登陆注册
12108700000063

第63章

but I knew myself to be but a man of the people and that such things befitted none save the Commander of the Faithful.And now,with thy leave,I will show thee,for thy diversion,something of what I can do.'Al-Rashid replied,'Do what thou wilt,that we may see.''To hear is to obey,'said Abu Mohammed and,moving his lips,beckoned the palace battlements,[230] whereupon they inclined to him; then he made another sign to them,and they returned to their place.Presently he made a sign with his eye,and there appeared before him closets with closed doors,to which he spoke,and lo! the voices of birds answered him from within.

The Caliph marvelled with passing marvel at this and said to him,'How camest thou by all this,seeing that thou art known only as Abu Mohammed Lazybones,and they tell me that thy father was a cupper serving in a public Hammam,who left thee nothing?'

Whereupon he answered,'Listen to my story'And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and First Night,She said,It hath reached me,O auspicious King,that Abu Mohammed Lazybones thus spake to the Caliph:'O Prince of True Believers,listen to my story,for it is a marvellous and its particulars are wondrous; were it graven with graver-needles upon the eye-corners it were a warner to whose would be warned.'Quoth Al-Rashid,'Let us hear all thou hast to say,O Abu Mohammed!'

So he began'Know then,O Commander of the Faithful (Allah prolong to thee glory and dominion!),the report of the folk;

that I am known as the Lazybones and that my father left me nothing,is true; for he was,as thou hast said,nothing but a barber-cupper in a Hammam.And I throughout my youth was the idlest wight on the face of the earth; indeed,so great was my sluggishness that,if I lay at full length in the sultry season and the sun came round upon me,I was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the shade.And thus I abode till I reached my fifteenth year,when my father deceased in the mercy of Allah Almighty and left me nothing.However,my mother used to go out a-charing and feed me and give me to drink,whilst I lay on my side.Now it came to pass that one day she came in to me with five silver dirhams,and said to me,'O my son,I hear that Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar[231] is about to go a voyage to China.'

(Now this Shaykh was a good and charitable man who loved the poor.)'So come,my son,take these five silver bits; and let us both carry them to him and beg him to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of China; so haply thou mayst make a profit of it by the bounty of Allah,whose name be exalted!'I was too idle to move for her; but she swore by the Almighty that,except I rose and went with her,she would bring me neither meat nor drink nor come in to me,but would leave me to die of hunger and thirst.

Now when I heard her words,O Commander of the Faithful,I knew she would do as she threatened for her knowledge of my sluggishness; so I said to her,'Help me to sit up.'She did so,and I wept the while and said to her,'Bring me my shoes.'

Accordingly,she brought them and I said,'Put them on my feet.'

She put them on my feet and I said,'Lift me up off the ground.'

So she lifted me up and I said,'Support me,that I may walk.'So she supported me and I continued to fare a foot,at times stumbling over my skirts,till we came to the river bank,where we saluted the Shaykh and I said to him,'O my uncle,art thou Abu al-Muzaffar?''At thy service,'answered he,and I,'Take these dirhams and with them buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply Allah may vouchsafe me a profit of it.'Quoth the Shaykh to his companions,'Do ye know this youth?'They answered,'Yes,he is known as Abu Mohammed Lazybones,and we never saw him stir from his house till this moment.'Then said he to me,'O my son,give me the silver with the blessing of Almighty Allah!'So he took the money,saying,'Bismillah in the name of Allah!'and I returned home with my mother.Presently Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar set sail,with a company of merchants,and stayed not till they reached the land of China,where he and his bought and sold; and,having won what they wished,set out on their homeward voyage.

When they had been three days at sea,the Shaykh said to his company,'Stay the vessel!'They asked,'What dost thou want?'

and he answered,'Know that I have forgotten the commission wherewith Abu Mohammed Lazybones charged me; so let us turn back that we may lay out his money on somewhat whereby he may profit.'

They cried,'We conjure thee,by Allah Almighty turn not back with us; for we have traversed a long distance and a sore,and while so doing we have endured sad hardship and many terrors.'

