THE STORY OF THE HUNCHBACK WITH THE TAILOR, THE JEW, THE CHRISTIAN, AND THE BARBER OF BAGHDAD
The Taylor's Narrative, Part 12.
ON THE TWENTY-SIXTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
It has come to me, O fortunate King, that the tailor of the city of China thus told the king the continuation of the story which the barber of Baghdad had told to the guests, concerning his second brother El-Haddar, and that he had told for the first time to the caliph Montasser Billah:
“My brother Haddar, the zebb standing tall and forward, set off in pursuit of the light, laughing young woman. And at this sight, the three young girls and the old woman, before the painted face and without beard or mustache or eyebrows of my brother Haddar, whose naked zebb erected himself madly, were seized with considerable laughter and began to stamp their feet. and clap your hands.
As for the naked young woman, after two laps in the room, she threaded a long gallery, then other rooms, one after another, and always followed and squeezed closely by my brother who was panting and whose zebb rose to madness. And she was still running, laughing with all her teeth and moving from her hips.
But suddenly, at a bend, the young woman disappeared, and my brother, opening a door through which he believed she had come out, found himself in the middle of a street. And this street was the street of the curriers of Baghdad. And all the curriers saw El-Haddar, with his beard shaved off, and his mustaches and his eyebrows shaved off, and his face painted like a whore, and they booed him, and they took belts and began to flog him, laughing, and beat him so hard that he lost consciousness. After that, they perched him on a donkey, backward, and made him go around all the souks, then ended up bringing him before the wali. The wali said to them: “Who is this?" They replied: "This is one who fell among us, suddenly coming out of the Grand Vizier's house And we found him in this state!" So the wali had my brother Haddar given a hundred lashes on the soles of his feet and chased him out of town.
So I, O Commander of the Faithful, ran after him, brought him back in secret, and brought him to safety. Then I gave him enough to live on at my expense. And you can judge now that, if I were not a man full of courage and qualities, I would not have supported such a fool!
But, as far as my third brother and his story is concerned, it is quite another matter, as you will see!
THE STORY OF BACBAC, THE BARBER'S THIRD BROTHER
“Bacbac the blind is my third brother. By trade he was a beggar and he was one of the principals of the Brotherhood of Beggars, in Baghdad, our city.
One day, the will of Allah and destiny wanted my brother to arrive, while begging, at the door of a fairly large house. And my brother Bacbac, while shouting his usual invocations to ask for alms: “O donor! O generous!" knocked with his staff at the door of the house. Now, I must tell you, O Commander of the Faithful, my brother Bacbac, like the most cunning of his brotherhood, used to never answer when having knocked at the door of a house, he heard: "Who's there?" He was silent like this to force the people inside to open; otherwise, accustomed as they were to beggars, they did not open and simply answered from inside: “May Allah have mercy on you!" This is the way to send beggars away.
So, that day, when they ask from inside: “Who is at the door?", my brother was silent. So he finally hears footsteps approaching and the door opening. A man appeared from whom Bacbac if he had not been blind, would certainly not have asked for alms. But it was his destiny. And every man has his destiny tied around his neck.
The man asked him: “What do you want?" My brother Bacbac replied: “Something, in the name of Allah the Most High!" The man asked him: "Are you blind?" He said to him: "Yes, my master, and very poor!" The man replied: "In that case, give me your hand, and I will lead you." He gave him his hand, and the man ushered him in and led him up the stairs until he reached the terrace, which was very high. And my brother, out of breath, thought: "He will certainly give me the remains of some great feast."
When they both arrived at the terrace, the man said to him: “What do you want, blind man?" My brother, quite astonished, answered: “Alms, for Allah!" He replied: “May Allah open the day for you elsewhere!" Then Bacbac said: “O you! Couldn't you tell me your answer while I was still down there?" The man replied, "O you who are lower than my ass, why didn't you answer when I cried from within: "Who is there? Who's at the door?" Get out of here as quickly as possible, or I'll roll you like a ball, O slimy beggar of misfortune!" And Bacbac was obliged, blind as he was, to descend the stairs as quickly as possible, all alone. He still had about twenty steps to go down, when he stumbled and fell and began to tumble down the stairs to the door. And, in this fall, he badly bruised his head and began to moan, while resuming his walk in the street. Then several of his fellow mendicants, who saw him groan thus, asked him the reason, and he told them. Then he said to them: “Now, companions, you should help me to go home and get some money to buy something to eat on this fruitless and accursed day. I am thus obliged to touch our savings which, as you know, are quite considerable, and of which you have made me the depositary."
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.*
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