The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 8 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (great books for teens TXT) 📕

Hearing his address, Sandal the Eunuch [FN#235] laughed and replied, “By Allah, thou art right, O Fisherman,” and put his hand to his pouch, to give him somewhat; but at that moment there arose a great clamour. So he raised his head to see what was to do and finding that it was the Wazir Ja’afar the Barmecide coming forth from the Caliph’s presence, he rose to him and forewent him, and they walked about, conversing for a longsome time.

Khalifah the Fisherman waited awhile; then, growing weary of standing and finding that the Eunuch took no heed of him, he set himself in his way and beckoned to him from afar, saying, “O my lord Tulip, give me my due and let me go!” The Eunuch heard him, but was ashamed to answer him because of the minister’s presence; so he went on talking with Ja’afar and took no notice whatever of the Fisherman. Whereupon quoth Khalifah, “O Slow o’ Pay!

[FN#236] May Allah put to shame all churls and all who take folks’s goods and are niggardly with them! I put myself under thy protection, O my lord Bran-belly, [FN#237] to give me my due and let me go!” The Eunuch heard him, but was ashamed to answer him before Ja’afar; and the Minister saw the Fisherman beckoning and talking to him, though he knew not what he was saying; so he said to Sandal, misliking his behaviour, “O Eunuch, what would yonder beggar with thee?” Sandal replied, “Dost thou not know him, O my lord the Wazir?”; and Ja’afar answered, “By Allah, I know him not! How should I know a man I have never seen but at this moment?” Rejoined the Eunuch, “O my lord, this is the Fisherman whose fish we seized on the banks of the Tigris. I came too late to get any and was ashamed to return to the Prince of True Believers, empty-handed, when all the Mamelukes had some.

Presently I espied the Fisherman standing in mid-stream, calling on Allah, with four fishes in his hands, and said to him, �Give me what thou hast there and take their worth.’ He handed me the fish and I put my hand into my pocket, purposing to gift him with somewhat, but found naught therein and said, �Come to me in the Palace, and I will give thee wherewithal to aid thee in thy poverty. So he came to me to-day and I was putting hand to pouch, that I might give him somewhat, when thou camest forth and I rose to wait on thee and was diverted with thee from him, till he grew tired of waiting and this is the whole story, how he cometh to be standing here.” —And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Forty-first Night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sandal the Eunuch related to Ja’afar the Barmecide the tale of Khalifah the Fisherman, ending with, “This is the whole story and how he cometh to be standing here!” the Wazir, hearing this account, smiled and said, “O Eunuch, how is it that this Fisherman cometh in his hour of need and thou satisfiest him not?

Dost thou not know him, O Chief of the Eunuchs?” “No,” answered Sandal and Ja’afar said, “This is the Master of the Commander of the Faithful, and his partner and our lord the Caliph has arisen this morning, strait of breast, heavy of heart and troubled of thought, nor is there aught will broaden his breast save this fisherman. So let him not go, till I crave the Caliph’s pleasure concerning him and bring him before him; perchance Allah will relieve him of his oppression and console him for the loss of Kut al-Kulub, by means of the Fisherman’s presence, and he will give him wherewithal to better himself; and thou wilt be the cause of this.” Replied Sandal, “O my lord, do as thou wilt and may Allah Almighty long continue thee a pillar of the dynasty of the Commander of the Faithful, whose shadow Allah perpetuate [FN#238]

and prosper it, root and branch!” Then the Wazir Ja’afar rose up and went in to the Caliph, and Sandal ordered the Mamelukes not to leave the Fisherman; whereupon Khalifah cried, “How goodly is thy bounty, O Tulip! The seeker is become the sought. I come to seek my due, and they imprison me for debts in arrears!” [FN#239]

When Ja’afar came in to the presence of the Caliph, he found him sitting with his head bowed earthwards, breast straitened and mind melancholy, humming the verses of the poet, “My blamers instant bid that I for her become consoled; * But I, what can I do, whose heart declines to be controlled?

And how can I in patience bear the loss of lovely maid, * When fails me patience for a love that holds with firmest hold!

Ne’er I’ll forget her nor the bowl that ‘twixt us both went round * And wine of glances maddened me with drunkenness ensoul’d.”

