and
would have rescued me from the trooper; but as Fate would have
it, the chief of the police and the captain and officers of the
watch entered by the gate at this moment; and the prefect, seeing
the crowd about the soldier and myself, enquired what was the
matter. 'O my lord,' replied the soldier, 'this fellow is a
thief. I had a blue purse in my pocket, containing twenty dinars,
and he took it, whilst I was in the crush.' 'Was any one else by
thee?' asked the magistrate, and the trooper answered, 'No.' Then
the prefect cried out to the officers of the watch, who seized me
and stripping me by his order, found the purse in my clothes. He
took it and found in it twenty dinars, as the soldier had said,
whereat he was wroth and calling to the officers to bring me
before him, said to me, 'O young man tell me the truth. Didst
thou steal this purse?' At this I hung down my head and said to
myself, 'It is useless for me to say I did not steal the purse,
for they found it in my clothes: and if I confess to the theft, I
fall into trouble.' So I raised my head and said, 'Yes: I took
it.' When the prefect heard what I said, he wondered and called
for witnesses, who came forward and attested by confession. Then
he bade the hangman cut off my right hand, and he did so; after
which he would have cut off my left foot also; but the trooper
took pity on me and interceded for me with the prefect, who left
me and went away; whilst the folk remained round me and gave me a
cup of wine to drink. As for the trooper, he gave me the purse,
saying, 'Thou art a comely youth, and it befits not that thou be
a thief.' And I repeated the following verses:
By Allah, trusty brother mine, I am indeed no thief, Nor, O most
bountiful of men, a highwayman am I.
But the vicissitudes of fate overthrew me suddenly, And care and
stress and penury full sorely did me try.
It was not thou, but God who cast the fatal shaft at me, The
shaft that made from off my head the crown of honour fly.
Then he left me, and I went away, after having wrapt my hand in a
piece of rag and thrust it into my bosom. I betook me to my
mistress's house, faint and ill at ease and pale by reason of
what had befallen me, and threw myself on the couch. She saw that
my colour was changed and said to me, 'What ails thee and why do
I see thee thus changed?' 'My head irks me,' answered I; 'I am
not well.' When she heard this, she was vexed and concerned for
me and said to me, 'Fret not my heart, O my lord! Sit up and
raise thy head and let me know what has happened to thee to-day,
for thy face tells me a tale.' 'Spare me this talk,' replied I.
But she wept and said, 'Meseems thou art tired of me, for I see
that thou art contrary to thy wont.' But I was silent, and she
continued to talk to me, though I made her no answer, till
nightfall, when she brought me food: but I refused it, fearing to
let her see me eat with my left hand, and said to her, 'I do not
care to eat at present.' Quoth she 'Tell me what has befallen
thee to-day and what ails thee, that thou art troubled and broken
in heart and spirit.' 'Presently,' replied I; 'I will tell thee
at my leisure.' Then she brought me wine, saying, 'Take it for it
will dispel thy care: thou must indeed drink and tell me what is
thy matter with thee.' 'Must I tell thee?' said I; and she
answered, 'Yes.' Then said I, 'If it must be so, give me to drink
with thine own hand.' So she filled and drank then filled again
and gave me the cup. I took it from her with my left hand and
repeated the following verses with tears running from my eyes:
When God would execute His will in anything On one endowed with
sight, hearing and reasoning,
He stops his ears and blinds his eyes and draws his wit From him,
as one draws out the hairs to paste that cling;
Till, His decrees fulfilled, He gives him back his wit, That
therewithal he may receive admonishing.
At this she gave a loud cry and said to me, 'What makes thee
weep? Thou settest my heart on fire. And what ails thee to take
the cup with thy left hand?' 'I have a boil on my right hand,'
answered I; and she said, 'Put it out and I will lance it for
thee.' 'It is not ripe for lancing,' answered I; 'so do not
torment me, for I will not show it thee at present.' Then I drank
off the cup, and she plied me with wine till I became drowsy and
fell asleep in my place; whereupon she looked at my right arm and
saw that it was but a stump without a hand. So she searched me
and found the purse of gold and my severed hand wrapt in a piece
of rag. With this, there overcame her such grief as none ever
knew, and she ceased not to lament for my sake till the morning.
