THE STORY OF THE CUT WOMAN, THE THREE APPLES, AND THE NEGRO RIHAN
Harun al-Rashid
Source
Harun Al Rashid and Jia'far find a crate containing a woman cut in pieces.
And two men, one young and one old, accused themselves of the crime.
ON THE FIRST NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
One night among the nights, the caliph Harun Al-Rachid said to Jia'far Al-Barmaki: “I want us to go down tonight towards the city, to inform us of the actions of the governors and the walis. And I have the firm intention to impeach all those against whom complaints would be brought to me! And Jia'far answered: “I listen and I obey!” »
And the caliph and Jia'far and Massrour, the sword bearer, disguised themselves and came down and began to walk through the streets of Baghdad, when passing in an alley they saw a very old man who carried on his head a fishing net and a big package, and who held a stick in his hand; and this old man went away slowly, humming these stanzas:
*They said to me, “O sage! by your science you are among humans like the moon in the night!"
*I answered them: “Please spare me these words! There is no other science than that of Destiny!"
For I, with all my science, all my manuscripts and my books and my inkpot,
Cannot counterbalance the force of Destiny for only one day!
*And those who would bet for me could only lose their deposit!"
Indeed, what could be more distressing than the poor,
The state of the poor and the bread of the poor and his life!
If it is summer, he is exhausting his strength!
If it's winter, he only has an ashtray to heat himself!
If he stops walking, the dogs rush to chase him!
He is miserable! He is an object of offense and mockery!
Oh! who is more miserable than he?
If he does not decide to cry out his complaint to men and show his misery, who will pity him?
Oh! if such is the life of the poor, then the grave is preferable for him!
On hearing these plaintive verses, the caliph said to Jia'far: “The verses and the appearance of this poor man indicate great misery." Then he approached the old man and said to him: “O sheik, what is your job?" He replied: “O my master, fisherman! And very poor! And I have a family! And, from noon until now, I have been away from home working, and Allah has not yet blessed me with the bread that must feed my children! So I'm disgusted with myself and with life, and I only want death!" Then the caliph said to him: "Can you come back with us to the river, and cast your net into the Tigris from the bank, and that in my name, to see my luck a little? And whatever you take out of the water, I will buy it from you and pay you a hundred dinars." And the old man rejoiced at these words and answered: "I accept the offer and put it on my head!"
And the fisherman returned with them to the Tigris and cast his net there and waited; then he pulled the rope of the net and the net came out. And the old fisherman found in the net a closed box, very heavy to lift. And the caliph also, after testing, found it very heavy. But he hastened to give the hundred dinars to the fisherman, who went away consoled.
So Jia'far and Massrourse loaded the crate and carried it to the palace. And the caliph caused the torches to be lit, and Jia'far and Massrour approached the crate and broke it. Inside they found a large palm-leaf basket sewn with red wool; they cut the woolen thread and found a rug in the coffer; they removed the carpet and, underneath, they found a large white woman's veil; they lifted the veil, and below they found, white as the silver maiden, a young woman slaughtered and cut to pieces.
At this sight, the caliph let tears run down his cheeks; then he turned, full of fury, towards Jia'far and exclaimed: “O vizier’s dog! now, under my reign, assassinations are committed and the victims are drowned! And their blood will fall on me on the day of judgment, and will be heavily attached to my conscience! But, by Allah! I must retaliate against the murderer and kill him. And as for you, O Jia'far, I swear by the truth of my direct descent from the Caliphs Bani-Abbas, that if you do not bring into my presence the assassin of this woman whom I want to avenge, I will have you crucified on the gate of my palace, you and forty of the Barmakids your cousins! And the caliph was full of anger; and Jia'far said to him, "Give me three days!" He replied: "I grant you that."
Then Jia'far went out of the palace, and full of affliction he walked through the city and said to himself: "How can I ever know who killed this young woman, and where to find him to bring him before the caliph? On the other hand, if I brought him someone other than the assassin so that this other would die in his place, this action would weigh on my conscience. So I don't know what to do anymore." And so Jia'far arrived at his house and stayed there for the three days of the delay, in despair. And on the fourth day, the caliph sent for him. And when he came into her hands, the caliphate asked him: “Where is the murderer of the young woman?" Giafar replied: "Can I guess the invisible and the hidden, to know the murderer in the middle of a whole city?" Then the caliph became very furious, and ordered the crucifixion of Jia'far on the gate of the palace, and ordered the town criers to shout the thing through all the city and the surroundings, saying:
"Whoever wishes to attend the spectacle of the crucifixion of Jia'far Al-Barmaki, vizier of the caliphate, and the crucifixion of forty of the Barmakids, his parents, on the door of the palace, has only to go out to attend this spectacle! »
And all the inhabitants of Baghdad came out of all the streets to witness the crucifixion of Jia'far and his cousins; but no one knew the cause; and everyone was sorry and lamented because Jia'far and all the Barmakids were loved for their benefits and their generosity.
When the execution wood was erected, the condemned were placed below, and the permission of the caliph for the execution was awaited. Suddenly, while all the inhabitants were crying, a handsome young man, very neatly dressed, moved quickly through the crowd and came into the hands of Jia'far and said to him: "Deliverance be given to you, O master and most great of great lords, oh thou asylum of the poor! For it was I who killed the woman cut to pieces and put her in the crate you fished out of the Tigris! So kill me back, and retaliate against me!"
When Jia'far heard the words of the young man, he rejoiced greatly for himself, but he was very saddened for the young man. He, therefore, began to ask him for more detailed explanations, when suddenly a venerable old man pushed aside the crowd and advanced quickly towards Jia'fa and the young man, saluted them and said to them: "O vizier, do not believe the words of this young man, for there is no other assassin of the young woman than myself! And it is from me alone that you must avenge her!" But the young man said: “O vizier, this old sheik is rambling and does not know what he is saying. I repeat to you that it was I who killed her! It is therefore I alone who must be punished in the same way!" Then the sheik said: “O my child! you are still young, and you must love life! But I am old, and I have had enough of this world. And I will serve as a ransom for you, for the vizier and his cousins. So I repeat to you that I am the assassin. And it is towards me that we must retaliate."
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.*