Then he fell to eating with her, and while they were thus engaged, in came his two brothers, whom a man of the quarter had apprised of his return, saying, ‘Your brother is come back, riding on a mule, with a slave before him, and wearing a dress that hath not its like.’ So they said to each other, ‘Would we had not ill-treated our mother! She will surely tell him how we did by her, and then how sore will be our disgrace with him!’ But one of them said, ‘Our mother is tender-hearted, and if she tell him, our brother is yet tenderer over us than she; and if we excuse ourselves to him, he will accept our excuse.’ So they went in to him and he rose to them and saluting them after the friendliest manner, bade them sit and eat. So they ate till they were satisfied, for they were weak with hunger; after which Jouder said to them, ‘O my brothers, take what is left and distribute it to the poor.’ ‘O brother,’ replied they, ‘let us keep it to sup withal.’ But he said, ‘When supper-time comes, ye shall have more than this.’ So they took the rest of the victual and going out, gave of it to every poor man who passed by them, saying, ‘Take and eat,’ till there was nothing left. Then they brought back the dishes and Jouder said to his mother, ‘Put them in the saddle-bags.’

  When it was night, he entered the saloon and took forth of the saddle-bags a table of forty dishes; after which he went up [to the upper chamber] and sitting down between his brothers, said to his mother, ‘Bring the supper.’ So she went down to the saloon and finding there the dishes ready, laid the tray and brought up the forty dishes, one after another. Then they ate the evening meal, and when they had done, Jouder said to his brothers, ‘Take and feed the poor and needy.’ So they took what was left and gave alms thereof, and presently he brought forth to them sweetmeats, whereof they ate, and what was left he bade them give to the neighbours. On the morrow, they broke their fast after the same fashion, and thus they fared ten days, at the end of which time quoth Salim to Selim, ‘How comes it that our brother sets before us a banquet in the morning and another at noon and a third at sundown, besides sweetmeats at night, and all that is left he gives to the poor? Verily, this is the fashion of Sultans. Yet we never see him buy aught, and he hath neither cook nor kitchen, nor doth he light a fire. Whence hath he this great plenty? Hast thou not a mind to enquire the cause of all this?’ ‘By Allah, I know not,’ replied Selim. ‘But knowest thou any who will tell us the truth of the case?’ And Salim said, ‘None will tell us but our mother.’

  So they laid a plot and going in to their mother one day, in Jouder’s absence, said to her, ‘O our mother, we are hungry.’ ‘Rejoice,’ answered she; ‘[for ye shall presently be satisfied;]’ and going into the saloon, sought of the servant of the saddle-bags hot meats, which she took out and set before her sons. ‘O our mother,’ said they, ‘this meat is hot; yet hast thou not cooked, neither kindled a fire.’ Quoth she, ‘It comes from the saddle-bags;’ and they, ‘What manner of thing are these saddle-bags?’ ‘They are enchanted,’ replied she and told them their virtue, enjoining them to secrecy. Quoth they, ‘O our mother, the secret shall be kept; but teach us the manner of this.’ So she taught them the fashion thereof and they fell to putting their hands into the saddle-bags and taking forth whatever they had a mind to.

  Then quoth Salim [privily] to Selim, ‘O my brother, how long shall we abide with Jouder servant-wise and eat of his charity? Shall we not cast about to get the saddle-bags from him and make off with them?’ ‘And how shall we make shift to do this?’ asked Selim. ‘We will sell him to the galleys,’ replied Salim; and Selim said, ‘How shall we do that?’ Quoth Salim, ‘We will go to the Captain [of the galleys] of the Sea of Suez and bid him to an entertainment, with two of his company. What I say to Jouder do thou confirm, and at the end of the night I will show thee what I will do.’