When I awoke, I found she had made me a dish of broth of four
boiled fowls, which she brought to me, together with a cup of
wine. I ate and drank and laying down the purse, would have gone
out; but she said to me, 'Whither goest thou?' 'Where my business
calls me,' replied I; and she said, 'Thou shalt not go: sit
down.' So I sat down, and she said, 'Has thy love for me brought
thee to such a pass, that thou hast wasted thy substance and lost
thy hand on my account? Since this is so, I call God to witness
against me that I will never part with thee: and thou shalt see
the truth of my words.' Then she sent for the Cadi and the
witnesses and said to them, 'Draw up a contract of marriage
between me and this young man and bear witness that I have
received the dowry.' So they drew up our marriage contract, and
she said to them, 'Be witness that all my money that is in this
chest and all that belongs to me and all my slaves, male and
female, are the property of this young man.' So they took act of
this and withdrew, after having received their fees. Then she
took me by the hand and leading me to a closet, opened a large
chest and said to me, 'See what is herein.' I looked and behold,
it was full of handkerchiefs. Quoth she, 'This is the money I had
of thee; for every time thou gavest me a handkerchief, with fifty
dinars in it, I wrapped it together and threw it into this chest;
so now take thy money, for indeed it returns to thee, and thou
to-day art become of high estate. Fate afflicted thee, so that
thou didst lose thy right hand for my sake, and I can never
requite thee: nay, though I gave my life, it were little and I
should still remain thy debtor.' Then she said to me, 'Take
possession of thy property!' and transferred the contents of the
other chest to that which contained the money I had given her. At
this, my heart was gladdened and my grief forsook me, and I rose
and kissed and thanked her. Quoth she, 'Thou hast lost thy hand
for love of me, and how can I requite thee? By Allah, if I gave
my life for thy love, it were far short of thy due!' Then she
made over to me by deed all her clothes and jewels and other
property and lay not down to sleep that night, being in sore
concern on my account, till I told her all that had befallen me.
I passed the night with her; but before we had lived together a
month's time, she fell grievously ill and sickness was upon her,
by reason of her grief for the loss of my hand; and she endured
but fifty days before she was numbered of the folk of the other
world. So I laid her in the ground and had recitations of the
Koran made over her tomb and gave much money in alms for her;
after which I returned to the house and found that she had
left much substance in money and houses and lands. Among her
storehouses was one full of sesame, whereof I sold part to thee;
and it was the fact of my being busied in selling the rest of my
goods and all that was in the storehouses, that diverted my
attention from thee; nor have I till now made an end of receiving
the price. This, then, is the reason of the cutting off of my
right hand and of my eating with the left. Now thou shalt not
baulk me in what I am about to say, for that I have eaten of thy
victual; and it is that I make thee a gift of the money that is
in thy hands." "Indeed," replied I, "thou hast shown me the
utmost kindness and liberality." Then said he, "Wilt thou journey
with me to my native country, whither I am about to return with a
lading of Cairo and Alexandria stuffs?" "I will well," answered
I, and appointed with him for the end of the month. So I sold all
I had and bought merchandise; then we set out, he and I, and
journeyed till we came to this town, where he sold his goods, and
buying others in their stead, set out again for Egypt. But it was
my lot to abide here, so that there befell me in my strangerhood
what befell last night. This, then, is my story, O King of the
age. Is it not more marvellous than that of the hunchback?' 'Not
so,' answered the King; 'and needs must you all be hanged.' Then
came forward the controller of the Sultan's kitchen and said,
'With thy leave, I will tell thee what happened to me but lately
and if it be more marvellous than the story of the hunchback, do
thou grant us our lives.' 'So be it,' answered the King. Then
said the controller, 'Know, O King, that
The Controller's Story.
I was the night before last in company with a number of persons
who were assembled for the purpose of hearing a recitation of the
Koran. The doctors of the law attended, and when the readers had
made an end of reading, the table was spread, and amongst other
things they set before us a ragout flavoured with cumin-seed.
