THE STORY OF THE HUNCHBACK WITH THE TAILOR, THE JEW, THE CHRISTIAN, AND THE BARBER OF BAGHDAD
The Christian broker finishes his story, but the king does not find it more extraordinary than the story of the hunchback.
The Christian Broker's Narrative - Part 6
ON THE EIGHTH NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
After a month passed in this way, she fell into the pain of languor, which increased day by day and worsened and caused that at the end of fifty days, she ended up expiring and becoming an elect of the 'other world.
So I made all the preparations for her funeral, and laid her in the ground myself, and had all the ceremonies carried out which serve as a closure for the burial, and I spared no expense of money. After which I returned from the cemetery and entered the house and examined all the legacies and gifts she had made to me; and I saw that she had indeed left me much wealth, property and buildings, and, among other things, great stores full of sesame seeds. And it is precisely this sesame that I charged you to sell for me, O my lord, and for which you were kind enough to accept the low brokerage which is below your merits.
As for the absences that I made and which you may have been surprised at, I made them because I had to liquidate all the things she had left me and now I'm barely at the end of my cash flow and the like.
I, therefore, beg you not to refuse the gratification that I want to make you, O you who thus give me hospitality in the house and make me share your meal. You will therefore oblige me by accepting from me all the money that you have kept for me at home and that you have received from the sale you have made of the sesame seeds.
And such is my story and the cause that I always eat with my left hand!"
Then I, O mighty king, say to the young man: “Truly, you fill me with your benefits and your favors!" And he answered me: “It is nothing! Now, lord broker, will you join me and accompany me to my country, to Baghdad? I have just made large purchases of goods from Alexandria and Cairo, which I plan to resell with high profits in Baghdad. Do you want to be my companion and my partner in profit?" And I answered: "Your desire is an order!" Then I gave him the end of the month as the date of our departure.
During this time, I busied myself selling all my properties without losing anything; and, with the money which I got out of it, I also bought goods, and I left with the young man for Baghdad, his country, and from there, with a very large profit and other goods, we made the journey to this country, which is your empire, O king of ages!
As for the young man, he was not long in selling his wares here and setting out again for Egypt, where he preceded me and where I was going to join him, when, that night which has just passed, I had this adventure with the hunchback, which is due to my ignorance of this country, where I am only a foreigner who travels for business.
And such is, O king of the centuries, the story which I believe to be more extraordinary than that of the hunchback!"
But the king replied: "No! I can't find it! It is not so marvelous as that, your story, O broker! So I am going to have you all hanged immediately, to punish you for the crime committed on the person of my jester, this poor hunchback whom you killed!"
At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
First Night - Second Night - Third Night - Fourth Night - Fifth Night - Sixth Night - Seventh Night