Thousand & One Nights: 153rd Night The Barber Tells His Story -2

Shahrazad said the story to her sister Dinarzad, in the presence of her husband and King Shahriar. The story was originally told by the barber at an assembly of men to attend recitation of Quran, where the tailor was also present. The tailor, later present it to the king of China, to get a reprieve from the punishment.

The story told by the barber:

My eldest brother was a tailor. He worked in a rented shop in Baghdad. Opposite the shop was the house of a very rich man, who had a mill in the lower part of his house.

One day, my brother, who was a hunchback sat sewing in his shop, he saw a beautiful lady at the bay of the window of the  house above the mill. She had been looking at the people below. The sight of the lady ignited the fire in my hunchback brother. He lost his mind and kept looking at the window till evening, when he closed his shop and returned home sadly. The following morning, the shop was opened, he sat sewing, but his eyes searched the lady at the window bay. Later, the lady came and stood at the window bay looking at the people coming into the market. Nothing happened. He longed to have a look of her. But she had been looking at the people coming into and going out.

The third day it happened. She looked at his shop, looked at him, and found that his eyes were riveted on her. She smiled at him. And he smiled back. Then she withdrew. He returned to his work. 

A few minutes later, a maid came and stood before his shop. She entered the shop, and said, "My lady sends you greetings and asks you to do her a favour." She took a piece of linen wrapped in a handkerchief, and said, "Cut out a blouse from this fabric and send it for her."

He took the linen fabric, cut out the blouse, and finished sewing it. The maid went back with the blouse wrapped in handkerchief.

Following day early morning the maid came to him and said, "My lady sends you greetings and would like to know how you have passed the night, for she could not herself sleep a wink, thinking of you. Now she bids you cut and sew a pair of trousers to wear with her blouse." He began to cut out the trousers and sew them deligently. A while later the lady appeared at the window, greeted him, and did not let him leave until he finished the trousers and dispatched them to her. He went home, confused and unable to buy supper. He borrowed money from a neighbour and bought some food.

The following morning, the maid came by and said, "My master wishes to see you." When he heard her mention her master, he was terrified thinking that her master had found out about him. But she said, "Don't be afraid. Nothing but good will come of this. My lady would like you get acquainted with the master."

My brother felt happy, he went in,  he greeted her husband, the master, and the master returned the greeting, and handed a very large piece of Dabiqi linen, and said, "Make this into shirt for me."

Morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence.

 Notes:-

Dabiqi was a city in Egypt.