So we sat down to eat it; but one of our number held back and
abstained from eating. We conjured him to eat of the ragout; but
he swore that he would not, and we pressed him till he said,
"Press me not; what has already befallen me through eating of
this dish suffices me." And he repeated the following verses:
Shoulder thy tray, 'fore God, and get thee gone with it, And to
thine eyes apply such salve as thou deem'st fit.[FN#80]
"For God's sake," said we, "tell us the reason of thy refusal to
eat of the ragout!" "If I must eat of it," replied he, "I will
not do so, except I may wash my hands forty times with soap,
forty times with potash and forty times with galingale, in all a
hundred and twenty times." So the master of the house ordered his
servants to bring water and all that he required; and the young
man washed his hands as he had said. Then he sat down, as if
afraid, and dipping his hand into the ragout, began to eat,
though with evident repugnance and as if doing himself violence,
whilst we regarded him with the utmost wonder; for his hand
trembled and we saw that his thumb had been cut off and he ate
with his four fingers only. So we said to him, "God on thee, what
has become of thy thumb? Is thy hand thus by the creation of God
or has it been mutilated by accident?" "O my brothers, answered
he, "it is not this thumb alone that has been cut off, but also
that of the other hand and the great toe of each of my feet, as
ye shall see." Then he bared his left hand and his feet, and we
saw that the left hand was even as the right and that each of his
feet lacked the great toe. At this sight, our amazement increased
and we said to him, "We are impatient to know thy history and the
manner of the cutting off of thy thumbs and great toes and the
reason of thy washing thy hands a hundred and twenty times."
"Know then," answered he, "that my father was chief of the
merchants of Baghdad in the time of the Khalif Haroun er Reshid;
but he was given to drinking wine and listening to the lute and
other instruments, so that when he died, he left nothing. I
buried him and had recitations of the Koran made over him and
mourned for him days and nights. Then I opened his shop and found
he had left little but debts. However, I compounded with his
creditors for time to pay and betook myself to buying and
selling, paying them something week by week on account, till at
last I succeeded in clearing off the debts and began to add to my
capital. One day, as I sat in my shop, there came up to the
entrance of the bazaar a lady, than whom my eyes never saw a
fairer, richly clad and decked and riding on a mule, with one
slave walking before and another behind her. She halted the mule
at the entrance of the bazaar and entered, followed by an eunuch,
who said to her, 'O my lady, come out, without telling any one,
or thou wilt bring us into trouble.' And he stood before
her,[FN#81] whilst she looked at the shops. She found no shop
open but mine, so came up, with the eunuch behind her, and
sitting down in my shop, saluted me; never did I hear aught
sweeter than her voice or more pleasant than her speech. Then she
unveiled her face and I saw she was like the moon and stole at
her a glance that cost me a thousand sighs. My heart was
captivated with her love and I could not take my eyes off her
face; and I repeated the following verses:
Say to the fairest fair, her in the dove-coloured veil, "Death
would be welcome to me, to save me from thy bale:
Grant me thy favours, I pray! so I may live perchance. Lo! I
stretch forth my palm: let not thy bounties fail."
When she heard this, she answered me by repeating the following
verses:
Power to forget thee, for desire, fails even unto me: My heart
and all my soul will love none other after thee.
If my eyes ever look on aught except thy loveliness, May union
after severance ne'er brighten them with glee!
I've sworn an oath by my right hand ne'er to forget thy grace. My
sad heart pineth for thy love and never may win free.
Passion hath given me to drink a brimming cup of love; Would it
had given the self-same draught to drink, dear heart, to
thee!
If thou shouldst ask me what I'd crave most earnestly of God,
"The Almighty's favour first, then thine," I'd say, "my
prayer shall be."
Then she said to me, 'O youth, hast thou any handsome stuffs?' 'O
my lady,' answered I, 'thy slave is poor: but wait till the
merchants open their shops, and I will get thee what thou wilt.'
