THE STORY OF THE HUNCHBACK WITH THE TAILOR, THE JEW, THE CHRISTIAN, AND THE BARBER OF BAGHDAD
The Taylor's Narrative, Part 6.
ON THE TWENTIETH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
Scarcely was he outside when he called two porters, gave them his load, told them to take it all home to such and such a place; and he himself took refuge in a dark alley, waiting for my exit.
As for me, I immediately got up, washed as quickly as possible, dressed in my best clothes, and left my house. And at that very moment, I heard the voice of the muezzins on the minarets which called believers to midday prayer on this holy day of Friday:
"Bismillahhi'rrahmani'rrahim! In the name of Allah, the Merciful!
Praise be to Allah, Master of mankind, the Merciful!
Supreme Sovereign, Absolute Arbiter on the Day of Retribution,
It is you we adore, it is you whose help we implore!
Lead us on the straight path,
In the path of those whom you have filled with your blessings.
Not of those who have incurred wrath, nor of those who are misguided!
Once out of my house, I hurriedly headed for the young woman's house. When I arrived at the door of the kadi, I turned around by chance and saw the accursed barber at the entrance to the alley. So, as the door of the house was ajar for me, I rushed inside and quickly closed the door. And I saw the old woman in the courtyard, who immediately led me to the upper floor, where the young woman was.
But no sooner had I entered than we heard people arriving in the street: it was the kadi, the young woman's father, and his retinue, who were returning from prayer. And I saw, in the street, the barber who was standing and waiting for me. As for the kadi, the young woman reassured me and told me that her father only visited her rarely, and that, moreover, there was always a way for me not to be seen.
But, for my misfortune, Allah willed that an incident occurred which was to be fatal to me. Indeed, there was this coincidence that precisely on that day one of the young slaves of the kadi had deserved a punishment. And the kadi, barely entering, began to beat this young female slave, and he must have whipped her behind very hard, for she began to howl crookedly; and then one of the negroes of the house came in to try to intercede for her, and the furious kadi fell on him with rods, and that negro began to howl too. There was then such an uproar that the whole street was stirred, and the barber of misfortune believed that it was I who was caught and punished and who uttered these cries. Then he began to utter lugubrious cries, to tear his clothes, to cover his head with dust, and to implore help from the passers-by who were beginning to gather around him. And he was crying and saying: “My master has just been assassinated in the kadi’s house!" Then, while shouting, he ran to my house followed by a whole crowd and warned all the people of my house and my servants of the thing, who immediately armed themselves with sticks and ran towards the house of the kadi, vociferating and shouting. And they all arrived, led by the barber, who continued to tear his clothes and shout at the top of his voice, in front of the door of the kadi, where I myself was. When the kadi heard all this commotion in front of his house, he looked out the window and saw all these rowdy people knocking on the door with their sticks. So, finding that the matter was too serious, he went downstairs, opened the door, and cried out: “O good people, what is the matter?" And my servants cried out to him, “It is you who have killed our master!" He said to them: "Who is your master, and what has he done that I have killed him?..."
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
First Night - Second Night - Third Night - Fourth Night - Fifth Night - Sixth Night - Seventh Night
Eighth Night - Ninth Night - Tenth Night - Eleventh Night - Twelfth Night - Thirteenth Night
Fourteenth Night - Fifteenth Night - Sixteenth Night - Seventeenth Night - Eighteenth Night
Nineteenth Night