Story of the Barber's Fifth Brother 2

The next day she will complain to her mother of the way she has been treated, which will fill my heart with joy. Her mother will come to seek me, and, kissing my hands with respect, will say, "My lord" (for she could not dare to risk my anger by using the familiar title of "son-in-law"), "My lord, do not, I implore¹（恳求，乞求） you, refuse to look upon my daughter or to approach her. She only lives to please you, and loves you with all her soul." But I shall pay no more heed²（注意，留心） to my mother-in-law's words than I did to those of the women. Again she will beseech³（恳求，哀求） me to listen to her entreaties⁴, throwing herself this time at my feet, but all to no purpose. Then, putting a glass of wine into my wife's hand, she will say to her, "There, present that to him yourself, he cannot have the cruelty to reject anything offered by so beautiful a hand," and my wife will take it and offer it to me tremblingly with tears in her eyes, but I shall look in the other direction. This will cause her to weep still more, and she will hold out the glass crying, "Adorable husband, never shall I cease my prayers till you have done me the favour to drink." Sick of her importunities, these words will goad⁵ me to fury. I shall dart⁶ an angry look at her and give her a sharp blow on the cheek, at the same time giving her a kick so violent that she will stagger（蹒跚，犹豫） across the room and fall on to the sofa. 

 

"My brother," pursued the barber, "was so much absorbed in his dreams that he actually did give a kick with his foot, which unluckily hit the basket of glass. It fell into the street and was instantly broken into a thousand pieces." 

 

His neighbour the tailor, who had been listening to his visions, broke into a loud fit of laughter as he saw this sight. 

 

"Wretched man!" he cried, "you ought to die of shame at behaving so to a young wife who has done nothing to you. You must be a brute⁷ for her tears and prayers not to touch your heart. If I were the grand-vizir I would order you a hundred blows from a bullock（小公牛） whip, and would have you led round the town accompanied by a herald⁸ who should proclaim your crimes." 

 

The accident, so fatal to all his profits, had restored my brother to his senses, and seeing that the mischief⁹ had been caused by his own insufferable pride, he rent his clothes and tore his hair, and lamented¹⁰ himself so loudly that the passers-by stopped to listen. It was a Friday, so these were more numerous than usual. Some pitied Alnaschar, others only laughed at him, but the vanity which had gone to his head had disappeared with his basket of glass, and he was loudly bewailing his folly¹¹ when a lady, evidently a person of consideration, rode by on a mule¹². She stopped and inquired what was the matter, and why the man wept. They told her that he was a poor man who had laid out all his money on this basket of glass, which was now broken. On hearing the cause of these loud wails¹³ the lady turned to her attendant and said to him, "Give him whatever you have got with you." The man obeyed, and placed in my brother's hands a purse containing five hundred pieces of gold. Alnaschar almost died of joy on receiving it. He blessed the lady a thousand times, and, shutting up his shop where he had no longer anything to do, he returned home. 

 

He was still absorbed in contemplating¹⁴ his good fortune, when a knock came to his door, and on opening it he found an old woman standing¹⁵ outside. 

 

"My son," she said, "I have a favour to ask of you. It is the hour of prayer and I have not yet washed myself. Let me, I beg you, enter your house, and give me water." 

 

My brother, although the old woman was a stranger to him, did not hesitate to do as she wished. He gave her a vessel¹⁶ of water and then went back to his place and his thoughts, and with his mind busy over his last adventure, he put his gold into a long and narrow purse, which he could easily carry in his belt. During this time the old woman was busy over her prayers, and when she had finished she came and prostrated¹⁷（使屈服） herself twice before my brother, and then rising called down endless blessings¹⁸ on his head. Observing her shabby clothes, my brother thought that her gratitude¹⁹ was in reality a hint that he should give her some money to buy some new ones, so he held out two pieces of gold. The old woman started back in surprise as if she had received an insult. "Good heavens!" she exclaimed, "what is the meaning of this? Is it possible that you take me, my lord, for one of those miserable²⁰ creatures who force their way into houses to beg for alms? Take back your money. I am thankful to say I do not need it, for I belong to a beautiful lady who is very rich and gives me everything I want." 

 

My brother was not clever enough to detect that the old woman had merely refused the two pieces of money he had offered her in order to get more, but he inquired if she could procure²¹（获得，导致） him the pleasure of seeing this lady. 

 

"Willingly," she replied; "and she will be charmed to marry you, and to make you the master of all her wealth. So pick up your money and follow me." 

 

Delighted at the thought that he had found so easily both a fortune and a beautiful wife, my brother asked no more questions, but concealing²² his purse, with the money the lady had given him, in the folds of his dress, he set out joyfully²³ with his guide. 

 

They walked for some distance till the old woman stopped at a large house, where she knocked. The door was opened by a young Greek slave, and the old woman led my brother across a well-paved court into a well-furnished hall. Here she left him to inform her mistress of his presence, and as the day was hot he flung himself on a pile of cushions and took off his heavy turban（穆斯林头巾）. In a few minutes there entered a lady, and my brother perceived at the first glance that she was even more beautiful and more richly dressed than he had expected. He rose from his seat, but the lady signed to him to sit down again and placed herself beside him. After the usual compliments had passed between them she said, "We are not comfortable here, let us go into another room," and passing into a smaller chamber²⁴, apparently²⁵ communicating with no other, she continued to talk to him for some time. Then rising hastily she left him, saying, "Stay where you are, I will come back in a moment."

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