INTRODUCTION
The Arabian Nights (or The Thousand and One Nights, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ) is a composite Arabic literature work that forms a collection of various stories from many cultures, gathered together over several centuries to form one of the most interesting works in world literature. “[T]he earliest tales in it came from India and Persia. At some time, probably in the early 8th century, these tales were translated into Arabic under the title Alf Layla, or ‘The Thousand Nights’. This collection then formed the basis of The Thousand and One Nights. The original core of stories was quite small. Then, in Iraq in the 9th or 10th century, this original core had Arab stories added to it—among them some tales about the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Also, perhaps from the 10th century onwards, previously independent sagas and story cycles were added to the compilation […] Then, from the 13th century onwards, a further layer of stories was added in Syria and Egypt, many of these showing a preoccupation with sex, magic or low life. In the early modern period yet more stories were added to the Egyptian collections so as to swell the bulk of the text sufficiently to bring its length up to the full 1,001 nights of storytelling promised by the book’s title.”[1]
The work stayed largely hidden from Europe until the Frenchman Antoine Galland translated it into French in 1704. An English edition based on this French work was published by Jonathan Scott in 1811. But the first direct translation from Arabic to English was made in 1839-1841 by the English Orientalist Edward William Lane under the title Arabian Nights. In 1860, Reverend George Fyler Townsend (1814–1900), the famous translator of Aesop’s Fables, produced a revised edition of Lane’s text, which he published under the title The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.[2] It is supposed to be less sextually explicit as that of Lane’s. It is this version of Townsend which I use here. It has been published several times.[3]
The constant personalities in The Arabian Nights are the fictional King of Persia, Shahryar, and his wife Scheherazade. Shahryar and his brother were married, but their wives betrayed them with their slaves. Enraged, and losing trust in women and their fidelity, he decided to wed a woman every night, only to execute her the next morning, so as not to give her the chance to humiliate him as his first wife did. At last his city ran out of women, and only the daughter of his vizier remained – and this was the beautiful Scheherazade. But she was not only beautiful but a story teller of the first order and a clever woman, and she had a plan: she would tell the king a story each night but before it is concluded, she will stop, promising to finish it the next night. By this, she escaped death every time, and she managed to tell the stories for over one thousand nights.
There are many stories in The Arabian Night. They deal with topics rich in magic, jinnies, crimes, horror, travels, fantasy, sex, poetry and more. One finds famous stories such as Sinbad the Sailor, The Fisherman and the Jinni and The Three Apples. They reveal the Islamic and Arabian society away from puritanical Islam of fundamental rulers and strict Muslim scholars of fiqh. The stories often employ the technique of story or stories within a story, all told by Scheherazade: the first story is told by an unknown narrator, and then persons in the first story tell other stories.
THE HUNCHBACK CYCLE
I tried to find in The Arabian Nights any mention of the Copts, and I found one in which one of the characters is a Copt – a broker in Cairo and a merchant in the Islamic eastern lands, who travelled as far as China. The name of the Copt is not given but the story is titled The Hunchback, or The Hunchback Cycle since it uses the embedded stories technique.[4]
The initial story is termed The Story of the Little Hunchback by Townsend, and is told on the twenty-fifth night. Following that, eleven embedded stories were included, and covering the nights up to the thirty-second night, and include:
- The Story told by the Christian Merchant (That’s the Copt)
- The Story told by the Sultan of Casgar’s Purveyor
- The Story told by the Jewish Doctor
- The Story told by the Tailor
- The Story of the Barber
- The Story of the Barber’s Eldest Brother
- The Story of the Barber’s Second Brother
- The Story of the Barber’s Third Brother
- The Story of the Barber’s Fourth Brother
- The Story of the Barber’s Fifth Brother
- The Story of the Barber’s Fifth Brother
Andrew Lang in his The Arabian Nights | Study Guide gives a summary of The Story of the Little Hunchback:
In China a tailor and his wife meet a cheerful, drunk hunchback [who was king’s favorite clown] playing the tambourine. They’re entertained and invite the hunchback over for dinner. When the tailor playfully stuffs the hunchback’s mouth with fish, the hunchback chokes and dies. The tailor panics. His wife convinces him to leave the body at the home of a Jewish physician. The physician believes the hunchback fell down his stairs and died; his wife tells him to leave the body with their neighbour, the king’s Muslim kitchen steward. The steward sees the body on the doorstep and starts beating it, convinced it’s the unknown thief who’s been stealing his food. Fearing he killed the hunchback by accident, the steward leaves the body at a shop door. A Christian tradesman who works as the king’s broker wanders by, drunk. The broker worries the hunchback will steal his turban and beats the body. A watchman stops and accuses a Christian of killing a Muslim. He takes the broker to the king of China, who orders his execution.
