The name of my third brother was Fekic and he was blind. One day,
chance and destiny led him to a great house and he knocked at the
door, desiring speech of the owner, that he might beg of him
somewhat. Quoth the master of the house, "Who is at the door?"
But my brother was silent and heard him repeat, in a loud voice,
"Who is there?" Still he made no answer and presently heard the
master come to the door and open it and say, "What dost thou
want?" "Charity," replied my brother, "for the love of God the
Most High!" "Art thou blind?" asked the man; and my brother said,
"Yes." Quoth the other, "Give me thy hand." So my brother put out
his hand, thinking that he would give him something; but he took
it and drawing him into the house, carried him up, from stair to
stair, till they reached the housetop, my brother thinking the
while that he would surely give him food or money. Then said
he to my brother, "What dost thou want, O blind man?" "Charity,
for the love of God!" repeated my brother. "God succour
thee!"[FN#103] answered the master of the house. "O man,"
answered my brother, "why couldst thou not tell me this
downstairs?" "O loser," answered he, "why didst thou not answer
me, when I asked who was at the door?" Quoth my brother, "What
wilt thou with me now?" And the other replied, "I have nothing to
give thee." "Then take me down again," said my brother. But he
answered, "The way lies before thee." So my brother rose and made
his way down the stairs, till he came within twenty steps of the
door, when his foot slipped and he rolled to the bottom and broke
his head. Then he went out, knowing not whither to turn, and
presently fell in with other two blind men, comrades of his, who
enquired how he had fared that day. He told them what had passed
and said to them, "O my brothers, I wish to take some of the
money in my hands and provide my self with it." Now the master of
the house had followed him and heard what they said, but neither
my brother nor his fellows knew of this. So my brother went on to
his lodging and sat down to await his comrades, and the owner of
the house entered after him without his knowledge. When the other
blind men arrived, my brother said to them, "Shut the door and
search the house, lest any stranger have followed us." The
intruder, hearing this, caught hold of a rope that hung from the
ceiling and clung to it, whilst the blind men searched the whole
place, but found nothing. So they came back and sitting down
beside my brother, brought out their money, which they counted,
and lo, it was twelve thousand dirhems. Each took what he wanted
and the rest they buried in a corner of the room. Then they set
on food and sat down to eat. Presently my brother heard a strange
pair of jaws wagging at his side; so he said to his comrades,
"There is a stranger amongst us;" and putting out his hand,
caught hold of that of the intruder. Therewith they all fell on
him and beat him, crying out, "O Muslims, a thief is come in to
us, seeking to take our property!" So much people flocked to
them, whereupon the owner of the house caught hold of the blind
men and shutting his eyes, feigned to be blind like unto them, so
that none doubted of it. Then he complained of them, even as they
of him, crying out, "O Muslims, I appeal to God and the Sultan
and the chief of the police! I have a grave matter to make known
to the chief of the police." At this moment, up came the watch
and seizing them all, dragged them before the chief of the
police, who enquired what was the matter. Quoth the spy, "See
here; thou shalt come at nought except by torture: so begin by
beating me, and after me, beat this my captain." And he pointed
to my brother. So they threw the man down and gave him four
hundred strokes on the backside. The beating pained him, and he
opened one eye; and as they redoubled their blows, he opened the
other. When the chief of the police saw this, he said to him,
"What is this, O accursed one?" "Give me the seal-ring of
pardon!" replied he. "We are four who feign ourselves blind and
impose upon people, that we may enter houses and gaze upon women
and contrive for their corruption. In this way, we have gotten
much money, even twelve thousand dirhems. So I said to my
comrades, 'Give me my share, three thousand dirhems.' But they
fell on me and beat me and took away my money, and I appeal to
God and thee for protection; better thou have my share than they.
So, an thou wouldst know the truth of my words, beat each of the
others more than thou hast beaten me and he will surely open his
eyes." The prefect bade begin with my brother: so they bound him
to the whipping-post,[FN#104] and the prefect said, "O rascals,
do ye abjure the gracious gifts of God and pretend to be blind?"
