Hauff's Tales
Chapter IV
The man asked what I wanted. I replied that I was looking for the wise Mulej and he said that he was Mulej himself. I gave him a brief account of our adventures and asked him how I should get rid of the corpses and purge the ship. He answered that the crew of the ship had most probably had a curse put on them at sea for some godless deed, and the spell would be broken if we brought them ashore. This could be done only by tearing up the planks on which they lay. The ship and its cargo would then belong to me by right. He directed me to keep the whole affair a secret, and to bestow on him a small gift, in reward, from immense fortune. In return, he and his slaves would help me remove the bodies. I promised him a handsome reward indeed, and we set off with five of his slaves, armed with saws and axes.
It was still early morning when we reached the ship. We at once set to work, and in an hour four of the corpses were stretched out in the bottom of the boat. Some of the slaves rowed ashore to bury them. On their return they informed us that the corpses had saved them the trouble, for as soon as they had touched the earth, they had crumbled to dust. We worked hard, and by evening all the corpses had been carried ashore. Only the captain remained on the deck. Nobody could move him from the mast. We did not know what to do. Mulej, however, had an answer. He ordered one of the slaves to row ashore and bring back a vessel full of earth. When he returned, Mulej took the earth and, murmuring some mysterious words over it, sprinkled it on the head of the dead man. He immediately opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Who brought me here?” he asked, when he had recovered a little.
Mulej pointed to me and I stepped up to the captain.
“Thank you, unknown stranger,” he said. “You have delivered me from interminable suffering. For fifty years my body has been sailing the seas, and every night my soul has been compelled to return to its domain. Now that my head has touched the earth I can be gathered to my fathers.”
I begged him to tell me how he had fallen into such a pitiful plight.
He began: “Fifty years ago I was a powerful and respected man and lived in Algiers. Desire for gain led me to purchase a ship and to practice the trade of pirate. Time passed, and one day I took a dervish on board. My crew were a brutal lot and cared nothing for the sanctity of the holy man. To them he was merely a butt for their coarse jokes. One day he reproved me for my sinful life, and I was seized with wild, ungovernable rage. I seized a dagger and plunged it into his heart. As he lay dying he cursed me and my crew, saying that we should neither be able to live nor to die until we had laid our heads upon the earth. With that he died, and we threw him into the sea, laughing at his threats. But his curse was fulfilled. That very night part of my crew mutinied. A fierce struggle ensued, in which the loyal members of the crew were defeated. The mutineers all died of their wounds and my ship was transformed into a mass grave. My eyes grew dim, my breath grew short, I was convinced that I was dying. It was, however, only a kind of paralysis that had laid hold of me. The following night at the very hour we had thrown the dervish to the waves, feeling returned to me and my companions. We came alive again but we could say and do only what we had said and done on that fateful night.
We have been sailing in this manner for fifty years. We cannot live and we may not die. For how could we reach the mainland? We greeted each storm joyfully, praying that the ship would break up on a reef and we should be able to lay our heads to rest at last on the bottom of the sea. But we had no such luck. Now at last I shall die. Once more I tender you my thanks, my unknown deliverer! If my treasure can serve as reward take my ship and all that is in it as a proof of my gratitude”.
The captain finished speaking, his head dropped and he passed away. Instantly, he crumbled to dust like his comrades. We gathered his dust into a box and buried it on the shore. In the town we found workers to put the ship in order. We traded the wares on board for other goods, making a great profit. I hired a new crew, richly rewarded Mulej, and sailed for my homeland. I did not take a direct route but visited many different countries on the way, where I sold my merchandise. The Prophet blessed my transactions. Within nine months I disembarked at Balzora, having doubled the captain’s fortune. My friends wondered greatly at my riches and thought that I must have discovered the diamond valley of the famous traveller, Sindbad. I did not disillusion them.
Since then, every Balzora youth on reaching his eighteenth birthday, has gone out into the world as I did to seek his fortune. I, however, have lived quietly and contentedly, and every five years I make a pilgrimage to Mecca to give thanks to Allah in that holy place and beseech him to receive the captain and his men into Heaven.
The caravan completed the next stage of its journey the following day without mishap. When the merchants lay down to rest, Selim addressed the youngest of them, named Mulej, saying: “You are the youngest of us and are always in good spirits. You must surely know a merry tale. Tell it to us, so that we may refresh ourselves after the heat of the day.”
ACTIVITIES & EXERCISES
I. Comprehension Task
Who did it?
1. _________ gave the wise Mulej a brief account of their adventures.
2. _________ directed the narrator to keep the whole affair a secret.
3. It was still early morning when _________ reached the ship.
4. Only _________ remained on the deck.
5. _________ ordered one of the slaves to row ashore and bring back a vessel full of earth.
6. _________ immediately opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
7. _________ were a brutal lot and cared nothing for the sanctity of the holy man.
8. _________ finished speaking, his head dropped and he passed away.
9. _________ traded the wares on board for other goods, making a great profit.
10. _________ blessed the narrator’s transactions.
Answers: 1. the narrator; 2. the wise Mulej; 3. the narrator, Abraham, and five of Mulej’s slaves; 4. the captain; 5. the wise Mulej; 6. the captain; 7. the crew; 8. the captain; 9. the narrator; 10. the Prophet
II. Grammar
Choose the right form of the verb: “to infinitive” or “infinitive” or “verb + ing”.
1. We at once set work / to work / working.
2. He directed me to keep / keeping / keep the whole affair in secret.
3. He and his slaves would help me remove / to remove / removing the bodies.
4. Some of the slaves rowed ashore to bury / burying / bury them.
5. Nobody could move / to move / moving him from the mast.
6. We did not know what to do / do / doing.
7. He ordered one of the slaves to row / row / rowing ashore.
8. I begged him to tell / tell / telling me how he had fallen into such a pitiful plight.
9. The captain finished speaking / to speak / speak, his head dropped and he passed away.
10. In the town we found workers to put / put / putting the ship in order.
Answers: 1. to work; 2. to keep; 3. remove or to remove; 4. to bury; 5. move; 6. to do; 7. to row; 8. to tell; 9. speaking; 10. to put
III. Pronunciation Task
The letters below in bold are silent. If you are not sure of the pronunciation of these words check the phonetic transcription in a dictionary. Practice saying these words.
answered, would, brought, could, which, right, whole, hour, unknown, night, plight, thought, should
IV. Vocabulary
In English there are many suffixes (word endings) that can be added to a word to change its word class.
Example:
noun + “-full” = adjective;
noun + “-ous” = adjective;
noun + “-less” = adjective;
verb + “-able” = adjective.
There are some words below. Choose the suffix, add to a word, and form a new one. Translate both words and say which word class they belong to. Find the sentences with these words in the text and translate them.
| sin | ||
| fate | -ful | |
| govern | ||
| power | -able | |
| pity | ||
| joy | -less | |
| god | ||
| mystery | -ous |
Answers: sinful, fateful, governable, powerful, pitiful, joyful, godless, mysterious
V. Speaking
Make up and act out the talk between:
a) the narrator and the wise Mulej;
b) the wise Mulej and his slave;
c) the captain and the narrator;
d) the captain and the dervish.
to be continued