Prevod
It is related that in the city of Bukhara there lived a water carrier who brought water to the house of a goldsmith, and had done so for thirty years. The goldsmith had a wife of surpassing beauty, grace, and perfection, renowned for her piety, modesty, and chastity. One day the water carrier came as usual and poured the water into the great jars. The woman was standing in the middle of the courtyard, and he approached her, took her hand, rubbed and squeezed it, then went away and left her. When her husband returned from the market, she said, “I want you to tell me what you have done in the market today to anger God Most High.” The man replied, “I have done nothing to anger God Most High.” But his wife said, “No, by God! You have done something to anger God Most High. Unless you tell me what you have done, and tell me truthfully, I will not remain in your house: you shall never see me again, nor I you.” He said, “I will tell you truthfully what I did today. I was sitting in my shop as usual when a woman came in and asked me to make her a bracelet, then went away. I fashioned a bracelet of gold for her and put it aside. When she returned, I brought it to her. She held out her hand, and I slipped the bracelet onto her forearm. I was bewildered by the whiteness of her hand and the beauty of her wrist, which bewitched the beholder, and I recalled the poet’s words:
‘And forearms splendid in their lovely bracelets, like fire kindled over running water; with gold encircling them, they seemed like water proudly girdling itself with flame.’ So I took her hand, squeezed it, and twisted it.” His wife said to him, “God is greatest! Why did you commit this sin? That water carrier, who has been coming into our house for thirty years without our ever seeing any treachery in him, took my hand today, squeezed it, and twisted it.” The man said, “We seek God’s protection, wife! I repent of what I have done, so ask God to forgive me.” She said, “May God forgive us and you, and grant us a good end.” And morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving off her permitted tale.
When it was the three hundred and ninety-first night
She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that the goldsmith’s wife said, “May God forgive us and you, and grant us a good end.” The next day the water carrier came and threw himself at the woman’s feet, rolling in the dust and begging her pardon. “My lady,” he said, “forgive me for what Satan tempted me to do, when he led me astray and beguiled me.” The woman replied, “Go your way. The fault did not lie with you; rather, its cause lay with my husband, who did what he did in his shop, and God exacted retribution from him in this world.”
It is also said that when the goldsmith’s wife told him what the water carrier had done to her, he said, “One squeeze for another; had I done more, the water carrier would have done more.” These words became a proverb current among the people. A woman should therefore be true to her husband in both her outward conduct and her inward heart, content herself with little from him if he cannot afford much, and follow the example of Aisha al-Siddiqa and Fatima al-Zahra—may God Most High be pleased with them both—so that she may be numbered among the followers of the pious forebears.