"Allah! Allah!" cried my brother, "by Allah, there is not one
amongst us who can see!" Then they beat him, till he fainted and
the prefect said, "Leave him till he revives and then beat him
again." And he caused each of the others to be beaten with more
than three hundred blows, whilst the sham blind man stood by,
saying to them, "Open your eyes, or you will be beaten anew."
Then he said to the prefect, "Send some one with me to fetch the
money, for these fellows will not open their eyes, lest they be
put to shame before the folk." So the prefect sent to fetch the
money and gave the impostor three thousand dirhems to his
pretended share. The rest he took for himself and banished the
three blind men from the city. But, O Commander of the Faithful,
I went out and overtaking my brother, questioned him of his case;
whereupon he told me what I have told thee. So I carried him back
privily into the city and appointed him in secret wherewithal to
eat and drink.' The Khalif laughed at my story and said, 'Give
him a present and let him go.' By Allah,' rejoined I, 'I will
take nothing till I have made known to the Commander of the
Faithful what happened to my other brothers, for I am a man of
few words.' Then I went on as follows
Story of the Barber's Fourth Brother.
'My fourth brother, the one-eyed, was a butcher at Baghdad, who
sold meat and reared rams; and the notables and men of wealth
used to buy meat of him, so that he amassed much wealth and got
him cattle and houses. He fared thus a long while' till one day,
as he was sitting in his shop, there came up to him an old man
with a long beard, who laid down some money and said, "Give me
meat for this." So he gave him his money's worth of meat, and the
old man went away. My brother looked at the money he had paid
him, and seeing that it was brilliantly white, laid it aside by
itself. The old man continued to pay him frequent visits for five
months, and my brother threw the money he received from him into
a chest by itself. At the end of this time, he thought to take
out the money to buy sheep; so he opened the chest, but found in
it nothing but white paper, cut round. When he saw this, he
buffeted his face and cried out, till the folk came round him and
he told them his story, at which they wondered. Then he rose, as
of his wont, and slaughtering a ram, hung it up within the shop;
after which he cut off some of the meat and hung it up outside,
saying the while, "Would God that pestilent old man would come!"
And surely before long up came the old man, with his money in his
hand; whereupon my brother rose and caught hold of him, crying
out, "Come to my help, O Muslims, and hear what befell me with
this scoundrel!" When the old man heard this, he said to him, "An
thou loose me not, I will expose thee before the folk!" "In what
wilt thou expose me?" asked my brother, and the other replied,
"In that thou sellest man's flesh for mutton." "Thou liest, O
accursed one!" cried my brother: and the old man said, "He is the
accursed one who has a man hanging up in his shop." "If it be as
thou sayest," rejoined my brother, "I give thee leave to take my
property and my life." Then said the old man, "Ho, people of the
city! an ye would prove the truth of my words, enter this man's
shop." So they rushed into the shop, when they saw the ram was
become a dead man hanging up and seized on my brother, crying
out, "O infidel! O villain!" And his best friends fell to beating
him and saying, "Dost thou give us man's flesh to eat?" Moreover,
the old man struck him on the eye and put it out. Then they
carried the carcase to the chief of the police, to whom said the
old man, "O Amir, this fellow slaughters men and sells their
flesh for mutton, and we have brought him to thee; so arise and
execute the justice of God, to whom belong might and majesty!" My
brother would have defended himself, but the prefect refused to
hear him and sentenced him to receive five hundred blows with a
stick and to forfeit all his property. And indeed, but for his
wealth, they had put him to death. Then he banished him from the
city and my brother fared forth at a venture, till he came to a
great city, where he thought well to set up as a cobbler. So he
opened a shop and fell to working for his living. One day, as he
went on an occasion, he heard the tramp of horse, and enquiring
the cause, was told that the King was going out to hunt and
stopped to look on his state. It chanced that the King's eye met
his, whereupon he bowed his head, saying, "I take refuge with God
