{"id":3641,"date":"2008-07-24T17:06:46","date_gmt":"2008-07-24T09:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2008\/07\/24\/shu_zhai_shi_20080724-2\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:27:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T07:27:06","slug":"shu_zhai_shi_20080724-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2008\/07\/24\/shu_zhai_shi_20080724-2\/","title":{"rendered":"[\u4e66\u6458]\u4e16\u754c\u4e3a\u4e86\u597d\u4eba\u800c\u9020\u5c31\u2014\u963f\u51e1\u63d0\u7684\u8eab\u4e16\u4e0e\u7ae5\u5e74(3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Con\u00adtin\u00adued from the pre\u00advi\u00adous chap\u00adter)<\/a>
\nPart 3: Chal\u00adleng\u00ading the Bukhara Giant<\/strong><\/p>\n

He start\u00aded walk\u00ading towards the Han mar\u00adket where junk was sold, where things were cheap\u00ader. He spent half a sil\u00adver dol\u00adlar to buy a large, though some\u00adwhat bat\u00adtered, cage, which tea\u00adhouse own\u00aders often used to feed their croak\u00ading rock par\u00adtridges.<\/p>\n

The boy went to the wood\u00adwork mar\u00adket again and found the cage mak\u00ader. He spent anoth\u00ader half a sil\u00adver dol\u00adlar there. The remain\u00ading half was paid to the painter, who paint\u00aded the cage beau\u00adti\u00adful\u00adly with all the dyes in his shop: green, sky blue, red, yel\u00adlow, and white. Final\u00adly, the painter gen\u00ader\u00adous\u00adly paint\u00aded a wide gold bor\u00adder around the cage with gold paint and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, my child, you can catch a Man-Speak\u00ading Bird and raise it!\u201d
\n\u201cI caught it a long time ago,\u201d the young man Nasered\u00addin replied. \u201cIt\u2019s a four-legged black-feath\u00adered bird that has nev\u00ader been seen in Bukhara.\u201d
\n\u2026After hand\u00ading the cage to the old woman (whose eyes widened in amaze\u00adment at the sight of such a beau\u00adti\u00adful thing), the young man Nass\u00ader al-Din walked towards the mar\u00adket again.
\nThis time he came back at noon. He said to the old woman:
\n\u201cCome on, old woman, every\u00adthing is ready.\u201d
\nThe old woman groaned and stood up, forced her yel\u00adlow eyes open, and picked up the half-asleep cat. The boy car\u00adried the cage and walked away with her.
\nThey stopped near the Han mar\u00adket at a three-way inter\u00adsec\u00adtion. The place was crowd\u00aded with peo\u00adple: small ven\u00addors, cloth mer\u00adchants, shoe\u00admak\u00aders, and tin\u00adsmiths. A lit\u00adtle fur\u00adther from the inter\u00adsec\u00adtion, the old woman spot\u00adted a small tent. It was sup\u00adport\u00aded by four rafters, its roof cov\u00adered with reeds and straw. It had two doors fac\u00ading each oth\u00ader, each hung with two sim\u00adple cloth cur\u00adtains. Sit\u00adting at one side of the tent was the ten\u00adter, an old man from the mar\u00adket. He received two sil\u00adver coins from the young Nass\u00ader al-Din, said \u201cthank you,\u201d and left.<\/p>\n

The young man led the old woman into the tent. Inside, there was a short pole on the ground with a wide board nailed flat on it. This was pre\u00adpared to hold the bird\u00adcage. There was noth\u00ading else in the tent, and light shone through the hole in the roof above.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease sit here, old lady,\u201d said the young man. \u201cI have one more thing to do, one last thing.\u201d
\nHe asked the old woman to stay and went to the row of shoe shops again. Then he came to the old lake where writ\u00aders who made a liv\u00ading by copy\u00ading var\u00adi\u00adous law\u00adsuits and appli\u00adca\u00adtions, espe\u00adcial\u00adly var\u00adi\u00adous secret let\u00adters, gath\u00adered.<\/p>\n

This place was the hive of gos\u00adsip, rumors, and rumors in the town. Dis\u00adputes arose con\u00adstant\u00adly here, with peo\u00adple expos\u00ading each oth\u00ader\u2019s short\u00adcom\u00adings, curs\u00ading each oth\u00ader, schem\u00ading against each oth\u00ader, and flat\u00adter\u00ading each oth\u00ader. It was a place rife with temp\u00adta\u00adtion and decep\u00adtion. The writ\u00aders here had all pre\u00advi\u00adous\u00adly served as ser\u00advants to offi\u00adcials at the court some\u00adwhere, in Istan\u00adbul, Tehran, or Khorezm, offer\u00ading their ill-got\u00adten advice to the king, the vizier, and cor\u00adrupt offi\u00adcials. At the very least, they had all been award\u00aded the Lion Award or high\u00ader\u2026<\/p>\n

