The Barber's Story of His First Brother

Know, O Prince of the Faithful, that the first (who was
named El-Bakbuk was the lame one. He practised the
art of a tailor in Baghdad, and used to sew in a shop which
he hired of a man possessing great wealth, who lived over
the shop, and who had, in the lower part of his house, a
mill. And as my lame brother was sitting in his shop on a
day, sewing, he raised his head, and saw a woman Uke the
rising full moon, at a projecting window of the house, look-
ing at the people passing by; and as soon as he beheld her,
his heart was entangled by her love. He passed that day
gazing at her, and neglecting his occupation, until the even-
ing; and on the following morning he opened his shop, and
sat down to sew; but every time that he sewed a stitch, he
looked towards the window; and in this state he continued,
sewing nothing sufficient to earn a piece of silver.

On the third day he seated himself again in his place,
looking towards the woman; and she saw him, and, per-
ceiving that he had become enslaved by her love, laughed
in his face, and he, in like manner, laughed in her face. She
then disappeared from before him, and sent to him her slave-
girl, with a wrapper containing a piece of red flowered silk;
and the girl, coming to him, said to him. My mistress
saluteth thee, and desireth thee to cut out for her, with the
hand of skill, a shirt of this piece, and to sew it beautifully.
So he answered, I hear and obey: — and he cut out for her
the shirt, and finished the sewing of it on that day; and on
the following day the slave-girl came to him again, and said
to him. My mistress saluteth thee, and saith to thee, How
didst thou pass last night? — for she tasted not sleep, from
her passion for ,thee. — She then placed before him a piece
of yellow satin, and said to him, My mistress desireth thee
to cut out for her, of this piece, two pairs of trousers, and to
make them this day. He replied, I hear and obey. Salute
her with abundant salutations, and say to her. Thy slave is
submissive to thine order, and command him to do whatso-
ever thou wilt. — He then busied himself with the cutting out,
and used all diligence in sewing the two pairs of trousers ;
and presently the woman looked out at him from the window,
and saluted him by a sign, now casting down her eyes, and
now smiling in his face, so that he imagined he should soon
obtain possession of her. After this, she disappeared from
before him, and the slave-girl came to him ; so he delivered
to her the two pairs of trousers, and she took them and
departed: and when the night came, he threw himself upon
his bed. and remained turning himself over in restlessness
until the mornincr.

On the following day, the master of the house came to
my brother, bringing some linen, and said to him, Cut out
and make this into shirts for me. He replied, I hear and
obey : — and ceased not from his work until he had cut out
twenty shirts by the time of nightfall, without having tasted
food. The man then said to him. How much is thy hire for
this? — but my brother answered not; and the damsel made
a sign to him that he should receive nothing, though he was
absolutely in want of a single copper coin. For three days
he continued scarcely eating or drinking anything, in his
diligence to accomplish his work, and when he had finished
it, he went to deliver the shirts.

Now the young woman had acquainted her husband with
the state of my brother's mind, but my brother knew not
this; and she planned with her husband to employ him in
sewing without remuneration, and moreover to amuse them-
selves by laughing at him : so, when he had finished all the
work that they gave him, they contrived a plot against him,
and married him to their slave-girl ; and on the night when
he desired to introduce himself to her, they said to him.
Pass this night in the mill, and to-morrow thou shalt enjoy
happiness. My brother, therefore, thinking that their inten-
tion was good, passed the night in the mill alone. Mean-
while, the husband of the young woman went to the miller,
and instigated him by signs to make my brother turn the
mill. The miller, accordingly, went in to him at midnight,
and began to exclaim. Verily this bull is lazy, while there is
a great quantity of wheat, and the owners of the flour are
demanding it: I will therefore yoke him in the mill, that
he may finish the grinding of the flour : — and so saying, he
yoked my brother, and thus he kept him until near morning,
when the owner of the house came, and saw him yoked in
the mill, and the miller flogging him with the whip; and he
left him, and retired. After this, the slave-girl to whom he
had been contracted in marriage came to him early in the
morning, and, having unbound him from the mill, said to
him, Both I and my mistress have been distressed by this
which hath befallen thee, and we have participated in the
burden of thy sorrow. But he had no tongue wherewith to
answer her, by reason of the severity of the flogging. He
then returned to his house; and lo, the sheykh who had
performed the marriage-contract came and saluted him,
saying, May God prolong thy life ! May thy marriage be
blessed ! — May God not preserve the liar ! returned my
brother: thou thousandfold villain! By Allah, I went only
to turn the mill in the place of the bull until the morning. —
Tell me thy story, said the sheykh : — and my brother told
him what had happened to him: upon which the sheykh
said, Thy star agreeth not with hers: but if thou desire that
I should change for thee the mode of the contract, I will
change it for another better than it, that thy star may agree
with hers. — See then, replied my brother, if thou hast any
other contrivance to employ.

My brother then left him, and repaired again to his shop,
hoping that somebody might give him some work, with the
profit of which he might obtain his food ; and lo, the slave-
girl came to him. She had conspired with her mistress to
play him this trick, and said to him. Verily, my mistress is
longing for thee, and she hath gone up to look at thy face
from the window. And my brother had scarcely heard these
words when she looked out at him from the window, and,
weeping, said, Wherefore hast thou cut short the intercourse
between us and thee? But he returned her no answer: so
she swore to him that all that had happened to him in the
mill was not with her consent : and when my brother beheld
her beauty and loveliness, the troubles that had befallen him
became effaced from his memory, and he accepted her
excuse, and rejoiced at the sight of her. He saluted her,
therefore, and conversed with her, and then sat a while at
his work; after which the slave-girl came to him, and said,
My mistress saluteth thee, and informcth thee that her hus-
band hath determined to pass this next night in the house
of one of his intimate friends ; wherefore, when he hath gone
thither, do thou come to her. — Now the husband of the
young woman had said to her. How shall we contrive when
he Cometh to thee that I may take him and drag him before
the Wali? She replied, Let me then play him a trick, and
involve him in a disgrace for which he shall be paraded
throughout this city as an example to others : — and my brother
knew nothing of the craftiness of women. Accordingly,
at the approach of evening, the slave-girl came to him, and,
taking him by the hand, returned with him to her mis-
tress, who said to him, Verily, O my master, I have been
longing for thee. — Hasten then, said he, to give me a kiss,
first of all. And his words were not finished when the young
woman's husband came in from his neighbour's house, and,
seizing my brother, exclaimed to him. By Allah, I will not
loose thee but in the presence of the chief magistrate of the
police. My brother humbled himself before him ; but,
without listening to him, he took him to the house of the
Wali, who flogged him with whips, and mounted him upon
a camel, and conveyed him through the streets of the city,
the people crying out, This is the recompense of him who
breaketh into the harims of others ! — and he fell from the
camel, and his leg broke : so he became lame. The Wali
then banished him from the city; and he went forth, not
knowing whither to turn his steps : but I, though enraged,
overtook him, and brought him back ; and I have taken
upon myself to provide him with meat and drink unto the
present day.

The Khali f eh laughed at my story, and exclaimed. Thou
hast spoken well : — but I replied, I will not accept this
honour until thou hast listened to me while I relate to thee
what happened to the rest of my brothers; and think me
not a man of many words. — Tell me, said the Khalifeh, what
happened to all thy brothers, and grace my ears with these
nice particulars : I beg thee to employ exuberance of diction
in thy relation of these pleasant tales.