"Payne Volume VI" - читать интересную книгу автора (Paynes Versions)
THE LOVERS OF MEDINA.
[Quoth Ibrahim Abou Ishac], I was once in my house, when one knocked at the door; so my servant went out and returned, saying, 'A comely youth is at the door, seeking admission.' I bade admit him and there came in to me a young man, on whom were traces of sickness, and he said, 'I have long wished to meet thee, for I have an occasion to thee.' 'What is it?' asked I. Whereupon he pulled out three hundred diners and laying them before me, said, 'I beseech thee to accept these and compose me an air to two lines of verse I have made.' 'Repeat them to me,' said I. And he recited the following lines:
ааааа By Allah, O mine eyes that sinned against my heart of yore, Quench with your tears the fire of woe that burneth ever sore.
ааааа Fate is of those that chide at me for her, my heart's abode, Whom, though in grave-clothes I be lapped, I never shall see more
So I set the verses to a plaintive air and sang it to him; whereupon he swooned away and I thought that he was dead. However, after awhile, he came to himself and said to me, 'Repeat the air.' But I conjured him by Allah to excuse me, saying, 'I fear lest thou die.' 'Would it might be so!' replied he and ceased not to importune me, till I had pity on him and repeated it; whereupon he cried out grievously and fell into a worse [swoon] than before and I doubted not but that he was dead; but, after I had sprinkled rose-water on him awhile, he revived and sat up. I praised God for his recovery and laying the dinars before him, said to him, 'Take thy money and depart from me.' Quoth he, 'I have no need of the money and thou shalt have the like of it, if thou wilt repeat the air.' My heart rejoiced in the money and I said, 'I will repeat it, but on three conditions: the first, that thou abide with me and eat of my victual, till thou regain strength; the second, that thou drink wine enough to cheer thy heart; and the third, that thou tell me thy story.'
He agreed to this and ate and drank; after which he said, 'I am of the people of Medina and I went forth one day a-pleasuring with my friends and following the road to El Akic, (69) saw a company of girls and amongst them a damsel as she were a branch pearled with dew, with eyes whose glances stole away his soul who looked on them. They rested in the shade till the end of the day, when they went away, leaving in my heart wounds slow to heal. I returned [next day], to seek news of her, but found none who could tell me of her; so I sought her in the streets and markets, but could come on no trace of her; wherefore I fell ill of grief and told my case to one of my kinsmen, who said to me, "No harm shall befall thee: the days of spring are not yet past and by and by it will rain, whereupon she will go forth, and I will go out with thee, and do thou thy will." His words comforted my heart and I waited till El Akic ran [with water], when I went forth with my friends and kinsmen and sat in the same place as before. We had not sat long before up came the women, like horses running for a wager; and I said to a girl of my kindred, "Say to yonder damsel, 'Quoth yonder man to thee, "He did well who said:
ааааа She shot a shaft at me that pierced my bosom through and through Then turned away and by that act did wound and scars renew." ' "
So she went to her and repeated my words, to which she replied, saying, "Tell him that he said well who answered thus:
ааааа 'There is with us the like of that whereof thou dost complain: Patience belike, to heal our hearts relief shall soon ensue.'"
I refrained from further speech for fear of scandal and rose to go away. She rose at my rising, and I followed and she looked back at me, till she saw I had noted her abode. Then she began to come to me and I to go to her, so that we foregathered and met often, till the thing was noised abroad and grew notorious and her father came to know it. However, I ceased not to do my endeavour to meet her and complained of my case to my father, who assembled our kindred and repaired to her father, to ask her in marriage for me. But her father said, "Had this been proposed to me before he dishonoured her, I would have consented; but now the thing is notorious and I am loath to verify the saying of the folk."'