Then we sat talking, she and I, whilst I was drowned in the sea
of her love and dazed with passion for her, till the merchants
opened their shops, when I rose and fetched her all she sought,
to the value of five thousand dirhems. She gave the stuffs to the
slave and leaving the bazaar, mounted the mule and rode away,
without telling me whence she came, and I was ashamed to ask her.
So I became answerable to the merchants for the price of the
goods and thus took on myself a debt of five thousand dirhems.
Then I went home, drunken with love of her, and they set the
evening-meal before me. I ate a mouthful and lay down to rest,
musing upon her beauty and grace: but sleep came not to me. A
week passed thus, and the merchants sought their money of me,
but I persuaded them to wait another week, at the end of which
time she came up, riding on the mule and attended by an eunuch
and two slaves. She saluted me and said, 'O my lord, we have
been long in bringing thee the price of the stuffs; but now
fetch a money-changer and take the amount.' So I sent for the
money-changer, and the eunuch counted me out the money, and we
sat talking, the lady and I, till the market opened, when she
said to me, 'Get me this and this.' So I got her from the
merchants what she wanted, and she took it and went away, without
saying a word to me about the price. As soon as she was out of
sight, I repented me of what I had done, for the price of what
I had bought for her was a thousand dinars, and I said to
myself, 'What doting is this? She has brought me five thousand
dirhems[FN#82], and taken a thousand dinars'[FN#83] worth of
goods.' And I feared lest I should be beggared, through having to
pay the merchants their money, and said, 'They know none but me
and this woman is none other than a cheat, who hath cozened me
with her beauty and grace, for she saw that I was young and
laughed at me; and I did not ask her address.' She did not come
again for more than a month, and I abode in constant distress and
perplexity, till at last the merchants dunned me for their money
and pressed me so that I put up my property for sale and looked
for nothing but ruin. However, as I was sitting in my shop, one
day, absorbed in melancholy thought, she rode up and dismounting
at the gate of the bazaar, came in and made towards me. When I
saw her, my anxiety ceased and I forgot my troubles. She came up
to me and greeting me with her pleasant speech, said to me,
'Fetch the money-changer and take thy money.' So she gave me the
price of the goods I had gotten for her and more, and fell to
conversing freely with me, till I was like to die of joy and
delight. Presently, she said to me, 'Hast thou a wife?' 'No,'
answered I; 'I have never known woman.' And fell a-weeping. Quoth
she, 'Why dost thou weep?' 'It is nothing,' replied I; and giving
the eunuch some of the dinars, begged him to use his influence
with her for me; but he laughed and said, 'She is more in love
with thee than thou with her. She had no occasion for the stuffs
she bought of thee and did all this but out of love for thee. So
ask of her what thou wilt; she will not deny thee.' When she saw
me give the eunuch money, she returned and sat down again; and I
said to her, 'Be charitable to thy slave and pardon him what he
is about to say.' Then I told her what was in my mind, and she
assented and said to the eunuch, 'Thou shalt carry my message to
him.' Then to me, 'Do as the eunuch bids thee.' Then she rose and
went away, and I paid the merchants what I owed them, and they
all profited; but as for me, I gained nought but regret for the
breaking off of our intercourse. I slept not all that night; but
before many days were past, the eunuch came to me, and I made
much of him and asked after his mistress. 'She is sick for love
of thee,' replied he; and I said, 'Tell me who she is.' Quoth he,
'She is one of the waiting-women of the Lady Zubeideh, the wife
of the Khalif Haroun er Reshid, who brought her up and advanced
her to be stewardess of the harem and granted her the right of
going in and out at will. She told her mistress of thee and
begged her to marry her to thee; but she said, "I will not do
this, till I see the young man; and if he be worthy of thee, I
will marry thee to him." So now we wish to bring thee into the
palace at once and if thou succeed in entering without being
seen, thou wilt win to marry her; but if the affair get wind,
thou wilt lose thy head. What sayst thou?' And I answered, 'I
will go with thee and abide the risk of which thou speakest.'
