Amiga CD32/Amiga CD32 1994 - Brilliant PD Games.iso/literature/50.arab.3

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Fourth Voyage


Rich and happy as I was after my third voyage, I
could not make up my mind to stay at home
altogether.  My love of trading, and the pleasure
I took in anything that was new and strange, made
me set my affairs in order, and begin my journey
through some of the Persian provinces, having
first sent off stores of goods to await my coming
in the different places I intended to visit.  I
took ship at a distant seaport, and for some time
all went well, but at last, being caught in a
violent hurricane, our vessel became a total wreck
in spite of all our worthy captain could do to
save her, and many of our company perished in the
waves.  I, with a few others, had the good fortune
to be washed ashore clinging to pieces of the
wreck, for the storm had driven us near an island,
and scrambling up beyond the reach of the waves we
threw ourselves down quite exhausted, to wait for
morning.

At daylight we wandered inland, and soon saw some
huts, to which we directed our steps.  As we drew
near their black inhabitants swarmed out in great
numbers and surrounded us, and we were led to
their houses, and as it were divided among our
captors.  I with five others was taken into a hut,
where we were made to sit upon the ground, and
certain herbs were given to us, which the blacks
made signs to us to eat.  Observing that they
themselves did not touch them, I was careful only
to pretend to taste my portion; but my companions,
being very hungry, rashly ate up all that was set
before them, and very soon I had the horror of
seeing them become perfectly mad.  Though they
chattered incessantly I could not understand a
word they said, nor did they heed when I spoke to
them.  The savages now produced large bowls full
of rice prepared with cocoanut oil, of which my
crazy comrades ate eagerly, but I only tasted a
few grains, understanding clearly that the object
of our captors was to fatten us speedily for their
own eating, and this was exactly what happened.
My unlucky companions having lost their reason,
felt neither anxiety nor fear, and ate greedily
all that was offered them.  So they were soon fat
and there was an end of them, but I grew leaner
day by day, for I ate but little, and even that
little did me no good by reason of my fear of what
lay before me.  However, as I was so far from
being a tempting morsel, I was allowed to wander
about freely, and one day, when all the blacks had
gone off upon some expedition leaving only an old
man to guard me, I managed to escape from him and
plunged into the forest, running faster the more
he cried to me to come back, until I had
completely distanced him.

For seven days I hurried on, resting only when the
darkness stopped me, and living chiefly upon
cocoanuts, which afforded me both meat and drink,
and on the eighth day I reached the seashore and
saw a party of white men gathering pepper, which
grew abundantly all about.  Reassured by the
nature of their occupation, I advanced towards
them and they greeted me in Arabic, asking who I
was and whence I came.  My delight was great on
hearing this familiar speech, and I willingly
satisfied their curiosity, telling them how I had
been shipwrecked, and captured by the blacks.
"But these savages devour men!" said they.  "How
did you escape?" I repeated to them what I have
just told you, at which they were mightily
astonished.  I stayed with them until they had
collected as much pepper as they wished, and then
they took me back to their own country and
presented me to their king, by whom I was
hospitably received.  To him also I had to relate
my adventures, which surprised him much, and when
I had finished he ordered that I should be
supplied with food and raiment and treated with
consideration.

The island on which I found myself was full of
people, and abounded in all sorts of desirable
things, and a great deal of traffic went on in the
capital, where I soon began to feel at home and
contented.  Moreover, the king treated me with
special favour, and in consequence of this
everyone, whether at the court or in the town,
sought to make life pleasant to me.  One thing I
remarked which I thought very strange; this was
that, from the greatest to the least, all men rode
their horses without bridle or stirrups.  I one
day presumed to ask his majesty why he did not use
them, to which he replied, "You speak to me of
things of which I have never before heard!" This
gave me an idea.  I found a clever workman, and
made him cut out under my direction the foundation
of a saddle, which I wadded and covered with
choice leather, adorning it with rich gold
embroidery.  I then got a lock-smith to make me a
bit and a pair of spurs after a pattern that I
drew for him, and when all these things were
completed I presented them to the king and showed
him how to use them.  When I had saddled one of
his horses he mounted it and rode about quite
delighted with the novelty, and to show his
gratitude he rewarded me with large gifts.  After
this I had to make saddles for all the principal
officers of the king's household, and as they all
gave me rich presents I soon became very wealthy
and quite an important person in the city.

One day the king sent for me and said, "Sindbad, I
am going to ask a favour of you.  Both I and my
subjects esteem you, and wish you to end your days
amongst us.  Therefore I desire that you will
marry a rich and beautiful lady whom I will find
for you, and think no more of your own country."

As the king's will was law I accepted the charming
bride he presented to me, and lived happily with
her.  Nevertheless I had every intention of
escaping at the first opportunity, and going back
to Bagdad.  Things were thus going prosperously
with me when it happened that the wife of one of
my neighbours, with whom I had struck up quite a
friendship, fell ill, and presently died.  I went
to his house to offer my consolations, and found
him in the depths of woe.

"Heaven preserve you," said I, "and send you a
long life!"

"Alas!" he replied, "what is the good of saying
that when I have but an hour left to live!"

"Come, come!" said I, "surely it is not so bad as
all that.  I trust that you may be spared to me
for many years."

"I hope," answered he, "that your life may be
long, but as for me, all is finished.  I have set
my house in order, and to-day I shall be buried
with my wife.  This has been the law upon our
island from the earliest ages--the living husband
goes to the grave with his dead wife, the living
wife with her dead husband.  So did our fathers,
and so must we do.  The law changes not, and all
must submit to it!"

As he spoke the friends and relations of the
unhappy pair began to assemble.  The body, decked
in rich robes and sparkling with jewels, was laid
upon an open bier, and the procession started,
taking its way to a high mountain at some distance
from the city, the wretched husband, clothed from
head to foot in a black mantle, following
mournfully.

When the place of interment was reached the corpse
was lowered, just as it was, into a deep pit.
Then the husband, bidding farewell to all his
friends, stretched himself upon another bier, upon
which were laid seven little loaves of bread and a
pitcher of water, and he also was let
down-down-down to the depths of the horrible
cavern, and then a stone was laid over the
opening, and the melancholy company wended its way
back to the city.

You may imagine that I was no unmoved spectator of
these proceedings; to all the others it was a
thing to which they had been accustomed from their
youth up; but I was so horrified that I could not
help telling the king how it struck me.

"Sire," I said, "I am more astonished than I can
express to you at the strange custom which exists
in your dominions of burying the living with the
dead.  In all my travels I have never before met
with so cruel and horrible a law."

"What would you have, Sindbad?" he replied.  "It
is the law for everybody.  I myself should be
buried with the Queen if she were the first to
die."

"But, your Majesty," said I, "dare I ask if this
law applies to foreigners also?"

"Why, yes," replied the king smiling, in what I
could but consider a very heartless manner, "they
are no exception to the rule if they have married
in the country."

When I heard this I went home much cast down, and
from that time forward my mind was never easy.  If
only my wife's little finger ached I fancied she
was going to die, and sure enough before very long
she fell really ill and in a few days breathed her
last.  My dismay was great, for it seemed to me
that to be buried alive was even a worse fate than
to be devoured by cannibals, nevertheless there
was no escape.  The body of my wife, arrayed in
her richest robes and decked with all her jewels,
was laid upon the bier.  I followed it, and after
me came a great procession, headed by the king and
all his nobles, and in this order we reached the
fatal mountain, which was one of a lofty chain
bordering the sea.

Here I made one more frantic effort to excite the
pity of the king and those who stood by, hoping to
save myself even at this last moment, but it was
of no avail.  No one spoke to me, they even
appeared to hasten over their dreadful task, and I
speedily found myself descending into the gloomy
pit, with my seven loaves and pitcher of water
beside me.  Almost before I reached the bottom the
stone was rolled into its place above my head, and
I was left to my fate.  A feeble ray of light
shone into the cavern through some chink, and when
I had the courage to look about me I could see
that I was in a vast vault, bestrewn with bones
and bodies of the dead.  I even fancied that I
heard the expiring sighs of those who, like
myself, had come into this dismal place alive.
All in vain did I shriek aloud with rage and
despair, reproaching myself for the love of gain
and adventure which had brought me to such a pass,
but at length, growing calmer, I took up my bread
and water, and wrapping my face in my mantle I
groped my way towards the end of the cavern, where
the air was fresher.

Here I lived in darkness and misery until my
provisions were exhausted, but just as I was
nearly dead from starvation the rock was rolled
away overhead and I saw that a bier was being
lowered into the cavern, and that the corpse upon
it was a man.  In a moment my mind was made up,
the woman who followed had nothing to expect but a
lingering death; I should be doing her a service
if I shortened her misery.  Therefore when she
descended, already insensible from terror, I was
ready armed with a huge bone, one blow from which
left her dead, and I secured the bread and water
which gave me a hope of life.  Several times did I
have recourse to this desperate expedient, and I
know not how long I had been a prisoner when one
day I fancied that I heard something near me,
which breathed loudly.  Turning to the place from
which the sound came I dimly saw a shadowy form
which fled at my movement, squeezing itself
through a cranny in the wall.  I pursued it as
fast as I could, and found myself in a narrow
crack among the rocks, along which I was just able
to force my way.  I followed it for what seemed to
me many miles, and at last saw before me a glimmer
of light which grew clearer every moment until I
emerged upon the sea shore with a joy which I
cannot describe.  When I was sure that I was not
dreaming, I realised that it was doubtless some
little animal which had found its way into the
cavern from the sea, and when disturbed had fled,
showing me a means of escape which I could never
have discovered for myself.  I hastily surveyed my
surroundings, and saw that I was safe from all
pursuit from the town.

