My brother then tied the purse round his girdle, and disguised himself as an old woman. After which he took a scimitar, and concealed it under his dress. He went out early one morning, and soon met the old hag, who was already walking about the city, seeking to entrap some one or other. Alnaschar accosted her, and feigning the voice of a woman, he said, “Can you do me the favor to lend me a money balance? I am a Persian, and but just arrived in this city. I have brought five hundred pieces of gold from my own country, and I wish to see if they are weight.”—“My good woman,” replied the other, “you could not have addressed yourself to a more proper person than me. You need only follow me and I will take you to the house of my son, who is a money-changer, and he will take a pleasure in weighing the gold for you himself, and save you the trouble. Do not let us lose any time, for fear he should be gone to his shop.” My brother followed her to the same house where she had introduced him the first time, and the door was opened by the Greek slave.
The old woman conducted my brother into the hall, where she bid him wait a moment while she went to find her son. The pretended son then appeared, in the form of that villainous black slave. “Come, my old woman,” he called out, “get up, and follow me.” Having spoken this, he walked on before, to the place where he wished to murder him. Alnaschar got up, and followed the black slave; and as he was going along he drew his scimitar from under his robe, and gave him such a blow on the hind part of the neck, that he cut his head completely off. He then took it up in one hand, and with the other he drew the body after him to the subterraneous building, where he lodged both of them in safety. The Greek slave, who was used to this business, directly after brought a bason of salt; but when she saw Alnaschar with the scimitar in his hand, and without the veil that had concealed his face, she let the bason fall and ran away: but my brother being able to run faster, soon overtook her, and made her head fly from her shoulders. At hearing this noise, the wicked old woman ran to see what was the matter, when Alnaschar seized her, before she had time to make her escape. “Wretch,” he exclaimed, “dost thou not know me?”—“Alas, sir,” she tremblingly answered, “I do not remember to have ever seen you before; who are you?”—“I am the person into whose house you came the other day, to request leave to wash yourself, and say your hypocritical prayers. Do you not recollect it?” She instantly fell down on her knees, and implored his pardon, but he cut her into four pieces.
The lady alone remained, who knew nothing at all of what was passing. My brother went to look after her, and discovered her in a chamber. When she saw him enter she was near fainting. She prayed him to spare her life, and he had the generosity to grant it. “How can you, madam,” he asked, “live with such infamous wretches as those on whom I have now so justly revenged myself?”—“I was,” she answered, “the wife of a very worthy merchant, and that wicked old woman, of whose treachery I was ignorant, sometimes came to see me. “Madam,” said she one day to me, “we are going to have a gay and splendid wedding at our house, and you will enjoy a great deal of pleasure there, if you will honor us with your company.” I suffered myself to be prevailed upon to go; and for this purpose I dressed myself in my richest habit, and took a hundred pieces of gold with me. I followed her till she came to this house, where I saw this black, who detained me here by force; and it is now three years that I have been here, though very much against my inclination.”—“From the manner in which this black proceeded, he must have amassed,” replied my brother, “great wealth.”—“So much so,” she answered “that if you could carry it away, you would never be poor again. Follow me, and I will shew it you.” She conducted Alnaschar into a room, where in truth he saw so many coffers filled with gold, that he could not conceal his astonishment. “Go,” she cried, “and bring here a sufficient number of persons to carry all this away.”
My brother did not wait to be told a second time; he went away, and was absent only till he collected ten men together. He brought them back with him, and was much astonished to find the door of the house open; but his astonishment was still greater, when on going into the room where he had seen the coffers, he could not discover a single one. The lady had been both more cunning and more diligent than he had, and she and the coffers had entirely vanished during my brother’s absence. That he might not return with empty hands, he ordered the men to take, instead of the coffers, whatever moveables they could find in the chambers and different apartments, whence he took much more than was sufficient to repay him the value of his five hundred pieces of gold, of which they had robbed him. But in going away from the house, my brother forgot to shut the door; and the neighbours, who knew my brother, and had observed the porters both come and go, went and informed the judge of the whole business, which appeared to them of a very suspicious nature.
Alnaschar passed the night quite at his ease; but early the next morning, as he was going out, he encountered twenty men belonging to the police, who immediately seized him. “You must come with us,” they cried, “our master wants to speak with you.” My brother begged them to have a moment’s patience, and offered them a sum of money if they would permit him to escape; but instead of paying any attention to what he said, they bound him, and compelled him to go with them. In the street they met with an old friend of my brother’s, who stopped them to know the reason of their taking him in this manner. He also proposed to give them a considerable sum to suffer him to escape, and report to the judge that they were unable to find him. But he could not succeed with them, and they carried Alnaschar before the judge of the police.
As soon as he came into his presence, the magistrate said to him, “I desire you to inform me from what place you got all that furniture which you had brought home yesterday.”—“Sir,” replied Alnaschar, “I am ready to tell you the whole truth, but permit me, in the first place, to implore your clemency; and I request of you to give me your word, that nothing shall happen to me.”—“I do so,” said the judge. My brother then related, without disguise, every circumstance that had happened to him, from the time the old woman first came to his house to request leave to say her prayers, till he returned to the chamber in which he had left the young lady, but whom he could not find there, after having killed the black, the Greek slave, and the old woman. With regard to what he had carried home, he entreated the judge to suffer him to keep, at least, a part of it, to recompense him for the five hundred pieces of gold, of which they had robbed him.
The judge immediately sent some of his people to my brother’s house to bring away every thing he had, without promising to give him any part; and as soon as the things were deposited in his warehouse, he ordered my brother instantly to leave the city, and never to return again on forfeiture of his life; because he was fearful, if my brother remained there, he would go and complain of his injustice to the caliph. Alnaschar in the mean time obeyed the order without a murmur; he departed from the city, and fled for refuge to another town. But on his road he encountered some robbers, who took every thing from him, and stripped him as bare as my hand. I was no sooner informed of this new misfortune than I took some clothes with me, and went to find him out: after consoling him as well as it was in my power, I brought him back with me, and made him enter the city quite privately, and I took as much care of him as of my other brothers.
THE HISTORY
OF THE BARBER’S SIXTH BROTHER.
The history of my sixth brother is the only one that now remains to be told; and he was called Schacabac, the hare-lipped. He was at first sufficiently industrious to employ the hundred drachms of silver, which came to his share, in common with me and his other brothers, in a very advantageous manner; but, at length, by reverse of fortune, he was reduced to the necessity of begging his bread. In this occupation he acquitted himself with great address; and his chief aim was to procure admission, by bribing the officers and domestics into the houses of the great, and by having access to their persons, to excite their compassion.