Thousand & Nights: 192nd Night: The Wealthy Man & The Slave Girl -22

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that the jeweler prayed to God to protect him from harm, and went home, saying to himself, "What has happened to me is just what Abu al-Hasan feared."  Soon the people began to rush to him from all sides, some consoling him, some saying nothing,

 and others demanding their goods, while he thanked some, explained to some, and defended himself to others,  feeling so unhappy that he did not touch any food all days.

In the middle of these, one of his servants came in and said, "Lord, there is a man at the door asking for you, a stranger whom I never seen before."  When the jeweler went out, the man greeted him and said, "I have something to tell you."

The Jeweler said, 'Come in."

But the man replied, "No, let us go to your other house."

"Do I have any other house left?"

The man replied, "I know your plight and bring you comfort." I thought to myself, "I will go with him wherever he wishes."

 

We went out, and walked on, until we came to my other house.  But when he saw it, he said, "This house has no door, we cannot sit here. Let us go somewhere else."  Then he took me from place to place, without stopping at any, until the night overtook us.  I followed him in bewilderment, without asking any questions, until we reached the open country and found ourselves at the riverbank.  He said to me, "Follow me," and began to run.  I summoning all my strength ran after him unti we came to a boat.  We got into the boat, and the boatman rowed us to the opposite bank, and here we landed.  Then he took me by hand and led me to a long street that I had never seen before.  I do not know which part of Baghdad was it.

Soon the man stopped at a door, opened it, and taking me in, locked it

with a large iron key and brought me before ten men dressed alike.  I greeted them, and they returned my greeting, and bade me to be seated.  I sat because I was so exhausted and frightened.  They brought me some cold water, and I washed my hands and face with it.  Then they gave me some wine.  I drank it.  Then they brought food, and we all ate together.

"If they had any intention to harm me, they would not have eaten with me," I thought.  After washing their hands, they took their seats, and offered me a seat.  "Do you know us?" asked one  of them to me.

I replied, "I do not know you, nor do I know the man who brought me here, or where we are." 

He said, "Tell us your case without lying."

I said, "My case is strange, do you know anything about it?" 

He replied, "Yes, it were we who took your goods and carried of your friend and the girl who were in your house."

I said, "May God save you! Where are my friend and the girl?"  They pointed to two doors facing us and said, "They are there, each in separate rooms.  They insisted that none besides you should know of their situation, and since then we have never met them or questioned them.

Their fine attire has puzzled us and stopped us from killing them.  Tell us the truth about them, and do not worry about yourself or them."

But morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence.