 20. Fifth Voyage Not even all that I had gone through could make me contented with a quiet life. I soon wearied of its pleasures and longed for a change and adventure. Therefore, I set out once more, but this time in a ship of my own, which I built and fitted out at the nearest seaport. I wished to be able to call at whatever port I chose, taking my own time, but as I did not intend carrying enough goods for a full cargo, I invited several merchants of different nations to join me. We set sail with the first favorable wind, and after a long voyage upon the open seas, we landed upon an unknown island which proved to be uninhabited. We determined, however, to explore it, but had not gone far when we found a rock's egg, as large as the one I had seen before and evidently very nearly hatched, for the beak of the young bird had already pierced the shell. In spite of all I could say to deter them, the merchants who were with me fell upon it with their hatchets, breaking the shell and killing the young rock. Then, lighting a fire upon the ground, they hacked morsels from the bird and proceeded to roast them while I stood by aghast. Scarcely had they finished their ill-omand repast when the air above us was darkened by two mighty shadows. The captain of my ship, knowing by experience what this meant, cried out to us that the parent birds were coming, and urged us to get on board with all speed. This we did, and the sails were hoisted, but before we had made any way, the rocks reached their despoiled nest and hovered above it, uttering frightful cries when they discovered the mangled remains of their young one. For a moment we lost sight of them, and were flattering ourselves that we had escaped, when they reappeared and soared into the air directly over our vessel, and we saw that each held in its claws an immense rock ready to crush us. There was a moment of breathless suspense, then one of the birds loosed its hold and the huge block of stone hurtled through the air, but thanks to the presence of mind of the helmsman, who turned our ship violently in another direction, it fell into the sea close beside us, cleaving it asunder till we could nearly see the bottom. We had hardly time to draw a breath of relief before the other rock fell with a mighty crash right in the midst of our luckless vessel, smashing it into a thousand fragments and crushing, or hurling into the sea, passengers and crew. I myself went down with the rest, but had the good fortune to rise unhurt, and by holding on to a piece of driftwood with one hand and swimming with the other, I kept myself afloat and was presently washed up by the tide onto an island. Its shores were steep and rocky, but I scrambled up safely and threw myself down to rest upon the green turf. When I had somewhat recovered, I began to examine the spot in which I found myself, and truly it seemed to me that I had reached a garden of delights. There were trees everywhere, and they were laden with flowers and fruit, while a crystal stream wandered in and out under the shadow. When night came, I slept sweetly in a cozy nook, though the remembrance that I was alone in a strange land made me sometimes start up and look around me in alarm, and then I wished heartily that I had stayed at home at ease. However, the morning sunlight restored my courage, and once more I wandered among the trees, but always with some anxiety as to what I might see next. I had penetrated some distance into the island when I saw an old man bent and feeble sitting upon the riverbank, and at first I took him to be some shipwrecked mariner like myself. Going up to him, I greeted him in a friendly way, but he only nodded his head at me in reply. I then asked what he did there, and he made signs to me that he wished to get across the river to gather some fruit, and seemed to beg me to carry him on my back. Pitying his age and feebleness, I took him up, and waiting across the stream, I bent down that he might more easily reach the bank and bade him get down. But instead of allowing himself to be set upon his feet, even now it makes me laugh to think of it, this creature who had seemed to me so decrepit, leaped nimbly upon my shoulders, and hooking his legs around my neck gripped me so tightly that I was well nigh choked, and so overcome with terror that I fell insensible to the ground. When I recovered, my enemy was still in his place, though he had released his hold enough to allow me breathing space, and seeing me revive, he prodded me adroitly first with one foot and then with the other, until I was forced to get up and stagger about with him under the trees, while he gathered and ate the choicest fruits. This went on all day, and even at night, when I threw myself down half dead with weariness, the terrible old man held on tight to my neck, nor did he fail to greet the first glimmer of morning light by drumming upon me with his heels, until I perforce awoke and resumed my dreary march with rage and bitterness in my heart. It happened one day that I passed a tree under which lay several dried gourds, and catching one up, I amused myself with scooping out its contents and pressing into it the juice of several bunches of grapes which hung from every bush. When it was full, I left it propped in the fork of a tree, and a few days later, carrying the hateful old man that way, I snatched at my gourd as I passed it and had the satisfaction of a draft of excellent wine so good and refreshing that I even forgot my detestable burden and began to sing and caper. The old monster was not slow to perceive the effect which my draft had produced and that I carried him more lightly than usual, so he stretched out his skinny hand and, seizing the gourd, first tasted its contents cautiously, then drained him to the very last drop. The wine was strong and the gourd capacious, so he also began to sing after a fashion, and soon I had the delight of feeling the iron grip of his goblin legs unclasp, and with one vigorous effort I threw him to the ground, from which he never moved again. I was so rejoiced to have at last got rid of this uncanny old man that I ran leaping and bounding down to the seashore, where, by the greatest good luck, I met with some mariners who had anchored off the island to enjoy the delicious fruits and to renew their supply of water. They heard the story of my escape with amazement, saying, you fell into the hands of the old man of the sea, and it is a mercy that he did not strangle you as he has everyone else upon whose shoulders he has managed to perch himself. This island is well known as the scene of his evil deeds, and no merchant or sailor who lands upon it cares to stray far away from his comrades. After we had talked for a while, they took me back with them on board their ship, where the captain received me kindly, and we soon set sail, and after several days reached a large and prosperous looking town where all the houses were built of stone. Here we anchored, and one of the merchants, who had been very friendly to me on the way, took me ashore with him and showed me a lodging set apart for strange merchants. He then provided me with a large sack and pointed out to me a party of others equipped in like manner. Go with them, said he, and do as they do, but beware of losing sight of them, for if you strayed your life would be in danger. With that he supplied me with provisions and made me farewell, and I set out with my new companions. I soon learned that the object of our expedition was to fill our sacks with coconuts, but when at length I saw the trees and noted their immense height and the slippery smoothness of their slender trunks, I did not at all understand how we were to do it. The crowns of the cocoa palms were all alive with monkeys, big and little, which skipped from one to the other with surprising agility, seeming to be curious about us and disturbed at our appearance. And I was at first surprised when my companions, after collecting stones, began to throw them at the lively creatures, which seemed to me quite harmless. But very soon I saw the reason of it and joined them heartily. For the monkeys, annoyed and wishing to pay us back in our own coin, began to tear the nuts from the trees and cast them at us with angry and spiteful gestures, so that after a very little labor, our sacks were filled with the fruit which we could not otherwise have obtained. As soon as we had as many as we could carry, we went back to the town, where my friend bought my share and advised me to continue the same occupation until I had earned enough money to carry me to my own country. This I did, and before long had amassed a considerable sum. Just then I heard that there was a trading ship ready to sail, and taking leave of my friend I went on board, carrying with me a goodly store of coconuts. And we sailed first to the islands where pepper grows, then to Komari, where the best aloes wood is found, and where men drink no wine by an unalterable law. Here I exchanged my nuts for pepper and good aloes wood, and went a fishing for pearls with some of the other merchants, and my divers were so lucky that very soon I had an immense number, and those very large and perfect. With all these treasures I came joyfully back to Baghdad, where I disposed of them for large sums of money, of which I did not fail as before to give the tenth part to the poor, and after that I rested from my labors and comforted myself with all the pleasures that my riches could give me. Having thus ended his story, Sinbat ordered that one hundred sequins should be given to Hinbat, and the guests then withdrew. But after the next day's feast he began the account of his sixth voyage as follows. End of Chapter 20. Chapter 21 of the Arabian Nights Entertainment. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Nathan at antipodeanwriter.wordpress.com. The Arabian Nights Entertainment by Andrew Lang. Chapter 21. The Sixth Voyage. It must be a marvel to you how, after having five times met with shipwreck and unheard of perils, I could again tempt fortune and risk fresh trouble. I'm even surprised myself when I look back, but evidently it was my fate to rove, and after a year of repose I prepared to make a sixth voyage regardless of the entreaties of my friends and relations who did all they could to keep me at home. Instead of going by the Persian Gulf, I travelled a considerable way over land and finally embarked from a distant Indian port with the captain who meant to make a long voyage. And truly he did so for we fell in with stormy weather which drove us completely out of our course so that for many days neither captain nor pilot knew where we were nor where we were going. When they did at last discover our position we had small ground for rejoicing. For the captain casting his turban upon the deck and tearing his beard declared that we were in the most dangerous spot upon the whole wide sea, and had been caught by a current which was at that minute sweeping us to destruction. It was too true. In spite of all the sailors could do, we were driven with frightful rapidity towards the foot of a mountain which rose sheer out of the sea and our vessel was dashed to pieces upon the rocks at its base, not however, until we had managed to scramble on shore, carrying with us the most precious of our possessions. When we had done this the captain said to us, now we are here, we may as well begin to dig our graves at once, since from this fatal spot no ship wrecked mariner has ever returned. This speech discouraged us much and we began to lament over our sad fate. The mountain formed the seaward boundary of a large island and the narrow strip of rocky shore upon which we stood was strewn with the wreckage of a thousand gallant ships, while the bones of the luckless mariners shone white in the sunshine and we shuddered to think how soon our own would be added to the heap. All around too lay vast quantities of the costliest merchandise and treasures were heaped in every cranny of the rocks but all these things only added to the desolation of the seam. Instructing is a very strange thing that a river of clear fresh water which gushed out from the mountain not far from where we stood instead of flying into the sea as rivers generally do turned off sharply and flowed out of sight under a natural archway of rock and when I went to examine it more closely I found that inside the cave the walls were thick with diamonds and rubies and masses of crystal and the floor was strewn with ambergris. Here then upon this desolate shore we abandoned ourselves to our fate there was no possibility of scaling