Nor\u00admal\u00adly, believ\u00aders would\u00adn\u2019t start arriv\u00ading at the lake until the after\u00adnoon. Then the noise would die down, as the scribes would be work\u00ading with their brains. But young Nass\u00ader al-Din arrived at noon, when the com\u00admo\u00adtion was at its most intense. Argu\u00adments and insults raged, the noise was incom\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble, one voice drown\u00ading out the oth\u00aders, the next drown\u00ading them out. The clam\u00ador was so intense that it was sur\u00adpris\u00ading that the lake remained calm under this storm of slan\u00adder, insults, and abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, you scab\u00adby wolf cub!\u201d a skin\u00adny old man, bent over like the let\u00adter \u201c\u03b6,\u201d yelled at his neigh\u00adbor. \u201cAh, you fool who can\u2019t even write \u2018take\u2019! Every\u00adone knows the peti\u00adtion you wrote me last win\u00adter: it should have said \u2018our hon\u00ador\u00adable and pious chief,\u2019 but you wrote \u2018your par\u00ada\u00adlyzed lord, our chief!\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho wrote \u2018Your Excel\u00adlen\u00adcy the Par\u00ada\u00adlyzed\u2019? Did I make a mis\u00adtake like \u2018Nakwadar-Messinel\u2019?\u201d his neigh\u00adbor was so angry that he was shout\u00ading at the one who looked like the let\u00adter \u201c\u03b6\u201d. It was dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to explain what this let\u00adter looked like, because Ara\u00adbic let\u00adters are very sim\u00adi\u00adlar, always hid\u00ading their shapes. Every tiny part of the body \u2014 head, feet, hands, fin\u00adgers, and even the spine \u2014 was trem\u00adbling, even its inter\u00adnal organs were mov\u00ading around, and its stom\u00adach was con\u00adstant\u00adly churn\u00ading. \u201cYou your\u00adself wrote \u2018Your Excel\u00adlen\u00adcy\u2019 instead of \u2018Beau\u00adty\u2019 in the memo\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal you copied for your most trust\u00aded per\u00adson to sub\u00admit to Emir last year, and you almost caused a dis\u00adas\u00adter. Think about it! Think about it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Every\u00adone around them burst into laugh\u00adter, \u201cHehe,\u201d \u201cHaha,\u201d and \u201cChichi,\u201d all blend\u00ading into one. The writer, bent into the shape of the let\u00adter \u201c\u03b6,\u201d glared angri\u00adly, gnash\u00ading his teeth and prepar\u00ading to retal\u00adi\u00adate.<\/p>\n

The young boy Nassered\u00addin walked past him with\u00adout wait\u00ading for him to retal\u00adi\u00adate.
\nAt this moment, young Nas\u00ader al-Din noticed an old scribe who stood out from the crowd. He had\u00adn\u2019t joined in the furi\u00adous tirade. But it was\u00adn\u2019t because he was supe\u00adri\u00ador to the oth\u00aders or dis\u00addained slan\u00adder, but for some oth\u00ader rea\u00adson: he sim\u00adply lis\u00adtened. Cran\u00ading his neck, his bald head tilt\u00aded to one side by the weight of the weight gleam\u00ading in the sun\u00adlight, he lis\u00adtened intent\u00adly to the filthy words, slan\u00adder, and taunts that were spew\u00ading out. To hide his words from the oth\u00aders, he occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly wrote down the secrets he\u2019d heard in for\u00adeign char\u00adac\u00adters. As he wrote these words, young Nas\u00ader al-Din approached him. He was mut\u00adter\u00ading the word \u201cbeau\u00adty\u201d and writ\u00ading it down with a reed pen. A sin\u00adis\u00adter smile played on his thin lips, per\u00adhaps antic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00ading the sweet rewards he\u2019d soon reap from \u201cbeau\u00adty.\u201d<\/p>\n

