The Story of the Merchant with the Efreet
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Here we start a new story whose main characters are a merchant and an efreet, who is basically an evil genie.
The merchant is in trouble with the efreet. The efreet is of the trusted kind.
The merchant will be helped by three sheikhs.
Notes:
- A sheikh (or sheik) is a respectable old man.
- In these tales, a step-father is called an uncle. So my uncle's daughter means my wife.
- The diwan is the court session or the room when it happens.
ON THE FIRST NIGHT
Sheherazade said:
It came to me, O fortunate King, that there was a merchant among merchants, master of many riches and commercial affairs in all countries.
One day he got on horseback and left for some places where his business called him. As the heat had become too intense, he sat down under a tree, and, putting his hand to his bag of provisions, he took out some nuts and also some dates. When he had finished eating the dates, he threw away the pits; but suddenly a tall efreet appeared before him, who, brandishing a sword, approached the merchant and shouted: "Arise, I kill you because you killed my child!" And the merchant said to him: "How did I kill your child?" The efreet replied: “After the dates were eaten, you threw away the pits, the pits struck my son in the chest: then it was all over with him and he died at once." Then the merchant said to the efreet: “Know, O great efreet, that I am a believer, and that I cannot lie to you. Now I have much wealth, and I also have children and a wife; moreover, I have deposits in my house entrusted to me. So allow me to go to my house so that I can give his rights to those who are entitled: that done, I will come back to you. So you have my promise and my oath that I will then return to you. And then you will do with me what you want. And Allah is the guarantor of my words! Then the efreet trusted the merchant and let him go.
And the merchant returned to his country, got rid of all his contracts, and sent the rights to whom it was due. Then he revealed to his wife and children what had happened to him: and all began to weep, the parents, the women, and the children. Then the merchant made his will, and he remained with his people until the end of the year; after which he resolved to leave again and, taking his shroud under his armpit, he read his farewells to his relatives, neighbors, and relatives, and went away despite his nose. So his family began to lament over him and to utter cries of mourning.
As for the merchant, he continued to travel, and he arrived at the garden in question; that day was the first day of the new year. Now, while he was sitting crying over what was happening to him, an old sheikh came towards him leading a chained gazelle. He greeted the merchant, wished him a prosperous life, and said to him: "Why are you staying all alone in this place which is haunted by efreets?" Then the merchant told him what had happened to him with the efreet, and the cause of his staying there. And the sheikh, master of the gazelle, was greatly astonished and said: “By Allah! O my brother, your faith is great! And your story is a story so prodigious that, if it were written, it would be food for thought to the respectful thinker! Then he sat down beside him and said, “By Allah! O my brother, I will not stop staying close to you until I see what will happen to you with the efreet." And he stayed, indeed, and began to talk with him, and even saw him faint with fear and terror, a prey to deep affliction and tumultuous thoughts. And the master of the gazelle continued to stay there, when suddenly a second sheikh came and walked towards them, leading two greyhounds of the black hound species. He approached, wished them peace, and asked them the reason for their staying in this place haunted by the efreets. So they told him the story from beginning to end. But no sooner had he sat down than a third sheikh came towards them, leading a starling-colored mule. He wished them peace and asked them the reason for their stopping there. And they told him the story from the beginning to the end. But there is no point in repeating it.
Meanwhile, a whirlwind of dust arose and a storm blew violently as it approached the middle of the meadow. Then, when the dust had cleared, the efreet in question appeared, a finely sharpened sword in his hand; and sparks flew from his eyelids. He came to them and, seizing the merchant in their midst, he said to him: “Come, let me kill you as you killed my child, the breath of my life and the fire of my heart!" Then the merchant began to weep and lament; and also the three sheikhs notoriously began to weep, moan, and sob.
But the first sheikh, the master of the gazelle, eventually grew bolder, and, kissing the hand of the efreet, he said to him: "O efreet, O the chief of the kings of the genies and their crown, if I tell you my story with this gazelle, and let you marvel at it, as a reward, will you spare me a third of this merchant's blood?" The efreet said: "Yes, certainly, venerable sheikh! If you tell me the story, and that I find it extraordinary, I will grant you in grace a third of his blood!"
TALE OF THE FIRST SHEIKH
The first sheikh says:
"Know, O great efreet, that this gazelle was my uncle's daughter, and that she was of my flesh and blood. I married her when she was still young and lived with her for almost thirty years. But Allah granted me no children from her. So I took a concubine who, with the grace of Allah, gave me a male child as beautiful as the moon when it rose; he had beautiful eyes and eyebrows that met and perfect limbs. He grew little by little until he was a boy of fifteen. At that time I was obliged to leave for a distant town, on account of a big commercial affair.