The mountains sloped sheer down to the sea, and
there was no road across them.  Being assured of
this I returned to the cavern, and amassed a rich
treasure of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and jewels
of all kinds which strewed the ground.  These I
made up into bales, and stored them into a safe
place upon the beach, and then waited hopefully
for the passing of a ship.  I had looked out for
two days, however, before a single sail appeared,
so it was with much delight that I at last saw a
vessel not very far from the shore, and by waving
my arms and uttering loud cries succeeded in
attracting the attention of her crew.  A boat was
sent off to me, and in answer to the questions of
the sailors as to how I came to be in such a
plight, I replied that I had been shipwrecked two
days before, but had managed to scramble ashore
with the bales which I pointed out to them.
Luckily for me they believed my story, and without
even looking at the place where they found me,
took up my bundles, and rowed me back to the ship.
Once on board, I soon saw that the captain was too
much occupied with the difficulties of navigation
to pay much heed to me, though he generously made
me welcome, and would not even accept the jewels
with which I offered to pay my passage.  Our
voyage was prosperous, and after visiting many
lands, and collecting in each place great store of
goodly merchandise, I found myself at last in
Bagdad once more with unheard of riches of every
description.  Again I gave large sums of money to
the poor, and enriched all the mosques in the
city, after which I gave myself up to my friends
and relations, with whom I passed my time in
feasting and merriment.

Here Sindbad paused, and all his hearers declared
that the adventures of his fourth voyage had
pleased them better than anything they had heard
before.  They then took their leave, followed by
Hindbad, who had once more received a hundred
sequins, and with the rest had been bidden to
return next day for the story of the fifth voyage.

When the time came all were in their places, and
when they had eaten and drunk of all that was set
before them Sindbad began his tale.



Fifth Voyage


Not even all that I had gone through could make me
contented with a quiet life.  I soon wearied of
its pleasures, and longed for change and
adventure.  Therefore I set out once more, but
this time in a ship of my own, which I built and
fitted out at the nearest seaport.  I wished to be
able to call at whatever port I chose, taking my
own time; but as I did not intend carrying enough
goods for a full cargo, I invited several
merchants of different nations to join me.  We set
sail with the first favourable wind, and after a
long voyage upon the open seas we landed upon an
unknown island which proved to be uninhabited.  We
determined, however, to explore it, but had not
gone far when we found a roc's egg, as large as
the one I had seen before and evidently very
nearly hatched, for the beak of the young bird had
already pierced the shell.  In spite of all I
could say to deter them, the merchants who were
with me fell upon it with their hatchets, breaking
the shell, and killing the young roc.  Then
lighting a fire upon the ground they hacked
morsels from the bird, and proceeded to roast them
while I stood by aghast.

Scarcely had they finished their ill-omened
repast, when the air above us was darkened by two
mighty shadows.  The captain of my ship, knowing
by experience what this meant, cried out to us
that the parent birds were coming, and urged us to
get on board with all speed.  This we did, and the
sails were hoisted, but before we had made any way
the rocs reached their despoiled nest and hovered
about it, uttering frightful cries when they
discovered the mangled remains of their young one.
For a moment we lost sight of them, and were
flattering ourselves that we had escaped, when
they reappeared and soared into the air directly
over our vessel, and we saw that each held in its
claws an immense rock ready to crush us.  There
was a moment of breathless suspense, then one bird
loosed its hold and the huge block of stone
hurtled through the air, but thanks to the
presence of mind of the helmsman, who turned our
ship violently in another direction, it fell into
the sea close beside us, cleaving it asunder till
we could nearly see the bottom.  We had hardly
time to draw a breath of relief before the other
rock fell with a mighty crash right in the midst
of our luckless vessel, smashing it into a
thousand fragments, and crushing, or hurling into
the sea, passengers and crew.  I myself went down
with the rest, but had the good fortune to rise
unhurt, and by holding on to a piece of driftwood
with one hand and swimming with the other I kept
myself afloat and was presently washed up by the
tide on to an island.  Its shores were steep and
rocky, but I scrambled up safely and threw myself
down to rest upon the green turf.

When I had somewhat recovered I began to examine
the spot in which I found myself, and truly it
seemed to me that I had reached a garden of
delights.  There were trees everywhere, and they
were laden with flowers and fruit, while a crystal
stream wandered in and out under their shadow.
When night came I slept sweetly in a cosy nook,
though the remembrance that I was alone in a
strange land made me sometimes start up and look
around me in alarm, and then I wished heartily
that I had stayed at home at ease.  However, the
morning sunlight restored my courage, and I once
more wandered among the trees, but always with
some anxiety as to what I might see next.  I had
penetrated some distance into the island when I
saw an old man bent and feeble sitting upon the
river bank, and at first I took him to be some
ship-wrecked mariner like myself.  Going up to him
I greeted him in a friendly way, but he only
nodded his head at me in reply.  I then asked what
he did there, and he made signs to me that he
wished to get across the river to gather some
fruit, and seemed to beg me to carry him on my
back.  Pitying his age and feebleness, I took him
up, and wading across the stream I bent down that
he might more easily reach the bank, and bade him
get down.  But instead of allowing himself to be
set upon his feet (even now it makes me laugh to
think of it!), this creature who had seemed to me
so decrepit leaped nimbly upon my shoulders, and
hooking his legs round my neck gripped me so
tightly that I was well-nigh choked, and so
overcome with terror that I fell insensible to the
ground.  When I recovered my enemy was still in
his place, though he had released his hold enough
to allow me breathing space, and seeing me revive
he prodded me adroitly first with one foot and
then with the other, until I was forced to get up
and stagger about with him under the trees while
he gathered and ate the choicest fruits.  This
went on all day, and even at night, when I threw
myself down half dead with weariness, the terrible
old man held on tight to my neck, nor did he fail
to greet the first glimmer of morning light by
drumming upon me with his heels, until I perforce
awoke and resumed my dreary march with rage and
bitterness in my heart.

It happened one day that I passed a tree under
which lay several dry gourds, and catching one up
I amused myself with scooping out its contents and
pressing into it the juice of several bunches of
grapes which hung from every bush.  When it was
full I left it propped in the fork of a tree, and
a few days later, carrying the hateful old man
that way, I snatched at my gourd as I passed it
and had the satisfaction of a draught of excellent
wine so good and refreshing that I even forgot my
detestable burden, and began to sing and caper.

The old monster was not slow to perceive the
effect which my draught had produced and that I
carried him more lightly than usual, so he
stretched out his skinny hand and seizing the
gourd first tasted its contents cautiously, then
drained them to the very last drop.  The wine was
strong and the gourd capacious, so he also began
to sing after a fashion, and soon I had the
delight of feeling the iron grip of his goblin
legs unclasp, and with one vigorous effort I threw
him to the ground, from which he never moved
again.  I was so rejoiced to have at last got rid
of this uncanny old man that I ran leaping and
bounding down to the sea shore, where, by the
greatest good luck, I met with some mariners who
had anchored off the island to enjoy the delicious
fruits, and to renew their supply of water.

They heard the story of my escape with amazement,
saying, "You fell into the hands of the Old Man of
the Sea, and it is a mercy that he did not
strangle you as he has everyone else upon whose
shoulders he has managed to perch himself.  This
island is well known as the scene of his evil
deeds, and no merchant or sailor who lands upon it
cares to stray far away from his comrades." After
we had talked for a while they took me back with
them on board their ship, where the captain
received me kindly, and we soon set sail, and
after several days reached a large and
prosperous-looking town where all the houses were
built of stone.  Here we anchored, and one of the
merchants, who had been very friendly to me on the
way, took me ashore with him and showed me a
lodging set apart for strange merchants.  He then
provided me with a large sack, and pointed out to
me a party of others equipped in like manner.

"Go with them," said he, "and do as they do, but
beware of losing sight of them, for if you strayed
your life would be in danger."

With that he supplied me with provisions, and bade
me farewell, and I set out with my new companions.
I soon learnt that the object of our expedition
was to fill our sacks with cocoanuts, but when at
length I saw the trees and noted their immense
height and the slippery smoothness of their
slender trunks, I did not at all understand how we
were to do it.  The crowns of the cocoa-palms were
all alive with monkeys, big and little, which
skipped from one to the other with surprising
agility, seeming to be curious about us and
disturbed at our appearance, and I was at first
surprised when my companions after collecting
stones began to throw them at the lively
creatures, which seemed to me quite harmless.  But
very soon I saw the reason of it and joined them
heartily, for the monkeys, annoyed and wishing to
pay us back in our own coin, began to tear the
nuts from the trees and cast them at us with angry
and spiteful gestures, so that after very little
labour our sacks were filled with the fruit which
we could not otherwise have obtained.

As soon as we had as many as we could carry we
went back to the town, where my friend bought my
share and advised me to continue the same
occupation until I had earned money enough to
carry me to my own country.  This I did, and
before long had amassed a considerable sum.  Just
then I heard that there was a trading ship ready
to sail, and taking leave of my friend I went on
board, carrying with me a goodly store of
cocoanuts; and we sailed first to the islands
where pepper grows, then to Comari where the best
aloes wood is found, and where men drink no wine
by an unalterable law.  Here I exchanged my nuts
for pepper and good aloes wood, and went a-fishing
for pearls with some of the other merchants, and
my divers were so lucky that very soon I had an
immense number, and those very large and perfect.
With all these treasures I came joyfully back to
Bagdad, where I disposed of them for large sums of
money, of which I did not fail as before to give
the tenth part to the poor, and after that I
rested from my labours and comforted myself with
all the pleasures that my riches could give me.