Before the broker is killed, however, the steward confesses to the murder. He doesn’t want to burden his conscience with the death of a Muslim and a Christian. The steward takes the broker’s place until the physician admits to the crime, fearing he’ll cause the death of two Muslims. He takes the steward’s place. Then the tailor confesses and takes the physician’s place. The executioner tires of the rapidly changing victims.[5]
The executioner takes the hunchback and the confessed murderers to the king who loves stories, and was amazed by this story, and wanted to get to its bottom. Trying to please the king with a more amazing story, so that they get pardon, the four men engage in telling the king of stories that they thought were more amazing. The king was not impressed and was resolved to execute all four men for the murder of his hunchbacked jester, but eventually it transpired that the hunchback was alive all along. An old barber manages to remove the fish bone from the hunchback’s throat, and so he is revived. And the lives of the four men are saved.
I will not talk about all the embedded stories, but only about that of the Christian tradesman. He starts by saying:
I am a stranger, born in Cairo, in Egypt, a Copt by nation, and by religion a Christian. My father was a commission merchant, and I, following his example, pursued the same employment.[6]
The story he tells is of a young Muslim man from Baghdad, who came to Egypt to trade. He left all his profits with the Coptic man, and then disappeared to come back after a year. When he came back, the Coptic man invited him to a meal at his house. Seeing the young man eating with his left hand, a sign of impoliteness, the Copt, who knew him as a polite man, asked him, “Pardon, sir, the liberty I take in asking you what reason you have for not using your right hand?” The young man revealed him that his right hand was cut off. And then he explained to the Copt how it happened. We get to know that he fell in love with a beautiful woman in Cairo and spent all his money on her. Finding himself penniless, he was forced to steal a purse from a horseman who catches him in the act. Consequently, the young man’s right hand was cut off. He goes back to his woman, who gives him all her possessions, and then dies grieved by his fate.
The young Muslim man, who became a friend of the Copt, then invites the Copt to go with him to the eastern part of the Islamic world and trade, and the profit to be divided in half between them. The Copt agrees, and travel as far as China (to the city of Casgar, which the story says was in the land of Tartary). After a while there, the Muslim man decided to return, but the Copt stays in Tartary and continues trading there. It is while he was there that he became involved in the story of the Hunchback.
The story is really entertaining, and tells of extraordinary friendship, trust and generosity between the young Muslim man and the Christian Copt. Cairo is revealed in all its richness, hassle and bustle, and the society is depicted as libertine, with easy sex and a lot of wine drinking. Though the identities are based on religion, that was not a hinderance to good relationship, and except when the Copt was caught after he was suspected of killing the Muslim hunchback there is no much sign of fanaticism. Trade was thriving, and the Copts appeared to be active participants in it. This seems to be an imaginative Cairo, but it is possible to believe it if we take that period to be the reign of the Ayyubid ruler al-Malik al-Kamil (1218 – 1238) in whose reign there was much liberalism and tolerance unwitnessed before or after under the Muslim rule. In fact, we can date the story to after the building of the Citadel of Cairo by Saladin (1176 – 1183) since it is mentioned in the story as a landmark to be visited by travellers. It is very unlikely that the story describes the Cairene society during Saladin’s reign, which was not friendly towards the Copts. It is also inconceivable that it describes the Egyptian society after al-Kamil, when the Copts entered a long night until modern times. Why was the reign of al-Kamil unusually liberal and tolerant? I am not going to get into that in detail, but it has to do with the internal conflict between the Ayyubid emirs and the presence of the Crusaders’ threat. I shall talk about that in a different article.
Below I reproduce The Story of The Little Hunchback and The Story told by the Christian Merchant.