the mountain and if a ship had appeared it could only have shared our doom. The first thing our captain did was to divide equally amongst us all the food we possessed and then the length of each man's life depended on the time he could make his portion last. I myself could live upon very little. Nevertheless by the time I had buried the last of my companions my stock of provisions was so small that I hardly thought I should live long enough to dig my own grave which I set about doing while I regretted bitterly the roving disposition which was always bringing me into such straits and thought longingly of all the comfort and luxury that I had left. But luckily for me the fancy took me to stand once more beside the river where it plunged out of sight in the depths of the cavern as I did so an idea struck me. This river which hid itself underground doubtless emerged again at some distant spot why should I not build a raft and trust myself to its swiftly flowing waters. If I perished before I could reach the light of day once more I should be no worse off than I was now for death stared me in the face while there was always the possibility that as I was born under a lucky star I might find myself safe and sound in some desirable land. I decided at any rate to risk it and speedily built myself a stout raft of driftwood with strong cords of which enough and to spare lace drew in upon the beach. I then made up many packages of rubies emeralds rock crystal, ambergris and precious stuffs and bound them upon my raft being careful to preserve the balance and then I seated myself upon it having two small oars that I had fashioned laid ready to my hand and loosed the cord which held it to the bank. Once out in the current my raft flew swiftly under the gloomy archway and I found myself in total darkness carried smoothly forward by the rapid river. On I went as it seemed to me for many nights and days once the channel became so small that I had a narrow escape of being crushed against the rocky roof and after that I took the precaution of lying flat upon my precious bales. Though I only ate what was absolutely necessary to keep myself alive the inevitable moment came when after swallowing my last morsel of food I began to wonder if I must after all die of hunger. Then worn out with anxiety and fatigue I fell into a deep sleep and when I again opened my eyes I was once more in the light of day. My beautiful country lay before me in my raft which was tied to the riverbank was surrounded by friendly looking black men. I rose and saluted them and they spoke to me in return but I could not understand a word of their language. Feeling perfectly bewildered by my sudden return to life and light I murmured to myself in Arabic close thine eyes and while the sleepest heaven will change thy fortune from evil to good. One of the natives who understood this tongue then came forward saying my brother be not surprised to see us this is our land and as we came to get water from the river we noticed your raft floating down it and one of us swam out and brought you to the shore. We have waited for your awakening tell us now whence you come and where you are going by that dangerous way. I replied that nothing would please me better than to tell them but that I was starving and would feign eat something first. I was soon supplied with all I needed and having satisfied my hunger I told them faithfully all that had befallingly. They were lost in wonder at my tail when it was interpreted to them and said that adventures so surprising must be related to their king only by the man to whom they had happened. So procuring a horse they mounted me upon it and we set out followed by several strong men carrying my raft just as it was upon their shoulders. In this order we marched into the city of Serendib where the natives presented me to their king whom I saluted in the Indian fashion prostrating myself at his feet and kissing the ground but the monarch bade me rise and sit beside him asking first what was my name. I am Sinbad I replied whom men called the sailor for I have voyaged much upon many seas and how come you here asked the king. I told my story concealing nothing and his surprise and delight was so great that he ordered my adventures to be written in letters of gold and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. Presently my raft was brought in and the bails opened in his presence and the king declared that in all his treasury there were no such rubies and emeralds as those which lay in great heaps before him. Seeing that he looked at them with interest I ventured to say that I myself and all that I had were at his disposal but he answered me smiling nay Sinbad heaven forbid that I should cover to your riches I will rather add to them for I desire that you shall not leave my kingdom without some tokens of my good will. He then commanded his officers to provide me with a suitable lodging at his expense and sent slaves to wait upon me and carry my raft and my bails to my new dwelling place. You may imagine that I praised his generosity and gave him grateful thanks or did I fail to present myself daily in his audience chamber and for the rest of my time I amused myself and seeing all that was worthy of attention in the city. The island of Serendip being situated on the equinoctial line the days and nights there are of equal length. The chief city is placed at the end of a beautiful valley formed by the highest mountain in the world which is in the middle of the island. I had the curiosity to ascend to its very summit for this was the place to which Adam was banished out of paradise. Here are found rubies in many precious things and rare plants grow abundantly with cedar trees and cocoa palms. On the seashore and at the mouths of the rivers the divers seek for pearls and in some valleys diamonds are plentiful. After many days I petitioned the king that I might return to my own country to which he graciously consented. Moreover he loaded me with rich gifts and when I went to take leave of him he entrusted me with a royal present and a letter to the commander of the faithful our sovereign lord saying I pray you give these to the caliph Haroun al-Rashid and assure him of my friendship. I accepted the charge respectfully and soon embarked upon the vessel which the king himself had chosen for me. The king's letter was written in blue characters upon a rare and precious skin of yellowish color and these were the words of it. The king of the Indies before whom walk a thousand elephants who lives in a palace of which the roof blazes with a hundred thousand rubies and whose treasure house contains twenty thousand diamond crowns to the caliph Haroun al-Rashid sends greeting. Though the offering we present to you is unworthy of your notice we pray you to accept it as a mark of the esteem and friendship which we cherish for you and of which we gladly send you this token and we ask of you a like regard if you deem us worthy of it. Adieu brother. The present consisted of a vase carved from a single ruby six inches high and as thick as my finger. This was filled with the choicest pearls large and of perfect shape and luster. Secondly a huge snakeskin with scales as large as a sequin which would preserve from sickness those who slept upon it. Then quantities of aloes wood, campfire and pistachio nuts and lastly a beautiful slave girl whose robes glittered with precious stones. After a long and prosperous voyage we landed at Balsora and I made haste to reach Baghdad and taking the king's letter I presented myself at the palace gate followed by the beautiful slave and various members of my own family bearing the treasure. As soon as I had declared my errand I was conducted into the presence of the caliph to whom after I had made my obeisance I gave the letter and the king's gift and when he had examined them he demanded of me whether the prince of Serendib was really as rich and powerful as he claimed to be. Commander of the faithful I replied again bowing humbly before him I can assure your majesty that he has in no way exaggerated his wealth in grandeur nothing can equal the magnificence of his palace when he goes abroad his throne is prepared upon the back of an elephant and on either side of him ride his ministers his favorites and courtiers on his elephant's neck sits an officer his golden lance in his hand and behind him stands another bearing a pillar of gold at the top of which is an emerald as long as my hand a thousand men in cloth of gold mounted upon richly comparisoned elephants go before him and as the procession moves onward the officer who guides his elephant cries aloud behold the mighty monarch the powerful and valiant sultan of the indies whose palace is covered with a hundred thousand rubies who possesses twenty thousand diamond crowns behold a monarch greater than Solomon and Mirage in all their glory then the one who stands behind the throne answers this king so great and powerful must die must die must die and the first takes up the chant again all praise to him who lives forever more further my lord in serendip no judge is needed for to the king himself his people come for justice the caliph was well satisfied with my report from the king's letter said he i judged that he was a wise man it seems that he is worthy of his people and his people of him so saying he dismissed me with rich presence and i returned in peace to my own house when sinbad had done speaking his guests withdrew henbad having first received a hundred sequins but i'll return next day to hear the story of the seventh voyage sinbad thus began end of the sixth voyage read by nathan and loryan walden chapter 22 of the arabian knights entertainments this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by nathan at antipedian writer wordpress.com the arabian knights entertainments by andrew lang chapter 22 the seventh and last voyage after my sixth voyage i was quite determined that i would go to see no more i was now of an age to appreciate acquired life and i had run risks enough i only wished to end my days in peace one day however when i was entertaining a number of my friends i was told that an officer of the caliph wished to speak to me and when he was admitted he made me follow him into the presence of haroun al-rashid which i accordingly did after i had saluted him the caliph said i have sent for you sinbad because i need your services i've chosen you to bear a letter and a gift to the king of serendib in return for his message of friendship the caliph's commandment fell upon me like a thunderbolt commander of the faithful i answered i'm ready to do all that your majesty commands but i humbly pray you to remember that i am utterly disheartened by the unheard of sufferings i have undergone indeed i have made a vow never again to leave bagdad with this i gave him a long account of some of my strangest adventures to which he listened patiently i admit said he that you have indeed had some extraordinary experiences but i do not see why they should hinder you from doing as i wish you have only to go straight to serendib and give my message then you are free to come back and do as you will but go you must my honor and dignity demanded seeing that there was no help for it i declared myself willing to obey and the caliph delighted at having got his own way gave me a thousand sequins for the expenses of the voyage i was soon ready to start and taking the letter and the present i embarked at balsora and sailed quickly and safely to serendib here when i had disclosed my errand i was well received and brought into the presence of the king who greeted me with joy welcome sin bad he cried i have thought of you often and rejoice to see you once more after thanking him for the honor that he did me i displayed the caliph's gifts first a bed with complete hangings all the cloth of gold which cost a thousand sequins and another life to it of crimson stuff 50 robes of rich embroidery a hundred of the finest white linen from kairu suez kufa and alexandria then wall beds of different fashion and an agate vase carved with the figure of a man aiming an arrow at a line and finally a costly table which had once belonged to king solomon the king of serendib received with satisfaction the assurance of the caliph's friendliness to warn him and now my task being accomplished i was anxious to depart but it was some time before the king would think of letting me go at last however he dismissed me with many presents and i lost no time in going on board a ship which sailed at once and for four days all went well on the