Having thus ended his story, Sindbad ordered that
one hundred sequins should be given to Hindbad,
and the guests then withdrew; but after the next
day's feast he began the account of his sixth
voyage as follows.



Sixth Voyage


It must be a marvel to you how, after having five
times met with shipwreck and unheard of perils, I
could again tempt fortune and risk fresh trouble.
I am even surprised myself when I look back, but
evidently it was my fate to rove, and after a year
of repose I prepared to make a sixth voyage,
regardless of the entreaties of my friends and
relations, who did all they could to keep me at
home.  Instead of going by the Persian Gulf, I
travelled a considerable way overland, and finally
embarked from a distant Indian port with a captain
who meant to make a long voyage.  And truly he did
so, for we fell in with stormy weather which drove
us completely out of our course, so that for many
days neither captain nor pilot knew where we were,
nor where we were going.  When they did at last
discover our position we had small ground for
rejoicing, for the captain, casting his turban
upon the deck and tearing his beard, declared that
we were in the most dangerous spot upon the whole
wide sea, and had been caught by a current which
was at that minute sweeping us to destruction.  It
was too true!  In spite of all the sailors could
do we were driven with frightful rapidity towards
the foot of a mountain, which rose sheer out of
the sea, and our vessel was dashed to pieces upon
the rocks at its base, not, however, until we had
managed to scramble on shore, carrying with us the
most precious of our possessions.  When we had
done this the captain said to us:

"Now we are here we may as well begin to dig our
graves at once, since from this fatal spot no
shipwrecked mariner has ever returned."

This speech discouraged us much, and we began to
lament over our sad fate.

The mountain formed the seaward boundary of a
large island, and the narrow strip of rocky shore
upon which we stood was strewn with the wreckage
of a thousand gallant ships, while the bones of
the luckless mariners shone white in the sunshine,
and we shuddered to think how soon our own would
be added to the heap.  All around, too, lay vast
quantities of the costliest merchandise, and
treasures were heaped in every cranny of the
rocks, but all these things only added to the
desolation of the scene.  It struck me as a very
strange thing that a river of clear fresh water,
which gushed out from the mountain not far from
where we stood, instead of flowing into the sea as
rivers generally do, turned off sharply, and
flowed out of sight under a natural archway of
rock, and when I went to examine it more closely I
found that inside the cave the walls were thick
with diamonds, and rubies, and masses of crystal,
and the floor was strewn with ambergris.  Here,
then, upon this desolate shore we abandoned
ourselves to our fate, for there was no
possibility of scaling the mountain, and if a ship
had appeared it could only have shared our doom.
The first thing our captain did was to divide
equally amongst us all the food we possessed, and
then the length of each man's life depended on the
time he could make his portion last.  I myself
could live upon very little.

Nevertheless, by the time I had buried the last of
my companions my stock of provisions was so small
that I hardly thought I should live long enough to
dig my own grave, which I set about doing, while I
regretted bitterly the roving disposition which
was always bringing me into such straits, and
thought longingly of all the comfort and luxury
that I had left.  But luckily for me the fancy
took me to stand once more beside the river where
it plunged out of sight in the depths of the
cavern, and as I did so an idea struck me.  This
river which hid itself underground doubtless
emerged again at some distant spot.  Why should I
not build a raft and trust myself to its swiftly
flowing waters?  If I perished before I could
reach the light of day once more I should be no
worse off than I was now, for death stared me in
the face, while there was always the possibility
that, as I was born under a lucky star, I might
find myself safe and sound in some desirable land.
I decided at any rate to risk it, and speedily
built myself a stout raft of drift-wood with
strong cords, of which enough and to spare lay
strewn upon the beach.  I then made up many
packages of rubies, emeralds, rock crystal,
ambergris, and precious stuffs, and bound them
upon my raft, being careful to preserve the
balance, and then I seated myself upon it, having
two small oars that I had fashioned laid ready to
my hand, and loosed the cord which held it to the
bank.  Once out in the current my raft flew
swiftly under the gloomy archway, and I found
myself in total darkness, carried smoothly forward
by the rapid river.  On I went as it seemed to me
for many nights and days.  Once the channel became
so small that I had a narrow escape of being
crushed against the rocky roof, and after that I
took the precaution of lying flat upon my precious
bales.  Though I only ate what was absolutely
necessary to keep myself alive, the inevitable
moment came when, after swallowing my last morsel
of food, I began to wonder if I must after all die
of hunger.  Then, worn out with anxiety and
fatigue, I fell into a deep sleep, and when I
again opened my eyes I was once more in the light
of day; a beautiful country lay before me, and my
raft, which was tied to the river bank, was
surrounded by friendly looking black men.  I rose
and saluted them, and they spoke to me in return,
but I could not understand a word of their
language.  Feeling perfectly bewildered by my
sudden return to life and light, I murmured to
myself in Arabic, "Close thine eyes, and while
thou sleepest Heaven will change thy fortune from
evil to good."

One of the natives, who understood this tongue,
then came forward saying:

"My brother, be not surprised to see us; this is
our land, and as we came to get water from the
river we noticed your raft floating down it, and
one of us swam out and brought you to the shore.
We have waited for your awakening; tell us now
whence you come and where you were going by that
dangerous way?"

I replied that nothing would please me better than
to tell them, but that I was starving, and would
fain eat something first.  I was soon supplied
with all I needed, and having satisfied my hunger
I told them faithfully all that had befallen me.
They were lost in wonder at my tale when it was
interpreted to them, and said that adventures so
surprising must be related to their king only by
the man to whom they had happened.  So, procuring
a horse, they mounted me upon it, and we set out,
followed by several strong men carrying my raft
just as it was upon their shoulders.  In this
order we marched into the city of Serendib, where
the natives presented me to their king, whom I
saluted in the Indian fashion, prostrating myself
at his feet and kissing the ground; but the
monarch bade me rise and sit beside him, asking
first what was my name.

"I am Sindbad," I replied, "whom men call `the
Sailor,' for I have voyaged much upon many seas."

"And how come you here?" asked the king.

I told my story, concealing nothing, and his
surprise and delight were so great that he ordered
my adventures to be written in letters of gold and
laid up in the archives of his kingdom.

Presently my raft was brought in and the bales
opened in his presence, and the king declared that
in all his treasury there were no such rubies and
emeralds as those which lay in great heaps before
him.  Seeing that he looked at them with interest,
I ventured to say that I myself and all that I had
were at his disposal, but he answered me smiling:

"Nay, Sindbad.  Heaven forbid that I should covet
your riches; I will rather add to them, for I
desire that you shall not leave my kingdom without
some tokens of my good will." He then commanded
his officers to provide me with a suitable lodging
at his expense, and sent slaves to wait upon me
and carry my raft and my bales to my new dwelling
place.  You may imagine that I praised his
generosity and gave him grateful thanks, nor did I
fail to present myself daily in his audience
chamber, and for the rest of my time I amused
myself in seeing all that was most worthy of
attention in the city.  The island of Serendib
being situated on the equinoctial line, the days
and nights there are of equal length.  The chief
city is placed at the end of a beautiful valley,
formed by the highest mountain in the world, which
is in the middle of the island.  I had the
curiosity to ascend to its very summit, for this
was the place to which Adam was banished out of
Paradise.  Here are found rubies and many precious
things, and rare plants grow abundantly, with
cedar trees and cocoa palms.  On the seashore and
at the mouths of the rivers the divers seek for
pearls, and in some valleys diamonds are
plentiful.  After many days I petitioned the king
that I might return to my own country, to which he
graciously consented.  Moreover, he loaded me with
rich gifts, and when I went to take leave of him
he entrusted me with a royal present and a letter
to the Commander of the Faithful, our sovereign
lord, saying, "I pray you give these to the Caliph
Haroun al Raschid, and assure him of my
friendship."

I accepted the charge respectfully, and soon
embarked upon the vessel which the king himself
had chosen for me.  The king's letter was written
in blue characters upon a rare and precious skin
of yellowish colour, and these were the words of
it:  "The King of the Indies, before whom walk a
thousand elephants, who lives in a palace, of
which the roof blazes with a hundred thousand
rubies, and whose treasure house contains twenty
thousand diamond crowns, to the Caliph Haroun al
Raschid sends greeting.  Though the offering we
present to you is unworthy of your notice, we pray
you to accept it as a mark of the esteem and
friendship which we cherish for you, and of which
we gladly send you this token, and we ask of you a
like regard if you deem us worthy of it.  Adieu,
brother."

The present consisted of a vase carved from a
single ruby, six inches high and as thick as my
finger; this was filled with the choicest pearls,
large, and of perfect shape and lustre; secondly,
a huge snake skin, with scales as large as a
sequin, which would preserve from sickness those
who slept upon it.  Then quantities of aloes wood,
camphor, and pistachio-nuts; and lastly, a
beautiful slave girl, whose robes glittered with
precious stones.

After a long and prosperous voyage we landed at
Balsora, and I made haste to reach Bagdad, and
taking the king's letter I presented myself at the
palace gate, followed by the beautiful slave, and
various members of my own family, bearing the
treasure.

As soon as I had declared my errand I was
conducted into the presence of the Caliph, to
whom, after I had made my obeisance, I gave the
letter and the king's gift, and when he had
examined them he demanded of me whether the Prince
of Serendib was really as rich and powerful as he
claimed to be.

