The Arabian Nights II (12 page)

I sat on the mountain, not knowing where to go, when suddenly two young men passed by. They were like twin moons, each holding a walking staff of red gold. I approached them and saluted them, and they returned my salutation. Then I asked them, “For God's sake, tell me who and what you are.” They replied, “We are servants of the Almighty God,” and, giving me a walking staff of gold, like the ones they had with them, went on their way and left me. I walked along the ridge of the mountain, leaning on the staff and wondering about the two young men, when suddenly a serpent emerged from beneath the mountain, with a man in its mouth, whom it had swallowed to his navel, while he was screaming and crying out, “Whoever delivers me, God will deliver him from every difficulty.” I went close to the serpent
and struck it on its head with the gold staff, and it threw the man from its mouth. Then he approached me and said, “Since you have saved me from this serpent, I will never leave you, and you have become my companion on this mountain.”

Soon a group of people approached us, and when I looked, I saw among them the man who had carried me on his shoulders and flew up with me. I approached him and, speaking courteously to him, offered my apologies and said, “Friend, this is not the way friends treat friends.” He replied, “It was you who almost destroyed us by glorifying God on my back.” I said, “Excuse me, for I had no knowledge of this, and I will never utter another word again.” Finally, he consented to take me with him, on condition that I would refrain from mentioning the name of God or glorifying Him on his back. Then he carried me and flew up with me, as he had done before, until he brought me to my house.

My wife met me, greeted me, and, congratulating me on my safety, said, “Beware of going out again or associating with those people, for they are brothers of the devils and do not worship God.” I asked her, “But how did your father then get along with them?” She replied, “My father was not one of them, nor did he as they did. Now that he is dead, I think that you should sell all our possessions, buy goods with the money, and go back to your country and family, and I will go with you, for I have no reason to stay in this city, since both my father and mother are dead.” So I sold my father-in-law's property, little by little, and waited to find someone who would go to Baghdad, so that I might go with him.

Soon, a group of men in the city decided to travel and, failing to find a ship, bought wood and built for themselves a large one. I booked passage with them, paying them the fare in full, and embarked with my wife and all we could carry of our property, leaving our land and buildings behind. We set out and sailed with a fair wind from sea to sea and from island to island until we reached Basra, where, without tarrying, I booked passage on a boat and, loading our belongings, headed for Baghdad. Then I came to my quarter, entered my house, and met my family and friends and loved ones, and stored in my storerooms all the goods I had brought with me. My family had given up hope of my return, for when they calculated the time of my absence during the seventh voyage, they found that it was twenty-seven years. When I related to them all my experiences, they marveled exceedingly and congratulated me on my safety.

Then I vowed to the Almighty God never to travel again by land or sea, after the seventh voyage, which was the one to end all voyages. I also refrained from indulging my appetites and thanked the Almighty and Glorious God and praised Him and glorified Him for having
brought me back to my native country and to my family. Consider, O Sindbad the Porter, what I had gone through.

Sindbad the Porter said to Sindbad the Sailor, “For God's sake, pardon me the wrong I did you,” and they continued to enjoy their fellowship and friendship, in all cheer and joy, until there came to them death, the destroyer of delights, sunderer of companies, wrecker of palaces, and builder of tombs.

T
HE
S
TORY OF
'A
LI
B
ABA AND THE
F
ORTY
T
HIEVES

In one of the cities of Persia, there lived two brothers, one named Qasim and the other 'Ali Baba. As they shared equally the little their father left them, it seemed that their means should have been equal. But luck had it otherwise, for Qasim married a woman who, shortly after their marriage, inherited a well-stocked shop, a storehouse filled with fine goods, and much wealth buried in the ground. Thus Qasim became a wealthy man, one of the richest merchants of the city. 'Ali Baba, on the other hand, married a woman who was as poor as he was and lived in great poverty, and his only means to earn a living and support himself and his children was to cut firewood in a neighboring forest and sell it in town, loaded on three asses, which were his only possessions.

One day, 'Ali Baba was in the forest, having cut enough wood to load his asses with, when he saw a great cloud of dust rising high in the air and moving toward him. When he looked closely, he saw a troop of horsemen advancing rapidly. Although there had not been any mention of bandits in these parts, 'Ali Baba thought that these horsemen might well be. Thinking only of saving himself, without considering what might happen to his asses, he climbed a large tree, whose branches, at some height from the ground, fanned out in a circle, leaving very little space between each other. He positioned himself in between, with all the more assurance, since he could see without being seen, especially since that tree grew beside a solitary and much higher rock, which was so steep that no one could climb it from any side.

The horsemen, big, strong, well-armed, and doughty riders, came close to the rock and dismounted, and 'Ali Baba, who observed that they were forty in number, was convinced by their demeanor and outfits that they were bandits. He was not mistaken, for they were in fact robbers who, refraining from doing any harm in that vicinity, carried out their robberies in faraway places and came back to meet at that place, and what 'Ali Baba saw them do convinced him of that. Each horseman unbridled his horse, hung around his neck a bag of barley, which he had carried on the back of the horse, and all carried their bags, most of which seemed to 'Ali Baba to be so heavy that he
concluded that they were full of coins of gold and silver. The man who seemed to be the captain, carrying his bag like the others, approached the rock and came very close to the large tree where 'Ali Baba was hiding, and after he went through some shrubs, 'Ali Baba distinctly heard him utter these words, “Open, sesame!” As soon as the captain pronounced these words, a door opened, and after he let all the men pass and go in before him, he too went in, and the door closed.

