The Arabian Nights II (13 page)

As has been mentioned, her husband Qasim was not at home; he was at his shop, from which he was not supposed to return till evening. So the time she spent waiting for him seemed to her like a century, because of her great impatience to tell him the news, which should surprise him no less than it surprised her. When he came home, she said to him, “Qasim, you think that you are rich, but you are wrong. 'Ali Baba has infinitely more wealth than you. He does not count his gold as you do; he weighs it.” Qasim asked her to explain this mystery, and she explained, telling him by what means she had found out and showing him the piece of gold she had found stuck to the pan of the scale. It was a piece so ancient that the name of the king inscribed on it was unknown to him. Far from feeling happy at his brother's good fortune, which would deliver him from his misery, Qasim felt a mortal jealousy and spent almost the entire night without sleeping.

The next day, before sunrise, he went to the house of his brother, whom he had not treated as a brother and whose mention he had forgotten ever since his marriage to the rich widow. He went up to him and said, “ 'Ali Baba, you are quite discreet in your affairs. You pretend to be poor, miserable, and destitute, yet you weigh your gold.” 'Ali Baba replied, “Brother, I don't know what you are talking about. Explain yourself.” Qasim said, “Don't pretend to be ignorant,” and, showing him the piece of gold, put it in his hand, adding, “How many pieces do you have similar to this one that my wife found stuck to the pan of the scale your wife came to borrow from her yesterday?”

At these words, 'Ali Baba realized that Qasim and his wife, thanks to his own wife's hardheadedness, had already found out what he was very much interested in keeping secret, but the mistake was made, and he could not remedy it. So, without showing his brother any signs of surprise or regret, he admitted the fact and told him by what chance he had discovered the thieves' hiding place and where it was, offering, if he would keep the secret, to share the treasure with him. Qasim replied arrogantly, “I do, very much,” adding, “But I want to know
precisely the place where this treasure is and the signs and marks, as well as how I can get in by myself, when I want to; otherwise, I will denounce you to the authorities. If you refuse, you will lose, not only any hope for it, but also the part you have already taken, which I will receive as a reward for denouncing you.” 'Ali Baba, driven more by his good nature than by the insolent threats of a barbarous brother, told him clearly all he wanted to know, even the words he had to use for getting in and out of the cavern.

Qasim asked no more questions of 'Ali Baba. He left him, determined to get to the treasure first, and, full of hope to get it all for himself, he departed the next day, before dawn, with ten mules loaded with large chests he intended to fill, planning to take a greater number on a second trip, according to the amount he would find in the cavern. He took the road 'Ali Baba had told him to take, and when he came near the rock, he recognized the signs and the tree in which 'Ali Baba had hidden himself. He looked for the door and found it, and, in order to open it, he pronounced the words, “Open, sesame.” The door opened, and as soon as he entered, it closed. He examined the cavern and was struck with great admiration to find even greater riches than he had expected from 'Ali Baba's account, and his admiration grew even greater as he examined each thing by itself. Being greedy and fond of riches, he spent the day feasting his eyes on so much gold, so much so that he forgot that he had come to take it and load it on the ten mules. At last, he picked as many bags as he could carry, but when he came to the door to open it, with his mind preoccupied with all sorts of ideas, save what mattered most, he found that he had forgotten the necessary words, and, instead of saying, “sesame,” he said, “Open, barley,” and was very much surprised to find that the door, far from opening, remained shut. He named several other grains, save the one he had to name, but the door did not open.

Qasim had not expected this outcome. In the great peril in which he found himself, he was seized by fear, and the more effort he made to recall the word “sesame,” the more muddled his memory became until it was as if he had never heard this word before. He threw down the bags he was carrying and began to pace nervously inside the cavern, from one side to another, without being moved by any of the riches by which he was surrounded. He deplored his fate, but he did not deserve any pity.