from the evil of this day!" And drawing bridle, rode back to his
palace, followed by his retinue. Then he gave an order to his
guards, who seized my brother and beat him grievously, till he
was well-nigh dead, without telling him the reason: after which
he returned to his shop, in a sorry plight, and told one of the
King's household, who laughed till he fell backward and said to
him, "O my brother, know that the King cannot endure the sight of
a one-eyed man; especially if he be blind of the left eye, in
which case, he does not let him go without killing him." When my
brother heard this, he resolved to fly that city, so went forth
and repaired to another country, where he was known of none. Here
he abode a long while, till one day, being heavy at heart for
what had befallen him, he went out to divert himself. As he was
walking along, he heard the tramp of horse behind him; whereupon
he exclaimed, "The judgment of God is upon me!" and looked out
for a hiding-place, but found none. At last he saw a closed door,
and pushing against it, it yielded and he found himself in a long
corridor, in which he took refuge. Hardly had he done so, when
two men laid hold of him, exclaiming, "Praise be to God, who hath
delivered thee into our hands, O enemy of Allah! These three
nights thou hast bereft us of sleep and given us no peace and
made us taste the agonies of death!" "O folk," said my brother,
"what ails you?" And they answered, "Thou givest us the change
and goest about to dishonour us and to murder the master of the
house! Is it not enough that thou hast brought him to beggary,
thou and thy comrades? But give us up the knife, wherewith thou
threatenest us every night." Then they searched him and found in
his girdle the knife he used to cut leather; and he said, "O
folk, have the fear of God before your eyes and maltreat me not,
for know that my story is a strange one." "What is thy story?"
asked they. So he told them what had befallen him, hoping that
they would let him go; however, they paid no heed to what he
said, but beat him and tore off his clothes, and finding on his
sides the marks of beating with rods, said, "O accursed one,
these scars bear witness to thy guilt!" Then they carried him to
the chief of the police, whilst he said to himself, "I am undone
for my sins and none can save me but God the Most High!" The
prefect said to him, "O villain, what made thee enter their house
with murderous intent?" "O Amir," replied my brother, "I conjure
thee by Allah, hear my words and hasten not to condemn me!" But
the two men said to the prefect, "Wilt thou listen to a robber,
who beggars the folk and has the scars of beating on his back?"
When the Amir saw the scars on my brother's sides, he said to
him, "They had not done this to thee, save for some great crime."
And he sentenced him to receive a hundred lashes. So they flogged
him and mounting him on a camel, paraded him about the city,
crying out, "This is the reward and the least of the reward of
those who break into people's houses!" Then they thrust him forth
the city, and he wandered at random, till I heard what had
befallen him and going in search of him, questioned him of his
case. So he told me all that passed and I carried him back
privily to Baghdad, where I made him an allowance for his living.
Story of the Barber's Fifth Brother.
My fifth brother, he of the cropt ears, O Commander of the
Faithful, was a poor man, who used to ask alms by night and live
by day on what he got thus. Now, our father, who was an old man,
far advanced in years, fell sick and died, leaving us seven
hundred dirhems. So we took each of us a hundred; but when my
brother received his share, he was at a loss to know what to do
with it, till he bethought him to buy glass of all sorts and sell
it at a profit. So he bought a hundred dirhems' worth of glass
and putting it in a great basket, sat down, to sell it, on a
raised bench, at the foot of a wall, against which he leant his
back. As he sat, with the basket before him: he fell to musing in
himself and said, "I have laid out a hundred dirhems on this
glass and I will sell it for two hundred, with which I will buy
other glass and sell it for four hundred; nor will I cease to
buy and sell thus, till I have gotten much wealth. With this I
will buy all kinds of merchandise and jewels and perfumes and
gain great profit on them, till, God willing, I will make my
capital a hundred thousand dirhems. Then I will buy a handsome
house, together with slaves and horses and trappings of gold,
and eat and drink, nor will I leave a singing-man or woman in