  So they agreed upon this and going to the captain’s lodging, said to him, ‘O captain, we have come to thee on an errand that will content thee.’ ‘Good,’ answered he; and they, ‘We two are brethren, and we have a third brother, a lewd, good-for-nothing fellow. When our father died, he left us some money, which we shared amongst us, and he took his part and wasted it in lewdness and debauchery, till he was reduced to beggary, when he came upon us and cited us before the magistrates, avouching that we had taken his good and that of his father, and we disputed the matter before the judges and lost the money. Then he waited awhile and attacked us a second time, till he brought us to poverty; nor will he desist from us, and we have no peace for him; wherefore we would have thee buy him of us.’ Quoth the captain, ‘Can ye go about with him and make shift to bring him to me here? If so, I will pack him off to sea forthright.’ ‘We cannot avail to bring him here,’ answered they; ‘but be thou our guest [this night] and bring with thee two of thy men, no more; and when he is asleep, we will fall upon him, we five, and gag him. Then shalt thou carry him forth the house, under cover of the night, and do with him as thou wilt.’ ‘So be it,’ rejoined the captain. ‘Will ye sell him for forty dinars?’ ‘Yes,’ said they. ‘Come to such a street, by such a mosque, after nightfall, and thou shalt find one of us awaiting thee.’

  Then they repaired to Jouder and waited awhile, after which Salim went up to him and kissed his hand. Quoth Jouder, ‘What ails thee, O my brother?’ And he made answer, saying, ‘Know that I have a friend, who hath many a time bidden me to his house in thine absence and hath ever hospitably entreated me, and I owe him a thousand kindnesses, as my brother here knoweth. I met him to-day and he invited me to his house, but I said to him, “I cannot leave my brother [Jouder].” Quoth he, “Bring him with thee;” and I answered, saying, “He will not consent to that; but if ye will be my guests, thou and thy brothers . . . . . . ;” for his brothers were sitting with him, and I invited them, thinking that they would refuse. But he accepted my invitation, saying, “Look for me at the gate of the Mosque, and I will come to thee, I and my brothers.” And now I fear they will come and am ashamed before thee. So wilt thou set my heart at rest and entertain them this night, for thy good is abundant, O my brother? Or if thou consent not, give me leave to take them into the neighbours’ house.’ ‘Why shouldst thou carry them into the neighbours’ house?’ replied Jouder. ‘Is our house then so strait or have we not wherewithal to give them to sup? Shame on thee to consult me! Thou hast but to call for what thou needest and have rich meats and sweetmeats and to spare. Whenever thou bringest home folk in my absence, ask thy mother, and she will set before thee victual more than enough. Go and fetch them; blessings have descended upon us.’

  So Salim kissed his hand and going forth, sat at the gate of the mosque till after sundown, when the Captain and his men came up to him, and he carried them to the house. When Jouder saw them, he bade them welcome and made them sit and entreated them friendly, knowing not what he was to suffer at their hands. Then he called to his mother for supper, and she fell to taking dishes out of the saddle-bags, whilst he said, ‘Bring such and such meats,’ till she had set forty different dishes before them. So they ate till they were satisfied and the tray was taken away, the sailors thinking the while that this liberal entertainment came from Salim. When a third part of the night was past, Jouder set sweetmeats before them and Salim served them; whilst his two brothers sat with the guests, till they sought to sleep. So Jouder laid down and the others with him, who waited till he was asleep, when they fell upon him and gagging and binding him, before he was awake, carried him forth of the house, under cover of the night. Then they packed him off to Suez, where they shackled him and set him to work as a [galley] slave; and he ceased not to serve thus in silence a whole year.

  As for his brothers, they went in next morning to his mother and said to her, ‘O mother, our brother Jouder is not awake.’ Quoth she, ‘Do ye wake him.’ ‘Where lieth he?’ asked they, and she replied, ‘With the guests.’ ‘Peradventure,’ rejoined they, ‘he went away with them whilst we slept. It would seem that he had tasted of foreign travel and yearned to find hidden treasures; for we heard him talk with the Moors, and they said to him, “We will take thee with us and open the treasure to thee.”’ ‘Hath he then been in company with Moors?’ asked she, and they answered, saying, ‘Were they not our guests yesternight?’ ‘Most like he hath gone with them,’ said she; ‘but God will direct him aright; for there is a blessing upon him and he will surely come back with great good.’ And she wept, for it was grievous to her to be parted from her son.

  Then said they to her, ‘O accursed woman, dost thou love Jouder with all this love, whilst as for us, whether we be absent or present, thou neither joyest in us nor sorrowest for us? Are we not thy sons, even as Jouder is thy son?’ ‘Ye are indeed my sons,’ answered she; ‘but ye are reprobates who deserve no favour of me, for I have never had any satisfaction of you since your father’s death; whilst, as for Jouder, I have had abundant good of him and he has comforted my heart and entreated me with honour; wherefore it behoves me to weep for him, because of his goodness to me and to you.’

