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The three Calenders bowed low on entering, and thanked the ladies for
their kindness and hospitality. The ladies replied with words of
welcome, and they were all about to seat themselves when the eyes of the
Calenders fell on the porter, whose dress was not so very unlike their
own, though he still wore all the hair that nature had given him.
"This," said one of them, "is apparently one of our Arab brothers, who
has rebelled against our ruler."
The porter, although half asleep from the wine he had drunk, heard
the words, and without moving cried angrily to the Calender, "Sit down
and mind your own business. Did you not read the inscription over the
door? Every-body is not obliged to live in the same way."
Heading One
"Do not be so angry, my good man," replied the Calender; "we should
be very sorry to displease you;" so the quarrel was smoothed over, and
supper began in good earnest. When the Calenders had satisfied their
hunger, they offered to play to their hostesses, if there were any
instruments in the house. The ladies were delighted at the idea, and
Sadie went to see what she could find, returning in a few moments laden
with two different kinds of flutes and a tambourine. Each Calender took
the one he preferred, and began to play a well-known air, while the
ladies sang the words of the song. These words were the gayest and
liveliest possible, and every now and then the singers had to stop to
indulge the laughter which almost choked them. In the midst of all their
noise, a knock was heard at the door.
Heading Two
Now early that evening the Caliph secretly left the palace,
accompanied by his grand-vizir, Giafar, and Mesrour, chief of the
eunuchs, all three wearing the dresses of merchants. Passing down the
street, the Caliph had been attracted by the music of instruments and
the sound of laughter, and had ordered his vizir to go and knock at the
door of the house, as he wished to enter. The vizir replied that the
ladies who lived there seemed to be entertaining their friends, and he
thought his master would do well not to intrude on them; but the Caliph
had taken it into his head to see for himself, and insisted on being
obeyed.
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The knock was answered by Sadie, with a taper in her hand, and the
vizir, who was surprised at her beauty, bowed low before her, and said
respectfully, "Madam, we are three merchants who have lately arrived
from Moussoul, and, owing to a misadventure which befel us this very
night, only reached our inn to find that the doors were closed to us
till to-morrow morning. Not knowing what to do, we wandered in the
streets till we happened to pass your house, when, seeing lights and
hearing the sound of voices, we resolved to ask you to give us shelter
till the dawn. If you will grant us this favour, we will, with your
permission, do all in our power to help you spend the time pleasantly."
- Item one
- Item two
- Item three
Sadie answered the merchant that she must first consult her sisters;
and after having talked over the matter with them, she returned to tell
him that he and his two friends would be welcome to join their company.
They entered and bowed politely to the ladies and their guests. Then
Zobeida, as the mistress, came forward and said gravely, "You are
welcome here, but I hope you will allow me to beg one thing of you--have
as many eyes as you like, but no tongues; and ask no questions about
anything you see, however strange it may appear to you."
While the vizir, Giafar, was talking to the ladies the Caliph was
occupied in wondering who they could be, and why the three Calenders had
each lost his right eye. He was burning to inquire the reason of it all,
but was silenced by Zobeida's request, so he tried to rouse him-self and
to take his part in the conversation, which was very lively, the subject
of discussion being the many different sorts of pleasures that there
were in the world. After some time the Calenders got up and performed
some curious dances, which delighted the rest of the company.
When they had finished Zobeida rose from her seat, and, taking Amina
by the hand, she said to her, "My sister, our friends will excuse us if
we seem to forget their presence and fulfil our nightly task." Amina
understood her sister's meaning, and collecting the dishes, glasses, and
musical instruments, she carried them away, while Sadie swept the hall
and put everything in order. Having done this she begged the Calenders
to sit on a sofa on one side of the room, and the Caliph and his friends
to place themselves opposite. As to the porter, she requested him to
come and help her and her sister.
Shortly after Amina entered carrying a seat, which she put down in
the middle of the empty space. She next went over to the door of a
closet and signed to the porter to follow her. He did so, and soon
reappeared leading two black dogs by a chain, which he brought into the
centre of the hall. Zobeida then got up from her seat between the
Calenders and the Caliph and walked slowly across to where the porter
stood with the dogs. "We must do our duty,"
she said with a deep sigh, pushing back her sleeves, and, taking a
whip from Sadie, she said to the man, "Take one of those dogs to my
sister Amina and give me the other."
The porter did as he was bid, but as he led the dog to Zobeida it
uttered piercing howls, and gazed up at her with looks of entreaty. But
Zobeida took no notice, and whipped the dog till she was out of breath.
She then took the chain from the porter, and, raising the dog on its
hind legs, they looked into each other's eyes sorrowfully till tears
began to fall from both. Then Zobeida took her handkerchief and wiped
the dog's eyes tenderly, after which she kissed it, then, putting the
chain into the porter's hand she said, "Take it back to the closet and
bring me the other."
The same ceremony was gone through with the second dog, and all the
while the whole company looked on with astonishment. The Caliph in
particular could hardly contain himself, and made signs to the vizir to
ask what it all meant. But the vizir pretended not to see, and turned
his head away.
Zobeida remained for some time in the middle of the room, till at
last Sadie went up to her and begged her to sit down, as she also had
her part to play. At these words Amina fetched a lute from a case of
yellow satin and gave it to Sadie, who sang several songs to its
accompaniment. When she was tired she said to Amina, "My sister, I can
do no more; come, I pray you, and take my place."
Amina struck a few chords and then broke into a song, which she sang
with so much ardour that she was quite overcome, and sank gasping on a
pile of cushions, tearing open her dress as she did so to give herself
some air. To the amazement of all present, her neck, instead of being as
smooth and white as her face, was a mass of scars.
Continued
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