THE STORY OF THE LITTLE HUNCHBACK
Figure 1: The Hunchback[7]
Figure 2: The tailor watching the hunchback playing on his tabor
Figure 3: The tailor and his wife carrying the presumed dead hunchback to the Jewish doctor
Figure 4: The purveyor attacking the hunchback
There was in former times at Casgar, on the extreme boundaries of Tartary, a tailor, who was married to a wife to whom he was tenderly attached. One day while he was at work, a little hunchback seated himself at the shop door, and began to sing and play upon a tabor. The tailor was pleased with his performance, and resolved to take him to his house to entertain his wife. Immediately after their arrival, the tailor’s wife placed before them a dish of fish; but as the little man was eating, he unluckily swallowed a bone, which, notwithstanding all that the tailor and his wife could do, choked him. This accident greatly alarmed them both, lest they should be punished as murderers. Now, it so happened that a doctor, a Jew, lived close by, and the tailor and his wife devised a scheme for placing the body of the dwarf in his house. On their knocking at the door, the servant-maid came down without any light, and asked what they wanted. “Go and tell your master,” said the tailor, putting a piece of money in her hand, “we have brought him a man who is ill, and want his advice.” While the servant was gone up to inform her master, the tailor and his wife hastily conveyed the body of the hunchback, supposed to be dead, to the head of the stairs, and leaving it there, hurried away.
In the meantime, the doctor, transported with joy at being paid beforehand, hastily ran towards the head of the stairs without waiting for a light, and came against the body of the hunchback with so much violence, that he precipitated it to the bottom. Bring me a light!” cried he to the maid; “quick, quick!” At last she brought a light, and he went down-stairs with her; but when he saw what he had done — “Unhappy man that I am!” said he, “why did I attempt to come without a light! I have killed the poor fellow who was brought to me to be cured; and unless Esdra’s ass[8] come to assist me, the authorities will be here, and drag me out of my house for a murderer.”
The doctor then called his wife, and consulted with her how to dispose of the dead body during the night. The doctor racked his brain in vain; he could not think of any stratagem to relieve his embarrassment; but his wife, who was more fertile in invention, said, “A thought has just come into my head; carry the dead body to the terrace of our house, and let it down the chimney of our Mussulman neighbour.”
This Mussulman was one of the sultan’s purveyors for furnishing oil, butter, and articles of a similar nature, and had a magazine in his house, where the rats and mice made prodigious havoc.
The Jewish doctor approving the proposed expedient, his wife and he took the little dwarf up to the roof of the house, and placing ropes under his armpits, let him down the chimney into the purveyor’s chamber so dexterously that he stood upright against the wall, as if he had been alive. They were scarcely got back into their own chamber, when the purveyor, who had returned late from a wedding-feast, went into his room, with a lantern in his hand. He was not a little surprised to discover a human figure standing in his chimney; but being a stout fellow, and apprehending him to be a thief, he took up a stick, and, “Ah,” said he, “I thought the rats and mice ate my butter and tallow; but it is you who come down the chimney to rob me? However, I think you will have no wish to come here again.” Upon this he attacked hunchback, and struck him several times with his stick. The body fell down flat on the ground, and the purveyor redoubled his blows. But observing that the body did not move, he stood a little time to regard it; and then, fear succeeding his anger, “Wretched man that I am!” said he, “what have I done! I have killed a man! alas, I have carried my revenge too far.” He stood pale and thunderstruck, and could not tell what resolution to take, when on a sudden he took up the body supposed to be dead, and carried it to the end of the street, where he placed it in an upright posture against a shop; he then returned without once looking behind him.
A few minutes before daybreak, a wealthy Christian merchant, coming home from a night’s festivity, passed by the spot where the sultan’s purveyor had put the dead body, which being jostled by him, tumbled upon the merchant’s back. The merchant, thinking he was attacked by a robber, knocked it down, and after redoubling his blows, cried out “Thieves!” The outcry alarmed the watch,[9] who came up immediately, and finding a Christian beating a Mussulman, “What reason have you,” said he, “to abuse a Mussulman in this manner?” “He would have robbed me,” replied the merchant, “and jumped upon my back in order to take me by the throat.” “If he did,” said the watch, “you have revenged yourself sufficiently; come, get off him.” At the same time perceiving the little man to be dead, he said, “Is it thus that a Christian dares to assassinate a Mussulman?” So saying, he laid hold of the Christian, and carried him to the house of the cadi. In the meantime, the Christian merchant, reflecting upon his adventure, could not conceive how such slight blows of his fist could have killed the man.
The judge having heard the report of the watch, and viewed the body, which they had brought to his house, interrogated the Christian merchant, who could not deny the death, though he had not caused it. But the judge considering that the little dwarf belonged to the sultan, for he was one of his buffoons, would not put the Christian to death till he knew the sultan’s pleasure. For this end he went to the palace, and acquainted the sultan with what had happened; and received this answer, “I have no mercy to show to a Christian who kills a Mussulman.” Upon this the cadi ordered a stake to be prepared, and sent criers all over the city to proclaim that they were about to impale a Christian for killing a Mussulman.
