The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (59 page)

T
HE
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UNDRED AND
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HIRD
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The following night Shahrazad said:

It is related, O happy King, that the tailor told the king of China that the barber told the guests that he said to the caliph:

 

9.
A late Abbasid caliph who ruled from
A.D
. 1226 to 1242.

[The Tale of the First Brother, the Hunchbacked Tailor]

THE ELDEST WAS
a tailor who worked in Baghdad, in a rented shop, opposite the house of a very rich man, who had a mill in the lower part of his house. One day, as my brother the hunchback sat sewing in his shop, he happened to raise his head and saw at the bay window a lady like the rising moon, looking at the people below. When he saw her, his heart was set on fire, and he kept gazing at the window all day long till evening, when he gave up and went home sadly. The following morning he came to the shop, sat in his place, and kept gazing as before. A while later she came to the window to look at the people, as usual, and when he saw her, he fell into a swoon. Then he came to himself and went home, in a sad state. On the third day, as he was sitting in his usual place, the lady noticed that his eyes were riveted on her and smiled at him, and he smiled back. Then she withdrew and sent her maid to him with a piece of fine linen wrapped in a handkerchief. The maid said to him, “My lady sends you greetings and asks you to do her a favor and cut out a blouse from this fabric and sew it for her.” He replied, “My friend, I hear and obey.” Then he cut out the cloth and finished sewing it the same day.

Early the following day the maid came to him and said, “My lady sends you greetings and would like to know how you have passed the night, for she herself has not tasted sleep, thinking of you. Now she bids you cut and sew a pair of trousers to wear with her blouse.” He replied, “I hear and obey,” and began to cut out the trousers and sew them diligently. A while later, the lady appeared at the window, greeted him, and did not let him leave until he finished the trousers and dispatched them to her. Then he went home, confused and unable to buy supper; so he borrowed some money from a neighbor and bought some food.

The following morning, as soon as he arrived at the shop, the maid came by and said, “My master wishes to see you.” When he heard her mention her master, he was terrified, thinking that her master had found out about him. But the maid said, “Don't be afraid. Nothing but good will come of this. My lady would like you to get acquainted with my master.” My brother felt happy, and when he went in, he greeted the husband, and the husband returned the greeting and handed him a very large piece of Dabiqi linen,
¹
saying, “Make this into shirts for me.”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

T
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UNDRED AND
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OURTH
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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the tailor told the king of China that the barber told the guests that he said to the caliph:

The husband said to my brother, “Make this into shirts for me.” My brother fell to work and cut out twenty shirts and as many trousers by nightfall, without stopping to eat. Then the husband asked my brother, “What is your fee?” My brother replied, “Twenty dirhams' worth,” The husband yelled at the maid, saying, “Bring the scales.” At that moment the lady approached, seemingly angry at my brother for accepting the money, and he, realizing how she felt, said, “By God, I will take nothing from you,” He took his work and went out, although he was sorely in need of money, and for three days all he ate was two loaves of bread and almost died from hunger.

Then the maid came to him and asked, “What have you done?” He replied, “They are finished,” and, carrying them, went with her to the husband, who proceeded to pay my brother his fee, but my brother, afraid of the lady, said, “I will take nothing.” Then he went home and spent the night without sleep from hunger. When he came to his shop the next morning, the maid came to him and said, “My master wishes to speak with you.” He went to the husband, who said, “I would like you to make me some robes.” So he cut out five robes and went home, feeling miserable, for he was broke and hungry. When he finished sewing the robes, he took them to the husband, who praised his work and called for a purse. My brother put out his hand to take it, but the lady signaled to him from behind her husband not to take anything. So he said to the husband, “My lord, there is no hurry; there is time.” Then he went out, sighing both for the money and the lady. He was beset by five things: love, destitution, hunger, nakedness, and toil; nonetheless, he kept up his resolve. The fact of the matter was that the lady, without letting my brother know, had told her husband about the situation and my brother's infatuation with her, and they had agreed to take advantage of him and make him sew for them for nothing, so that whenever he brought the finished work and the husband was about to pay him, she would keep her eye on him and forbid him to take the money.

Some time later they tricked him and married him to their maid, but when he wanted to go in to her, they said to him, “Sleep in the mill tonight, and tomorrow you will consummate your marriage.” My brother lay alone in the mill, and in the middle of the night, the miller, who had been sent by the husband, came in, saying, “What is the matter with this wretched mule? He stopped turning, and there is much wheat to be ground.” He filled the hoppers with grain, and going to my brother with a rope, tied him to the yoke.

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said to her sister, “What a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

T
HE
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H
UNDRED AND
F
IFTY
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IFTH
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the tailor told the king of China that the barber told the guests that he said to the caliph:

The miller tied my brother to the yoke and kept hitting him on the legs, while my brother kept turning the mill and grinding the wheat. And whenever he wanted to rest, the miller, pretending that he did not know that he was hitting a human being, would hit him and say, “You seem to have eaten too much, you wretched mule.” At daybreak the miller went away and left my brother still tied to the yoke and almost dead. Soon the maid came to him and said, “I am sorry for what has happened to you; my lady was unable to sleep last night, worrying about you.” But he could not find the tongue to answer her because of the toil and the beating.

Then he went home, and soon the fortuneteller who had earlier written down his horoscope came to him and greeted him, saying “May God preserve your life. I see in your looks the signs of dalliance, kisses, and bliss.” My brother replied, “May God curse you for a liar, you man with a thousand horns. By God, I did nothing all night but turn the mill, in place of the mule.” Then he told him what had happened to him, and the fortuneteller said, “Your star does not agree with hers.” Then my brother went to his shop, hoping that someone might bring him something to sew, by which he might earn his subsistence.

Soon the maid came to him and said, “My lady wishes to speak with you,” but he replied, “I will have no more to do with you people.” The maid went back and told her lady, who, before my brother knew it, put her head out of the window, weeping and saying, “My darling, what is the matter with you?” But he did not reply. Then she swore to him that she was innocent of what had happened to him, and when he saw her beauty and charm, he forgot what had happened to him and was glad to see her.

A few days later, the maid came to him and said, “My lady sends you greetings and would like you to know that her husband will spend the night at the home of one of his friends. When he leaves, come to us and spend the night with her.” But the fact of the matter was that the husband had said to his wife, “It seems that the tailor has given up on you.” She replied, “Let me play another trick on him and ridicule him before the entire city.” But my brother did not know what was in store for him. As soon as it was dark, the maid came to him and took him to the house, and when the lady saw him, she said, “My lord, God knows how I have been longing for you.”

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “Sister, what a strange and entertaining story!” Shahrazad replied, “What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night if the king spares me and lets me live!”

T
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UNDRED AND
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IXTH
N
IGHT

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the tailor told the king of China that the barber told the guests that he said to the caliph:

My brother said to the lady, “My lady, give me a quick kiss,” but hardly had he spoken, when the husband emerged from a room, saying, “For shame! By God, I will not let you go until I deliver you to the chief of the police.” My brother kept imploring him, but he would not listen and carried him to the chief, who gave him a hundred lashes and, mounting him on a camel, paraded him throughout the city, with a crier proclaiming “This is the punishment of those who trespass upon other people's wives.” Then the prefect banished him from the city, and he left, not knowing where to go. But I went out after him and took care of him.