One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  When the vizier heard this, he smiled and said, ‘O Eunuch, how is it that this fisherman cometh in his hour of need and thou fulfillest not his desire? Dost thou not know him, O chief of the eunuchs?’ ‘No,’ answered Sendel, and Jaafer said, ‘This is the master and partner of the Commander of the Faithful, and our lord the Khalif hath arisen this morning, strait of breast and heavy of heart, nor is there aught will lighten his breast like this fisherman. So let him not go, till I take the Khalif’s pleasure concerning him and bring him before him; peradventure God will relieve him of his oppression and distract him from the loss of Cout el Culoub, by means of the fisherman’s presence, and he will give him wherewithal to better himself; and thou wilt be the cause of this.’ ‘O my lord,’ replied Sendel, ‘do as thou wilt, and may God the Most High long continue thee a pillar of the dynasty of the Commander of the Faithful, whose shadow God perpetuate and prosper it, root and branch!’

  Then the vizier went in to the Khalif and Sendel ordered the attendants not to leave the fisherman; whereupon, ‘How goodly is thy bounty, O Rosy-cheeks!’ cried Khelifeh. ‘The seeker is become the sought. I come to seek my due, and they imprison me for arrears!’ When Jaafer came in to the presence of the Khalif, he found him sitting with his head bowed down, sick at heart and absorbed in melancholy thought, chanting the verses of the poet:

  My censor bid me be consoled for her: what power, I pray, Over my heart have I, if it my hest will not obey?

  How from a tender maiden’s love shall one endure? In me My love’s estrangement to support I find no patience aye.

  I can’t forget her nor the time the cup ‘twixt us went round And for her glances’ wine, o’er me did drunkenness hold sway.

  Quoth Jaafer, ‘Peace be upon thee, O Commander of the Faithful and Defender of the Faith and descendant of the uncle of the prince of Apostles, God bless him and gave him and all his family!’ The Khalif raised his head and answered, ‘And on thee be peace and the mercy of God and His blessings!’ Quoth Jaafer; ‘If it like the Commander of the Faithful, his servant will speak without restraint.’ ‘And when was restraint put upon thee in speech,’ asked the Khalif, ‘and thou the Prince of Viziers? Say what thou wilt.’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Jaafer, ‘when I went out from before thee, intending for my house, I saw thy master and teacher and partner, Khelifeh the fisherman, standing at the door, and he was aggrieved at thee and complaining of thee and saying, “Glory be to God! I taught him to fish and he went away to fetch me a pair of frails, but returned not: and this is not the way a partner should use his partner nor an apprentice his master.” So, if thou hast a mind to partnership, well and good; and if not, tell him, that he may take another to partner.’

  When the Khalif heard this, he smiled and his heart was lightened and he said, ‘My life on thee, is this the truth thou sayest, that the fisherman standeth at the door?’ ‘By thy life, O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered Jaafer, ‘he standeth at the door.’ Quoth the Khalif, ‘O Jaafer, by Allah, I will do my best to give him his due! lf God send him, at my hands, misery, he shall have it; and if fortune, he shall have it.’ Then he took a piece of paper and cutting it in pieces, said to the Vizier, ‘O Jaafer, write down twenty sums of money, from one dinar to a thousand, and the names of all kinds of offices and dignities from the least employ to the Khalifate, also twenty kinds of punishment from the lightest beating to death.’ ‘I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered Jaafer and did as he was bidden.

  Then said the Khalif, ‘O Jaafer, I mean to summon the fisherman and bid him take one of these papers, whose contents none knoweth save thou and I; and I swear, by my holy forefathers and by my kinship to Hemzeh and Akil, that whatsoever is written in the paper he shall choose, I will give it to him; though it be the Khalifate, I will divest myself thereof and invest him therewith and grudge it not to him; and on the other hand, if there be written therein hanging or mutilation or death, I will execute it upon him. Now go and fetch him to me.’ When Jaafer heard this, he said in himself, ‘There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! It may be somewhat will fall to this poor wretch’s lot that will bring about his destruction, and I shall be the cause. But the Khalif hath sworn; so there is nothing for it but to bring him in, and nought wilt happen save what God willeth.’ So he went out to Khelifeh and laid hold of his hand, to carry him in to the Khalif, whereupon his reason fled and he said in himself, ‘What a fool I was to come after yonder ill- omened slave, Rosy-cheeks, whereby he hath brought me in company with Bran-belly!’

