One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  So the king sent for them and questioned them and they acquainted him with the truth of the matter. Then he sent to fetch the dyer, bidding bring him barefoot and bareheaded, with his hands bound behind him. Now he was sitting in his house, rejoicing in Abousir’s [supposed] death, when, before he could be ware, the king’s guards rushed in upon him and cuffed him on the nape of the neck; after which they bound him and carried him into the royal presence, where he saw Abousir seated by the king’s side and the porter and workmen of the dyery standing before him. Quoth the porter to him, ‘Is not this thy comrade whom thou robbedst of his money and leftest with me sick in the khan?’ And the workmen said to him, ‘Is not this he whom thou badest us seize and beat?’

  Therewith Aboukir’s baseness was made manifest to the king and he was certified that he merited a punishment yet sorer than that which Munker and Neckir deal [to the wicked after death]. So he upbraided him and said to his guards, ‘Take him and parade him about the city and the markets; then lay him in a sack and cast him into the sea.’ Whereupon quoth Abousir, ‘O king of the age, accept my intercession for him; for I pardon him all he hath done with me.’ ‘If thou pardon him his offences against thee,’ answered the king, ‘I cannot pardon him his offences against me.’ And he cried out, saying, ‘Take him.’ So they took him and paraded him about the city, after which they laid him in a sack with quicklime and cast him into the sea, and he died, drowned and burnt.

  Then said the king to the barber, ‘O Abousir, ask of me what thou wilt and it shall be given thee.’ And he answered, saying, ‘I ask of thee to send me back to my own country, for I care no longer to abide here.’ Then the king offered to make him his vizier; but he consented not; so he gave him great store of gifts, over and above that which he had bestowed on him aforetime; and amongst the rest a galleon laden with goods; and the crew of this galleon were slaves; so he gave him these also. Then he took leave of the king and set sail; nor did he cast anchor till he reached Alexandria and made fast to the shore there. Then they landed and one of his servants, seeing a sack on the beach, said to Abousir, ‘O my lord, there is a great heavy sack on the sea-shore, with the mouth tied up and I know not what therein.’ So Abousir came up and opening the sack, found therein the dead body of Aboukir, which the sea had borne thither. He took it forth and burying it near Alexandria, built over the grave a place of visitation and endowed it for pious uses, writing over the door the following verses:

  A man is by his actions known among his fellows aye: The actions of the freeborn man his generous birth betray.

  Backbite not any, lest thyself backbitten be in tarn. Whososaith aught, his fellow-men the like of him will say.

  Abstain from lewd and ribald words: I rede thee speak them not At any time, or if it be in earnest or in play.

  The dog, good manners if he use, Is suffered in the house; The lion, of his ignorance, is fettered night and day.

  The carrion of the waste floats up upon the topmost sea, Whilst on the lowest of its sands the pearls neglected stay.

  But for its feather-headedness and levity of wit, The sparrow never with the hawk to jostle would essay.

  Lo, on the pages of the air is written, in the sky, ‘Whoso doth good, the like thereof his actions shall repay.’

  Beware of gathering sugar, then, from out the colocynth: Still in the tasting will the thing its origin bewray.

  After this Abousir abode awhile, till God took him to Himself and they buried him hard by the tomb of his comrade Aboukir; wherefore the place was called Aboukir and Abousir; but it is now known as Aboukir [only]. This, then, is that which hath reached us of their history, and glory be to Him who endureth for ever and by whose will the days and nights succeed each other!

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  ABDALLAH THE FISHERMAN AND ABDALLAH THE MERMAN.

  There was once a fisherman named Abdallah, who had a wife and nine children and was very poor, owning nothing but his net. Every day he used to go to the sea to fish, and if he caught little, he sold it and spent the price on his children, after the measure of that which God vouchsafed him of provision; but, if he caught much, he would cook a good mess of meat and buy fruit and spend without stint till nothing was left him, saying in himself, ‘To-morrow’s provision will come to-morrow.’ Presently, his wife gave birth to another child, making ten in all, and it chanced that day that he had nothing at all; so she said to him, ‘O my master, see [and get] me wherewithal I may sustain myself.’ Quoth he, ‘Under favour of God the Most High, I am going to-day to the sea, to fish in the name of this new-born child, that we may see its luck.’ And she answered, ‘Put thy trust in God.’

