One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  So Marouf told him all that had befallen him with his wife Fatimeh the Shrew and said, ‘So, when her mischief waxed on me, I fled from her towards the Gate of Victory [and went forth the city]. Presently, the rain descended on me; so I entered a ruined cell in the Aadiliyeh and sat there, weeping; whereupon there came forth to me the haunter of the place, to wit, an Afrit of the Jinn, and questioned me. I acquainted him with my case and he took me on his back and flew with me all night between heaven and earth, till he set me down on yonder mountain and gave me to know of the [neighbourhood of this] city. So I came down from the mountain and entered the city, whereupon the people crowded about me and questioned me. I told them that I had left Cairo yesterday, but they believed me not, and presently thou camest up and driving the folk away from me, carriedst me to this house. This, then, is how I came to leave Cairo; and thou, how camest thou hither?’

  Quoth Ali, ‘Restlessness got hold upon me, when I was seven years old, from which time I wandered from land to land and city to city, till I came to this city, the name whereof is Ikhtiyan el Khuten. I found its people kindly and hospitable folk, trusting in the poor man and giving him credit and believing all that he said. So I said to them, “I am a merchant and have foregone my baggage and I need a place wherein to bestow it.” And they believed me and assigned me a lodging. Then I said to them, “Is there any of you will lend me a thousand dinars, till my baggage arrives, when I will repay it to him? For I am in want of certain things, ere my goods come.” They gave me what I asked and I went to the merchants’ bazaar, where, seeing goods, I bought them and sold them next day at a profit of fifty dinars and bought others. Moreover, I consorted with the folk and entreated them liberally, so that they loved me, and I continued to buy and sell, till I grew rich. And know, O my brother, that the proverb says, “The world is made up of ostentation and trickery: and the land where none knoweth thee, there do whatsoever thou wilt.” If thou say to all who ask thee, “I am a poor man, a cobbler by trade, and fled from my wife and left Cairo yesterday,” they will not believe thee and thou wilt be a laughing-stock among them as long as thou abidest in the city; whilst, if thou say, “An Afrit brought me hither,” they will take fright at thee and none will come near thee; for they will say, “This man is possessed of an Afrit and harm will betide whoso approacheth him.” And this report will be dishonouring both to thee and to me, for that they know I come from Cairo.’

  ‘How then shall I do?’ asked Marouf. ‘I will tell thee how thou shalt do,’ answered Ali, ‘so it please God the Most High. To-morrow I will give thee a thousand dinars and a mule to ride and a black slave, who shall go before thee and bring thee to the gate of the merchants’ bazaar; and do thou go in to them. I will be there sitting amongst them, and when I see thee, I will rise to thee and salute thee and kiss thy hand and make much of thee. Whenever I ask thee of any kind of stuff, saying, “Hast thou brought with thee aught of such a kind?” do thou answer, “Abundance.” And if they question me of thee, I will praise thee and magnify thee in their eyes and say to them, “Get him a store-house and a shop.” Moreover, I will give thee out for a man of great wealth and generosity; and if a beggar come to thee, give him what thou mayst; so will they put faith in what I say and believe in thy greatness and generosity and love thee. Then will I bid thee to an entertainment and bid all the merchants on thine account and bring thee and them together, so they may all know thee and thou them and thou shalt buy and sell and give and take with them; nor will it be long ere thou become a man of wealth.’

  So on the morrow he gave him a thousand dinars and a suit of clothes and a black slave and mounting him on a mule, said to him, ‘God give thee quittance of all this: for thou art my friend and it behoves me to deal generously with thee. Have no care; but put away from thee the thought of thy wife and name her not to any.’ ‘May God requite thee with good!’ answered Marouf and rode on, preceded by the black slave, till the latter brought him to the gate of the merchants’ bazaar, where they were all seated, and Ali amongst them. When the latter saw him, he rose and threw himself upon him, saying, [‘This is indeed] a blessed day, O merchant Marouf, O man of good works and kindness!’ And he kissed his hand before the merchants and said to them, ‘O my brothers, I commend to you the merchant Marouf.’ So they saluted him, and Ali signed to them to make much of him, wherefore he was magnified in their eyes.