"Commander of the Faithful," I replied, again
bowing humbly before him, "I can assure your
Majesty that he has in no way exaggerated his
wealth and grandeur.  Nothing can equal the
magnificence of his palace.  When he goes abroad
his throne is prepared upon the back of an
elephant, and on either side of him ride his
ministers, his favourites, and courtiers.  On his
elephant's neck sits an officer, his golden lance
in his hand, and behind him stands another bearing
a pillar of gold, at the top of which is an
emerald as long as my hand.  A thousand men in
cloth of gold, mounted upon richly caparisoned
elephants, go before him, and as the procession
moves onward the officer who guides his elephant
cries aloud, `Behold the mighty monarch, the
powerful and valiant Sultan of the Indies, whose
palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies,
who possesses twenty thousand diamond crowns.
Behold a monarch greater than Solomon and Mihrage
in all their glory!'"

"Then the one who stands behind the throne
answers:  "This king, so great and powerful, must
die, must die, must die!"

"And the first takes up the chant again, `All
praise to Him who lives for evermore.'"

"Further, my lord, in Serendib no judge is needed,
for to the king himself his people come for
justice."

The Caliph was well satisfied with my report.

"From the king's letter," said he, "I judged that
he was a wise man.  It seems that he is worthy of
his people, and his people of him."

So saying he dismissed me with rich presents, and
I returned in peace to my own house.

When Sindbad had done speaking his guests
withdrew, Hindbad having first received a hundred
sequins, but all returned next day to hear the
story of the seventh voyage, Sindbad thus began.



Seventh and Last Voyage


After my sixth voyage I was quite determined that
I would go to sea no more.  I was now of an age to
appreciate a quiet life, and I had run risks
enough.  I only wished to end my days in peace.
One day, however, when I was entertaining a number
of my friends, I was told that an officer of the
Caliph wished to speak to me, and when he was
admitted he bade me follow him into the presence
of Haroun al Raschid, which I accordingly did.
After I had saluted him, the Caliph said:

"I have sent for you, Sindbad, because I need your
services.  I have chosen you to bear a letter and
a gift to the King of Serendib in return for his
message of friendship."

The Caliph's commandment fell upon me like a
thunderbolt.

"Commander of the Faithful," I answered, "I am
ready to do all that your Majesty commands, but I
humbly pray you to remember that I am utterly
disheartened by the unheard of sufferings I have
undergone.  Indeed, I have made a vow never again
to leave Bagdad."

With this I gave him a long account of some of my
strangest adventures, to which he listened
patiently.

"I admit," said he, "that you have indeed had some
extraordinary experiences, but I do not see why
they should hinder you from doing as I wish.  You
have only to go straight to Serendib and give my
message, then you are free to come back and do as
you will.  But go you must; my honour and dignity
demand it."

Seeing that there was no help for it, I declared
myself willing to obey; and the Caliph, delighted
at having got his own way, gave me a thousand
sequins for the expenses of the voyage.  I was
soon ready to start, and taking the letter and the
present I embarked at Balsora, and sailed quickly
and safely to Serendib.  Here, when I had
disclosed my errand, I was well received, and
brought into the presence of the king, who greeted
me with joy.

"Welcome, Sindbad," he cried.  "I have thought of
you often, and rejoice to see you once more."

After thanking him for the honour that he did me,
I displayed the Caliph's gifts.  First a bed with
complete hangings all cloth of gold, which cost a
thousand sequins, and another like to it of
crimson stuff.  Fifty robes of rich embroidery, a
hundred of the finest white linen from Cairo,
Suez, Cufa, and Alexandria.  Then more beds of
different fashion, and an agate vase carved with
the figure of a man aiming an arrow at a lion, and
finally a costly table, which had once belonged to
King Solomon.  The King of Serendib received with
satisfaction the assurance of the Caliph's
friendliness toward him, and now my task being
accomplished I was anxious to depart, but it was
some time before the king would think of letting
me go.  At last, however, he dismissed me with
many presents, and I lost no time in going on
board a ship, which sailed at once, and for four
days all went well.  On the fifth day we had the
misfortune to fall in with pirates, who seized our
vessel, killing all who resisted, and making
prisoners of those who were prudent enough to
submit at once, of whom I was one.  When they had
despoiled us of all we possessed, they forced us
to put on vile raiment, and sailing to a distant
island there sold us for slaves.  I fell into the
hands of a rich merchant, who took me home with
him, and clothed and fed me well, and after some
days sent for me and questioned me as to what I
could do.

I answered that I was a rich merchant who had been
captured by pirates, and therefore I knew no
trade.

"Tell me," said he, "can you shoot with a bow?"

I replied that this had been one of the pastimes
of my youth, and that doubtless with practice my
skill would come back to me.

Upon this he provided me with a bow and arrows,
and mounting me with him upon his own elephant
took the way to a vast forest which lay far from
the town.  When we had reached the wildest part of
it we stopped, and my master said to me:  "This
forest swarms with elephants.  Hide yourself in
this great tree, and shoot at all that pass you.
When you have succeeded in killing one come and
tell me."

So saying he gave me a supply of food, and
returned to the town, and I perched myself high up
in the tree and kept watch.  That night I saw
nothing, but just after sunrise the next morning a
large herd of elephants came crashing and
trampling by.  I lost no time in letting fly
several arrows, and at last one of the great
animals fell to the ground dead, and the others
retreated, leaving me free to come down from my
hiding place and run back to tell my master of my
success, for which I was praised and regaled with
good things.  Then we went back to the forest
together and dug a mighty trench in which we
buried the elephant I had killed, in order that
when it became a skeleton my master might return
and secure its tusks.

For two months I hunted thus, and no day passed
without my securing, an elephant.  Of course I did
not always station myself in the same tree, but
sometimes in one place, sometimes in another.  One
morning as I watched the coming of the elephants I
was surprised to see that, instead of passing the
tree I was in, as they usually did, they paused,
and completely surrounded it, trumpeting horribly,
and shaking the very ground with their heavy
tread, and when I saw that their eyes were fixed
upon me I was terrified, and my arrows dropped
from my trembling hand.  I had indeed good reason
for my terror when, an instant later, the largest
of the animals wound his trunk round the stem of
my tree, and with one mighty effort tore it up by
the roots, bringing me to the ground entangled in
its branches.  I thought now that my last hour was
surely come; but the huge creature, picking me up
gently enough, set me upon its back, where I clung
more dead than alive, and followed by the whole
herd turned and crashed off into the dense forest.
It seemed to me a long time before I was once more
set upon my feet by the elephant, and I stood as
if in a dream watching the herd, which turned and
trampled off in another direction, and were soon
hidden in the dense underwood.  Then, recovering
myself, I looked about me, and found that I was
standing upon the side of a great hill, strewn as
far as I could see on either hand with bones and
tusks of elephants.  "This then must be the
elephants' burying place," I said to myself, "and
they must have brought me here that I might cease
to persecute them, seeing that I want nothing but
their tusks, and here lie more than I could carry
away in a lifetime."

Whereupon I turned and made for the city as fast
as I could go, not seeing a single elephant by the
way, which convinced me that they had retired
deeper into the forest to leave the way open to
the Ivory Hill, and I did not know how
sufficiently to admire their sagacity.  After a
day and a night I reached my master's house, and
was received by him with joyful surprise.

"Ah!  poor Sindbad," he cried, "I was wondering
what could have become of you.  When I went to the
forest I found the tree newly uprooted, and the
arrows lying beside it, and I feared I should
never see you again.  Pray tell me how you escaped
death."

I soon satisfied his curiosity, and the next day
we went together to the Ivory Hill, and he was
overjoyed to find that I had told him nothing but
the truth.  When we had loaded our elephant with
as many tusks as it could carry and were on our
way back to the city, he said:

"My brother--since I can no longer treat as a
slave one who has enriched me thus--take your
liberty and may Heaven prosper you.  I will no
longer conceal from you that these wild elephants
have killed numbers of our slaves every year.  No
matter what good advice we gave them, they were
caught sooner or later.  You alone have escaped
the wiles of these animals, therefore you must be
under the special protection of Heaven.  Now
through you the whole town will be enriched
without further loss of life, therefore you shall
not only receive your liberty, but I will also
bestow a fortune upon you."

To which I replied, "Master, I thank you, and wish
you all prosperity.  For myself I only ask liberty
to return to my own country."

"It is well," he answered, "the monsoon will soon
bring the ivory ships hither, then I will send you
on your way with somewhat to pay your passage."

So I stayed with him till the time of the monsoon,
and every day we added to our store of ivory till
all his ware-houses were overflowing with it.  By
this time the other merchants knew the secret, but
there was enough and to spare for all.  When the
ships at last arrived my master himself chose the
one in which I was to sail, and put on board for
me a great store of choice provisions, also ivory
in abundance, and all the costliest curiosities of
the country, for which I could not thank him
enough, and so we parted.  I left the ship at the
first port we came to, not feeling at ease upon
the sea after all that had happened to me by
reason of it, and having disposed of my ivory for
much gold, and bought many rare and costly
presents, I loaded my pack animals, and joined a
caravan of merchants.  Our journey was long and
tedious, but I bore it patiently, reflecting that
at least I had not to fear tempests, nor pirates,
nor serpents, nor any of the other perils from
which I had suffered before, and at length we
reached Bagdad.  My first care was to present
myself before the Caliph, and give him an account
of my embassy.  He assured me that my long absence
had disquieted him much, but he had nevertheless
hoped for the best.  As to my adventure among the
elephants he heard it with amazement, declaring
that he could not have believed it had not my
truthfulness been well known to him.

By his orders this story and the others I had told
him were written by his scribes in letters of
gold, and laid up among his treasures.  I took my
leave of him, well satisfied with the honours and
rewards he bestowed upon me; and since that time I
have rested from my labours, and given myself up
wholly to my family and my friends.

Thus Sindbad ended the story of his seventh and
last voyage, and turning to Hindbad he added:

"Well, my friend, and what do you think now?  Have
you ever heard of anyone who has suffered more, or
had more narrow escapes than I have?  Is it not
just that I should now enjoy a life of ease and
tranquillity?"

