89-7 -
The Story of the Hunchback:
The Story
of the Barber's First Brother
On
the 31st Night contd ...
So the
Barber started the story of his first brother - "My first brother's
name is Al-Bakbak, the Prattler, and he is hunchback. He was a tailor in Bagadaad. He hired a
shop of a man who was very rich in Bagadaad and lived over the shop. He
had a flour-mill also in the lower part of his house. One day as my brother was
sitting in his shop, sewing, he raised his head and saw a beautiful woman
at a window of a house. She was just looking at passing by people. As he
saw her, he fell in love with her. He could not do his work the whole day.
As often he started his stitching he looked at the window to have a glance of
that woman. Next day also he looked at the window the whole day.
On the
third day, he again sat to sew and he again looked at the window, and he saw
her. This time she also saw him. She felt that he has fallen in love with
her, she smiled looking at him and he also smiled looking at her. She
then disappeared from there and sent her slave girl to him carrying a red flower silk
piece. She said to him - "My mistress has sent this cloth to you to
make a shirt for her beautifully. He got very happy to hear this and he
stitched her shirt on the same day.
Next
day the slave girl came again and aid - "My mistress has asked -
"How did you pass last night? Because she could not sleep the whole
night in your love." Then she gave him a large piece of yellow satin and
asked him to make two trousers for her the same day. He replied - "I will.
Greet her from me and say to her "She can give me whatever she wants to
make." and he got busy in making trousers for her. Once he looked at the
window and found her looking at him. Both smiled at each other. He passed
that night turning and tossing in his bed.
Next
day the girl came again and told him that her master wanted to see him. He
got scared, but the girl assured him that "nothing to worry", her mistress
wanted to introduce him to her master. He got happy to hear this and went
to her house with her. There she introduced him to the master of the
house, her husband. He gave him some linen and
asked him to make some shirts for him. He cut not less than 20 shirts for
him by the evening. He could not even have food on that day. He finished them
by supper time without eating and drinking. When he
had finished, he went to give them to him. The master asked him the money,
he said - "20 Dirhams." The master asked to bring 20 Dirhams, but the lady
said - "Do not take anything from him." My brother said - "By Allaah, I
will not take anything from your hand." And he came back.
Now
the young woman told her husband about the state of the mind of my
brother, but he did not know this. She planned to take work from my
brother without giving him any money, and amuse themselves by just smiling
at each other. Thus he continued to work for him without taking anything.
He felt five things together - love, beggary, hunger, nakedness and hard
labor. When he had finished all the work, according to their plot,
they married him to their slave girl. On the same night when he was to go
his wife, he was asked to
pass that night in the mill and the next day he would enjoy happiness.
My
brother thought it was for his good, so he passed the night in the mill alone. Meanwhile the husband of the woman
went to the miller and instigated him to turn on the mill. The miller went
in exclaiming - "Certainly, This bull is lazy, while there is a great
quantity of wheat and the owners of the wheat are demanding it, I will
therefore yoke him in the mill so that he can finish grinding the flour
till morning. And so saying he yoked my brother. Thus he was forced to
grind the wheat till morning. He cried but nobody heard him.
In the
morning the owner of the house came and saw him yoked in the mill, he
whipped him, left him and went away. After this the slave girl to whom he
was married to, came there, unbound him from the mill and said to him -
"Both my mistress and I have been distressed by this and we are a
part of your sorrow." He came back to his house half dead and the Shekh who
performed his marriage saluted him and said - "May God prolong your
life, may God bless your marriage. Tell me your story." And my
brother told me what happened to him. The Shekh said - "Your stars do
not agree with hers, but if you desire I can change the mode of the
contract to another better plan." "Iif you have it in your mind."
My
brother went back to his shop in the hope that somebody else will give him
some work so that he can get some food. The slave girl came to him. She
said - "My mistress wants to speak with you." "Go away, my good girl.
There will be no more dealings between your lady and me." She went back to
her mistress and told her his message. At the same time her mistress said
from the window - "Why do you cut our company like this? I have nothing to
do with this. I am innocent." But he did not reply
this. Then she swore that whatever happened with him in the mill was not
with her consent. My brother accepted her excuse and rejoiced at the sight
of her. Then he saluted her and talked to her.
After
that the slave girl came and said to him - "My mistress has said -
"My husband will pass the night in the house of one of his intimate
friends so you could come there and pass the night with her." Now the husband asked his wife -
"How should we plan that when he comes here we can take him to Valee?"
She said - "Let me play him a trick and involve in a disgrace for
which he will be paraded throughout the city." And my brother did not
know anything about al this plan.
In the
evening that slave girl came and took him by hand to her house. There her
mistress welcomed him and said - "Come soon, I have been longing to
see you." He said - "Then make hurry, but first give me a
kiss." At the same moment the woman's husband returned and without
listening to him he took him to the house of Valee. There he whipped him,
mounted upon a camel and asked to give him a round of the city. Seeing
this insult, he fell down from the camel and broke his leg and so became
lame. The
Valee then banished him from the city, but although I was also angry with
him, I brought him back to home; and since then I have been providing him
food, shelter and clothes to him till today."
The
Caliph laughed at my story and said - "You said it well." and
asked to give me some present, but I
said - "I will not accept this honor until you listen to what
happened to my rest of the brothers." The Caliph said - "All
right, Tell me
what happened to the rest of your brothers." So the Barber told the
story of his second brother ....
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