  Jaafer fared on with him, with guards before and behind him, whilst he said, ‘Doth not arrest suffice, but these fellows must go before and behind me, to prevent my making off?’ till they had traversed seven vestibules, when the vizier said to him, ‘Harkye, fisherman! Thou standest before the Commander of the Faithful and Defender of the Faith!’ Then he raised the great curtain and Khelifeh’s eyes fell on the Khalif, who was seated on his couch, with the grandees of the realm standing in attendance upon him. As soon as he knew him, he went up to him and said, ‘Welcome to thee, O piper! It was not well done of thee to make thyself a fisherman and go away, leaving me sitting guarding the fish, and never return! For, before I was aware, there came up slaves, on beasts of all manner colours, and snatched away the fish from me; and this was all of thy fault; for, hadst thou returned presently with the frails, we had sold a hundred dinars’ worth of fish. And now I come to seek my due, and they have arrested me. But who hath imprisoned thee also in this place?’

  The Khalif smiled and raising a corner of the curtain, said to the fisherman, ‘Come hither and take one of these papers.’ Quoth Khelifeh, ‘Yesterday thou wast a fisherman, and now I find thee an astrologer: but the more trades a man hath, the poorer he is.’ But Jaafer said, ‘Do as the Commander of the Faithful bids thee and take the paper at once, without prating.’ So he came forward, saying, ‘God forbid that this piper should ever again be my journeyman and fish with me!’ Then he put out his hand and taking a paper, handed it to the Khalif, saying, ‘O piper, what hath come up for me therein. Hide nought thereof.’ Er Reshid gave the paper to Jaafer and said to him, ‘Read what is therein.’ So he looked at it and said, ‘There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ ‘[God grant thou hast] good news, O Jaafer!’ said the Khalif. ‘What seest thou therein?’ ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered the vizier, ‘there appeareth on the paper, “Let the fisherman receive a hundred blows with a stick.”’

  So the Khalif commanded to beat the fisherman and they gave him a hundred blows with a stick; after which he rose, saying, ‘Confound this play. O Bran-belly! Are imprisonment and beating part of the game?’ Then said Jaafer, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, this poor wretch is come to the river, and how shall he go away thirsting? We hope of the charity of the Commander of the Faithful that he may have leave to take another paper, so haply he may happen upon somewhat wherewithal he may succour his poverty.’ ‘By Allah, O Jaafer,’ said the Khalif, ‘if he take another paper and “death” be written therein, I will assuredly kill him, and thou wilt be the cause.’ ‘If he die,’ answered Jaafer, ‘he will be at rest.’ But Khelifeh said to him, ‘May God never gladden thee with good news! Have I made Baghdad strait upon you, that you seek to kill me?’ Quoth Jaafer, ‘Take a paper and crave the blessing of God the Most High!’

  So he put out his hand and taking a paper, gave it to Jaafer, who read it and was silent. ‘Why art thou silent, O son of Yehya?’ asked the Khalif. And he answered, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, there is written on this paper, “The fisherman shall not be given aught.”’ Then said the Khalif, ‘Bid him depart our presence, for there is no good fortune appointed to him from us.’ ‘By thy pious forefathers,’ quoth Jaafer, ‘let him take a third paper; it may be it will bring him good fortune.’ ‘Let him take one, then, and no more,’ replied the Khalif. So he put out his hand and took a third paper, and behold, therein was written, ‘Let the fisherman recei
ve one dinar.’ Quoth Jaafer to him, ‘I sought good fortune for thee, but God willed to thee nought but this dinar.’ And Khelifeh answered, ‘Verily, a dinar for every hundred stripes were rare good luck, may God not send thy body health!’

  The Khalif laughed at him and Jaafer took him by the hand and led him out. When he reached the door, Sendel the eunuch saw him and said to him, ‘Hither, O fisherman! Give us largesse of that which the Commander of the Faithful hath bestowed on thee, whilst jesting with thee.’ ‘By Allah, O Rosy-cheeks,’ replied Khelifeh, ‘thou art right! Wilt thou share with me, blackskin? Indeed, I have eaten stick to the tune of a hundred blows and gotten one dinar, and thou art welcome to it.’ So saying, he threw him the dinar and went out, with the tears running down his cheeks. When the eunuch saw him in this plight, he knew that he had spoken truth and called to the attendants to fetch him back: so they brought him back and Sendel putting his hand to his pouch, pulled out a red purse, whence he emptied a hundred dinars into the fisherman’s hand, saying, ‘Take this in payment of thy fish and go thy ways.’

