“ ‘Young man,’ she said, ‘we’re late in making our payment on account of a matter that arose. You must, we realize, have thought badly of us. No doubt, you thought we’d tricked you.’
“ ‘You’ve removed all such thoughts now,’ I replied.
“ ‘Bring the scales,’ she said.
“I brought them. She paid me all my money, then brought out a new list.
“I gave the merchants their money and placed new orders, gaining a healthy commission for myself. When the merchants brought the goods, I fixed a price for them, then sold them on to her at a good profit. And all this time I was gazing at her with passion, while she looked back, recognizing the signs. I was on the point of speaking to her, but finally didn’t dare. All the merchandise was there, to the amount of a thousand dinars. She took it all, mounted once more, and again I didn’t ask her for her address.
“Once more she vanished. So, I thought, that’s the real trick. She gives five thousand dirhams and takes a thousand dinars’ worth of goods. My only course now is to sell my property and embrace a pauper’s life, picturing myself in poverty.
“This time she was away longer, for around a month, and the merchants were demanding their money. On the insistence of some of them, I put my property up for sale. As I was assessing all I had, in coins and in kind, she came to me once more. At the sight of her, I felt all my suffering melt away. She called for the scales, weighed out the money, then gave me another order—for more than two thousand dinars this time.
“I made a show of seeking out the merchants and handing them their money. This time we talked a good deal.
“ ‘Young man,’ she said, ‘do you have a wife?’
“ ‘No, by God,’ I said. ‘I’ve never known any woman.’
“I felt encouraged. Now, I thought, was the time to speak to her. If I didn’t,
she might never come back. I wanted to do it, but couldn’t bring myself to speak. I rose, as if to go and ask the merchants to prepare the order. Then I took the servant by the hand, brought out some money, and asked him to take it in return for a service.
“ ‘I’ll do it,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell her of your love. But I won’t take anything for it.’
“I told him how things stood and asked him to use his influence on my behalf.
“He laughed.
“ ‘What she feels for you,’ he said, ‘is stronger still. She doesn’t really need these goods. She comes here out of love for you; she wants to sit and talk with you. Talk with her, use your charm, and leave the rest to me.’
“Plucking up courage, I talked with her, showed my love, and wept. She took all this well.
“ ‘The servant,’ she said, laughing, ‘will bring you a message from me.’
“She rose, but took nothing with her. I took everything back, having made a profit, from the first and the second sales, amounting to thousands of dirhams. That night I couldn’t sleep, longing for her, fearful of losing her.
“A few days later, the servant came. I greeted him with honor and asked about her.
“ ‘She’s sick from longing for you,’ he said.
“ ‘Tell me about her,’ I said.
“ ‘The lady who owns her,’ he said, ‘is the mother of Caliph al-Muqtadir.3 She’s one of her best slaves, and, longing to be able to come and go and meet people, she managed to be appointed her housekeeper. She’s already told her lady about you, weeping in her presence, and she’s asked her permission to marry you. “I’m not prepared to do this,” the lady said, “till I’ve seen the man, to decide whether he’s worthy of you. I won’t leave the matter to your estimation of him.”
“ ‘Now, that means you’ll need to trick your way into the house. If you succeed, you may come to marry her; if you’re discovered, you’ll lose your head. That’s the message she sent with me. If you’re ready to take the risk, then try it. There’s no other way to come to her, or she to you.
“ ‘If you’re ready to try, then wait for night to fall, go through al-Mukharram,4 into the mosque, and spend the night there.’
“I did as he’d said. Before daybreak, a riverboat came by with servants and empty chests, and the servants placed them in the mosque. As for my beloved slave, she left the boat and, coming into the mosque accompanied by the servant I knew, sat down, then sent the other servants out on various errands. She called to me, and kissed and hugged me for a long time; she’d never once kissed me before. Then she sat me down inside one of the chests and locked it.
“The sun rose, and the servants came back with clothing and provisions. She told them to put the goods in the other chests and carry them off to the boat. Then away we went down the river.
