Moorish Literature Part 53

They let her take the girl away. She came back to the shop and said to the man in charge of it:

"I will gladly give you my daughter; but go first and consult your father."

The young man left a servant in his place and departed. Thadh.e.l.lala (that was her name) sent the servant to buy some bread in another part of the city. Along came a caravan of mules. Thadh.e.l.lala packed all the contents of the shop on their backs and said to the muleteer:

"I will go on ahead; my son will come in a moment. Wait for him--he will pay you."

She went off with the mules and the treasures which she had packed upon them. The servant came back soon.

"Where is your mother?" cried the muleteer; "hurry and, pay me."

"You tell me where she is and I will make her give me back what she has stolen." And they went before the justice.

Thadh.e.l.lala pursued her way, and met seven young students. She said to one of them, "A hundred francs and I will marry you." The student gave them to her. She made the same offer to the others, and each one took her word.

Arriving at a fork in the road, the first one said, "I will take you," the second one said, "I will take you," and so on to the last.

Thadh.e.l.lala answered: "You shall have a race as far as that ridge over there, and the one that gets there first shall marry me."

The young men started. Just then a horseman came pa.s.sing by. "Lend me your horse," she said to him. The horseman jumped off. Thadh.e.l.lala mounted the horse and said:

"You see that ridge? I will rejoin you there."

The scholars perceived the man. "Have you not seen a woman?" they asked him. "She has stolen 700 francs from us."

"Haven't you others seen her? She has stolen my horse?"

They went to complain to the Sultan, who gave the command to arrest Thadh.e.l.lala. A man promised to seize her. He secured a comrade, and they both pursued Thadh.e.l.lala, who had taken flight. Nearly overtaken by the man, she met a negro who pulled teeth, and said to him:

"You see my son coming down there; pull out his teeth." When the other pa.s.sed the negro pulled out his teeth. The poor toothless one seized the negro and led him before the Sultan to have him punished. The negro said to the Sultan: "It was his mother that told me to pull them out for him."

"Sidi," said the accuser, "I was pursuing Thadh.e.l.lala."

The Sultan then sent soldiers in pursuit of the woman, who seized her and hung her up at the gates of the city. Seeing herself arrested, she sent a messenger to her relatives.

Then there came by a man who led a mule. Seeing her he said, "How has this woman deserved to be hanged in this way?"

"Take pity on me," said Thadh.e.l.lala; "give me your mule and I will show you a treasure." She sent him to a certain place where the pretended treasure was supposed to be hidden. At this the brother-in-law of Thadh.e.l.lala had arrived.

"Take away this mule," she said to him. The searcher for treasures dug in the earth at many places and found nothing. He came back to Thadh.e.l.lala and demanded his mule.

She began to weep and cry. The sentinel ran up, and Thadh.e.l.lala brought complaint against this man. She was released, and he was hanged in her place.

She fled to a far city, of which the Sultan had just then died. Now, according to the custom of that country, they took as king the person who happened to be at the gates of the city when the King died. Fate took Thadh.e.l.lala there at the right time. They conducted her to the palace, and she was proclaimed Queen.

THE GOOD MAN AND THE BAD ONE

Two men, one good and the other bad, started out together to do business, and took provisions with them. Soon the bad one said to the good one: "I am hungry; give me some of your food." He gave him some, and they both ate.

They went on again till they were hungry. "Give me some of your food," said the bad one. He gave him some of it, and they ate.

They went on until they were hungry. "Give me some of your food," said the bad one. He gave him some, and they ate.

They went on until they were hungry. The good man said to his companion: "Give me some of your food."

"Oh, no, my dear," said the bad one.

"I beg you to give me some of your food," said the good one.

"Let me pluck out one of your eyes," answered the bad one. He consented.

The bad one took his pincers and took out one of his eyes.

They went on until they came to a certain place. Hunger pressed them. "Give me some of your food," said the good man.

"Let me pluck out your other eye," answered his companion.

"O my dear," replied the good man, "leave it to me, I beg of you."

"No!" responded the bad one; "no eye, no food."

But finally he said, "Pluck it out."

They proceeded until they came to a certain place. When hunger pressed them anew the bad one abandoned his companion.

A bird came pa.s.sing by, and said to him: "Take a leaf of this tree and apply it to your eyes." He took a leaf of the tree, applied it to his eyes, and was healed. He arose, continued on his way, and arrived at a city where he found the one who had plucked out his eyes.

"Who cured you?"

"A bird pa.s.sed near me," said the good man. "He said to me, 'Take a leaf of this tree.' I took it, applied it to my eyes, and was cured."

The good man found the King of the city blind.

"Give me back my sight and I will give you my daughter."

He restored his sight to him, and the King gave him his daughter. The good man took his wife to his house. Every morning he went to present his respects to the King, and kissed his head. One day he fell ill. He met the bad one, who said to him:

"Eat an onion and you will be cured; but when you kiss the King's head, turn your head aside or the King will notice your breath and will kill you."

After these words he ran to the King and said: "O King, your son-in-law disdains you."

"O my dear," answered the King, "my son-in-law does not disdain me."

"Watch him," answered the bad one; "when he comes to kiss your head he will turn away from you."