The Arabian Nights Entertainments - Anonymous (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

his eyes open, was much surprised, and said to him, Rogue! what is the meaning of this miracle? Sir, replied the highwayman, I will discover to you an important secret, if you pardon me, and give me, as a pledge that you will keep your word, the seal-ring which you have on your finger. The judge agreed to it, gave him his ring, and promised him pardon. Upon this, said the highwayman, I must confess to you, Sir, that I and my three comrades do all see very well: we feigned ourselves to be blind, that we might more freely enter people's houses, and into women's apartments, where we abuse their frailty. I must further, confess to you, that by this trick we have gained together ten thousand drams. This day I demanded of my partners two thousand five hundred that belong to me as my share, but they refused, because I told them I would leave them; and they were afraid I should accuse them. Upon pressing still to have my share, they all three fell upon me; for the truth of which I appeal to those people who brought us before you, I expect from your justice, that you will make them deliver to me the two thousand five hundred drams which are my due; and if you have a mind to make my comrades confess the truth, you must order them three times as many blows as I have had, and you will find they will open their eyes as well as I did.

My brother and the other two blind men would have cleared themselves of this horrid cheat, but the judge would not hear them: Villains! said he, do you feign yourselves blind then, and under that pretext cheat people, by begging their charity, and abusing poor women? He is a cheat, cried my brother; we take God to witness that none of us can see!

All that my brother could say was in vain; his comrades and he received each of them two hundred blows. The judge looked always when they should have opened their eyes, and ascribed to their obstinacy what really they could not do. All the while the highwayman said to the blind men, Poor fools that you are, open your eyes, and do not suffer yourselves to be killed with blows. Then addressing himself to the judge, said, I perceive, sir, that they will be maliciously obstinate to the last, and will never open their eyes: they have a mind certainly to avoid the shame of reading their own condemnation in the face of every one who looks upon them; it were better, if you think fit, to pardon them, and to send some person along with me for the ten thousand drams they have hid.

The judge did so, gave the highwayman two thousand five hundred drams, and kept the rest to himself; and as for my brother and his two companions, he thought he showed them a great deal of pity by sentencing them only to be banished. As soon as I heard what befel my brother, I ran after him; he told me his misfortune, and I brought him back secretly to the town. I could easily have justified him to the judge, and have got the highwayman punished as he deserved, but durst not attempt it, for fear of bringing myself into trouble. Thus I finished the sad adventure of my honest blind brother. The caliph laughed at it, as much as at those he had heard before, and ordered again that something should be given me; but, without staying for it, I began the story of my fourth brother.

THE STORY OF THE BARBER'S FOURTH BROTHER.

Alcouz was the name of my fourth brother, who came to lose one of his eyes upon an occasion that I shall by and by acquaint your majesty with. He was a butcher by profession, and had a particular way of teaching rams to fight by which he procured the acquaintance and friendship of the chief lords of the country, who loved that sport, and for that end kept rams about their houses: he had, besides, a very good trade, and had his shop always full of the best meat, because he was very rich, and spared no cost for the best of every sort. One day, when he was in his shop, an old man with a long white beard came and bought six pounds of meat, gave him money for it, and went his way. My brother thought the money so fine, so white, and so well coined, that he put it apart by itself: the same old man came every day for five months together, bought a like quantity of meat, and paid for it in the same sort of money, which my brother continued to lay apart by itself.

At the end of five months, Alcouz having a mind to buy some sheep, and to pay for them with this fine money, opened his trunk; but, instead of finding money, was extremely surprised to see nothing but a parcel of leaves clipped round in the place where he had laid it: he beat his head, and cried out aloud, which presently brought the neighbours about him, who were as much surprised as he, when he told them the story. O! cried my brother, weeping, that this treacherous old fellow would come now with his hypocritical looks! He had scarce done speaking, when seeing him coming at a distance, he ran to him, and laid hands on him, Mussulman, cried he, as loud as he could, help! hear what a cheat this wicked fellow has put upon me! and at the same time told a great crowd of people, who came about him, what he had formerly told his neighbours. When he had done, the old man, without any passion, said to him very gravely, You would do well to let me go, and by that means make amends for the affront you have put upon me before so many people, for fear I should put a greater affront upon you, which I am not willing to do. How! said my brother, what have you to say against me? I am an honest man in my business, and fear not you nor any body. You would have me to tell it then, said the old man; and turning to the people, said, Know, good people, that this fellow, instead of selling mutton as he ought, sells man's flesh. You are a cheat, said my brother. No! no! said the old man: Good people, this very minute that I am speaking, there is a man with his throat cut hung up in his shop like a sheep; do any of you go thither, and see if what I say be not true.

