A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 4 (of 17)
but as regards Ala al-Din they carried him, together with the stolen goods, to the Divan where the Caliph still sat upon his throne. And behold, the King looked upon his effects and said, “Where did ye find them?” They replied, “In the very middle of the house belonging to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat;” whereat the Caliph was filled with wrath and took the things, but found not the lanthorn among them and said, “O Ala al-Din, where is the lanthorn?” He answered “I stole it not; I know naught of it; I never saw it; I can give no information about it!” Said the Caliph, “O traitor, how cometh it that I brought thee near unto me and thou hast cast me out afar, and I trusted in thee and thou betrayest me?” And he commanded to hang him. So the Chief of Police took him and went down with him into the city, whilst the crier preceded them proclaiming aloud and saying, “This is the reward and the least of the reward he shall receive who doth treason against the Caliphs of True Belief!” And the folk flocked to the place where the gallows stood. Thus far concerning him; but as regards Ahmad al-Danaf, Ala al-Din’s adopted father, he was sitting making merry with his followers in a garden, and carousing and pleasuring when lo! in came one of the water-carriers of the Divan and, kissing the hand of Ahmad al-Danaf, said to him, “O Captain Ahmad, O Danaf! thou sittest at thine ease with water flowing at thy feet,100 and thou knowest not what hath happened.” Asked Ahmad, “What is it?” and the other answered, “They have gone down to the gallows with thy son Ala al-Din, adopted by a covenant before Allah!” Quoth Ahmad, “What is the remedy here, O Hasan Shuuman, and what sayst thou of this?” He replied, “Assuredly Ala al-Din is innocent and this blame hath come to him from some one enemy.”101 Quoth Ahmad, “What counsellest thou?” and Hasan said, “We must rescue him, Inshallah!” Then he went to the jail and said to the gaolor, “Give us some one who deserveth death.” So he gave him one that was likest of men to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat; and they covered his head and carried him to the place of execution between Ahmad al-Danaf and Ali al-Zaybak of Cairo.102 Now they had brought Ala al-Din to the gibbet, to hang him, but Ahmad al-Danaf came forward and set his foot on that of the hangman, who said, “Give me room to do my duty.” He replied, “O accursed, take this man and hang him in Ala al-Din’s stead; for he is innocent and we will ransom him with this fellow, even as Abraham ransomed Ishmael with the ram.”103 So the hangman seized the man and hanged him in lieu of Ala al-Din; whereupon Ahmad and Ali took Ala al-Din and carried him to Ahmad’s quarters and, when there, Ala al-Din turned to him and said, “O my sire and chief, Allah requite thee with the best of good!” Quoth he, “O Ala al-Din” – And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Calamity Ahmad cried, “O Ala al-Din, what is this deed thou hast done? The mercy of Allah be on him who said: – Whoso trusteth thee betray him not, e’en if thou be a traitor. Now the Caliph set thee in high place about him and styled thee ‘Trusty’ and ‘Faithful’; how then couldst thou deal thus with him and steal his goods?” “By the Most Great Name, O my father and chief,” replied Ala al-Din, “I had no hand in this, nor did I such deed, nor know I who did it.” Quoth Ahmad, “Of a surety none did this but a manifest enemy and whoso doth aught shall be requited for his deed; but, O Ala al-Din, thou canst sojourn no longer in Baghdad, for Kings, O my son, may not pass from one thing to another, and when they go in quest of a man, ah! longsome is his travail.” “Whither shall I go, O my chief?” asked Ala al-Din; and he answered, “O my son, I will bring thee to Alexandria, for it is a blessed place; its threshold is green and its sojourn is agreeable.” And Ala al-Din rejoined, “I hear and I obey, O my chief.” So Ahmad said to Hasan Shuuman, “Be mindful and, when the Caliph asketh for me, say: – He is gone touring about the provinces.” Then, taking Ala al-Din, he went forth of Baghdad and stayed not going till they came to the outlying vineyards and gardens, where they met two Jews of the Caliph’s tax-gatherers, riding on mules. Quoth Ahmad Al-Danaf to these, “Give me the black-mail;”104 