  Then Ali helped him to dismount and saluted him; after which he took the merchants apart, one after another, and vaunted Marouf to them. ‘Is this man a merchant?’ asked they. ‘Yes,’ answered he; ‘and indeed he is the chiefest of merchants, there lives not a wealthier than he; for his wealth and that of his father and forefathers are notorious among the merchants of Cairo. He hath partners in Hind and Sind and Yemen and is high in repute for generosity. So know ye his rank and make much of him and do him service, and know also that his coming hither is not for the sake of traffic, but to divert himself with the sight of foreign countries; for he hath no need to travel for the sake of gain and profit, having wealth that fires cannot consume, and I am one of his servants.’ And he went on to extol him, till they set him above their heads and began to tell one another of his qualities.

  Then they came round about him and offered him pastry and sherbets, and even the Provost of the Merchants came to him and saluted him; whilst Ali proceeded to say to him, in the presence of the merchants, ‘O my lord, belike thou hast brought with thee somewhat of such and such a stuff?’ And Marouf answered, ‘Abundance.’ Now Ali had that day shown him various kinds of costly stuffs and had taught him the names of the different stuffs, cheap and dear. Then said one of the merchants, ‘O my lord, hast thou brought with thee yellow cloth?’ And Marouf said, ‘Abundance.’ ‘And gazelles’ blood red?’ asked the other. ‘Abundance,’ replied the cobbler; and as often as he asked him of aught, he made him the same answer. So the other said, ‘O merchant Ali, [methinks] if thy countryman had a mind to transport a thousand loads of costly stuffs, he could do so.’ ‘He would take them from one of his store-houses,’ answered Ali, ‘and miss nought thereof.’

  Presently, up came a beggar and went the round of the merchants. One gave him a para and another a doit, but most of them gave him nothing, till he came to Marouf, who pulled out a handful of gold and gave it to him, whereupon he blessed him and went away. The merchants marvelled at this and said, ‘Verily, this is a king’s giving, for he gave the beggar gold without count; and except he were a man of vast wealth, he had not given a beggar a handful of gold.’ After awhile, there came to him a poor woman and he gave her a handful of gold; whereupon she went away, blessing him, and told the other beggars, who came to him, one after another, and he gave them each a handful of gold, till he had made an end of the thousand dinars.

  Then he smote hand upon hand and said, ‘God is our sufficiency and excellent is He in whom we trust!’ Quoth the Provost, ‘What ails thee, O merchant Marouf?’ And he answered, ‘It seems that the most part of the people of this city are poor and miserable: had I known this, I would have brought with me a large sum of money in my saddle-bags and given alms thereof to the poor. I fear me I may be long abroad and it is not in my nature to refuse a beggar; and I have no money left: so, if a poor man come to me, what shall I say to him?’ ‘Say, “God provide thee”’ said the Provost; but Marouf replied, ‘That is not of my wont and I am vexed because of this. Would I had other thousand dinars, wherewith to give alms till my baggage arrive!’ ‘Have no care for that,’ ‘said the Provost and sending one of his men for a thousand dinars, gave them to Marouf, who went on giving them to every beggar who passed till the call to midday prayer.

  Then they entered the mosque and prayed the noonday prayers, and what was left him of the thousand dinars he scattered on the heads of the worshippers. This drew the people’s attention to him and they called down blessings upon him, whilst the merchants marvelled at the abundance of his generosity and openhandedness Then he turned to another merchant and borrowing of him other th
ousand dinars, gave these also away, whilst Ali looked on at what he did, but could not speak. He ceased not to do thus till the call to afternoon-prayer, when he entered the mosque and prayed and distributed the rest of the money. On this wise, by the time they shut the gate of the bazaar, he had borrowed five thousand dinars and given them away, saying to every one of whom he took aught, ‘Wait till my baggage arrives, when, if thou desire gold, I will give thee gold, and if thou desire stuffs, thou shalt have stuffs; for I have great plenty.’

