- 6 months ago
Chapter 4 of The Thousand and One Nights
The Second Shaykh’s Story
The Third Shaykh’s Story
The Fisherman and the Jinni
The Second Shaykh’s Story
The Third Shaykh’s Story
The Fisherman and the Jinni
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00chapter four the second sheikh story the third sheikh story the fisherman and the jinni
00:11the second sheikh story
00:14know o lord of the kings of the jan that these two dogs are my brothers and i am the third now when our father died and left us a capital of three thousand gold pieces i opened a shop with my share
00:30and bought and sold therein and in like guise did my two brothers each setting up a shop but i had been in business no long while before the elder sold his stock for a thousand dinars and after buying outfit and merchandise went his ways to foreign parts
00:47he was absent one whole year with the caravan but one day as i sat in my shop behold a beggar stood before me asking alms and i said to him allah open thee another door whereupon he answered weeping the while am i so changed that thou knowest me not
01:06then i looked at him narrowly and lo it was my brother so i rose to him and welcomed him then i seated him in my shop and put questions concerning his case ask me not answered he my wealth is a waste and my state hath waxed unstated
01:24so i took him to the hammam bath and clad him in a suit of my own and gave him lodging in my house moreover after looking over the accounts of my stock in trade and the profits of my business i found that industry had gained me one thousand dinars
01:42while my principal the head of my wealth amounted to two thousand so i shared the whole with him saying assume that thou hast made no journey abroad but hast remained at home and be not cast down by thine ill-luck
01:58he took the share in great glee and opened for himself a shop and matters went on quietly for a few nights and days but presently my second brother yon other dog also setting his heart upon travel sold off what goods and stock in trade he had
02:15and albeit we tried to stay him he would not be stayed he laid in an outfit for the journey and fared forth with certain wayfarers
02:25after an absence of a whole year he came back to me even as my elder brother had come back and when i said to him o my brother did i not dissuade thee from travel he shed tears and cried o my brother this be destiny's decree here i am a mere beggar penniless and without a shirt to my back
02:45so i led him to the bath o jinni and clothing him in new clothes of my own ware i went with him to my shop and served him with meat and drink
02:55furthermore i said to him o my brother i am wont to cast up my shop accounts at the head of every year and whatso i shall find of surplisage is between me and thee
03:07so i proceeded o ifrit to strike a balance and finding two thousand dinars of profit i returned praises to the creator be he extolled and exalted and made over one half to my brother keeping the other to myself
03:24thereupon he busied himself with opening a shop and on this wise we abode many days after a time my brothers began pressing me to travel with them but i refused saying what gained ye by travel voyage that i should gain thereby
03:42as i would not give ear to them we went back each to his own shop where we bought and sold as before they kept urging me to travel for a whole twelvemonth but i refused to do so till full six years were passed and gone
03:57when i consented with these words o my brothers here am i your companion of travel now let me see what moneys you have by you
04:06i found however that they had not a doit having squandered their substance in high diet and drinking and carnal delights yet i spoke not a word of reproach so far from it i looked over my shop accounts once more and sold what goods and stock in trade were mine
04:26and finding myself the owner of six thousand ducats i gladly proceeded to divide that sum in halves saying to my brothers these three thousand gold pieces are for me and for you to trade withal
04:40adding let us bury the other moiety underground that it may be of service in case any harm befall us in which case each shall take a thousand wherewith to open shops
04:51both replied right is thy wrecking and i gave to each one his thousand gold pieces keeping the same sum for myself to wit a thousand dinars
05:03we then got ready suitable goods and hired a ship and having embarked our merchandise proceeded on our voyage day following day a full month after which we arrived at a city where we sold our venture and for every piece of gold we gained ten
05:21and as we turned again to our voyage we found on the shore of the sea a maiden clad in worn and ragged gear and she kissed my hand and said o master is there kindness
05:32in thee and charity i can make thee a fitting return for them i answered even so truly in me are benevolence and good works even though thou render me no return
05:43then she said take me to wife o my master and carry me to thy city for i have given myself to thee so do me a kindness and i am of those who be meet for good works and charity
05:56i will make thee a fitting return for these and be thou not shamed by my condition
06:02when i heard her words my heart yearned towards her in such sort as willed it allah be he extolled and exalted