fifth day we had the misfortune to fall in with pirates who seized our vessel killing all who resisted and making prisoners of those who were prudent enough to submit at once of whom i was one when they had disbord us of all we possessed they forced us to put on vile raiment and sailing to a distant island their sold us for slaves i fell under the hands of a rich merchant who took me home with him and clothed and fed me well and after some days sent for me and questioned me as to what i could do i answered that i was a rich merchant who had been captured by pirates and therefore i knew no trade tell me city can you shoot with a bow i replied that this had been one of my pastimes of my youth and the doubtless with practice my skill would come back to me on this you provided me with a bow and arrows and mounting me with him upon his own elephant took the way to a vast forest which lay far from the town when we had reached the wildest part of it we stopped and my master said to me this forest swarms with elephants i just self in this great tree and shoot at all that pass you when you have succeeded in killing one come and tell me so saying he gave me a supply of food and returned to the town and i perched myself high up in the tree and kept watch that night i saw nothing but just after sunrise the next morning a large herd of elephants came crashing and trampling by i lost no time and letting fly several arrows and at last one of the great animals fell to the ground dead and the others retreated leaving me free to come down from my hiding place and run back to tell my master of my success for which i was praised and regaled with good things and we went back to the forest together and dug a mighty trench in which we buried the elephant i had killed in order that when it became a skeleton my master might return and secure its tusks for two months i hunted thus and no day passed without my securing an elephant of course i did not always station myself in the same tree but sometimes in one place sometimes in another one morning as i watched the coming of the elephants i was surprised to see that instead of passing the tree i was in as they usually did they paused and completely surrounded it trumpeting horribly and shaking the very ground with their heavy tread and when i saw that their eyes were fixed upon the eye was terrified and my arrows dropped from my trembling hand i had indeed good reason for my terror when an instant later the largest of the animals wound his trunk around the stem of my tree and with one mighty effort tore it up by the roots bringing me to the ground entangled in its branches i thought now that my last hour was surely come but the huge creature picking me up gently enough set me upon its back where i clung more dead than alive and followed by the whole herd turned and crashed off into the dense forest it seemed to me a long time before i was once more set upon my feet by the elephant and i stood as if in a dream watching the herd which turned and trampled off in another direction and was soon hidden in the dense underworld then recovering myself i looked about me and found that i was standing upon the side of a great hill strewn as far as i could see on either hand with bones and tusks of elephants this then must be the elephant sparing place i said to myself and they must have brought me here that i might cease to persecute them seeing that i want nothing but their tusks and here lie more than i could carry away in a lifetime whereupon i turned and made for the city as fast as i could go not seeing a single elephant by the way which convinced me that they had retired deeper into the forest to leave the way open to the ivory hill and i did not know how sufficiently to admire their sagacity after a day and a night i reached my master's house and was received by him with joyful surprise ah poor sin baby cried i was wondering what could have become of you when i went to the forest i found the tree newly uprooted and the arrows lying beside it and i feared i should never see you again pray tell me how you escaped death i soon satisfied his curiosity in the next day we went together to the ivory hill and he was overjoyed to find that i had told him nothing but the truth when we had loaded our elephant with as many tusks as it could carry and we're on our way back to the city he said my brother since i can no longer treat as a slave one who has enriched me thus take your liberty in my heaven prosper you i will no longer conceal from you that these wild elephants have killed numbers of our slaves every year no matter what good advice we gave them they were caught sooner or later you alone have escaped the wiles of these animals therefore you must be under the special protection of heaven now through you the whole town will be enriched without further loss of life therefore you shall not only receive your liberty but i will also bestow a fortune upon you to which i replied master i thank you and wish you all prosperity for myself i only ask liberty to return to my own country it is well he answered the monsoon will soon bring the ivory ships hither then i will send you on your way with somewhat to pay your passage so i stayed with him till the time of the monsoon and every day we added to our store of ivory till all his warehouses were overflowing with it by this time the other merchants knew the secret but there was enough and to spare for all when the ships at last arrived my master himself chose the one in which i was to sail and put on board for me a great store of choice provisions also ivory in abundance and all the costliest curiosities of the country for which i could not thank him enough and so we parted i left the ship at the first port we came to not feeling at ease upon the sea after all that had happened to me by reason of it and having disposed of my ivory for my gold and bought many rare and costly presents i loaded my pack animals and joined a caravan of merchants our journey was long and tedious but i bore it patiently reflecting that at least i had not to fear tempests nor pirates nor serpents nor any of the other perils from which i had suffered before and at length we reached Baghdad my first care was to present myself before the caliph and give him an account of my embassy issued me that my long absence had disquieted him much but he had nevertheless hoped for the best as to my adventure among the elephants he heard it with amazement declaring that he could not have believed it had not my truthfulness been well known to him by his orders this story and the others i've told him were written by his scribes and letters of gold and laid up among his treasures i took my leave of him well satisfied with the honors and rewards he bestowed upon me and since that time i have rested from my labors and given myself up wholly to my family and my friends us in bad ended the story of his seventh and last voyage and turning to him bad he added well my friend and what do you think now have you ever heard of anyone who has suffered more or had more narrow escapes than i have is it not just that i should now enjoy a life of ease and tranquility in bad junea and kissing his hand respectfully replied sir you have indeed known fearful perils my troubles have been nothing compared to yours or over the generous use you make of your wealth proves that you deserve it may you live long and happily in the enjoyment of it sin bad then gave him a hundred sequence and hence forward counted him among his friends also he caused him to give up his profession as a porter and to eat daily at his table that he might all his life remember sin bad the sailor end of chapter 22 recording by nathan at anti-pedionwriter dot wordpress dot com chapter 23 of the arabian knights this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox dot org recording by linda fergusson the arabian knights by andrew lang chapter 23 the little hunchback in the kingdom of kashka which is as everybody knows situated on the front is great tattery there lived long ago a taylor and his wife who loved each other very much one day when the taylor was hard at work a little hunchback came and sat at the entrance of the shop and began to sing and play his tambourine the taylor was amused with the antics of the fellow and thought he would take him home to divert his wife the hunchback having agreed to his proposal the taylor closed his shop and they set off together when they reached the house they found the table ready laid for supper and in a very few minutes all three were sitting before a beautiful fish which the taylor's wife had cooked with her own hands but unluckily the hunchback happened to swallow a large bone and in spite of all the taylor and his wife could do to help him died of suffocation in an instant besides being very sorry for the poor man the taylor and his wife were very much frightened on their own account for if the police came to hear of it the worthy couple ran the risk of being thrown into prison for willful murder in order to prevent this dreadful calamity they both set about inventing some plan which would throw suspicion on someone else and at last they made up their minds that they could do no better than select a jewish doctor who lived close by as the author of the crime so the taylor picked up the hunchback by his head while his wife took his feet and carried him to the doctor's house then they knocked at the door which opened straight onto a steep staircase a servant soon appeared feeling her way down the dark staircase and inquired what they wanted tell your master said the taylor that we have brought a very sick man for him to cure and he added holding out some money give him this in advance so that he may not feel he's wasting his time the servant remounted the stairs to give the message to the doctor and the moment she was out of sight the taylor and his wife carried the body swiftly after her propped it up at the top of the staircase and ran home as fast as their legs could carry them now the doctor was so delighted at the news of a patient for he was young and had not many of them that he was transported with joy get a light he called to the servant and follow me as fast as you can and rushing out of his room he ran towards the staircase there he nearly fell over the body of the hunchback and without knowing what it was gave it such a kick that it rolled right to the bottom and very nearly dragged the doctor after it a light a light he cried again and when it was brought and he saw what he had done he was almost beside himself with terror holy moses he exclaimed why did i not wait for the light i have killed the sick man whom they brought with me and if the sacred ass of estress does not come to my aid i am lost will not be long before i'm led to jail as a murderer agitated though he was and with reason the doctor did not forget to shut the house door lest some passers-by might chance to see what had happened he then took up the corpse and carried it into his wife's room nearly driving her crazy with fright it's all over with us she wailed if we could not find some means of getting the body out of the house once let the sun rise and we can hide it no longer how are you driven to commit such a terrible crime never mind that return the doctor the thing is to find a way out of it for a long while the doctor and his wife continued to turn over in their minds a way of escape but could not find any that seemed good enough at last the doctor gave it up all together and resigned himself to bear the penalty of his misfortune but his wife who had twice his brains suddenly exclaimed i have thought of something let us carry the body on the roof of the house and lower it down the chimney of our neighbor the musselman now this musselman was employed by the sultan and furnished his table with oil and butter part of his house was occupied by a great store room where rats and mice held high revel the doctor jumped at his wife's plan and they took up the hunchback and passing cords under his armpits they let him down into the purveyor's bedroom so gently that he really seemed to be leaning against the wall when they felt he was touching the ground they drew up the cords and left him scarcely had they got back to their own house when the purveyor entered his room he had spent the evening at a wedding feast and had a lantern in his hand in the dim light it cast he was astonished to see a man standing in his chimney but being naturally courageous he seized a stick and made straight for the supposed thief ah he cried so it is you and not the rats and mice who