  So he took his net and went down to the sea-shore, where he cast it in the name of the little child, saying, ‘O my God, make his living easy, not hard, and abundant, not scant!’ Then he waited awhile and drew in the net, which came up full of rubbish and sand and pebbles and weeds, and he found therein no fish, neither much not little. He cast it again and waited, then drew it in, but found no fish in it, and threw it a third and a fourth and a fifth time, with no better success. So he removed to another place, beseeching God the Most High to grant him his daily bread, and thus he did till the end of the day, but caught not so much as a sprat; whereat he fell a-marvelling in himself and said, ‘Hath God then created this new-born child, without [an appointed] provision? This may never be; He who slits the corners of the mouth hath engaged for its provision, for He is the Bountiful, the Provider!’ So saying, he shouldered his net and turned homeward, broken-spirited and heavy at heart for his family, for that he had left them without food, more by token that his wife was in the straw.

  As he trudged along, saying in himself, ‘How shall I do and what shall I say to the children to-night?’ he came to a baker’s oven and saw a crowd about it; for it was a time of dearth and food was scant with the folk; so they were proffering the baker money, but he paid no heed to any of them, by reason of the much crowd. The fisherman stood looking and snuffing the smell of the hot bread, and indeed his soul longed for it, by reason of his hunger, -till the baker caught sight of him and cried out to him, saying, ‘Come hither, O fisherman!’ So he went up to him, and the baker said to him, ‘Dost thou want bread?’ But he was silent. ‘Speak,’ said the baker, ‘and be not ashamed, for God is bountiful. If thou have no money, I will give thee [bread] and have patience with thee till good [fortune] betide thee.’ ‘By Allah, O master,’ replied Abdallah, ‘I have indeed no money! But give me bread enough for my family, and I will leave thee this net in pawn till the morrow.’ ‘Nay, good fellow,’ rejoined the baker, ‘this net is [as it were] thy shop and the means of thy livelihood; so, if thou pawn it, wherewithal wilt thou fish? Tell me, how much [bread] will suffice thee?’ ‘Ten pares’ worth,’ replied the fisherman.

  So he gave him ten pares’ worth of bread and ten pares in money, saying, ‘Take these ten pares and cook thyself a mess of meat therewith; so wilt thou owe me twenty pares, for which bring me fish to-morrow; but, if thou catch nothing again, come and take thy bread and thy ten pares, and I will have patience with thee till better luck betide thee, when thou shalt bring me fish for all thou owest me.’ ‘May God the Most High reward thee’ said the fisherman, ‘and requite thee for me with all good!’ Then he took the bread and the money and went away, glad at heart, and buying what he could [of meat and vegetables], returned to his wife, whom he found sitting up, soothing the children, who were weeping for hunger, and saying to them, ‘Your father will be here with what ye may eat.’ So he set the bread before them and they ate, whilst he told his wife what had befallen him, and she said, ‘God is bountiful.’

  On the morrow, he shouldered his net and went forth of his house, saying, ‘I beseech thee, O Lord, to vouchsafe me this day what shall whiten my face with the baker!’ When he came to the sea-shore, he proceeded to cast his net and pull it in; but there came up no fish therein; and he toiled thus till ended day and caught nothing. Then he set ou
t homeward, in sore concern, and the way to his house lay past the baker’s shop; so he said in himself, ‘How shall I go home? But I will hasten past that the baker may not see me.’ When he reached the shop, he saw a crowd about it and quickened his pace, being ashamed to face the baker; but the latter raised his eyes to him and cried out to him, saying, ‘Ho, fisherman! Come and take thy bread and spending-money. Meseems thou forgettest.’ ‘By Allah,’ answered Abdallah, ‘I had not forgotten; but I was ashamed to face thee, because I have caught no fish to-day.’ ‘Be not ashamed,’ answered the baker. ‘Said I not to thee, “At thy leisure; till good hap betide thee?”’

  Then he gave him the bread and the ten pares and he returned and told his wife, who said, ‘God is bountiful. If it please the Most High, good luck shall yet betide thee and thou shalt give the baker his due.’ On this wise he did forty days, betaking himself daily to the sea, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, and returning [at nightfall], without fish; and still he took bread and spending-money of the baker, who never named the fish to him nor neglected him nor kept him waiting, like the folk, but gave him the bread and the ten pares [forthright]. Whenever the fisherman said to him, ‘O my brother, reckon with me,’ he would say, ‘Go thy ways; this is no time for reckoning. [Wait] till good luck betide thee, and then I will reckon with thee.’ And the fisherman would go away, blessing and thanking him.

