第101章 STORY OF THE HUNCHBACK(23)

At the end of this timethe slave-girl came to him and said，'What hast thou done？'Quoth he'They are finished；'and carried the shirts to his landlordwho would have paid him his hire；but he said'I will take nothing，'for fear of the ladyand returning to his shoppassed the night without sleep for hunger.

Now the lady had told her husband how the case stoodand they had agreed to take advantage of his infatuation to make him sew for them for nothing and laugh at him. Next morningas he sat in his shopthe servant came to him and said'My master would speak with thee.'So he accompanied her to the husbandwho said to him'I wish thee to make me five cassocks.'So he cut them out and took the stuff and went away. Then he sewed them and carried them to the manwho praised his work and offered him a purse of money. He put out his hand to take itbut the lady signed to him from behind her husband not to do soand he replied'O my lordthere is no hurry： by-and-by.'Then he went outmore abject than an assfor verily five things at once were sore upon himlove and beggary and hunger and nakedness and toil；neverthelesshe heartened himself with the hope of gaining the lady's favours. When he had made an end of all their work，they put a cheat upon him and married him to their slave-girl.

but when he thought to go in to herthey said to him'Lie this night in the mill；and to-morrow all will be well.'My brother concluded that there was some good reason for this and passed the night alone in the mill. Now the husband had set on the miller to make my brother turn the mill；so in the middle of the nightthe miller came in and began to say'This ox is lazy and stands still and will not turnand there is much wheat to be ground. So I will yoke him and make him finish grinding it this nightfor the folk are impatient for their flour.'Then he filled the hoppers with grain and going up to my brotherwith a rope in his handbound him to the yoke and said to him'Cometurn the mill！Thou thinkest of nothing but eating and voiding.'Then he took a whip and laid on to my brotherwho began to weep and cry out；but none came to his aidand he was forced to grind the wheat till near daylightwhen the husband came in and seeing him yoked to the shaft and the miller flogging himwent away. At daybreak the miller went away and left him still yoked and well nigh dead；and soon after in came the slave-girlwho unbound him and said to him'I am grieved for what has befallen theeand both I and my lady are full of concern for thee.'But he had no tongue wherewith to answer herfor excess of beating and toil.

Then he returned to his lodgingand presently the notary who had drawn up the marriage contract came to him and saluted him，saying'God give thee long life！May thy marriage be blessed！

Thou hast doubtless passed the night clipping and kissing and dalliance from dusk to dawn.'May God curse thee for a liar，thousandfold cuckold that thou art！'replied my brother. 'By AllahI did nothing but turn the mill in the place of the ox all night！'Quoth the notary'Tell me thy story.'So my brother told him what had happenedand he said'Thy star agrees not with hers： but if thou wiltI can alter the contract for thee.'And my brother answered'See if thou have another device.'Then the notary left him and he sat down in his shoptill some one should bring him work by which he might earn his day's bread. Presently the slave-girl came to him and said'My mistress would speak with thee.'Gomy good girl，'replied he；'I will have no more to do with thy mistress.'So the girl returned to her mistress and told her what my brother had saidand presently she put her head out of the windowweeping and saying'O my belovedwhy wilt thou have no more to do with me？'But he made her no answer.

Then she swore to him that all that had befallen him in the mill was without her sanction and that she was guiltless of the whole affair. When he saw her beauty and grace and heard the sweetness of her speechhe forgot what had befallen him and accepted her excuse and rejoiced in her sight. So he saluted her and talked with her and sat at his sewing awhileafter which the servant came to him and said'My mistress salutes thee and would have thee to know that her husband purposes to lie this night abroad with some intimate friends of his；so when he is gonedo thou come to us and pass the night with her in all delight till the morning.'Now the man had said to his wile'How shall we do to turn him away from thee？'Quoth she'Let me play him another trick and make him a byword in the city.'But my brother knew nothing of the malice of women. As soon as it was nightthe servant came to him and carried him to the house；and when the lady saw himshe said to him'By AllahO my lordI have been longing for thee！'By Allah，'replied he'make haste and give me a kiss first of all.'Hardly had he spokenwhen the master of the house came in from an inner room and seized himsaying'By AllahI will not let thee gotill I deliver thee to the chief of the police.'My brother humbled himself to him；but he would not listen to him and carried him to the prefectwho gave him a hundred lashes with a whip and mounting him on a camelparaded him about the citywhilst the folk proclaimed aloud'This is the punishment of those who violate people's harems！'Moreover，he fell off the camel and broke his leg and so became lame. Then the prefect banished him from the city and he went forthnot knowing whither to turn；but I heard of his mishap and going out after himbrought him back and took him to live with me.'

The Khalif laughed at my story and said'Thou hast done wellO Silent OneO man of few words！'and bade me take a present and go away. But I said'I will take nothing except I tell thee what befell my other brothers： and do not think me a man of many words. KnowO Commander of the Faithfulthat Story of the Barber's Second Brother.