THE GATE-KEEPER OF CAIRO AND THE CUNNING
SHE-THIEF.[FN#423]
It is related that in Misr of Káhir there was a man who had
reached the age of fourscore and ten years, and he was a
chief-watchman of the ward in the service of the Wáli; a brave
man withal, and one not wont to be startled or afeard. Now one
night as he was going around about the city with the Chief of
Police, and he was returning to the guard-house[FN#424] before
break o' day that he might perform the Wuzú-ablution, and at the
call to dawn-prayers he might rise and repeat them, it so
fortuned that when he was about to stand up to his orisons,
according to the custom of him, suddenly a purse fell before him
upon the ground. As soon as he had done with his devotions he
arose and gazed around to see who had thrown him that bag of
money, but he could find nobody; so he took it up and opened it,
when an hundred dinars met his sight. Hereat he wondered; but on
the following day when he had washed and was praying, behold, a
second purse was cast at his feet; so he waited until he had
finished his orisons and then stood up and looked around to see
who had thrown it. Thereupon, as he failed to find any, he took
it up and opened it and again beheld an hundred dinars, a matter
which filled him with wonder. This continued till the third day
at morning-tide, when he had washed as was his wont and stood up
to his prayers, and lo and behold! another purse was dropped at
his feet. Herewith he cut short his devotions, and turning him
round saw beside him a girl whose years had reached fifteen; so
he seized her and said, "Who art thou, and what is the reason of
thy throwing at my feet every day a purse of an hundred gold
pieces, and this is the third time; argal the sum amounteth to
three hundred. What may be this case?" Said she, "O my lord, my
name is Fátimah, and my wish and will is a matter which thou
canst bring to an end for me by means of thy tongue!" Quoth he,
"What is't thou wantest of me?" and quoth she, "'Tis my intent
that on the morrow I sham drunkenness with wine and cast myself
before the mansion of the Kazi of the Army.[FN#425] Thou shalt
find me there strown upon the ground and dressed in all the best
of my clothes and finest ornaments. So when thou shalt come to
that quarter and espy me lying there in drink do thou bid the
Linkman move the links to and fro; then come forward, O
Mukaddam,[FN#426] and investigate the case and examine me, and
say the Wali, 'This girl is in liquor.' The Chief of Police shall
reply to thee, 'Take her and carry her to the watch-house and
keep her there till day-break.'"--And Shahrazad was surprised by
the dawn of day, and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted
say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is
thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when
it was the next night, and that was
The Seven Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that quoth the
girl to the Mukaddam, "And when thou shalt have found me drunken
with wine, the Wali shall bid thee, 'Take her to the watch-house
and there keep her till daybreak.' Hereto do thou object, 'No!
this were not suitable: I will cry upon someone of the quarter
and will awake the Kazi of the Army, for that she belongeth to
his ward.' Then assemble all thy folk and say to them, 'Verily
this girl is in liquor and not mistress of herself at such time;
needs must she be of a great family and daughter to grandees;
therefore 'twere not proper that we take her with us to the
watch-house; nor let any hold her in his charge save the Kazi of
the Army till morning and until such time as she shall have
recovered her senses and can fare to her own folk.'" Hereupon
quoth the Mukaddam to her, "Easy enough!" and quoth she, "An thou
act on this wise and my success be from thy hand, I will give
thee five hundred dinars besides the three hundred." "This matter
is not far to us,"[FN#427] said he; so she left him and went
away. Now when it was the season after night-prayers, the Chief
of Police came forth his quarters and, repairing to the
watch-house and taking the Mukaddam and his men, would have
threaded the highways of Cairo as was his wont, but the head
Gate-Keeper forewent him and took the direction of the quarter
wherein dwelt the Kazi of the Army; the Wali unknowing the while
what was in the man's thought. They ceased not faring until they
entered that part of the town wherein stood the Judge's house,
and when they approached it, lo and behold! the Mukaddam found a
something strown upon the ground. So said he to the Linkman who
carried the light, "O my son, do thou shake the torch," and when
he moved the link to and fro it illumined the whole quarter. Then
the Gate-Keeper came forward; and, looking at what was lying
there, found it to be a damsel in liquor dressed out with
sumptuous dress and adorned with all her ornaments: so he said to
the Wali, "O my Chief,[FN#428] this girl is drunken with wine and
hath fallen on the ground;" and said the Chief of Police, "Take
her up and carry her to the watch-house until morning." Hereupon
quoth the Mukaddam, "No! this were not fitting; nor is it
possible for the like of this girl. She is in the ward of the
Kazi al'-Askar, to whose household haply she belongeth or to some
great man in the quarter, and we fear lest befal her of evil
matters some matter and we shall come to be transgressors."
