The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 09 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 09 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
with the Almighty." Quoth Ibrahim, "I seek aid of Allah; whatso He
willeth becometh; and there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah!" Then he left the hunchback tailor and returned to his lodging
where, taking the things his adviser had named, he laid them in a bag.
On the morrow, as soon as it was day, he went down to Tigris bank,
where he found a boatman asleep; so he awoke him and giving him ten
sequins, bade him row him down the river below Bassorah. Quoth the man,
"O my lord, it must be on condition that I go no farther than a
parasang; for if I pass that distance by a span, I am a lost man, and
thou too." And quoth Ibrahim, "Be it as thou wilt." Thereupon he took
him and dropped down the river with him till he drew near the flower
garden, when he said to him, "O my son, I can go no farther; for, if I
pass this limit, we are both dead men." Hereat Ibrahim pulled out other
ten dinars and gave them to him, saying, "Take this spending-money and
better thy case therewithal." The boatman was ashamed to refuse him and
fared on with him crying "I commit the affair to Allah the
Almighty!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Fifty-sixth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
youth Ibrahim gave the boatman other ten dinars, the man took them,
saying, "I commit the affair to Allah the Almighty!" and fared on with
him down stream. When they came to the flower garden, the youth sprang
out of the boat, in his joy, a spring of a spear's cast from the land,
and cast himself down, whilst the boatman turned and fled. Then Ibrahim
fared forward and found all as it had been described by the Gobbo: he
also saw the garden- gate open, and in the porch a couch of ivory,
whereon sat a hump backed man of pleasant presence, clad in gold-laced
clothes and hending in hand a silvern mace plated with gold. So he
hastened up to him and seizing his hand kissed it; whereupon asked the
hunchback, "Who art thou and whence comest thou and who brought thee
hither, O my son?" And indeed, when the man saw Ibrahim Khasib-son, he
was amazed at his beauty. He answered, "O uncle, I am an ignorant lad
and a stranger," and he wept. The hunchback had pity on him and taking
him up on the couch, wiped away his tears and said to him, "No harm
shall come to thee. An thou be in debt, may Allah settle thy debt: and
if thou be in fear, may Allah appease thy fear!" Replied Ibrahim, "O
uncle, I am neither in fear nor am I in debt, but have money in plenty,
thanks to Allah." Rejoined the other, "Then, O my son, what is thy need
that thou venturest thyself and thy loveliness to a place wherein is
destruction?" So he told him his story and disclosed to him his case,
whereupon the man bowed his head earthwards awhile, then said to him,
"Was he who directed thee to me the humpbacked tailor?" "Yes," answered
Ibrahim, and the keeper said, "This is my brother, and he is a blessed
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