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Shishu Sansaar | Arabian Nights Stories-3

Arabian Nights Stories-3

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Story No 54

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54 - The Qaazee Who Was Taught by His Wife

There lived a Qaazee with his wife. His wife was a charitable, virtuous, righteous and of helping nature. At the same time she was very beautiful also. The Qaazee thought that everybody had a wife like his, and whenever anybody came with any complaint about his wife, he delivered his judgment that the man was a wrongdoer and the woman suffered. He did this because he thought that every man's wife was like his. And thus he did  not know the wickedness of the women and their sorcery and cunningness by which they work on men's mind.

He had these ideas until one day, when suddenly a man came to him with a complaint about his wife that he was ill-treated by her and how her misconduct was manifested in public. When the man put up his case before the Qaazee and made his charge, the Qaazee determined that he was wrong and his wife was right; so the complaint went forth as the one deaf and blind who could neither hear nor see. Moreover, the man was perplexed with his affair as not knowing what he should do with his wife. The Qaazee had judged his case differently that he had ill-used his wife, while it was vice versa, he was ill-used by his wife.

The plaintiff was confounded at his decision and was in the process "what to do", when he met a man on the way unexpectedly. He asked him - "Whatever may be your case, how has it fallen on you by this Qaazee in the matter of your wife?" The man said - "He has given sentence, that I am at fault and she is innocent, and I do not know what to do." The other man said - "Go back to the Judge's (Qaazee) Harem and sit by its entrance and ask the help from there."

The man did as he was told, he went there and knocked, and when a maid came out, he requested her to take him to the wife of the Judge, I just want to speak a word with her." She went in, asked her mistress and the mistress welcomed him from behind the doors. She asked him - "Yes, What do you want?" He said - "O Lady, I am under your protection, so that you can get justice from my wife. She has wronged me and disgraced me. I came to His Honor Qaazee to complain of her ill-conduct, still he thinks that I am at fault and have injured her while she is innocent. I don't know what to do. People told me that you do justice, that is why I have come to you." She said - "Go, take rest, and do not come back until he calls you back and do not fear at all." The man blessed her and left the place thinking whether the Qaazee's wife would help him or not.

When the Judge had finished his work, he went to his Harem. It was the usual custom that his wife used to meet him at the middle doorway when he came home, but on that day she did not come to receive him. He went inside the apartment and found her praying. He remembered the man who came to him complaining about his wife, so he thought, "Harming or hurting does not always come from the woman, and this liar complains about his wife falsely," because he still thought all women were like his wife.

When she had finished her prayers, she came and served him the food and ate the food with him as usual. Among the dishes was a plate of two chickens, so she said to her husband - "By Allaah, Please buy me a couple of geese tomorrow, that I may stuff them, I desire to eat them." He said - "Inshaa Allaah (by Allaah's wish), I will send somebody to buy two fattest and biggest geese for you. The eunuchs will slaughter them and you may use them as you wish."

So the next day the Judge got two plump birds and asked the eunuchs to cut them and the cook stuffed them with rice over and above the usual food. At this Judge's wife rose, and according to her plan, she bought two sparrows which a hunter had trapped and had cooked them. She placed those birds over the rice instead of the geese Judge had sent, and waited for her husband for supper.

When he came, the table was laid and he uncovered the plate under which he expected to see those geese, but he found two sparrows. He got perplexed to see them and said to his wife - "Oh, Allaah is great, Where are those geese?" She said - "Whatever you brought, is here before you." "But they are sparrows." "I don't know." The Judge got angry at this, rose and went to his wife's home and fetched her father. Seeing her father coming, she stood up, removed the two small birds and kept the two big birds on their place. When her father uncovered the plate, he found the big birds instead of the small ones. So he said to his son-in-law - "You were saying that they were the birds, but they are the geese." The father got displeased and went away. The Qaazee followed him, comforted him and invited him for food but he would not come with him.

After that the Judge locked his door, but before he entered, his wife had substituted the birds for the big ones. When her husband sat down for food, and he uncovered the plate, he saw the two sparrows. He again went mad to see them there. He went out again and met his father-in-law on the way. He said to him - "Come and look at those geese on the plate." "Why?" "Because they are again changed to sparrows." So the father-in-law returned to the house and saw again the geese on the plate, because they were again changed to the geese.

He said - "Here are two geese, now come and decide whether they are geese or sparrows?" He said - "Certainly they are two geese." "Then why do you come to me to complain about my daughter?" After this the father went away and the Judge came up to the doorway. Meanwhile the lady again changed the geese to the birds. After that the Qaazee sat down to eat food and found the two sparrows. At this he rose and cried - "Come here and help me." Now the people came there and asked the Qaazee what was the matter. 

Qaazee said - "I bought two geese for food but I find two sparrows instead of the geese." And as he opened the plate again he found two geese there, as the lady had again exchanged the birds for geese." He was confused to see this, asked the pardon from the neighbors, sent them away and came back to eat the food. As he opened the plate again to eat the food, he found two sparrows sitting there. So he again exclaimed - "These are two sparrows, no doubt about it." 

Now the wife cried - "Come and please help me." So the neighbors came running there and asked her what was the matter. She said - "I am in a great fix. My husband, the Qaazee has gone mad, please get hold of him and take him to the Maristaan and confine him there until he is returned to his senses." Everybody took him and imprisoned him amongst the maniacs. Everybody was in shock that the Qaazee had gone mad and has been confined in a madhouse. Now this was the cunning planning of his wife had to show him what a woman can do.

After three days, the Qaazee's wife went to him taking some food and set it before him and asked him saying - "What was it you found on the plate?" He answered - "Two sparrows." She said - "Recover your senses and your right mind, and see here I am, who has made you mad for your confusion between the two geese and the two sparrows. Now whenever anyone comes to you complaining about his wife, you always think that that man is an evildoer. But this is not always so. Women are often the worst wrongdoers and men are innocent. Now in this case, everybody will say that Qaazee is a wrongdoer, and no one knows that it is your wife who has done wrong to you. So you send for that man who is innocent and ask his wife also come to you and then do justice to him."

After that she moved him from Maristaan to back home, and the Qaazee did with that man as his wife had said. Even in future he decided with his mind and logic as to who was the wrongdoer.

End of Story No 54

 

 

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Created by Sushma Gupta on January 15, 2002
Contact:  sushmajee@yahoo.com
Modified on 11/30/13