At length the merchant was brought to the place of execution; and the executioner was about to fasten him to the stake, when the sultan’s purveyor pushed through the crowd, calling to him to stop; for that the Christian had not committed the murder, but he himself had done it, and related how he had attacked him, under the impression that he was a thief. “Let the Christian go,” said the cadi to the executioner, “and impale this man in his stead, since it appears by his own confession that he is guilty.” Thereupon the executioner released the merchant, and seized the purveyor; but just as he was going to impale him, he heard the voice of the Jewish doctor, earnestly entreating him to suspend the execution, and make room for him to approach, as he was the real criminal, and stating how he had by his hasty imprudence caused his death. The chief justice being now persuaded that the Jewish doctor was the murderer, gave orders to the executioner to seize him and release the purveyor. Accordingly the doctor was just going to be impaled, when the tailor appeared, crying, in his turn, to the executioner to hold his hand, and make room for him, that he might come and make his confession to the cadi, as, after all, he was the person really answerable for the death of the hunchback, and he could not bear that an innocent man should suffer for his crime. The cadi being now fairly perplexed to decide who was the real culprit amongst so many self-accusing criminals, determined to refer the matter to the sultan himself, and proceeded to the palace, accompanied by the tailor, the Jewish doctor, and the Christian merchant, while four of his men carried on a bier the body of the dwarf, supposed to be dead.
When they appeared in the sultan’s presence, the cadi prostrated himself at his feet; and on rising, gave him a faithful relation of all he knew of the story of the dwarf, and of the three men who, one after the other, accused themselves of his involuntary murder. The story appeared so extraordinary to the sultan, that he ordered his own historian to write it down with all its circumstances; on which the Christian merchant, after falling down, and touching the earth with his forehead, spoke as follows: “Most puissant monarch, I know a story yet more astonishing than this. If your majesty will give me leave, I will relate it.” “Well,” said the sultan, “you have my permission;” and the merchant went on as follows:
THE STORY TOLD BY THE CHRISTIAN MERCHANT
Figure 5: The horseman, having pitty on the young man after his hand was cut off, gives him the purse full of money[10]
I am a stranger, born at Cairo, in Egypt, a Copt by nation, and by religion a Christian. My father was a commission merchant, and I, following his example, pursued the same employment. While I was standing in the public grain market at Cairo, there came up to me a handsome young man, in rich robes, and mounted on a handsomely caparisoned ass. He saluted me, and pulling out a handkerchief, in which he had a sample of barley, asked me how much a bushel of such grain would fetch.
I told him it was worth a hundred dirhens[11] of silver per bushel. “Pray,” said he, “look out for some merchant to take it at that price, and come to me at the Victory gate, where you will see a khan at a distance from the houses.” So saying, he left me the sample, and I showed it to several merchants, who told me that they would take as much as I could spare at a hundred and ten dirhens per bushel, so that I reckoned on getting ten dirhens per bushel for my commission. Full of the expectation of this profit, I went to the Victory gate, where I found the young merchant expecting me, and he took me into his granary, which was full of barley. He had then a hundred and fifty bushels, which I measured out, and having carried them off upon asses, sold them for five thousand dirhens of silver. “Out of this sum,” said the young man, “there are five hundred dirhens coming to you, at the rate of ten dirhens per bushel. This I give you; and as for the rest which pertains to me, receive it for me and keep it till I call or send for it, for I have no occasion for it at present.” I answered, “It should be ready for him whenever he pleased to demand it;” and so, kissing his hand, took leave of him, with a grateful sense of his generosity. A full year passed away before I saw my young merchant again. He then appeared as richly apparelled as before, but seemed to have something on his spirits. I asked him to do me the honour to walk into my house. Accordingly, he complied. I gave orders to have a repast prepared, and while this was doing, we entered into conversation. All things being ready, we sat down. I observed he took the first mouthful with his left hand,[12] and not with the right I was at a loss what to think of this. “Ever since I have known this young man,” said I inwardly, “he has always appeared very polite; is it possible he can do this out of contempt? What can be the reason he does not use his right hand?”