  So Khelifeh took the hundred dinars and the Khalif’s one dinar and went his way, rejoicing, and forgot the beating. Now, as God willed it for the accomplishment of that which He had decreed, he passed by the slave- girls’ market and seeing there a great crowd of people assembled in a ring, said to himself, ‘What is this crowd?’ So he elbowed his way through the merchants and others, who said, ‘Make way for Captain Cullion!’ and let him pass. Then he looked and saw a chest, with an eunuch seated thereon, and behind it an old man standing up and crying, ‘O merchants, O men of wealth, who will venture his money for this chest [of] unknown [content,] from the palace of the Lady Zubeideh bint el Casim, wife of the Commander of the Faithful? What shall I say for you, may God bless you?’

  ‘By Allah,’ quoth one of the merchants, ‘this is a risk! But I will say one word and no blame to me. Be it mine for twenty dinars.’ Quoth another, ‘Fifty,’ and they went on bidding, one against the other, till the price reached a hundred dinars. Then said the crier, ‘O merchants, will any of you bid more?’ And Khelifeh said, ‘Be it mine for a hundred dinars and one.’ The merchants thought he was jesting and laughed at him, saying, ‘O eunuch, sell it to Khelifeh for a hundred and one dinars!’ Quoth the eunuch, ‘By Allah, I will sell it to none but him! Take it, O fisherman, God bless thee in it, and hand over the money.’ So Khelifeh pulled out the money and gave it to the eunuch, who delivered him the chest and bestowed the price in alms on the spot; after which he returned to the palace and told Zubeideh what he had done, whereat she rejoiced.

  Meanwhile the fisherman shouldered the chest, but could not carry it [so,] of the excess of its weight; so he lifted it on to his head and carried it thus to the place where he lived. Here he set it down and being weary, sat awhile, considering what had befallen him and saying in himself, ‘Would I knew what is in this chest!’ Then he opened the door of his lodging and tugged at the chest, till he got it into his chamber; after which he strove to open it, but without success. Quoth he, ‘What possessed me to buy this chest? There is nothing for it but to break it open and see what is therein.’ So he applied himself to the lock, but could not open it, and said in himself, ‘I will leave it till to-morrow.’

  Then he would have lain down to sleep, but could find no room; for the chest filled the whole chamber. So he climbed up on to it and lay down to sleep; but, when he had lain awhile, he felt something stir in the chest, whereat he was affrighted and sleep forsook him and his reason fled. So he arose and said, ‘Meseems there are Jinn in the chest. Praised be God who hindered me from opening it! For, had I done so, they had come upon me in the dark and made an end of me, and no good would have betided me from them.’ Then he lay down again, when, behold, the chest moved a second time, more than before; whereupon he sprang up and said, ‘There it is again: but this is terrible!’ And he hastened to look for the lamp, but could not and it and had no money to buy another. So he went forth and cried out, saying, ‘Ho, people of the quarter!’

  Now the most part of the folk were asleep; but they awoke at his crying and said, ‘What ails thee, O Khelifeh?’ ‘Bring me a lamp,’ answered he; ‘for the Jinn are upon me.’ They laughed at him and gave him a lamp, with which he returned to his chamber. Then he beat upon the lock of the chest with a stone and broke it and opening it, saw a damsel like a houri lying asleep within. Now she had been drugged with henbane, but at that moment she threw up the henbane and awoke. Then she opened her eyes and feeling herself cramped, moved: whereupon quoth Khelifeh, ‘By Allah, O my lady, whence art thou?’ Quoth she, ‘Bring me Jessamine and Narcissus.’ And Khelifeh answered, ‘There is nought here but henna-bowers.’ Thereupon she came to herself and looking at Khelifeh, said to him, ‘What art thou and where am I?’ He answered, ‘Thou art in my lodging.’ Quoth she, ‘Am I not in the palace of the Khalif Haroun er Reshid?’ ‘O madwoman,’ replied he, ‘what manner of thing is Er Reshid? Thou art nought but my slave- girl; I bought thee this very day for a hundred dinars and one and brought thee home, and thou wast asleep in this chest.’

  When she heard this, she said to him, ‘What is thy name?’ ‘My name is Khelifeh,’ answered he. ‘How comes my star to have grown propitious, when I know it to have been otherwise?’ She laughed and said, ‘Spare me this talk. Hast thou anything to eat?’ ‘No, by Allah,’ answered he, ‘nor yet to drink! I have not eaten these two days and am now in want of a morsel.’ ‘Hast thou no money?’ asked she; and he said, ‘God keep this chest that hath beggared me! I gave all I had for it and am become bankrupt.’ She laughed at him and said, ‘Go and seek of thy neighbours somewhat for me to eat, for I am hungry.’ So he went forth and cried out, saying, ‘Ho, people of the quarter!’