Now, my uncle's daughter, this gazelle, was initiated from childhood into witchcraft and the art of enchantment. By her knowledge of magic, she transformed my son into a calf, and the slave, his mother, into a cow; then she put them in the custody of our shepherd.
Me, after a long time, I came back from my trip. I inquired about my son and his mother, and my uncle's daughter said to me: “Your slave is dead, and your son fled and I do not know where he went! »
So, for a year, I remained overwhelmed with the affliction of my heart and tears in my eyes.
When the annual festival of the Day of the Sacrifices arrived, I sent to tell the shepherd to reserve me a very fat cow; and he brought me a very fat cow — but it was my concubine bewitched by this gazelle! So I rolled up my sleeves and the tails of my dress and, knife in hand, prepared to sacrifice the cow. Suddenly this cow began to wail and cry profusely. So I stopped, but I ordered the shepherd to sacrifice her. He did; then he skinned it. But we found no fat or meat in it: just the skin and the bones. I then repented of having sacrificed her; but of what use was repentance to me? Then I gave it to the shepherd and said to him: “Bring me a very fat calf. And he brought me my son, the bewitched calf.
When this calf saw me, it cut its rope, ran to me, and rolled at my feet; and what moans! and what tears! So I took pity on him, and said to the shepherd, "Bring me a cow, and leave this one!"
— At this point in her narration, Sheherazade saw the morning appear and, discreetly, fell silent without taking further advantage of the permission. Then her sister Doniazade said to her: “O my sister, how sweet and kind and savory and delicious are your words! And Sheherazade answered: "But they are really nothing compared to what I will tell you both next night if I am still alive and if the King is willing to keep me!" And the king said to himself: “By Allah! I will not kill her until I have heard the rest of her tale!"
Then the King and Scheherazade spent the whole night embracing. After which the king went out to preside over the affairs of justice. And he saw the vizier arrive with, under his arm, the shroud intended for his daughter Sheherazade, whom he believed to be already dead. But the king told him nothing about it, and continued to dispense justice and to appoint some to offices and to dismiss others, and that until the end of the day. And the vizier was in perplexity and on the verge of astonishment.
When the diwan was over, King Schahriar returned to his palace.
— At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent.
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And so Scheherazade begins her tales to save her life and other young maidens. This merchant's tale is a fascinating one. How can pits of dates kill the child of an efreet? 😅 I expected at some point in the story that the Efreet would admit that he made it up but it seems to be true.
This merchant displays honesty and faithfulness. If I was the merchant, I would run far away and never return as promised because it's an issue of death. Since the Efreet gave the merchant the opportunity to put his affairs in order before dying, I guess it's understandable why he returned as promised.
Scheherazade lectures the king on the subject of solidarity and empathy with the tale of three sheikhs who stood by the merchant. I admire that they intervened by trying to convince the Efreet to change his mind with their personal stories. The first sheikh's story is touching. He unknowingly killed the mother of his son whom he believed to be a cow. And the calf! Oh my, I worried at that point and was relieved the sheikh did not kill it.
I'm hoping we see a good ending to the first sheikh's story and hope his wicked wife gets her punishment. This chapter is captivating. It's like stories within stories. Scheherazade used the power of storytelling to convey lessons and values. Hopefully the king takes note of them. Thank you for sharing these stories. 😊😊
I remembered from my previous readings of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp that I heard this line familiarly:
"At this point in her narration, Scheherazade saw the morning appear and quietly fell silent."
Now I understand why it takes her until morning to tell the stories. Because she needs to keep the King entertained so he doesn't kill her. The truth is that Scheherazade's situation is pitiful because her life seems to depend on her and the women who may follow her are good at telling stories to the King. But it looks like she overcame it on his first night with the King. The King seems to be interested in the next parts of her stories, that's why the King didn't kill her. And this time her sister Doniazade survived.
As for the Merchant's life based on Scheherazade's narration of the story, his situation is tragic. I know this story is fiction but why can't I understand how Efreet's son died just because he was run over by pits of dates? It's hard to believe considering how powerful the Genies are. The death is just weird because it doesn't seem realistic.
Anyway, my other question is why did the Merchant just accept that Efreet had to kill him because of the death of his son; even if he is not aware of it.
Right now I don't understand the plot of the story but I think I will figure it out later.
I'm also a bit curious about the part where the First Sheik wants to ask for 1/3 of the Merchant's blood. What can it be used for? Does he intend to save the Merchant's life? Can't wait to read the next parts...
Hmm
This is sweet. I noticed something and it happens to everyone. There are time when we have a thought in our mind that someone is going to do a particular thing but he won't do it.
Let me give an example. My mum is a kind of person with anger issues and we mostly get scared anytime we want to talk to her because it is very likely for her to shout at us and we may not like that.
That is what happened in this story. Sheherazade was already expecting herself to get killed but something changed the mind of the King and he decided not to kill her anymore. I hope you get the irony here.