  When they heard this, they reviled her and beat her; after which they sought for the saddle-bags, till they found the two pairs and took the enchanted one and all the gold and jewels from the other, saying, ‘This was our father’s good.’ ‘Not so, by Allah!’ said their mother. ‘It belongs to your brother Jouder, who brought it from the land of the Moors.’ ‘Thou liest,’ answered they; ‘it was our father’s property; and we will dispose of it.’

  Then they divided the gold and jewels between them; but a dispute arose between them concerning the enchanted saddle-bags, each saying, ‘I will have them;’ and they came to high words over this. Then said she, ‘O my sons, ye have divided the gold and the jewels, but this may not be divided, nor can its value be made up in money; and if it be cut in twain, its virtue will be annulled; so leave it with me and I will give you to eat from it at all times and be content to take a morsel with you. If ye give me aught to clothe me, it will be of your favour, and each of you shall traffic with the folk for himself. Ye are my sons and I am your mother; wherefore let us abide as we are, lest your brother come back and we be disgraced.’ But they hearkened not to her words and passed the night, wrangling with one another.

  Now it chanced that a sergeant of the King’s guards was a guest in the adjoining house and heard them through the open window. So he looked out and listening, heard all that passed between them. Next morning, he presented himself before the King of Egypt, whose name was Shems ed Dauleh, and told him all he had heard, whereupon he sent for Jouder’s brothers and put them to the torture, till they confessed; and he took the two pairs of saddle-bags from them and clapped them in prison, appointing a sufficient daily allowance to their mother.

  Meanwhile, Jouder abode a whole year in service at Suez, till, one day, being in a ship bound on a voyage over the sea, a wind arose against them and cast the vessel upon a rock, where she broke up and all on board were drowned, save Jouder. He got ashore in safety and fared on inland, till he reached an encampment of Bedouins, who questioned him of his case, and he told them what had befallen him. Now there was amongst them a merchant, a native of Jiddah, who took pity on him and said to him, ‘O Egyptian, wilt thou take service with me and I will clothe thee and carry thee with me to Jiddah?’ So Jouder took service with him and followed him to Jiddah, where he showed him much favour. After awhile, the merchant set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca, taking Jouder with him, and when they reached the city, the latter repaired to the temple, to make the round of the Kaabeh. As he was making the prescribed circuits, he saw his friend Abdussemed the Moor doing the like; and when the latter caught sight of him, he saluted him and asked him how he did; whereupon Jouder wept and told him all that had befallen him.

  The Moor carried him to his lodging and entreated him with honour, clothing him in a dress of unmatched richness and saying to him, ‘Thou hast seen the end of thine ills, O Jouder.’ Then he levelled a tablet of sand and drew a geomantic figure, by which he discovered what had befallen Salim and Selim and said to Jouder, ‘Such and such things have befallen thy brothers and they are now in the King of Egypt’s prison; but do thou abide with me and accomplish thy religious duties at thine ease, and all shall be well.’ ‘O my lord,’ replied Jouder, ‘let me go and take leave of the merchant with whom I am and after I will come back to thee.’ ‘Dost thou owe money?’ asked the Moor, and he answered, ‘No.’ ‘Go,’ said Abdussemed, ‘and take leave of him and come back forthright, for men of honour owe a duty to those whose bread they have eaten.’

  So Jouder returned to the merchant and took leave of him, saying, ‘I have fallen in with my brother.’ ‘Bring him here,’ said the merchant, ‘and we will make him an entertainment.’ But Jouder answered, saying, ‘He has no need of that; for he is a man of wealth and hath many servants.’ Then the merchant gave Jouder twenty dinars, saying, ‘Acquit me of responsibility;’ and he bade him farewell and went forth from him. As he went along, he saw a poor man, so he gave him the twenty dinars and returned to the Moor, with whom he abode till they had accomplished the rites of the pilgrimage, when Abdussemed gave him the ring, that he had taken from the treasure of Es Shemerdel, saying, ‘This ring will bring thee to thy desire, for it is enchanted and hath a servant, by name Er Raad el Casif; so whatever thou hast a mind to of the things of this world, rub this ring and its servant will appear and do all thou biddest him.’