After we had done eating, I said to him, “Pardon, sir, the liberty I take in asking you what reason you have for not using your right hand?” Instead of answering, he heaved a deep sigh, and pulling out his right arm, which he had hitherto kept under his vest, showed me, to my great astonishment, that it had been cut off, “Doubtless you were displeased,” said he, “to see me feed myself with the left hand; but I leave you to judge, whether it was in my power to do otherwise.” “May one ask,” said I, “by what mischance you lost your right hand?” Upon that he burst into tears, and after wiping his eyes, gave me the following relation: —
I am a native of Bagdad, the son of a rich merchant, the most eminent in that city for rank and opulence. I had scarcely launched into the world, when falling into the company of travellers, and hearing their wonderful accounts of Egypt, especially of Grand Cairo, I was interested by their discourse, and felt a strong desire to travel. But my father was then alive, and would not grant me permission. At length he died; and being then my own master, I resolved to take a journey to Cairo. I laid out a large sum of money in the purchase of several sorts of fine stuffs of Bagdad and Mossoul, and departed.
Arriving at Cairo, I went to the khan, called the khan of Mesrour, and there lodged. I also hired a warehouse for my bales, which I had brought with me upon camels. This done, I retired to my chamber to rest, after the fatigue of my journey, and gave money to my servants to buy some provisions and dress them. After I had eaten, I went to view the castle, mosques, public squares, and other remarkable places.
Next day I dressed myself, and ordered some of the finest and richest of my bales to be selected and carried by my slaves to the Circassian bezetzein,[13] whither I followed. I had no sooner made my appearance, than I was surrounded with merchants and officers of the bazaar, who had heard of my arrival. I gave patterns of my stuffs to several of the Mueddins[14] or criers, who showed them all over the bezetzein: but none of the merchants offered near so much as prime cost and carriage. This vexed me; and the officers having the management of the bazaar, observing I was dissatisfied, said, “If you will take our advice, we will put you in a way to sell your goods without loss.
“Divide your goods,” said they, “among several merchants, they will sell them by retail; and twice a week, that is on Mondays and Thursdays, you may receive what money they have taken. In the meanwhile, you will have time to take your pleasure about the town, or go upon the Nile.”
I took their advice, and brought all my goods to the bezetzein, and there divided them among the merchants, who gave me a formal receipt before witnesses, stipulating only that I should not make any demands upon them for the first month. After the first month had expired, I began to visit my merchants twice a week, taking with me a public officer to inspect their books of sale, and a banker to see that they paid me in good money, and to regulate the value of the several coins.
One Monday, as I was sitting in a merchant’s shop, whose name was Bedreddin, and from whom I had to receive some money, a lady of high rank, as might easily be perceived by her dress, and by a well-appointed slave attending her, came into the shop, and sat down by me. Her appearance immediately prepossessed me in her favour, and inspired me with a desire to be better acquainted with her. Shortly after she came in, she let down the muslin which covered her face, and gave me the opportunity of seeing her large black eyes, which perfectly charmed me.
After conversing with the merchant some time upon indifferent subjects, she inquired for a particular kind of brocade with a gold ground, which she had sought for through all the bezetzein. Bedreddin produced several pieces, one of which she selected, and he asked for it eleven hundred dirhens of silver. ” I will,” said she, “give you your price for it, but I have not money enough about me; so I hope you will give me credit till tomorrow, and in the meantime allow me to carry home the stuff” “Madam,” said Bedreddin, “I would give you credit with all my heart if the stuff were mine; but it belongs to the young man you see here, and this is the day on which we settle our accounts; so this very day I have occasion for the money.” “There,” said she, “throwing the stuff to him, take your stuff, I care not for you nor any of the merchants. You are all alike; you respect no one.” As she spoke, she rose up in anger, and walked out of the shop.
When I saw that the lady walked away, I felt interested on her behalf, and called her back. “Madam,” said I, “you may take the stuff with you, and as for the money, you may either send it tomorrow or the next day; or, if you will, accept it as a present from me.” “Pardon me,” returned she, “I will do no such thing. You treat me with so much politeness, that I should be unworthy to appear in the world again, were I to omit to repay you. May your fortune never be less, may you live many years, and at last may the gate of paradise be open to you.”
“Madam,” I replied, “I desire no other reward for the service I have done you than the happiness of seeing your face.” I had no sooner spoken than she turned towards me, took off her veil, and discovered to me a wonderful beauty. I could have gazed upon her for ever; but fearing any one should observe her, she quickly covered her face, and letting down the crape, took up the piece of stuff, and went away, leaving me in a very different state of mind from that in which I had entered the shop. Before I took leave of the merchant, I asked him if he knew the lady. “Yes,” said he, “she is the daughter of an emir.”
