KHALIFAH THE FISHERMAN OF BAGHDAD
THERE was once in tides of yore and in ages and times long gone
before in the city of Baghdad a
fisherman, Khalifah hight, a pauper
wight, who had never once been married in all his days. It chanced one
morning that he took his net and went with it to the river as was
his wont, with the view of
fishing before the others came. When he
reached the bank, he girt himself and tucked up his skirts. Then
stepping into the water, he spread his net and cast it a first cast
and a second, but it brought up
naught. He ceased not to throw it till
he had made ten casts, and still
naught came up
therein,
wherefore his
breast was straitened and his mind perplexed
concerning his case and
he said: "I crave
pardon of God the Great, there is no god but He, the
Living, the Eternal, and unto Him I
repent. There is no Majesty and
there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Whatso He
willeth is and whatso He nilleth is not! Upon Allah (to Whom belong
Honor and Glory!) dependeth daily bread! When as He giveth to His
servant, none denieth him; and when as He denieth a servant, none
giveth to him." And of the
excess of his
distress, he recited these
two couplets:
"An Fate
afflict thee, with grief manifest,
Prepare thy
patience and make broad thy breast;
For of His grace the Lord of all the worlds
Shall send to wait upon
unrest sweet Rest."
Then he said in his mind, "I will make this one more cast,
trusting in Allah, so haply He may not
disappoint my hope." And he
rose, and casting into the river the net as far as his arm availed,
gathered the cords in his hands and waited a full hour, after which he
pulled at it and,
finding it heavy, handled it
gently and drew it
in, little by little, till he got it
ashore, when lo and behold! he
saw in it a one-eyed, lame-legged ape. Seeing this, quoth Khalifah:
"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah Verily, we
are Allah's and to Him we are returning! What meaneth this
heartbreaking,
miserable ill luck and
hapless fortune? What is come to
me this
blessed day? But all this is of the destinies of Almighty
Allah!" Then he took the ape and tied him with a cord to a tree
which grew on the riverbank, and grasping a whip he had with him,
raised his arm in the air, thinking to bring down the
scourge upon the
quarry, when Allah made the ape speak with a fluent tongue,
saying: "O
Khalifah, hold thy hand and beat me not, but leave me bounden to
this tree and go down to the river and cast thy net, confiding in
Allah; for He will give thee thy daily bread."
Hearing this, Khalifah went down to the river, and casting his
net, let the cords run out. Then he pulled it in and found it
heavier than before, so he ceased not to tug at it till he brought
it to land, when, behold, there was another ape in it, with front
teeth wide apart, kohl-darkened eyes, and hands stained with henna
dyes; and he was laughing, and wore a
tattered waistcloth about his
middle. Quoth Khalifah, "Praised be Allah Who hath changed the fish of
the river into apes!" Then, going up to the first ape, who was still
tied to the tree, he said to him: "See, O
unlucky, how fulsome was the
counsel thou gavest me! None but thou made me light on this second
ape; and for that thou gavest me good
morrow with thy one eye and
thy lameness, I am become
distressed and weary, without dirham or
dinar."
So
saying, he hent in hand a stick and flourishing it
thrice in
the air, was about to come down with it upon the lame ape, when the
creature cried out for mercy and said to him: "I
conjure thee, by
Allah, spare me for the sake of this my fellow, and seek of him thy
need; for he will guide thee to thy desire!" So he held his hand
from him, and throwing down the stick, went up to and stood by the
second ape, who said to him: "O Khalifah, this my speech will profit
thee
naught except thou
hearken to what I say to thee; but an thou
do my bidding and cross me not, I will be the cause of thine
enrichment." Asked Khalifah, "And what hast thou to say to me that I
may obey thee
therein?" The ape answered, "Leave me bound on the
bank and hie thee down to the river, then cast thy net a third time,
and after I will tell thee what to do."