The robbers remained inside the rock for a long time, and 'Ali Baba, who feared that if he left his hiding place to escape, one of the men or all of them might come out, was forced to stay on the tree and wait patiently. He was tempted, however, to climb down, take two horses, mounting one and leading the others by the bridle, and ride to the city, driving on his three asses before him. But the uncertainty of the outcome made him take the safest course of action. At last, the door opened, and the forty thieves came out, but the captain, who had gone in last, came out first, and after watching them file past him, he closed the doors by pronouncing these words, “Shut, sesame!” Then each thief returned to his horse, bridled it, and, fastening his saddle bags, mounted. When the captain saw at last that they were all ready to depart, he rode at their head and took the road by which they had come.

However, 'Ali Baba did not come down from the tree, saying to himself, “They may have forgotten something, which may force them to return, and I will find myself trapped.” He followed them with his eyes until he lost sight of them, and he did not climb down until much later, for greater security. As he had memorized the words by which the captain of the thieves had opened and closed the door, he was curious to find out whether, if pronounced by him, they would have the same effect. He went through the shrubs and saw the door, which was hidden behind. He stood in front of it and said, “Open, sesame!” and instantly the door flew wide open.

'Ali Baba had expected to find a dark and gloomy place, but he was surprised to see a well-lighted, large, and spacious place, carved by hand out of the rock, with a high vault through which the light streamed through an opening made on top of the rock for that purpose. He saw a great deal of provisions, piles of bales of valuable merchandise, such as silk fabrics and brocades and precious carpets, and above all, a great quantity of gold and silver coins in large bags and leather purses piled on each other. In seeing all this, it seemed to him that this cavern had been serving as a hiding place, not for years, but for centuries, for generation after generation of thieves.

'Ali Baba did not hesitate about what to do. He went into the cavern, and as soon as he was inside, the door closed. But this did not worry him, for he knew the secret of opening it. He paid no attention to the silver, but occupied himself mainly with the gold coins, particularly
those that were in the bags, from which he kept taking out as much as he could carry until he had what his three asses could bear. He gathered the asses, which were scattered, and when he brought them near the rock, he loaded them with the bags, which he hid under some firewood in such a way that no one could see them. When he finished, he stood before the door, and no sooner had he said, “Shut, sesame,” than it closed, for it closed by itself each time he entered, and it remained open each time he went out.

Then 'Ali Baba took the road to the city, and when he came home, he took his asses into a small courtyard and closed the door very carefully. Then he set down the wood with which he had covered the bags and took them into the house, placing and arranging them before his wife, who was sitting on a sofa.

His wife felt the bags and, finding them full of money, suspected that her husband had stolen them, so that when he finished bringing all of them in, she could not prevent herself from saying to him, “Could you have been so wretched, as to . . . ?” But he interrupted her, saying, “Nonsense, wife, I am not a thief, unless one is considered so for taking away from thieves. You will cease to have such an opinion of me, when I acquaint you with my good fortune.” Then he emptied the bags, which were full of gold, which dazzled his wife. He then related to her his adventure from beginning to end and concluded by asking her to keep it secret.

His wife, having recovered from fear, rejoiced with her husband at their good fortune and wanted to count piece by piece all the gold coins before her, but 'Ali Baba said to her, “Wife, you are not wise; what do you intend to do, and when will you finish counting? I will dig a hole and hide the coins in it. We don't have time to lose.” His wife replied, “It is good to have at least some idea of the amount. I will fetch a small scale from the neighbors, and I will weigh the gold while you dig the hole.” 'Ali Baba said, “Wife, what you wish to do is useless. If you believe me, you will desist. Do as you please, but remember to keep the secret.”

To satisfy herself, 'Ali Baba's wife went to the house of her brother-in-law Qasim, which was nearby. As he was not at home, she addressed herself to his wife, asking her to lend her a scale for a few moments. Her sister-in-law asked her whether she wanted a large or a small one, and 'Ali Baba's wife replied that she wanted a small one. The sister-in-law said, “Gladly! Wait a moment, while I bring it.” Then she went to look for it and found it, but as she was aware of 'Ali Baba's poverty, she was curious to know what kind of grain his wife wanted to weigh. So she decided to grease the pan of the scale. After she did so, she returned and gave it to 'Ali Baba's wife, excusing her delay by telling her that she had difficulty in finding it.

'Ali Baba's wife went home and, setting the scale on the pile of gold,
began to fill it and empty it aside on the sofa until she weighed it all and was pleased with the large amount, of which she informed her husband, who had just finished digging the hole. While he was hiding the gold, his wife, in order to show her sister-in-law her punctuality and diligence, took back the scale, without noticing that a gold coin was stuck to it. She gave her the scale, saying, “Sister-in-law, you see that I did not keep your scale for long; here it is. I am much obliged.” No sooner had she turned her back, than Qasim's wife inspected the pan of the scale, and when she found the gold coin, she was inexpressibly surprised and forthwith stricken with envy. She said to herself, “What! 'Ali Baba has gold in quantity, and where did the wretched fellow get it from?”