steal my butter i'll take care that you don't want to come back so saying he struck him several hard blows the corpse fell on the floor but the man only redoubled his blows till at length it occurred to him it was odd that the thief should lie so still and make no resistance then finding he was quite dead a cold fear took possession of him rich that i am said he i have murdered a man ah my revenge has gone too far without the help of Allah i am undone cursed be the goods which have led me to my ruin and already he felt the rope around his neck but when he had got over the first shock he began to think of some way out of the difficulty and seizing the hunchback in his arms he carried him out into the street and leaning him against the wall of a shop he stole back to his own house without once looking behind him a few minutes before the sun rose a rich christian merchant who supplied the palace with all sorts of necessaries left his house after a night of feasting to go to the bath though he was very drunk he was yet sober enough to know that the dawn was at hand and that all good musselmen would shortly be going to prayer so he hastened his steps lest he should meet someone on his way to the mosque who seeing his condition would send into prison as a drunkard in his haste he jostled against the hunchback who fell heavily upon him and the merchant thinking he was being attacked by a thief knocked him down with one blow of his fist he then called loudly for help beating the fallen man all the while the chief policeman of the quarter came running up and found a christian ill treating a musselman what are you doing he asked indignantly he tried to rob me replied the merchant and very nearly choked me well you have had your revenge said the man catching hold of his arm come be off with you as he spoke he held out his hand to the hunchback to help him up but the hunchback never moved a ho he went on looking closer so this is the way a christian has the impudence to treat a musselman and seizing the merchant in a firm grasp he took him to the inspector of police who threw him into prison till the judge should be out of bed and ready to attend to his case all this brought the merchant to his senses but the more he thought of it the less he could understand how the hunchback could have died merely from the blows he had received the merchant was still pondering on this subject when he was summoned before the chief of police and questioned about his crime which he could not deny as the hunchback was one of the sultan's private jesters the chief of police resolved to defer a sentence of death until he had consulted his master he went to the palace to demand an audience and told his story to the sultan who only answered there is no pardon for a christian who kills a musselman do your duty so the chief of police ordered a gallows to be erected and sent criers to proclaim in every street in the city that a christian was to be hanged that day for having killed a musselman when all was ready the merchant was brought from prison and led to the foot of the gallows the executioner knotted the cord firmly around the unfortunate man's neck and was just about to swing him into the air when the sultan's purveyor dashed through the crowd and cried panting to the hangman stop stop don't be in such a hurry it was not he who did the murder it was I the chief of police who was present to see that everything was in order put several questions to the purveyor who told him the whole story of the death of the hunchback and how he had carried the body to the place where it had been found by the christian merchant you are going he said to the chief of police to kill an innocent man for it is impossible that he should have murdered a creature who was dead already it is bad enough for me to have slain a musselman without having it on my conscience that a christian who is guiltless should suffer through my fault now the purveyor's speech had been made in a loud voice and was heard by all the crowd and even if he had wished it the chief of police could not have escaped setting the merchant free loose the cords from the christian's neck he commanded turning to the executioner and hang this man in his place seeing that by his own confession he is the murderer the hangman did as he was bid and was tying the cord firmly when he was stopped by the voice of the jewish doctor beseeching him to pause for he had something very important to say when he had fought his way through the crowd and reached the chief of police worshipful sir he began this musselman whom you desire to hang is unworthy of death I alone am guilty last night a man and a woman who was strangers to me knocked at my door bringing with them a patient for me to cure the servant opened it but having no light was hardly able to make out their faces though she readily agreed to wake me and to hand me the fee for my services while she was telling me her story they seemed to have carried the sick man to the top of the staircase and then left him there I jumped up in a hurry without waiting for a lantern and in the darkness I fell against something which tumbled headlong down the stairs and never stopped till it reached the bottom when I examined the body I found it was quite dead and the corpse was that of a hunchback musselman terrified at what we had done my wife and I took the body on the roof and let it down the chimney of our neighbor the purveyor whom you were just about to hang the purveyor finding him in his room naturally thought he was a thief and struck him with such a blow that the man fell down and lay motionless on the floor stupid to examine him and finding him stone dead the purveyor supposed that the man had died from the blow he had received but of course this was a mistake as you will see from my account and I only am the murderer and although I am innocent of any wish to commit a crime I must suffer for it all the same or else have the blood of two musselmen on my conscience therefore send away this man I pray you and let me take his place as it is I who am guilty on hearing the declaration of the Jewish doctor the chief of police commanded that he should be led to the gallows and the sultan's purveyor go free the cord was placed round the jew's neck and his feet had already ceased to touch the ground when the voice of the tailor was heard beseeching the executioner to pause one moment and to listen to what he had to say oh my lord he cried turning to the chief of police how nearly have you caused the death of three innocent people but if we will only have the patience to listen to my tale you shall know who is the real culprit if someone has to suffer it must be me yesterday at dusk I was working my shop with a light heart when the little hunchback who was more than half drunk came and sat in the doorway he sang me several songs and then I invited him to finish the evening at my house he accepted my invitation and we went away together at supper I helped him to a slice of fish but in eating it a bone stuck in his throat and in spite of all we could do he died in a few minutes we felt deeply sorry for his death but fearing less we should be held responsible we carried the corpse to the house of the Jewish doctor I knocked and desired the servant to beg her master to come down as fast as possible and see a sick man who we had brought for him to cure in order to hasten his movements I had placed a piece of money in her hand as the doctor's fee directly she had disappeared I dragged the body to the top of stairs and then hurried away with my wife back to our house in descending the stairs the doctor accidentally knocked over the corpse and finding him dead believed that he himself was the murderer but now you know the truth set him free and let me die in his stead the chief of police in the crowd of spectators were lost in astonishment at the strange events to which the death of the hunchback had given rise loosen the Jewish doctor said he to the hangman and string up the tailor instead since he has made confession of his crime really one cannot deny that this is a varied singular story and it deserves to be written in letters of gold the executioner speedily untied the knots which confined the doctor and was passing the cord around the neck of the tailor when the sultan of Kashgar who had missed his jester happened to make inquiry of his officers as to what had become of him sire replied they the hunchback having drunk more than was good for him escaped from the palace and was seen wandering about the town when this morning he was found dead a man was arrested for having caused his death and held in custody till a gallows was erected at the moment that he was about to suffer punishment first one man arrived and then another each accusing themselves of the murder and this went on for a long time and at the present instant the chief of police is engaged in questioning a man who declares that he alone is the true assassin the sultan of Kashgar no sooner heard these words than he ordered an usher to go to the chief of police and to bring all the persons concerned in the hunchback's death together with the corpse that he wished to see once again the usher hastened on his errand but was only just in time for the tailor was positively swinging the air when his voice fell upon the silence of the crowd commanding the hangman to cut down the body the hangman recognizing the usher as one of the king's servants cut down the tailor and the usher seeing the man was safe sought the chief of police and gave him the sultan's message accordingly the chief of police at once set out for the palace taking with him the tailor the doctor the purveyor and the merchant who bore the dead hunchback on their shoulders when the procession reached the palace the chief of police prostrated himself at the feet of the sultan and related all that he knew of the matter the sultan was so much struck by the circumstances that he ordered his private historian to write down an exact account of what had passed so that in the years to come the miraculous escape of the four men who had thought themselves murderers might never be forgotten the sultan asked everybody concerned in the hunchback's affair to tell him their stories among others was a prattling barber whose tale of one of his brothers follows end of chapter 23 recording by linda ferguson chapter 24 of the arabian knights entertainments this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by linda ferguson the arabian knights entertainments by andrew lang chapter 24 the story of the barber's fifth brother as long as our father lived al-nashar was very idle instead of working for his bread he was not ashamed to ask for it every evening and to support himself next day on what he had received the night before when our father died worn out by age he only left 700 silver drachmas to be divided amongst us which made 100 for each son al-nashar who had never possessed so much money in his life was quite puzzled to know what to do with it after reflecting upon the matter for some time he decided to lay it out on glasses bottles and things of that sort which he would buy from a wholesale merchant having bought his stock he next proceeded to look out for a small shop in a good position where he sat down at the open door his wares being piled up in an uncovered basket in front of him waiting for a customer among the passer's buy in this attitude he remained seated his eyes fixed on the basket but his thoughts far away unknown to himself he began to talk out loud and a tailor whose shop was next door to his heard quite plainly what he was saying this basket said al-nashar to himself has cost me a hundred drachmas all that I possess in the world now in selling the contents piece by piece I shall turn 200 and these hundreds I shall again lay out in glass which will produce 400 by this means I shall in course of time make 4000 drachmas which will easily double themselves when I have got 10 000 I will give up the glass trade and become a jeweler and devote all my time to trading in pearls diamonds and other precious stones at last having all the wealth that heart can desire I will buy a beautiful country house with horses and slaves and then I will lead a merry life and entertain my friends at my feasts I will send for musicians and dancers from the neighbouring town to amuse my guests in spite of my riches I shall not however give up trade till I have amassed a capital of a hundred thousand drachmas when having become a man of much consideration I shall request the hand of the grand vizier's daughter