Then said he, 'As soon as it is night, go to the mosque built by
the Lady Zubeideh on the Tigris and pray and pass the night
there.' 'With all my heart,' answered I. So at nightfall I
repaired to the mosque, where I prayed and passed the night. Just
before daybreak, there came up some eunuchs in a boat, with a
number of empty chests, which they deposited in the mosque and
went away all, except one who remained behind and whom, on
examination, I found to be he who served as our go-between.
Presently, in came my mistress herself and I rose to her and
embraced her. She kissed me, weeping, and we talked awhile; after
which she made me get into one of the chests and locked it upon
me. Then the eunuchs came back with a number of packages; and she
fell to stowing them in the chests and locking the latter one by
one, till she had filled them all. Then they embarked the chests
in the boat and made for the Lady Zubeideh's palace. With this,
reflection came to me and I said to myself, 'My lust will surely
bring me to destruction, nor do I know whether I shall gain my
end or no!' And I began to weep, shut up as I was in the chest,
and to pray to God to deliver me from the peril I was in, whilst
the boat ceased not going till it reached the palace gate, where
they lifted out the chests and amongst them that in which I was.
Then they carried them into the palace, passing through a troop
of eunuchs, guardians of the harem and door-keepers, till they
came to the post of the chief of the eunuchs, who started up from
sleep and called out to the lady, saying, 'What is in those
chests?' Quoth she, 'They are full of wares for the Lady
Zubeideh.' 'Open them,' said he, 'one by one, that I may see what
is in them.'--'Why wilt thou open them?' asked she: but he cried
out at her, saying, 'Give me no words! They must and shall be
opened.' Now the first that they brought to him to open was that
in which I was: and when I felt this, my senses failed me and I
bepissed myself for terror, and the water ran out of the chest.
Then said she to the eunuch, 'O chief, thou hast undone me and
thyself also, for thou hast spoiled that which is worth ten
thousand dinars. This box contains coloured dresses and four
flasks of Zemzem water; and now one of the bottles has broken
loose and the water is running out over the clothes and their
colours will be ruined.' Then said the eunuch, 'Take up thy
chests and begone with God's malison!' So the slaves took up the
chests and hurried on with them, till suddenly I heard a voice
saying, 'Alas! Alas! the Khalif! the Khalif!' When I heard this,
my heart died within me and I spoke the words which whoso says
shall not be confounded, that is to say, 'There is no power and
no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! I have brought
this affliction on myself.' Presently I heard the Khalif say to
my mistress, 'Harkye, what is in those chests of thine ?'
'Clothes for the Lady Zubeideh,' answered she; and he said, 'Open
them to me.' When I heard this, I gave myself up for lost and
said, 'By Allah, this is the last of my worldly days!' and began
to repeat the profession of the Faith. Then I heard the lady say
to the Khalif, 'These chests have been committed to my charge by
the Lady Zubeideh, and she does not wish their contents to be
seen of any one.'--'No matter,' said he; 'I must open them and
see what is in them.' And he cried out to the eunuchs saying,
'Bring them to me.' At this, I made sure of death and swooned
away. Then the slaves brought the chests up to him and opened
them, one after another, and he saw in them perfumes and stuffs
and rich clothes, till none remained unopened but that in which I
was. They put their hands to it to open it, but the lady made
haste and said to the Khalif, 'This one thou shalt see in the
Lady Zubeideh's presence, for that which is in it is her secret.'