Toward noon, the thieves returned to their cavern, and when, from some distance they saw Qasim's mules around the rock, loaded with chests, they were upset by this unusual sight. They advanced at a gallop and drove away the mules, which Qasim had neglected to tie and which for this reason ran freely, in such a way that they scattered here and there, far into the forest, and were soon out of sight. The thieves
did not bother to run after them, for they were more interested in finding the person to whom they belonged. While some of them rode around the rock, looking for him, the captain dismounted with the rest and, going directly to the door, with his sword in his hand, pronounced the words, and the door opened.

Qasim, who heard the sound of the horses from the middle of the cavern, did not doubt the arrival of the thieves, nor his impending destruction. Determined to make at least an effort to escape from their hands and save himself, he stood, ready to jump outside, as soon as the door opened. No sooner did he see the door open, after he heard the word “sesame,” which had escaped his memory, than he lunged out, so brusquely that he knocked the captain down. But he did not escape the other thieves, who too had their swords in their hands and who killed him on the spot.

After the execution, the thieves' first concern was to go into the cavern, where they found near the door the bags that Qasim had begun to carry, in order to take them out and load them on his mules. They put the bags back in their place, without noticing those which 'Ali Baba had taken before. In deliberating and consulting together on this event, they understood well how Qasim was able to come out of the cavern, but they could not guess how he was able to get in. It occurred to them that he could have descended from the top of the cavern, but the opening from which the light came was so high, and the top of the rock was so inaccessible from the outside, besides the fact that there was no indication that he had done it, that they all agreed it was beyond their imagination. That he went in through the door was something they could not believe, unless he knew the secret of opening it, but they thought for certain that they were the only ones who knew it. In this they were of course mistaken, being unaware that 'Ali Baba, who had spied on them, knew it.

No matter how it was done, since their joint riches seemed still intact, they agreed to quarter Qasim's body and to keep it inside the cavern, near the door, placing two pieces on one side and two on the other, in order to scare anyone who might be bold enough to make a similar attempt. They also agreed not to return to the cavern until the stench of the corpse was gone. Having made this decision, they carried it out, and when they no longer had anything to keep them there, they carefully shut the door of their hiding place, mounted their horses, and went to scour the countryside, taking the routes frequented by caravans, in order to attack them and rob them, as usual.

Meanwhile, Qasim's wife was terribly worried when she saw that it was late at night and her husband had not returned. She went to 'Ali Baba's house in alarm and said to him, “Brother-in-law, I believe that you know that your brother Qasim has gone into the forest and for
what reason. It is late, and he has not returned yet, and I fear that some mishap might have happened to him.” 'Ali Baba, who, after his conversation with his brother, had suspected that he would go on this trip, and, for this reason, had refrained from going into the forest that day, in order not to antagonize him, without voicing any reproach that might offend her or her husband, if he was still alive, said to her that it was too early to be alarmed and that Qasim must have thought it proper not to return to the city until late at night.

Qasim's wife agreed, all the more easily when she considered how important it was for her husband to carry out his mission secredy. She returned to her house and waited patiently till midnight. But, beyond that point, her alarms redoubled, with an agony all the more acute, since she could not give it vent or relieve it with cries that might reveal the secret cause to her neighbors. In case her mistake proved irreparable, she regretted her foolish curiosity and reprehensible desire to meddle into the affairs of her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. She spent the night crying, and, as soon as it was dawn, she ran to them and announced to them what had brought her there, by her tears, rather than her words.

'Ali Baba did not wait for his sister-in-law to ask him to be so good as to go and see what happened to his brother. He departed immediately and went into the forest with his three asses, after he advised her to calm herself. He saw neither his brother nor his ten mules on the road, and when he approached the rock, he was surprised to see blood spilled near the door and had a bad premonition. He went to the door and pronounced the words, and when it opened, he was struck by the sad sight of the quartered body of his brother. He did not hesitate on what he had to do to perform his last duties toward his brother, forgetting how little fraternal love his brother had shown him. He found in the cavern something with which to wrap up the four pieces of his brother's body, which he wrapped up in two bundles, loaded on one of his asses, and hid under some firewood. Then, without losing any time, he loaded the two other asses with bags full of gold and firewood on top, as he had done the first time. As soon as he finished and commanded the door to close, he took the road back to the city, taking the precaution to stop for some time at the forest exit, in order not to enter the city until it was night. When he arrived, he took inside only the two asses loaded with the gold, and, after he left to his wife the task of unloading them and telling her in a few words of Qasim's fate, he led the other ass to his sister-in-law.

'Ali Baba knocked at the door, and it was opened by Marjana. This Marjana was a clever slave-girl, knowledgeable and full of resources for coping with the most difficult tasks, and 'Ali Baba knew her to be so. When he entered the courtyard, he unloaded the firewood and the
two bundles and, taking Marjana aside, said to her, “Marjana, the first thing I ask of you is an inviolable secret. You will see how necessary it is, as much for your mistress as for myself, when you see the body of your master in these two bundles. We must bury him as if he has died of natural causes. Let me speak to your mistress, and listen carefully to what I will say to her.”

Marjana announced him to her mistress, and 'Ali Baba, who followed her, entered. The sister-in-law asked 'Ali Baba with great impatience, “Well, brother-in-law, what news do you bring of my husband? I see nothing in your face to comfort me.” 'Ali Baba replied, “Sister-in-law, I cannot tell you anything before you promise to listen to what I have to say, from beginning to end, without interrupting me. It is no less important for you than for me, in the light of what has happened, to keep strict secrecy, for your peace and welfare.” The sister-in-law said, without raising her voice, “Ah! This introduction tells me that my husband is dead, yet I realize the necessity for the secrecy you demand. I must force myself. Tell me; I am listening.”

'Ali Baba informed his sister-in-law of the outcome of his trip till his arrival with Qasim's body, adding, “Sister-in-law, this is a painful event for you, all the more so, since you had not expected it to be as bad. Although the harm is irremediable, if anything is capable of consoling you, I offer to marry you and join the litde God has given me with yours, and I assure you that my wife will not be jealous and that you will be able to live together. If you find my proposition agreeable, we must plan to proceed so as to make it appear that my brother died of natural causes. It seems to me that this is a matter you can entrust to Marjana and to which I, for my part, will contribute all I can.”

What better course of action could Qasim's widow take but that which 'Ali Baba proposed, she who, after the death of her first husband, who left her much wealth, found another husband who was richer than she, and who, by his discovery of the treasure, could become even richer? She did not refuse the proposal, but, on the contrary, looked on it as a means of consoling herself. By wiping off her tears, which she had begun to shed profusely, and by suppressing the cries normal for women who have lost their husbands, she gave 'Ali Baba a sufficient sign that she had accepted his offer.

'Ali Baba left Qasim's widow in this state, and after he reminded Marjana to take good care of her charge, he returned home with his ass. Marjana did not forget; she left at the same time as 'Ali Baba and went to a druggist's shop, which was in the neighborhood. She knocked at the door, and when it was opened, she asked for some kind of tablets very effective against the most dangerous diseases. The druggist gave her some, according to the money she gave him, and asked her who was ill in her master's house. She replied with a deep sigh,
“Ah! It is Qasim himself, my good master. We don't know a thing about his sickness; he neither speaks nor wishes to eat.” With these words, she carried the tablets, which, in truth, Qasim was no longer in a condition to make use of.

The next day, Marjana went to the same druggist and, with tears in her eyes, asked for an extract that people usually gave to the sick as a last resort and despaired if this extract did not revive them. She received the drug from the hand of the druggist, saying in deep pain, “Alas! I am very much afraid that this drug will not be any more effective than the tablets. Ah, that I should lose a good master!” Furthermore, as people saw 'Ali Baba and his wife go all day long back and forth to Qasim's house, with a sad demeanor, they were not surprised to hear toward evening the pitiful cries of Qasim's wife and especially Marjana, who announced that Qasim had died.