taking care to inform the worthy father that I have heard favourable reports of her beauty and wit and that I will pay down on our wedding day 3000 gold pieces should the vizier refuse my proposal which after all is hardly to be expected I will seize him by the beard and drag him to my house when I shall have married his daughter I will give her 10 of the best unix that can be found for her service then I shall put on my most gorgeous robes and mount it on a horse with a saddle of fine gold and its trappings blazing with diamonds followed by a train of slaves I shall present myself at the house of the grand vizier the people casting down their eyes and bowing low as I pass along at the foot of the grand vizier's staircase I shall dismount and while my servants stand in a row to right and left I shall ascend to the stairs at the head of which the grand vizier will be waiting to receive me he will then embrace me as his son-in-law and giving me his seat will place himself below me this being done as I have every reason to expect two of my servants will enter each bearing a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold one of these I shall present to him saying here are the thousand gold pieces that I offered for your daughter's hand and here I shall continue holding out the second purse are another thousand to show you that I am a man who is better than his word after hearing of such generosity the world will talk of nothing else I shall return home with the same pomp as I set out and my wife will send an officer to compliment me on my visit to her father and I shall confer on the officer the honour of a rich dress and a handsome gift should she send one to me I shall refuse it and dismiss the bearer I shall never allow my wife to leave her rooms on any pretext whatever without my permission and my visits to her will be marked by all the ceremony calculated to inspire respect no establishment will be better ordered than mine and I shall take care always to be dressed in a manner suitable to my position in the evening when we retire to our apartments I shall sit in the place of honour where I shall assume a grand demeanor and speak little gazing straight before me and when my wife lovely as the full moon stands humbly in front of my chair I shall pretend not to see her then her women will say to me respected lord and master your wife and slave is before you waiting to be noticed she is mortified that you never deign to look her way she is tired of standing so long beg her we pray you to be seated of course I shall give no signs of even hearing this speech which will vex them mightily they will throw themselves at my feet with lamentations and at length I will raise my head and throw a careless glance at her then I shall go back to my former attitude the women will think that I am displeased at my wife's dress and will lead her away to put on a finer one and I on my side shall replace the one I am wearing with another yet more splendid they will then return to the charge but this time it will take much longer before they persuade me even to look at my wife it is as well to begin on my wedding day as I mean to go on for the rest of our lives the next day she will complain to her mother of the way she has been treated which will fill my heart with joy her mother will come to seek me and kissing my hands with respect will say my lord for she could not dare to risk my anger by using the familiar title of Son-in-law my lord do not I implore you refuse to look upon my daughter or to approach her she only lives to please you and loves you with all her soul but I shall pay no more heed to my mother-in-law's words than I did to those of the women again she will beseech me to listen to her entreaties throwing herself this time at my feet but all to no purpose then putting a glass of wine into my wife's hand she will say to her there present that to him yourself he cannot have the cruelty to reject anything offered by so beautiful a hand and my wife will take it and offer it to me trembling with tears in her eyes but I shall look in the other direction this will cause her to weep still more and she will hold out the glass crying adorable husband never shall I cease my prayers till you have done me the favour to drink sick of her importunities these words will goad me to fury I shall dart and angry look at her and give her a sharp blow on the cheek at the same time giving her a kick so violent that she will stagger across the room and fall on to the sofa my brother pursued the barber was so much absorbed in his dreams that he actually did give a kick with his foot which unluckily hit the basket of glass it fell into the street and was instantly broken into a thousand pieces his neighbour the tailor who had been listening to his visions broke into a loud fit of laughter as he saw this sight wretched man he cried you ought to die of shame at behaving so to a young wife who has done nothing to you you must be a brute for her tears and prayers not to touch your heart if I were the Grand Vizier I would order you a hundred blues from a bullock whip and would have you let round the town accompanied by a herald who should proclaim your crimes the accident so fatal to all his profits had restored my brother to his senses and seeing that the mischief had been caused by his own insufferable pride he rent his clothes and tore his hair and lamented himself so loudly that the passes by stopped to listen it was a Friday so these were more numerous than usual some pity delnisha others only laughed at him but the vanity which had gone to his head had disappeared with his basket of glass and he was loudly bewailing his folly when a lady evidently a person of consideration rode by on a mule she stopped and inquired what was the matter and why the man wept they told her that he was a poor man who had laid out all his money on this basket of glass which was now broken on hearing the cause of these loud whales the lady turned to her attendant and said to him give him whatever you have got with you the man obeyed and placed in my brother's hand a purse containing five hundred pieces of gold alnisha almost died of joy on receiving it he blessed the lady a thousand times and shutting up his shop where he had no longer anything to do he returned home he was still absorbed in contemplating his good fortune when a knock came to his door and on opening it he found an old woman standing outside my son she said I have a favor to ask of you it is the hour of prayer and I have not yet washed myself let me I beg you enter your house and give me water my brother although the old woman was a stranger to him did not hesitate to do as she wished he gave her a vessel of water and then went back to his place and his thoughts and with his mind busy over his last adventure he put his gold into a long and narrow purse which he could easily carry in his belt during this time the old woman was busy over her prayers and when she had finished she came and prostrated herself twice before my brother and then rising called down endless blessings on his head observing her shabby clothes my brother thought that her gratitude was in reality a hint that he should give her some money to buy some new ones so he held out two pieces of gold the old woman started back in surprise as if she had received an insult good heavens she exclaimed what is the meaning of this is it possible that you take me my lord for one of those miserable creatures who force their way into houses to beg for arms take back your money I am thankful to say I do not need it for I belong to a beautiful lady who is very rich and gives me everything I want my brother was not clever enough to detect that the old woman had merely refused the two pieces of money he had offered her in order to get more but he inquired if she could procure him the pleasure of seeing this lady willingly she replied and she will be charmed to marry you and to make you the master of all her wealth so pick up your money and follow me delighted at the thought that he had found so easily both a fortune and a beautiful wife my brother asked no more questions but concealing his purse with the money the lady had given him in the folds of his dress he set out joyfully with his guide they walked for some distance till the old woman stopped at a large house where she knocked the door was opened by a young greek slave and the old woman led my brother across a well paved court into a well furnished hall here she left him to inform her mistress of his presence and as the day was hot he flung himself on a pile of cushions and took off his heavy turban in a few minutes there entered a lady and my brother perceived at the first glance that she was even more beautiful and more richly dressed than he had expected he rose from his seat but the lady signed to him to sit down again and placed herself beside him after the usual compliments had passed between them she said we are not comfortable here let us go into another room and passing into a smaller chamber apparently communicating with no other she continued to talk to him for some time then rising hastily she left him saying stay where you are i will come back in a moment he waited as he was told but instead of the lady there entered a huge black slave with a sword in his hand approaching my brother with an angry countenance he exclaimed what business have you here his voice and manner was so terrific that al-Nashar had not strength to reply and allowed his goal to be taken from him and even saber cuts to be inflicted on him without making any resistance as soon as he was let go he sank on the ground powerless to move though he still had possession of his senses thinking he was dead the black ordered the greek slave to bring him some salt and between them they rubbed it into his wounds thus giving him acute agony though he had the presence of mind to give no sign of life they then left him and their place was taken by the old woman who dragged into a trap door and threw him down into a vault filled with bodies of murdered men at first the violence of his fall caused him to lose consciousness but luckily the salt which had been rubbed into his wounds had by its smarting preserved his life and little by little he regained his strength at the end of two days he lifted the trap door during the night and hid himself in the courtyard till daybreak when he saw the old woman leave the house in search of more pray luckily she did not observe him and when she was out of sight he stole from his nest of assassins and took refuge in my house i dressed his wounds and tended him carefully and when a month had passed he was as well as ever his one thought was how to be revenged on that wicked old hag and for this purpose he had a purse made large enough to contain five hundred gold pieces but filled it instead with bits of glass this he tied round him with his sash and disguising himself as an old woman he took a sabre which he hid under his dress one morning as he was hobbling through the streets he met his old enemy prowling to see if she could find anyone to decoy he went up to her and imitating the voice of a woman he said do you happen to have a pair of scales you could lend me i have just come from Persia and have brought with me five hundred gold pieces and i'm anxious to see if they are the proper weight good woman replied the old hag you could not have asked anyone better my son is a money changer and if you will follow me he will weigh them for you himself only we must be quick or he will have gone to his shop so saying she led the way to the same house as before and the door was opened by the same greek slave again my brother was left in the hall and the pretended son appeared under the form of a black slave miserable crone he said to my brother get up and come with me and turn to lead the way to the place of murder al-Nashar rose too and drawing the sabre from under his dress dealt the black such a blow on his neck that his head was severed from his body my brother picked up the head with one hand and seizing the body with the other dragged it to the vault when he threw it in and sent the head after it the greek slave supposing that all had passed as usual shortly arrived with the basin of salt but when she beheld al-Nashar with the sabre in his hand she let the basin fall and turn to fly my brother however was too quick for her and in another instant her head was rolling from her shoulders the noise brought the old woman running to see what the matter was and he seized her before she had time to escape wretch he cried do you