Prevod
It is related that one night the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, was sorely troubled. He said to his vizier, Ja‘far ibn Yahya al-Barmaki, “I have been unable to sleep tonight, and my heart is heavy. I do not know what to do.” His servant Masrur, who was standing before him, laughed. The caliph said, “What are you laughing at? Do you laugh out of contempt for me, or have you lost your wits?” “No, by Allah, Commander of the Faithful…” he replied. But dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.
When it was the four hundredth night
She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that Harun al-Rashid said to Masrur the swordsman, “Do you laugh out of contempt for me, or have you lost your wits?” He replied, “No, by Allah, Commander of the Faithful! By your kinship with the Lord of the Messengers, I could not help myself. Yesterday I went out for a walk beyond the palace and came to the bank of the Tigris. Seeing a crowd gathered there, I stopped and found a man called Ibn al-Qaribi making the people laugh. Just now I remembered his words, and laughter overcame me. I beg your pardon, Commander of the Faithful.” The caliph said, “Bring him to me this instant.” Masrur hurried out, found Ibn al-Qaribi, and said, “Come at the summons of the Commander of the Faithful.” “I hear and obey,” he replied. “But on one condition,” Masrur said. “If you go before him and he bestows anything on you, a quarter shall be yours and the rest mine.” Ibn al-Qaribi said, “Rather, half for you and half for me.” Masrur refused. “Then two-thirds for you and one-third for me,” said Ibn al-Qaribi. Only after much haggling did Masrur agree, and Ibn al-Qaribi rose and went with him. When he came before the Commander of the Faithful, he greeted him with the salutation due to the caliph and stood in his presence. The Commander of the Faithful said, “If you do not make me laugh, I shall strike you three times with this leather bag.” Ibn al-Qaribi thought to himself, “What harm can three blows with this bag do me, when even lashes of the whip do not hurt me?” He supposed the bag was empty. Then he began to tell jokes that would have made even an angry man laugh, and tried every sort of comic trick, but the Commander of the Faithful neither laughed nor smiled. Ibn al-Qaribi was astonished, then grew vexed and afraid. The Commander of the Faithful said, “Now you have earned your beating.” He took up the bag and struck him once. Inside it were four stones, each weighing two ratls. The blow landed on his neck, and he let out a mighty scream. Then, remembering his bargain with Masrur, he said, “Mercy, Commander of the Faithful! Hear me for a moment.” “Say what you will,” said the caliph. Ibn al-Qaribi said, “Masrur imposed a condition on me, and I agreed to it: whatever bounty I received from the Commander of the Faithful, one-third should be mine and two-thirds his. Only after great effort could I persuade him to accept this. Now, you have bestowed nothing on me but blows. This first blow is my share, and the remaining two are his. I have taken my portion, and there he stands, Commander of the Faithful, so give him his.” When the Commander of the Faithful heard this, he laughed until he fell back. He called Masrur forward and struck him once with the bag. Masrur cried out, “Commander of the Faithful, one-third is enough for me! Give him the other two-thirds!” But dawn overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.
When it was the four hundred and first night
She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that Masrur said, “Commander of the Faithful, one-third is enough for me! Give him the other two-thirds!” The caliph laughed at them both and ordered that each be given a thousand dinars. They went away delighted with the caliph’s bounty.