06:11and took her and clothed her and made ready for her a fair resting place in the vessel and honorably entreated her
06:19so we voyaged on and my heart became attached to her with exceeding attachment and i was separated from her neither night nor day and i paid more regard to her than to my brothers
06:33then they were estranged from me and waxed jealous of my wealth and the quantity of merchandise i had and their eyes were opened covetously upon all my property
06:44so they took counsel to murder me and seized my wealth saying let us slay our brother and all his monies will be ours
06:52and satan made this deed seem fair in their sight so when they found me in privacy and i sleeping by my wife's side they took us both up and cast us into the sea
07:04my wife awoke startled from her sleep and forthright becoming an efrita she bore me up and carried me to an island and disappeared for a short time but she returned in the morning and said
07:16here am i thy faithful slave who hath made thee due recompense for i bore thee up in the waters and saved thee from death by command of the almighty know that i am a jinnia
07:29and as i saw thee my heart loved thee by will of the lord for i am a believer in allah and in his apostle whom heaven bless and preserve
07:38thereupon i came to thee conditioned as thou sowest me and thou didst marry me and see now i have saved thee from sinking but i am angered against thy brothers and assuredly i must slay them
07:52when i heard her story i was surprised and thanking her for all she had done i said but as to slaying my brothers this must not be
08:01then i told her the tale of what had come to pass with them from the beginning of our lives to the end and on hearing it quoth she this night will i fly as a bird over them and will sink their ship and slay them
08:15quoth i allah upon thee do not thus for the proverb saith o thou who doest good to him that doth evil leave the evil-doer to his evil deeds moreover they are still my brothers
08:30but she rejoined by allah there is no help for it but i slay them i humbled myself before her for their pardon whereupon she bore me up and flew away with me till at last she set me down on the terrace roof of my own house
08:46i opened the doors and took up what i had hidden in the ground and after i had saluted the folk i opened my shop and bought me merchandise now when night came on i went home and there i saw these two hounds tied up
09:01and when they sighted me they arose and whined and fawned upon me but ere i knew what happened my wife said these two dogs be thy brothers
09:12i answered and who hath done this thing by them and she rejoined i sent a message to my sister and she entreated them on this wise nor shall these two be released from their present shape till ten years shall have passed
09:27and now i have arrived at this place on my way to my wife's sister that she may deliver them from this condition after their having endured it for half a score of years
09:38as i was wending onwards i saw this young man who acquainted me with what had befallen him and i determined not to fare hence until i should see what might occur between thee and him such is my tale
09:52then said the jinni surely this is a strange story and therefore i give thee the third portion of his blood and his crime
10:01thereupon quoth the third sheikh the master of the mere mule to the jinni i can tell thee a tale more wondrous than these two so thou grant me the remainder of his blood and his offence
10:13and the jinni answered so be it then the old man began the third sheikh's story
10:21know o sultan and head of the jan that this mule was my wife now it so happened that i went forth and was absent one whole year and when i returned from my journey i came to her by night
10:35and saw a black slave lying with her on the carpet bed and they were talking and dallying and laughing and kissing and playing the close buttock game
10:45when she saw me she rose and came hurriedly at me with a gugglet of water and muttering spells over it she besprinkled me and said come forth from this thy shape into the shape of a dog
10:57and i became on the instant a dog she drove me out of the house and i ran through the doorway nor ceased running until i came to a butcher's stall where i stopped and began to eat what bones were there
11:10when the stall owner saw me he took me and led me into his house but as soon as his daughter had sight of me she veiled her face from me crying out dost thou bring men to me and dost thou come in with them to me
11:23her father asked where is the man and she answered this dog is a man whom his wife hath ensorcelled and i am able to release him
11:34when her father heard her words he said allah upon thee o my daughter release him so she took a gugglet of water and after uttering words over it sprinkled upon me a few drops saying come forth from that form into thy former form
11:50and i returned to my natural shape then i kissed her hand and said i wish thou wouldst transform my wife even as she transformed me
12:01thereupon she gave me some water saying as soon as thou see her asleep sprinkle this liquid upon her and speak what words thou heardest me utter so shall she become whatsoever thou desirest
12:15i went to my wife and found her fast asleep and while sprinkling the water upon her i said come forth from that form into the form of a mere mule
