Thousand & One Nights: 128th Night: The Young Baghdad Man & Zubaida's Maid

The young man stayed in the palace ten days and nights without seeing the young lady. Lady Zubaida consulted the Caliph about the marriage of her waiting woman, and he gave permission and assigned ten thousand dirhams. Lady Zubaida sent for judges and witnesses, and they drew up marriage contract, performed the ceremony, celebrated the wedding for ten days. Sumptuous meals and sweets were served. At the end of ten days the young lady entered the bath.

They set before the Baghdad Young man, the bridegroom a supper tray. Among the dishes was a greate platter of ragout cooked with pistachio nuts, white sugar, rose water and cumin. The young groom fell upon ragout and ate it until.he was satisfied. Then he wiped his hands and forgot to wash the hands.

When the night fell, they lit the candles. Musicians and singing women came in procession singing melodies accompanied by tambourines. They kept parading from room to room, displaying the bride and receiving gifts and money and pieces of silk, until they made the round of the whole the palace, and brought her to the bridegroom. They dosorbed her and left her with the bridegroom. But no sooner had the bridegroom embraced her, than smelling the ragout spiced with cumin on hand, she let out a loud scream that the maids rushed in from all sides and stood around her. The bridegroom sat alarmed, not knowing why she had screamed. The maids asked her, "Sister, what is the matter with you?"
"Take this mad man away from me." The Baghdad Young man got up, afraid and bewildered, and asked her, "My lady, What makes you think me mad?"
"Mad man, didn't you eat ragout spiced with cumin without washing your hands? By God, I will punish you for it. Shall the like of you consummate marriage with one like me, with a hand smelling of ragout spiced with cumin?" Then she yelled at the girls, "Throw him to the ground." They threw him to the ground. She took a braided whip and fell with it on his back and buttocks until her arm was tired. Then she said to the girls, "Take him and send him to the chief of police, so that he may cut off the hand with which he ate ragout without washing it and sparing me the stench." When the young man heard this he thought, "There is no power and no strength, save in God. What a calamity! I have suffered such a painful beating and will my hand be cut off just because I ate the ragout spiced with cumin and forgot to wash my hands? May God curse this ragout and its very existence."

Morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence.

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