The Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature

by Robert Irwin

  ‘You are right, mother,’ answered Judar. ‘That is enough.’

  Scarcely had he uttered these words when the old woman exclaimed: ‘Beat him! The man has failed!’

  At this the guardians of the treasure fell upon him with mighty blows and gave him a thrashing which he never forgot for the rest of his life. Then they flung him out of the treasure-house and slammed the golden gate behind him.

  When the Moor saw the fisherman thrown outside the door he hurriedly dragged him from the water, which was already tumbling back into the riverbed, and recited charms over him until he recovered his senses.

  ‘What have you done, you fool?’ he cried.

  Judar recounted to him all that happened after he had met his mother.

  ‘Did I not charge you to observe all my instructions?’ shouted the Moor. ‘By Allah, you have wronged me, and yourself too. Had the woman unrobed herself entirely we would have gained our end. Now a whole year will have to pass before we can renew our attempt.’

  He at once called the slaves, who struck the tent and brought back the mules. And the two rode back to the city of Fez.

  Judar stayed with the Moor another year, feasting to his heart’s content and dressing in a splendid new robe each morning. When the appointed day arrived, the Moor took him outside the city, and there they saw the black slaves with the mules. On reaching the river bank they pitched the tent and ate the midday meal. Then the Moor arranged the reed and the tablets as before, lit the charcoal, and said to Judar: ‘Listen again to these instructions.’

  ‘You need not repeat them, sir,’ Judar cried. ‘I shall forget them only when I forget my thrashing.’

  ‘Do you remember every detail?’ asked the Moor, and, when the fisherman assured him that he did, went on: ‘Keep your wits about you. Do not think that the woman is really your mother; she is no more than a phantom which has taken on your mother’s semblance to mislead you. You came out alive the first time; but, if you slip this time, you shall assuredly perish.’

  ‘If I slip this time,’ Judar replied, ‘I shall deserve burning.’

  The Moor cast the incense on the fire and as soon as he began his conjuration the river dried up and Judar went down to the golden door. Spell after spell was broken until he came to his mother.

  ‘Welcome, my son!’ she cried.

  ‘Wretched woman!’ Judar shouted. ‘Since when have I been your son? Put off your clothes!’

  The old woman undressed herself, pleading with him the while, until only her drawers remained.

  ‘Off with them, wretch!’ he cried.

  And as she removed her drawers she dropped at his feet, a phantom without a soul.

  Judar entered the seventh door and, paying no heed to the piles of gold that lay within, went straight up to the pavilion. There he saw the Wizard Al-Shamardal lying, with the Sword at his side, the Ring on his finger, the Vial of Kohl upon his chest, and the Celestial Orb above his head. He ungirt the Sword, pulled off the Ring, unclasped the Vial, took down the Orb, and made for the door again. Suddenly a burst of music sounded in his praise, and the guardians of the treasure cried: ‘Rejoice, Judar, in that which you have gained!’ The music went on playing until he was outside the gate of the treasure-house.

  As soon as he saw him, the Moor ceased his fumigation and his charms, and, quickly rising, threw his arms about the fisherman’s neck. Judar gave him the four talismans and the Moor called the slaves, who carried away the tent and returned with the mules.

  When they were back in the city the Moor brought out a variety of meats, and the two feasted and ate their fill. Then the magician said: ‘Judar, you left your native land on my account and have fulfilled my dearest wish. Therefore name your reward; ask whatever you desire and Allah will grant it through me. Do not be shy; you have earned it well.’

  ‘Sir,’ replied the fisherman, ‘I can ask for nothing better than this saddlebag.’

  The Moor bade his slave fetch the bag, and then handed it to Judar, saying: ‘It is yours. You have earned it. Had you asked me for anything else I would have as willingly given it to you. But, my friend, this saddlebag will provide you only with your food. You have exposed yourself to great perils for my sake, and I promised to send you home with a contented heart. I will give you another bag filled with gold and jewels and bring you safe to your own land. There you can set up as a merchant, and satisfy your needs and your family’s. As for the first bag, I will now tell you how to use it. Stretch your hand into it and say: “Servant of the Bag, by the mighty names that have power over you, bring me such-and-such a dish.” He will at once provide you with whatever you demand, even if you call for a thousand different dishes every day.’