Hereupon, after applying some remedy to the damsel, they made her
sit up and presently they called aloud upon the people of the
quarter and awoke the Judge and when all the folk came out in a
body the Wali said to them, "Look ye upon this girl; peradventure
you may know whose daughter she is." They came forward and
examined her and found her garbed in sumptuous garments and
trickt out with the whole of her ornaments, whereupon the Chief
of Police and the Mukaddam of the Watchmen said to them, "Indeed
'tis not possible for us to remove yon maiden from this place; so
do you take her to your homes until morning-tide when she shall
recover and be able to care for herself and then fare to her own
folk." Hereat they made agreement that none should lodge her in
his house save the Kazi of the Army; so a party of the servants
raised her and led her to his mansion and set her in a chamber
hard by the open saloon; after which each and every of them fared
forth to sleep in his own place. On this wise it befel the Wali
and the Mukaddam and the Kazi and the folk of the ward; but as
regards the affair of the damsel whom they found stretched on the
ground as one drunken, she on entering the Kazi's abode pulled
herself together and recovered herself, for that she had wrought
all this wily work for the special purpose of being led into the
house there to carry out her wish and will. Presently the Judge
lay down and was drowned in slumber and knew not what Allah had
destined to him from the plans and projects of the girl who,
rising up at midnight, opened the door of her chamber leading
into the saloon where the Kazi al-'Askar kept all his hoards and
coin[FN#429] and dresses and belongings. Now she had appointed
her people to meet her at that house, so they came and carried
off the whole of what was in the saloon nor did they leave aught
therein, at all, at all, save only the matting. And when dawned
the morn, the Kazi of the Army arose and repaired to the saloon,
as was his wont, for the purpose of dressing, but he found
therein nothing except the matting. So he buffeted his face with
his palms and wailed aloud whereat a party of his servants came
to him and asked, "What is the matter with thee, O our lord the
Kazi?" then, on going into the saloon they remarked that it had
been gutted of everything. So they went from him and threw open
the door of the chamber wherein they had placed the damsel but
they found her nowhere.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn
of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night
an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was
The Seven Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Kazi's
folk went and threw open the door of the chamber wherein the
damsel had slept; and, when they found nothing therein, they were
certified it was she who had carried away the goods. After such
fashion it happened to these; but as regards the action of the
Judge, he took horse and wended his way to the Sultan, and he
ceased not wending till he had entered the presence and salam'd
and blessed the Sovran who returned his salute. Then cried he, "O
King of the Age, there hath befallen me that which is so-and-so,
and I have a claim on the Chief of Police and the Mukaddam of the
watch, for that indeed they were the men who bade me admit the
girl into my home, and this guest of mine hath left me nor muchel
nor little." Hereupon the King bade summon the men with their
many, and when they came before him, he bade strike off the heads
of the two head men; but they said to him, "O King of the Age,
grant us three days' respite and, if aught discover itself to us
and we rid ourselves of the responsibility, we shall be saved;
but an we avail not thereto, the sword of the Sultan is long."
