Thousand & One Nights: 34th Night: A Porter & 3 Ladies

Three wealthy, civilized girls lived independently in their palacious house. The porter was entrusted by one of the girls, to carry her merchandise from the market to their house. She was the shopper. The doorkeeper was the girl who opened the door. The girl with Babylonian eyes was the third. Then there came three dervishes seeking shelter for the night. Later came Harun Al Rashid and his Ja'far and Masrur.

"You are welcome," said the girls, as the Caliph, Ja'far and Masrur sat down, "and we are delighted to have you as our guests, but on one condition"

"What's your condition?" They asked.

"That you will be eyes without tongues and will not inquire into whatever you see." The girls said and continued, "You will speak not of what concerns you not, lest you hear what pleases you not."

"As you wish," they said, "we have no reason to meddle."

Pleased, the girls sat to entertain them, drinking and conversing with them. The Caliph was astonished to see three dervishes, all blind in the right eye, and he was especially astonished to see girls with such beauty, charm, eloquence, and generosity in such a lovely place, with a music band consisting of three one eyed dervishes. That he was unable to ask any question, was not to his liking. They began to converse and drink. The dervishes rose and bowed; another round of music by them; followed by a rest and a cup to pass around.

Wine had taken its hold on the party. The girl with Babylonian eyes was the mistress of the house. She bowed, and took the shopper by the hand, and said, "Sister, let us do our duty." Sisters replied, "Very well."

The doorkeeper got up, cleared the table, got rid of the peels and shells,
replenished the incense, and cleared the middle of the hall. Then she made the dervishes sit on a sofa at the other side of the hall. And then she shouted at the porter, "You are very lazy. Get up, and lend us a hand, for you are a member of the househld." The porter got up and girding himself asked, "What's up?

"Stand where you are," said she. The shopper placed a chair in the middle of the hall, opened a cupboard, and said to the porter, "Come and help me."  When the porter approached, he saw two black female hounds with chains around their necks. He took them and led them to the middle of the hall. "It is time to perform our duty," said the mistress of the house coming forward. She rolled up her sleeves, took a braided whip, and called the porter, "Bring me one of the bitches." The porter dragged one of the bitches by the chain and brought her forward, while she wept, and shook her head at the girl. As the porter stood holding the chain, the girl came down on the bitch with hard blows on the sides, while the bitch howled and wept. The girl kept beating the bitch until her arm got weary. Then she stopped, threw the whip away, and taking the whip from the porter, embraced the bitch and began to cry, and the two cried together for a long time. Then the girl wiped the tears of the bitch with her handkerchief, kissed her on the head, and said to the porter, "Take her back to her place, and bring me the other." The porter took the bitch to the cupboard and brought the other bitch to the girl, who did to her as she had done to the first, beating her until she fainted. Then she took the bitch, cried with her, kissed her on the head, and asked the porter to take back her to her sister, and he took her back. 

The guests who witnessed these scenes were completely amazed, and began to speak under their breath. The Caliph felt himself troubled and lost all his patience, and burned with curiosity to know the story of bitches. He winked to Ja'far, but Ja'far, turning to him, said with a sign, "This is not the time to inquire."

When the girl finished punishing the two bitches, the doorkeeper said to her, My Lady, go and sit on your couch, so that I in turn may fulfill my desire." The girl replied, "Very well," and went to the far end of the hall and seated herself on the couch, with caliph, Ja'far, and Masrur seated in a row to her right, and the dervishes and the porter to her left, and although the candles burned and the incense filled the place, the men were depressed and felt that their evening was spoiled. The doorkeeper sat on the chair.

The day broke.




Note:-

1. Ja'far: Ja'far ibn Yahya was a Persian vizier of Harun Al Rashid. He was a member of influential Barmakid Iranian family from Balkh, Afghanistan. Barmakids were originally members of Nawbahar Buddhist monastery. Ja'far was later executed at the orders of Harun Al Rashid.
2. Masrur is the sword bearer and executioner of Harun Al Rashid.

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