Whenas Ja’afar stood in the presence, he said, “Peace be upon thee, O Commander of the Faithful, Defender of the honour of the Faith and descendant of the uncle of the Prince of the Apostles, Allah assain him and save him and his family one and all!” The Caliph raised his head and answered, “And on thee be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings!” Quoth Ja’afar; “With leave of the Prince of True Believers, his servant would speak without restraint.” Asked the Caliph, “And when was restraint put upon thee in speech and thou the Prince of Wazirs? Say what thou wilt.” Answered Ja’afar, “When I went out, O my lord, from before thee, intending for my house, I saw standing at the door thy master and teacher and partner, Khalifah the Fisherman, who was aggrieved at thee and complained of thee saying, �Glory be to God! I taught him to fish and he went away to fetch me a pair of frails, but never came back: and this is not the way of a good partner or of a good apprentice.’ So, if thou hast a mind to partnership, well and good; and if not, tell him, that he may take to partner another.” Now when the Caliph heard these words he smiled and his straitness of breast was done away with and he said, “My life on thee, is this the truth thou sayest, that the Fisherman standeth at the door?” and Ja’afar replied, “By thy life, O Commander of the Faithful, he standeth at the door.”

Quoth the Caliph, “O Ja’afar, by Allah, I will assuredly do my best to give him his due! If Allah at my hands send him misery, he shall have it; and if prosperity he shall have it.” Then he took a piece of paper and cutting it in pieces, said to the Wazir, “O Ja’afar, write down with thine own hand twenty sums of money, from one dinar to a thousand, and the names of all kinds of offices and dignitaries from the least appointment to the Caliphate; also twenty kinds of punishment from the lightest beating to death.” [FN#240] “I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful,” answered Ja’afar, and did as he was bidden. Then said the Caliph, “O Ja’afar, I swear by my holy forefathers and by my kinship to Hamzah [FN#241] and Akil, [FN#242] that I mean to summon the fisherman and bid him take one of these papers, whose contents none knowesth save thou and I; and whatsoever is written in the paper which he shall choose, I will give it to him; though it be the Caliphate I will divest myself thereof and invest him therewith and grudge it not to him; and, on the other hand, if there be written therein hanging or mutilation or death, I will execute it upon him. Now go and fetch him to me.” When Ja’afar heard this, he said to himself, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! It may be somewhat will fall to this poor wretch’s lot that will bring about his destruction, and I shall be the cause. But the Caliph hath sworn; so nothing remains now but to bring him in, and naught will happen save whatso Allah willeth.” Accordingly he went out to Khalifah the Fisherman and laid hold of his hand to carry him in to the Caliph, whereupon his reason fled and he said in himself, “What a stupid I was to come after yonder ill-omened slave, Tulip, whereby he hath brought me in company with Bran-belly!” Ja’afar fared on with him, with Mamelukes before and behind, whilst he said, “Doth not arrest suffice, but these must go behind and before me, to hinder my making off?” till they had traversed seven vestibules, when the Wazir said to him, “Mark my words, O Fisherman! Thou standest before the Commander of the Faithful and Defender of the Faith!” Then he raised the great curtain and Khalifah’s eyes fell on the Caliph, who was seated on his couch, with the Lords of the realm standing in attendance upon him. As soon as he knew him, he went up to him and said, “Well come, and welcome to thee, O piper! �Twas not right of thee to make thyself a Fisherman and go away, leaving me sitting to guard the fish, and never to return! For, before I was aware, there came up Mamelukes on beasts of all manner colours, and snatched away the fish from me, I standing alone, and this was all of thy fault; for, hadst thou returned with the frails forthright, we had sold an hundred dinars’ worth of fish. And now I come to seek my due, and they have arrested me but thou, who hath imprisoned thee also in this place?” The Caliph smiled and raising a corner of the curtain, put forth his head and said to the Fisherman, “Come hither and take thee one of these papers.” Quoth Khalifah the Fisherman, “Yesterday thou wast a fisherman, and to-day thou hast become an astrologer; but the more trades a man hath, the poorer he waxeth.” Thereupon, Ja’afar, said, “Take the paper at once, and do as the Commander of the Faithful biddeth thee without prating.” So he came forward and put forth his hand saying, “Far be it from me that this piper should ever again be my knave and fish with me!” Then taking the paper he handed it to the Caliph, saying, “O piper, what hath come out for me therein? Hide naught thereof.”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Forty-second Night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Khalifah the Fisherman took up one of the papers and handed it to the Caliph he said,