“Once inside the chest, I started regretting what I’d done. I’m killing myself, I thought, on account of my desires. Now I blamed myself, now I plucked up courage. I even made vows I’d fulfill if I could only come out safe. Then, at other times, I resigned myself to my fate.
“So I remained till we reached our destination. The servants carried off the chests, mine being carried by the servant who was in the plot. My beloved put mine in front of the rest, walking alongside it, and the rest followed. Whenever she came on a group of servants or doormen, they’d say: ‘We have to search the chest.’ Then she’d cry out: ‘Who do you think I am, to treat me like this?’ So they’d hold back, while I remained in mortal dread.
“At last she reached a servant she addressed as ‘master’—the head servant, I supposed. ‘I must search that chest you have with you,’ the man said. She spoke to him softly, in a humble, submissive manner, but he didn’t answer. She must, I thought, have run out of tricks now, and I felt ready to faint. Then, when he had the chest brought for inspection, I was sure I was finished. My bladder gave way, and the urine ran out through the cracks in the chest’s boards. ‘Master,’ she called out, ‘you’ve ruined five thousand dinars’ worth of materials in this chest, along with dyed clothing. The rose water’s been spilled onto the clothes. Now the dyes will run together. This will be the end of me with my mistress.’ ‘Take your chest off to hell, the two of you!’ he said. ‘Just move on.’ She called out to the servants: ‘Move it on!’ And so I was carried in, relief flooding through me.
“Then, as we went on, I heard her cry out: ‘Oh, mercy! It’s the caliph, by God!’ My fears came back worse than ever. I heard a lot of talking from servants and slaves, as the caliph said (addressing her by name):
“ ‘You, what’s in your chest? Show me what’s in there.’
“ ‘Master,’ she said, ‘it’s clothes for my mistress. I’ll open it straightaway, and you can see.’
“Calling to the servants to be quick about it, she had the chest taken into a room, let me out, told me to move to the room beyond, and had me sit down there. Then she quickly opened another chest, took out some of the stuff and put it into the one where I’d been before. Then she locked them both.
“Caliph al-Muqtadir came in. ‘Open this one here,’ he said. She opened it, and he, finding nothing of interest there, went off. Thereupon she came in to where I was and started caressing and kissing me. I was heady with joy, forgetting everything that had happened to me up to then.
“She left me, locked the door of the room, then came back at night with food and drink for me before leaving once more. Then, the next day, she came and said: ‘My mistress will be here very soon. Prepare yourself how to address her.’ In an hour she came back with her mistress, who told me to approach.
“The lady was seated in a chair, waited on by two attendants and my friend. I kissed the ground, then stood there before her.
“ ‘Sit,’ she said.
“I was her slave, I answered. It wasn’t my place to be seated in her presence. She inspected me closely, then addressed my friend.
“ ‘You’ve chosen well,’ she said. ‘Good looks and good manners.’ With that she rose and left.
“An hour later my friend came back. ‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘She’s given me her
permission to marry you. The only problem now is to get you out of here.’ The next day came, and she packed me into the chest. I left as I’d come in, not without more adventures and more fear.
“I came out into the mosque, went back home, gave out money for charitable purposes, and thanked God for my safety. A few days later, the servant arrived with a bag containing three thousand dinars in gold.
“ ‘My mistress,’ he said, ‘instructed me to give you this from her own money. You’re to buy yourself clothes, a mount, and servants, smarten up your appearance, then, on the Day of the Procession,5 come to the public gate and stand there till you’re sent for. She’s agreed with the caliph to have you marry in his presence.’
“I gave my answer on a note he was carrying. I took the money, used a small amount to buy what I’d been told to buy, and kept the larger part with me. Then, on the Day of the Procession, smartly dressed, I rode off to the public gate. People arrived and went in to see the caliph. I waited till I was sent for, then went in, into the presence of al-Muqtadir, along with the generals, judges, and Hashemites, struck with awe by my audience. I was instructed how to greet and stand and did as I’d been told.