Before my brother had opened his trunk, he had just killed a sheep, dressed it, and exposed it in his shop, according to custom: he protested that what the old man said was false; but, notwithstanding all his protestations, the mob, being prejudiced against a man accused of such a heinous crime, would go to see whether the matter was true. They obliged my brother to quit the old man, laid hold of him, and ran like madmen into his shop, where they saw a man murdered and hung up, as the old man had told them; for he was a magician, and deceived the eyes of all people, as he did my brother's, when he made him take leaves instead of money. At this spectacle, one of those who held Alcouz gave him a great blow with his fist, and said to him, Thou wicked villain, dost thou make us eat man's flesh instead of mutton? At the same time the old man gave him another blow, which beat out one of his eyes, and every body that could get near him beat him; and, not content with that, they carried him before a judge, with the pretended carcase of the man, to be evidence against him. Sir, said the old magician to the judge, we have brought you a man, who is so barbarous as to murder people, and to sell their flesh instead of mutton; the public expect that you should punish him in an exemplary manner. The judge heard my brother with patience, but would believe nothing of the story of the money exchanged into leaves; called my brother a cheat, told him he would believe his own eyes, and ordered him to have five hundred blows. He afterwards made him tell where his money was, took it all from him, and banished him for ever, after having made him ride three days through the town upon a camel, exposed to the insults of the people.

I was not at Bagdad when this tragical adventure befel my fourth brother. He retired into a remote place, where he lay concealed till he was cured of the blows with which his back was terribly gored. When able to walk, he went by night to a certain town where nobody knew him, and there he took a lodging, from whence he seldom went out; but, being at last weary of his life, he took a walk into one of the suburbs, where he was suddenly alarmed with the noise of horsemen coming behind him. He was then by chance near the gate of a great house; and fearing, after what had befallen him, that these horsemen were pursuing him, he opened the gate in order to hide himself; and, after shutting it again, he came into a wide court, where two servants immediately came and took him by the neck, and said, Heaven be praised that you are come voluntarily to surrender yourself up to us! You have frightened us so much these three last nights, that we could not sleep; nor would you have spared our lives, if you could have come at us! You may very well imagine that my brother was much surprised at this compliment. Good people, said he, I know not what you mean; you certainly take me for another! No, no, replied they; you and your comrades are great robbers: you were not contented with robbing our master of all that he had, and thereby reducing him to beggary, but you were also going to take his life; let us examine whether you have not a knife about you, which you had in your hand when you pursued us last night. Having said this, they searched him, and found that he had a knife. Ho! ho! cried they, laying hold of him; and dare you say that you are not a robber? Why, said my brother, cannot a man carry a knife without being a highwayman? If you will be attentive to my story, continued he, instead of having so bad an opinion of me, you will be touched with compassion at my misfortunes. But, far from hearkening to him, they fell upon him, trod him underfoot, took away his clothes, and tore his shirt. Then observing the scars on his back, O you dog! cried they, redoubling their blows, would you have us to believe you are an honest man, when your back convinces us to the contrary? Alas! said my brother, my faults must be very great, since, after having been abused already so unjustly, I am ill treated a second time without being more culpable!

The two servants, no way moved with his complaint, carried him before the judge, who asked him how he durst be so bold as to go into their house, and pursue them with a drawn knife. Sir, replied poor Alcouz, I am the most innocent man in the world, and am undone if you will not hear me patiently: nobody deserves more compassion. Sir, replied one of the domestics, will you listen to a robber, who enters people's houses to plunder and murder them? if you will not believe us, only look upon his back. Upon which they showed it to the judge, who, without any other information, immediately commanded one hundred lashes to be given him with a bull's pizzle over his shoulders, and caused him afterwards to be carried through the town on a camel, with one crying before him, Thus are such men punished as enter people's houses by force! After treating him thus, they banished him from the town, and forbade him ever to return to it. Some people, who met him after the second misfortune, brought me word where he was; and I went and fetched him to Bagdad privately, and gave him all the assistance I could.

The caliph, continued the barber, did not laugh so much at this story as at the other: he was pleased to bewail the unfortunate Alcouz, and ordered something to be given me. But, without giving his servants