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44-4
- Alee
Baabaa and the Forty Thieves:
The
Robbers' Leader is Killed
The 38
robbers now came to the town in the evening and went straight to Alee
Baabaa's house. Alee Baabaa was sitting outside after his dinner. The
leader said to him - "I have brought some oil to sell in the market
tomorrow. I am a bit late to reach the town, so I do not know where to
lodge, if it is not troublesome to you, just let me pass the night here. I
will be very grateful to you." Alee Baabaa could not recognize him as
a robber, so he welcomed him in his house. He opened the gate of his house
for the mules to go in and asked a slave to give them food. He then went
to Marjeenaa to tell her to cook food for his guest.
Alee
Baabaa noticed that the leader had sent the mules to the stable after
being unloaded and he himself was looking for a place to sleep out of the
doors; so he went out and brought him in the room not knowing that he wanted to kill him.
The leader also came inside after a long "No, no, I can sleep here
outside." Alee Baabaa fed him the dinner and asked him if he needed
anything more. Then he went inside to instruct Marjeenaa to take care of
his guest and said - "Tomorrow I will take bath early so give my
bathing clothes to Abdallaa (the servant).
At the
same time the leader also got up and went outside pretending that he was
going to check on his mules. He instructed all his men, from the first jar
to the 37th one, that when he would throw stones out of the window, do not
fail to cut the jars open with your knife you have, and come out; and then he
would be with them at once. After this he came back and Marjeenaa took him
to his room to sleep. He also soon put out the light and lay down in the
same clothes in which he came there.
Marjeenaa
gave Alee Baabaa's clothes to Abdallaa and went to cook something, but as
she put the pot on fire, the lamp went out, and there was no oil in the
house. Now what to do? Abdallaa said - "Why do you worry so much, go
and take some oil from one of the jars." "Oh, thank you very
much for this advice."
saying this she went to the yard and as she neared a jar, a voice came,
"Is it time." Although the robber spoke in a very low voice, still Marjeenaa had heard it. She got alarmed hearing a voice
of a human being from an oil jar.
She
guessed the danger in which they all were, so carefully she kept this
secret and without getting alarmed she said to him - "Not yet, but
soon." She gave this answer to all the men in jars until she
came to the jar in which oil was there. Thus she had known that her master
had allowed 38 robbers in his house instead of an oil merchant. She took
the oil from the oil jar, lighted the lamp and then put a large kettle to
boil the water. As soon it was boiled, she poured enough water in each jar
to destroy the man sitting in it.
Then
she came in the kitchen, put out the lamp and stood silently there instead
of going to bed to watch what would happen next. After a few minutes, the
leader noticed that there was no light in the house, no sound too, so he
threw some small stones at jars hoping that his men will come out from the
jars, but to his dismay nobody came out. He got alarmed seeing this, rose
from this bed and went in the yard to check for his men. He found all of
them dead. He had known that Alee Babaa had discovered his plan to kill him so
he ran away fast through the back door. When Marjeenaa did not hear any
sound for quite some time, she thought that the leader had run away
through the back door instead of the street door. She felt happy and went
to sleep.
Alee
Baabaa rose in the morning, unaware of the events of the night, and went
to bath. When he was returning from his bath, he noticed that the
merchant's jars were still kept in the yard and the mules were still in
the stable. He asked Marjeenaa abut this. She said - "Master, I will
show you what you should see, if you just follow me." She took him in
the yard and asked him to check the first jar if there was any oil in it.
As he peeped in, he cried with fright. Marjeenaa said - "Don't be
afraid. This man cannot do any harm to anybody in this house."
"Oh, What does this mean?"
Marjeenaa
said - "Do not arouse the curiosity of other people, just keep it
secret. Look into all other jars." As he peeped in other jars, he
became more surprised and asked - "What happened to the
merchant?" Marjeenaa said - "Come to your room, then I will tell
you his story to you that who he was, what has become to him, and where he has
gone. It is the time for your breakfast." Alee Baabaa went into his
room, Marjeenaa brought his breakfast, but Alee Baabaa requested her to
tell the story before his breakfast. She then told him the whole story.
She told him about the marks also on his door and suggested that maybe
this merchant was the same who marked your house. So now he should be on
his own guard.
Alee
Baabaa was so happy to hear all this that he set her free from his slavery
and said - "I will surely give you reward of this. You have saved my
life, I owe my life to you. Now we have to bury these in the way that
nobody can make out where they are. Abdallaa and I will help you."
They buried them in their garden. Alee Baabaa hid the jars and the weapons
those men brought with them. He sold the mules, in parts, in the market
through his slave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now the
leader came to his cave not deciding that where to go now and what to do
of this Alee Baabaa. He cried for his troop for some time, then he slept.