  At eventide Ali invited Marouf and the rest of the merchants to an entertainment and seated him in the place of honour, where he talked of nothing but stuffs and jewels, and whenever they made mention to him of aught, he said, ‘I have abundance of it.’ Next day, he again repaired to the bazaar, where he improved his acquaintance with the merchants and borrowed of them more money, which he gave to the poor: nor did he leave to do thus twenty days, till he had borrowed threescore thousand dinars, and still there came no baggage, no, nor a burning plague [to rid the people of him]. At last the folk began to clamour for their money and say, ‘The merchant Marouf’s baggage cometh not. How long will he take people’s monies and give them to the poor?’ And one of them said, ‘Methinks we should do well to speak to his countryman Ali.’ So they went to the latter and said to him, ‘O Ali, the merchant Marouf’s baggage cometh not.’ ‘Have patience,’ answered he; ‘it cannot fail to come soon.’

  Then he took Marouf aside and said to him, ‘O Marouf, what fashion is this? Did I bid thee toast the bread or burn it? The merchants clamour for their money and tell me that thou owest them threescore thousand dinars, which thou hast borrowed and given away to the poor. How wilt thou satisfy the folk, seeing that thou neither buyest nor sellest?’ ‘What matters it?’ answered Marouf ‘And what are threescore thousand dinars? When my baggage comes, I will pay them in stuffs or in gold and silver, as they will.’ ‘God is most great!’ replied Ali. ‘Hast thou then any baggage?’ And he said, ‘Abundance.’ ‘God and the saints requite thee thine impudence!’ cried Ali. ‘Did I teach thee this saying, that thou shouldst repeat it to me? But I will acquaint the folk with thee.’ ‘Begone and prate not,’ answered Marouf. ‘Am I a poor man? I have abundance in my baggage and as soon as it comes, they shall have their money’s worth, two for one; I have no need of them.’

  At this Ali waxed wroth and said, ‘Unmannerly churl that thou art, I will teach thee to lie to me and be not ashamed!’ ‘Do thy worst,’ rejoined Marouf. ‘They must wait till my baggage comes, when they shall have their due and more.’ So Ali left him and went away, saying in himself, ‘I praised him before and if I blame him now, I make myself out a liar and become of those of whom it is said, “He who praises and [then] blames lies twice.”’1 And he knew not what to do. Presently, the merchants came to him and said, ‘O Ali, hast thou spoken to him?’ ‘O folk,’ answered he, ‘I am ashamed to speak to him, though he owes me a thousand dinars Ye consulted me not, when ye lent him your money; so ye have no claim on me. Dun him yourselves, and if he pay you not, complain of him to the king of the city, saying, “He is an impostor, who hath imposed upon us.” And he will quit you of him.’

  So they repaired to the king and told him what had passed, saying, ‘O king of the age, we are perplexed concerning this merchant, whose generosity is excessive; for he doth thus and thus, and all he borrows, he gives away to the poor by handsful. Were he a man of nought, his heart would not suffer him to lavish gold thus; and were he a man of wealth, his good faith had been made manifest to us by the coming of his baggage; but we see none of his baggage, albeit he avoucheth that he hath a baggage-train and hath foregone it; and whenever we name this or that kind of stuff to him, he answereth, “I have great plenty of it.” Now some time hath past, but there appeareth no sign of his baggage-train, and he oweth us threescore thousand dinars, all of which he hath given away in alms.’ And they went on to praise him and extol his generosity.

  Now this king was a very covetous man, more covetous than Ashab; and when he heard tell of Marouf’s generosity and openhandedness, covetise got the better of him and he said to his vizier, ‘Were not this merchant a man of immense wealth, he had not shown all this munificence. His baggage-train will assuredly come, whereupon these merchants will flock to him and he will lavish unto them wealth galore. Now I have more right to this than they; wherefore I have a mind to make friends with him and profess love for him, so that, when his baggage comes, I shall get of him what the merchants would have had; and I will give him my daughter to wife and join his wealth to mine.’ ‘O king of the age,’ answered the vizier, ‘methinks he is nought but an impostor, and it is the impostor who ruins the house of the covetous.’ ‘O vizier,’ rejoined the king, ‘I will prove him and know if he be an impostor or a man of good faith and whether he be a nursling of fortune or not.’ ‘And how wilt thou prove him?’ asked the vizier. Quoth the king, ‘I will send for him and make much of him and give him a jewel which I have. If he know it and know its price, he is a man of worth and fortune; but, if he know it not, he is an impostor and an upstart and I will slay him after the foulest fashion.’

