Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and goodwill! It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the King and Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, bade the youth Manjab tell him some tale of the Kings of old and he replied, “Hearkening and obedience, O Prince of True Believers;” and thereupon he fell recounting the
_STORY OF THE DARWAYSH AND THE BARBER’S BOY AND THE GREEDY SULTAN._
It is related (but Allah is All-knowing of hidden things and All-wise!) that in the days of a King called Dahmár[151] there was a barber who had in his booth a boy for apprentice and one day of the days there came in a Darwaysh man who took seat and turning to the lad saw that he was a model of beauty and loveliness and stature and symmetric grace. So he asked him for a mirror and when it was brought he took it and considered his face therein and combed his beard, after which he put hand in pouch and pulling out an Ashrafi of gold set it upon the looking-glass which he gave back to the boy.[152] Hereupon the barber turned towards the beggar and wondered in himself and said, “Praise be to Allah, albeit this man be a Fakir yet he placeth a golden piece upon the mirror, and surely this is a marvellous matter.” Hereupon the Darwaysh went his ways, and on the following day he suddenly made his appearance and entering the booth called for a looking-glass from the barber’s prentice and when it was handed to him combed his beard after he had looked at his features therein; then, bringing forth an Ashrafi, he set it upon the mirror and gave it back to the boy; and the barber marvelled yet the more to see the Fakir rising up and wending his ways.[153] The beggar ceased not coming every day and gazing at himself in the glass and laying down his ducat, whereat the barber said to himself, “By Allah, indeed this Darwaysh must have some object of his own and haply he is in love with the lad my prentice and I fear from the beggar lest he seduce the boy and take him away from me.” Hereat he cried, “O boy, when the Darwaysh shall come to thee draw thou not anear him; and when he demandeth the looking-glass give it not to him; for I myself will do so.” On the third day behold, the Fakir appeared according to his custom and asked for the mirror from the boy who wittingly disregarded him, whereupon he turned towards him and waxed wroth[154] and was like to slay him. The apprentice was terrified at his rage and gave him the looking-glass whilst he was still an-angered; but when the man had reviewed himself therein and had combed his beard and had finished his need, he brought out ten dinars of gold and setting them upon the mirror handed them to the lad. Seeing this the barber wondered anew with extreme wonderment, saying to himself, “By Allah, this Darwaysh cometh daily and layeth down an Ashrafi, but this day he hath given ten gold pieces; withal there accrueth not to me from my shop even half a piastre of daily wage. However, O Boy, when the man shall come hither, as is his wont, do thou spread for him a prayer-rug in the inner room of the shop, lest the people seeing his constant visits should have ill suspicions of us.” “Yes!” said the lad. So when it was the next day the Fakir came and went into the ben whither he was shown by the boy, and he followed him till they were in the innermost of the booth. Now the heart of this Religious hung to the love of the barber’s boy for that he had of beauty and perfection and he continued frequenting the shop every day whilst the lad ceased not spreading the rug and receiving upon the mirror ten Ashrafis. Hereat the barber and his apprentice rejoiced till one day of the days when the Darwaysh came to the shaving-shop, as was his wont, where he met none but only the boy nor was there any other in sight. So he asked concerning his employer and the other answered, “O uncle, my master hath gone forth to solace himself with seeing the casting of the cannon; for this day the Sultan and the Wazir and the Lords of the land will all be present thereat.” Said he, “O my son, go thou with us and we will also enjoy the spectacle and return before the rest of the folk, ere thy master can be back, and we will enjoy ourselves and make merry and look at the sport before I set out upon my journey, for ’tis my intention this day to go forth about noontide.” Quoth the lad, “’Tis well O uncle;” and arising he locked the shop-door and walked with the Darwaysh till they reached the spot where the cannon were being cast.