The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 8 by Richard F. Burton
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Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 8
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"An Fate afflict thee, with grief manifest, * Prepare thy
patience and make broad thy breast;
For of His grace the Lord of all the worlds * Shall send to wait
upon unrest sweet Rest."
Then he sat awhile pondering his case, and with his head bowed
down recited also these couplets,
"Patience with sweet and with bitter Fate! * And weet that His
will He shall consummate:
Night oft upon woe as on abscess acts * And brings it up to the
bursting state:
And Chance and Change shall pass o'er the youth * And fleet from
his thoughts and no more shall bait."
Then he said in his mind, "I will make this one more cast,
trusting in Allah, so haply He may not disappoint my hope;" and
he rose and casting into the river the net as far as his arm
availed, gathered the cords in his hands and waited a full hour,
after which he pulled at it and, finding it heavy,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Khalifah the Fisherman had cast his net sundry times into the
stream, yet had it brought up naught, he pondered his case and
improvised the verses afore quoted. Then he said in his mind, "I
will make this one more cast, trusting in Allah who haply will
not disappoint my hope." So he rose and threw the net and waited
a full hour, after which time he pulled at it and, finding it
heavy, handled it gently and drew it in, little by little, till
he got it ashore, when lo and behold! he saw in it a one-eyed,
lame-legged ape. Seeing this quoth Khalifah, "There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah! verily, we are
Allah's and to Him we are returning! What meaneth this heart-
breaking, miserable ill-luck and hapless fortune? What is come
to me this blessed day? But all this is of the destinies of
Almighty Allah!" Then he took the ape and tied him with a cord
to a tree which grew on the river-bank, and grasping a whip he
had with him, raised his arm in the air, thinking to bring down
the scourge upon the quarry, when Allah made the ape speak with a
fluent tongue, saying, "O Khalifah, hold thy hand and beat me
not, but leave me bounden to this tree and go down to the river
and cast thy net, confiding in Allah; for He will give thee thy
daily bread." Hearing this Khalifah went down to the river and
casting his net, let the cords run out. Then he pulled it in and
found it heavier than before; so he ceased not to tug at it, till
he brought it to land, when, behold, there was another ape in it,
with front teeth wide apart, [FN#187] Kohl-darkened eyes and
hands stained with Henna-dyes; and he was laughing and wore a
tattered waistcloth about his middle. Quoth Khalifah, "Praised
be Allah who hath changed the fish of the river into apes!"
[FN#188] then, going up to the first ape, who was still tied to
the tree, he said to him, "See, O unlucky, how fulsome was the
counsel thou gavest me! None but thou made me light on this
second ape: and for that thou gavest me good-morrow with thy one
eye and thy lameness, [FN#189] I am become distressed and weary,
without dirham or dinar." So saying, he hent in hand a stick
[FN#190] and flourishing it thrice in the air, was about to come
down with it upon the lame ape, when the creature cried out for
mercy and said to him, "I conjure thee, by Allah, spare me for
the sake of this my fellow and seek of him thy need; for he will
guide thee to thy desire!" So he held his hand from him and
throwing down the stick, went up to and stood by the second ape,
who said to him, "O Khalifah, this my speech [FN#191] will profit
thee naught, except thou hearken to what I say to thee; but, an
thou do my bidding and cross me not, I will be the cause of thine
enrichment." Asked Khalifah, "And what hast thou to say to me
that I may obey there therein?" The Ape answered, "Leave me
bound on the bank and hie thee down to the river; then cast thy
net a third time, and after I will tell thee what to do." So he
took his net and going down to the river, cast it once more and
waited awhile. Then he drew it in and finding it heavy, laboured
at it and ceased not his travail till he got it ashore, when he
found in it yet another ape; but this one was red, with a blue
waistcloth about his middle; his hands and feet were stained with
Henna and his eyes blackened with Kohl. When Khalifah saw this,
he exclaimed, "Glory to God the Great! Extolled be the
perfection of the Lord of Dominion! Verily, this is a blessed
day from first to last: its ascendant was fortunate in the
countenance of the first ape, and the scroll [FN#192] is known by
its superscription! Verily, to-day is a day of apes: there is
not a single fish left in the river, and we are come out to-day
but to catch monkeys!" Then he turned to the third ape and said,
"And what thing art thou also, O unlucky?" Quoth the ape, "Dost