Then (continues Ibrahim) I repeated the air to him and he went away, after having acquainted me with his abode, and we became friends. Now I was devoted to the Barmecides; so next time Jaafer ben Yehya sat [to receive visits], I attended, as of my wont, and sang to him the young man's verses. They pleased him and he drank some cups of wine and said, 'Out on thee! Whose song is that?' So I told him the young man's story and he bade me ride to him and give him assurance of the attainment of his desire. Accordingly I fetched him to Jaafer, who asked him to repeat his story. He did so and Jaafer said, 'Trust me, I will marry thee to her.' So his heart was comforted and he abode with us.
On the morrow, Jaafer mounted and went in to Er Reshid, to whom he related the story. The Khalif was pleased with it and sending for the young man and myself, commanded me to repeat the air and drank thereto. Then he wrote to the governor of the Hejaz, bidding him send the girl's father and his household to his court in honourable fashion and spare no expense for their outfit. So, in a little while, they came and the Khalif, sending for the man, commanded him to marry his daughter to her lover; after which he gave him a hundred thousand dinars, and the man returned to his people. As for the young man, he abode one of Jaafer's boon-companions, till there happened what happened; (70) whereupon he returned with his household to Medina, may God the Most High have mercy upon all their souls!
EL MELIK EN NASIR AND HIS VIZIER
There was given to Abou Aamir ben Merwan, Vizier [to El Melik en Nasir of Egypt], (71) a boy of the Christians, than whom never fell eyes on a handsomer. En Nasir saw him and said to the Vizier, 'Whence comes this boy?' 'From God,' answered Abou Aamir; whereupon, 'Wilt thou fright us with stars,' quoth the King, 'and captive us with moons?' Abou Aamir excused himself to him and making up a present, sent it to him with the boy, to whom he said, 'Be thou part of the present: were it not of necessity, my soul had not consented to give thee away.' And he wrote with him these verses:
ааааа Behold the full moon, O my lord, that cometh to thy sky; For none, that heaven than earth of moons is worthier, may deny.
ааааа My soul, to pleasure thee, I give, nor ever yet of one, His soul to pleasure one who gave, before myself, heard I.
The thing pleased En Nasir and he requited him with much treasure and the Vizier became high in favour with him. After this, a slave-girl, one of the loveliest women in the world, was presented to the Vizier, and he feared lest this should come to the King's ears and he desire her, and the like should happen as with the boy. So he made up a present still costlier than the first and sent it with her to the King, together with these verses:
ааааа My lord, the very sun is this; the moon thou hadst before: So now these planets twain shall meet and glitter side by side;
ааааа A combination presaging fair fortune to my life. Do thou with them in all delight of Paradise abide;
ааааа For they, by Allah, have no third in beauty nor hast thou A second dominion in all the world so wide.
Wherefore his credit redoubled with En Nasir; but after awhile, one of his enemies maligned him to the King, alleging that there still lurked in him desire for the boy and that he ceased not to lust after him, whenever the North wind moved him, and to gnash his teeth for that he had given him away. Quoth the King, 'Wag not thou thy tongue at him, or I will cut off thy head.' However, he wrote Abou Aamir a letter, as from the boy, to the following effect: 'O my lord, thou knowest that thou wast all and one to me and that I never ceased from delight with thee. Albeit I am with the Sultan, yet would I choose rather solitude with thee, but that I fear the King's mischief: wherefore contrive thou to demand me of him.' This letter he sent to Abou Aamir by a little page, whom he enjoined to say, 'This is from such an one: the King never speaks to him.' When the Vizier read the letter and heard the cheating message, he smelt a rat and wrote on the back of the scroll the following lines:
ааааа After experience's laws, doth it become a man Of sense unto the lion's lair his steps foolwise to bend?
ааааа I'm none of those whose reason love and passion overcrow; Nor am I ignorant of that the envious do pretend.
ааааа Wert thou my soul, I gave thee up obediently, and now Shall soul, from body sundered, back again thereunto wend ?
THE ROGUERIES OF DELILEH THE CRAFTY AND HER DAUGHTER ZEYNEB THE TRICKSTRESS.