I went back to the khan of Mesrour, and all through the night kept wishing for the morning. As soon as it was day I arose, in hopes of once more beholding the fair object of my affection; and to show myself more worthy of her, I dressed myself in much richer robes than I had worn the previous day. I had scarcely reached Bedreddin’s stall, when I saw the lady coming in more magnificent apparel than before, and attended, by her slave. When she entered, she did not regard the merchant, but addressing herself to me, said, “Sir, you see I am punctual to my word. I am come for the express purpose of paying the sum you were so kind as to pass your word for yesterday, though I was a stranger to you. Such uncommon generosity I shall never forget.” With these words she put the money into my hand, and sat down by me.
Having this opportunity of conversing with her, I told her the love I had for her; but she rose and left me very abruptly, as if she had been angry with me. I followed her with my eyes as long as she continued in sight; then taking leave of the merchant, walked out of the bezetzein, without marking where I went I walked on, musing on this adventure, when I felt somebody pulling me behind, and turning to see who it was, I was agreeably surprised to perceive it was the lady’s slave. “My mistress,” said she, “wants to speak with you, if you please to follow me.” Accordingly, I followed her, and found her mistress sitting waiting for me in a banker’s shop.
She made me sit down by her, and spoke to this purpose. “Do not be surprised that I left you so abruptly. I could not before that merchant make my confession to you. But to speak the truth, I was so far from being offended at you, that your words gave me great pleasure. Come on Friday, after noon-prayers, and ask for the house of Abon Schama, sirnamed Bercour, late master of the emirs; there you will find me.” This said, we parted; and I passed the next day in great impatience.
On Friday I put on my richest robes, and took fifty pieces of gold in my purse. I mounted a richly caparisoned ass I had bespoken the day before, and set out, accompanied by the man who let me the ass. I directed the owner of the ass to inquire for the house I wanted; he found it, and conducted me thither. I paid him liberally, directing him to observe narrowly where he left me, and not to fail to return next morning with the ass, to carry me again to the khan of Mesrour.
I knocked at the door, and presently two little female slaves, in dresses white as snow, came and opened it. I entered the court, and saw a pavilion raised seven steps, and surrounded with iron rails that parted it from a very pleasant garden. Besides the trees which only embellished the place, and formed an agreeable shade, there was an infinite number of others loaded with all sorts of fruit. I was charmed with the warbling of a great number of birds, that joined their notes to the murmurings of a fountain, in the middle of a parterre enamelled with flowers. This fountain formed a very agreeable object; four large gilded dragons at the angles of the basin, which was of a square form, spouted out water clearer than rock-crystal. The two little slaves conducted me into a saloon magnificently furnished. I did not wait long ere the lady herself appeared, adorned with pearls and diamonds; but the splendour of her eyes far outshone that of her jewels. Her shape, which was now not concealed by the dress she wore in the city, appeared the most slender and delicate. After our mutual salutations were made, we sat down upon a sofa, and conversed together with the highest satisfaction. The most delicious refreshments were served to us; and after eating, we continued our conversation till evening. We then had excellent wine brought up and fruit, while music was furnished by the instruments and voices of the slaves. The lady of the house sung herself, and by her songs still more gained on my affections.
Next morning, I presented the lady with the purse of fifty pieces of gold I had brought with me, and took leave, promising to return at night. She seemed to be transported with my observation, and conducting me to the door, conjured me at parting to be mindful of my promise.
The same man who had carried me thither waited for me with his ass, which I mounted, and went directly to the khan; ordering the man to come to me again in the afternoon at a certain hour; to secure which, I deferred paying him till that time came.
As soon as I arrived at my lodging, my first care was to order my people to buy a lamb, and several sorts of cakes, which I sent by a porter as a present to the lady. When that was done, I attended to my business till the owner of the ass arrived. then went along with him to the lady’s house, and was received by her with as much joy as before, and entertained with equal magnificence.
I continued to visit the lady every day, and to leave her every time a purse with fifty pieces of gold, till the merchants whom I employed to sell my goods, and whom I visited regularly twice a week, had paid me the whole amount of my goods; and I came at last to be moneyless, and hopeless of having anymore.
In this forlorn condition I walked out of my lodging, not knowing what course to take, and by chance went towards the castle, where there was a great crowd to witness a spectacle given by the sultan of Egypt. As soon as I came up, I wedged in among the crowd, and by chance happened to stand by a horseman well mounted and handsomely clothed, who had upon the pommel of his saddle a bag, half open, with a string of green silk hanging out of it. I clapped my hand to the bag, concluding the silk twist might be the string of a purse within: in the meantime a porter, with a load of wood upon his back, passed by on the other side of the horse, so near that the rider was forced to turn his head towards him, to avoid being hurt, or to prevent his clothes being torn by the wood. In that moment the devil tempted me; I took the string in one hand, and with the other pulled out the purse so dexterously, that nobody perceived me. The purse was heavy, and I did not doubt but it contained gold or silver.