When he heard this, he ordered them to carry in the chests; so
they took up that in which I was and carried it, with the rest,
into the harem and set it down in the middle of the saloon; and
indeed my spittle was dried up for fear. Then my mistress opened
the chest and took me out, saying, 'Fear not: no harm shall
befall thee, but be of good courage and sit down, till the Lady
Zubeideh comes, and thou shalt surely win thy wish of me.' So I
sat down, and after awhile, in came ten maidens like moons and
ranged themselves in two rows, one facing the other, and after
them other twenty, high-bosomed maids with the Lady Zubeideh, who
could hardly walk for the weight of her dresses and ornaments. As
she drew near, the damsels dispersed from around her, and I
advanced and kissed the earth before her. She signed to me to be
seated and questioned me of my condition and family, to which I
made such answers as pleased her, and she said to my mistress, 'O
damsel, our nurturing of thee has not been in vain.' Then she
said to me, 'Know that this damsel is to us even as our own
child, and she is a trust committed to thee by God.' I kissed the
earth again before her, well pleased that I should marry my
mistress, and she bade me sojourn ten days in the palace. So I
abode there ten days, during which time I saw not my mistress nor
any one save a serving-maid, who brought me the morning and
evening meals. After this the Lady Zubeideh took counsel with the
Khalif on the marriage of her favourite, and he gave leave and
assigned her a wedding portion of ten thousand dinars. So the
Lady Zubeideh sent for the Cadi and the witnesses, and they drew
up our marriage contract, after which the women made sweetmeats
and rich viands and distributed them among the inmates of the
harem. Thus they did other ten days, at the end of which time my
mistress entered the bath. Meanwhile, they set before me a tray
of food, on which was a basin containing a ragout of fricasseed
fowls' breasts dressed with cumin-seed and flavoured with sugar
and rose-water, mixed with musk, and many another dish, such as
amazed the wit; and by Allah, I did not hesitate, but fell upon
the ragout and ate my fill of it. Then I wiped my hands, but
forgot to wash them and sat till it grew dark, when they lit the
candles and the singing-women came with tambourines and proceeded
to display the bride and carry her in procession from room to
room, receiving largesse of gold and pieces of silk, till they
had made the round of the palace. Then they brought her to me and
disrobed her. When I found myself alone in bed with her, I
embraced her, hardly believing in my good fortune; but she smelt
the odour of the ragout on my hands and gave a loud cry, at which
the maids came running to her from all sides. I was alarmed and
trembled, not knowing what was the matter, and the girls said to
her, 'What ails thee, O sister?' Quoth she, 'Take this madman
away from me: methought he was a man of sense.' 'What makes thee
think me mad?' asked I. 'O madman,' answered she, 'what made thee
eat of ragout of cumin-seed, without washing thy hands? By Allah,
I will punish thee for thy misconduct! Shall the like of thee
come to bed to the like of me, with unwashed hands?' Then she
took from her side a whip of plaited thongs and laid on to my
back and buttocks till I swooned away for the much beating; when
she said to the maids, 'Take him and carry him to the chief of
the police, that he may cut off the hand wherewith he ate of the
ragout and washed it not.' When I heard this, I said, 'There is
no power and no virtue but in God! Wilt thou cut off my hand,
because I ate of a ragout and did not wash?' And the girls
interceded with her, saying, 'O our sister, forgive him this
once!' But she said, 'By Allah, I must and will dock him of
somewhat!' Then she went away and I saw no more of her for ten
days, at the end of which time, she came in to me and said, 'O
black-a-vice, I will not make peace with thee, till I have
punished thee for eating ragout of cumin-seed, without washing
thy hands!' Then she cried out to the maids, who bound me; and
she took a sharp razor and cut off my thumbs and toes, as ye have
seen. Thereupon I swooned away and she sprinkled the severed
parts with a powder which staunched the blood; and I said, 'Never
again will I eat of ragout of cumin-seed without washing my hands
forty times with potash, forty times with galingale and forty
times with soap!' And she took of me an oath to that effect. So
when the ragout was set before me, my colour changed and I said
to myself, 'It was this that was the cause of the cutting off of
my thumbs and toes.' And when ye forced me, I said, 'I must needs
fulfil the oath I have taken.'" "And what befell thee after
this?" asked the others. "After this," replied he, "her heart was
appeased and I lay with her that night. We abode thus awhile,
till she said to me, one day, 'It befits not that we continue in
the Khalif's palace: for none ever came hither but thou, and thou
wonst not in but by the grace of the Lady Zubeideh. Now she has
given me fifty thousand dinars; so take this money and go out and
buy us a commodious house.' So I went forth and bought a handsome
and spacious house, whither she transported all her goods and
valuables." Then (continued the controller) we ate and went away:
and after, there happened to me with the hunchback that thou
wottest of. This then is my story and peace be on thee.' Quoth
the King, 'This story is not more agreeable than that of the
hunchback: on the contrary, it is less so, and you must all be
hanged.' Then came forward the Jewish physician and kissing the
earth, said, 'O King of the age, I will tell thee a story more
wonderful than that of the hunchback.' 'Tell on,' answered the
King; and the Jew said, 'The strangest adventure that ever befell
me was as follows:
The Jewish Physician's Story.