  The Moor sent for a slave and a mule and, filling a second bag with gold and jewels, said to Judar: ‘Mount this mule. The slave will walk before you and be your guide until he brings you to the door of your own house. On your arrival take the two bags and return the mule to the slave, so that he may bring it back. Admit none to your secret. And now go with Allah’s blessing.’

  Judar thanked the Moor with all his heart, and, loading the two bags on the beast, rode off. The mule followed the slave all day and all night, and early next morning Judar entered the Victory Gate. There he was astounded to see his mother sitting by the roadside.

  ‘Alms, in the name of Allah,’ she was crying.

  Judar quickly dismounted and threw himself with open arms upon the old woman, who burst into tears on seeing him. He mounted her on the mule and walked by her side until they reached their dwelling. There he took down the saddlebags and left the mule to the slave, who returned with it to his master; for they were both devils.

  Judar was profoundly distressed at his mother’s plight.

  ‘Are my brothers well?’ he asked as soon as they went in.

  ‘Yes, they are well,’ she answered.

  ‘Then why are you begging on the streets?’ he inquired. ‘I gave you a hundred pieces of gold the first day, a hundred more the next day, and a thousand the day I left home.’

  ‘My son,’ she replied, ‘your brothers took all the money, saying they wished to buy some merchandise. But they deceived me and threw me out, so that I was forced to beg or starve.’

  ‘Never mind, mother,’ said Judar. ‘All will be well with you now that I am home again. Here is a bag full of gold and jewels. Henceforth we shall lack nothing.’

  ‘Fortune has smiled upon you, my son,’ cried the old woman. ‘May Allah bless you and ever give you of His bounty! Rise now and get us some bread. I have had nothing to eat since yesterday.’

  ‘You are welcome, mother,’ Judar replied, laughing. ‘Tell me what you would like to eat and it shall be set before you this very instant. There is nothing I need to buy or cook.’

  ‘But I can see nothing with you, my son,’ said his mother.

  ‘It is in the bag,’ he answered. ‘Every kind of food.’

  ‘Anything will serve, if it can fill a hungry woman,’ she replied.

  ‘That is true, mother,’ said Judar. ‘When there is no choice one has to be content with the meanest thing: but when there is plenty one must choose the best. I have plenty: so name your choice.’

  ‘Very well, then,’ she replied. ‘Some fresh bread and a slice of cheese.’

  ‘That scarcely befits your station, mother,’ Judar protested.

  ‘If you know what is fitting,’ she answered, ‘then give me what I ought to eat.’

  ‘What would you say,’ he smiled, ‘to roast meat and roast chicken, peppered rice, sausage and stuffed marrow, stuffed lamb and stuffed ribs, kunafah swimming in bees’ honey, fritters and almond cakes?’

  ‘What has come over you, Judar?’ exclaimed the old woman, thinking her son was making fun of her. ‘Are you dreaming or have you taken leave of your senses? Who can afford these wondrous dishes, and who can cook them?’

  ‘Upon my life,’ Judar replied, ‘you shall have them all this very moment. Bring me the bag.’


  His mother brought the bag; she felt it and saw that it was empty. Then she handed it to Judar, who proceeded to take out from it dish after dish until he had ranged before her all the dishes he had described.

  ‘My child,’ cried the astonished woman, ‘the bag is very small, and it was empty; I felt it with my own hands. How do you account for these numerous dishes?’

  ‘Know, mother, that the bag is enchanted,’ he replied. ‘It was given me by the Moor. It is served by a jinnee who, if invoked by the Mighty Names, provides any dish that a man can desire.’

  Thereupon his mother asked if she herself might call the jinnee. Judar gave her the bag, and she thrust in her hand, saying: ‘Servant of the Bag, by the mighty names that have power over you, bring me a stuffed rib of lamb!’

  She at once felt the dish under her hand. She drew it out, and then called for bread and other meats.