  Now they were asleep; but they awoke and said, ‘What ails thee, O Khelifeh?’ ‘O my neighbours,’ answered he, ‘I am hungry and have nothing to eat.’ So one came down to him with a cake of bread and another with broken meats and a third with a piece of cheese and a fourth with a cucumber, and so on till his lap was full and be returned to his chamber and laid the whole before her, saying, ‘Eat.’ But she laughed at him, saying, ‘How can I eat of this, when I have not a drop of water to drink? I fear to choke with a mouthful and die.’ Quoth he, ‘I will fill thee this pitcher.’ So he took the pitcher and going forth, stood in the midst of the street and cried out, saying, ‘Ho, people of the quarter!’ Quoth they, ‘What a pest thou art to-night, O Khelifeh!’ And he said, ‘Ye gave me food and I ate; but now I am athirst; so give me to drink.’

  So one came down to him with a jug and another with an ewer and a third with a gugglet; and he filled his pitcher and carrying it back to the damsel, said to her, ‘O my lady, thou lackest nothing now.’ ‘True,’ answered she; ‘I want nothing more at present.’ Quoth he, ‘Speak to me and tell me thy story.’ And she said, ‘Harkye! If thou knowest me not, I will tell thee who I am. I am Cout el Culoub, the Khalif’s slave-girl, and the lady Zubeideh was jealous of me; so she drugged me and put me in this chest. Praised be God for that the matter hath come to no worse issue! But this befell me not save for thy good luck, for thou wilt certainly get of the Khalif Er Reshid money galore, that will be the means of thine enrichment.’ Quoth Khelifeh, ‘Is not the Khalif he in whose palace I was imprisoned?’ ‘Yes,’ answered she; and he said, ‘By Allah, I never saw a stingier than he, that piper little of good and wit! He gave me a hundred blows with a stick yesterday and one poor dinar, for all I taught him to fish and made him my partner; but he played me false.’ ‘Leave this unseemly talk,’ replied she, ‘and open thine eyes and look thou bear thyself respectfully, whenas thou seest him after this, and thou shalt attain thy desire.’

  When he heard her words it was as if he had been asleep and awoke; and God removed the veil from his judgment, because of his good luck, and he answered, ‘On my head and eyes!’ Then said he to her, ‘Sleep, in the name of God.’ So she lay down and fell asleep, and he slept at a distance from her, till th
e morning, when she sought of him inkhorn and paper and wrote to Ibn el Kirnas, acquainting him with her case and how she was with Khelifeh the fisherman, who had bought her. Then she gave him the letter, saying, ‘Go to the jewel- market and enquire for the shop of Ibn el Kirnas the jeweller and give him this letter and speak not.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ answered Khelifeh and going to the market, enquired for the shop of Ibn el Kirnas. They directed him thither and he saluted the merchant, who returned his greeting with an air of disdain and said to him, ‘What dost thou want?’

  So he gave him the letter and he took it, but read it not, thinking the fisherman a beggar, who sought an alms of him, and said to one of his servants, ‘Give him half a dirhem.’ Quoth Khelifeh, ‘I want no alms; read the letter.’ So Ibn el Kirnas read the letter and no sooner knew its import than he rose and kissing it, laid it on his head and said to Khelifeh, ‘O my brother, where is thy house?’ ‘What wantest thou with my house?’ asked Khelifeh. ‘Wilt thou go thither and steal my slave-girl?’ ‘Not so,’ answered Ibn el Kirnas; ‘on the contrary, I will buy somewhat whereof yon may eat, thou and she.’ So he said, ‘My house is in such a quarter.’ And the merchant rejoined, ‘Thou hast done well. May God not give thee health, O unlucky one!’

  Then he called two of his slaves and said to them, ‘Carry this man to the shop of Muhsin the money-changer and bid him give him a thousand dinars and bring him back to me in haste.’ So they carried him to the money- changer, who gave him the money, and returned with him to their master, whom they found mounted on a dapple mule, with slaves and servants about him, and by his side another mule like his own, saddled and bridled. Quoth the jeweller to Khelifeh, ‘In the name of God, mount this mule.’ ‘Nay,’ replied he; ‘I fear lest she throw me.’ ‘By Allah,’ said Ibn el Kirnas, ‘but thou must mount!’ So he came up and mounting her, face to crupper, caught hold of her tail and cried out; whereupon she threw him on the ground and they laughed at him: but he rose and said, ‘Did I not tell thee I would not mount this great ass?’ Ibn el Kienas left him in the market and repairing to the Khalif, told him of the damsel; after which he returned and removed her to his own house.