Next day he had another project in his mind. He got ready according to his
plan, went to the town and stayed with a Khaan. He asked Khaan to tell him the
news of the town, Khaan told him many news, but those news were not of his
interest, it meant that Alee Baabaa had that news secret.
He
opened a shop, opposite to Alee Baabaa's son's shop, from which he started
selling expensive things which he collected throughout his life. He took the name
as Kogiyaa Hussain. He soon became friendly to other merchants and was
introduced to Alee Baabaa's son also. Seeing around he recognized Alee
Baabaa also. He treated him very nicely with presents, and often asked him
to dine or sup with him. One day Alee Baabaa's son thought to return his
obligations by inviting him to his house. He told his father about this, and the
father got very happy to hear this, he said - "On Friday the shops
are closed, take him on a walk in the evening and when you return, you
pass by my door and call him in. It will be a nice surprise for him. I will
ask Marjeenaa to prepare supper for him."
Next
day Alee Baabaa's son took Hussain for a walk and after the walk, when they
were returning he knocked Alee Baabaa's door and said to Hussain -
"This is my father's house, when I told him abut your friendship, he
asked me to bring you to him too." Although Hussain's aim was getting
fulfilled, still he wanted to take leave, but at the same time the servant
opened the door and Alee Baabaa's son almost forced him to come in. After
talking on different subjects, Hussain again wanted to go home but Alee Baabaa
insisted him to stay back and have food with him.
Hussain
said - "I do not want to insult you, but I eat some special food,
without salt, that is why I want to take food at my place only." Alee Baabaa said -
"Oh, That is not a problem, we will prepare your food without salt,
but you are staying here to have supper with me. I come back
immediately." Alee Baabaa went to the kitchen and instructed
Marjeenaa to prepare food without salt for his guest. Marjeenaa was
surprised with his order, she asked , "Who is such a guest who does
not eat salt?" "Don't worry, just do as I said." and Alee
Baabaa left.
Marjeenaa
couldn't help seeing the man who wouldn't eat salt. So when she had
prepare everything, she came out to see the man. She immediately
recognized him as the leader of those 38 robbers and saw a dagger hidden
under his garment. She said to herself, "Oh, That is why he is not
eating salt with him as he intends to kill my master, but I am not going
to leave him." She thought of a plan. When they had eaten their food,
and Abdallaa came to take the dessert, she herself took it to them and set
it on the table. Then she took a little table and three glasses and kept
them by Alee Baabaa and went to have here supper with Abdallaa.
Hussain
thought that it was a great opportunity to kill both, father and the son, after
they are drunk. Marjeenaa got ready in a dancer's dress and asked Abdallaa
also to take his tabor and said - "Come, We will dance in the way we
do sometimes to entertain our master when he is alone." Both entered
the room. Alee Baabaa said to Marjeenaa - "Come and let Hussain see
what you can do." and said to Hussain - "They are my servants -
cook and housekeeper. They want to entertain you, I hope you wouldn't
mind." Although Hussain was not expecting this diversion because he
didn't want to lose this opportunity to kill both, still he pretended to
be much obliged and showed his pleasure for what he will see.
Marjeenaa
danced several dances with grace and strength. Then she took out her small
dagger and started dancing with it. Sometimes she put it on one person's
breast, sometimes on another's but most times on her own. When she
finished her dance, she took tabor from Abdallaa's hand and presented the
other side of the tabor with her left hand towards Alee Baabaa, still
holding the dagger in her right hand. Alee Baabaa and his son gave her one
gold coin each. Then she went to Hussain, and as he put his hand in his
pocket to take out the money, she plunged her dagger into his heart.
Both
Alee Baabaa and his son got frightened to see this and cried out -
"What did you do this to ruin my family?" Marjeenaa said -
"Sir, Not to ruin your family, rather to protect your family."
Then she showed them the hidden dagger under his garment and said -
"If you look carefully, he is the same man who came here as oil
merchant. He came here to kill you, that is why he did not want to eat
salt with you. I suspected him as soon as you told me that you had a guest
who wouldn't eat salt with you. Now you can see that my suspicion was not
baseless."
Alee
Baabaa was saved second time. He was grateful to her. He said to her -
"I gave you freedom before and I told you that my gratitude will not
stop here. I show it to you by making you my daughter-in-law." Alee
Baabaa's son also loved her so he consented for this marriage. They buried
Hussain's body and nobody could know it. After a few days Alee Baabaa performed
their marriage with pomp and show.
After
the marriage, for long time he did not go to the cave because he thought
that there must be two robbers still alive since he did not know abut
them; but then he went there and found that nobody had touched the
treasure since the death of Hussain. He brought much wealth from there and
he showed that cave to his son also for future use.
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