  So he sent for Marouf, who came and saluted him. The king returned his salutation and seating him beside himself, said to him, ‘Art thou the merchant Marouf?’ ‘Yes,’ answered he. Quoth the king, ‘The merchants pretend that thou owest them threescore thousand dinars. Is this true?’ And Marouf said ‘Yes.’ ‘Then why dost thou not give them their money?’ asked the king. ‘Let them wait till my baggage comes,’ replied Marouf, ‘and I will repay them two for one. If they wish for gold, they shall have gold; and if they wish for silver, they shall have silver; or if they prefer merchandise, I will give them merchandise. Moreover, him to whom I owe a thousand I will give two thousand in requital of that wherewith he hath veiled my face before the poor: for I have abundance.’

  Then said the king, ‘O merchant, take this and look what is its kind and value.’ And he gave him a jewel the bigness of a hazel-nut, by which he set great store, for that he had bought it for a thousand dinars and had not another. Marouf took it and pressing it between his forefinger and thumb, broke it, for it was brittle and would not brook [pressure]. Quoth the king, ‘Why hast thou broken the jewel?’ And Marouf laughed and said, ‘O king of the age, this is no jewel. This is but a piece of stone worth a thousand dinars; why dost thou style it a jewel? A jewel, save the mark, is such as is worth threescore and ten thousand dinars, and this is called but a piece of stone. A jewel that is not of the bigness of a walnut hath no value in my eyes and I take no account thereof. How comes it, then, that thou, who art a king stylest this a jewel, when it is but a piece of stone worth a thousand dinars? But ye are excusable, for that ye are poor and have not in your possession things of price.’ ‘O merchant,’ said the king, ‘hast thou jewels such as those whereof thou speakest?’ And he answered, ‘Abundance.’ Whereupon covetise overcame the king and he said, ‘Wilt thou give me real jewels?’ ‘When my baggage-train comes,’ replied Marouf, ‘I will give thee jewels galore; and all that thou canst desire I have in plenty and will give thee, without price.’

  At this the king rejoiced and said to the merchants, ‘Go your ways and have patience with him, till his baggage arrives, when do ye come to me and receive your monies from me.’ So they went away and the king turned to his vizier and said to him, ‘Caress the merchant Marouf and give and take with him in talk and bespeak him of my daughter, that he may marry her and so we gain these riches of his.’ ‘O king of the age,’ answered the vizier, ‘this man’s fashion liketh me not and methinks he is an impostor and a liar: so do thou leave this whereof thou speakest, lest thou lose thy daughter for nought.’

  Now this vizier had urged the king aforetime to give him his daughter to wife and he was willing to do so, but she consented not to marry him. So the king said to him, ‘O traitor, thou desirest no good for me, for that aforetime thou soughtest my daughter in marriage, but she would none of thee; so now thou wouldst stop
the way of her marriage and wouldst have her lie fallow, that thou mayst take her; but hear from me this word, once for all. Thou hast no concern with this matter. How can he be an impostor and a liar, seeing that he knew the price of the jewel, even that for which I bought it, and broke it, for that it pleased him not? He hath jewels galore, and when he goes in to my daughter and sees her to be fair, she will captivate his reason and he will love her and give her jewels and things of price: but, as for thee, thou wouldst forbid my daughter and myself these good things.’

  The vizier was silent, for fear of the king’s anger, and said to himself, ‘Set the dogs on the oxen!’ Then he betook himself to Marouf and said to him, ‘His highness the king loveth thee and hath a daughter, a fair and lovesome lady, to whom he is minded to marry thee. What sayst thou?’ ‘I will well,’ answered Marouf; ‘but let him wait till my baggage comes, for the dowry of kings’ daughters is large and their rank demandeth that they be not endowed save with a dowry befitting their station. At present I have no money with me till the coming of my baggage, for I have wealth galore and needs must I make her marriage-portion five thousand purses. Then I shall need a thousand purses to distribute amongst the poor and needy, on my wedding-night, and other thousand to give to those who walk in the bridal procession and yet other thousand wherewith to provide victual for the troops and others. Moreover, I shall want a hundred jewels to give to the princess on the wedding morning and other hundred to distribute among the slave-girls and eunuchs, for I must give each of them a jewel in honour of the bride; besides wherewithal to clothe a thousand naked poor folk, and alms too must be given. All this cannot be done till my baggage comes; but I have abundance, and once it is here, I shall make no account of all this expense.’