The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 6 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (best novels for students txt) 📖

and he, ‘Before I went away, I gave thee an hundred diners one day, the like the next and a thousand on the day of my departure.” “O my son, they cheated me and took the money from me, saying, ‘We will buy goods with it.’ Then they drove me away, and I fell to begging by the wayside, for stress of hunger.” “O

my mother, no harm shall befall thee, now I am come; so have no concern, for these saddle bags are full of gold and gems, and good aboundeth with me.” “Verily, thou art blessed, O my son!

Allah accept of thee and increase thee of His bounties! Go, O my son, fetch us some victual, for I slept not last night for excess of hunger, having gone to bed supperless. “Welcome to thee, O my mother! Call for what thou wilt to eat, and I will set it before thee this moment; for I have no occasion to buy from the market, nor need I any to cook. “O my son, I see naught with thee.” “I have with me in these saddle bags all manner of meats.” “O my son, whatever is ready will serve to stay hunger.” “True, when there is no choice, men are content with the smallest thing; but where there is plenty, they like to eat what is good: and I have abundance; so call for what thou hast a mind to.” “O my son, give me some hot bread and a slice of cheese.” “O my mother, this befitteth not thy condition.” “Then give me to eat of that which besitteth my case, for thou knowest it.” “O my mother,” rejoined he, “what suit thine estate are browned meat and roast chicken and peppered rice and it becometh thy rank to eat of sausages and stuffed cucumbers and stuffed lamb and stuffed ribs of mutton and vermicelli with broken almonds and nuts and honey and sugar and fritters and almond cakes.” But she thought he was laughing at her and making mock of her; so she said to him, “Yauh!

Yauh![FN#284] what is come to thee? Dost thou dream or art thou daft?” Asked he, “Why deemest thou that I am mad?” and she answered, “Because thou namest to me all manner rich dishes. Who can avail unto their price, and who knoweth how to dress them?”

Quoth he, “By my life! thou shalt eat of all that I have named to thee, and that at once;” and quoth she, “I see nothing;” and he, “Bring me the saddle bags.” So she fetched them and feeling them, found them empty. However, she laid them before him and he thrust in his hand and pulled out dish after dish, till he had set before her all he had named. Whereupon asked she, “O my son, the saddle bags are small and moreover they were empty; yet hast thou taken thereout all these dishes. Where then were they all?”; and he answered, “O my mother, know that these saddle bags, which the Moor gave me, are enchanted and they have a servant whom, if one desire aught, he hath but to adjure by the Names which command him, saying, ‘O servant of these saddle bags, bring me such a dish!’ and he will bring it.” Quoth his mother, “And may I put out my hand and ask of him?” Quoth he, “Do so.” So she stretched out her hand and said, “O servant of the saddle bags, by the virtue of the Names which command thee, bring me stuffed ribs.”

Then she thrust in her hand and found a dish containing delicate stuffed ribs of lamb. So she took it out, and called for bread and what else she had a mind to: after which Judar said to her, “O my mother, when thou hast made an end of eating, empty what is left of the food into dishes other than these, and restore the empty platters to the saddle bags carefully.” So she arose and laid them up in a safe place. “And look, O mother mine, that thou keep this secret,” added he; “and whenever thou hast a mind to aught, take it forth of the saddle bags and give alms and feed my brothers, whether I be present or absent.” Then he fell to eating with her and behold, while they were thus occupied, in came his two brothers, whom a son of the quarter[FN#285] had apprised of his return, saying, “Your brother is come back, riding on a she mule, with a slave before him, and wearing a dress that hath not its like.” So they said to each other, “Would to Heaven we had not evilly entreated our mother! There is no hope but that she will surely tell him how we did by her, and then, oh our disgrace with him!” But one of the twain said, “Our mother is soft hearted, and if she tell him, our brother is yet tenderer over us than she; and, given we excuse ourselves to him, he will accept our excuse.” So they went in to him and he rose to them and saluting them with the friendliest salutation, bade them sit down and eat. So they ate till they were satisfied, for they were weak with hunger; after which Judar said to them, “O my brothers, take what is left and distribute it to the poor and needy.” “O

brother,” replied they, “let us keep it to sup withal.” But he answered, “When supper time cometh, ye shall have more than this.” So they took the rest of the victual and going out, gave it to every poor man who passed by them, saying, “Take and eat,”