As soon as the porter had passed, the horseman, who probably had some suspicion of what I had done while his head was turned, presently put his hand to his bag, and finding his purse was gone, gave me such a blow, that he knocked me down. This violence shocked all who saw it. Some took hold of the horse’s bridle, and asked its rider what reason he had to strike me, or how he came to treat a Mussulman so rudely. “Do not you trouble yourself,” said he, briskly, “I had reason for what I did; this fellow is a thief.” At these words I started up, and from my appearance every one took my part, and cried out it was false, for that it was incredible a young man such as I was should be guilty of so base an action. While they were holding his horse by the bridle to favour my escape, the cadi passed by, who seeing such a crowd, came up and asked what the matter was.
The cadi did not give ear to all that was said; but asked the cavalier if he suspected anybody else beside me. The horseman told him he did not, and gave his reasons why he believed his suspicions not to be groundless. Upon this the cadi ordered hu followers to seize me, which they presently did; and finding the purse upon me, exposed it to the view of all the people. The disgrace was so great I could not bear it, and I swooned away. In the meantime, the judge called for the purse, and asked the horseman how much money it contained. The cavalier knew it io be his own, and assured the judge he had put twenty sequins into it. Upon the judge finding the sum mentioned to correspond with the money in the purse, he called me before him.
“Come, young man,” said he, “confess the truth. Was it you that took the purse? Do not wait for the torture by which I shall extort confession.” Then with downcast eyes, thinking if I denied the fact, they, having found the purse upon me, would convict me of a lie, to avoid a double punishment, I looked up and confessed my guilt. I had no sooner made the confession, than the judge called people to witness it, and ordered my hand to be cut off.[15] This sentence was immediately put in execution, to the great regret of all the spectators. The judge would likewise have ordered my foot to be cut off, but I begged the horseman to intercede for my exemption from further punishment, which he did, and obtained it.
When the cadi was gone, the horseman came up to me, and holding out the purse, said, “I see plainly that necessity drove you to an action so disgraceful and unworthy of such a young man as you appear. Here, take that fatal purse; I freely give it you, and am heartily sorry for the misfortune you have undergone.” Having thus spoken, he went away. Being very weak by loss of blood, some of the good people of the neighbourhood had the kindness to carry me into a house and give me a glass of cordial; they likewise dressed my wrist, and wrapped up the dismembered hand.
Had I returned to the khan of Mesrour in this melancholy condition, I should not have found there such relief as I wanted; and I resolved to go to the house of the lady for whom I had spent so much. I arrived very weak, and so much fatigued, that I presently threw myself down upon a sofa, keeping my right arm under my garment, for I took great care to conceal my misfortune.
In the meantime, the lady, hearing of my arrival, and that I was not well, came to me in haste; and seeing me pale and dejected; said, “My dear love, what is the matter with you? Tell me how your illness was occasioned. The last time I had the pleasure to see you, you were very well. There must be something that you conceal from me; let me know what it is.” I stood silent, and instead of an answer, tears trickled down my cheeks. “I cannot conceive,” resumed she, “what it is that afflicts you.”
I could not think of discovering to her the true cause. When night came, supper was brought, and she pressed me to eat; and filling a cup of wine, offered it to me, “Drink that,” said she, “it will give you courage.” I reached out my left hand, and took the cup.
When I had taken the cup in my hand, I redoubled my tears and sighs. “Why do you sigh and weep so bitterly?” asked the lady; “and why do you take the cup with your left hand, rather than your right?” “Ah! madam,” I replied, “I beseech you excuse me; I have a swelling in my right hand.” “Let me see that swelling,” said she; “I will cure it” I desired to be excused, and drank off the cup, which was very large. The fumes of the wine, joined to my weakness and weariness, set me asleep, and I slept very soundly till morning.
In the meantime, the lady, curious to know what ailed my right hand, lifted up my garment that covered it; and saw to her great astonishment that it was cut off, and that I had brought it along with me wrapt up in a cloth.