the city but I will have them to sing to me. As soon as I have
amassed a hundred thousand dirhems,[FN#105] I will send out
marriage-brokers to demand for me in marriage the daughters of
kings and viziers; and I will seek the hand of the Vizier's
daughter, for I hear that she is perfect in beauty and of
surpassing grace. I will give her a dowry of a thousand dinars,
and if her father consent, well; if not, I will take her by
force, in spite of him. When I return home, I will buy ten little
eunuchs and clothes for myself such as are worn by kings and
sultans and get me a saddle of gold, set thick with jewels of
price. Then I will mount and parade the city, with slaves before
and behind me, whilst the folk salute me and call down blessings
upon me: after which I will repair to the Vizier, the girl's
father, with slaves behind and before me, as well as on my either
hand. When he sees me, he will rise and seating me in his own
place, sit down below me, for that I am his son-in-law. Now I
will have with me two eunuchs with purses, in each a thousand
dinars, and I will deliver him the thousand dinars of the dowry
and make him a present of other thousand, that he may have cause
to know my nobility and generosity and greatness of mind and the
littleness of the world in my eyes; and for ten words he proffers
me, I will answer him two. Then I will return to my house, and if
one come to me on the bride's part, I will make him a present of
money and clothe him in a robe of honour; but if he bring me a
present, I will return it to him and will not accept it, that
they may know that I am great of soul. Then I will command them
to bring her to me in state and will order my house fittingly in
the meantime. When the time of the unveiling is come, I will don
my richest clothes and sit down on a couch of brocaded silk,
leaning on a cushion and turning neither to the right nor to the
left, for the haughtiness of my mind and the gravity of my
understanding. My wife shall stand before me like the full moon,
in her robes and ornaments, and I, of my pride and my disdain,
will not look at her, till all who are present shall say to me,
'O my lord, thy wife and thy handmaid stands before thee: deign
to look upon her! for standing is irksome to her.' And they will
kiss the earth before me many times, whereupon I will lift my
eyes and give one glance at her, then bend down my head again.
Then they will carry her to the bride-chamber, and meanwhile I
will rise and change my clothes for a richer suit. When they
bring in the bride for the second time, I will not look at her
till they have implored me several times, when I will glance at
her and bow down my head; nor will I leave to do thus, till they
have made an end of displaying her, when I will order one of my
eunuchs to fetch a purse of five hundred dinars and giving it to
the tire-women, command them to lead me to the bride-chamber.
When they leave me alone with the bride, I will not look at her
or speak to her, but will lie by her with averted face, that she
may say I am high of soul. Presently her mother will come to me
and kiss my head and hands and say to me, 'O my lord, look on thy
handmaid, for she longs for thy favour, and heal her spirit. But
I will give her no answer; and when she sees this, she will come
and kiss my feet repeatedly and say, 'O my lord, verily my
daughter is a beautiful girl, who has never seen man; and if thou
show her this aversion, her heart will break; so do thou incline
to her and speak to her.' Then she will rise and fetch a cup of
wine, and her daughter will take it and come to me; but I will
leave her standing before me, whilst I recline upon a cushion of
cloth of gold, and will not look at her for the haughtiness of my
heart, so that she will think me to be a Sultan of exceeding
dignity and will say to me, 'O my lord, for God's sake, do not
refuse to take the cup from thy servant's hand, for indeed I am
thy handmaid.' But I will not speak to her, and she will press
me, saying, 'Needs must thou drink it,' and put it to my lips.
Then I will shake my fist in her face and spurn her with my foot
thus." So saying, he gave a kick with his foot and knocked over
the basket of glass, which fell to the ground, and all that was
in it was broken. "All this comes of my pride!" cried he, and
fell to buffeting his face and tearing his clothes and weeping.
The folk who were going to the Friday prayers saw him, and some
of them looked at him and pitied him, whilst others paid no heed
to him, and in this way my brother lost both capital and profit.
