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Story Of The Second Sheykh And The Two Black HoundsStory Of The Second Sheykh And The Two Black Hounds
Story Of The Second Sheykh And The Two Black Hounds
Then said the sheykh, Know, O lord of the kings of the Jann, that these
two hounds are my brothers. My father died, and left to us three thousand
pieces of gold;^2 and I opened a shop to sell and buy. But one of my brothers
made a journey, with a stock of merchandise, and was absent from us for the
space of a year with the caravans; after which, he returned destitute. I said
to him, Did I not advise thee to abstain from travelling? But he wept, and
said, O my brother, God, to whom be ascribed all might and glory, decreed this
event; and there is no longer any profit in these words: I have nothing left.
So I took him up into the shop, and then went with him to the bath, and clad
him in a costly suit of my own clothing; after which, we sat down together to
eat; and I said to him, O my brother, I will calculate the gain of my shop
during the year, and divide it, exclusive of the principal, between me and
thee. Accordingly, I made the calculations, and found my gain to amount to two
thousand pieces of gold; and I praised God, to whom be ascribed all might and
glory, and rejoiced exceedingly, and divided the gain in two equal parts
between myself and him. - My other brother then set forth on a journey; and
after a year, returned in the like condition; and I did unto him as I had done
to the former.
[Footnote 2: Dinar - about half a guinea.]
After this, when we had lived together for some time, my brothers again
wished to travel, and were desirous that I should accompany them; but I would
not. What, said I, have ye gained in your travels, that I should expect to
gain? They importuned me; but I would not comply with their request; and we
remained selling and buying in our shops a whole year. Still, however, they
persevered in proposing that we should travel, and I still refused, until
after the lapse of six entire years, when at last I consented, and said to
them, O my brothers, let us calculate what property we possess. We did so, and
found it to be six thousand pieces of gold: and I then said to them, We will
bury half of it in the earth, that it may be of service to us if any
misfortune befall us, in which case each of us shall take a thousand pieces,
with which to traffic. Excellent is thy advice, said they. So I took the money
and divided it into two equal portions, and buried three thousand pieces of
gold; and of the other half, I gave to each of them a thousand pieces. We then
prepared merchandise, and hired a ship, and embarked our goods, and proceeded
on our voyage for the space of a whole month, at the expiration of which we
arrived at a city, where we sold our merchandise; and for every piece of gold
we gained ten.
And when we were about to set sail again, we found, on the shore of the
sea, a maiden clad in tattered garments, who kissed my hand, and said to me, O
my master, art thou possessed of charity and kindness? If so, I will require
thee for them. I answered, Yes, I have those qualities, though thou requite me
not. Then said she, O my master, accept me as thy wife, and take me to thy
country; for I give myself to thee: act kindly towards me; for I am one who
requires to be treated with kindness and charity, and who will requite thee
for so doing; and let not my present condition at all deceive thee. When I
heard these words, my heart was moved with tenderness towards her, in order to
the accomplishment of a purpose of God, to whom be ascribed all might and
glory; and I took her, and clothed her, and furnished for her a place in the
ship in a handsome manner, and regarded her with kind and respectful
attention.
We then set sail; and I became most cordially attached to my wife, so
that, on her account, I neglected the society of my brothers, who, in
consequence, became jealous of me, and likewise envied me my wealth, and the
abundance of my merchandise; casting the eyes of covetousness upon the whole
of the property. They therefore consulted together to kill me, and take my
wealth; saying, Let us kill our brother, and all the property shall be ours: -
and the devil made these actions to seem fair in their eyes; so they came to
me while I was sleeping by the side of my wife, and took both of us up, and
threw us into the sea. But as soon as my wife awoke, she shook herself, and
became transformed into a Jinniyeh. She immediately bore me away, and placed
me upon an island, and, for a while, disappeared. In the morning, however, she
returned, and said to me, I am thy wife, who carried thee, and rescued thee
from death, by permission of God, whose name be exalted. Know that I am a
Jinniyeh: I saw thee, and my heart loved thee for the sake of God; for I am a
believer in God and his Apostle, God bless and save him! I came to thee in the
condition in which thou sawest me, and thou didst marry me; and see, I have
rescued thee from drowning. But I am incensed against thy brothers, and I must
kill them. - When I heard her tale, I was astonished, and thanked her for what
she had done; - But, said I, as to the destruction of my brothers, it is not
what I desire. I then related to her all that happened between myself and them
from first to last; and when she had heard it, she said, I will, this next
night, fly to them, and sink their ship, and destroy them. But I said, I
conjure thee by Allah that thou do it not; for the author of the proverb
saith, O thou benefactor of him who hath done evil, the action that he hath
done is sufficient for him: - besides, they are at all events my brothers. She
still, however, said, They must be killed; - and I continued to propitiate her
towards them: and at last she lifted me up, and soared through the air, and
placed me on the roof of my house.
Having opened the doors, I dug up what I had hidden in the earth; and
after I had saluted my neighbours, and bought merchandise, I opened my shop.
And in the following night, when I entered my house, I found these two dogs
tied up in it; and as soon as they saw me, they came to me, and wept, and
clung to me; but I knew not what had happened until immediately my wife
appeared before me, and said, These are thy brothers. And who, said I, hath
done this unto them? She answered, I sent to my sister, and she did it; and
they shall not be restored until after the lapse of ten years. And I was now
on my way to her, that she might restore them, as they have been in this state
ten years, when I saw this man, and, being informed of what had befallen him,
I determined not to quit the place until I should have seen what would happen
between thee and him. - This is my story. - Verily, said the Jinni, it is a
wonderful tale; and I give up to thee a third of the claim that I had to his
blood on account of his offence.
Upon this, the third sheykh, the owner of the mule, said to the Jinni, As
to me, break not my heart if I relate to thee nothing more than this: -
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