thou not know me, O Khalifah!"; and quoth he, "Not I!" The ape
cried, "I am the ape of Abu al-Sa'adat [FN#193] the Jew, the
shroff." Asked Khalifah, "And what dost thou for him?"; and the
ape answered, "I give him good-morrow at the first of the day,
and he gaineth five ducats; and again at the end of the day, I
give him good-even and he gaineth other five ducats." Whereupon
Khalifah turned to the first ape and said to him, "See, O
unlucky, what fine apes other folks have! As for thee, thou
givest me good-morrow with thy one eye and thy lameness and thy
ill-omened phiz and I become poor and bankrupt and hungry!" So
saying, he took the cattle-stick and flourishing it thrice in the
air, was about to come down with it on the first ape, when Abu
al-Sa'adat's ape said to him, "Let him be, O Khalifah, hold thy
hand and come hither to me, that I may tell thee what to do." So
Khalifah threw down the stick and walking up to him cried, "And
what hast thou to say to me, O monarch of all monkeys?" Replied
the ape, "Leave me and the other two apes here, and take thy net
and cast it into the river; and whatever cometh up, bring it to
me, and I will tell thee what shall gladden thee."--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-third Night
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the ape
of Abu al-Sa'adat said to Khalifah, "Take thy net and cast it
into the river; and whatever cometh up, bring it to me, and I
will tell thee what shall gladden thee." He replied, "I hear and
obey," and took the net and gathered it on his shoulder, reciting
these couplets,
"When straitened is my breast I will of my Creator pray, * Who
may and can the heaviest weight lighten in easiest way;
For ere man's glance can turn or close his eye by God His grace *
Waxeth the broken whole and yieldeth jail its prison-prey.
Therefore with Allah one and all of thy concerns commit * Whose
grace and favour men of wit shall nevermore gainsay."
And also these twain,
"Thou art the cause that castest men in ban and bane; * Sorrow
e'en so and sorrow's cause Thou canst assain:
Make me not covet aught that lies beyond my reach; * How many a
greedy wight his wish hath failed to gain!"
Now when Khalifah had made an end of his verse, he went down to
the river and casting his net, waited awhile; after which he drew
it up and found therein a fine young fish, [FN#194] with a big
head, a tail like a ladle and eyes like two gold pieces. When
Khalifah saw this fish, he rejoiced, for he had never in his life
caught its like, so he took it, marvelling, and carried it to the
ape of Abu al-Sa'adat the Jew, as 'twere he had gotten possession
of the universal world. Quoth the ape, "O Khalifah, what wilt
thou do with his and with thine ape?"; and quoth the Fisherman,
"I will tell thee, O monarch of monkeys all I am about to do.
Know then that first, I will cast about to make away with yonder
accursed, my ape, and take thee in his stead and give thee every
day to eat of whatso thou wilt." Rejoined the ape, "Since thou
hast made choice of me, I will tell thee how thou shalt do
wherein, if it please Allah Almighty, shall be the mending of thy
fortune. Lend thy mind, then, to what I say to thee and 'tis
this!: Take another cord and tie me also to a tree, where leave
me and go to the midst of The Dyke [FN#195] and cast thy net into
the Tigris. [FN#196] Then after waiting awhile, draw it up and
thou shalt find therein a fish, than which thou never sawest a
finer in thy whole life. Bring it to me and I will tell thee how
thou shalt do after this." So Khalifah rose forthright and
casting his net into the Tigris, drew up a great cat-fish
[FN#197] the bigness of a lamb; never had he set eyes on its
like, for it was larger than the first fish. He carried it to
the ape, who said to him, "Gather thee some green grass and set
half of it in a basket; lay the fish therein and cover it with
the other moiety. Then, leaving us here tied, shoulder the
basket and betake thee to Baghdad. If any bespeak thee or
question thee by the way, answer him not, but fare on till thou
comest to the market-street of the money-changers, at the upper
end of whereof thou wilt find the shop of Master [FN#198] Abu al-
Sa'adat the Jew, Shaykh of the shroffs, and wilt see him sitting
on a mattress, with a cushion behind him and two coffers, one for
gold and one for silver, before him, while around him stand his
Mamelukes and negro-slaves and servant-lads. Go up to him and
set the basket before him, saying 'O Abu al-Sa'adat, verily I
went out to-day to fish and cast my net in thy name and Allah
Almighty sent me this fish.' He will ask, 'Hast thou shown it to
any but me?;' and do thou answer, "No, by Allah!' then will he
take it of thee and give thee a dinar. Give it back to him and
he will give thee two dinars; but do thou return them also and so
do with everything he may offer thee; and take naught from him,
though he give thee the fish's weight in gold. Then will he say
