The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 10 | Page 6

"Give it to her."
So she took it and the Kazi made peace between them, saying, "O wife,
obey thy husband; and thou, O man, deal kindly with her.[FN#12]"
Then they left the court, reconciled at the Kazi's hands, and the woman
went one way, whilst her husband returned by another way to his shop
and sat there, when, behold, the runners came up to him and said, "Give
us our fee." Quoth he, "The Kazi took not of me aught; on the contrary,
he gave me a quarter dinar." But quoth they "'Tis no concern of ours
whether the Kazi took of thee or gave to thee, and if thou give us not
our fee, we will exact it in despite of thee." And they fell to dragging
him about the market; so he sold his tools and gave them half a dinar,
whereupon they let him go and went away, whilst he put his hand to his
cheek and sat sorrowful, for that he had no tools wherewith to work.
Presently, up came two ill-favoured fellows and said to him, "Come, O
man, and speak with the Kazi; for thy wife hath complained of thee to

him." Said he, "He made peace between us just now." But said they,
"We come from another Kazi, and thy wife hath complained of thee to
our Kazi." So he arose and went with them to their Kazi, calling on
Allah for aid against her; and when he saw her, he said to her, "Did we
not make peace, good woman?" Whereupon she cried, "There abideth
no peace between me and thee." Accordingly he came forward and told
the Kazi his story, adding, "And indeed the Kazi Such-an-one made
peace between us this very hour." Whereupon the Kazi said to her, "O
strumpet, since ye two have made peace with each other, why comest
thou to me complaining?" Quoth she, "He beat me after that;" but quoth
the Kazi, "Make peace each with other, and beat her not again, and she
will cross thee no more." So they made peace and the Kazi said to
Ma'aruf, "Give the runners their fee." So he gave them their fee and
going back to his shop, opened it and sat down, as he were a drunken
man for excess of the chagrin which befel him. Presently, while he was
still sitting, behold, a man came up to him and said, "O Ma'aruf, rise
and hide thyself, for thy wife hath complained of thee to the High
Court[FN#13] and Abú Tabak[FN#14] is after thee." So he shut his
shop and fled towards the Gate of Victory.[FN#15] He had five nusfs
of silver left of the price of the lasts and gear; and therewith he bought
four worth of bread and one of cheese, as he fled from her. Now it was
the winter season and the hour of mid-afternoon prayer; so, when he
came out among the rubbish-mounds the rain descended upon him, like
water from the mouths of water-skins, and his clothes were drenched.
He therefore entered the 'Adiliyah,[FN#16] where he saw a ruined
place and therein a deserted cell without a door; and in it he took refuge
and found shelter from the rain. The tears streamed from his eyelids,
and he fell to complaining of what had betided him and saying,
"Whither shall I flee from this whore? I beseech Thee, O Lord, to
vouchsafe me one who shall conduct me to a far country, where she
shall not know the way to me!" Now while he sat weeping, behold, the
wall clave and there came forth to him therefrom one of tall stature,
whose aspect caused his body-pile to bristle and his flesh to creep, and
said to him, "O man, what aileth thee that thou disturbest me this night?
These two hundred years have I dwelt here and have never seen any
enter this place and do as thou dost. Tell me what thou wishest and I
will accomplish thy need, as ruth for thee hath got hold upon my heart."

Quoth Ma'aruf, "Who and what art thou?"; and quoth he, "I am the
Haunter[FN#17] of this place." So Ma'aruf told him all that had
befallen him with his wife and he said, "Wilt thou have me convey thee
to a country, where thy wife shall know no way to thee?" "Yes," said
Ma'aruf; and the other, "Then mount my back." So he mounted on his
back and he flew with him from after supper-tide till daybreak, when he
set him down on the top of a high mountain--And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Marid having