On the 33rd Night contd ...

He treated his wounds and kept watch for that old woman. She constantly took men, one after another, to the same house. He did not say anything to anybody until he became perfectly healthy. One day he took a piece of rag and made a purse out of it. He filled it with the pieces of glass, tied on his waist and disguised himself as a foreigner. He took a sword, hid it under his clothes and waited for the old woman to appear. As she appeared, he spoke to her in a foreign dialect - "Do you have a pair of scales to weigh the 900 pieces of gold?" The woman answered - "I have a young son, a money changer, he has all kinds of scales. So follow me to his house, before he goes somewhere else from there."

So my brother followed her and she brought him to a house where she knocked the door and the young lady herself opened the door. The old woman said to her - "Today I have brought you some fat meat." The girl took my brother in the house holding his hand. It was the same room in which he came before. The girl sat with him for some time and then rose saying - "Stay here till I come back, don't go from here." She came back not after long time along with a black slave holding a naked shiny sword in his hand. He said to him - "Rise O you unlucky," and he walked forward towards him.

As he did that, my brother also took out his sword which was hidden in his clothes, and struck the slave with it and cut off his head. He dragged him by his feet to the vault and called out - "Where is Al-Maleeh?" Immediately the slave girl came there holding the tray containing salt; but when she saw my brother holding the sword, she turned back and fled. My brother, however, overtook her and struck off her head too.

He then called out - "Where is the old woman?" and she came in. He said to her - "Do you know me?" "No, my Lord." He said - "I am the man who had the pieces of gold and in whose house you performed your ablution, and to whom you betrayed in this house." The old woman cried - "Fear God in your treatment to me." But my brother killed her also.

Now he went in search of the chief lady; and when she saw him, she implored him his pardon. He granted her his pardon and said to her - "When did you fall in the hands of this black slave?" She said - "I was a slave to one of the merchants and this old woman used to visit me. One day she said to me - "We are celebrating a festivity, so you may also join us." So I rose and clad myself in my best attire, and taking with me a purse containing a 100 pieces of gold went with her. She brought me to this house when suddenly this black slave took me and since then I have continued to live with him in this state - for three years."

My brother said to her - "Is there any property of his in this house?" She answered - "In abundance, and if you can remove it, do so." So she took him to chests full of purses. He was confounded seeing them. She said to him - "Go now, leave me here and bring somebody to remove the property." So he went out and came back with 10 men; but on his arrival there, he found neither the girl, nor the purses. She had deceived him. He took the money and stuff that remained there and came back to his house.

He passed the night happily, but when he got up in the morning, he found 20 soldiers at his door. They said to him - "The Valee is summoning you." So he went to the Valee with them. He asked him - "When did you get this stuff?" "Grant me immunity." The Valee granted it and then he told him the whole story since the beginning and said - "Take whatever you want but leave something for me to get my food." The Valee asked him to give him all the money and stuff, but fearing that the Sultaan might know all about this matter, he said to my brother - "Quit this city or otherwise I will hang you."

So my brother left that city and went to one of the surrounding cities. Some robbers came upon him, stripped him, beat him and cut off his ears; and hearing this I went to him taking some clothes and brought him here and supplied him with daily food and drink.

Contd on 20th Page