The second woman, the Portress, said - "When my father died, he left me lots of money. After a while I married the richest man and lived with him for a year when he also died. At that time I had 80,000 Deenaars. I was well known and I had 10 sets of clothes worth 1,000 Deenaars each. Once I was sitting at home, that an old witch like woman came to me. She greeted by kissing the ground before me and said - "I have an orphan daughter at home. She is getting married today. We are poor and strangers in the city. Please be present there at her wedding. Hearing that you are coming to her wedding, other women will also come. You comfort her also as she is very sad."

I said - "Sure. And show her to her bridegroom in my clothes and jewelry." She blessed me and said - "Don't do this favor at this time, just be ready at supper time, I will come and take you." She then went away and I made preparation to get ready for supper time. I set stringing my pearls, making my toilette etc. knowing little what what Fortune had for me. Suddenly that woman appeared before me and said - "All town women have come and when I told them that you were also coming, they were very happy and are awaiting for you." The old woman led me and my maids followed me.

We came to a street where there was a marble gate, and the path led to a palace. A black curtain was hanging from the door. The old woman knocked at the door and the door was opened. When we entered we found ourselves in a well decorated room. We passed it and entered a saloon, a most beautiful room. A very beautiful young lady appeared before us and welcomed me. She said to me - "O My Sister, I have a brother, more handsome than me, who has seen you at some wedding occasions. He has fallen in love with you. He gave some silvers to this old woman to bring you here. He has heard that you are from a noble family so he has practiced those habits to marry you."

I found myself entrapped in the house, so I said "Yes." She clapped her hands and a very young handsome man appeared before me from one of the doors. When I looked at him, I fell in love with him. He sat by my side and talked with me for a while. The lady again clapped and a Qaazee appeared from another door with his four assessors. They saluted us, wrote the contract between me and the youth and went away. Then he said to me - "Be our night be blessed." And added - "I have a condition for you." On asking what it was, he fetched a copy of Quraan, placed my hand on it and asked me to swear on that I will not incline to any other man except him. I swore it and he embraced with love. They set the table for us, and we ate and drank till we were satisfied.

Then he took me to the bride chamber. I enjoyed a lot with him for one month. Then I asked his leave to to go shop something on foot. He allowed me to go. I took the old woman and a slave-girl and went to a silk merchant whom the old woman recommended to me saying - "This youth's father died when he was a boy. He left him a great store of wealth. He has some very good stuff, none of other merchants has it." The she asked him to show me the costliest stuff he had, and asked me to say a courteous word to him. When I said that I had vowed to do this only for my husband, she starting praising him. Still I tried to stop him.

He brought the stuff, I selected some and gave the money to him; but he refused to take it saying, "Let it be a gift from me today." Then I told the woman to return the stuff if he did not accept the money. He cried - "No, I will not take anything back. I sold it not for gold or silver, but just for a kiss which is more precious than everything in my shop." The woman asked him - "How will the kiss profit you?" And he said to me - "What is the harm in one kiss if you get so much at that price? We will not tell anybody, so no harm will come upon you." She persuaded me so much that evil entered into my mind and I put a veil between the passing by people and myself and he kissed me on my cheek. But he kissed me so hard that he tore my flesh from there and blood flowed fast and I fainted.

When I got up I found myself in the arms of the woman saying - "Thank to Allaah, It could have been worse." Then she said to me - "Come, Let us go home before the matter becomes worse. You lie down in the home, I will bring some powders and plasters to cure your bite and your wound will be healed in three days time." In great distress I reached home, I pleaded for sickness and lay down. When my husband came in the night and asked me about my condition. I said - "I have a bad headache." He lighted a candle and looked at me and asked - "What has happened to your cheek? What is this wound?" 

I replied - "When I went to buy some stuff, a camel laden with firewood hit me, a piece of wood tore my veil and wounded my cheek." He cried - "Tomorrow I will go and complain to the Governor." I tried to stop him doing this sin against any man saying - "In fact I was riding on an ass and it stumbled and my cheek hit a stick or a bit of glass and got this wound." Then he said - "I will go to Zaafar and tell him about this and he will kill all the donkeys-boys in Baghdaad." "Will you kill all of them just for my wound? It was all my Destiny." "Doesn't matter." He sprang to his feet and got ready to go, then I said - "It was just an accident, don't worry."

