Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 2 (of 6)
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 2 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
In this state of perplexity he went out of the convent and proceeded to
his house. There his wife, with her male and female servants, was
expecting his arrival. He approached the house and placed his hand on
the knocker of the door, but was received by Hyacinth, who said,
“Kalandar, whom seekest thou?” The superintendent rejoined, “I want to
enter the house.” Hyacinth continued, “Thou hast to-day evidently taken
thy morning draught of bang earlier and more copiously than usual, since
thou hast foolishly mistaken the road to thy convent. Depart! This is
not a place in which vagabond kalandars are harboured. This is the
palace of the superintendent of the police; and if the symurgh looks
with incivility from the fastness of the west of Mount Káf at this
place, the wings of its impertinence will at once become singed.” The
superintendent said, “What nonsense art thou speaking? Go out of my way,
for I do not relish thy imbecile prattle.” But when he wanted to enter,
Hyacinth struck him with a bludgeon on the shoulder, which the
superintendent returned with a box on the ear, and both began to wrestle
together. At that moment the lady and her maid-servants rushed forth
from the rear and assailed him with sticks and stones, shouting, “This
kalandar wishes in plain daylight to force his way into the house of the
superintendent. What a pity that the superintendent is sick, or else
this crime would have to be expiated on the gallows!” In the meantime
all the neighbours assembled, and on seeing the shameless kalandar’s
proceedings they cried, “Look at that impudent kalandar who wants
forcibly to enter the house of the superintendent.” Ultimately the crowd
amounted to more than five hundred persons, and the gentleman was put to
flight and pursued by all the little boys, who pelted him with stones
till they expelled him from the town.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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