“Approaching some of the judges present, al-Muqtadir spoke in support of my requested union. The marriage was performed, and I left his presence.
“When I reached the alleys near the gate, I was conducted to a grand residence, elegantly furnished, filled with materials and servants, belongings and furnishings, such as I’d never seen before. There I was seated, and the one who’d conducted me went off, leaving me alone.
“I sat there all day, seeing no one I knew, not leaving my place except for prayers. Servants came and went, and splendid food was brought in. They were singing: ‘Such and such’ (calling her by her name) ‘is marrying the cloth merchant.’ I was so happy I couldn’t believe it.
“Night fell, and I was beginning to feel hungry. The doors were locked, and, losing hope of my beloved slave’s coming, I started walking around the mansion, till I found the kitchen, where the cooks were sitting. I asked them for food, and they, supposing me to be one of the upper servants, gave me an appropriate meal and two loaves of bread. This I ate, and, having washed my hands with some saltwort that was there in the kitchen, I decided they were clean enough and went back to my place.
“The night wore on. Then, suddenly, I heard drums and bugles and a general clamor. The doors were opened, and my lady was handed over to me. They brought her in, unveiled her, and paraded her in my presence. I was so happy I felt I must be dreaming. She was left with me there in the reception hall, and the people dispersed.
“When we were alone, she came up to me. I kissed her and she kissed me. Then, smelling my beard, she kicked me and brought me back down to earth. ‘I might have known you wouldn’t be up to it,’ she cried. ‘You base, common man!’ And with that she rose to leave.
“I stood up, too, and clutched hold of her. I kissed the ground and then her feet. ‘Just tell me what I’ve done wrong,’ I said. ‘Then, afterwards, you can do as you like.’
“ ‘Shame on you,’ she said. ‘You ate, and you didn’t wash your hands!’
“I told her exactly what had happened. I swore to her, again and again, that, if I ever again ate dikabrika and failed to wash my hands forty times after the meal, that she’d be divorced from me, that I’d divorce any woman I married, I swore by my almsgiving and all I possessed, I swore to make the pilgrimage on foot, to become a disbeliever in God and Islam.
“She took pity on me, smiled, then called the slaves. Some ten slaves and attendants came, and she said: ‘Bring us some food.’
“All kinds of delicious dishes were brought in, including some of the caliph’s special delicacies. We ate, and washed our hands. Then the attendants left, and we went off to bed and consummated our marriage, spending a night fit for a caliph and not parting for a week thereafter. On the final day of the week, there was a huge feast, with many slaves present.
“The next day, she said:
“ ‘We can’t stay here any longer, in the caliph’s mansion. Without his special permission, which was hard enough to win, it wouldn’t have been granted us at all. He’s never done this for any other slave. It was all on account of my mistress’s love for me.
“ ‘Everything you see here is a gift from her to me; and she’s also given me fifty thousand dinars in gold and notes, in equity and jewels. There are treasures of every kind for me, outside the palace, and they’re all yours. So, go home now, take your money, and buy a spacious house in an elegant district, with a broad courtyard and a garden full of trees. Then let me know, so I can have all these things here sent on to you. After that, I’ll join you myself.’ She handed me ten thousand dinars in gold, and the servant helped me carry it.
“I bought the house and sent a note to tell her, after which she brought all this wealth to me. And everything I own now is due to her. She lived with me for a great many years, and I with her, in princely style. Nonetheless, I didn’t give up my trade. My fortune increased; on account of her I rose higher and grew wealthier still. She gave me all these sons” (he motioned to his children), “and then she passed away, may God rest her soul.
“The only harm that stayed with me, from the dikabrika, is what you’ve just seen.”
From Abu ʿAli ʾl-Muhassin al-Tanukhi, Nishwar al-Muhadara wa Akhbar al-Mudhakara (Snippets of Conversation and Memorable Tales), vol. 4.
1.Dikabrika is a dish made from meat, chickpeas, vinegar, and fresh cow’s or camel’s milk, sometimes sweetened with sugar.