  On the one-and-fortieth day, he said to his wife, ‘I have a mind to tear up the net and be quit of this life.’ ‘Why wilt thou do this?’ asked she. And he said, ‘Meseems there is an end of my getting my living from the sea. How long shall this last? By Allah, I am consumed with shame before the baker, and I will go no more to the sea, so I may not pass by his shop, for I have no other way home; and every time I pass, he calls me and gives me the bread and the ten pares. How much longer shall I run in debt to him?’ ‘Praised be God the Most High,’ replied his wife, ‘who hath inclined his heart to thee, so that he giveth thee our daily bread! What dislikest thou in this?’ Quoth he, ‘I owe him now a great sum of money, and he will without fail demand his due.’ ‘Hath he vexed thee with words?’ asked his wife. ‘Nay,’ answered Abdallah; ‘on the contrary, he still refuses to reckon with me, saying, “[Wait] till good luck betide thee.”’ And his wife said, ‘If he press thee, say to him, “[Wait] till there come the good luck for which we hope, thou and I.”’ ‘And when will the good luck come that we hope for?’ asked the fisherman. ‘God is bountiful,’ answered she; and he said, ‘Thou sayst sooth.’

  Then he shouldered his net and went down to the sea-side, saying, ‘O Lord, provide Thou me, though but with one fish, that I may give it to the baker!’ And he cast his net into the sea and pulling it in, found it heavy; so he tugged at it till, after sore travail, he got it ashore and found in it a dead ass, swollen and stinking; whereat his soul sickened and he freed it from the net, saying, ‘There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! Verily, I can no more! I say to yonder woman, “There is no more provision for me in the sea; let me leave this craft.” And she still answers me, “God is bountiful; good will betide thee.” Is this dead ass the good of which she speaks?’ And he was sore chagrined.

  Then he removed to another place, so he might be quit of the stench of the dead ass, and cast his net there. He waited awhile, then drew it in and found it heavy; whereupon quoth he, ‘Good; we are hauling up all the dead asses in the sea and ridding it of its rubbish.’ However he gave not over tugging at the net, till the blood streamed from the palms of his hands, and when he got it ashore, he saw a man in it and took him for one of the Afrits of the lord Solomon, whom he was wont to imprison in vessels of brass and cast into the sea, supposing that the vessel had burst for length of years and that the Atrit had come forth and fallen into the net; wherefore he fled from him, crying out and saying, ‘Mercy, mercy, O Afrit of Solomon!’ But the creature called out to him from within the net and said, ‘Come hither, O fisherman, and flee not from me; for I am a human being like thyself Release me, so thou mayst get a recompense for me [of God].’

  So the fisherman took heart and coming up to him, said to him, ‘Art thou not an Afrit of the Jinn?’ ‘Nay,’ replied the other, ‘I am a mortal and a believer in God and His Apostle.’ ‘Who threw thee into the sea?’ asked the fisherman; and he answered, ‘I am of the children of the sea and was going about therein, when thou castest the net over me. We are people who obey God’s commandments and show loving-kindness unto the creatures of the Most High, and but that I fear and dread to be of the disobedient, I had torn thy net; but I accept that which God hath decreed unto me; wherefore thou art become my owner and I thy captive. Wilt thou then set me free for the love of God the Most High and make a covenant with me and become my friend? I will come to thee every day in this place, and do thou come to me and bring me a gift of the fruits of the land. For with you are grapes and figs and melons and peaches and pomegranates and what not else, and all thou bringest me will be acceptable unto me. Moreover, with us are coral and pearls and chrysolites and emeralds and rubies and other precious stones, and I will fill thee the basket, wherein thou bringest me the fruit, with precious stones of the jewels of the sea. What sayst thou to this, O my brother?’

  Quoth the fisherman, ‘Be the first chapter of the Koran between thee and me upon this.’ So they recited the Fatiheh, [in token of their agreement], and the fisherman loosed the merman from the net and said to him, ‘What is thy name?’ ‘My name is Abdallah of the sea,’ answered he; ‘and if thou come hither and see me not, do thou call out and say, “Where art thou, O Abdallah, O merman?” And I will be with thee presently. But thou, what is thy name?’ ‘My name also is Abdallah,’ answered the fisherman. Quoth the other, ‘Thou art Abdallah of the land and I am Abdallah of the sea; but abide here till I go and fetch thee a present.’ And the fisherman said, ‘I hear and obey.’