There lived in the Khalifate of Haroun er Reshid two men named Ahmed ed Denef and Hassan Shouman, past masters in trick and cunning, who had done rare things in their time; wherefore the Khalif invested them with dresses of honour and made them captains of the watch for Baghdad, Ahmed of the right hand and Hassan of the left hand. Moreover, to Ahmed he committed the ward of [the district] without [the city walls] and appointed each of them a stipend of a thousand dinars a month and forty men to be at their commandment. So Ahmed and Hassan went forth in company of the Amir Khalid, the Master of Police, attended each by his forty followers on horseback and preceded by the crier, proclaiming aloud and saying, 'By order of the Khalif, none is captain of the watch of the right hand but Ahmed ed Denef and none is captain of the watch of the left hand but Hassan Shouman, and it behoveth all to give ear to their word and pay them respect.'
Now there was in the city an old woman called Delileh the Crafty, who had a daughter by name Zeyneb the Trickstress. They heard the proclamation aforesaid and Zeyneb said to her mother, 'O my mother, see yonder fellow, Ahmed ed Denef. He came hither from Cairo, a fugitive, and played the double-dealer in Baghdad till he foisted himself into the Khalif's favour and is now become captain of the watch of the right hand, whilst that mangy knave Hassan Shouman is captain of the left hand, and each has a monthly wage of a thousand dinars and a table spread morning and evening, whilst we abide unemployed and neglected in this house, without estate and without honour, and have none to ask of us.'
Now Delileh was a past mistress in all manner of craft and trickery and double-dealing; she could wile the very serpents out of their holes and Iblis himself might have learnt deceit of her. Her father had been governor of the carrier-pigeons to the Khalif and used to rear them to carry letters and messages, wherefore each bird in time of need was dearer to the Khalif than one of his sons; and in this capacity he had a stipend of a thousand dinars a month. аMoreover, her husband had been town captain of Baghdad and had a monthly wage from the Khalif of a thousand dinars; but he died, leaving two daughters, one of whom was married and had a son, by name Ahmed el Lekit, and the other, Zeyneb, unmarried. So Zeyneb said to her mother, 'Up and play off some trick that may make us notorious in Baghdad, so haply we may get our father's stipends for ourselves.' 'As thy head liveth, O my daughter,' answered the old woman, 'I will play off such rogueries in Baghdad as never did Ahmed ed Denef nor Hassan Shouman!'
So saying, she rose and bound her face with the chinveil and donned clothes such as the Soufi Fakirs wear, trousers of white wool falling over her heels, and a gown of the like stuff and a broad girdle. Moreover, she took an ewer and filled it to the neck with water; after which she set three dinars in the mouth and stopped it up with palm fibre. Then she threw round her neck a rosary as big as a load of firewood and taking in her hand a flag, made of parti-coloured rags, red and yellow and green, went out, saying, 'Allah! Allah!' with tongue celebrating the praises of God, whilst her heart galloped in the race-course of abominations, seeking how she might play some sharping trick in the town. She fared on from street to street, till she came to an alley swept and watered and paved with marble, where she saw a vaulted gateway, with a threshold of alabaster, and a Moorish porter standing at the door, which was of sandal-wood, plated with brass and furnished with a ring of silver.
Now this house belonged to the Chief of the Khalif's Ushers, a man of great wealth in lands and houses and stipends, and he was called the Amir Hassan Sherr et Teric (72) for that his blow forewent his word. He was married to a handsome girl, whom he loved and who had made him swear, on the night of his going in to her, that he would take none other to wife nor lie abroad from her a night. One day, he went to the Divan and saw that each Amir had with him a son or two. Then he entered the bath and looking at his face in the mirror, saw that the white hairs in his beard outnumbered the black and said in himself, 'Will not He who took thy father vouchsafe thee a son?' So he went in to his wife, in an angry mood, and she said to him, 'Good-even to thee.' 'Away from my sight!' answered he. 'From the day I saw thee I have seen nothing of good.' 'How so?' asked she. Quoth he, 'On the night of my going in to thee, thou madest me swear to take no other wife than thee, and to-day I have seen each Amir with a son and some with two. So I bethought me of death and called to mind that I had been blessed with neither son nor daughter and that he who leaves no male child is not remembered. This, then, is the reason of my anger, for thou art barren and conceivest not by me.' 'The name of God be upon thee!' answered she. 'Indeed, I have worn out the mortars with beating wool and pounding drugs, and I am not to blame; the fault of my barrenness is with thee, for that thou art a snub-nosed mule and thy sperm is thin and impregnateth not neither getteth children.' Quoth he, 'When I return from my journey, I will take another wife.' And she said, 'My portion is with God!' Then he went out from her and each of them repented of the sharp words spoken to the other.
