The Arabian Nights

by Padraic Colum

  And they inquired of the merchants; but they answered them, Our lord the Khalifeh will not find the jewel save with a man of El-Basrah, named Abu-Mohammad the Lazy. So they informed the Khalifeh of this; and he ordered his Wezir Ja‘far to send a note to the Emir Mohammad Ez-Zubeydi, the Governor of El-Basrah, desiring him to fit out Abu-Mohammad the Lazy, and to bring him before the Prince of the Faithful. The Wezir, therefore, wrote a note to that effect, and sent it by Mesrur.

  Mesrur immediately repaired with it to the city of El-Basrah, and went in to the Emir Mohammad Ez-Zubeydi, who rejoiced at seeing him, and treated him with the utmost honor. He then read to him the note of the Prince of the Faithful Harun Er-Rashid, and he said, I hear and obey. He forthwith sent Mesrur with a number of his retinue to Abu-Mohammad the Lazy, and they repaired to him, and knocked at his door; whereupon one of the pages came forth to them, and Mesrur said to him, Say to thy master, The Prince of the Faithful summoneth thee. So the page went in and acquainted him with this; and he came forth, and found Mesrur, the chamberlain of the Khalifeh, attended by the retinue of the Emir Mohammad Ez-Zubeydi; upon which he kissed the ground before him, and said, I hear and obey the command of the Prince of the Faithful: but enter ye our abode. They replied, We cannot do so, unless to pay a hasty visit, as the Prince of the Faithful hath commanded us; for he is expecting thine arrival. But he said, Have patience with me a little, that I may arrange my business.

  And they entered the house with him, after excessive persuasion; and they beheld in the passage curtains of blue brocade embroidered with red gold. Then Abu-Mohammad the Lazy ordered some of his pages to conduct Mesrur into the bath which was in the house; and they did so. And he saw its walls and its marble pavements to be of extraordinary construction: it was decorated with gold and silver, and its water was mixed with rose-water. The pages paid all attention to Mesrur and those who were with him, and served them in the most perfect manner; and when they came forth from the bath, they clad them with garments of brocade interwoven with gold; after which, Mesrur and his companions entered, and found Abu-Mohammad the Lazy sitting in his pavilion. Over his head were hung curtains of brocade interwoven with gold, and adorned with pearls and jewels; the pavilion was furnished with cushions embroidered with red gold; and he was sitting upon his mattress, which was upon a couch set with jewels. When Mesrur came in to him, he welcomed him and met him, and, having seated him by his side, gave orders to bring the table; and when Mesrur beheld that table, he said, By Allah, I have never seen the like of this in the palace of the Prince of the Faithful! It comprised varieties of foods, all placed in dishes of gilt China-ware.—We ate, says Mesrur, and drank, and enjoyed ourselves until the close of the day, when he gave to each of us five thousand pieces of gold. And on the following day, they clad us in clothes embroidered with gold, and treated us with the utmost honor.

  Mesrur then said to Abu-Mohammad the Lazy, It is impossible for us to remain longer than this period, from our fear of the Khalifeh. But Abu-Mohammad the Lazy replied, O our lord, have patience with us until to-morrow, that we may prepare ourselves, and then we will proceed with you. So they remained that day, and passed the night until the morning; when the pages equipped a mule for Abu-Mohammad the Lazy, with a saddle of gold adorned with varieties of pearls and jewels; whereupon Mesrur said within himself, When Abu-Mohammad presenteth himself before the Khalifeh with this equipage, I wonder whether he will ask him how he obtained such wealth.

