3-2 Three
Qalandar and Five Women of Bagadaad:
Zubaidaa Performs Strange Things
After
all this was over, Zubaidaa got up from her seat, held Ameenaa's hand and
said - "I hope our friends will excuse us to fulfill our nightly
tasks." Ameenaa understood her sister so she collected all the
dishes, glasses, musical instruments to put them away. While Zaidee
cleaned the place and put everything in order. Then she asked Qalandars to
sit on a sofa, the merchants to sit on their opposite and porter to come
with her to help her and her sisters.
After
a while, Ameena returned carrying a seat which she put in the middle. Then
she went to a closet signing the porter to follow her. They soon came back
with two black dogs with chains. Zubaidaa got up from her seat and came to
the porter where he was standing with two dogs. She said with a deep sigh,
"We must do our duty." She pulled her sleeves up, took a whip
from Zaidee and said to the porter - Take one dog to Ameenaa and give the
other one to me."
The
porter did as he was told, but as he was dong this the dog started
howling pitifully. But Zubaidaa didn't care and beat him till she was
tired. She then took the chain from the porter, raised the dog on his hind
legs and both looked into each other's eyes sorrowfully that their eyes
filled with tears. Zubaidaa took a handkerchief, wiped the dog's eyes
tenderly, kissed him and gave him to the porter to take him back to the
closet and bring the other one to her. The porter did the same as he was
told. Zubaidaa treated him in the same way as she treated the first one.
The
Caliph was unable to see all this, so he looked at his Vazeer with a
questioning eye, but Vazeer signed him to be silent and pretended not to
see anything. Zaidee rose and asked Zubaidaa to sit down as she also had
her part to play. Now Ameenaa took out a lute (a guitar type instrument)
from a yellow satin cover and gave it to Zaidee who sand several songs.
When she was tired she called to Ameenaa to take her place.
Ameenaa
took the instrument and sang the song with so much intensity that she felt
warm and tore her dress open to get some air. To the amazement of all, her
neck was a mass of scars. The Qalandar and the Caliph saw each other and
told something which was not heard by anybody, because both sisters were
trying to bring their sister in senses.
Caliph
asked - "What does it mean?" The Qalandar said - "We know
no more than you do." "What? Don't you belong to this
house?" "No Sir, We came her just one hour before you."
Then they looked at the porter, but he was also as ignorant as they
themselves were. At last the Caliph could not control himself and declared
that he would ask the women what was going on. But the Vazeer requested
him to remember the condition and wait till morning so that he, as Caliph,
could summon the women and explain everything to him. But the Caliph id
not listen to his advice and wanted to ask the women, that Zubaidaa
suspected something and asked - "What is that that you are discussing
so earnestly?"
The
porter answered - "Madam, They want to ask you why did you beat the
dogs in the first pace, then why did you weep for them and then why this
woman's neck is full of scars? They have asked me to put this question
before you." Zubaidaa asked them - "Is it true, gentlemen, that
you asked this man to question me like this?" "Yes, it is."
Replied everyone except the Vazeer who was silent.
Zubaidaa
angrily said - "Is this the return of my hospitality I have shown to
you? Have you forgotten the one condition on which you were allowed to
enter the house? Come here." She clapped her hands three times and
immediately seven black slaves, each armed with a sabre, appeared there
and threw the seven men on the ground and prepared themselves to cut their
heads at their mistress' order. All thought that now their death was
certain. The Caliph repented that why didn't he hear his Vazeer's advice.
All decided to die bravely, except the porter who asked Zubaidaa "why
should I suffer for all others fault?" and declared that all this
happened because of Qalandar, because they always brought ill luck. He
requested her not to mix guilty with innocent and to spare his
life.
There
was something in moans and groans of porter that in spite of her anger,
Zubaidaa couldn't hold herself from laughing. She put him aside and asked
others a second time - "Who are you? Tell me the truth, otherwise you
have no time to live. I don't think you are of any good position, because
if you had been you would have consideration for us." In spite of
knowing that his life was at the mercy of Zubaidaa, the Caliph took a sigh
of relief. He thought that the woman wanted to know his name and rank and
then all danger will be over. So he whispered in the ear of his Vazeer to
tell her the truth but the Vazeer was wiser than his master. He said -
"We have got what we deserved."
In the
meantime Zubaidaa turned to Qalandar and asked them if they were brothers,
since they were blind. One of them replied, "No Madam, We are not
brothers but we are brother because of our similar way of living."
Zubaidaa asked the another one - "And you, Are you blind of one
eye?" "No Madam, I became blind by an adventure which might have
never happened to anybody. After that I shaved my head and eyebrows and
put on his dress." Zubaidaa asked the same question with the other
two Qalandar and got the same answer.
But
the third Qalandar added - "Madam, It might interest you that we are
of no low birth, but we all three are sons of kings and of such kings who
are respected in the whole world." At this Zubaidaa's anger calmed
down a bit and she asked her slaves to give more liberty. She said -
"those who will tell us their history and reason to come here will be
allowed to leave unhurt and those who will not..." The porter
understood that he had to tell his story himself to save himself. So he
said - "Madam, You already know how I came here and rest I tell you.
Your sister found me at the place where porters wait to be hired. She took
me to various shops and in the end we landed here. I remained here because
of your goodness, that is my story."
Zubaidaa
said - "You can go, and take care that we never meet again." The
porter said - "Please permit me to stay here a little while more as
all others have heard my story but I have not heard theirs, I wish to
their story also." An without waiting for the answer he sat down on
the end of the sofa on which the women were sitting.
Then
one of the Qalanadar started telling his story...
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