As the Amir's wife looked forth of her lattice, as she were a bride of the treasures, (73) for the jewellery upon her, Delileh espied her and seeing her clad in costly clothes and ornaments, said to herself, 'O Delileh, it would be a rare trick to entice yonder young lady from her husband's house and strip her of all her clothes and jewels and make off with them!' So she took up her stand under the windows of the Amir's house, and fell to calling aloud upon the name of God and saying, 'Be present, O ye friends of God!' Whereupon all the women of the street looked from their lattices and seeing the old woman clad, after the Soufi manner, in clothes of white wool, as she were a pavilion of light, said, 'God vouchsafe us a blessing by the intermission of this pious old woman, from whose face issueth light!' And Khatoun, the wife of the Amir Hassan, wept and said to her maid, 'Go down and kiss the hand of Sheikh Abou Ali, the porter, and say to him, " Let yonder pious old woman enter, so haply we may get a blessing of her."' So she went down to the porter and kissing his hand, said to him, 'Quoth my mistress to thee, "Let yonder pious old woman come in to her, so she may get a blessing of her;" and belike her benediction may extend to us likewise.' Accordingly, he went up to Delileh and kissed her hand, but she forbade him, saying, 'Away from me, lest my ablution be avoided! (74) Thou, also, O Abou Ali, art absorbed [in the contemplation of the Deity,] one of the elect of God and under His especial guardianship. Verily, He shall deliver thee from this servitude.'
Now the Amir owed the porter three months' wage and he was straitened for want thereof, but knew not how to recover it from him; so he said to the old woman, 'O my mother, give me to drink from thy pitcher, so I may have a blessing through thee.' So she took the pitcher from her shoulder and waved it in the air, so that the stopper flew out and the three diners fell to the ground. The porter saw them and picked them up, saying in himself, 'Glory to God! This old woman is one of the saints that have hidden treasures at their commandment! It hath been revealed to her that I am in want of money; so she hath conjured me these three diners out of the air.' Then said he to her, 'O my aunt, take these three diners that fell from thy pitcher.' 'Away with them from me!' answered she. 'I am of the folk that occupy not themselves with the things of the world. Take them and use them for thine own benefit, in lieu of those the Amir owes thee.' Quoth he, 'Glory to Allah for succour! This is of the chapter of revelation!'
Then the maid accosted her and kissing her hands; carried her up to her mistress, whom she found as she were a treasure, whose guardian spells had been done away; and Khatoun bade her welcome and kissed her hand. 'O my daughter,' said Delileh, 'I come not to thee but by God's [especial] advertisement.' Then Khatoun set food before her; but she said, 'O my daughter, I eat but of the food of Paradise and fast continually, breaking my fast but five days in the year. But I see thee troubled and desire that thou tell me the cause of thy trouble.' 'O my mother,' answered Khatoun, 'I made my husband swear, on my wedding-night, that he would take none other than me to wife, and he saw others with children and longed for them and said to me, " Thou art barren." And I answered, " Thou art a mule that begetteth not." Whereupon he left me in anger, saying, "When I come back from my journey, I will take another wife." So, O my mother, I fear lest he put me away and take another wife, for he hath houses and lands and stipends galore, and if he have children by another, they will possess the property from me.' 'O my daughter,' said Delileh, 'knowest thou not of my master, the Sheikh Abouihemlat, whom if a debtor visit, God quiteth him his debt, and if a barren woman, she conceiveth?' 'O my mother,' answered Khatoun, 'since the day of my wedding, I have not gone forth the house, no, not even to pay visits of congratulation or condolence.' Quoth the old woman, 'I will carry thee to him and do thou cast thy burden on him and make a vow to him; so peradventure, when thy husband returns from his journey, he will lie with thee and thou shalt conceive by him and bear a girl or a boy: but, be it male or female, it shall be a dervish of the Sheikh Aboulhemlat.'