and quoth they, “Why should we pay thee black-mail?” whereto he replied, “Because I am the watchman of this valley.” So they gave him each an hundred gold pieces, after which he slew them and took their mules, one of which he mounted, whilst Ala al-Din bestrode the other. Then they rode on till they came to the city of Ayás105 and put up their beasts for the night at the Khan. And when morning dawned, Ala al-Din sold his own mule and committed that of Ahmad to the charge of the doorkeeper of the caravanserai, after which they took ship from Ayas port and sailed to Alexandria. Here they landed and walked up to the bazar and behold, there was a broker crying a shop and a chamber behind it for nine hundred and fifty dinars. Upon this Ala al-Din bid a thousand which the broker accepted, for the premises belonged to the Treasury; and the seller handed over to him the keys and the buyer opened the shop and found the inner parlour furnished with carpets and cushions. Moreover, he found there a store-room full of sails and masts, cordage and seamen’s chests, bags of beads and cowrie106-shells, stirrups, battle-axes, maces, knives, scissors and such matters, for the last owner of the shop had been a dealer in second-hand goods.107 So he took his seat in the shop and Ahmad al-Danaf said to him, “O my son, the shop and the room and that which is therein are become thine; so tarry thou here and buy and sell; and repine not at thy lot for Almighty Allah blesseth trade.” After this he abode with him three days and on the fourth he took leave of him, saying, “Abide here till I go back and bring thee the Caliph’s pardon and learn who hath played thee this trick.” Then he shipped for Ayas, where he took the mule from the inn and, returning to Baghdad met Pestilence Hasan and his followers, to whom said he, “Hath the Caliph asked after me?”; and he replied, “No, nor hast thou come to his thought.” So he resumed his service about the Caliph’s person and set himself to sniff about for news of Ala al-Din’s case, till one day he heard the Caliph say to the Wazir, “See, O Ja’afar, how Ala al-Din dealt with me!” Replied the Minister, “O Commander of the Faithful, thou hast requited him with hanging and hath he not met with his reward?” Quoth he, “O Wazir, I have a mind to go down and see him hanging;” and the Wazir answered, “Do what thou wilt, O Commander of the Faithful.” So the Caliph, accompanied by Ja’afar, went down to the place of execution and, raising his eyes, saw the hanged man to be other than Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, surnamed the Trusty, and said, “O Wazir, this is not Ala al-Din!” “How knowest thou that it is not he?” asked the Minister, and the Caliph answered, “Ala al-Din was short and this one is tall.” Quoth Ja’afar, “Hanging stretcheth.” Quoth the Caliph, “Ala al-Din was fair and this one’s face is black.” Said Ja’afar, “Knowest thou not, O Commander of the Faithful, that death is followed by blackness?” Then the Caliph bade take down the body from the gallows-tree and they found the names of the two Shaykhs, Abu Bakr and Omar, written on its heels;108 whereupon cried the Caliph, “O Wazir, Ala al-Din was a Sunnite, and this fellow is a Rejecter, a Shi’ah.” He answered, “Glory be to Allah who knoweth the hidden things, while we know not whether this was Ala al-Din or other than he.” Then the Caliph bade bury the body and they buried it; and Ala al-Din was forgotten as though he never had been. Such was his case; but as regards Habzalam Bazazah, the Emir Khalid’s son, he ceased not to languish for love and longing till he died and they joined him to the dust. And as for the young wife Jessamine, she accomplished the months of her pregnancy and, being taken with labour-pains, gave birth to a boy-child like unto the moon. And when her fellow slave-girls said to her, “What wilt thou name him?” she answered, “Were his father well he had named him; but now I will name him Aslán.”109 She gave him suck for two successive years, then weaned him, and he crawled and walked. Now it so came to pass that one day, whilst his mother was busied with the service of the kitchen, the boy went out and, seeing the stairs, mounted to the guest-chamber.110 And the Emir Khalid who was sitting there took him upon his lap and glorified his Lord for that which he had created and fashioned; then closely eyeing