Presently there came up a beautiful lady, on her way to the
Friday prayers, riding on a mule with a saddle of gold and
attended by a number of servants and filling the air with the
scent of musk, as she passed along. When she saw the broken glass
and my brother weeping, she was moved to pity for him; so she
asked what ailed him and was told that he had a basket full of
glass, by the sale of which he thought to make his living, but it
was broken, and this was the cause of his distress. So she called
one of her attendants and said to him, "Give this poor man what
is with thee." And he gave my brother a purse in which he found
five hundred dinars, whereupon he was like to die for excess of
joy and called down blessings on her. Then he returned to his
house, a rich man; and as he sat considering, some one knocked at
the door. So he rose and opened and saw an old woman whom he knew
not. "O my son," said she, "the time of prayer is at hand, and I
have not yet made the ablution; so I beg thee to let me do so in
thy house." "I hear and obey," replied he, and bade her come in.
So she entered and he brought her an ewer, wherewith to wash, and
sat down, beside himself for joy in the dinars When she had made
an end of her ablutions, she came up to where he sat and prayed a
two-bow prayer, after which she offered up a goodly prayer my
brother, who thanked her and putting his hand to the bag of
money, gave her two dinars, saying in himself, "This is an alms
from me." "Glory to God!" exclaimed she. "Why dost thou look on
one, who loves thee, as if she were a beggar? Put up thy money! I
have no need of it; or if thou want it not, return it to her who
gave it thee, when thy glass was broken." "O my mother," asked
he, "how shall I do to come at her?" "O my son," replied she,
"she hath an inclination for thee, but she is the wife of a
wealthy man of the city; so take all thy money with thee and
follow me, that I may guide thee to thy desire: and when thou art
in company with her, spare neither fair words nor persuasion, and
thou shalt enjoy her beauty and her wealth to thy heart's
content." So my brother took all his money and rose and followed
the old woman, hardly believing in his good fortune. She led him
on till they came to the door of a great house, at which she
knocked, and a Greek slave-girl came out and opened to them. Then
the old woman took my brother and brought him into a great
saloon, spread with magnificent carpets and hung with curtains,
where he sat down, with his money before him and his turban on
his knee. Presently in came a young lady richly dressed, never
saw eyes handsomer than she; whereupon my brother rose to his
feet, but she smiled upon him and welcoming him, signed to him to
be seated. Then she bade shut the door and taking my brother by
the hand, led him to a private chamber, furnished with various
kinds of brocaded silk. Here he sat down and she seated herself
by his side and toyed with him awhile; after which she rose and
saying, "Do not stir till I come back," went away. After awhile,
in came a great black slave, with a drawn sword in his hand, who
said to him, "Woe to thee! who brought thee hither and what dost
thou want?" My brother could make no answer, being tongue-tied
for fear; so the black seized him and stripping him of his
clothes, beat him with the flat of his sword till he swooned
away. Then the pestilent black concluded that he was dead, and my
brother heard him say, "Where is the salt-wench?" Whereupon in
came a slave-girl, with a great dish of salt, and the black
strewed salt upon my brother's wounds; but he did not stir, lest
he should know that he was alive and finish him. Then the
salt-girl went away and the black cried out, "Where is the
cellaress?" With this in came the old woman, and taking my
brother by the feet, dragged him to an underground vault, where
she threw him down upon a heap of dead bodies. There he remained
two whole days, but God made the salt the means of saving his
life, for it stayed the flow of blood. Presently, he found
himself strong enough to move; so he rose and opening the
trap-door, crept out fearfully; and God protected him, so that he
went on in the darkness and hid himself in the vestibule till the
morning, when he saw the cursed old woman sally forth in quest of
other prey. So he went out after her, without her knowledge, and
made for his own house, where he dressed his wounds and tended
himself till he was whole. Meanwhile he kept a watch upon the old
woman and saw her accost one man after another and carry them to
the house. However, he said nothing; but as soon as he regained
health and strength, he took a piece of stuff and made it into a
bag, which he filled with broken glass and tied to his middle.