So Khatoun rose and arraying herself in her richest clothes, donned all her jewellery and said to her maid, 'Keep thou an eye on the house.' And she said, 'I hear and obey, O my lady.' Then she went down and the porter met her and said to her, 'Whither away, O my lady?' 'I go to visit the Sheikh Aboulhemlat,' answered she; and he said, 'Be a year's fast incumbent on me! Verily yon old woman is of the saints of God and full of holiness! Moreover, O my lady, she hath hidden treasure at her commandment, for she gave me three diners of red gold and divined my case, without my asking her, and knew that I was needy.' Then the old woman went out with Khatoun, saying to her, 'God willing, O my daughter, when thou hast visited the Sheikh Aboulhemlat, there shall betide thee solace of soul and by God's leave thou shalt conceive, and thy husband shall love thee by the blessing of the Sheikh and shall never again say a despiteful word to thee.' Quoth Khatoun, 'I will go with thee to him, O my mother!' But Delileh said in herself, 'Where shall I strip her and take her clothes and jewellery, with the folk coming and going?' Then she said to her, 'O my daughter, walk thou behind me, within sight of me, for thy mother (75) is a woman sorely burthened; every one who hath a burden casteth it on me and all who have pious offerings (76) to make give them to me and kiss my hand.'
So the lady followed her at a distance, whilst her anklets tinkled and the coins and ornaments plaited in the tresses of her hair clinked as she went, till they reached the bazaar of the merchants. Presently, they came to the shop of a young merchant, by name Sidi Hassan, who had no hair on his face and was very handsome. He saw the lady coming and fell to casting stolen glances at her, which when the old woman saw, she beckoned to her and said, 'Sit down in this shop, till I return to thee.' So Khatoun sat down before the shop of the young merchant, who cast one glance at her, that cost him a thousand sighs. Then the old woman accosted him and saluted him, saying, 'Is not thy name Sidi Hassan,son of the merchant Muhsin?' 'Yes,' answered he; 'who told thee my name?' Quoth she, 'Folk of repute directed me to thee. Know that this young lady is my daughter and her father was a merchant, who died and left her much good. She is come of marriageable age and the wise say, " Offer thy daughter in marriage and not thy son; " and all her life she hath not come forth the house till this day. Now I have had a divine advertisement and it hath been commanded me in secret to marry her to thee; so, if thou art poor, I will give thee capital and will open thee two shops, instead of one.'
When the young merchant heard this, he said in himself, 'I asked God for a bride, and He hath given me three things, coin and caze and clothing.' Then he said to the old woman, 'O my mother, that which thou proposest to me is well; but this long while my mother saith to me, " I wish to marry thee," and I reply, " I will not marry, except on the sight of mine own eyes."' 'Rise and follow me,' answered Delileh, 'and I will show her to thee, naked.' So he rose and shut his shop and took a purse of a thousand diners, saying in himself, 'Belike we may need to buy somewhat or pay the fees for drawing up the [marriage] contract.' The old woman bade him walk behind rhe young lady, so as to keep her in sight, and said to herself, 'Where shall I carry the young merchant and the lady, that I may strip them?'
