The Story of the Merchant and the Jinni

It has been related to me, O happy King, said Shahrazad,
that there was a certain merchant who had great wealth,
and traded extensively with surrounding countries ; and
one day he mounted his horse, and journeyed to a neigh-
bouring country to collect what was due to him, and, the heat
oppressing him, he sat under a tree, in a garden, and put
his hand into his saddle-bag, and ate a morsel of bread and
a date which were among his provisions. Having eaten the
date, he threw aside the stone, and immediately there ap-
peared before him an 'Efrit, of enormous height, who, hold-
ing a drawn sword in his hand, approached him, and said,
Rise, that I may kill thee, as thou hast killed my son. The
merchant asked him. How have I killed thy son? He an-
swered, When thou atest the date, and threwest aside the
stone, it struck my son upon the chest, and, as fate had
decreed against him, he instantly died.

The merchant, on hearing these words, exclaimed, Verily
to God we belong, and verily to Him we must return ! There
is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great !
If I killed him, I did it not intentionally, but without know-
ing it; and I trust in thee that thou wilt pardon me. — The
Jinni answered, Thy death is indispensable, as thou hast
killed my son: — and so saying, he dragged him, and threw
him on the ground, and raised his arm to strike him with the
sword. The merchant, upon this, wept bitterly, and said to
the Jinni, I commit my affair unto God, for no one can
avoid what He hath decreed: — and he continued his lamen-
tation, repeating the following verses : —

Time consists of two days; this, bright; and that, gloomy; and life,

of two moieties ; this, safe ; and that, fearful.
Say to him who hath taunted us on account of misfortunes. Doth

fortune oppose any but the eminent?
Dost thou observe that corpses float upon the sea, while the

precious pearls remain in its furthest depths ?
When the hands of time play with us, misfortune is imparted to us

by its protracted kiss.
In the heaven are stars that cannot be numbered ; but none is

eclipsed save the sun and the moon.
How many green and dry trees are on the earth ; but none is

assailed with stones save that which beareth fruit 1
Thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee,

and fearedst not the evil that destiny was bringing.

When he had finished reciting these verses, the Jinni said
to him, Spare thy words, for thy death is unavoidable.

Then said the merchant. Know, O 'Efrit, that I have debts
to pay, and I have much property, and children, and a wife,
and I have pledges also in my possession: let me, therefore,
go back to my house, and give to every one his due, and
then I will return to thee: I bind myself by a vow and
covenant that I will return to thee, and thou shalt do what
thou wilt; and God is witness of what I say. — Upon this, the
Jinni accepted his covenant, and liberated him; granting hira
a respite until the expiration of the year.

The merchant, therefore, returned to his town, accom-
plished all that was upon his mind to do, paid every one
what he owed him, and informed his wife and children of
the event which had befallen him ; upon hearing which, they
and all his family and women wept. He appointed a
guardian over his children, and remained with his family
until the end of the year; when he took his grave-clothes
under his arm, bade farewell to his household and neigh-
bours, and all his relations, and went forth, in spite of
himself; his family raising cries of lamentation, and
shrieking.

He proceeded until he arrived at the garden before men-
tioned; and it was the first day of the new year; and as he
sat, weeping for the calamity which he expected soon to
befall him, a sheykh, advanced in years, approached him,
leading a gazelle with a chain attached to its neck. This
sheykh saluted the merchant, wishing him a long life, and
said to him, What is the reason of thy sitting alone in this
place, seeing that it is a resort of the Jinn? The merchant
therefore informed him of what had befallen him with the
'Efrit, and of the cause of his sitting there; at which the
sheykh, the owner of the gazelle, was astonished, and said,
By Allah, O my brother, thy faithfulness is great, and thy
story is wonderful ! if it were engraved upon the intellect, i
it would be a lesson to him who would be admonished! — ^
And he sat down by his side, and said. By Allah, O my
brother, I will not quit this place until I see what will happen
unto thee with this 'Efrit. So he sat down, and conversed
with him. And the merchant became almost senseless ; fear
entered him, and terror, and violent grief, and excessive
anxiety. And as the owner of the gazelle sat by his side,
lo, a second sheykh approached them, with two black hounds,
and inquired of them, after saluting them, the reason of
their sitting in that place, seeing that it was a resort of
the Jann: and they told him the story from beginning to
end. And he had hardly sat down when there approached
them a third sheykh, with a dapple mule ; and he asked them
the same question, which was answered in the same manner.
Immediately after, the dust was agitated, and became an
enormous revolving pillar, approaching them from the midst
of the desert; and this dust subsided, and behold, the Jinni,
with a drawn sword in his hand; his eyes casting forth
sparks of fire. He came to them, and dragged from them
the merchant, and said to him. Rise, that I may kill thee, as
thou killedst my son, the vital spirit of my heart. And the
merchant wailed and wept ; and the three sheykhs also mani-
fested their sorrow by weeping and crj'ing aloud and wail-
ing: but the first sheykh, who was the owner of the gazelle,
recovering his self-possession, kissed the hand of the 'Efrit,
and said to him, O thou Jinni, and crown of the kings of
the Jann, if I relate to thee the story of myself and this
gazelle, and thou find it to be wonderful, and more so than
the adventure of this merchant, wilt thou give up to me a
third of thy claim to his blood? He answered. Yes, O
sheykh ; if thou relate to me the story, and I find it to be
as thou hast said, I will give up to thee a third of my claim
to his blood.