After the story of the crippled man in Kashgar, the tailor began to narrate the story of a barber. He explained that years ago, during the reign of Caliph Haroun Rashid, there was a reign of terror in the jungles near Baghdad, where ten bandits would loot and ruthlessly kill every traveler. The people of the Caliphate were distressed by the bandits, and complaints had reached the Caliph’s ears.
Concerned for his people, the Caliph immediately summoned the chief of police and ordered him to capture those ruthless bandits and bring them to justice. Haroun Rashid, in a stern tone, warned the chief of police that failure to do so would result in severe consequences, possibly leading to the chief’s execution.
Fearing for his life, the chief of police gathered a significant number of soldiers and ventured into the jungles where the bandits were known to roam. The tailor continued the story, describing how the chief of police and his soldiers worked tirelessly day and night until they successfully captured all ten bandits.
To transport the captured bandits to the royal court, they needed to cross a river by boat. During this process, a barber mistakenly ended up on the same boat as the bandits, as he was assumed to be one of them. Unaware of the barber’s true identity, the soldiers placed him under arrest along with the bandits.
Crossing the river, the boat reached the other side, and the soldiers, considering the barber as one of the outlaws, presented him along with the bandits to the Caliph. The barber, who spoke a different dialect, struggled to communicate and couldn’t convince the soldiers that he was not a bandit.
The soldiers brought the barber and the bandits to the court, where they were all lined up for execution. However, just as the executioner was about to behead the barber, the Caliph intervened, halting the execution. Surprised, the executioner obeyed the Caliph’s command.
Haroun Rashid, keenly observing the barber, questioned him about how he ended up with the bandits. The barber, frightened but determined, explained that he had inadvertently boarded the boat with the bandits during the river crossing and had been mistakenly identified.
The Caliph, amused by the barber’s foolishness, spared his life and exclaimed that he had never seen such a foolish person before. The Caliph acknowledged that had he not intervened, the barber would have lost his life without committing any crime. The tailor then mentioned that the barber, admitting his foolishness, explained that he was naturally quiet and often found it challenging to speak up in such situations.
The Caliph, amused by the barber’s simplicity, pardoned him. The tailor concluded this part of the story and began narrating the tale of the barber’s elder brother. If you want to know more about the elder brother’s story, continue reading the next part of the narrative.