Then he disguised himself in the habit of a foreigner, that none
might know him, and hid a sword under his clothes. Then he went
out and presently falling in with the old woman, accosted her and
said to her, with a foreign accent, "O dame, I am a stranger, but
this day arrived here, and know no one. Hast thou a pair of
scales wherein I may weigh nine hundred dinars? I will give
thee somewhat of the money for thy pains." "I have a son, a
moneychanger," replied she, "who has all kinds of scales; so come
with me to him, before he goes out, and he will weigh thy gold
for thee." And he said, "Lead the way." So she led him to the
house and knocked at the door; and the young lady herself came
out and opened it; whereupon the old woman smiled in her face,
saying, "I bring thee fat meat to-day." Then the damsel took him
by the hand and carrying him to the same chamber as before, sat
with him awhile, then rose and went out, bidding him stir not
till she came back. Ere long in came the villainous black, with
his sword drawn, and said to my brother, "Rise, O accursed one!"
So he rose and as the slave went on before him, he drew the sword
from under his clothes and smiting him with it, made his head fly
from his body; after which he dragged the corpse by the feet to
the vault and cried out, "Where is the salt-wench?" Up came the
girl with the dish of salt, and seeing my brother sword in hand,
turned to fly; but he followed her and smote her and struck off
her head. Then he called out, "Where is the cellaress?" And in
came the old woman, to whom said he, "Dost thou know me, O
pestilent old woman?" "No, my lord," replied she; and he said, "I
am he of the five hundred dinars, to whose house thou camest to
make the ablution and pray, and whom thou didst after lure
hither." "Fear God and spare me!" exclaimed she. But he paid no
heed to her and striking her with the sword, cut her in four.
Then he went in search of the young lady; and when she saw him,
her reason fled and she called out for mercy. So he spared her
and said to her, "How camest thou to consort with this black?"
Quoth she, "I was slave to a certain merchant and the old woman
used to visit me, till I became familiar with her. One day she
said to me, 'We have to-day a wedding at our house, the like of
which was never beheld, and I wish thee to see it.' 'I hear and
obey,' answered I, and rising, donned my handsomest clothes and
jewellery and took with me a purse containing a hundred dinars.
Then she brought me hither, and hardly had I entered the house,
when the black seized on me, and I have remained in this case
these three years, through the perfidy of the accursed old
woman." Then said my brother, "Is there aught of his in the
house?" "He had great store of wealth," replied she: "and if thou
canst carry it away, do so, and may God prosper it to thee!" Then
she opened to him several chests full of purses, at which he was
confounded, and said to him, "Go now and leave me here and fetch
men to carry off the money." So he went out and hired ten men,
but, when he returned, he found the door open and the damsel
gone, and nothing left but a little of the money and the
household stuff. By this, he knew that she had cheated him; so he
opened the closets and took what was in them, together with the
rest of the money, leaving nothing in the house, and passed the
night in all content. When he arose in the morning, he found at
the door a score of troopers, who seized him, saying, "The chief
of the police seeks for thee." My brother implored them to let
him return to his house, but they would grant him no delay,
though he offered them a large sum of money, and binding him fast
with cords, carried him off. On the way, there met them a friend
of my brother, who clung to his skirts and implored him to stop
and help to deliver him from their hands. So he stopped and
enquired what was the matter; to which they replied, "The chief
of the police has ordered us to bring this man before him, and we
are doing so." The man interceded with them and offered them five
hundred dinars to let my brother go, saying, "Tell the magistrate
that ye could not find him." But they refused and dragged him
before the prefect, who said to him, "Whence hadst thou these
stuffs and money?" Quoth my brother, "Grant me indemnity." So the
magistrate gave him the handkerchief of pardon, and he told him
all that had befallen him, from first to last, including the
flight of the damsel, adding, "Take what thou wilt, so thou leave
me enough to live on." But the prefect took the whole of the
stuff and money for himself and fearing lest the affair should
reach the Sultan's ears, said to my brother, "Depart from this
city, or I will hang thee." "I hear and obey," replied my
brother, and set out for another town. On the way thieves fell on
him and stripped him and beat him and cut off his ears. But I
heard of his misfortunes and went out after him, taking him
clothes, and brought him back privily to the city, where I made
him an allowance for meat and drink.