The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition) (47 page)

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when the chief heard the steward's words, he said to the hangman, “Release the Christian, and hang this man, on the strength of his confession.” The hangman, after releasing the Christian, made the steward stand under the gallows, put the rope around his neck, and was about to hang him, when the Jewish physician made his way through the crowd and cried out to the hangman, “Stop! This man did not kill the fellow; I am the one who killed him. Last night I was sitting at home after the markets closed, when a man and a woman knocked at the door. When the maid went down and opened the door, she found that they had a sick person with them. They gave the maid a quarter-dinar, and she brought it up to me and told me about them, but no sooner had she come up than they rushed in and placed the sick person at the top of the stairs. When I went down, I stumbled on him, and the two of us rolled to the bottom of the stairs, and he died instantly. No one was the cause of his death but I. Then my wife and I carried the dead hunchback to the roof and let him down, through the windshaft, into the house of this steward, which adjoins ours, and left him standing in the corner. When the steward came home, he found a man standing there and, thinking that he was a thief, hit him with a club, knocking him down flat on his face, and concluded that he had killed him, whereas in truth none killed him but I. Is it not enough for me to have involuntarily and unwillingly killed one Muslim, without burdening my conscience with the death of another Muslim? Don't hang him, for no one killed the hunchback but I.”

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!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when the chief heard the Jew's words, he said to the hangman, “Release the steward and hang the Jew.” The hangman seized the Jew and put the rope around his neck, when the tailor made his way through the crowd and said to the hangman, “Stop! This man did not kill him, and none killed him but I.” Then turning to the chief, he said, “My lord, none killed the hunchback but I. Yesterday I went out to see the sights, and when I returned in the evening, I met the hunchback, who was drunk and singing and playing on the tambourine. I invited him home with me and then went out, bought fried fish for him, and brought it back. Then we sat to eat, and I took a piece of fish and crammed it down his throat, and he choked on a bone and died instantly. My wife and I were frightened, and we carried him to the Jew's house. We knocked at the door, and when the maid came down and opened the door, I said to her, ‘Go up and tell your master that there are a man and a woman downstairs, with a sick person for him to see,' handing her a quarter-dinar to give to her master. As soon as she went up, I carried the hunchback to the top of the stairs, propped him up, and went down and ran with my wife. When the Jew came down, he stumbled against the hunchback and thought that he had killed him.” Then the tailor turned to the Jew and asked, “Isn't this the truth?” The Jew replied, “Yes, this is the truth.” Then turning back to the chief, the tailor said, “Release the Jew and hang me, since I am the one who killed the hunchback.” When the chief heard the tailor's words, he marveled at the adventure of the hunchback and said, “There is a mystery behind this story, and it should be recorded in the books, even in letters of gold.” Then he said to the hangman, “Release the Jew and hang the tailor on his own confession.” The hangman released the Jew and placed the tailor under the gallows, saying to the chief, “I am tired of stringing up this man and releasing that, without any result.” Then he put the rope around the tailor's neck and threw the other end over the pulley.

It happened that the hunchback was the favorite clown of the king of China, who could not bear to be without him even for the batting of an eye, so that when the hunchback got drunk and failed to make his appearance that night . . .

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!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when the hunchback got drunk and failed to make his appearance before the king that night, and when the king waited for him in vain the next day until it was close to noon, he at last inquired about him from one of those present, who replied, “I heard, O King, that the chief of the police found a dead hunchback and caught his murderer. But when he was about to hang him, a second and a third man came forward, and each claimed to be the murderer. They are still there, each telling the chief how the hunchback died.” When the king of China heard these words, he called out to one of his chamberlains, saying, “Go down and bring me everyone, the chief, the murdered man, and the murderers.” The chamberlain went down at once and arrived just when the hangman had put the rope around the tailor's neck and was about to hoist him up. He cried out to the hangman, “Stop!” and, turning to the chief, relayed to him the king's order. The chief took the tailor, the Jew, the steward, and the Christian, together with the hunchback, carried on a litter, and brought them all before the king. He kissed the ground before him and related to him their adventures with the hunchback, from beginning to end. When the king of China heard the story, he was very much amazed and moved to mirth, and he ordered that the story be recorded, saying to those around him, “Have you ever heard anything more amazing than the adventure of the hunchback?” The Christian broker came forward and, kissing the ground before the king, said, “O King of the age, with your leave, I will tell you a more amazing story that happened to myself, a story that will make even the stone weep.” The king replied, “Tell us your story.” The Christian said:

 

5.
Waxy substance secreted by the intestinal tract of the sperm whale, often found floating in the sea, and used in the manufacture of perfume.

6.
Pre-Islamic hero, and author of one of the Arabic Golden Odes.

[The Christian Broker's Tale: The Young Man with the Severed Hand and the Girl]

O KING, I
came as a stranger to your country, bringing merchandise with me, and was fated to stay here these many years. I was born a Copt,
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a native of Cairo. My father was a prominent broker, and when he died, I became a broker in his place and worked there for many years. One day, as I was sitting in the market of the fodder merchants in Cairo, a handsome and finely dressed young man, riding a tall ass, came up to me. He saluted me, and I rose in salute. Then he took out a handkerchief containing sesame and asked me, “How much is the measure worth?”

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!”

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The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the Christian broker said to the king of China:

O King of the age, I replied to the young man, “It is worth a hundred dirhams.” He said, “Take a measurer and some porters and come to the al-Jawli Caravansary,
⁸
by the Gate of Victory, where you will find me.” I rose and went to find a buyer, making the rounds of the sesame merchants, confectioners, and fodder dealers, and got one hundred dirhams per measure. Then I took with me four teams of porters and went with them to the al-Jawli Caravansary, where I found the young man waiting for me. As soon as he saw me, he rose and led me to the storeroom, saying, “Let the measurer enter to measure, while the porters load the donkeys.” The porters kept loading, one team coming and one team going, until they emptied the storeroom, carrying fifty measures in all, costing five thousand dirhams. Then the young man said to me, “Take ten dirhams per measure for your brokerage, and keep my share of four thousand and five hundred dirhams with you. When I finish selling the rest of my crop, I will come to you and take the money.” I replied, “Very well,” kissed his hand, and departed, surprised at his liberality.

For a month I sat waiting for him until he finally came and asked, “Where is the money?” I welcomed him and invited him to sit with me and have something to eat, but he refused and said, “Go and get the money, and in a little while I will come back to take it from you.” Then he departed on assback, while I went and brought the money and sat waiting for him. But again he did not show up for a month, and I said to myself, “This is indeed a liberal young man. He has left four thousand and five hundred dirhams of his money with me, for two full months, without coming to take it.” At last he came back, riding an ass, dressed in fine clothes, and looking as if he had just come from the bath.

But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then Dinarzad said, “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!”

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