Hindbad drew near, and kissing his hand
respectfully, replied, "Sir, you have indeed known
fearful perils; my troubles have been nothing
compared to yours.  Moreover, the generous use you
make of your wealth proves that you deserve it.
May you live long and happily in the enjoyment in
it."

Sindbad then gave him a hundred sequins, and
hence-forward counted him among his friends; also
he caused him to give up his profession as a
porter, and to eat daily at his table that he
might all his life remember Sindbad the Sailor.



The Little Hunchback


In the kingdom of Kashgar, which is, as everybody
knows, situated on the frontiers of Great Tartary,
there lived long ago a tailor and his wife who
loved each other very much.  One day, when the
tailor was hard at work, a little hunchback came
and sat at the entrance of the shop, and began to
sing and play his tambourine.  The tailor was
amused with the antics of the fellow, and thought
he would take him home to divert his wife.  The
hunchback having agreed to his proposal, the
tailor closed his shop and they set off together.

When they reached the house they found the table
ready laid for supper, and in a very few minutes
all three were sitting before a beautiful fish
which the tailor's wife had cooked with her own
hands.  But unluckily, the hunchback happened to
swallow a large bone, and, in spite of all the
tailor and his wife could do to help him, died of
suffocation in an instant.  Besides being very
sorry for the poor man, the tailor and his wife
were very much frightened on their own account,
for if the police came to hear of it the worthy
couple ran the risk of being thrown into prison
for wilful murder.  In order to prevent this
dreadful calamity they both set about inventing
some plan which would throw suspicion on some one
else, and at last they made up their minds that
they could do no better than select a Jewish
doctor who lived close by as the author of the
crime.  So the tailor picked up the hunchback by
his head while his wife took his feet and carried
him to the doctor's house.  Then they knocked at
the door, which opened straight on to a steep
staircase.  A servant soon appeared, feeling her
way down the dark staircase and inquired what they
wanted.

"Tell your master," said the tailor, "that we have
brought a very sick man for him to cure; and," he
added, holding out some money, "give him this in
advance, so that he may not feel he is wasting his
time." The servant remounted the stairs to give
the message to the doctor, and the moment she was
out of sight the tailor and his wife carried the
body swiftly after her, propped it up at the top
of the staircase, and ran home as fast as their
legs could carry them.

Now the doctor was so delighted at the news of a
patient (for he was young, and had not many of
them), that he was transported with joy.

"Get a light," he called to the servant, "and
follow me as fast as you can!" and rushing out of
his room he ran towards the staircase.  There he
nearly fell over the body of the hunchback, and
without knowing what it was gave it such a kick
that it rolled right to the bottom, and very
nearly dragged the doctor after it.  "A light!  a
light!" he cried again, and when it was brought
and he saw what he had done he was almost beside
himself with terror.

"Holy Moses!" he exclaimed, "why did I not wait
for the light?  I have killed the sick man whom
they brought me; and if the sacred Ass of Esdras
does not come to my aid I am lost!  It will not be
long before I am led to jail as a murderer."

Agitated though he was, and with reason, the
doctor did not forget to shut the house door, lest
some passers-by might chance to see what had
happened.  He then took up the corpse and carried
it into his wife's room, nearly driving her crazy
with fright.

"It is all over with us!" she wailed, "if we
cannot find some means of getting the body out of
the house.  Once let the sun rise and we can hide
it no longer!  How were you driven to commit such
a terrible crime?"

"Never mind that," returned the doctor, "the thing
is to find a way out of it."

For a long while the doctor and his wife continued
to turn over in their minds a way of escape, but
could not find any that seemed good enough.  At
last the doctor gave it up altogether and resigned
himself to bear the penalty of his misfortune.

But his wife, who had twice his brains, suddenly
exclaimed, "I have thought of something!  Let us
carry the body on the roof of the house and lower
it down the chimney of our neighbour the
Mussulman." Now this Mussulman was employed by the
Sultan, and furnished his table with oil and
butter.  Part of his house was occupied by a great
storeroom, where rats and mice held high revel.

The doctor jumped at his wife's plan, and they
took up the hunchback, and passing cords under his
armpits they let him down into the purveyor's
bed-room so gently that he really seemed to be
leaning against the wall.  When they felt he was
touching the ground they drew up the cords and
left him.

Scarcely had they got back to their own house when
the purveyor entered his room.  He had spent the
evening at a wedding feast, and had a lantern in
his hand.  In the dim light it cast he was
astonished to see a man standing in his chimney,
but being naturally courageous he seized a stick
and made straight for the supposed thief.  "Ah!"
he cried, "so it is you, and not the rats and
mice, who steal my butter.  I'll take care that
you don't want to come back!"

So saying he struck him several hard blows.  The
corpse fell on the floor, but the man only
redoubled his blows, till at length it occurred to
him it was odd that the thief should lie so still
and make no resistance.  Then, finding he was
quite dead, a cold fear took possession of him.
"Wretch that I am," said he, "I have murdered a
man.  Ah, my revenge has gone too far.  Without
tho help of Allah I am undone!  Cursed be the
goods which have led me to my ruin." And already
he felt the rope round his neck.

But when he had got over the first shock he began
to think of some way out of the difficulty, and
seizing the hunchback in his arms he carried him
out into the street, and leaning him against the
wall of a shop he stole back to his own house,
without once looking behind him.

A few minutes before the sun rose, a rich
Christian merchant, who supplied the palace with
all sorts of necessaries, left his house, after a
night of feasting, to go to the bath.  Though he
was very drunk, he was yet sober enough to know
that the dawn was at hand, and that all good
Mussulmen would shortly be going to prayer.  So he
hastened his steps lest he should meet some one on
his way to the mosque, who, seeing his condition,
would send him to prison as a drunkard.  In his
haste he jostled against the hunchback, who fell
heavily upon him, and the merchant, thinking he
was being attacked by a thief, knocked him down
with one blow of his fist.  He then called loudly
for help, beating the fallen man all the while.

The chief policeman of the quarter came running
up, and found a Christian ill-treating a
Mussulman.  "What are you doing?" he asked
indignantly.

"He tried to rob me," replied the merchant, "and
very nearly choked me."

"Well, you have had your revenge," said the man,
catching hold of his arm.  "Come, be off with
you!"

As he spoke he held out his hand to the hunchback
to help him up, but the hunchback never moved.
"Oho!" he went on, looking closer, "so this is the
way a Christian has the impudence to treat a
Mussulman!" and seizing the merchant in a firm
grasp he took him to the inspector of police, who
threw him into prison till the judge should be out
of bed and ready to attend to his case.  All this
brought the merchant to his senses, but the more
he thought of it the less he could understand how
the hunchback could have died merely from the
blows he had received.

The merchant was still pondering on this subject
when he was summoned before the chief of police
and questioned about his crime, which he could not
deny.  As the hunchback was one of the Sultan's
private jesters, the chief of police resolved to
defer sentence of death until he had consulted his
master.  He went to the palace to demand an
audience, and told his story to the Sultan, who
only answered,

"There is no pardon for a Christian who kills a
Mussulman.  Do your duty."

So the chief of police ordered a gallows to be
erected, and sent criers to proclaim in every
street in the city that a Christian was to be
hanged that day for having killed a Mussulman.

When all was ready the merchant was brought from
prison and led to the foot of the gallows.  The
executioner knotted the cord firmly round the
unfortunate man's neck and was just about to swing
him into the air, when the Sultan's purveyor
dashed through the crowd, and cried, panting, to
the hangman,

"Stop, stop, don't be in such a hurry.  It was not
he who did the murder, it was I."

The chief of police, who was present to see that
everything was in order, put several questions to
the purveyor, who told him the whole story of the
death of the hunchback, and how he had carried the
body to the place where it had been found by the
Christian merchant.

"You are going," he said to the chief of police,
"to kill an innocent man, for it is impossible
that he should have murdered a creature who was
dead already.  It is bad enough for me to have
slain a Mussulman without having it on my
conscience that a Christian who is guiltless
should suffer through my fault."

Now the purveyor's speech had been made in a loud
voice, and was heard by all the crowd, and even if
he had wished it, the chief of police could not
have escaped setting the merchant free.

"Loose the cords from the Christian's neck," he
commanded, turning to the executioner, "and hang
this man in his place, seeing that by his own
confession he is the murderer."

The hangman did as he was bid, and was tying the
cord firmly, when he was stopped by the voice of
the Jewish doctor beseeching him to pause, for he
had something very important to say.  When he had
fought his way through the crowd and reached the
chief of police,

"Worshipful sir," he began, "this Mussulman whom
you desire to hang is unworthy of death; I alone
am guilty.  Last night a man and a woman who were
strangers to me knocked at my door, bringing with
them a patient for me to cure.  The servant opened
it, but having no light was hardly able to make
out their faces, though she readily agreed to wake
me and to hand me the fee for my services.  While
she was telling me her story they seem to have
carried the sick man to the top of the staircase
and then left him there.  I jumped up in a hurry
without waiting for a lantern, and in the darkness
I fell against something, which tumbled headlong
down the stairs and never stopped till it reached
the bottom.  When I examined the body I found it
was quite dead, and the corpse was that of a
hunchback Mussulman.  Terrified at what we had
done, my wife and I took the body on the roof and
let it down the chimney of our neighbour the
purveyor, whom you were just about to hang.  The
purveyor, finding him in his room, naturally
thought he was a thief, and struck him such a blow
that the man fell down and lay motionless on the
floor.  Stooping to examine him, and finding him
stone dead, the purveyor supposed that the man had
died from the blow he had received; but of course
this was a mistake, as you will see from my
account, and I only am the murderer; and although
I am innocent of any wish to commit a crime, I
must suffer for it all the same, or else have the
blood of two Musselmans on my conscience.
Therefore send away this man, I pray you, and let
me take his place, as it is I who am guilty."