So he took his net, and going down to the river, cast it once more
and waited
awhile. Then he drew it in, and
finding it heavy, labored
at it and ceased not his travail till he got it
ashore, when he
found in it yet another ape. But this one was red, with a blue
waistcloth about his middle; his hands and feet were stained with
henna and his eyes blackened with kohl When Khalifah saw this, he
exclaimed: "Glory to God the Great! Extolled be the
perfection of
the Lord of Dominion! Verily, this is a
blessed day from first to last
Its ascendant was
fortunate in the
countenance of the first ape, and
the
scroll is known by its superscription! Verily, today is a day of
apes. There is not a single fish left in the river, and we are come
out today but to catch monkeys!"
Then he turned to the third ape and said, "And what thing thou also,
O
unlucky?" Quoth the ape, "Dost thou not know me, O Khalifah!" and
quoth he, "Not I!" The ape cried, "I am the ape of Abu al-Sa'adat
the Jew, the shroff." Asked Khalifah, "And what dost thou for him?"
and the ape answered, "I give him good
morrow at the first of the day,
and he gaineth five ducats; and again at the end of the day, I give
him good even, and he gaineth other five ducats." Whereupon Khalifah
turned to the first ape and said to him: "See, O
unlucky, what fine
apes other folk have! As for thee, thou givest me good
morrow with thy
one eye and thy lameness and thy ill-omened phiz, and I become poor
and
bankrupt and hungry!" So
saying, he took the cattle stick, and
flourishing it
thrice in the air, was about to come down with it on
the first ape, when Abu al-Sa'adat's ape said to him: "Let him be, O
Khalifah. Hold thy hand and come
hither to me, that I may tell thee
what to do."
So Khalifah threw down the stick, and walking up to him,'cried, 'And
what hast thou to say to me, O
monarch of all monkeys?" Replied the
ape: "Leave me and the other two apes here, and take thy not and
cast it into the river; and
whatever cometh up, bring it to me, and
I will tell thee what shall gladden thee." He replied, "I hear and
obey," and took the net and gathered it on his shoulder, reciting
these couplets:
"When straitened is my breast I will of my Creator pray,
Who may and can the heaviest weight
lighten in easiest way,
For ere man's glance can turn or close his eye by God His grace
Waxeth the broken whole and yieldeth jail its prison prey.
Therefore with Allah one and all of thy concerns commit,
Whose grace and favor men of wit shall nevermore gainsay."
Now when Khalifah had made an end of his verse, he went down to
the river, and casting his net, waited
awhile. After which he drew
it up and found
therein a fine young fish, with a big head, a tail
like a ladle, and eyes like two gold pieces. When Khalifah saw this
fish, he rejoiced, for he had never in his life caught its like, so he
took it, marveling, and carried it to the ape of Abu al-Sa'adat the
Jew, as 'twere he had
gotten possession of the
universal world.
Quoth the ape, "O Khalifah, what wilt thou do with this, and with
thine ape?" and quoth the
fisherman: "I will tell thee, O
monarch of
monkeys, all I am about to do. Know then that first, I will cast about
to make away with yonder
accursed, my ape, and take thee in his stead,
and give thee every day to eat of whatso thou wilt." Rejoined the ape:
"Since thou hast made choice of me, I will tell thee how thou shalt do
wherein, if it please Allah Almighty, shall be the mending of thy
fortune. Lend thy mind, then, to what I say to thee and 'tis this!
Take another cord and tie me also to a tree, where leave me and go
to the midst of the dike and cast thy net into the Tigris. Then
after
waitingawhile, draw it up and thou shalt find
therein a fish
than which thou never sawest a finer in thy whole life. Bring it to me
and I will tell thee how thou shalt do after this."
So Khalifah rose forthright, and casting his net into the Tigris,
drew up a great catfish the bigness of a lamb. Never had he set eyes
on its like, for it was larger than the first fish. He carried it to
the ape, who said to him: "Gather thee some green grass and set half
of it in a basket; lay the fish
therein and cover it with the other
moiety. Then, leaving us here tied, shoulder the basket and betake
thee to Baghdad. If any bespeak thee or question thee by the way,
answer him not, but fare on till thou comest to the market street of
the money-changers, at the upper end
whereof thou wilt find the shop
of Master Abu al-Sa'adat the Jew, Sheikh of the shroffs, and wilt see
him sitting on a
mattress, with a
cushion behind him and two collers,
one for gold and one for silver, before him, while around him stand
his Mamelukes and Negro slaves and servant lads. Go up to him and
set the basket before him,
saying: 'O Abu al-Sa'adat,
verily I went
out today to fish and cast my net in thy name, and Allah Almighty sent
me this fish.' He will ask, 'Hast thou shown it to any but me?' and do
thou answer, 'No, by Allah!' Then will he take it of thee and give
thee a dinar. Give it him back and he will give thee two dinars; but
do thou return them also, and so do with everything he may offer thee;
and take
naught from him, though he give thee the fish's weight in
gold.
Then will he say to thee, 'Tell me what thou wouldst have, and do
thou reply, 'By Allah, I will not sell the fish save for two words!'
He will ask, 'What are they?' And do thou answer, 'Stand up and say,
"Bear
witness, O ye who are present in the market, that I give
Khalifah the
fisherman my ape in exchange for his ape, and that I
barter for his lot my lot and luck for his luck." This is the price of
the fish, and I have no need of gold.' If he do this, I will every day
give thee good
morrow and good even, and every day thou shalt gain ten
dinars of good gold;
whilst this one-eyed, lame-legged ape shall daily
give the Jew good
morrow, and Allah shall
afflict him every day with
an avanie which he must needs pay, nor will he cease to be thus
afflicted till he is reduced to beggary and hath
naught. Hearken
then to my words, so shalt thou
prosper and be guided aright."
Quoth Khalifah: "I accept thy
counsel, O
monarch of all the monkeys!
But as for this
unlucky, may Allah never bless him! I know not what to
do with him." Quoth the ape, "Let him go into the water, and let me go
also." "I hear and obey," answered Khalifah, and
unbound the three
apes, and they went down into the river. Then he took up the
catfish, which he washed, then laid it in the basket upon some green
grass, and covered it with other, and
lastly, shouldering his load,
set out with the basket upon his shoulder and ceased not faring till
he entered the city of Baghdad. And as he threaded the streets the
folk knew him and cried out to him,
saying, "What hast thou there, O
Khalifah?" But he paid no heed to them and passed on till he came to
the market street of the money-changers and fared between the shops,
as the ape had charged him, till he found the Jew seated at the
upper end, with his servants in attendance upon him, as he were a King
of the Kings of Khorasan. He knew him at first sight; so he went up to
him and stood before him,
whereupon Abu al-Sa'adat raised his eyes and
recognizing him, said: "Welcome, O Khalifah! What wantest thou, and
what is thy need? If any have missaid thee or spited thee, tell me and
I will go with thee to the Chief of Police, who shall do thee
justice on him." Replied Khalifah: "Nay, as thy head liveth, O chief
of the Jews, none hath missaid me. But I went forth this morning to
the river and, casting my net into the Tigris on thy luck, brought
up this fish."
Therewith he opened the basket and threw the fish before the Jew,
who admired it and said, the Pentateuch and the Ten Commandments, I
dreamt last night that the Virgin came to me and said, 'Know, O Abu
al-Sa'adat, that I have sent thee a pretty present!' And doubtless
'tis this fish." Then he turned to Khalifah and said to him, "By thy
faith, hath any seen it but I?" Khalifah replied, "No, by Allah, and
by Abu Bakr the Veridical, none hath seen it save thou, O chief of the
Jews!" Whereupon the Jew turned to one of his lads and said to him:
"Come, carry this fish to my house and bid Sa'adah dress it and fry
and broil it, against I make an end of my business and hie me home."
And Khalifah said, "Go, O my lad, let the master's wife fry some of it
and broil the rest." Answered the boy, "I hear and I obey, O my lord,"
and,
taking the fish, went away with it to the house.
Then the Jew put out his hand and gave Khalifah the
fisherman a
dinar,
saying, "Take this for thyself, O Khalifah, and spend it on thy
family." When Khalifah saw the dinar on his palm, he took it,
saying, "Laud to the Lord of Dominion!" as if he had never seen