to thee, 'Tell me what thou wouldst have,' and do thou reply, "By
Allah, I will not sell the fish save for two words!' He will
ask, 'What are they?' and do thou answer, 'Stand up and say,
'Bear witness, O ye who are present in the market, that I give
Khalifah the fisherman my ape in exchange for his ape, and that I
barter for his lot my lot and luck for his luck.' This is the
price of the fish, and I have no need of gold.' If he do this, I
will every day give thee good-morrow and good-even, and every day
thou shalt gain ten dinars of good gold; whilst this one-eyed,
lame-legged ape shall daily give the Jew good-morrow, and Allah
shall afflict him every day with an avanie [FN#199] which he must
needs pay, nor will he cease to be thus afflicted till he is
reduced to beggary and hath naught. Hearken then to my words; so
shalt thou prosper and be guided aright." Quoth Khalifah, "I
accept thy counsel, O monarch of all the monkeys! But, as for
this unlucky, may Allah never bless him! I know not what to do
with him." Quoth the ape, "Let him go [FN#200] into the water,
and let me go also." "I hear and obey," answered Khalifah and
unbound the three apes, and they went down into the river. Then
he took up the cat-fish [FN#201] which he washed then laid it in
the basket upon some green grass, and covered it with other; and
lastly shouldering his load, set out chanting the following
Mawwal, [FN#202]
"Thy case commit to a Heavenly Lord and thou shalt safety see; *
Act kindly through thy worldly life and live repentance-
free.
Mate not with folk suspected, lest eke thou shouldst suspected be
* And from reviling keep thy tongue lest men revile at
thee!"
--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalifah
the fisherman, after ending his song, set out with the basket
upon his shoulder and ceased not faring till he entered the city
of Baghdad. And as he threaded the streets the folk knew him and
cried out to him, saying, "What hast thou there, O Khalifah?" but
he paid no heed to them and passed on till he came to the market-
street of the money-changers and fared between the shops, as the
ape had charged him, till he found the Jew seated at the upper
end, with his servants in attendance upon him, as he were a King
of the Kings of Khorason. He knew him at first sight; so he went
up to him and stood before him, whereupon Abu al-Sa'adat raised
his eyes and recognising him, said, "Welcome, O Khalifah! What
wantest thou and what is thy need? If any have missaid thee or
spited thee, tell me and I will go with thee to the Chief of
Police, who shall do thee justice on him." Replied Khalifah,
"Nay, as thy head liveth, O chief of the Jews, none hath missaid
me. But I went forth this morning to the river and, casting my
net into the Tigris on thy luck, brought up this fish."
Therewith he opened the basket and threw the fish before the Jew
who admired it and said, "By the Pentateuch and the Ten
Commandments, [FN#203] I dreamt last night that the Virgin came
to me and said, 'Know, O Abu al-Sa'adat, that I have sent thee a
pretty present!' and doubtless 'tis this fish." Then he turned
to Khalifah and said to him, "By thy faith, hath any seen it but
I?" Khalifah replied, "No by Allah and by Abu Bakr the
Viridical, [FN#204] none hath seen it save thou, O chief of the
Jews!" Whereupon the Jew turned to one of his lads and said to
him, "Come, carry this fish to my house and bid Sa'adah [FN#205]
dress it and fry and broil it, against I make an end of my
business and hie me home." And Khalifah said, "Go, O my lad; let
the master's wife fry some of it and broil the rest." Answered
the boy, "I hear and I obey, O my lord" and, taking the fish,
went away with it to the house. Then the Jew put out his hand
and gave Khalifah the fisherman a dinar, saying, "Take this for
thyself, O Khalifah, and spend it on thy family." When Khalifah
saw the dinar on his palm, he took it, saying, "Laud to the Lord
of Dominion!" as if he had never seen aught of gold in his life;
and went somewhat away; but, before he had gone far, he was
minded of the ape's charge and turning back threw down the ducat,
saying, "Take thy gold and give folk back their fish! Dost thou
make a laughing stock of folk? The Jew hearing this thought he
was jesting and offered him two dinars upon the other, but
Khalifah said, "Give me the fish and no nonsense. How knewest
thou I would sell it at this price?" Whereupon the Jew gave him
two more dinars and said, "Take these five ducats for thy fish
and leave greed." So Khalifah hent the five dinars in hand and
went away, rejoicing, and gazing and marvelling at the gold and
saying, "Glory be to God! There is not with the Caliph of
Baghdad what is with me this day!" Then he ceased not faring on
till he came to the end of the market-street, when he remembered
the words of the ape and his charge, and returning to the Jew,
threw him back the gold. Quoth he, "What aileth thee, O
Khalifah? Dost thou want silver in exchange for gold?" Khalifah