2. Egyptian donkeys were known for their good appearance and were commonly ridden by caliphs.
3. An Abbasid caliph who reigned from 295 / 908 to 320 / 932.
4. A district of Baghdad, once the site of the ministry and later home to the Buwayhid and Seljuq rulers.
5. The day on which the caliph sat to receive the principal men of the realm and to consult on affairs of state.
77
A Merchant and His Wife
Ahmad ibn Ayman, secretary to Ahmad ibn Tulun, told me as follows:
I went to Basra to visit a merchant, whose name I forget, and I saw with him two most smart-looking lads.
“If you will,” he said, seeing how keenly I was gazing at them, “pray to God to protect them.”
I did this, then said:
“You must have chosen their mother well, to have such splendid children.” “There’s no woman in Basra,” he answered, “finer than their mother, and none closer to my heart. My story with her makes a wondrous tale.”
I asked him to tell it to me, and he narrated as follows:
“I used” (he said) “to go down to Ubulla1 to trade. I brought some merchandise from there to Basra, and I made a profit. Then I took some merchandise from Basra to Ubulla, and again I made a profit. So I went on, taking goods between the two towns and constantly making a profit, till at last I became rich. People began to talk of my good fortune, and I finally decided to settle in Basra. I realized, though, that my stay here wouldn’t be agreeable without a wife.
“Now, there was no one in Basra of greater dignity than the grandfather of these two boys; and he had a daughter he’d refused to marry off, so risking the enmity of all her suitors. I decided to approach him for her hand.
“I went to him when he was alone.
“ ‘Uncle,’ I said,‘I’m the merchant——.’
“ ‘I know you well enough,’he said, “ ‘and your father’s standing, too.’
“ ‘I’ve come,’ I said,‘to ask for your daughter’s hand.’
“ ‘By God’, he answered, ‘ I’ve nothing against you. But many people, from among Basra’s dignitaries, have asked for her hand, and I’ve never agreed, because I hate the thought of her leaving my care for someone who’d value her as slave girls are valued [i.e., for her physical attractions].’
“ ‘God,’I answered, “has raised her above such a status. And I ask you to let me become part of you
r family.”
‘Is that your firm wish?’he asked.
‘It is,’ I replied, ‘and I should regard it as a favor and a privilege.’
‘Then,’he said, ‘come to see me with your men.’
“I spoke with a number of well-known substantial merchants and asked them to go with me the next day.
‘You’re taking us on a wild goose chase,’they said.
‘Still,’ I said, ‘I ask you to come.’
“We all rode off to the merchant’s home, sure he was going to refuse my colleagues’ representations. He, though, gave them a positive answer, agreeing to marry me to his daughter. He honored them and spread a sumptuous feast for them; after which they left.
“When they’d gone, the merchant said to me:
‘Do, if you’d like to, stay tonight with your wife. There’s no reason to delay.’
“That, I answered, was very much my wish. We passed the rest of the day, till sunset, and we prayed the sunset prayer together. He praised God, and so did I; he asked for God’s mercy, and so did I. When it grew dark, we prayed the evening prayer together. Then he took my hand and conducted me into a house that was well appointed, with the best furniture. It was spotlessly clean, and there were a number of men and women servants. When I had seated myself there, he rose.
‘I’ll take my leave of you,’ he said. ‘May God grant you from His bounty, and make your life an agreeable one.’ And with that he left.
“I was now surrounded by older women from his family, who festively brought in my bride. When I looked at her, I saw there was no beauty there. When the curtains were drawn around us, she said:
‘Sir, I am a secret of my father’s, divulged to no one before—only to you now, since he saw you to be worthy of its trust. Don’t, I entreat you, disappoint his faith in you. If what’s required of a wife is mere good looks, without a wife’s efficiency and chastity, then I shall be in a sad state indeed. But I have, I trust, enough of these two qualities to compensate for good looks.’
“With that she promptly rose and produced a bag full of money.
Classical Arabic Stories Page 28