"Go forth," cried the King; "I have granted you a three days'
delay; if you bring the offender 'tis well, and if not, your
heads shall be in lieu thereof and eke so your families and your
properties." Hearing this they sued for dismissal, and the Wali
went forth to search in this way and wander in one direction and
the Mukaddam in another. They roamed about Cairo for two
full-told days, but naught happened to them until the third about
the call to noontide-prayers, when the Mukaddam entered a narrow
street on the side of the city to the west, and behold, a door
opened and a speaker spake saying, "O Mukaddam, who is behind the
door?" So he turned towards the sound and said, "'Tis well," and
the other cried, "Come thou and draw near to me." He did so and
approached the entrance when suddenly he saw the damsel who had
shammed drunkenness[FN#430] and whom they had introduced into the
Kazi al-'Askar's house. Now when he accosted her and recognised
her, he seized her and she asked him, "Wherefore dost thou arrest
me and what is thine intent to do with me?" "We will carry thee
to the Sultan," answered he, "and I and the Wali shall be set
free. During the last three days I have done nothing but wander
about in search of thee who hast wrought for us such work and
after hast fled from us." Quoth the girl, "O clever one, had I
designed the ruin of you I had never made myself manifest to
thee, nor couldst thou have met me or forgathered with me:
however, I will now work at freeing you from the hands of the
Sultan, that both thou and the Wali may escape and that you twain
may take from the Judge of the Army whatever of good you want and
will." Quoth he, "How shall we do?" and quoth she, "I have by me
a white slave-girl the very likeness of myself and at this time I
have dressed her in my dresses and decorations and have cut her
throat, and by my cleverness and force of heart I have caused her
to be carried to a ruin hard by the Kazi's house and have had her
buried therein and have set over her a slab. So do thou fare
hence and taking the Wali seek the Sultan and say to him, 'We
have wandered about Misr, the whole thereof, but we have found
naught of our want, and now nothing remaineth to us save the
house of the Kazi al-'Askar; so we desire to search therein and,
if we find that damsel murthered, we will gather together the
folk of the quarter who saw us before that they may look upon
her; and be the Judge also standing by that we may ask the
people, 'What say ye concerning this maiden?' when haply they may
reply, 'This is the girl which was drunken with wine.' And as
soon as they shall bear witness that it is the same, you twain
shall stay behind to converse with the Judge as ye desire and
take from him whatever you wish and will; and he shall sue you
for grace and for aidance. Then will he go up to the King and
report to him saying, 'I have found my debtor and I have
recovered from him all my good;' whereupon you shall be set free
and eke I shall be freed. And finally do ye come hither to me and
we will divide all the plunder I have taken from the Kazi's
house." Now when the damsel had made the old Watchman understand
these words, he left her, and going to the Wali, informed him of
the whole affair and reported all that the girl had communicated
to him of treachery and plottings, whereupon the Chief of Police
took horse, and accompanied by the Mukaddam, rode to the
Palace,--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy story, O sister mine,
and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this
compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night
and that was
The Seven Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Wali
rode to the Palace, he and the chief Watchman, seeking the
Sultan, and they ceased not riding until they entered the
presence and saluted the Sovran, praying for the endurance of his
glory and the continuance of his life-tide. He returned their
salute and asked concerning the affair of his Judge and they
answered him, "O King of the Age, verily we have wandered about
Misr and the entirety thereof, without finding any and now there
remaineth for our search naught save the quarters occupied by the
Kali al-'Askar. So we design to examine it that if aught be found
therein we may be set free, and if not that thou work upon us
thine own intent." Hereupon the Sultan sent to summon the Judge;
and, when he made act of presence, commanded him suffer the Wali
and the Mukaddam to search his quarters and he replied, "Hearing
and obeying." The whole forty then fared from the Palace and
reaching the Judge's mansion rummaged it until they came upon the
ruined stead described by the damsel; so thither they went and
seeing a slab newly laid, pulled it up and found beneath it a
white girl full-dressed and ornamented.[FN#431] The Watchman
fared forth and summoned all the ward-folk who considered
narrowly the corpse of the murthered damsel, and they all cried
with a single voice, "Indeed this be the girl which was drunken
with wine and which was carried into the Kazi's quarters." And
they bore official testimony to such effect what while the Judge,
who was standing in that stead looking and listening, said to
himself, "How can such case have occurred to us without cause?"
And when this business was finished, the Wali turned to the Kazi
and said "O Shaykh of Islam,[FN#432] we left this damsel in thy
charge and to thine honour until morning-tide, deeming that haply
she might be the daughter of a grandee house and yet hast thou
cut her throat and hidden her within thy premises." But the Judge
could return to him no reply nor attempt any address, for he
feared lest the King should hear thereof; so he inclined to the
Master of Police and got ready for him an hundred purses and
twenty for the Mukaddam that they might keep silence and not
report such matter of scandal to the Sultan. Accordingly they
accepted that amount of money from him and the Kazi went forth
from him and took horse and informed the Sultan that he had found
his debtor and had recovered his due; but he spoke not these
words save for fear of the Chief of Police and the Head of the
Watchmen lest they inform the King that they had found the
murthered damsel within his demesne. Then the Mukaddam repaired
to the house where the She-thief had bespoken him and standing at
the door knocked thereat when those inside asked, "Who mayest
thou be?" and he answered, "I am seeking Fatimah!" "Who is
Fatimah?" cried they, "we have here nor Fatimah nor
Halímah."[FN#433] Thereupon quoth the Mukaddam, "Indeed this
Fornicatress, this Adulteress hath wrought upon us and hath
escaped us; but, seeing that we also have won free by virtue of
the wile she pointed out to us, we will leave her to time and
doubtless during the length of days we twain shall forgather
again." On this wise endeth the story (quoth Shahrazad); but I
will now relate a very different adventure and 'tis the