If we remember well, the time that the two brothers went to seek their fate from the face of Allah, the met a genie which changed his mentality. Now, he met some Sheikhs and he was able to be convinced in his mind by the story of the Sheikh. That is to show that words and actions are powerful. They have influences in our lives. This is why some people get influenced either positively or negatively. I think the King was able to experience the both sides.
Well, I like the fact that Sheherazade is still alive. I would have cried if she was not. I also think there is something special about Sheherazade because she did not get killed. What if she is the one meant for the King?
What if the King is deeply in love with her?
I also have a feeling that Sheherazade is interesred in the King.
No, I don't think she expected to be killed. She thought that telling stories to the king would delay her death. And that is the reason she asked her sister to come and ask her to tell them a story.
Scheherazade is a superb intelligent and clever girl, she knows how to take advantage of an opportunity, rather I would say that most girls know how to get their work out of boys beautiful women know that men have to come to them in the end. this is the reason why she gets her words and desires from men very easily and I think it is not wrong because it is a man's duty to fulfill his wife's responsibilities. Scheherazade is doing the same at the moment, she knows that how she has to convince the King Schahriar to obey her words.
Scheherazade's wisdom is that she has put the King Schahriar in a story that only she knows the end of and the King Schahriar should not kill Scheherazade without hearing the end of the story because the he is taking too much interest in the story because King Schahriar knows that if he kills the girl named Scheherazade, he will never hear the last of the story from anyone.
If I put it in simple words, Scheherazade is doing to the King Schahriar what the first sheikh (A sheikh is a respectable old man) is doing to efreet. Like the sheikh who has put a condition to efreet "O efreet, O the chief of the kings of the genies and their crown, if I tell you my story with this gazelle, and let you marvel at it, as a reward, will you spare me a third of this merchant's blood?" and efreet agreed on it. In the same way, Scheherazade also told stories to the king and in return would demand something from the King Schahriar as a reward and whatever she asks for, the King Schahriar will be ready to give her as a reward because he has to hear the next part of the story.
Believe me or not, but the Jins ( afreets ) are real and they surrounds us in world of their own, They live like us, but they are not alloweded to hurt us. I have heard this from my fore father. Who you to tell us the story of Jins.
You won't believe me but we had an encourter with A Churail ( girl Jin ) When i was a kid, we were coming from a marriage Late night and suddently we saw a girl sitting on the Car ( On the Roof it ), As soon as we Crossed her, She began to run Towards our Rickshaw, We begin to start reading Verses From the Quran and other Thing we rememeber, and She Got Disappeard,
This is what i remember from the Insident, because at that time i was a kid. I have another encounter like this one, but i will tell you some other time.
Back to the Story. The merchange unknowngly hits the efreet son, His attention was never to hurt anyone, He did that same we all do when we eat Dates. It is normal. But he wasn't aware about the place that it was haunted and he is about to kill someone unknowngly,
I am very impressed by the Truthfullness of merchant and that is why efreets also believe on him and let him go. Otherwise he was about to get killed for the inident no one would want to get intentially.
Gladly Those three shaikhs have found the and they decided to help him and save him from the efreet, Though these shaikhs were very noble, they must have something in their mind to save the murchant from the death.
I'm also very happy to see how Shezaade is alive and She convinced teh king Schahriar to not kill her like he did with the other girls of the town. It is the proof of her intelligence.
After reading today's story, it's fun, the way we saw that if the girl was not sensible, the prince would have killed her too, but she showed more sense and said that now the story is over. Because of this the princess doesn't kill him because the story is still there because the prince likes the story so much and he is in this conflict what will happen in the end so he leaves it.
A person who has this talent can attract other people to him with words, as we have seen this girl did to the prince, such a person can be successful in the world. There are many stories within a story which makes this story even more interesting. I also say that Prince's Begum has done a lot of wrong to him and she should be punished severely.
The merchant who was there didn't intend to kill anyone but whatever happened by accident and the way we saw the sheikhs save the merchant was so much better.
As we all know that some time ago the prince was very sad because of what had happened in his life and the stories told by this girl were very similar to the prince's story which led to Liked more. Good thing the princess has stopped killing girls now, we hope she doesn't kill any more girls in the future.
I also feel the same here that the prince has fallen in love with scheherazade because of which he killed him and his story is also very good to his heart. The story has become very interesting and the upcoming parts will be very interesting.
Scheherazade is very clever, hinting to the king that the fate of the merchant is also her own fate, and if the merchant were to die, she would also die.
I have read your post as well as comments to understand the story and then go ahead and tell the story. Scheherazade is a girl who loves the king perhaps and the king is going to kill her soon but she has asked for time by telling the story to the king and this is a sign of her wisdom. Impressive 🥂
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