replied, "I want nor dirhams nor dinars. I only want thee to
give me back folk's fish." With this the Jew waxed wroth and
shouted out at him, saying, "O fisherman, thou bringest me a fish
not worth a sequin and I give thee five for it; yet art thou not
content! Art thou Jinn-mad? Tell me for how much thou wilt sell
it." Answered Khalifah, "I will not sell it for silver nor for
gold, only for two sayings [FN#206] thou shalt say me." When the
Jew heard speak of the "Two Sayings," his eyes sank into his
head, he breathed hard and ground his teeth for rage and said to
him, "O nail-paring of the Moslems, wilt thou have me throw off
my faith for the sake of thy fish, and wilt thou debauch me from
my religion and stultify my belief and my conviction which I
inherited of old from my forbears?" Then he cried out to the
servants who were in waiting and said, "Out on you! Bash me this
unlucky rogue's neck and bastinado him soundly!" So they came
down upon him with blows and ceased not beating him till he fell
beneath the shop, and the Jew said to them, "Leave him and let
him rise." Whereupon Khalifah jumped up, as if naught ailed him,
and the Jew said to him, "Tell me what price thou asketh for this
fish and I will give it thee: for thou hast gotten but scant good
of us this day." Answered the Fisherman, "Have no fear for me, O
master, because of the beating; for I can eat ten donkeys'
rations of stick." The Jew laughed at his words and said, "Allah
upon thee, tell me what thou wilt have and by the right of my
Faith, I will give it thee!" The Fisherman replied, "Naught from
thee will remunerate me for this fish save the two words whereof
I spake." And the Jew said, "Meseemeth thou wouldst have me
become a Moslem?" [FN#207] Khalifah rejoined, "By Allah, O Jew,
an thou islamise 'twill nor advantage the Moslems nor damage the
Jews; and in like manner, an thou hold to thy misbelief 'twill
nor damage the Moslems nor advantage the Jews. But what I desire
of thee is that thou rise to thy feet and say, 'Bear witness
against me, O people of the market, that I barter my ape for the
ape of Khalifah the Fisherman and my lot in the world for his lot
and my luck for his luck.'" Quoth the Jew, "If this be all thou
desirest 'twill sit lightly upon me." --And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jew
said to Khalifah the Fisherman, "If this be all thou desirest,
'twill sit lightly upon me." So he rose without stay or delay
and standing on his feet, repeated the required words; after
which he turned to the Fisherman and asked him, "Hast thou aught
else to ask of me?" "No," answered he, and the Jew said, "Go in
peace!" Hearing this Khalifah sprung to his feet forthright;
took up his basket and net and returned straight to the Tigris,
where he threw his net and pulled it in. He found it heavy and
brought it not ashore but with travail, when he found it full of
fish of all kinds. Presently, up came a woman with a dish, who
gave me a dinar, and he gave her fish for it; and after her an
eunuch, who also bought a dinar's worth of fish, and so forth
till he had sold ten dinars' worth. And he continued to sell ten
dinars' worth of fish daily for ten days, till he had gotten an
hundred dinars. Now Khalifah the Fisherman had quarters in the
Passage of the Merchants, [FN#208] and, as he lay one night in
his lodging much bemused with Hashish, he said to himself, "O
Khalifah, the folk all know thee for a poor fisherman, and now
thou hast gotten an hundred golden dinars. Needs must the
Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, hear of this from
some one, and haply he will be wanting money and will send for
thee and say to thee, 'I need a sum of money and it hath reached
me that thou hast an hundred dinars: so do thou lend them to me
those same.' I shall answer, 'O Commander of the Faithful, I am
a poor man, and whoso told thee that I had an hundred dinars lied
against me; for I have naught of this.' Thereupon he will commit
me to the Chief of Police, saying, "Strip him of his clothes and
torment him with the bastinado till he confess and give up the
hundred dinars in his possession. Wherefore, meseemeth to
provide against this predicament, the best thing I can do, is to
rise forthright and bash myself with the whip, so to use myself
to beating." And his Hashish [FN#209] said to him, "Rise, doff
thy dress." So he stood up and putting off his clothes, took a
whip he had by him and set handy a leathern pillow; then he fell
to lashing himself, laying every other blow upon the pillow and
roaring out the while, "Alas! Alas! By Allah, 'tis a false
saying, O my lord, and they have lied against me; for I am a poor
fisherman and have naught of the goods of the world!" The noise
of the whip falling on the pillow and on his person resounded in
the still of night and the folk heard it, and amongst others the
merchants, and they said, "Whatever can ail the poor fellow, that
he crieth and we hear the noise of blows falling on him?"