12:26so she became on the instant a she mule and she it is whom thou seest with thine eyes o sultan and head of the kings of the jan then the jinni turned towards her and said is this sooth and she nodded her head and replied by signs
12:45indeed tis the truth for such is my tale and this is what hath befallen me
12:52now when the old man had ceased speaking the jinni shook with pleasure and gave him the third of the merchant's blood and shahrazad perceived the dawn of the day and ceased saying her permitted say
13:04then quoth dunyazad o my sister how pleasant is thy tale and how tasteful how sweet and how grateful she replied and what is this compared with that i could tell thee the night to come if i live and the king spare me
13:21then thought the king by allah i will not slay her until i hear the rest of her tale for truly it is wondrous so they rested that night in mutual embrace until the dawn
13:34after this the king went forth to his hall of estate and the wazir and the troops came in and the court was crowded and the king gave orders and judged and appointed and deposed bidding and forbidding during the rest of the day
13:50then the divan broke up and king shahriar entered his palace when it was the third night and the king had had his will of the wazir's daughter dunyazad her sister said to her finish for us that tale of thine and she replied with joy and goodly
14:10it hath reached me o auspicious king that when the third old man told a tale to the jinni more wondrous than the two preceding the jinni marvelled with exceeding marvel
14:22and shaking with delight cried lo i have given thee the remainder of the merchant's punishment and for thy sake have i released him thereupon the merchant embraced the old men and thanked them and these sheiks wished him joy on being saved and fared forth each one for his own city
14:41yet this tale is not more wondrous than the fisherman's story asked the king what is the fisherman's story and she answered by relating the tale of the fisherman and the jinni
14:55it hath reached me o auspicious king that there was a fisherman well stricken in years who had a wife and three children and withal was of poor condition
15:06now it was his custom to cast his net every day four times and no more on a day he went forth about noontide to the seashore where he laid down his basket and tucking up his shirt and plunging into the water made a cast with his net and waited till it settled to the bottom
15:25then he gathered the cords together and haled away at it but found it weighty and however much he drew it landwards he could not pull it up so he carried the ends ashore and drove a stake into the ground and made the net fast to it
15:40then he stripped and dived into the water all about the net and left not off working hard until he had brought it up he rejoiced thereat and donning his clothes went to the net where he found in it a dead jackass which had torn the meshes
15:57now when he saw it he exclaimed in his grief there is no majesty and there is no might save in allah the glorious the great then quoth he this is a strange manner of daily bread and he began reciting in extempore verse
16:14o toiler through the glooms of night in peril and in pain thy toiling stint for daily bread comes not by might and main
16:24seest thou not the fisher seek afloat upon the sea his bread while glimmer stars of night as set in tangled skein anon he plungeth in despite the buffet of the waves the while to sight the bellying net his eager glances strain
16:44till joying at the night's success a fish he bringeth home whose gullet by the hook of fate was caught and cut in twain when buys that fish of him a man who spent the hours of night reckless of cold and wet and gloom in ease and comfort fain
17:03lord to the lord who gives to this to that denies his wishes and dooms one toil and catch the prey and other eat the fishes
17:15then quoth he up and to it i am sure of his beneficence inshallah so he continued when thou art seized of evil fate assume the noble soul's long suffering tis thy best
17:31complain not to the creature this be plaint from one most ruthless to the ruthlessest the fisherman when he had looked at the dead ass got it free of the toils and rung out and spread his net
17:46then he plunged into the sea saying in allah's name and made a cast and pulled at it but it grew heavy and settled down more firmly than the first time
17:58now he thought that there were fish in it and he made it fast and doffing his clothes went into the water and dived and hailed until he drew it up upon dry land
18:09then found he in it a large earthen pitcher which was full of sand and mud and seeing this he was greatly troubled and began repeating these verses
18:21forbear oh troubles of the world and pardon and ye nil forbear i went to seek my daily bread i find that breadless i must fare
18:32for neither handcraft brings me aught nor fate allots to me a share how many fools the pleiads reach while darkness whelms the wise and wear
18:45so he prayed pardon of allah and throwing away the jar wrung his net and cleansed it and returned to the sea the third time to cast his net and waited till it had sunk then he pulled at it and found therein potsherds and broken glass whereupon he began to speak these verses
