Page:Fairy tales from the Arabian nights.djvu/405

 gentlemen, distributed to each man his portion by himself, and likewise brought me mine, which I ate by myself, as the rest did; and when supper was almost ended he presented to each of us a cup of wine.

They thought my story so extraordinary that they made me repeat it after supper, and it furnished conversation for a good part of the night. One of the gentlemen, observing that it was late, said to the old man, 'You see it is time to go to bed, and you do not bring us that with which we may do our duty.' At these words the old man arose and went to a cupboard, from whence he brought out upon his head ten basins, one after another, all covered with blue stuff; he set one before every gentleman, together with a light.

They uncovered their basins, in which there were ashes, coaldust, and lamp-black; they mixed all together, and rubbed and bedaubed their faces with it in such a manner that they looked very frightful. After having thus blackened themselves, they fell a-weeping and lamenting, beating their heads and breasts, and crying continually, 'This is the fruit of our idleness and wickedness.'

They continued thus almost the whole night, and when they left off the old man brought them water, with which they washed their faces and hands; they changed all their clothes, which were spoiled, and put on others; so that they did not look in the least as if they had been doing so strange an action.

It may be imagined how uneasy I was all the while; I wished a thousand times to break the silence which those young gentlemen had imposed upon me, and to ask questions; nor was it possible for me to sleep that night.

After we got up the next day we went out for a walk, and then I told them, 'Gentlemen, I declare to you that I must renounce that law which you prescribed to me last night, for I cannot observe it. You are men of sense, and do not lack brains; you have convinced me of this; yet I have seen you do such actions as none but madmen could be capable of. Whatever misfortune may befall me, I cannot forbear to ask why you bedaubed your faces with black. How is it that each of you has but one eye? Some singular thing must certainly be the cause of it; therefore