  After that, they took leave of Mohammad Ez-Zubeydi, and, going forth from El-Basrah, journeyed on until they arrived at the city of Baghdad; and when they went in to the Khalifeh, and stood before him, he ordered Abu-Mohammad to seat himself. So he sat, and, addressing the Khalifeh with politeness, said, O Prince of the Faithful, I have brought with me a present in token of service: then, may I produce it, with thy permission? Er-Rashid answered, There will be no harm in that. Accordingly, Abu-Mohammad gave orders to bring a chest, which he opened, and he took forth from it some rarities, among which were trees of gold, the leaves whereof were formed of white emeralds, and its fruits of red and yellow jacinths, and white pearls; whereat the Khalifeh wondered. Then he caused a second chest to be brought, and took forth from it a tent of brocade, adorned with pearls and jacinths, and emeralds and chrysolites, and varieties of other jewels: its poles were of new Indian aloes-wood; its skirts were adorned with emeralds; and upon it were represented the forms of all living creatures, as birds and wild beasts; all these designs being adorned with jewels, jacinths and emeralds, and chrysolites and balass rubies, and all kinds of minerals. And when Er-Rashid beheld it, he rejoiced exceedingly.

  Abu-Mohammad the Lazy then said, O Prince of the Faithful, imagine not that I have brought to thee this, fearing any thing or coveting aught; for the truth is, that I saw myself to be a man of the common people, and saw that this was not suitable to anyone but the Prince of the Faithful; and if thou give me permission, I will gratify thee with the sight of some of the feats that I am able to accomplish. To this, Er-Rashid replied, Do what thou wilt, that we may see. And Abu-Mohammad said, I hear and obey. Then he moved his lips, and made a sign to the battlements of the palace; whereupon they inclined toward him; and he made another sign to them, and they resumed their proper position. After this, he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before him private chambers with closed doors; and he addressed some words toward them, whereat the voices of birds replied to him. And Er-Rashid wondered at this extremely, and said to him, Whence obtainedst thou all this power, when thou art not known otherwise than by the appellation of Abu-Mohammad the Lazy, and they have informed me that thy father was a servant serving in a public bath, and that he left thee nothing?—O Prince of the Faithful, he answered, hear my story; for it is wonderful and extraordinary: if it were engraven on the understanding, it would be a lesson to him who would be admonished. Er-Rashid said, Relate what thou hast to tell, and acquaint me with it, O Abu-Mohammad. So he said,—

  Know, O Prince of the Faithful (may God continue thy glory and power!), that the account of the people, that I am known by the surname of the Lazy, and that my father left me not any property, is true; for my father was no other than thou hast said: he worked in a public bath. In my youth I was the laziest of all beings existing upon the face of the earth. My laziness was so great that when I was sleeping in the hot season and the sun came upon me, I was too sluggish to rise and remove from the sun to the shade. Thus I remained fifteen years, at the expiration of which period my father was admitted to the mercy of God (whose name be exalted!), and left me nothing. But my mother used to act as a servant to some people, and to feed me and give me drink, while I lay upon my side.

  And it happened that my mother came in to me one day, bringing five pieces of silver; and she said to me, O my son, I have been told that the sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar hath determined to make a voyage to China. This sheykh loved the poor, and was one of the virtuous. And my mother said, O my son, take these five pieces of silver, and repair with us to him, and we will request him to buy for thee with it something from the land of China: perhaps a profit may thence accrue to thee, of the bounty of God, whose name be exalted! But I was too lazy to rise and go with her. And upon this she swore by Allah, that if I did not rise and accompany her she would not feed me nor give me to drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to die of hunger and thirst. So when I heard her words, Prince of the Faithful, I knew that she would do so, on account of her knowledge of my laziness. I therefore said to her, Seat me. And she did so, while I wept.—Bring me my shoes, said I. And she brought them; and I said, Put them on my feet. And she put them on. I then said, Lift me up from the ground. And when she had done this, said, Support me, that I may walk. So she supported me, and I continued walking, and stumbling, until we arrived at the bank of the river, when we saluted the sheykh, and I said to him, O uncle, art thou El-Muzaffar? He answered, At thy service. And I said, Take these pieces of silver, and buy with them for me something from the land of China: perhap
s God may give me a profit from it. And the sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar said to his companions, Do ye know this young man? They answered, Yes: this person is known by the name of Abu-Mohammad the Lazy; and we have never seen him to have come forth from his house except on this occasion. The sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar then said, O my son, give me the money, and may the blessing of God (whose name be exalted!) attend it. And he received the money from me, saying, In the name of God. After which, I returned with my mother to the house.