19:04he is to thee that daily bread thou canst nor loose nor bind nor pen nor writ avail thee aught thy daily bread to find for joy and daily bread are what fate deigneth to allow this soil is sad and sterile ground while that makes glad the hind
19:24the shafts of time and life bear down full many a man of worth while bearing up to high degree whites of ignoble mind so come thou death for verily life is not worth a straw when lo the falcon falls withal the mallard wings the wind
19:44no wonder tis thou seest how the great of soul and mind a poor and many a loser karl to height of luck designed this bird shall overfly the world from east to furthest west and that shall win her every wish though ne'er she leave the nest
20:04then raising his eyes heavenwards he said o my god verily thou wottest that i cast not my net each day save four times
20:14the third is done and as yet thou hast vouchsafed me nothing so this time o my god deign give me my daily bread
20:23then having called on allah's name he again threw his net and waited its sinking and settling whereupon he hailed at it but could not draw it in for that it was entangled at the bottom
20:35he cried out in his vexation there is no majesty and there is no might save in allah and he began reciting fie on this wretched world and so it be i must be whelmed by grief and misery
20:51though gladsome be man's lot when dawns the morn he drains the cup of woe ere eve he see yet was i one of whom the world when asked whose lot is happiest oft would say tis he
21:08thereupon he stripped and diving down to the net busied himself with it till it came to land then he opened the meshes and found therein a cucumber shaped jar of yellow copper
21:20evidently full of something whose mouth was made fast with a leaden cap stamped with the seal ring of our lord suleiman son of david allah except the twain seeing this the fisherman rejoiced and said if i sell it in the brass bazaar it is worth ten golden dinars
21:40he shook it and finding it heavy continued would to heaven i knew what is herein but i must and will open it and look to its contents and store it in my bag and sell it in the brass market
21:52and taking out a knife he worked at the lead till he had loosened it from the jar then he laid the cup on the ground and shook the vase to pour out whatever might be inside
22:03he found nothing in it whereat he marvelled with an exceeding marvel but presently there came forth from the jar a smoke which spired heavenwards into ether whereat he again marvelled with mighty marvel
22:17and which trailed along earth's surface till presently having reached its full height the thick vapour condensed and became an efreet huge of bulk whose crest touched the clouds while his feet were on the ground
22:32his head was as a dome his hands like pitchforks his legs long as masts and his mouth big as a cave his teeth were like large stones his nostrils ewers his eyes two lamps and his look was fierce and lowering
22:50now when the fisherman saw the efreet his side muscles quivered his teeth chattered his spittle dried up and he became blind about what to do upon this the efreet looked at him and cried there is no god but the god and sulayman is the prophet of god
23:08presently adding o apostle of allah slay me not never again will i gainsay thee in word nor sin against thee in deed quoth the fisherman o marid didst thou say sulayman the apostle of allah
23:22and sulayman is dead some thousand and eight hundred years ago and we are now in the last days of the world what is thy story and what is thy account of thyself and what is the cause of thy entering into this cucurbit
23:37when the evil spirit heard the words of the fisherman quoth he there is no god but the god be of good cheer o fisherman quoth the fisherman why biddest thou me to be of good cheer and he replied because of thy having to die an ill death in this very hour
23:55said the fisherman thou deservest for thy good tidings the withdrawal of heaven's protection o thou distant one wherefore shouldst thou kill me and what thing have i done to deserve death i who freed thee from the jar and saved thee from the depths of the sea and brought thee up on the dry land
24:14replied the efreet ask me only what mode of death thou wilt die and by what manner of slaughter shall i slay thee
24:23rejoined the fisherman what is my crime and wherefore such retribution quoth the efreet hear my story o fisherman and he answered say on and be brief in thy saying for of very sooth my life-breath is in my nostrils
24:39thereupon quoth the jinni know that i am one among the heretical jan and i sinned against sulayman david's son on the twain be peace
24:49i together with the famous sahra al jinni whereupon the prophet sent his minister asav son of bahiyyah to seize me and this wazir brought me against my will and led me in bonds to him i being downcast despite my nose
25:07and he placed me standing before him like a suppliant when sulayman saw me he took refuge with allah and bade me embrace the true faith and obey his behests
25:19but i refused so sending for this cucurbit he shut me up therein and stopped it over with lead whereon he impressed the most high name and gave his orders to the jan who carried me off and cast me into the midmost of the ocean