till nothing was left. Then they brought back the dishes and Judar said to his mother, “Put them in the saddle bags.”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Six Hundred and Sixteenth Night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Judar, when his brethren had finished their under meal, said to his mother, “Put back the platters in the saddle bags.” And when it was eventide, he entered the saloon and took forth of the saddle bags a table of forty dishes; after which he went up to the upper room and, sitting down between his brothers, said to his mother, “Bring the supper.”[FN#286] So she went down to the saloon and, finding there the dishes ready, laid the tray and brought up the forty dishes, one after other. Then they ate the evening meal, and when they had done, Judar said to his brothers, “Take and feed the poor and needy.” So they took what was left and gave alms thereof, and presently he brought forth to them sweetmeats, whereof they ate, and what was left he bade them give to the neighbours. On the morrow, they brake their fast after the same fashion, and thus they fared ten days, at the end of which time quoth S�lim to Sal�m, “How cometh it that our brother setteth before us a banquet in the morning, a banquet at noon, and a banquet at sundown, besides sweetmeats late at night, and all that is left he giveth to the poor? Verily, this is the fashion of Sultans. Yet we never see him buy aught, and he hath neither kitchener nor kitchen, nor doth he light a fire. Whence hath he this great plenty? Hast thou not a mind to discover the cause of all this?” Quoth Sal�m, “By Allah, I know not: but knowest thou any who will tell us the truth of the case?” Quoth S�lim, “None will tell us save our mother.” So they laid a plot and repairing to their mother one day, in their brother’s absence, said to her, “O our mother, we are hungry.” Replied she, “Rejoice, for ye shall presently be satisfied;” and going into the saloon, sought of the servant of the saddle bags hot meats, which she took out and set before her sons. “O our mother,” cried they, “this meat is hot; yet hast thou not cooked, neither kindled a fire.” Quoth she, “It cometh from the saddle bags;” and quoth they, “What manner of thing be these saddle bags?” She answered, “They are enchanted; and the required is produced by the charm:” she then told her sons their virtue, enjoining them to secrecy. Said they, “The secret shall be kept, O our mother, but teach us the manner of this.” So she taught them the fashion thereof and they fell to putting their hands into the saddle bags and taking forth whatever they had a mind to. But Judar knew naught of this. Then quoth S�lim privily to Sal�m, “O my brother, how long shall we abide with Judar servant wise and eat of his alms? Shall we not contrive to get the saddle bags from him and make off with them?”

“And how shall we make shift to do this?” “We will sell him to the galleys.” “How shall we do that?” “We two will go to the Ra�s, the Chief Captain of the Sea of Suez and bid him to an entertainment, with two of his company. What I say to Judar do thou confirm, and at the end of the night I will show thee what I will do.” So they agreed upon the sale of their brother and going to the Captain’s quarters said to him, “O Rais, we have come to thee on an errand that will please thee.” “Good,” answered he; and they continued, “We two are brethren, and we have a third brother, a lewd fellow and good for nothing. When our father died, he left us some money, which we shared amongst us, and he took his part of the inheritance and wasted it in frowardness and debauchery, till he was reduced to poverty, when he came upon us and cited us before the magistrates, avouching that we had taken his good and that of his father, and we disputed the matter before the judges and lost the money. Then he waited awhile and attacked us a second time, until he brought us to beggary; nor will he desist from us, and we are utterly weary of him; wherefore we would have thee buy him of us.” Quoth the Captain, “Can ye cast about with him and bring him to me here? If so, I will pack him off to sea forthright.” Quoth they “We cannot manage to bring him here; but be thou our guest this night and bring with thee two of thy men, not one more; and when he is asleep, we will aid one another to fall upon him, we five, and seize and gag him. Then shalt thou carry him forth the house, under cover of the night, and after do thou with him as thou wilt.” Rejoined the Captain, “With all my heart! Will ye sell him for forty dinars?” and they, “Yes, come after nightfall to such a street, by such a mosque, and thou shalt find one of us awaiting thee.” And he replied, “Now be off.” Then they repaired to Judar and waited awhile, after which S�lim went up to him and kissed his hand. Quoth Judar, “What ails thee, O my brother?” And he made answer, saying, “Know that I have a friend, who hath many a time bidden me to his house in thine absence and hath ever hospitably entreated me, and I owe him a thousand kindnesses, as my brother here wotteth. I met him to day and he invited me to his house, but I said to him, ‘I cannot leave my brother Judar.’

Quoth he, ‘Bring him with thee’; and quoth I, ‘He will not consent to