  The sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar set forth on the voyage, and with him a company of merchants, and they proceeded without interruption until they arrived at the land of China; when the sheykh sold and bought, and set forth to return, he and those who were with him, after they had accomplished their desires. But when they had continued out at sea for three days, the sheykh said to his companions, Stay the vessel! The merchants asked, What dost thou want? And he answered, Know that the deposit committed to me, belonging to Abu-Mohammad the Lazy, I have forgotten: so return with us, that we may buy for him with it something by which he may profit. But they replied, We conjure thee by Allah (whose name be exalted!) that thou take us not back; for we have traversed a very long distance, and in doing so we have experienced great terrors, and exceeding trouble. Still he said, We must return. They therefore said, Receive from us several times as much as the profit of the five pieces of silver, and take us not back. So he assented to their proposal; and they collected for him a large sum of money.

  Then they proceeded until they came in sight of an island containing a numerous population, where they cast anchor; and the merchants landed to purchase thence merchandise consisting of minerals and jewels and pearls and other things. And Abu-l-Muzaffar saw a man sitting, with a great number of apes before him; and among these was an ape whose hair was plucked off. The other apes, whenever their master was unaware, laid hold upon this plucked ape, and beat him, and threw him upon their master; who arose thereat, and beat them, and chained and tormented them, for doing this; and all these apes became enraged in consequence against the other, and beat him again. Now when the sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar saw this ape, he grieved for him, and shewed kindness to him, and said to his owner, Wilt thou sell me this ape? The man answered, Buy. And the sheykh said, I have with me, belonging to a lad who is an orphan, five pieces of silver. Wilt thou sell him to me for that sum?—He answered, I sell him to thee. May God bless thee in him!—Then the sheykh took possession of him, and paid the money to his owner; and the servants of the sheykh took the ape, and took him to the ship.

  After this, they loosed the sails, and proceeded to another island, where they cast anchor. And the divers who dived for minerals and pearls and jewels and other things came down; and the merchants gave them money as their hire for diving. So they dived; and the ape, seeing them do this, leaped from the vessel, and dived with them; whereupon Abu-l-Muzaffar exclaimed, There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! We have lost the ape, with the luck of this poor youth for whom we bought him!—They despaired of the ape; but when the party of divers came up, lo, the ape came up with them, having in his hands precious jewels; and he threw them down before Abu-l-Muzaffar, who wondered at this, and said, Verily, there is a great mystery in this ape!

  Then they raised anchor, and proceeded to an island called the Island of the Zunuj. There they were captured and taken to the King, who ordered that the merchants be held prisoner. The merchants passed the night in great misery; but in the night the ape arose and came to Abu-l-Muzaffar, and loosed his chains. And when the merchants beheld Abu-l-Muzaffar loosed, they said, God grant that our liberation may be effected by thy hands, O Abu-l-Muzaffar! But he replied, Know ye that none liberated me, by the will of God (whose name be exalted!), but this ape; and I have bought my liberty of him for a thousand pieces of gold. So the merchants said, And we in like manner: each of us buyeth his liberty of him for a thousand pieces of gold, if he release us. The ape therefore arose and went to them, and began to loose one after another, until he had loosed them all from their chains; and they repaired to the ship, and embarked in it, and found it safe; nothing being lost from it.

  They loosed immediately, and continued their voyage, and Abu-l-Muzaffar said, O merchants, fulfill the promise that ye have given to the ape. They replied, We hear and obey. And each of them paid him a thousand pieces of gold. Abu-l-Muzaffar also took forth from his property a thousand pieces of gold; and a great sum of money was thus collected for the ape. They then continued their voyage until they arrived at the city of El-Basrah; whereupon their companions came to meet them; and when they had landed, Abu-l-Muzaffar said, Where is Abu-Mohammad the Lazy?

