Lesson 5 The Sagacious Judge
1、In a district of Algeria there lived a king called Bou-Akas, who held absolute power over twelve tribes. In each tribe there was a judge of the highest repute for integrity and wisdom to do justice among the people.
2、When he first came into power, the country was infested with robbers; but he soon found means to get rid of them. It became a saying among the Arabs, that a child might travel through the country of Bou-Akas with a golden crown on his head, and not a hand will be stretched out to take it.
3、Having heard that the judge of one of his twelve tribes did justice in a manner worthy of praise, Bou-Akas determined to judge for himself regarding the truth of the report. Accordingly, dressed as a private person, without arms or attendants, he mounted a gentle Arabian steed, and rode to the town of the judge.
4、Just as he was entering the gate, a cripple, seizing the border of his garment, asked him for money in the name of the Prophet. Bou-Akas gave him money; but the cripple still wouldn’t let go. “What do you want?” asked Bou-Akas. “I have already given you money, what more can I do for you?”
5、“You can save me—poor, crawling creature that I am!—from being trodden under the feet of men, horses, mules, and camels, a fate that would certainly seize me when I am passing through the crowded square, in which a fair is going on now.”
6、“And how can I save you then?”
7、“By taking me behind you, and setting me down safely in the market-place, where I have business.”
8、“That I can do,” replied Bou-Akas. And stooping down, he, with a good deal of difficulty, lifted the cripple up behind him. At length they reached the market-place.
9、“Is this where you wish to stop?” asked Bou-Akas.
10、“Yes.”
11、“Then get down.”
12、“For what?”
13、“To leave me the horse.”
14、“To leave you my horse! What do you mean by that?”
15、“I mean,” said the cripple, “that the horse belongs to me. You don’t know that we are now in the town of the fair judge? If we bring the case to him, he will certainly decide in my favor.”
16、“Why should he do that, when clearly the animal belongs to me?”
17、“Please don’t think so, when he sees you so able to walk with your strong, straight limbs, and me with my weak legs and distorted feet, he will decide that horse shall belong to the man who has the most need of it.”
18、“Should he do so, he wouldn’t be the fair judge then.” said Bou-Akas.
19、“Oh, as to that,” replied the cripple, laughing, “although he is fair, he is still able to make mistakes.”
20、“So!” thought Bou-Akas to himself. “Here is a good opportunity of judging the judge.” And then he said aloud, “I am content. We will go before the judge.”
21、On arriving at the tribunal, where the judge was
administering justice in the Eastern manner, they found
there were two trials which came on before theirs.
22、The first was between a philosopher and a peasant.
23、The peasant had carried off the philosopher’s wife, and now asserted that she was his own, in the face of the philosopher, who demanded her back. What was very strange was that the woman remained silent, and would not declare for either. This rendereda decision extremely difficult. The judge heard both sides, reflected for a moment, then said, “Leave the woman here, and return tomorrow.” The philosopher and the peasant having bowed and retired, a butcher and an oil-seller came forward, the latter covered with oil, and the former sprinkled with blood.
24、The butcher spoke first. “I bought some oil,” said he, “from this man, and pulled out my purse to pay him. The sight of the money tempted him, and he seized me by the wrist to force it from me. I cried out, but he would not let me go. I have held the money in my hand, and he has continued to grasp my wrist, till we are here before you. This is true—I swear it by the Prophet.”
25、The oil-seller then answered. “This man,” said he, “came to my shop to purchase oil. When his bottle was filled he asked me to give him change for a piece of gold. I drew from my pocket a handful of money and laid it on a bench. He immediately seized it, and was walking off with my money and my oil, when I caught him by the wrist and cried out, ‘Robber!’ In spite of my cries, however, he would not give up the money; and I have brought him before you. This is true—I swear it by Mohammed.”
26、The judge made each of them repeat his story; but neither was anything different from the previous statement. The judge reflected for a moment, and then said, “Leave the money with me, and return tomorrow.” The butcher laid the money down, as he was commanded. He and his opponent then bowed and departed.
27、It was now the turn of Bou-Akas and the cripple. “My lord judge,” said Bou-Akas,“I came here from a distant country, with the intention of purchasing goods. At the gate of the city I met this cripple, who first asked for money, and then prayed that I would take him up behind me, so that he might not be trodden down in the street. I said yes and took him with me; but when we reached the market-place, he refused to dismount,asserting that the horse belonged to him, and that you would surely decide in favor of him, since he needed the horse more than I did. This, my lord judge, is precisely the state of the case—I swear it by Mohammed.”
28、“My lord,” said the cripple, “as I was coming on business to the market, riding this horse, which belongs to me, I saw this man by the roadside, apparently half-dead from fatigue. I kindly offered to let him ride behind me as far as the market-place,which offer he eagerly accepted. But what was my astonishment when, on our arrival,he refused to get down, and said that my horse was his! I immediately required him to appear before you. This is the true state of the case—I swear it by Mohammed.”
29、The judge made each repeat his statement and then, having reflected a moment, he said, “Leave the horse here, and return tomorrow.” Bou-Akas and the cripple then withdrew from the court.