Then she walked on and Khatoun after her, followed by the young merchant, till she came to a dyery, kept by a master-dyer, by name Hajj Mohammed, a man of ill repute, cutting male and female, like the colocasia seller's knife, (77) and loving to eat both figs and pomegranates.' (78) He heard the tinkle of the ankle-rings and raising his head, saw the lady and the young man. Presently the old woman came up to him and said, 'Art thou not Hajj Mohammed?' 'Yes,' answered he. 'What dost thou want?' Quoth she, 'Folk of repute have directed me to thee. Look at yonder handsome girl, who is my daughter, and that comely beardless youth, who is my son. I brought them both up and spent much money on them. Now I have an old ruinous house, which I have shored up with wood, and the builder says to me, "Go and live in some other place, till this be repaired, lest perchance it fall upon thee." So I went forth to seek me a lodging, and people of worth directed me to thee, and I wish to lodge my son and daughter with thee.'Quoth the dyer in himself, 'Verily, here is fresh butter upon muffins come to me.' But he said to the old woman, 'True is it I have a house and saloon and upper chamber; but I cannot spare any part thereof, for I want it all for guests and for the indigo-growers [who come to me from time to time].' 'O my son,' answered she, 'it will but be for a month or two at the most, till our house be repaired, and we are strangers. Let the guest-chamber be shared between us and thee, and if thou desire that thy guests be ours, we will welcome them and eat and sleep with them.' So he gave her the keys, one big and one small and one crooked, and said to her, 'The big key is that of the house, the crooked one that of the saloon and the little one that of the upper chamber.'
Delileh took the keys and fared on, followed by the lady and the young merchant, till she came to the street in which was the house. She opened the door and entered, followed by the lady, to whom said she, 'O my daughter, this,' pointing to the saloon, 'is the lodging of the Sheikh Aboulhemlat; but go thou into the upper chamber and loose thy veil and wait till I come to thee.' So she went up and sat down. Presently up came the young merchant, whom Delileh carried into the saloon, saying, 'Sit down, whilst I fetch my daughter and show her to thee.' So he sat down and the old woman went up to Khatoun, who said to her, 'I wish to visit the Sheikh, before the folk come.' 'O my daughter,' said the old woman, 'we fear for thee.' 'Why so?' asked Khatoun. 'Because,' answered Delileh, 'here is a son of mine, a natural who knows not summer from winter, but goes ever naked. He is the Sheikh's deputy, and if he saw a girl like thee come to visit him, he would snatch her earrings and wound her ears and tear her silken clothes (79). So do thou doff thy jewellery and clothes and I will keep them for thee, till thou hast made thy visit.' So she did off her [upper] clothes and jewels and gave them to the old woman, who said, 'I will lay them for thee on the Sheikh's curtain, that a blessing may betide thee.'
Then she went out, leaving the lady in her shift and trousers, and hid the clothes and jewels in a place on the stairs; after which she betook herself to the young merchant, whom she found awaiting the girl, and he said, 'Where is thy daughter, that I may see her?' But she smote upon her breast and he said, 'What ails thee?' 'Would there were no such thing as ill and envious neighbours!' answered she. 'My neighbours saw thee enter the house with me and asked me of thee; and I said, "This is a bridegroom I have found for my daughter." They envied me on shine account and said to my daughter, "Is thy mother tired of maintaining thee, that she marries thee to a leper?" So I swore to her that she should see thee naked.' Quoth he, 'I take refuge with God from the envious!' and bearing his fore-arm, showed her that it was like silver. 'Have no fear,' said she; 'thou shalt see her naked, even as she shall see thee.' And he said, 'Let her come and see me.' Then he put off his sable pelisse and girdle and dagger and the rest of his clothes, except his shirt and trousers, and laid the purse of a thousand dinars with them. Quoth Delileh, 'Give them to me, that I may take care of them.' So she took them and fetching the girl's clothes and jewellery, went out with the whole and locked the door upon them.