  ‘Mother,’ said Judar, ‘when you have finished eating, empty the rest of the meal into other plates and restore the dishes to the bag. That is one part of the secret. And keep the bag safely hidden.’

  The old woman got up and stowed away the bag in a safe place.

  ‘Above all, mother,’ he resumed, ‘you must on no account disclose the secret. Whenever you need any food bring it out of the bag. Give alms and feed my brothers, alike when I am here and when I am away.’

  The two had scarcely begun eating when Judar’s brothers entered the house.

  They had heard the news of his arrival from a neighbour, who had said to them: ‘Your brother has come home, riding on a mule and with a slave marching before him. No one ever wore the like of his rich garments.’

  ‘Would that we had never wronged our mother,’ they said to each other. ‘She is bound to tell him what we did to her. Think of the disgrace!’

  ‘But mother is soft-hearted,’ one of them remarked. ‘And supposing she does tell him, our brother is kindlier still. If we apologize to him he will excuse us.’

  Judar jumped to his feet as they entered, and greeted them in the friendliest fashion. ‘Sit down,’ he said, ‘and eat with us.’

  They sat down and ate ravenously, for they were quite faint with hunger.

  ‘Brothers,’ said Judar when they could eat no more, ‘take the rest of the food and distribute it among the beggars.’

  ‘But why, brother?’ they replied. ‘We can have it for supper.’

  ‘At supper-time,’ said he, ‘you shall have a greater feast than this.’

  So they went out with the food, and to every beggar that passed by they said: ‘Take and eat.’ Then they brought the empty dishes back to Judar, who bad his mother return them to the bag.

  In the evening Judar went into the room where the bag was hidden and drew from it forty different dishes, which his mother carried up to the eating-chamber. He invited his brothers to eat, and, when the meal was over, told them to take the remainder of the food and distribute it among the beggars. After supper he produced sweets and pastries for them; they ate their fill, and what was left over he told them to carry to the neighbours.

  In this fashion he regaled his brothers for ten days, and at the end of that time Salem said to Seleem: ‘What is the meaning of all this? How can our brother provide us every day with such lavish feasts morning, noon, and evening, and then with sweetmeats late at night? And whatever remains he distributes among the poor and needy. Only sultans do such things. Where could he have got this fortune from? Will you not inquire about these various dishes and how they are prepared? We have never seen him buy anything at all or even light a fire; he has no cook and no kitchen.’

  ‘By Allah, I do not know,’ replied Seleem. ‘Only our mother can tell us the truth about it all.’

  Thereupon they contrived a plan and, going to their mother in Judar’s absence, told her that they were hungry. She at once entered the room where the bag was hidden, invoked the jinnee, and returned with a hot meal.

  ‘Mother, this food is hot,’ they said. ‘And yet you did not cook it, nor did you even blow a fire.’

  ‘It is from the bag,’ she answered.

  ‘What bag is that?’ they asked.

  ‘A magic bag,’ she replied.

  And she told them the whole story, adding: ‘You must keep the matter secret.’

  ‘No one shall know of it,’ they said. ‘But show us how it works.’

  Their mother showed them and they proceeded to put in their hands, each asking for a dish of his own choice.

  When the two were alone, Salem said to Seleem: ‘How long are we to stay like servants in our brother’s house, living abjectly on his charity? Can we not trick him and take the bag from him, and keep it for our own use?’

  ‘And how shall we do that?’ asked Seleem.

  ‘We will sell our brother to the chief captain of Suez,’ Salem replied. ‘We will go to the captain, and invite him to the house with two of his men. You have only to confirm whatever I say to Judar and by the end of the night you will see what I shall do.’

  When they had thus agreed to sell their brother, they went to the chief captain of Suez and said to him: ‘Sir, we have come upon some business that will please you.’

  ‘Good,’ said the captain.

  ‘We are brothers,’ they went on. ‘We have a third brother, a worthless ne’er-do-well. Our father died and left us a small fortune. We divided the inheritance and our brother took his share and squandered it on lechery and all manner of vices. When he had lost all his money, he began complaining of us to the judges, saying that we had defrauded him of his inheritance. He took us from one court of law to another and in the end we forfeited all our fortune. Now he is at us again. We cannot bear with him any longer and want you to buy him from us.’

