第93章 ALAEDDIN ABOU ESH SHAMAT.(3)

O my mother，rejoined he，where is a place of refuge against destiny？Verily，taking care estoppeth not fate nor is there any escape from that which is written. He who took my grandfather will not spare myself nor my father；for，though he live to-day，he shall not live to-morrow. And when my father dies and I come forth and say，'I am Alaeddin，son of Shemseddin the merchant，'none of the people will believe me，but the aged will say，'Never in our lives saw we a son or a daughter of Shemseddin.' Then the Treasury will come down and take my fathers estate；and may Allah have mercy on him who saith，'The noble dies and his wealth passes away and the meanest of men take his women.' So do thou，O my mother，speak to my father，that he take me with him to the market and set me up in a shop with merchandise and teach me to buy and sell and give and take.' O my son，'answered his mother，when thy father returns，I will tell him this.' So when the merchant came home，he found his son sitting with his mother and said to her，Why hast thou brought him forth of the underground chamber？O my cousin，'answered she，it was not I that brought him out；but the servants forgot to shut the door and left it open；so he came forth and came in to me，as I sat with a company of women of rank.' And she went on to repeat to him what the boy had said；and Shemseddin said to the latter，O my son，to-morrow，God willing，I will take thee with me to the market；but I would have thee know that the commerce of the markets and the shops demands good manners and an accomplished carriage in all conditions.' So Alaeddin passed the night，rejoicing in his fathers promise；and on the morrow the merchant carried him to the bath and clad him in a suit worth much money. As soon as they had broken their fast and drunken sherbets，Shemseddin mounted his mule and rode to the market，followed by his son；but when the market-folk saw their Provost making towards them，followed by a youth as he were a piece of the moon on its fourteenth night，they said，one to another，See yonder boy behind the Provost of the merchants. Verily，we thought well of him；but he is like the leek，grayheaded and green at the heart.' And Sheikh Mohammed Semsem before mentioned，the Deputy of the market，said，O merchants，never will we accept the like of him for our chief.' Now it was the custom，when the Provost came from his house and sat down in his shop of a morning，for the Deputy of the market and the rest of the merchants to go in a body to his ship and recite to him the opening chapter of the Koran，after which they wished him good morrow and went away，each to his shop. Shemseddin seated himself in his shop as usual，but the merchants come not to him as of wont；so he called the Deputy and said to him，Why come not the merchants together as usual？I know not how to tell thee，'answered Mohammed Semsem；for they have agreed to depose thee from the headship of the market and to recite the first chapter to thee no more.' And why so？asked Shemseddin. What boy is this that sits beside thee，'asked the Deputy，and thou a man of years and chief of the merchants？Is he a slave or akin to thy wife？Verily，I think thou lovest him and inclinest [unlawfully] to the boy.' With this，the Provost cried out at him，saying，God confound thee，hold thy peace！

This is my son.' Never knew we that thou hadst a son，'rejoined the Deputy；and Shemseddin answered，When thou gavest me the seed-thickener，my wife conceived and bore this youth，whom I reared in a chamber under the earth，for fear of the evil eye，nor was it my purpose that he should come forth，till he could take his beard in his hand. However，his mother would not agree to this，and he would have me bring him to the market and stock him a shop and teach him to sell and buy.' So the Deputy returned to the other merchants and acquainted them with the truth of the case，whereupon they all arose and going in a body to Shemseddins shop，stood before him and recited the first chapter of the Koran to him；after which they gave him joy of his son and said to him，God prosper root and branch！But even the poorest of us，when son or daughter is born to him，needs must he make a pot of custard and bid his friends and acquaintances；yet thou hast not done this.' Quoth he，This is your due from me；be our rendezvous in the garden.' So next morning，he sent the carpet-layer to the pavilion in the garden and bade him furnish it.