In my younger days I lived at Damascus, where I studied my art;
and one day, as I sat in my house, there came to me a servant
with a summons from the governor of the city. So I followed him
to the house and entering the saloon, saw, lying on a couch of
juniper-wood, set with plates of gold, that stood at the upper
end, a sick youth, never was seen a handsomer. I sat down at his
head and offered up a prayer for his recovery. He made a sign to
me with his eyes and I said to him, "O my lord, give me thy
hand." So he put forth his left hand, at which I wondered and
said to myself, "By Allah, it is strange that so handsome a
young man of high family should lack good breeding! This can be
nothing but conceit." However, I felt his pulse and wrote him a
prescription and continued to visit him for ten days, at the end
of which time he recovered and went to the bath, whereupon the
governor gave me a handsome dress of honour and appointed me
superintendent of the hospital at Damascus. I accompanied
him to the bath, the whole of which they had cleared for his
accommodation, and the servants came in with him and took off his
clothes within the bath, when I saw that his right hand had been
newly cut off, and this was the cause of his illness. At this I
was amazed and grieved for him: then looking at his body I
saw on it the marks of beating with rods, for which he had used
ointments. I was perplexed at this and my perplexity appeared in
my face. The young man looked at me and reading my thought, said
to me, "O physician of the age, marvel not at my case. I will
tell thee my story, when we leave the bath." Then we washed and
returning to his house, partook of food and rested awhile; after
which he said to me, "What sayest thou to taking the air in the
garden?" "I will well," answered I; so he bade the slaves carry
out carpets and cushions and roast a lamb and bring us some
fruit. They did as he bade them, and we ate of the fruits, he
using his left hand for the purpose. After awhile, I said to him,
"Tell me thy story." "O physician of the age," answered he, "hear
what befell me. Know that I am a native of Mosul and my father
was the eldest of ten brothers, who were all married, but none of
them was blessed with children except my father, to whom God had
vouchsafed me. So I grew up among my uncles, who rejoiced in me
with exceeding joy, till I came to man's estate. One Friday, I
went to the chief mosque of Mosul with my father and my uncles,
and we prayed the congregational prayers, after which all the
people went out, except my father and uncles, who sat conversing
of the wonders of foreign lands and the strange things to be seen
in various cities. At last they mentioned Egypt and one of my
uncles said, 'Travellers say that there is not on the face of the
earth aught fairer than Cairo and its Nile.' Quoth my father,
'Who has not seen Cairo has not seen the world. Its dust is gold
and its Nile a wonder; its women are houris and its houses
palaces: its air is temperate and the fragrance of its breezes
outvies the scent of aloes-wood: and how should it be otherwise,
being the mother of the world? Bravo for him who says,' And he
repeated the following verses:
Shall I from Cairo wend and leave the sweets of its delight? What
sojourn after it indeed were worth a longing thought?
How shall I leave its fertile plains, whose earth unto the scent
Is very perfume, for the land contains no thing that's
naught?
It is indeed for loveliness a very Paradise, With all its goodly
carpet[FN#84] spread and cushions richly wrought.
A town that maketh heart and eye yearn with its goodliness,
Uniting all that of devout and profligate is sought,
Or comrades true, by God His grace conjoined in brotherhood,
Their meeting-place the groves of palms that cluster round
about.
O men of Cairo, if it be God's will that I depart, Let bonds of
friendship and of love unite us still in thought!
Name not the city to the breeze, lest for its rival lands It
steal the perfumes, wherewithal its garden-ways are fraught.