know me who are you my lord she replied trembling all over i have never seen you before i am he whose house you entered to offer your hypocritical prayers don't you remember now she flung herself on her knees to implore mercy but he cut her in four pieces there remained only the lady who was quite ignorant of all that was taking place around her he sought her through the house and when at last he found her she nearly fainted with terror at the sight of him she begged hard for her life which he was generous enough to give her but he bade her to tell him how she had got into partnership with the abominable creatures he had just put to death i was once replied she the wife of an honest merchant and that old woman whose wickedness i did not know used occasionally to visit me madam she said to me one day we have a grand wedding at our house today if you would do us the honor to be present i'm sure you would enjoy yourself i allowed myself to be persuaded put on my riches dress and took a purse with a hundred pieces of gold once inside the doors i was kept by force by that dreadful black and it is now three years that i have been here to my great grief that horrible black must have amassed great wealth remarked my brother such wealth returned she that if you succeed in carrying it all the way it will make you rich forever come and let us see how much there is she led elna shy into a chamber filled with coffers packed with gold which he gazed at with admiration he was powerless to conceal go she said and bring men to carry them away my brother did not wait to be told twice and hurried out into the streets where he soon collected ten men they all came back to the house but what was his surprise to find the door open and the rooms with the chests of gold quite empty the lady had been cleverer than himself and had made the best use of her time however he tried to console himself by removing all the beautiful furniture which more than made up for the 500 gold pieces he had lost unluckily on leaving the house he forgot to lock the door and the neighbors finding the place empty informed the police who next morning arrested elna shy as a thief my brother tried to bribe them to let him off but far from listening to him they tied his hands and forced him to walk between them to the presence of the judge when they had explained to the official the cause of complaint he asked elna shy where he had obtained all the furniture that he had taken to his house the day before sir replied elna shy i'm ready to tell you the whole story but give i pray you your word that i shall run no risk of punishment that i promise said the judge so my brother began at the beginning and related all his adventures and how he had avenged himself on those who had betrayed him as to the furniture he entreated the judge at least to allow him to keep part to make up for the 500 pieces of gold which had been stolen from him the judge however would say nothing about this and lost no time in sending men to fetch away all that elna shy had taken from the house when everything had been moved and placed under his roof he ordered my brother to leave the town and never more to enter it on peril of his life fearing that if he returned he might seek justice from the caliph elna shy obeyed and was on his way to a neighboring city when he fell in with the band of robbers who stripped him of his clothes and left him naked by the roadside hearing of his plight i hurried after him to console him for his misfortunes and to dress him in my best robe i then brought him back disguised under cover of night to my house where i have since given him all the care i bestow on my other brothers end of chapter 24 recording by linda ferguson chapter 25 of the arabian night's entertainments this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by linda ferguson the arabian night's entertainments by andrew lang chapter 25 the story of the barbers sixth brother there now remains for me to relate to you the story of my sixth brother whose name was shackabuck like the rest of us he inherited a hundred silver drachmas from our father which he thought was a large fortune but through ill luck he soon lost it all and was driven to beg as he had a smooth tongue and good manners he really did very well in his new profession and he devoted himself specially to making friends with the servants in big houses so as to gain access to their masters one day he was passing a splendid mansion with a crowd of servants lounging in the courtyard he thought that from the appearance of the house it might yield him a rich harvest so he entered an inquire to whom it belonged my good man where do you come from replied the servant can't you see for yourself that it can belong to nobody but a barnaside for the barnasides were famed for their liberality and generosity my brother hearing this asked the porters of whom there were several if they would give him arms they did not refuse but told him politely to go in and speak to the master himself my brother thanked them for their courtesy and entered the building which was so large that it took him some time to reach the apartments of the barnaside at last in room richly decorated with paintings he saw an old man with a long white beard sitting on a sofa who received him with such kindness that my brother was emboldened to make his petition my lord he said you behold in me a poor man who only lives by the help of persons as rich and as generous as you before he could proceed further he was stopped by the astonishment shown by the barnaside is it possible he cried that while I am in Baghdad a man like you should be starving that is a state of things that must at once be put an end to never shall it be said that I have abandoned you and I am sure that you on your part will never abandon me my lord answered my brother I swear that I have not broken my fast this whole day what you are dying of hunger exclaimed the barnaside here slave bring water that we may wash our hands before meat no slave appeared but my brother remarked that the barnaside did not fail to rub his hands as if water had been poured over them then he said to my brother why don't you wash your hands too and shaka back supposing that it was a joke on the part of the barnaside though he could see none himself drew near and imitated his motion when the barnaside had done rubbing his hands he raised his voice and cried set food before us at once we are very hungry no food was brought but the barnaside pretended to help himself from a dish and carry a morsel to his mouth saying as he did so eat my friend eat I entreat help yourself as freely as if you were at home for a starving man you seem to have a very small appetite excuse me my lord replied shaka back imitating his gestures as before I really am not losing time and I do full justice to the repast how do you like this bread asked barnaside I find it particularly good myself oh my lord answered my brother who beheld neither meat nor bread never have I tasted anything so delicious eat as much as you want said the barnaside I bought the woman who makes it for five hundred pieces of gold so that I might never be without it after ordering a variety of dishes which never came to be placed on the table and discussing the merits of each one the barnaside declared that having dined so well they would now proceed to take their wine to this my brother at first objected declaring that it was forbidden but on the barnaside's insisting that it was out of the question that he should drink by himself he consented to take a little the barnaside however pretended to fill their glasses so often that my brother feigned that the wine had gone into his head and struck the barnaside such a blow on the head that he felt to the ground indeed he raised his hand to strike him a second time when the barnaside cried out that he was mad upon which my brother controlled himself and apologized and protested it that was all the fault of the wine he had drunk at this the barnaside instead of being angry began to laugh and embraced him heartily I have long been seeking he exclaimed a man of your description and henceforth my house shall be yours you have had the good grace to fall in with my humour and to pretend to eat and to drink when nothing was there now you shall be rewarded by a really good supper then he clapped his hands and all the dishes were brought that they had tasted in imagination before and during the repast slaves sang and played on various instruments all the while shaka back was treated by the barnaside as a familiar friend and dressed in the garment out of his own wardrobe twenty years passed by and my brother was still living with the barnaside looking after his house and managing his affairs at the end of that time his generous benefactor died without airs so all his possessions went to the prince they even despoiled my brother of those that rightly belonged to him and he now as poor as he had ever been in his life decided to cast in his lot with the caravan of pilgrims who were on their way to mecca unluckily the caravan was attacked and pillaged by the better ones and the pilgrims were taken prisoners my brother became the slave of a man who beat him daily hoping to drive him to offer a ransom although as shaka back pointed out it was quite useless trouble as his relations were as poor as himself at length the better one grew tired of tormenting and sent him on a camel to the top of a high barren mountain where he left him to take his chance a passing caravan on its way to Baghdan told me where he was to be found and I hurried to his rescue and brought him in a deplorable condition back to the town this continued the barber is the tailor related to Caleb who when I had finished burst into fits of laughter well were you called the silent said he no name was ever better deserved but for reasons of my own which is not necessary to mention I desire you to leave the town and never to come back I had of course no choice but to obey and traveled about for several years until I heard of the death of the caliph when I hastily returned to Baghdad only to find that all my brothers were dead it was at this time that I rendered to the young cripple the important service of which you have heard and for which as you know he showed such profound ingratitude that he preferred rather to leave Baghdad than to run the risk of seeing me I sought him long from place to place but it was only today when I expected at least that I came across him as much irritated with me as ever so saying the tailor went on to relate the story of the lame man and the barber which has already been told when the barber he continued had finished his tale we came to the conclusion that the young man had been right when he had accused him of being a great chatterbox however we wish to keep him with us and share our feast and we remained at table till the hour of the afternoon prayer then the company broke up and I went back to work in my shop it was during this interval that the little hunchback half drunk already presented himself before me singing and playing on his drum I took him home to amuse my wife and she invited him to supper while eating some fish a bone got into his throat and in spite of all we could do he died shortly it was all so sudden that we lost our heads and in order to divert suspicions from ourselves we carried the body to the house of a Jewish physician he placed it in the chamber of the purveyor and the purveyor propped it up in the street where it was thought to have been killed by the merchant this sire is the story which I was obliged to tell to satisfy your highness it is now for you to say if we deserve mercy or punishment life or death the sultan of Kashgar listened with an air of pleasure which filled the tailor and his friends with hope I must confess he exclaimed that I am much more interested in the stories of the barber and his brothers and of the lame man than in that of my own jester but before I allow you all four to return to your own homes and have the corpse of the hunchback properly buried I should like to see this barber who has earned your pardon and as he is in this town letter usher go with you at once in search of him the usher and the tailor soon returned bringing with them an old man who must have been at least 90 years of age oh silent one said the sultan I am told that you know many strange stories will you tell some of them to me never mind my stories for the present replied the barber but will your highness graciously be pleased to explain why this Jew this Christian and this Musselman