|
|
|
|
89-5-2 -
The Story of the Hunchback:
The Story
Told by the Tailor
On
the 30th Night contd ...
I said
- "May Allaah show small mercy to my father for knowing such a man like
you." The barber laughed and said - "I did not know that you are
otherwise than a man of sense. You are talking nonsense because of your
illness. God has written in His book, "Paradise is for them who restrain their anger, and
who forgive men." but you are excused in every case. Your father didn't do
anything without my advice. When I am ready to serve you, and not
displeased with you, then why are you displeased with me?"
I said
- "I just desire that you should shave my head and go from here, so
that I can do my business." And I started taking off my clothes. When
he saw this he also started sharpening his razor. Then he came and shaved
a small portion of my head and raised his hand and prayed and said to me -
"O my Lord, I don't know that you know my position in the society,
because my hand alights upon the heads of kings, Ameer and Vazeers
etc."
I said
to him - "Leave that does not concern you. You have troubled my
mind." He said - "I can see that you are in hurry."
"Yes, yes. I am." He said - "Proceed slowly because the haste is
from the Devil and causes repentance and disappointment and patience is of
Allaah. I do not know
about your affair, I wish if you had told me about your affair for which
you are in so much hurry; and may it be good, for I fear it is
otherwise."
Now
only three hours left in the appointed time, and he left the razor from
his hand and taking his astrological instrument went again to observe the
Sun. He returned after some time and said - "Only three hours remain
to the hour of prayer." I said - "For the sake of Allaah, Be
silent." Then he again sharpened the razor and shaved another portion
of my head. He then stopped again and said - "I am anxious to know
about your hurry, if you could tell me about it, it would be better for
you, because your father also did not do anything without consulting
me."
I knew
that I could not avoid his interruption any more, and I will be
late if this interruption will continue like this. If I will be late, I will not be able to meet her. So I said to him - "Be quick,
because I want to go to an entertainment with my friends." When he
heard the word entertainment, he said - "Yesterday I asked a party of
my intimate friends to come and feast with me, but I forgot to prepare
anything to eat, and now I have remembered it. You have saved me from the
embarrassment." I said - "Don't be in so much anxiety, as you
know that I am going today to an entertainment, so all the food and drink
that is in my house is yours, if you quickly finish shaving my head."
He
said - "May God compensate you with all blessings, tell me what do
you have for my guests in your house." I said - "I have five
dishes of meat, ten fowls and a roasted lamb." He said - "Bring
them here so that I can see them." So I had to bring them in front of
him. He exclaimed -"Oh how generous you are. But wine is wanting, incense and perfumes
are also lacking." So I brought him them worth 50 pieces of gold.
Then I said - "Take this and now you shave my whole head." He
again said - "By Allaah, I will not take it until I see all
inside." So I asked the boy to show him the container. At this the
barber threw down his astrological instrument and sitting on the ground he
threw all the incense and perfumes in the box.
He
then shaved another small portion of my head, and said - "Allaah, O
my son, I don't know to whom I should thank, you or your father, because
my entertainment will be done entirely on your money. I have nobody among
my visitors who deserves it, for my guests are bath-keeper, the
wheat-seller, the bean-seller, the grocer, the dustman, the milk-seller;
and each of these has a peculiar dance to perform and peculiar verses to
recite; and the best of their quality is that they are like your servant.
As to
the bath-keeper, if I do not go to the feast, he comes to my house; and as
to the dustman, he is very witty, he often dances and says that the news
about his wife is not hidden. In fact each of my friends has jests that
another does not have. I cannot describe it, one can only observe. So if
you choose to come to us, it will be more pleasure to both - to you and me.
Enjoy with us, and then you may visit your friends to whom you wish to go,
because you are still not perfectly well." I said - "If God will
permit, I will come some other time." He again aid - "It will be
more proper, if you first come to our party and then you go to your
own."
I
laughed at him and asked him to do his work and then go to his people who
were waiting for him. He said - "My purpose to take you there was
just to introduce you to the society of these people, for certainly they
all are civilized people and once you will be with them you would not like to
go back to your own people." I said - "May God give you abundant joy,
I will bring them here some other day." He said - "As you wish.
Now wait till I take all this present with which you have honored me, to
them so that they can eat and enjoy without waiting for me. Then I will
return to you to go with you to your companions. There is no false
formality between me and my friends which can prevent me leaving
them."
I said
- "You may go to yours, and leave me to go to mine." But he said
- "I am not going to leave you to go alone." "But the place
to which I am going will not let you enter there." He said -
"Oh, I understood. So you have an appointment with a female. I fear
that you are going to visit some strange woman, and your life will be
lost; for in this city of Bagadaad no one can do such thing on this day.
The Valee of Bagadaad is very terrible." I exclaimed - "What are
you saying to me? Go away from here." And he kept a long silence at this.
The
time of prayer has now arrived, he also finished shaving my head. I said -
"Go with this food and drink to your friends, and I will wait for you
until you return and you will accompany me." He said - "Certainly you are
deceiving me and will go alone and fall into a calamity from which
there is no escape for you. By Allaah, I request you, do not leave until I
come back and accompany you." I replied - "Well, Do not be late
to come back to me." He got up, took all the food and drink I gave to
him, but he did not take them to his house himself but gave them to a
porter to take them to his house and hid himself in a by-street.
On
the 546th Night
"When
I came back home, I met my relations and family, bestowed them with gifts
and alms and began to eat well. I forgot my sufferings. Whoever heard my
coming back, he came to see me and wondered at the severity of suffering
and congratulated on my safety. This was the account of my second voyage.
Tomorrow I will tell you the account of my third voyage. Then all ate food
and Sindbaad the Seaman gave 100 Deenaars to Sindbaad the Hammaal. Hamaal
thanked him a lot and came back his home.
Next
day he again went to Sindbaad's palace to hear his story of his third
voyage. Many others also arrived. They all had food and drink then
Sindbaad said - "Now you listen to the account of my third voyage which is
more wondrous than the previous ones ..."
|