She deposited her purchase with a druggist of her acquaintance and returned to the dyer, whom she found sitting, awaiting her. Quoth he, 'God willing, the house pleaseth thee?' 'There is a blessing in it,' answered she,'and I go now to fetch porters to carry our goods and bedding thither. But my children would have me bring them meat-patties; so do thou take this dinar and buy the patties and go and eat the morning meal with them.' 'Who shall guard the dyery meanwhile and the people's goods that are therein?' asked the dyer. 'Thy boy,' answered the old woman. 'So be it,' rejoined he and taking a covered dish, went out to do her bidding. As soon as he was gone, she fetched the clothes and jewels she had left with the druggist and going back to the dyery, said to the boy, 'Run after thy master, and I will not stir hence till you both return.' 'I hear and obey,' answered he and went away.
Presently, there came up an ass-driver, a scavenger, who had been out of work for a week, and she called to him, saying, 'Hither, O ass-driver!' So he came to her and she said, 'Knowest thou my son the dyer?' 'Yes,' answered he; 'I know him.' And she said, 'The poor fellow is insolvent and loaded with debts, and as often as he is put in prison, I set him free. Now they are about to declare him bankrupt and I am going to return the goods to their owners; so do thou lend me thine ass for that purpose and take this dinar to his hire. When I am gone, take the handsaw and empty out the vats and jars and break them, that, if there come an officer from the Cadi's court, he may find nothing in the dyery.' Quoth he, 'I owe the Hajj a kindness and will do somewhat for the love of God.'
So she laid the things on the ass and made for her own house; and [God] the Protector protected her, so that she arrived there in safety and went in to her daughter Zeyneb, who said to her, 'O my mother, my heart has been with thee! What hast thou done by way of roguery?' 'I have played off four tricks on four people,' answered Delileh; the wife of the Chief Usher, a young merchant, a dyer and an ass-driver, and have brought thee all their spoil on the latter's ass.' 'O my mother,' said Zeyneb, 'thou wilt nevermore be able to go about the town, for fear of the Chief Usher, whose wife's clothes and jewellery thou hast taken, and the merchant whom thou hast stripped, and the dyer whose customer's goods thou hast stolen and the owner of the ass.' 'Pshaw, my daughter!' rejoined the old woman, 'I reck not of them, save the ass-driver, who knows me.'
Meanwhile, the dyer bought the meat-patties and set out for the house, followed by his servant, bearing the food on his head. On his way thither, he passed his shop, where he found the ass-man breaking the vats and jars and saw that there was neither stuff nor liquor left in them and that the shop was in ruins. So he said to him, 'Hold thy hand, O ass-driver!' Whereupon the latter desisted and said, 'Praised be God for thy safety, O Hajj! Indeed, my heart was with thee.' 'Why so?' asked the dyer. 'Thou art become bankrupt and they have filed a docket of thine insolvency.' 'Who told thee this?' asked the dyer. 'Thy mother told me,' answered the other, 'and bade me break the jars and empty the vats, that the apparitors might find nothing in the shop, if they should come.' 'God confound thee!' cried the dyer. 'My mother died long ago.' And he beat his breast, saying, 'Alas for the loss of my goods and those of the folk!' The ass-man also wept and said, 'Alas, for the loss of my ass!' And he said to the dyer, 'Give me back my ass, that thy mother stole from me.' The dyer laid hold of him by the throat and fell to pummelling him, saying, 'Bring me the old woman;' whilst the other pummelled him back, saying, 'Give me back my ass.' So they beat and cursed each other, till the folk collected round them and one of them said, 'What is the matter, O Hajj Mohammed?' Quoth the ass-driver, 'I will tell thee the case,' and related to them his story, saying, 'I thought I was doing the dyer a good turn; but, when he saw me, he said, " My mother is dead," and beat his breast. And now I require my ass of him, for that it is he who hath put this trick on me, that he might make me lose my beast.'
Then said the folk to the dyer, 'O Hajj Mohammed, cost thou know this old woman, that thou didst trust her with the dyery and what was therein?' And he answered, saying, 'I know her not; but she took lodgings with me to-day, she and her son and daughter.' Quoth one, 'In my judgment, the dyer is bound to indemnify the ass-driver.' 'Why so?' asked another. 'Because, replied the first, 'he trusted not the old woman nor gave her his ass, but because he saw that the dyer had entrusted her with the dyery and its contents.' And a third said, 'O Hajj, since thou hast lodged her with thee, it behoves thee to get the man back his ass.' Then they made for the house, and the tale will come round to them again.