  ‘Can you bring him here upon some pretext?’ the captain asked. ‘Then I can send him off to sea forthwith.’

  ‘No, we cannot bring him here,’ they answered. ‘But you come to our house and be our guest this evening. Bring two of your sailors with you – no more. When he is sound asleep the five of us can set upon and gag him. Then you can carry him out of the house under cover of darkness and do whatever you please with him.’

  ‘Very well,’ said the captain. ‘Will you sell him for forty dinars?’

  ‘We agree to that,’ they replied. ‘Go after dark to such-and-such a street and there you will find one of us waiting for you.’

  They returned home and sat talking together for a while. Then Salem went up to Judar and kissed his hand.

  ‘What can I do for you, brother?’ Judar asked.

  ‘I have a friend,’ he said, ‘who has invited me many times to his house and done me a thousand kindnesses, as Seleem here knows. Today I called on him and he invited me again. I excused myself, saying: “I cannot leave my brother.” “Let him come too,” he said. I told him you would never consent to that and asked him and his brothers to dine with us tonight. His brothers were sitting there with him and I invited them, thinking they would refuse. However, they all accepted, and asked me to meet them at the gate of the little mosque. I now regret my indiscretion and feel ashamed for asking them without your leave. But will you be so kind as to give them hospitality tonight? If you would rather not, allow me to take them to the neighbours’ house.’

  ‘But why to the neighbours’?’ Judar protested. ‘Is our house too small or have we no food to give them? Shame on you that you should even ask me. They shall have nothing but the choicest dishes. If you bring home any guests and I happen to be out, you have only to ask our mother and she will provide you with all the food you need and more. Go and bring them. They shall be most welcome.’

  Salem kissed Judar’s hand and went off to the gate of the little mosque. The captain and his men came at the appointed hour and he took them home with him. As soon as they entered, Judar rose to receive them. He gave them a kindly welcome and seated them by his side, for he knew nothing of their intent. Then he bade his mother serve a meal of forty courses and the sailors ate their fill, thinking
that it was all at Salem’s expense. After that he produced for them sweets and pastries; Salem served the guests with these, while his two brothers remained seated. At midnight the captain and his men begged leave to retire, and Judar got up with them and went to bed. As soon as he fell asleep the five men set upon him and, thrusting a gag into his mouth, bound his arms and carried him out of the house under cover of darkness. The sailors took their victim to Suez, and there, with irons on his feet, he toiled for a whole year as a galley-slave in one of the captain’s ships. So much for Judar.

  Next morning the two brothers went in to their mother and asked her whether Judar had woken up.

  ‘He is still asleep,’ she said. ‘Go and wake him.’

  ‘Where is he sleeping?’ they asked.

  ‘With the guests,’ she answered.

  ‘There is no one there,’ they said. ‘Perhaps he went off with them whilst we were still asleep. It seems our brother has acquired a taste for visiting foreign lands and opening hidden treasures. Last night we overheard him talking to the Moors. “We will take you with us, and open the treasure for you,” they were saying.’

  ‘But when did he meet the Moors?’ she asked.

  ‘Did they not dine with us last night?’ they answered.

  ‘It is probable, then, that he has gone with them,’ said the old woman. ‘But Allah will guide him wherever he goes, for he was born under a lucky star. He is bound to come back laden with riches.’

  Upon this she broke down and wept, for she could not bear to be parted from him.

  ‘Vile woman!’ they exclaimed. ‘Do you love our brother so much? Yet if we went away or returned home, you would neither shed tears nor rejoice. Are we not your sons as much as he?’

  ‘Yes, you are my sons,’ she answered. ‘But how wicked and ungrateful! Ever since your father died I have not had a moment’s joy with you. But Judar has always been good and kind and generous to me. He is worthy of my tears, for we are all indebted to him.’

  Stung by her words, the two abused their mother and beat her. Then they went in and searched the house until they found the two bags. They took the gold and jewels from the second bag, saying: ‘This is our father’s property.’