'Twould seem robbers have broken in upon him and are tormenting
him." Presently they all came forth of their lodgings, at the
noise of the blows and the crying, and repaired to Khalifah's
room, but they found the door locked and said one to other,
"Belike the robbers have come in upon him from the back of the
adjoining saloon. It behoveth us to climb over by the roofs."
So they clomb over the roofs and coming down through the sky-
light, [FN#210] saw him naked and flogging himself and asked him,
"What aileth thee, O Khalifah?" He answered, "Know, O folk, that
I have gained some dinars and fear lest my case be carried up to
the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Rashid, and he send for me
and demand of me those same gold pieces; where upon I should
deny, and I fear that, if I deny, he will torture me, so I am
torturing myself, by way of accustoming me to what may come."
The merchants laughed at him and said, "Leave this fooling, may
Allah not bless thee and the dinars thou hast gotten! Verily
thou hast disturbed us this night and hast troubled our hearts."
So Khalifah left flogging himself and slept till the morning,
when he rose and would have gone about his business, but
bethought him of his hundred dinars and said in his mind, "An I
leave them at home, thieves will steal them, and if I put them in
a belt [FN#211] about my waist, peradventure some one will see me
and lay in wait for me till he come upon me in some lonely place
and slay me and take the money: but I have a device that should
serve me well, right well." So he jumped up forthright and made
him a pocket in the collar of his gaberdine and tying the hundred
dinars up in a purse, laid them in the collar-pocket. Then he
took his net and basket and staff and went down to the Tigris, --
And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalifah
the Fisherman, having set his hundred dinars in the collar-pocket
took basket, staff and net and went down to the Tigris, where he
made a cast but brought up naught. So he removed from that place
to another and threw again, but once more the net came up empty;
and he went on removing from place to place till he had gone half
a day's journey from the city, ever casting the net which kept
bringing up naught. So he said to himself, "By Allah, I will
throw my net a-stream but his once more, whether ill come of it
or weal!" [FN#212] Then he hurled the net with all his force, of
the excess and his wrath and the purse with the hundred dinars
flew out of his collar-pocket and, lighting in mid-stream, was
carried away by the strong current; whereupon he threw down the
net and plunged into the water after the purse. He dived for it
nigh a hundred times, till his strength was exhausted and he came
up for sheer fatigue without chancing on it. When he despaired
of finding the purse, he returned to the shore, where he was
nothing but staff, net and basket and sought for his clothes, but
could light on no trace of them: so he said in himself, "O vilest
of those wherefor was made the byword, 'The pilgrimage is not
perfected save by copulation with the camel!" [FN#213] Then he
wrapped the net about him and taking staff in one hand and basket
in other, went trotting about like a camel in rut, running right
and left and backwards and forwards, dishevelled and dusty, as he
were a rebel Marid let loose from Solomon's prison. [FN#214] So
far for what concerns the Fisherman Khalifah; but as regards the
Caliph Harun al-Rashid, he had a friend, a jeweller called Ibn
al-Kirnas, [FN#215] and all the traders, brokers and middle-men
knew him for the Caliph's merchant; wherefore there was naught
sold in Baghdad, by way of rarities and things of price or
Mamelukes or handmaidens, but was first shown to him. As he sat
one day in his shop, behold, there came up to him the Shaykh of
the brokers, with a slave-girl, whose like seers never saw, for
she was of passing beauty and loveliness, symmetry and perfect
grace, and among her gifts was that she knew all arts and
sciences and could make verses and play upon all manner musical
instruments. So Ibn al-Kirnas bought her for five thousand
golden dinars and clothed her with other thousand; after which he
carried her to the Prince of True Believers, with whom she lay
the night and who made trial of her in every kind of knowledge
and accomplishment and found her versed in all sorts of arts and
sciences, having no equal in her time. Her name was Kut al-Kulub
[FN#216] and she was even as saith the poet,
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