Speak Bird Speak Again (49 page)

Now,
brothers, every morning Maruf would visit with the king, stay awhile,
then go up and fill his pockets with money, which he distributed in
the city before coming back home. This went on for ten, fifteen,
twenty days, till the money outside the chest was gone. Reaching for
the treasury then, Maruf opened it and gave away from that money too.

By the
time the king had realized his mistake the treasury was nearly empty,
and the money outside it had already vanished.

"My
vizier," said the king, "save me!"

"The
owner saves his own property, O Ruler of the Age!" replied the
vizier. "What happened?"

"This
man has squandered all the spare money outside the treasury, and now
even it is nearly empty. It's already been two months, and we haven't
seen his merchandise or anything else. We're afraid he's a liar. What
have we gotten ourselves into?"

"By
Allah, it's not my fault," said the vizier.

"And
now, what are we to do?" insisted the king.

"By
Allah, O Ruler of the Age," answered the vizier, "no one
can expose a man better than his wife. To your daughter, then!"

Sending
for her, the king said, "Daughter, the situation is such and
such, and we're afraid your husband may be a liar. Why don't you
sound him out and see if he really does have goods coming or not,
then send me word?"

"Fine,"
she said, and went home.

That
evening, after visiting with the king, Maruf went home. His wife
became coy with him, teasing him with questions: "By Allah,
cousin, when's your merchandise arriving?" and "What's
become of it?" and "How ..." She kept up this coyness
until he fell for her trick and chuckled.

"What's
the matter?" she asked.

"By
Allah," he answered, "I don't have any merchandise or
anything else. I'm a poor man whose life story is such and such,"
and he told her his story.

"What"
she exclaimed.

"By
Allah," he replied, "I've told it to you as it is."

"What
can I say to you?" she answered. "We've been together as
man and wife, and it would be a shame for me to betray you. But if my
father were to find out, what might he not do to you? You tricked
him, took his daughter, and spent his money. And even if my father
doesn't kill you, those merchants whose money you took will do so.
So, better get up! Let's go!"

Going
down to the stable, she made a horse ready for him, putting
provisions in the saddlebags. "Take care," she added, "not
to stay in this country, where someone may bring up your name.
Wherever they hear of you, they'll want to kill you. If my father
asks me in the morning, I'll say, 'He got news of his merchandise and
had to go see about it.' As for you, run as fast as you can! Beware
of staying in this country!"

What
was Maruf to do? Mounting the horse, he sped out of there. Brother,
he stayed here one day and there another until he had been going for
Allah knows how long. One day his provisions ran out, and hunger
pricked him. Traveling on a road by a village, he saw a farmer
planting the fields below the village and parallel to the road. As he
passed by him, he greeted him, "Hello!"

"Welcome!"
answered the farmer.

"O
uncle," he asked, "would you happen to have a loaf of bread
for me to eat?" Maruf was something to look at! Seeing a man
with royal robes, a horse, and a saddle - it was like another world
to the farmer, and he said, "Yes, brother. Stop by and honor me
with your presence."

When
Maruf joined him, the plowman halted his team, took his rough cloak,
spread it on a rock, and said, "Sit down here until I go bring
you some food. My house is right over there." Going up to his
house, he said to his wife, "Woman, such and such is the story.
Make us a bit of lentil soup and crumble some bread into it!"
Ah! What was he to do? That was all he had. His wife was lively, and
she made the food quickly.

Meanwhile,
Maruf said to himself, "This poor man - I've held up his work. I
might as well get up and help him out with the team until he comes
back with the food." Taking hold of the plow, he shouted at the
animals. He plowed a furrow, and in the course of the second the plow
hit against something. He prodded the animals with the goad, and they
pulled against the root that snagged the plow. And behold! it gave
way to a door leading to a tunnel. Stopping the team, Maruf went down
into the tunnel. And what, my dears, did he find but sealed pots full
of money! Seeing a ring by the mouth of one of the jars, he took it
up. Now, the ring was dirty and covered with dust, and he wanted to
wipe it off, but no sooner had he done like this with it than a being
shook himself up.

"Your
servant, master!" he said. "Order and wish, and it will be
done!"

This
being was the jinni residing in the ring.

"I
want all this treasure outside," said Maruf, "loaded on
mules and camels."

No
sooner had he said this than it was all outside, loaded on camels and
mules.

"I
want a hundred camels loaded with cloth," continued Maruf. "I
want a hundred mules loaded with sugar. I want this, I want that. I
want gold, I want precious stones. I want soldiers. I want, and I
want ..."

Now,
that poor plowman - he had barely come down with the food when he
looked, and behold! he saw a king with his army. It was as if all
hell had broken loose. Eh! Eh! He took one step back and one forward,
but Maruf, seeing him, called him over. "Come, come!" he
said, "Bring me that tray!" Putting the tray in front of
him, he ate the food, then he scooped handfuls of gold into the tray
until he had filled it. After that he turned around and marched in
front of his merchandise, dear brothers, till he reached his
father-in-law's territory.

In the
morning, the king sent for his daughter.

"So,
daughter?" he asked.

"By
Allah, father," she answered, "the other night while we
were sleeping word came that the merchandise was on its way, and he
went to pick it up."

Eh!
How pleased was the king! The poor daughter, on the other hand, was
only trying to let her husband escape so no one could catch and kill
him.