25:36there i abode an hundred years during which i said in my heart whoso shall release me him will i enrich for ever and ever but the full century went by and when no one set me free i entered upon the second five score saying
25:53whoso shall release me for him i will open the hordes of the earth still no one set me free and thus four hundred years passed away
26:03then quoth i whoso shall release me for him will i fulfil three wishes yet no one set me free thereupon i waxed wroth with exceeding wroth and said to myself whoso shall release me from this time forth him will i slay
26:21and i will give him choice of what death he will die and now as thou hast released me i give thee full choice of deaths the fisherman hearing the words of the ifrit said
26:33o allah the wonder of it that i have not come to free thee save in these days adding spare my life so allah spare thine and slay me not lest allah set one to slay thee
26:46replied the contumacious one there is no help for it die thou must so ask me by way of boon what manner of death thou wilt die
26:56albeit thus certified the fisherman again addressed the ifrit saying forgive me this my death as a generous reward for having freed thee and the ifrit
27:07surely i would not slay thee save on account of that same release o chief of the ifrits said the fisherman i do thee good and thou requitest me with evil in very sooth the old sore lieth not when it saith
27:21we wrought them weel they met our weel with ill such by my life is every bad man's labour to him who benefits unworthy whites shall hap what hapt to umi amir's neighbour
27:36now when the ifrit heard these words he answered no more of this talk needs must i kill thee upon this the fisherman said to himself this is a jinni and i am a man to whom allah hath given a passably cunning wit
27:52so i will now cast about to compass his destruction by my contrivance and by mine intelligence even as he took counsel only of his malice and his frowardness
28:03he began by asking the ifrit hast thou indeed resolved to kill me and receiving for all answer even so he cried now in the most great name graven on the seal ring of sulayman the son of david peace be with the holy twain
28:20and i question thee on a certain matter wilt thou give me a true answer the ifrit replied yea but hearing mention of the most great name his wits were troubled and he said with trembling ask and be brief
28:34quoth the fisherman how didst thou fit into this bottle which would not hold thy hand no nor even thy foot and how came it to be large enough to contain the whole of thee
28:45replied the ifrit what dost not believe that i was all there and the fisherman rejoined nay i will never believe it until i see thee inside with my own eyes
28:56and shahrazad perceived the dawn of the day and ceased to say her permitted say when it was the fourth night her sister said to her please finish us this tale and thou be not sleepy so she resumed
29:12it hath reached me o auspicious king that when the fisherman said to the ifrit i will never and nowise believe thee until i see thee inside it with mine own eyes the evil spirit on the instant shook and became a vapour which condensed and entered the jar little and little
29:30till all was well inside when lo the fisherman in hot haste took the leaden cat with the seal and stoppered therewith the mouth of the jar and called out to the ifrit saying ask me by way of boon what death thou wilt die
29:46by allah i will throw thee into the sea before us and here will i build me a lodge and whoso cometh hither i will warn him against fishing and will say in these waters abideth an ifrit who giveth as a last favour a choice of deaths and fashion of slaughter to the man who saveth him
30:06now when the ifrit heard this from the fisherman and saw himself in limbo he was minded to escape but this was prevented by solomon's seal so he knew that the fisherman had cozened and outwitted him and he waxed lowly and submissive and began humbly to say i did but jest with thee
30:25but the other answered thou liest o vilest of the ifrits and meanest and filthiest and he set off with the bottle for the seaside the ifrit calling out nay nay and he calling out aye aye
30:40thereupon the evil spirit softened his voice and smoothed his speech and abased himself saying what wouldst thou do with me o fisherman i will throw thee back into the sea he answered
30:53where thou hast been housed and homed for a thousand and eight hundred years and now i will leave thee therein till judgment day did i not say to thee spare me and allah shall spare thee and slay me not lest allah slay thee
31:08yet thou spurnedest my supplication and hadst no intention save to deal ungraciously by me and allah hath now thrown thee into my hands and i am cunninger than thou
31:20quoth the ifrit open for me and i may bring thee weal quoth the fisherman thou liest thou accursed my case with thee is that of the wazir of king yunan with the sage duban
31:34and who was the wazir of king yunan and who was the sage duban and what was the story about them quoth the ifrit whereupon the fisherman began to tell the tale of the wazir and the sage duban
31:50that you have this watery part now of the Hah chimney Arin
31:52and who r São Paulo
31:53and who was the sage duban and who was the guarantor here by straw
32:03We are the еще strong in the air here
32:10So what you are making if you think that is something
Comments