Quoth he,'There is no help for it but we return;'and they said,'Take from us double the profit of the five dirhams,and turn us not back.'He agreed to this and they collected for him an ample sum of money.Thereupon they sailed on,till they came to an island wherein was much people; when they moored thereto and the merchants went ashore,to buy thence a stock of precious metals and pearls and jewels and so forth.Presently Abu al-Muzaffar saw a man seated,with many apes before him,and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off; and as often as their owner's attention was diverted from them,the other apes fell upon the plucked one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon the man rose and bashed them and bound them and punished them for this; and all the apes were wroth with the plucked ape on this account and funded him the more.When Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar saw this,he felt for and took compassion upon the plucked ape and said to his master,'Wilt thou sell me yonder monkey?'Replied the man,'Buy,'and Abu al-Muzaffar rejoined,'I have with me five dirhams,belonging to an orphan lad.Wilt thou sell it me for that sum?'Answered the monkey-merchant,'It is a bargain;

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 荒境——离渊

    荒境——离渊

    盘古之初,天道怎样形成?创世之神,是否已经陨落?神话是否只是神话?通天之路是否只是传说?他从一个梦境中坠入异世,懵懵懂懂中,拥有一身强大的能力,真我回归!原来竟然是那么强大的存在!亦师亦友亦情人,那个独一无二的神,竟然和他牵牵绊绊几十万年……
  • 我是铁血异形

    我是铁血异形

    魔术师?来吧,我自己本身就是一个魔法师咋俩比比。格斗者?来吧,看看谁的拳头硬。武斗者?来吧,不是神兵你死定了。枪械师?来吧,我的战舰在等着你。夜行者?来吧,你除了逃跑什么也做不了。…………如果你们一起来我就开门,放异形女王,看谁人多。
  • 此生爱你,痴心无悔

    此生爱你,痴心无悔

    可爱的姑娘夏小柔,怎么也想不到,自己的初恋男友,会是公司的总裁王嘉华,虽然她给总裁出了一个又一个刁钻古怪的难题,但总裁全都一一解决,美人终于投入总裁的怀抱!爱情,缘分,就是这样滴,妙不可言……
  • 下一个凶手

    下一个凶手

    “他已经找上你了,你逃不掉的……”她过于鲜艳的嘴唇微微裂开一个诡异的弧度。“神经病啊!真是。”像是白领模样的精英人士推了推鼻梁上的眼镜,皱着眉头,“也不知道是哪家神经病院跑出来的病人。”女人看着西装革履的男人越走越远,嘴角边的裂口越来越大,诡谲的视线一直跟随着男人慌乱的脚步,“……”“现在是凌晨七点半,我们来播报一则新闻,昨天凌晨八点十二分分,有群众发现在大泽湖泊浮现出具男尸,据了解是某某大公司的一位白领……”张运然将手里的资料递给他,“这两宗案有什么关联?还强调让我一定要把这个资料带过来。”“你仔细看看两起案件被害人被发现的时间,就明白了。”
  • 忆梦大陆

    忆梦大陆

    忆梦,忆一世之梦,欢迎大家光临忆梦的空间,在这里没有豪华灿烂的打斗场面,没有惊世骇人的魔法、斗气,却有着忆梦的空间,一份属于自己的忆梦空间。在忆梦的大陆上,有的人想要征服整个大陆,有人想要保住自己地位,而有的人只想保住自己的简单的生活。.........当有一天,罗斯的天空发生变化的时候,李谦却被蒙在鼓里,被一纸谎言瞒着,被一纸的信念支撑着,当发现自己的努力动力来源于一直谎言的时候,李谦......
  • 犹太人经商的奥秘

    犹太人经商的奥秘

    在追求成功的道路上,不知要经历多少的坎坷,对于没有掌握成功方法的人来说,每一次的成功,也许都要经历唐僧取经般的九九八十一难。
  • 金神

    金神

    有人一夜暴富,有人一夜失贞,有人一夜成年……但叶晨在一夜之间,却被人追杀了十几个星域,虽然阴差阳错之下流亡到了灵神大陆,但一身恐怖的实力却化为乌有,一切只能从头再来。“狗曰的,出门肯定忘烧香了。”叶晨恨恨地望着面前这个贫瘠的大陆,搜寻者任何能提升实力的东西。
  • 淇奥

    淇奥

    采薇采薇,薇亦作止。曰归曰归,岁亦莫止。靡室靡家,玁狁之故。不遑启居,玁狁之故。
  • 王的邪魅冷妻

    王的邪魅冷妻

    一个杀手。一个温柔善良集美貌一身的大家闺秀。曾经的她们:光芒万丈。同样的境遇:一朝天堂,一遭地狱。相同的遭遇,不同的结果。她:破茧成蝶,她:魂归地府。平静的世界因为她的死应该更加平静,却因她的到来变得更加扑朔迷离,硝烟四起。扑朔迷离的她成了各国明争暗抢的棋子,当棋子变成棋手,谁才是那个与她一起对弈之人。宝宝:“妈咪,谁是宝宝的爹爹?”某女:“你没爹爹。”宝宝:“妈咪,宝宝是你亲生的吗?”某女:“你不是我生的难道是爹生的?”宝宝:“你不是说宝宝没爹爹吗?”某女:“......”
  • 踏仙问情

    踏仙问情

    生为何,死为何,就算仙魔挡路,又有何惧。我不问道,不问生,不问死,只问两情传世。