On hearing the declaration of the Jewish doctor,
the chief of police commanded that he should be
led to the gallows, and the Sultan's purveyor go
free.  The cord was placed round the Jew's neck,
and his feet had already ceased to touch the
ground when the voice of the tailor was heard
beseeching the executioner to pause one moment and
to listen to what he had to say.

"Oh, my lord," he cried, turning to the chief of
police, "how nearly have you caused the death of
three innocent people!  But if you will only have
the patience to listen to my tale, you shall know
who is the real culprit.  If some one has to
suffer, it must be me!  Yesterday, at dusk, I was
working in my shop with a light heart when the
little hunchback, who was more than half drunk,
came and sat in the doorway.  He sang me several
songs, and then I invited him to finish the
evening at my house.  He accepted my invitation,
and we went away together.  At supper I helped him
to a slice of fish, but in eating it a bone stuck
in his throat, and in spite of all we could do he
died in a few minutes.  We felt deeply sorry for
his death, but fearing lest we should be held
responsible, we carried the corpse to the house of
the Jewish doctor.  I knocked, and desired the
servant to beg her master to come down as fast as
possible and see a sick man whom we had brought
for him to cure; and in order to hasten his
movements I placed a piece of money in her hand as
the doctor's fee.  Directly she had disappeared I
dragged the body to the top of the stairs, and
then hurried away with my wife back to our house.
In descending the stairs the doctor accidentally
knocked over the corpse, and finding him dead
believed that he himself was the murderer.  But
now you know the truth set him free, and let me
die in his stead."

The chief of police and the crowd of spectators
were lost in astonishment at the strange events to
which the death of the hunchback had given rise.

"Loosen the Jewish doctor," said he to the
hangman, "and string up the tailor instead, since
he has made confession of his crime.  Really, one
cannot deny that this is a very singular story,
and it deserves to be written in letters of gold."

The executioner speedily untied the knots which
confined the doctor, and was passing the cord
round the neck of the tailor, when the Sultan of
Kashgar, who had missed his jester, happened to
make inquiry of his officers as to what had become
of him.

"Sire," replied they, "the hunchback having drunk
more than was good for him, escaped from the
palace and was seen wandering about the town,
where this morning he was found dead.  A man was
arrested for having caused his death, and held in
custody till a gallows was erected.  At the moment
that he was about to suffer punishment, first one
man arrived, and then another, each accusing
themselves of the murder, and this went on for a
long time, and at the present instant the chief of
police is engaged in questioning a man who
declares that he alone is the true assassin."

The Sultan of Kashgar no sooner heard these words
than he ordered an usher to go to the chief of
police and to bring all the persons concerned in
the hunchback's death, together with the corpse,
that he wished to see once again.  The usher
hastened on his errand, but was only just in time,
for the tailor was positively swinging in the air,
when his voice fell upon the silence of the crowd,
commanding the hangman to cut down the body.  The
hangman, recognising the usher as one of the
king's servants, cut down the tailor, and the
usher, seeing the man was safe, sought the chief
of police and gave him the Sultan's message.
Accordingly, the chief of police at once set out
for the palace, taking with him the tailor, the
doctor, the purveyor, and the merchant, who bore
the dead hunchback on their shoulders.

When the procession reached the palace the chief
of police prostrated himself at the feet of the
Sultan, and related all that he knew of the
matter.  The Sultan was so much struck by the
circumstances that he ordered his private
historian to write down an exact account of what
had passed, so that in the years to come the
miraculous escape of the four men who had thought
themselves murderers might never be forgotten.

The Sultan asked everybody concerned in the
hunchback's affair to tell him their stories.
Among others was a prating barber, whose tale of
one of his brothers follows.



Story of the Barber's Fifth Brother


As long as our father lived Alnaschar was very
idle.  Instead of working for his bread he was not
ashamed to ask for it every evening, and to
support himself next day on what he had received
the night before.  When our father died, worn out
by age, he only left seven hundred silver drachmas
to be divided amongst us, which made one hundred
for each son.  Alnaschar, who had never possessed
so much money in his life, was quite puzzled to
know what to do with it.  After reflecting upon
the matter for some time he decided to lay it out
on glasses, bottles, and things of that sort,
which he would buy from a wholesale merchant.
Having bought his stock he next proceeded to look
out for a small shop in a good position, where he
sat down at the open door, his wares being piled
up in an uncovered basket in front of him, waiting
for a customer among the passers-by.

In this attitude he remained seated, his eyes
fixed on the basket, but his thoughts far away.
Unknown to himself he began to talk out loud, and
a tailor, whose shop was next door to his, heard
quite plainly what he was saying.

"This basket," said Alnaschar to himself, "has
cost me a hundred drachmas-- all that I possess in
the world.  Now in selling the contents piece by
piece I shall turn two hundred, and these hundreds
I shall again lay out in glass, which will produce
four hundred.  By this means I shall in course of
time make four thousand drachmas, which will
easily double themselves.  When I have got ten
thousand I will give up the glass trade and become
a jeweller, and devote all my time to trading in
pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones.  At
last, having all the wealth that heart can desire,
I will buy a beautiful country house, with horses
and slaves, and then I will lead a merry life and
entertain my friends.  At my feasts I will send
for musicians and dancers from the neighbouring
town to amuse my guests.  In spite of my riches I
shall not, however, give up trade till I have
amassed a capital of a hundred thousand drachmas,
when, having become a man of much consideration, I
shall request the hand of the grand-vizir's
daughter, taking care to inform the worthy father
that I have heard favourable reports of her beauty
and wit, and that I will pay down on our wedding
day 3 thousand gold pieces.  Should the vizir
refuse my proposal, which after all is hardly to
be expected, I will seize him by the beard and
drag him to my house."

When I shall have married his daughter I will give
her ten of the best eunuchs that can be found for
her service.  Then I shall put on my most gorgeous
robes, and mounted on a horse with a saddle of
fine gold, and its trappings blazing with
diamonds, followed by a train of slaves, I shall
present myself at the house of the grand-vizir,
the people casting down their eyes and bowing low
as I pass along.  At the foot of the grand-vizir's
staircase I shall dismount, and while my servants
stand in a row to right and left I shall ascend
the stairs, at the head of which the grand-vizir
will be waiting to receive me.  He will then
embrace me as his son-in-law, and giving me his
seat will place himself below me.  This being done
(as I have every reason to expect), two of my
servants will enter, each bearing a purse
containing a thousand pieces of gold.  One of
these I shall present to him saying, "Here are the
thousand gold pieces that I offered for your
daughter's hand, and here," I shall continue,
holding out the second purse, "are another
thousand to show you that I am a man who is better
than his word." After hearing of such generosity
the world will talk of nothing else.

I shall return home with the same pomp as I set
out, and my wife will send an officer to
compliment me on my visit to her father, and I
shall confer on the officer the honour of a rich
dress and a handsome gift.  Should she send one to
me I shall refuse it and dismiss the bearer.  I
shall never allow my wife to leave her rooms on
any pretext whatever without my permission, and my
visits to her will be marked by all the ceremony
calculated to inspire respect.  No establishment
will be better ordered than mine, and I shall take
care always to be dressed in a manner suitable to
my position.  In the evening, when we retire to
our apartments, I shall sit in the place of
honour, where I shall assume a grand demeanour and
speak little, gazing straight before me, and when
my wife, lovely as the full moon, stands humbly in
front of my chair I shall pretend not to see her.
Then her women will say to me, "Respected lord and
master, your wife and slave is before you waiting
to be noticed.  She is mortified that you never
deign to look her way; she is tired of standing so
long.  Beg her, we pray you, to be seated." Of
course I shall give no signs of even hearing this
speech, which will vex them mightily.  They will
throw themselves at my feet with lamentations, and
at length I will raise my head and throw a
careless glance at her, then I shall go back to my
former attitude.  The women will think that I am
displeased at my wife's dress and will lead her
away to put on a finer one, and I on my side shall
replace the one I am wearing with another yet more
splendid.  They will then return to the charge,
but this time it will take much longer before they
persuade me even to look at my wife.  It is as
well to begin on my wedding-day as I mean to go on
for the rest of our lives.

The next day she will complain to her mother of
the way she has been treated, which will fill my
heart with joy.  Her mother will come to seek me,
and, kissing my hands with respect, will say, "My
lord" (for she could not dare to risk my anger by
using the familiar title of "son-in-law"), "My
lord, do not, I implore you, refuse to look upon
my daughter or to approach her.  She only lives to
please you, and loves you with all her soul." But
I shall pay no more heed to my mother-in-law's
words than I did to those of the women.  Again she
will beseech me to listen to her entreaties,
throwing herself this time at my feet, but all to
no purpose.  Then, putting a glass of wine into my
wife's hand, she will say to her, "There, present
that to him yourself, he cannot have the cruelty
to reject anything offered by so beautiful a
hand," and my wife will take it and offer it to me
tremblingly with tears in her eyes, but I shall
look in the other direction.  This will cause her
to weep still more, and she will hold out the
glass crying, "Adorable husband, never shall I
cease my prayers till you have done me the favour
to drink." Sick of her importunities, these words
will goad me to fury.  I shall dart an angry look
at her and give her a sharp blow on the cheek, at
the same time giving her a kick so violent that
she will stagger across the room and fall on to
the sofa.

