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thwarts me, I turn him away, but he who is patient has his
desire. O my lady, replied he, I am thy slave and in the
hollow of thy hand. Know then, continued she, that God has
made me passionately fond of frolic, and whoso falls in with my
humour comes by what he wishes. Then she ordered the damsels to
sing with loud voices, and they sang, till the whole company was
in ecstasy: after which she said to one of the maids, Take thy
lord and do what is wanting to him and bring him back to me
forthright. So the damsel took my brother, who knew not what she
would do with him; but the old woman came up to him and said, Be
patient; there remains but little to do. At this his face
cleared and he said, Tell me what she would have the maid do
with me. Nothing but good, replied she, as I am thy ransom.
She only wishes to dye thine eyebrows and pluck out thy
moustaches. Quoth he, As for the dyeing of my eyebrows, that
will come off with washing, but the plucking out of my moustaches
will be irksome. Beware of crossing her, said the old woman;
for her heart is set on thee. So my brother suffered them to
dye his eyebrows and pluck out his moustaches, after which the
damsel returned to her mistress and told her. Quoth she, There
is one thing more to be done; thou must shave his chin, that he
may be beardless. So the maid went back and told my brother what
her mistress bade her do, whereupon cried my fool of a brother,
How can I do what will dishonour me among the folk? But the old
woman said, She only wishes to do thus with thee, that thou
mayst be as a beardless youth and that no hair may be left on thy
face to prick her; for she is passionately in love with thee. Be
patient and thou shalt attain thy desire. So he submitted to
have his beard shaved off and his face rouged, after which they
carried him back to the lady. When she saw him with his eyebrows
dyed, his whiskers and moustaches plucked out, his beard shaved
off and his face rouged, she was affrighted at him, then laughed
till she fell backward and said, O my lord, thou hast won my
heart with thy good nature! Then she conjured him, by her life,
to rise and dance; so he began to dance, and there was not a
cushion in the place but she threw it at him, whilst the damsels
pelted him with oranges and limes and citrons, till he fell down
senseless. When he came to himself, the old woman said to him,
Now thou hast attained thy desire. There is no more beating for
thee and there remains but one thing more. It is her wont, when
she is heated with wine, to let no one have to do with her till
she put off her clothes and remain stark naked. Then she will bid
thee strip, in like manner, and run before thee from place to
place, as if she fled from thee, and thou after her, till thy
yard be in good point, when she will stop and give herself up to
thee. So now rise and put off thy clothes. So he rose, well-nigh
196
beside himself, and stripped himself stark naked; whereupon the
lady stripped also and saying to my brother, Follow me, if thou
desire aught, set off running in at one place and out at another
and he after her, transported for desire, till his yard rose, as
he were mad. Presently she entered a dark passage, and in
following her, he trod upon a soft place, which gave way with
him, and before he knew where he was, he found himself in the
midst of the market of the fell-mongers, who were calling skins
for sale and buying and selling. When they saw him in this
plight, naked, with yard on end, shaven face, dyed eyebrows and
rouged cheeks, they cried out and clapped their hands at him and
flogged him with skins upon his naked body, till he swooned away;
when they set him on an ass and carried him to the chief of the
police, who said, What is this? Quoth they, This fellow came
out upon us from the Vizier s house, in this plight. So the
prefect gave him a hundred lashes and banished him from Baghdad.
However, I went out after him and brought him back privily into
the city and made him an allowance for his living, though, but
for my generous disposition, I had not put up with such a fellow.
Story of the Barber s Third Brother
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! [FN103] 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
197
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 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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thwarts me, I turn him away, but he who is patient has his
desire. O my lady, replied he, I am thy slave and in the
hollow of thy hand. Know then, continued she, that God has
made me passionately fond of frolic, and whoso falls in with my
humour comes by what he wishes. Then she ordered the damsels to
sing with loud voices, and they sang, till the whole company was
in ecstasy: after which she said to one of the maids, Take thy
lord and do what is wanting to him and bring him back to me
forthright. So the damsel took my brother, who knew not what she
would do with him; but the old woman came up to him and said, Be
patient; there remains but little to do. At this his face
cleared and he said, Tell me what she would have the maid do
with me. Nothing but good, replied she, as I am thy ransom.
She only wishes to dye thine eyebrows and pluck out thy
moustaches. Quoth he, As for the dyeing of my eyebrows, that
will come off with washing, but the plucking out of my moustaches
will be irksome. Beware of crossing her, said the old woman;
for her heart is set on thee. So my brother suffered them to
dye his eyebrows and pluck out his moustaches, after which the
damsel returned to her mistress and told her. Quoth she, There
is one thing more to be done; thou must shave his chin, that he
may be beardless. So the maid went back and told my brother what
her mistress bade her do, whereupon cried my fool of a brother,
How can I do what will dishonour me among the folk? But the old
woman said, She only wishes to do thus with thee, that thou
mayst be as a beardless youth and that no hair may be left on thy
face to prick her; for she is passionately in love with thee. Be
patient and thou shalt attain thy desire. So he submitted to
have his beard shaved off and his face rouged, after which they
carried him back to the lady. When she saw him with his eyebrows
dyed, his whiskers and moustaches plucked out, his beard shaved
off and his face rouged, she was affrighted at him, then laughed
till she fell backward and said, O my lord, thou hast won my
heart with thy good nature! Then she conjured him, by her life,
to rise and dance; so he began to dance, and there was not a
cushion in the place but she threw it at him, whilst the damsels
pelted him with oranges and limes and citrons, till he fell down
senseless. When he came to himself, the old woman said to him,
Now thou hast attained thy desire. There is no more beating for
thee and there remains but one thing more. It is her wont, when
she is heated with wine, to let no one have to do with her till
she put off her clothes and remain stark naked. Then she will bid
thee strip, in like manner, and run before thee from place to
place, as if she fled from thee, and thou after her, till thy
yard be in good point, when she will stop and give herself up to
thee. So now rise and put off thy clothes. So he rose, well-nigh
196
beside himself, and stripped himself stark naked; whereupon the
lady stripped also and saying to my brother, Follow me, if thou
desire aught, set off running in at one place and out at another
and he after her, transported for desire, till his yard rose, as
he were mad. Presently she entered a dark passage, and in
following her, he trod upon a soft place, which gave way with
him, and before he knew where he was, he found himself in the
midst of the market of the fell-mongers, who were calling skins
for sale and buying and selling. When they saw him in this
plight, naked, with yard on end, shaven face, dyed eyebrows and
rouged cheeks, they cried out and clapped their hands at him and
flogged him with skins upon his naked body, till he swooned away;
when they set him on an ass and carried him to the chief of the
police, who said, What is this? Quoth they, This fellow came
out upon us from the Vizier s house, in this plight. So the
prefect gave him a hundred lashes and banished him from Baghdad.
However, I went out after him and brought him back privily into
the city and made him an allowance for his living, though, but
for my generous disposition, I had not put up with such a fellow.
Story of the Barber s Third Brother
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! [FN103] 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
197
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 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]