  Then the merman went down into the sea [and disappeared]; whereupon the fisherman repented him of having released him and said in himself, ‘How know I that he will come back to me? Indeed, he beguiled me, so that I released him, and now he will laugh at me. Had I kept him, I might have made a show of him for the diversion of the people of the city and taken money from all the folk and entered with him the houses of the great.’ And he repented him of having let him go and said, ‘Thou hast let thy prey go from thy hand.’ But, as he was thus bemoaning his credulity, behold, the merman returned to him, with his hands full of pearls and coral and emeralds and rubies and other jewels, and said to him, ‘Take these, O my brother, and excuse me, for I had no basket that I might fill it for thee.’

  The fisherman rejoiced and took the jewels from the merman, who said to him, ‘Come hither every day, before sunrise,’ and taking leave of him, went down into the sea; whilst the other returned to the city, rejoicing, and stayed not till he came to the baker’s shop and said to him, ‘O my brother, good luck is come to us [at last]; so do thou reckon with me.’ ‘There needs no reckoning,’ answered the baker. ‘If thou have aught, give it me; and if not, take thy bread and spending-money and begone, against good betide thee.’ ‘O my friend,’ rejoined the fisherman, ‘indeed good hath betided me of God’s bounty, and I owe thee much money; but take this.’ So saying, he took up, at a handful, half of the pearls and coral and rubies and other jewels he had with him, and gave them to the baker saying, ‘Give me some ready money to spend this day, till I sell these jewels.’

  So the baker gave him all the money he had by him and all the bread in his basket and rejoiced in the jewels he had given him, saying, ‘I am thy slave and thy servant.’ Then he set all the bread on his head and following the fisherman home, gave it to his wife and children, after which he repaired to the market and fetched meat and vegetables and all kinds of fruit. Moreover, he left his shop and abode with Abdallah all that day, busying himself in his service and doing all his occasions. ‘O my brother,’ said the fisherman, ‘thou weariest thyself.’ ‘This is my duty,’ answered
the baker; ‘for I am become thy servant and thou hast overwhelmed me with thy bounties.’ ‘Not so,’ rejoined the fisherman; ‘it is thou who wast my benefactor in the days of dearth and straitness.’ And the baker passed the night in feasting with him and became a faithful friend to him. Then the fisherman told his wife what had befallen him with the merman, whereat she rejoiced and said, ‘keep thy secret, lest the magistrates come down upon thee.’ But he said, ‘Though I keep my secret from all the folk, yet will I not hide it from the baker.’

  On the morrow, he rose before the sun and shouldering a basket, which he had filled overnight with all manner fruits, repaired to the sea-shore, where he set down the basket and called out, saying, ‘Where art thou, O Abdallah, O merman?’ And he answered, saying, ‘Here am I, at thy service;’ and came forth to him. The fisherman gave him the fruit and he took it and plunging into the sea with it, was absent awhile. after which he came up, with the basket full of all kinds of precious stones and jewels. The fisherman set it on his head and went away; and when he came to the baker’s shop, the latter said to him, ‘O my lord, I have baked thee forty brioches and have sent them to thy house; and now I will bake wastel-bread, and as soon as it is done, I will bring it to thy house and go and fetch thee meat and vegetables.’

  Abdallah gave him three handsful of jewels out of the basket and going home, set it down there. Then he took a jewel of price of each sort and going to the jewel-bazaar, stopped at the Syndic’s shop and said to him, ‘Buy these jewels of me.’ ‘Show them to me,’ said the Syndic. So he showed them to him and the jeweller said, ‘Hast thou other than these?’ ‘Yes,’ answered Abdallah, ‘I have a basketful at home.’ ‘And where is thy house?’ asked the Syndic. ‘In such a quarter,’ replied the fisherman; whereupon the Syndic took the jewels from him and said to his servants, ‘Lay hold of him, for he is the thief who stole the queen’s jewels.’ And he bade beat him. So they beat him and bound his hands behind him; after which the Syndic and all the people of the jewel-market arose and set out [to carry him to the king], saying, ‘We have gotten the thief.’ Quoth one, ‘None robbed such an one but this knave,’ and another, ‘It was none but he stole all that was in such an one’s house;’ and some said this and some that.