30、The next day a large number of persons assembled to hear the judge’s decisions.The philosopher and the peasant were called first.
31、“Take away your wife,” said the judge to the philosopher, “and keep her, I advise you, under proper control.”
32、Then turning toward an officer, he added, pointing to the peasant, “Give this man fifty blows.” The command was instantly obeyed, and the philosopher carried off his wife.
33、Next came forward the oil-merchant and the butcher. “Here,” said the judge to the butcher, “here is the money. It is truly yours, and not his.” Then pointing to the oil-merchant,he said to an officer, “Give this man fifty blows.” The punishment was inflicted,and the butcher went off in triumph with his money.
34、Bou-Akas and the cripple now presented themselves. “Should you recognize the horse among twenty others?” said the judge to Bou-Akas.
35、“Yes, my lord, I perfectly can.”
36、“And you?” to the cripple.
37、“Certainly, my lord.”
38、“Follow me,” said the judge to Bou-Akas.
39、They entered a large stable, and Bou-Akas pointed out his horse. “It is well,” said the judge. “Return now to the tribunal, and send your adversary here.”
40、The disguised king obeyed. The cripple hastened to the stable as fast as his distorted limbs could carry him. Having a quick eye and a good memory, he without hesitation placed his hand on the right animal. “It is well,” said the judge. “Return now to the tribunal.”
41、When the judge arrived there he took his place on the judgment seat, and waited till the cripple entered. He then said to Bou-Akas.
42、“The horse is yours; go to the stable and take him.”
43、Then turning to the officer, “Give this cripple fifty blows,” said he. The blows were given. Bou-Akas went to take his horse.
44、When the judge returned to his house, he found Bou-Akas waiting for him. “What now brings you here?” asked the judge.
45、“Are you discontented with my decision?”
46、“No, quite the contrary,” replied Bou-Akas. “But I wish to know by what inspi-ration you have decided so well; for I doubt not that the other two cases were settled as justly as mine. I am not a merchant; I am Bou-Akas, your king, in disguise, and I wished to judge for myself of your reputed wisdom.” The judge bowed to the ground before his master.
47、“I am anxious,” continued the king, “to know the reasons which determined your three decisions.”
48、“Nothing, my lord, can be more simple. You saw that I detained for a night the things in dispute?”
49、“I did.”
50、“Well,” continued the judge, “early in the morning I asked the woman to be called in. ‘Put fresh ink in my inkstand,’ I said to her suddenly; and, like a person who had done the same thing a hundred times before, she took the inkstand, washed it, and poured in fresh ink, and did it all with the utmost neatness and dexterity. So I said to myself, ‘A peasant’s wife would know nothing about inkstands—she must belong to the philosopher.’”
51、“Good,” said Bou-Akas, nodding his head. “And the money?”
52、“Did you remark that the oil-merchant had his clothes and hands covered with oil?”
53、“Certainly I did.”
54、“Well, I took the money and placed it in a vessel filled with water. This morning I looked at it, and not a particle of oil was to be seen on the surface of the water. So I said to myself, ‘If this money belonged to the oil-merchant, it would be greasy from the touch of his hands; as it is not greasy, the butcher’s story must be true.’”
55、Bou-Akas nodded in token of approval. “Good,” said he, “and my horse?”
56、“Ah, that was a different business, and until this morning I was greatly puzzled.”
57、“The cripple, I suppose, did not recognize the animal.”
58、“On the contrary, he pointed him out immediately.”
59、“How, then, did you discover that he was not the owner?”
60、“My object in bringing you separately to the stable was not to see whether you would know the horse, but whether the horse would know you. Now, when you come near him, the creature turned towards you and neighed with delight; but when the cripple touched him, he kicked. Then I knew that you were truly his master.”
61、The king stood for a moment, and then said, “Allah has given you great wisdom.You ought to be in my place and I in yours. And yet I know this cannot happen; you are certainly worthy to be a king, but I fear that I should badly fill your place as a judge.”
(1,927 words)
Exercises
Ⅰ. How well did you read?
1. [Note the reason] Bou-Akas took the trip to the town so as to ______.
A. learn more about civilian life in his own country
B. see whether his country was as safe as people said
C. decide whether the report about the judge was true
2. [Check the details] The cripple asked Bou-Akas for the following except ______.
A. money B. a ride C. a horse
3. [Note the reason] The judge detained the things in dispute because ______.
A. he needed time to figure out a solution
B. he thought it was best not to rush to a decision
C. he wanted the people to settle the dispute on their own
4. [Note the fact]The judge settled Bou-Akas’ case by ______.
A. seeing if the two people can recognize the horse
B. seeing who the horse recognized as its owner
C. deciding in favor of the one that was in need
Ⅱ. Read for words.
In the paragraphs, find the words that best fit the meaning below. Write the words.
1. bothered by a large number/amount of … (Para. 2)
2. to gather together (Para. 30)
3. an opponent; someone you are competing with (Para. 39)
4. to hold, to delay (Para. 48)
5. to notice, to pay attention to (Para. 52)
Ⅲ. Writing practice.
What would Bou-Akas tell his men of the judge and the case? Write down what you can think of.