Meanwhile,
Maruf, as he approached his father-in-law's domain, sent a messenger
out to let the king know his son-in-law was on his way with the
goods.

Gathering
the army and his cabinet, the king came out to receive his
son-in-law. And behold! What a shipment it was, my dears! Look, it
was like asking for what you want with your own tongue. Whatever you
could possibly want was to be found there.

Coming
into the city, Maruf paid back four thousand pounds to those from
whom he had taken two, and eight thousand to those who had given him
four. The rest he sent away for keeping in his father-in-law's
storehouses - the gold in one room, the jewelry in another, the rice
here, the sugar there, the goods, the cloth ... It was like the end
of the world! He filled the whole place with goods.

"See,
my vizier!" said the king. "Didn't I tell you!"

The
vizier was a shrewd man; nothing was lost on him. "This couldn't
be mere merchandise," he thought. "So many diamonds, and so
much gold! Something isn't right here!" Now, in the course of
his evening visits with the king and his son-in-law, the vizier spied
the ring and recognized what it was.

"O
Ruler of the Age!" he said, "By Allah, we're bored, and
we'd like to have a party in the orchard, just for me and you and the
merchant

Maruf,
your son-in-law. Let's take food and drink with us, and have a good
time entertaining ourselves together."

"Yes,
my vizier," responded the king, "why not?"

The
next day the king spoke with his son-in-law. What was he to say? He
accepted. But his wife, the king's daughter, saw the ring and
recognized it. "Why don't you give me this ting?" she
asked. "Leave it here with me."

"No,"
said Maruf.

"Listen
to me," she repeated, "and leave the ring with me. Here,
give it to me right now, and let me keep it."

"No,"
he said again, refusing to give it to her.

By
Allah, brothers, the following day they prepared themselves, taking
servants with them who carried the things down to the orchard and
left. Only the king, his son-in-law, and the vizier remained. The
vizier acted as their servant. After they had eaten and were content,
he served the king and his friend with wine, "Your cup! Your
cup!" My dears, he kept pouting wine and giving to them to drink
until they fell over. They were both finished - the king and his
son-in-law. And no sooner had they fallen over - no sluggard he! -
than the vizier snatched the ring from the man's finger and rubbed
it.

"Your
servant, master! Order and wish, and it will be done!"

"I
want you to dump these two behind the mountain called Qaf,"
ordered the vizier.

Taking
them up, the jinni hauled them away. Meanwhile, as soon as he had
gotten rid of them, the vizier went home. When did he go? In the
evening. And where did he straightaway go? To the palace of the
king's daughter. He wanted her. Of course, he wanted to have control
of the kingdom and everything else there. But the moment she saw him
coming back by himself the girl knew what had happened. She was a
clever one. And when he called on her, she opened for him.

"Where
are my father and my husband?" she asked.

"What
do you need your father and your husband for?" he replied.
"Don't even bring them up! I'm now king, and I'm also your
husband."

"Did
you really get rid of them?"

"They're
indeed gone?

"I
was only looking for the truth," she said. "I want the
truth. Will I find anyone better than you? I wanted to be rid of them
anyway. Welcome, welcome!"

Brother,
she became all-welcoming for him. "One hundred welcomes!"
she said again.

"By
Allah," he said, "this is the most blessed hour."

Receiving
him with more welcomes, she brought out whatever food she had
prepared for her husband and her father and served him with her own
hands. And brother, how important she made him feel! After they had
finished dinner and eaten fruits and desserts, they spent some time
chatting with each other and feeling contented. Then it was time for
sleep, and the vizier took off his clothes and lay in bed, saying,
"Take off your clothes." Removing some of her clothes, but
leaving on a nightgown, she lay down next to him, but when he reached
out his hand to touch her she jumped up.

"What's
the matter?" he asked.

"What's
the matter with you?" she replied. "You want to sleep here,
but don't you know that a spirit resides in your ring. Take it off
right now and leave it on that table over there! Tomorrow morning you
can put it back on, but now it would be a shame. It's forbidden."

All
that and I don't know what else, until he said, "By Allah,
you're right." And going over to the table, he left the ring
there and came back to bed, again lying down next to her. But no
sooner did he reach for her than up she jumped again.

"What's
the matter now?" he asked.

"We
forgot to lock the door," she replied. "I want to get up
and lock it. Someone might walk in on us."

Then
she went straight to the table on her way to the door, took hold of
the ring, and rubbed it.

"Your
servant, master! Order and wish, and it will be done!"

"Take
this dog," she commanded, "tie him up, and throw him over
there by the pillar." When that was done, she said, "Bring
my husband and my father back from wherever you left them!"

The
jinni went and brought them back, and they found the vizier tied up
by the pillar. Now, the king - he wasn't asleep, brother! - drew his
sword and struck the vizier a blow, and lo! his head was rolling.

"Drag
this dog away!" he commanded, and it was done. The vizier was
thrown over the palace walls, and the king put his son-in-law as
vizier in his place. Thereafter he and his son-in-law lived in
comfort and bliss, and may Allah make life sweet for all my
listeners!

45.

Once,
long ago, there was a poor outcast of a man, and no one was willing
to give him work. His name was Sparrow, and his wife's name was
Locust. One day she started to grumble.

"Don't
you fear Allah?" she said. "Your children are dying of
hunger. Don't we need to eat? Don't we need to drink? Why don't you
find some work?"

"There
is no work I can do," he answered.