Meanwhile, the young merchant abode awaiting the old woman's coming with her daughter, but she came not; whilst the lady in like manner sat expecting her return with leave from her son, the possessed, the Sheikh's deputy, to go in to him. When she was weary of waiting, she rose to visit the Sheikh by herself and went down into the saloon, where she found the young merchant, who said to her, 'Come: where is thy mother, who brought me hither to marry thee?' 'My mother is dead,' answered she; 'art thou the old woman's son the ecstatic, the deputy of the Sheikh Aboulhemlat?' Quoth he, 'The swindling old beldam is no mother of mine; she hath cheated me and taken my clothes and a thousand dinars.' 'And me also hath she swindled,' said Khatoun; 'for she brought me to see the Sheikh Aboulhemlat and stripped me.' Quoth he, 'I look to thee for my clothes and my thousand dinars.' 'And I,' answered she, 'look to thee to make good my clothes and jewellery.'
At this moment in came the dyer and seeing them both stripped of their clothes, said to them, 'Tell me where your mother is.' So they told him their several cases and he exclaimed, 'Alas, for the loss of my goods and those of the folk!' And the ass-driver said, 'Alas for my ass! Give me my ass, O dyer!' Then said the dyer, 'This old woman is a sharper. Come forth, that I may lock the door.' Quoth the young merchant, 'It were a disgrace to thee that we should enter thy house, clothed, and leave it, naked.' So the dyer clad him and the damsel and sent her back to her house. Then he shut the dyery and said to the young merchant, 'Come, let us go and search for the old woman and hand her over to the chief of the police.' So they and the ass-man repaired to the house of the master of police and made their complaint to him. Quoth he, 'How many old women are there not in the town! Go and seek for her and lay hands on her and bring her to me, and I will torture her for you and make her confess.' So they went out and sought for her all round the town; and so we will leave them for the present.
Presently, Delileh said to her daughter, 'I have a mind to play off another trick.' 'O my mother,' answered Zeyneb, 'I fear for thee;' but the old woman said, 'I am like bean-husks, proof against fire and water.' So she rose and donning a handmaid's habit, of such as serve people of condition, went out to look for some one to swindle. Presently she came to a by-street, spread with carpets and lighted with hanging lamps, and heard a noise of singing-women and beating of tambourines. Here she saw a slave-girl, bearing on her shoulder a boy, clad in trousers embroidered with silver and velvet jacket, with a pearl-embroidered cap on his head and a collar of gold set with jewels about his neck. Now the house belonged to the Provost of the Merchants of Baghdad, and the boy was his son. Moreover, he had a virgin daughter, to boot, who was promised in marriage, and it was her betrothal they were celebrating that day. There was with her mother a company of ladies and singing-women, and whenever she went up or down, the boy clung to her. So she called the slave-girl and said to her, 'Take thy young master and play with him, till the company break up.'
Said Delileh to the maid, 'What festivities are these in your mistress's house?' 'She celebrates her daughter's betrothal to-day,' answered the girl, 'and she hath singing-women with her.' Quoth the old woman to herself, 'O Delileh, the thing to do is to spirit away the boy from the maid.' And she cried out, saying, 'O disgrace! O ill luck!' Then, pulling out a brass token, resembling a dinar, she said to the maid, who was a simpleton, 'Take this diner and go in to thy mistress and say to her, " Umm el Khair rejoices with thee and is beholden to thee for thy favours, and she and her daughters will visit thee on the day of the assembly and handsel the tiring-women."' 'O my mother,' said the girl, 'my young master here catches hold of his mother, whenever he sees her.' 'Give him to me,' answered the old woman, 'whilst thou goest in and comest back.'
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