But he guessed my case and said - "You have not held your oath." Then he at once cried a loud cry and seven black men came in and dragged me out of my bed into the middle of the room. Then he asked them to cut me in two pieces and throw me in Tigris. When the slave made sure that he had to do this, he asked me to say my last prayer, as it was my last hour. I wept a lot and asked him to wait a little. I prayed my husband to pardon me but he got angrier than before. I said to myself, "I will talk to him in the way that he will not slay me." I prayed him a lot, but still he did not move from his order. So I closed my eyes and waited for my death.

That the old woman rushed in and fell on my husband's feet, kissed them and said - "O My Son, By my rights of fostering you and by my long service to you, I request you to pardon this lady, because she has done nothing so serious. You may drive her out of the doors, from your love, from your heart, but do not kill her like this." She continued to cry until he agreed to her. Then he asked his slaves to drag me along the ground and lay me after stripping my of all my clothes. And when the slave sat upon me so that I could not move, he got a quince tree rod and continued to beat me on my back and sides till I got unconscious. When the night fell, he asked them to take me to my own house. They did that and I could not come into my senses until following morning.

I took four months to be all right. Then I went to the house where it all happened to me, but I found it in ruins. A good size heap of rubbish stood there. I could not know how this happened there. Then I went to my sister on my father's side and found her with these two black bitches there. I told her my whole story. She consoled me - "Who is saved from Time and Destiny? Thanks to Allaah who has brought you here safely. This world is like that, that here, riches leave and friends depart, so be patient."

Then she told me her own story, as what happened to her and her two sisters. Now we are living together and do not talk about marriage. After a while our other sister, who goes out in the morning to buy us our daily needs, joined us. Thus that morning when our sister went out, she brought that porter and the three Qalandar and then three Muslims. We sat talking with them on one condition, which they violated. At this we treated them for breach of contract. We asked them to give their accounts. Then we forgave their offences and they went away. Suddenly this morning, we were unexpectedly summoned to your presence. This is our story."

Conclusion of the Story - "The Three Qalandar and Five Women of Bagadaad
The Caliph asked to record her story and keep it in his chamber. Then he asked the eldest woman - "Do you know the whereabouts of the Ifritaa who spelled your sisters?" She said - "She gave me a ringlet of her hair saying, "Whenever you wish to see me, burn a couple of hairs from them and I will be with you instantly, even though I am very far away." "Bring me the hair." She brought the hair and the Caliph threw all hairs in the fire. In a little while the palace shook, and Geneeyaa stood before the Caliph. Now she was a Muslim. Both greeted each other and then she said - "This woman has been very kind to me delivering me from death. I knew that how her sisters treated her, so I felt that I should avenge them for her. First I thought to kill them but then I converted them into bitches, but if you want them to release, I will do so to please her."

The Caliph said - "Please, Release them." Ifritaa further said - "I will release them, I will discover that man also who did this to her and took her all property, and he is the nearest of all men to you." She then took a cup of water, uttered some magic words over it, sprinkled some water over the bitches, saying "Return to your original form." They were changed into human beings. Then she said - "The man who did this to this lady is your son, Al-Ameen, brother of Al-Maamoon. He married her by law, then committed a crime of beating her. Although he is not to be blamed for beating her because he put a condition, and she did not keep it. That is why he beat her and sent her back to her house. Such is the story of the second woman." The Caliph thanked Allaah that he could deliver the two women from sorcery and torture. He said to his man - "Now we will do a deed which shall be recorded." 

Then he called his son Al-Ameen and asked about the story of second woman, the Portress, and he told the truth. At this the Caliph called Qaazees and their witnesses and the three Qalandar and the first woman with her sisters and married them to three Qalandar whom he knew that they were Princes and appointed them as his guards with stipends and allowances. He lodged them in the palace of Baghdaad.

He returned the beaten woman, the Portress, to his son renewing the marriage contract and gave her a great wealth and asked to rebuild his palace more beautiful than it was before. As for himself, he took the third woman (who went to buy stuff) as his wife and spent that night with her. Next day he set her apart for her own apartment with handmaidens for her service and a fixed daily allowance. The people admired the Caliph for his wisdom.

End of Story No 73