as well as this dead body are all here what business is that of yours asked the sultan with a smile but seeing that the barber had some reasons for his question he commanded that the tail of the hunchback should be told him it is certainly most surprising cried he when he had heard it all but I should like to examine the body he then knelt down and took the head on his knees looking at it attentively suddenly he burst into such loud laughter that he fell right backwards and when he had recovered himself enough to speak he turned to the sultan the man is no more dead than I am he said watch me as he spoke he drew a small case of medicines from his pocket and rubbed the neck of the hunchback with some ointment made of balsam next he opened the dead man's mouth and by the help of a pair of pincers drew the bone from his throat at this the hunchback sneezed stretched himself and opened his eyes the sultan and all those who saw this operation did not know which to admire most the constitution of the hunchback who had apparently been dead for a whole night and most of one day or the skill of the barber whom everyone now began to look upon as a great man his highness designed that the history of the hunchback should be written down and placed in the archives beside that of the barber so that they might be associated in people's mind the end of time and he did not stop there for an order to wipe out the memory of what they had undergone he commanded that the tailor the doctor the purveyor and the merchant should each be clothed in his presence with a robe from his own wardrobe before they returned home as for the barber he bestowed on him a large pension and kept him near his own person end of chapter 25 recording by linda ferguson chapter 26 of the arabian knight's entertainments this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org recording by angelica gabriella wilson the arabian knight's entertainments by andrew lang chapter 26 the adventures of prince kameralzaman and the princess badura some 20 days sail from the coast of persia lies the isle of the children of caledon the island is divided into several provinces in each of which are large flourishing towns and the whole forms an important kingdom it was governed in former days by a king named shah saman who with good right considered himself one of the most powerful prosperous and fortunate monarchs on earth in fact he had but one grievance which was that none of his four wives had given him an heir this distressed him so greatly that one day he confided his grief to the grand vizier who being a wise counselor said such matters are indeed beyond human aid Allah alone can grant your desire and i should advise you sire to send large gifts to those holy men who spend their lives in prayer and to beg for their intercessions who knows whether their petitions may not be answered the king took his viziers advice and the result of so many prayers for an heir to the throne was that a son was born to him the following year shah saman sent noble gifts as thank offerings to all the mosques and religious houses and great rejoicings were celebrated in honor of the birth of the little prince who was so beautiful that he was named kamar alzaman or moon of the century prince kamar alzaman was brought up with extreme care by an excellent governor and all the cleverest teachers and he did such credit to them that when he was grown up a more charming and accomplished young man was not to be found whilst he was still a youth the king his father who loved him dearly had some thoughts of abdicating in his favor as usual he talked over his plans with his grand vizier who though he did not approve the idea would not state all his objections sire replied he the prince is still very young for the cares of state your majesty fears he's growing idle and careless and doubtless you are right but how would it be if he refers to marry this would attach him to his home and your majesty might give him a share in your councils so that he might gradually learn how to wear a crown which you can give up to him whenever you find him capable of wearing it the viziers advice once more struck the king as being good and he sent for his son lost no time in obeying the summons and standing respectfully with downcast eyes before the king asked for his commands i have sent for you said the king just say that i wish you to marry what do you think about it the prince was so much overcome by these words that he remained silent for some time at length he said sire i beg you to pardon me if i am unable to reply as you might wish i certainly did not expect such a proposal as i am still so young and i confess that the idea of marrying is very distasteful to me possibly i may not always be in this mind but i certainly feel that it will require some time to induce me to take the step which your majesty desires this answer greatly distressed the king who was sincerely grieved by his objection to marriage however he would not have recourse to extreme measures so he said i do not wish to force you i will give you time to reflect but remember that such a step is necessary for a prince such as you who will someday be called to rule over a great kingdom from this time prince kamarazaman was admitted to the royal council and the king showed him every mark of favor at the end of a year the king took his son aside and said well my son have you changed your mind on the subject of marriage or do you still refuse to obey my wish prince was less surprised but no less firm than on the former occasion and begged his father not to press the subject adding that it was quite useless to urge him any longer this answer much distressed the king who again confided his trouble to the vizier i have followed your advice he said but kamarazaman declines to marry and is more obstinate than ever sire replied the vizier much is gained by patience and your majesty might regret any violence why not wait another year and then inform the prince in the midst of the assembled council that the good of the state demands his marriage he cannot possibly refuse again before so distinguished an assemblage and in our immediate presence the sultan ardently desired to see his son married at once but he yielded to the vizier's arguments and decided to wait he then visited the prince's mother and after telling her of his disappointment and of the further respite he had given his son he added i know that kamarazaman confides more in you than he does in me pray speak very seriously to him on this subject and make him realize that he will most seriously displease me if he remains obstinate and that he will certainly regret the measures i shall be obliged to take to enforce my will so the first time the sultan of atama saw her son she told him she heard of his refusal to marry adding how distressed she felt that he should have vexed his father so much she asked what reasons he could have for his objections to obey madame replied the prince i make no doubt that there are as many good virtuous sweet and amiable women as there are others very much the reverse would that all were like you but what revolts me is the idea of marrying a woman without knowing anything at all about her my father will ask the hand of the daughter of some neighboring sovereign who will give his consent to our union be she fair or frightful clever or stupid good or bad i must marry her and i'm left no choice in the matter how am i to know that she will not be proud passionate contemptuous and recklessly extravagant or that her disposition will in any way suit mine but my son urged vatima you surely do not wish to be the last of a race which has rained so long and so gloriously over this kingdom madame said the prince i have no wish to survive the king my father but should i do so i will try to reign in such a manner as to be considered worthy of my predecessors these and similar conversations proved to the sultan how useless it was to urge with his son and the year he lapsed without bringing any change in the prince's ideas at length the day came when the sultan summoned him before the council and there informed him that not only his own wishes but the good of the empire demanded his marriage and desired him to give his answer before the assembled ministers at this kamarazaman grew so angry and spoke with such heat that the king naturally irritated at being opposed by his son in full council ordered the prince to be arrested and locked up in an old tower where he had nothing but very little furniture a few books and a single slave to wait on him kamarazaman pleased to be free to enjoy his books showed himself very indifferent to his sentence when night came he washed himself performed his devotions and having read some pages of the Quran lay down on a couch without putting out the light near him and was soon asleep now there was a deep well in the tower in which prince kamarazaman was imprisoned and this well was a favorite resort of the fairy mi amun daughter of damryat chief of a legion of jini toward midnight mi amun floated lightly up from the well intending according to her usual habit to roam about the upper world as curiosity or accident might prompt the light in the prince's room surprised her and without disturbing a slave who slept across the threshold she entered the room and approaching the bed was still more astonished to find it occupied the prince lay with his face half hidden by the coverlet mi amun lifted it a little and beheld the most beautiful youth she had ever seen what a marvel of beauty he must be when his eyes are open she thought what can he have done to deserve to be treated like this she could not weary gazing at kamarazaman but at length having softly kissed his brow and each cheek she replaced the coverlet and resumed her flight through the air as she entered the middle region she heard the sound of great wings coming toward her and shortly met one of the race of bad jini this jini whose name was dan hash recognized mi amun with terror for he knew the supremacy which her goddess gave over him he would gladly have avoided her altogether but they were so near that he must either be prepared to fight or yield to her so he had once addressed her in a conciliatory tone good mi amun swear to me by Allah to do me no harm and on my side i will promise not to injure you a cursed jini replied mi amun what harm can you do me but i will grant your power and give you the promise you ask and now tell me what you have seen and done tonight fair lady said dan hash you meet me at the right moment to hear something really interesting i must tell you that i come from the furthest end of china which is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms in the world the present king has one only daughter who is so perfectly lovely that neither you nor i nor any other creature could find adequate terms in which to describe her marvellous charms you must therefore picture to yourself the most perfect features joined to a brilliant and delicate complexion and an enchanting expression and even then imagination will fall short of the reality the king her father has carefully shielded this treasure from the vulgar gaze and has taken every precaution to keep her from the sight of everyone except the happy mortal he may choose to be her husband but in order to give her variety in her confinement he has built her seven palaces such as never been seen before the first palace is entirely composed of rock crystal the second of bronze the third of fine steel the fourth of another more precious species of bronze the fifth of touchstone and the sixth of silver and the seventh of solid gold they are all most sumptuously furnished whilst the gardens surrounding them are laid out with exquisite taste in fact neither trouble nor cost has been spared to make this retreat agreeable to the princess the report of her wonderful beauty has spread far and wide and many powerful kings have sent embassies to ask her hand in marriage the king has always received these embassies graciously but says that he will never oblige the princess to marry against her will and she regularly declines each fresh proposal the envoys have had to leave as disappointed in the result of their missions as they were gratified in their magnificent receptions sire said the princess to her father you wish me to marry and i know your desire to please me for which i am very grateful but indeed i have no inclination to change my state or where could i find so happy a life amid so many beautiful and delightful surroundings i feel that it could never be as