  The news therefore reached my mother, and while I was lying asleep, my mother came to me and said, O my son, the sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar hath arrived, and come to the city: arise then, and repair to him and salute him, and ask him what he hath brought for thee: perhaps God (whose name be exalted!) hath blessed thee with something. So I replied, Lift me from the ground, and support me, that I may go forth and walk to the bank of the river. I walked on, stumbling upon my skirts, until I came to the sheykh Abu-l-Muzaffar; and when he beheld me, he said to me, Welcome to him whose money was the means of my liberation and the liberation of these merchants, by the will of God (whose name be exalted!). He then said to me, Take this ape; for I bought him for thee; go with him to thy house, and wait until I come to thee. I therefore took the ape before me, and went, saying within myself, By Allah, this is none other than magnificent merchandise! I entered my house, and said to my mother, Every time that I lie down to sleep, thou desirest me to arise to traffic: see then with thine eye this merchandise. Then I sat down; and while I was sitting, lo, the servants of Abu-l-Muzaffar approached me, and said to me, Art thou Abu-Mohammad the Lazy? I answered them, Yes. And behold, Abu-l-Muzaffar approached, following them. I rose to him, and kissed his hands, and he said to me, Come with me to my house. So I replied, I hear and obey. I proceeded with him until I entered the house, when he ordered his servants to bring the money; and they brought it, and he said, O my son, God hath blessed thee with this wealth as the profit of the five pieces of silver. They then carried it in the chests upon their heads, and he gave me the keys of those chests, saying to me, Walk before these men to thy house; for all this wealth is thine.

  I therefore went to my mother, and she rejoiced at this, and said, O my son, God hath blessed thee with this abundant wealth; so give over this laziness, and go down into the market-street, and sell and buy. Accordingly, I relinquished my lazy habits, and opened a shop in the market-street, and the ape sat with me upon my mattress: when I ate, he ate with me; and when I drank, he drank with me; and every day he absented himself from me from morning until noon, when he came, bringing with him a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, and he put it by my side, and sat down. Thus he ceased not to do for a long time, until abundant wealth had accrued to me: whereupon I bought, O Prince of the Faithful, possessions and rab‘as,8 and planted gardens, and many servants.

  And it happened one day that I was sitting, and the ape was sitting with me upon the mattress, and, lo, he looked to the right and left; whereat I said within myself, What is the matter with this ape? And God caused the ape to speak, with an eloquent tongue, and he said, O Abu-Mohammad! On hearing this, I was violently terrified; but he said, Fear not. I will acquaint thee with my condition. I am a Marid of the Jinn; but I came to thee on account of thy poverty, and now thou knowest not the amount of thy wealth; and I have a want for thee to perform, the accomplishment of which will be productive of good to thee.—What is it? I asked. He answered, I desire to marry thee to a damsel like the full moon.—And how so? said I.—Tomorrow, he answered, attire thyself in thy rich clothing, mount thy mule with the saddle of gold, and repair with me to the market of the sellers of fodder: there inquire for the shop of the Sherif,9 and seat thyself by him, and say to him, I have come to thee as a suitor, desiring thy daughter. And if he say to thee, Thou hast not wealth nor rank nor descent,�
��give him a thousand pieces of gold: and if he say to thee, Give me more,—do so, and excite his cupidity for money.—So I replied, I hear and obey: tomorrow I will do this, if it be the will of God, whose name be exalted!

  Accordingly, when I arose in the morning, I put on the richest of my apparel, mounted the mule with the saddle of gold, and, having gone to the market of the sellers of fodder, inquired for the shop of the Sherif, and found him sitting in his shop. I therefore alighted and saluted him, and seated myself with him. I had with me some of my servants; and the Sherif said, Perhaps thou hast some business with us which we may have the pleasure of performing. So I replied, Yes: I have some business with thee.—And what is it? he asked. I answered, I have come unto thee as a suitor, desiring thy daughter. He replied, Thou hast not wealth nor rank nor descent. And upon this I took forth and presented to him a purse containing a thousand pieces of red gold, saying to him, This is my rank and descent; and he whom may God bless and save hath said, An excellent rank is that conferred by wealth. How good also is the saying of the poet!—