When I awoke, I discerned by her countenance that she was extremely grieved, and that she had found out my misfortune. However, that she might not increase my uneasiness, she said not a word. She called for some chicken broth, which she had ordered to be prepared, and made me eat and drink to recruit my strength. After that I offered to take leave of her; but she declared I should not go out of her doors. “Though you tell me nothing of the matter,” said she, “I am persuaded I am the cause of the misfortune that has befallen you. The grief that I feel on that account will soon end my days; and I must at once execute a design I have purposed for your benefit.” She had no sooner spoken, than she called for a cadi and witnesses, and ordered a writing to be drawn up, putting me in possession of her whole property. After this was done, and everybody dismissed, she opened a large trunk, where lay all the purses I had given her from the commencement of our acquaintance. “There they are all, untouched,” said she; “I have not opened one of them. Take them. They are yours.” I returned her thanks for her generosity and goodness. “What I have done for you,” said she, “is nothing; I shall now die, through the excess of my love for you.” I conjured her, by all her affection for me, to relinquish such a fatal resolution. But all my remonstrances were ineffectual: she was so afflicted to see me have but one hand, that she sickened, and died after five- or six-weeks’ illness.
After mourning for her death as long as was decent, I took possession of all her property, a particular account of which she gave me before she died; and the corn you sold for me was part of it.
“What I have now told you,” said he, “will plead my excuse for eating with my left hand. I am highly obliged to you for the trouble you have given yourself on my account; and I have now a proposal to make to you. As I am obliged, on account of this fatal accident, to quit Cairo, I am resolved never to return to it again. If you choose to accompany me, we will trade together as equal partners, and share the profits.”
I thanked the young man for the present he had made me, and I willingly embraced the proposal of travelling with him, assuring him, that his interest should always be as dear to me as my own.
We fixed a day for our departure, and accordingly entered upon our travels. We passed through Syria and Mesopotamia, travelled all over Persia, and after stopping at several cities, came at last, sire, to your capital. Sometime after our arrival here, the young man having formed a design of returning to Persia, and settling there, we balanced our accounts, and parted very good friends. He went from hence, and I, sir, continue here in your majesty’s service. This is the story I had to relate. Is it more surprising than that of the little dwarf?
The Sultan of Casgar fell into a passion against the Christian merchant. “Thou art a presumptuous fellow,” said he, “to tell me a story so little worth hearing, and then to compare it to that of my jester. I will have you all four impaled, to revenge his death.”
Hearing this, the purveyor prostrated himself at the sultan’s feet “Sire,” said he, “I humbly beseech your majesty to suspend your wrath, and hear my story; and if it appears to be more extraordinary than that of your jester, to pardon us.” The sultan paving granted his request, the purveyor began thus:
[1] Irwin, Robert, The Arabian Nights: A Companion (Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2003), p. 48.
[2] The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. A New Edition, Revised, With Notes, By the Rev. Geo. Fyler Townsend, M.A. With Illustrations (London: Frederick Warne And Co. And New York, no date).
[3] A later direct translation was made in 1885-8 by Sir Richard Burton.
[4] The whole Hunchback Cycle occupied pages 562 to 629 in Townsend’s version.
[5] See, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Arabian-Nights/the-hunchback-summary/
[6] The Arabian Nights, p. 566.
[7] Figures 1-4 are from the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. In three cantos (London: printed for J. Harris, corner of St. Paul’s Church Yard, 1817).
[8] This refers to a Mahommedan legend. Ezra is said to have doubted the means by which Jerusalem and its inhabitants could be again restored. He was, the legend says, cured of his doubts by seeing the bones of a dead ass suddenly clothed upon sod resuscitated with life.
[9] There were no clocks in the East, and so the watchmen set to guard the street called the different divisions of the night ” Watchman! what of the night?” The “watchman of the night” still remains in Eastern cities.
[10] From The Story of The Little Hunchback. Illustration by Charles Folkard from The Book the Arabian Nights Published 1917.
[11] Dirham (a silver coin).
[12] It is not allowable to touch food with the left hand, (as it is used for unclean purposes).
[13] The bezetzeins, or bazaars, are buildings formed of stone, resembling a long
gallery, arched with wood, with shops of different sizes, where merchants expose their goods for sale. Each different kind of business has a different
bazaar, which is locked up, as well as the street itself, after sunset.
[14] Mueddins — Those who called the hours of prayer at the mosques, and
thence criers or givers of public notices of any description.
[15] This law imposing the loss of the hand for a theft of anything exceeding a
a quarter of a dinar in value, induced a Mussulman to inquire, “If the hand is
worth 500 dinars,” (this being the fine for depriving a man of that member,)
“why should it be cut off for a quarter of dinar?” He was answered: “An
honest hand is of great value, but not so is the hand that hath stolen.”