happy with any husband as i am here and i beg you not to press one on me at last an embassy came from a king so rich and powerful that the king of china felt constrained to urge this suit on his daughter he told her how important such an alliance would be and pressed her to consent in fact he pressed her so persistingly that the princess at length lost her temper and quite forgot the respect due to her father sire cried she angrily do not speak further of this or any other marriage or i will plant this dagger into my breast and so escape from all these impunities the king of china was extremely indignant with his daughter and replied you have lost your senses and must be treated accordingly so he had her shot in one set of rooms in one of her palaces and only allowed her 10 old women of whom her nurse was the head to wait on her and keep her company he next sent letters to all the kings who had sued for the princess's hand begging they would think of her no longer as she was quite insane and he desired his various envoys to make it known that anyone who could cure her should have her to wife yeah mi amoon continued dan hash this is the present state of affairs i never pass a day without going to gaze on this incomparable beauty and i am sure that if you would only accompany me you would think the sight well worth the trouble and own that you never saw such loveliness before fairy only answered with a peel of laughter and when at length she had control of her voice she cried oh come you are making game of me and i thought you had something really interesting to tell me instead of raving about some unknown damsel what would you say if you could see the prince that i have just been looking at and whose beauty is really transcendent that is something worth talking about you would certainly quite lose your head charming mi amoon asked dan hash may i inquire who and what is the prince of whom you speak no replied mi amoon that he is in much the same case as your princess the king his father wanted to force him to marry and on the princess refusal to obey he has been imprisoned in an old tower where i have just seen him i don't like to contradict a lady said dan hash but you must really permit me to doubt any mortal being as beautiful as my princess hold your tongue cried mi amoon i repeat that is impossible well i do not wish to seem obstinate replied dan hash the best plan to test the truth of what i say will be for you to let me take you to see the princess for yourself there is no need for that reported mi amoon we can satisfy ourselves in another way bring your princess here and lay her down beside my prince we can then compare them at leisure and decide which is in the right dan hash readily consented and after having the tower where the prince was confined pointed out to him and making a wager with mi amoon as to the result of the comparison he flew off to china to fetch the princess in an incredibly short time dan hash returned bearing the sleeping princess mi amoon led him to the princess room and the rival beauty was placed beside him when the prince and the princess lay thus side by side an animated dispute as to their respective charms arose between the fairy and the genius dan hash began by saying now you see that my princess is more beautiful than your prince can you doubt any longer doubt of course i do exclaimed mi amoon why you must be blind not to see that my prince excels your princess i do not deny that your princess is very handsome but only look and you must own that i am in the right there is no need for me to look any longer said dan hash my first impression will remain the same but of course charming mi amoon i am ready to yield to you if you insist on it by no means replied mi amoon i have no idea of being under any obligation to an accursed genius like you i refer the manner to an umpire and shall expect you to submit to his verdict dan hash readily agreed and on mi amoon striking the floor with her foot it opened and a hideous humpbacked lame squinting genius with six horns on his head hands like claws emerged as soon as he beheld mi amoon he threw himself at her feet and asked her commands rise cash cash said she i summoned you to judge between mi and dan hash glance at that couch and say without any partiality whether you think the youth or the maiden lying there is more beautiful cash cash looked at the prince in princess with every token of surprise and admiration at length having gazed along without being able to come to a decision he said madam i must confess that i should deceive you were i to declare one to be the handsomer than the other there seems to me only one way with which to decide the matter and that is to wake one after the other and judge which of them expresses the greater admiration for the other his advice pleased mi amoon and dan hash and the fairy at once transformed herself into the shape of a nat and settling on camerels amon's throat stung him so sharply that he woke and as he did his eyes fell on the princess of china surprised at finding a lady so near him he raised himself on one arm to look at her the youth and beauty of the princess at once awoke a feeling to which his heart has yet been a stranger and he could not restrain his delight what loveliness what charms my heart my soul he exclaimed as he kissed her forehead her eyes and mouth in a way which would certainly have roused her had not the genies enchantments kept her asleep how fair lady cried you do not wake at the signs of camerels amon's love be you who you may he is not unworthy of you it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps this was the bride his father had destined for him and that the king had probably had her placed in this room in order to see how far camerels amon's aversion to marriage would withstand her charms at all events he thought i will take this ring as remembrance of her so saying he drew off a fine ring which the princess wore on her finger and replaced it by one of his own after which he lay down again and was soon fast asleep then dan hash in his turn took the form of a nat and bit the princess on her lip she started up and was not a little amazed to see a young man beside her from surprise she soon passed to admiration and then to delight on perceiving how handsome and fascinating he was why cried she was it you my father wished me to marry how unlucky that i did not know sooner i should not have made him so angry but wake up wake up for i know i shall love you with all my heart so saying she shook camerels amon so violently that nothing but the spells of mia moon could have prevented his waking oh why are you so drowsy so saying she took his hand and noticed her own ring on his finger which made her wonder still more but as still he remained in a profound slumber she pressed a kiss on his cheek and soon fell fast asleep too then mia moon turning to the genie said well are you satisfied that my prince surpasses your princess another time pray believe me when i assured anything then turning to cash cash my thanks to you and now do you and then hash bear the princess back to her own home the two genie hasten to obey and mia moon returned to her well on waking next morning the first thing prince camerels amon did was to look around for the lovely lady he had seen at night and next to question the slave who waited on him about her but the slave persisted so strongly that he knew nothing of any lady and still less of how she got into the tower that the prince lost all patience and after giving him a good beating tied a rope around him and ducked him in the well till the unfortunate man cried out that he would tell everything then the prince drew him up all dripping wet but the slave begged to change his clothes first and as soon as the prince consented hurried off just as he was to the palace here he found the king talking to the ground of a zero of all the anxiety his son had caused him the slave was admitted at once and cried alas sire i bring sad news to your majesty there can be no doubt that the prince has completely lost his senses he declares that he saw a lady sleeping on his couch last night and the state you see me improves how violent contradiction makes him then he gave a minute account of all the prince had said and done the king much moved begged the vizier to examine into this new misfortune and the latter at once went to the tower where he found the prince quietly reading a book after the first exchange of greetings the vizier said i feel very angry with your slave for alarming his majesty about the news he brought him what news asked the prince ah replied the vizier something very absurd i feel sure seeing how i find you most likely said the prince but now that you are here i am glad of the opportunity to ask you where is the lady who slept in this room last night the grand vizier felt beside himself at this question prince he explained how would it be possible for any man much less a woman to enter this room at night without walking over your slave on the threshold pray consider the matter and you will realize that you have been deeply impressed by some dream but the prince angrily insisted on knowing who and where the lady was and was not to be persuaded by all the viziers protestations to the contrary that the plot had not been one of his making at last losing patience he sees the vizier by the beard and loaded him with blows stop prince cried the unhappy vizier stay and hear what i have to say but the prince whose arm was getting tired paused i confess prince said the vizier that there is some foundation for what you say but you well know that a minister has to carry out his master's orders allow me to go and take the king any message you may choose to send very well said the prince and go and tell him that i can send to marry the lady whom he sent me or brought here last night be quick and bring me back his answer the vizier bowed to the ground and hastened to leave the room well asked the king as soon as he appeared and how did you find my son alas sire was the reply the slave's report is only too true then he gave an excellent account of his interview with kama alzaman and of the prince's fury when he told him that it was not possible for any lady to have entered his room and of the treatment he himself had received the king much distressed determined to clear up the matter himself and ordering the vizier to follow him set out to visit his son the prince received his father with profound respect and the king making him sit beside him asked him several questions to which kama alzaman replied with much good sense at last the king said my son pray tell me about the lady who it is said was in your room last night sire replied the prince pray do not increase my distress in this matter but rather make me happy by giving her to me in marriage however much i may have objected to matrimony formally the sight of this lovely girl has overcome all my prejudices and i will gratefully receive her from your hands the king was almost speechless on hearing his son but after a time assured him most solemnly that he knew nothing whatever about the lady in question and had not connived at her appearance he then desired the prince to relate the whole story to him kama alzaman did so at great length showed the ring and implored his father to help him find the bride so ardently desired after all you tell me remarked the king i can no longer doubt your word but how and whence the lady came or why she should have stayed such a short time i cannot imagine the whole affair is indeed mysterious come my dear son let us wait together for happier days so saying the king took kama alzaman by the hand and led him back to the palace where the prince took his bed and gave himself up to despair and the king shutting himself up with his son entirely neglected the affairs of state the prime minister who was the only person admitted felt at his duty at last to tell the king how much the court and all the people complained of his seclusion and how bad it was for the nation he urged the sultan to remove the prince to a lovely little island close by once he could easily attend public audiences and where the charming scenery and fine air would do the invalid so much good as to enable him to bear his father's occasional absence the king approved the plan and as soon as the castle on the island could be prepared for their reception he and the prince arrived there shahzaman never leaving his son except for the prescribed public audiences twice a week end of chapter 26 recording by angelica gabriella wilson osaka japan