Thousand & One Nights:160th Night contd. The Barber Tells His Story - 10

My fourth brother was a butcher in Baghdad. He was one eyed. He was a successful butcher; prominent and wealthy persons bought meat from him.  He bought houses and property and amassed great wealth. 

One day, an old man with long beard came to his shop.  He gave the owner some money and asked for meat.  My brother cut for him his money's worth and the old man went away. The silver coins that the old man gave were very brilliant and my brother put them separately. The old man continued to come for five more months.  My brother purchased a separate chest and kept the silver coins in it.

He was in dire need of money to purchase a new flock of sheep and he decided to use the money he separately kept in the chest. But when he opened the chest to take out the money he found nothing in it except some papers cut round.  He beat his head and cried out, and when people gathered around him, he told them his story.  Then he rose, and slaughtering a ram as usual and hung it up outside the shop, saying to himself, "Perhaps that wretched old man will come back."

Soon that old man came up, holding his money in his hand.  My brother rose, and catching hold of him, cried out, "O Muslims, come and hear what happened to me at the hands of this crooked old man!" The old man heard his words, and asked him, "What do you prefer, to let go of me or to have me expose you before everybody?" My brother asked him, "Expose me for what?" 

The old man replied, "For selling human flesh for mutton."

My brother said, "You are lying, you cursed man."

The false old man cried out, "He has a man hanging up in his shop." 

My brother replied, "If you are telling the truth, my property and my life are forfeit." 

The old man said, "O fellow citizens, if you wish to prove the truth of my words go into his shop."

The people rushed into his shop, and instead of ram, saw the carcass of a man hanging up there. They seized my brother. Cried out, "infiddel! O Villian! and even his best friends began to beat him, saying to him, "You has given us human flesh to eat."  The old man struck him on the eye and put it out.  They carried the carcass to the chief of the police, to whom the old man said, "Prince, we have brought you a man who slaughters people and sells their flesh for mutton.  Carry out on him the justice of the Almighty God."  My brother tried to tell the chief what the old man had done, and how the silver coins he received had turned out to be pieces of paper, but the chief would not listen and ordered him to be flogged, and he was given five hundred blows.  Then the chief confiscated everything, money, property, sheep, and shop, and he had not been able to bribe him.  They paraded him for three days throughout the city and banished him. 

My brother wandered, and came to a great city, where he took the trade of a cobbler, and later opened a shop.  One day he went out on some business.  On the way he heard a clamour and tramping of horses behind him. The king was on his hunting expedition.  He stopped to look at the King's attire.  The king's eyes chanced to meet his, and the king bowed his head, and said, "May God protect me from the evil.of this day," and drawing the bridle rode back followed by all his men. 

Later, king's men seized my brother and gave him a painful beating, until he nearly died, without telling any reason.  He returned sadly to his shop.  Later, he went to see a man in king's service.  He told him what had happened to him. The man laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and said, "My friend, the king cannot endure the sight of one eyed, especially he is blind in the right eye.  He will not rest until he puts him to death."  My brother decided to run away.

But morning overtook and Shahrazad lapsed into silence