Thousand &:One Nights: 193rd Night: The Wealthy Man & The Slave Girl - 23

The following night Shahrazad said:

I heard, O happy King, that when the jeweler heard what they said, he almost died of fright and said to them, "If generosity was lost, none would harbour it but you;  if there existed a secret one fears to reveal, none would keep it but you; and if one faced a difficult problem, none would solve it but you."  He went on to expatiate in his praise until he saw that would be more expedient and more useful to tell the truth at once than to conceal it, particularly since it was bound to come out eventually.  So he told them the whole story, and when he finished, they asked, "Is this young man then Ali ibn-Bakkar and this young woman Shams al-Nahar?"
He replied, "Yes, I have told you everything and kept nothing from you."  They were upset and expressing regret, went to the two lovers and apologized to them.

The jeweler later related:

They said to me, "Part of what we took from your house is gone, but here is what is left of it."  And they gave me back most of the gold and silver utensils, saying, "we will carry them to your other house."

Then they divided themselves into two groups, one to go with me, the other with two lovers, who stood, almost died of fright, but their fear and desire to escape made them move and leave the house.  As we walked, I turned to them and asked, "What happened to the girl and your maids?"
Shams al-Nahar replied, "I know nothing about them.  The men led us until we came to the river bank.  Then they made us get into the same boat, and rowed us to the other side.  We landed, but no sooner had we stood on firm ground than we found ourselves surrounded by a group of horsemen.  The robbers leapt into the boat like eagles and flew away, while we stood motionless on the shore.  The horsemen asked, "Who are you?"  After some hesitation I replied, "We were kidnapped yesterday by robbers, but we implored them meekly until they took pity on us and released us, as you have seen."  

They looked at me and Ali ibn Bakkar, and Shams al-Nahar and said, "You are not telling the truth. Tell us who you are, what are your names, and in what quarter you live?" I did not know what to answer, but Shams al-Nahar took the captain of the troop aside, and as soon as she spoke with him, he dismounted and, setting her on his horse, began to lead it along by the bridle.  Two of his men did the same with Ali ibn-Bakkar and myself, and we rode on until we reached a spot on the riverbank, where the captain called out to someone who came pulling two boats.  The captain made the two lovers and myself get into one, while his men got into the other.  Then the boatmen rowed us, and we reached Caliph's palace.  Here the captain disembarked with Shams al-Nahar.  The boatman rowed us accross the river to a spot that led to our quarter.  We landed with two guards appointed for our protection. We reached Ali ibn Bakkar's house, and the two guards bade us goodbye.  As soon as they were gone we collapsed on the spot and lay fast asleep.  When I came to myself it was nightfall, and I saw Ali ibn-Bakkar lying motionless, with the men and women of his household weeping over him.  When they saw that I was awake, they made me sit up, and said, "Tell us what has happened to him, for you are the cause his misfortune and ruin."

I said, "O people....."

But morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence.







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