"My brother," pursued the barber, "was so much
absorbed in his dreams that he actually did give a
kick with his foot, which unluckily hit the basket
of glass.  It fell into the street and was
instantly broken into a thousand pieces."

His neighbour the tailor, who had been listening
to his visions, broke into a loud fit of laughter
as he saw this sight.

"Wretched man!" he cried, "you ought to die of
shame at behaving so to a young wife who has done
nothing to you.  You must be a brute for her tears
and prayers not to touch your heart.  If I were
the grand-vizir I would order you a hundred blows
from a bullock whip, and would have you led round
the town accompanied by a herald who should
proclaim your crimes."

The accident, so fatal to all his profits, had
restored my brother to his senses, and seeing that
the mischief had been caused by his own
insufferable pride, he rent his clothes and tore
his hair, and lamented himself so loudly that the
passers-by stopped to listen.  It was a Friday, so
these were more numerous than usual.  Some pitied
Alnaschar, others only laughed at him, but the
vanity which had gone to his head had disappeared
with his basket of glass, and he was loudly
bewailing his folly when a lady, evidently a
person of consideration, rode by on a mule.  She
stopped and inquired what was the matter, and why
the man wept.  They told her that he was a poor
man who had laid out all his money on this basket
of glass, which was now broken.  On hearing the
cause of these loud wails the lady turned to her
attendant and said to him, "Give him whatever you
have got with you." The man obeyed, and placed in
my brother's hands a purse containing five hundred
pieces of gold.  Alnaschar almost died of joy on
receiving it.  He blessed the lady a thousand
times, and, shutting up his shop where he had no
longer anything to do, he returned home.

He was still absorbed in contemplating his good
fortune, when a knock came to his door, and on
opening it he found an old woman standing outside.

"My son," she said, "I have a favour to ask of
you.  It is the hour of prayer and I have not yet
washed myself.  Let me, I beg you, enter your
house, and give me water."

My brother, although the old woman was a stranger
to him, did not hesitate to do as she wished.  He
gave her a vessel of water and then went back to
his place and his thoughts, and with his mind busy
over his last adventure, he put his gold into a
long and narrow purse, which he could easily carry
in his belt.  During this time the old woman was
busy over her prayers, and when she had finished
she came and prostrated herself twice before my
brother, and then rising called down endless
blessings on his head.  Observing her shabby
clothes, my brother thought that her gratitude was
in reality a hint that he should give her some
money to buy some new ones, so he held out two
pieces of gold.  The old woman started back in
surprise as if she had received an insult.  "Good
heavens!" she exclaimed, "what is the meaning of
this?  Is it possible that you take me, my lord,
for one of those miserable creatures who force
their way into houses to beg for alms?  Take back
your money.  I am thankful to say I do not need
it, for I belong to a beautiful lady who is very
rich and gives me everything I want."

My brother was not clever enough to detect that
the old woman had merely refused the two pieces of
money he had offered her in order to get more, but
he inquired if she could procure him the pleasure
of seeing this lady.

"Willingly," she replied; "and she will be charmed
to marry you, and to make you the master of all
her wealth.  So pick up your money and follow me."

Delighted at the thought that he had found so
easily both a fortune and a beautiful wife, my
brother asked no more questions, but concealing
his purse, with the money the lady had given him,
in the folds of his dress, he set out joyfully
with his guide.

They walked for some distance till the old woman
stopped at a large house, where she knocked.  The
door was opened by a young Greek slave, and the
old woman led my brother across a well-paved court
into a well-furnished hall.  Here she left him to
inform her mistress of his presence, and as the
day was hot he flung himself on a pile of cushions
and took off his heavy turban.  In a few minutes
there entered a lady, and my brother perceived at
the first glance that she was even more beautiful
and more richly dressed than he had expected.  He
rose from his seat, but the lady signed to him to
sit down again and placed herself beside him.
After the usual compliments had passed between
them she said, "We are not comfortable here, let
us go into another room," and passing into a
smaller chamber, apparently communicating with no
other, she continued to talk to him for some time.
Then rising hastily she left him, saying, "Stay
where you are, I will come back in a moment."

He waited as he was told, but instead of the lady
there entered a huge black slave with a sword in
his hand.  Approaching my brother with an angry
countenance he exclaimed, "What business have you
here?" His voice and manner were so terrific that
Alnaschar had not strength to reply, and allowed
his gold to be taken from him, and even sabre cuts
to be inflicted on him without making any
resistance.  As soon as he was let go, he sank on
the ground powerless to move, though he still had
possession of his senses.  Thinking he was dead,
the black ordered the Greek slave to bring him
some salt, and between them they rubbed it into
his wounds, thus giving him acute agony, though he
had the presence of mind to give no sign of life.
They then left him, and their place was taken by
the old woman, who dragged him to a trapdoor and
threw him down into a vault filled with the bodies
of murdered men.

At first the violence of his fall caused him to
lose consciousness, but luckily the salt which had
been rubbed into his wounds had by its smarting
preserved his life, and little by little he
regained his strength.  At the end of two days he
lifted the trapdoor during the night and hid
himself in the courtyard till daybreak, when he
saw the old woman leave the house in search of
more prey.  Luckily she did not observe him, and
when she was out of sight he stole from this nest
of assassins and took refuge in my house.

I dressed his wounds and tended him carefully, and
when a month had passed he was as well as ever.
His one thought was how to be revenged on that
wicked old hag, and for this purpose he had a
purse made large enough to contain five hundred
gold pieces, but filled it instead with bits of
glass.  This he tied round him with his sash, and,
disguising himself as an old woman, he took a
sabre, which he hid under his dress.

One morning as he was hobbling through the streets
he met his old enemy prowling to see if she could
find anyone to decoy.  He went up to her and,
imitating the voice of a woman, he said, "Do you
happen to have a pair of scales you could lend me?
I have just come from Persia and have brought with
me five hundred gold pieces, and I am anxious to
see if they are the proper weight."

"Good woman," replied the old hag, "you could not
have asked anyone better.  My son is a
money-changer, and if you will follow me he will
weigh them for you himself.  Only we must be quick
or he will have gone to his shop." So saying she
led the way to the same house as before, and the
door was opened by the same Greek slave.

Again my brother was left in the hall, and the
pretended son appeared under the form of the black
slave.  "Miserable crone," he said to my brother,
"get up and come with me," and turned to lead the
way to the place of murder.  Alnaschar rose too,
and drawing the sabre from under his dress dealt
the black such a blow on his neck that his head
was severed from his body.  My brother picked up
the head with one hand, and seizing the body with
the other dragged it to the vault, when he threw
it in and sent the head after it.  The Greek
slave, supposing that all had passed as usual,
shortly arrived with the basin of salt, but when
she beheld Alnaschar with the sabre in his hand
she let the basin fall and turned to fly.  My
brother, however, was too quick for her, and in
another instant her head was rolling from her
shoulders.  The noise brought the old woman
running to see what was the matter, and he seized
her before she had time to escape.  "Wretch!" he
cried, "do you know me?"

"Who are you, my lord?" she replied trembling all
over.  "I have never seen you before."

"I am he whose house you entered to offer your
hypocritical prayers.  Don't you remember now?"

She flung herself on her knees to implore mercy,
but he cut her in four pieces.

There remained only the lady, who was quite
ignorant of all that was taking place around her.
He sought her through the house, and when at last
he found her, she nearly fainted with terror at
the sight of him.  She begged hard for life, which
he was generous enough to give her, but he bade
her to tell him how she had got into partnership
with the abominable creatures he had just put to
death.

"I was once," replied she, "the wife of an honest
merchant, and that old woman, whose wickedness I
did not know, used occasionally to visit me.
"Madam," she said to me one day, "we have a grand
wedding at our house to-day.  If you would do us
the honour to be present, I am sure you would
enjoy yourself." I allowed myself to be persuaded,
put on my richest dress, and took a purse with a
hundred pieces of gold.  Once inside the doors I
was kept by force by that dreadful black, and it
is now three years that I have been here, to my
great grief."

"That horrible black must have amassed great
wealth, remarked my brother.

"Such wealth," returned she, "that if you succeed
in carrying it all away it will make you rich for
ever.  Come and let us see how much there is."

She led Alnaschar into a chamber filled with
coffers packed with gold, which he gazed at with
an admiration he was powerless to conceal.  "Go,"
she said, "and bring men to carry them away."

My brother did not wait to be told twice, and
hurried out into the streets, where he soon
collected ten men.  They all came back to the
house, but what was his surprise to find the door
open, and the room with the chests of gold quite
empty.  The lady had been cleverer than himself,
and had made the best use of her time.  However,
he tried to console himself by removing all the
beautiful furniture, which more than made up for
the five hundred gold pieces he had lost.

Unluckily, on leaving the house, he forgot to lock
the door, and the neighbours, finding the place
empty, informed the police, who next morning
arrested Alnaschar as a thief.  My brother tried
to bribe them to let him off, but far from
listening to him they tied his hands, and forced
him to walk between them to the presence of the
judge.  When they had explained to the official
the cause of complaint, he asked Alnaschar where
he had obtained all the furniture that he had
taken to his house the day before.

"Sir," replied Alnaschar, "I am ready to tell you
the whole story, but give, I pray you, your word,
that I shall run no risk of punishment."

"That I promise," said the judge.  So my brother
began at the beginning and related all his
adventures, and how he had avenged himself on
those who had betrayed him.  As to the furniture,
he entreated the judge at least to allow him to
keep part to make up for the five hundred pieces
of gold which had been stolen from him.

The judge, however, would say nothing about this,
and lost no time in sending men to fetch away all
that Alnaschar had taken from the house.  When
everything had been moved and placed under his
roof he ordered my brother to leave the town and
never more to enter it on peril of his life,
fearing that if he returned he might seek justice
from the Caliph.  Alnaschar obeyed, and was on his
way to a neighbouring city when he fell in with a
band of robbers, who stripped him of his clothes
and left him naked by the roadside.  Hearing of
his plight, I hurried after him to console him for
his misfortunes, and to dress him in my best robe.
I then brought him back disguised, under cover of
night, to my house, where I have since given him
all the care I bestow on my other brothers.



The Story of the Barber's Sixth Brother


There now remains for me to relate to you the
story of my sixth brother, whose name was
Schacabac.  Like the rest of us, he inherited a
hundred silver drachmas from our father, which he
thought was a large fortune, but through ill-luck,
he soon lost it all, and was driven to beg.  As he
had a smooth tongue and good manners, he really
did very well in his new profession, and he
devoted himself specially to making friends with
the servants in big houses, so as to gain access
to their masters.

One day he was passing a splendid mansion, with a
crowd of servants lounging in the courtyard.  He
thought that from the appearance of the house it
might yield him a rich harvest, so he entered and
inquired to whom it belonged.

"My good man, where do you come from?" replied the
servant.  "Can't you see for yourself that it can
belong to nobody but a Barmecide?" for the
Barmecides were famed for their liberality and
generosity.  My brother, hearing this, asked the
porters, of whom there were several, if they would
give him alms.  They did not refuse, but told him
politely to go in, and speak to the master
himself.

My brother thanked them for their courtesy and
entered the building, which was so large that it
took him some time to reach the apartments of the
Barmecide.  At last, in a room richly decorated
with paintings, he saw an old man with a long
white beard, sitting on a sofa, who received him
with such kindness that my brother was emboldened
to make his petition.

"My lord," he said, "you behold in me a poor man
who only lives by the help of persons as rich and
as generous as you."

Before he could proceed further, he was stopped by
the astonishment shown by the Barmecide.  "Is it
possible," he cried, "that while I am in Bagdad, a
man like you should be starving?  That is a state
of things that must at once be put an end to!
Never shall it be said that I have abandoned you,
and I am sure that you, on your part, will never
abandon me."

"My lord," answered my brother, "I swear that I
have not broken my fast this whole day."

"What, you are dying of hunger?" exclaimed the
Barmecide.  "Here, slave; bring water, that we may
wash our hands before meat!" No slave appeared,
but my brother remarked that the Barmecide did not
fail to rub his hands as if the water had been
poured over them.

Then he said to my brother, "Why don't you wash
your hands too?" and Schacabac, supposing that it
was a joke on the part of the Barmecide (though he
could see none himself), drew near, and imitated
his motion.

When the Barmecide had done rubbing his hands, he
raised his voice, and cried, "Set food before us
at once, we are very hungry." No food was brought,
but the Barmecide pretended to help himself from a
dish, and carry a morsel to his mouth, saying as
he did so, "Eat, my friend, eat, I entreat.  Help
yourself as freely as if you were at home!  For a
starving man, you seem to have a very small
appetite."

"Excuse me, my lord," replied Schacabac, imitating
his gestures as before, "I really am not losing
time, and I do full justice to the repast."

"How do you like this bread?" asked the Barmecide.
"I find it particularly good myself."

"Oh, my lord," answered my brother, who beheld
neither meat nor bread, "never have I tasted
anything so delicious."

"Eat as much as you want," said the Barmecide.  "I
bought the woman who makes it for five hundred
pieces of gold, so that I might never be without
it."

After ordering a variety of dishes (which never
came) to be placed on the table, and discussing
the merits of each one, the Barmecide declared
that having dined so well, they would now proceed
to take their wine.  To this my brother at first
objected, declaring that it was forbidden; but on
the Barmecide insisting that it was out of the
question that he should drink by himself, he
consented to take a little.  The Barmecide,
however, pretended to fill their glasses so often,
that my brother feigned that the wine had gone
into his head, and struck the Barmecide such a
blow on the head, that he fell to the ground.
Indeed, he raised his hand to strike him a second
time, when the Barmecide cried out that he was
mad, upon which my brother controlled himself, and
apologised and protested that it was all the fault
of the wine he had drunk.  At this the Barmecide,
instead of being angry, began to laugh, and
embraced him heartily.  "I have long been
seeking," he exclaimed, "a man of your
description, and henceforth my house shall be
yours.  You have had the good grace to fall in
with my humour, and to pretend to eat and to drink
when nothing was there.  Now you shall be rewarded
by a really good supper."

Then he clapped his hands, and all the dishes were
brought that they had tasted in imagination before
and during the repast, slaves sang and played on
various instruments.  All the while Schacabac was
treated by the Barmecide as a familiar friend, and
dressed in a garment out of his own wardrobe.

Twenty years passed by, and my brother was still
living with the Barmecide, looking after his
house, and managing his affairs.  At the end of
that time his generous benefactor died without
heirs, so all his possessions went to the prince.
They even despoiled my brother of those that
rightly belonged to him, and he, now as poor as he
had ever been in his life, decided to cast in his
lot with a caravan of pilgrims who were on their
way to Mecca.  Unluckily, the caravan was attacked
and pillaged by the Bedouins, and the pilgrims
were taken prisoners.  My brother became the slave
of a man who beat him daily, hoping to drive him
to offer a ransom, although, as Schacabac pointed
out, it was quite useless trouble, as his
relations were as poor as himself.  At length the
Bedouin grew tired of tormenting, and sent him on
a camel to the top of a high barren mountain,
where he left him to take his chance.  A passing
caravan, on its way to Bagdad, told me where he
was to be found, and I hurried to his rescue, and
brought him in a deplorable condition back to the
town.

"This,"--continued the barber,--"is the tale I
related to the Caliph, who, when I had finished,
burst into fits of laughter.

"Well were you called `the Silent,'" said he; "no
name was ever better deserved.  But for reasons of
my own, which it is not necessary to mention, I
desire you to leave the town, and never to come
back."

"I had of course no choice but to obey, and
travelled about for several years until I heard of
the death of the Caliph, when I hastily returned
to Bagdad, only to find that all my brothers were
dead.  It was at this time that I rendered to the
young cripple the important service of which you
have heard, and for which, as you know, he showed
such profound ingratitude, that he preferred
rather to leave Bagdad than to run the risk of
seeing me.  I sought him long from place to place,
but it was only to-day, when I expected it least,
that I came across him, as much irritated with me
as ever"-- So saying the tailor went on to relate
the story of the lame man and the barber, which
has already been told.

"When the barber," he continued, "had finished his
tale, we came to the conclusion that the young man
had been right, when he had accused him of being a
great chatter-box.  However, we wished to keep him
with us, and share our feast, and we remained at
table till the hour of afternoon prayer.  Then the
company broke up, and I went back to work in my
shop.

"It was during this interval that the little
hunchback, half drunk already, presented himself
before me, singing and playing on his drum.  I
took him home, to amuse mg wife, and she invited
him to supper.  While eating some fish, a bone got
into his throat, and in spite of all we could do,
he died shortly.  It was all so sudden that we
lost our heads, and in order to divert suspicion
from ourselves, we carried the body to the house
of a Jewish physician.  He placed it in the
chamber of the purveyor, and the purveyor propped
it up in the street, where it was thought to have
been killed by the merchant.

"This, Sire, is the story which I was obliged to
tell to satisfy your highness.  It is now for you
to say if we deserve mercy or punishment; life or
death?"

The Sultan of Kashgar listened with an air of
pleasure which filled the tailor and his friends
with hope.  "I must confess," he exclaimed, "that
I am much more interested in the stories of the
barber and his brothers, and of the lame man, than
in that of my own jester.  But before I allow you
all four to return to your own homes, and have the
corpse of the hunchback properly buried, I should
like to see this barber who has earned your
pardon.  And as he is in this town, let an usher
go with you at once in search of him."

The usher and the tailor soon returned, bringing
with them an old man who must have been at least
ninety years of age.  "O Silent One," said the
Sultan, "I am told that you know many strange
stories.  Will you tell some of them to me?"

"Never mind my stories for the present," replied
the barber, "but will your Highness graciously be
pleased to explain why this Jew, this Christian,
and this Mussulman, as well as this dead body, are
all here?"

"What business is that of yours?" asked the Sultan
with a smile; but seeing that the barber had some
reasons for his question, he commanded that the
tale of the hunch-back should be told him.

"It is certainly most surprising," cried he, when
he had heard it all, "but I should like to examine
the body." He then knelt down, and took the head
on his knees, looking at it attentively.  Suddenly
he burst into such loud laughter that he fell
right backwards, and when he had recovered himself
enough to speak, he turned to the Sultan.  "The
man is no more dead than I am," he said; "watch
me." As he spoke he drew a small case of medicines
from his pocket and rubbed the neck of the
hunchback with some ointment made of balsam.  Next
he opened the dead man's mouth, and by the help of
a pair of pincers drew the bone from his throat.
At this the hunch-back sneezed, stretched himself
and opened his eyes.

The Sultan and all those who saw this operation
did not know which to admire most, the
constitution of the hunchback who had apparently
been dead for a whole night and most of one day,
or the skill of the barber, whom everyone now
began to look upon as a great man.  His Highness
desired that the history of the hunchback should
be written down, and placed in the archives beside
that of the barber, so that they might be
associated in people's minds to the end of time.
And he did not stop there; for in order to wipe
out the memory of what they had undergone, he
commanded that the tailor, the doctor, the
purveyor and the merchant, should each be clothed
in his presence with a robe from his own wardrobe
before they returned home.  As for the barber, he
bestowed on him a large pension, and kept him near
his own person.