  Then he rubbed the ring before him, whereupon the genie appeared, saying, ‘Here I am, O my lord! Ask what thou wilt and it shall be given thee. Hast thou a mind to people a ruined city or lay waste a flourishing one or slay a king or put an army to the rout?’ ‘O Raad,’ said Abdussemed, ‘this is become thy lord; do thou serve him faithfully.’ Then he dismissed him and said to Jouder, ‘Rub the ring and the genie will appear; and do thou command him to do whatever thou desirest, for he will not gainsay thee. Now go to thine own country and take care of the ring, for it will enable thee to baffle thine enemies.’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Jouder, ‘with thy leave, I will set out homeward.’ Quoth the Moor, ‘Summon the genie and mount upon his back; and if thou say to him, “Bring me to my native city this very day,” he will not gainsay thy commandment.’

  So he took leave of the Moor and rubbed the ring, whereupon Er Raad presented himself, saying, ‘Here am I; ask and it shall be given to thee.’ ‘Carry me to Cairo this day,’ said Jouder. ‘Thy commandment shall be done,’ answered the genie and taking him on his back, flew with him from noon till midnight, when he set him down in the courtyard of his mother’s house and disappeared. Jouder went in to his mother, who rose at sight of him and greeted him, weeping. Then she told him how the king had beaten his brothers and cast them into prison and taken the two pairs of saddle-bags; which when he heard, it was grievous to him and he said to her, ‘Grieve not for this; I will show thee what I can do and bring my brothers hither forthright.’ So he rubbed the ring, whereupon the genie appeared, saying, ‘At thy service! Ask and thou shalt have.’ Quoth Jouder, ‘Bring me my two brothers from the prison.’

  So the genie sank into the earth and came not up but in the midst of the gaol where Salim and Selim lay in piteous plight and sore affliction, for the misery of prison, so that they wished for death and one of them said to the other, ‘By Allah, O my brother, affliction is long upon us! How long shall we abide in this prison? Death would be relief.’ As he spoke, the earth clove in sunder and out came Er Raad, who took them up and plunged with them into the earth. They swooned away for excess of fear, and when they recovered, they found themselves in their mother’s house and saw her seated, with Jouder by her side. Quoth he, ‘I salute you, O my brothers! I rejoice to see you.’ And they bowed their heads and fell a-weeping. Then said he, ‘Weep not, for it was the devil and covetise that led you to do thus. How could you sell me? But I comfort myself with the thought of Joseph, whose brothers did with him worse than ye with me, when they cast him into the pit. Repent unto God and crave pardon of Him, and He will forgive you, for He is the Most Forgiving, the Merciful. As for me, I pardon you and bid you welcome: no harm shall befall you.’ Then he comforted them and set their hearts at ease and related to them all he had suffered, till he fell in with Abdussemed, and told them also of the ring that the latter had given him. ‘O our brother,’ said they, ‘forgive us this time; and if we return to our old ways, do with us as thou wilt.’ Quoth he, ‘No harm shall befall you; but tell me what the king did with you.’ ‘He beat us and threatened us,’ answered they, ‘and took the two pairs of saddle-bags from us.’ ‘He shall answer for this,’ said Jouder and rubbed the ring, whereupon Er Raad appeared.

  When his brothers saw the genie, they were affrighted and thought Jouder would bid him slay them; so they fled to their mother, saying, ‘O our mother, we throw ourselves on thy mercy: do thou intercede for us!’ And she said to them, ‘Fear nothing, O my sons!’ Then said Jouder to the genie, ‘I command thee to bring me all that is in the king’s treasury, together with the two pairs of saddle-bags he took from my brothers, and look thou leave nothing.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ replied Er Raad and disappearing, straightway returned with the two pairs of saddle-bags and all else that was in the treasury and laid them before Jouder, saying, ‘O my lord, I have left nothing in the treasury.’ Jouder gave the treasure to his mother to keep and laying the enchanted saddle-bags before him, said to the genie, ‘I command thee to build me this night a lofty palace and overlay it with liquid gold and furnish it magnificently: and let not the day dawn, ere thou be quit of the whole work.’ ‘Thy commands shall be obeyed,’ replied the genie and sank into the earth. Then Jouder brought forth food and they ate and took their ease and lay down to sleep.

 

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