He raised his head, looked at the young Nass\u00ader al-Din, and asked:
\n\u201cWhat do you need, kid?\u201d
\n\u201cI want some\u00adone to write some\u00adthing very short, using black ink on Chi\u00adnese paper. Very short.\u201d
\n\u201cYou said some\u00adthing very short!\u201d The scribe said hap\u00adpi\u00adly to the young child in front of him, who might have lied to adults. \u201cThank Allah, my child, it was fate that brought you to me, because no one in Bukhara can write with a brush dipped in ink on Chi\u00adnese paper bet\u00adter than me. When I was a sec\u00adre\u00adtary in the Bagh\u00addad Palace, my bro\u00adcade coat was cov\u00adered with dia\u00admond-stud\u00added lion medals, which were award\u00aded to me by the Caliph him\u00adself\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Young Nas\u00ader al-Din had to lis\u00adten to these lies from begin\u00adning to end. We did\u00adn\u2019t need to lis\u00adten to them. We\u2019ve all heard many sim\u00adi\u00adlar sto\u00adries. What\u2019s the point of some\u00adone who\u2019s already reached the low\u00adest point in life boast\u00ading about their past? These boasts won\u2019t change their sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion; they\u2019ll just be passed down from gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion to gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion. Speak\u00ading of bad luck and the cun\u00adning of the ene\u00admy, the writer paused and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do I need to write to you, my child? Tell me, and I will sat\u00adis\u00adfy you.\u201d
\n\u201cThere are only three words,\u201d said young Nasered\u00addin. \u201cWrite them in large let\u00adters: \u2018A beast called a cat.\u2019 \u201d
\n\u201cWhat? Say that again\u2026 a beast called a cat? Hmm\u2026\u201d
\nThe writer kept his lips tight\u00adly closed, his sharp eyes fixed on the young Nasserdin.
\n\u201cWhat use are words like these to you? Tell me about them,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe one who pays you must have a pur\u00adpose.\u201d Nasserdin, the young man, avoid\u00aded his ques\u00adtion. \u201cHow much does it cost?\u201d
\n\u201cOne and a half sil\u00adver dol\u00adlars,\u201d was the reply.
\n\u201cWhy is it so expen\u00adsive? It\u2019s just three words!\u201d
\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you take a look at the words?\u201d the scribe replied. \u201cCat!\u201d He made a face like a mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous, angry cat. \u201cIt\u2019s called!\u201d He said this with a guilty look. \u201cBeast!\u201d He pre\u00adtend\u00aded to be fright\u00adened, as if he had been bit\u00adten by a snake, and leaned back with his whole body. \u201cWho would be will\u00ading to write words like that for you at a cheap price?\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the young Nass\u00ader al-Din did not under\u00adstand the dan\u00adgers that the writer described, he agreed to pay one and a half sil\u00adver dol\u00adlars.
\nThe cal\u00adlig\u00adra\u00adph\u00ader took out a piece of Chi\u00adnese yel\u00adlow paper from under the car\u00adpet, cut it with a knife, picked up the brush, and thought that writ\u00ading those three words did not show his tal\u00adent at all, so he began to write unhap\u00adpi\u00adly.<\/p>\n

On his way back, young Nasserdin stopped at a shoe stall and used shoe glue to stick the words on a planed wood\u00aden board.
\nA very eye-catch\u00ading plaque was hung on the door frame of the tent.
\n\u201cYou can take the mon\u00adey now, old woman,\u201d said the young man Nasered\u00addin.
\nA cage with a cat in it was placed in the tent, and from it came the sound of the cat cry\u00ading out \u201cMeow, Meow\u201d because of lone\u00adli\u00adness.
\nThe old woman sat in front of the tent door hold\u00ading her bowl.
\nThe young man Nasered\u00addin stood by the road three steps away from her and shout\u00aded loud\u00adly. His voice was so loud that even the old wom\u00adan\u2019s ears were almost deaf\u00adened.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a beast called a cat!\u201d Naserdin\u2019s face flushed red as he shout\u00aded. \u201cIt\u2019s in the cage. It has four claws! Each claw has a nail as sharp as a nee\u00addle! Its tail can do all kinds of things\u2014it can be hooked, curled into a coil, bent left, right, up, down! It\u2019s a beast called a cat! It can bend its back and move its whiskers! Its fur is jet black! Its eyes can glow like fire in the dark! It barks loud\u00adly when it\u2019s hun\u00adgry and meows sweet\u00adly when it\u2019s full! It\u2019s a beast called a cat! It\u2019s in a stur\u00addy cage! You can see it for two cents. Don\u2019t be afraid, come and see it! The cage is very stur\u00addy and reli\u00adable! It\u2019s a beast called a cat!\u201d<\/p>\n

With\u00adin three min\u00adutes, his actions were reward\u00aded. A dull-look\u00ading man emerged from the line of iron\u00admon\u00adgers, paused, and, fol\u00adlow\u00ading the shouts, head\u00aded toward the tent. He resem\u00adbled one of those \u201cBukhara giants,\u201d only shorter\u2014a \u201clit\u00adtle broth\u00ader\u201d of the Bukhara giants. He was chub\u00adby, with red cheeks, and a lazy, list\u00adless demeanor. He approached young Nasered\u00addin, his hands hang\u00ading down like a Bud\u00addha stat\u00adue. A dull, fool\u00adish smile graced his chub\u00adby face, his eyes fixed on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beast called a cat!\u201d Nasserdin the young man shout\u00aded in his face. \u201cIt\u2019s in the cage! It\u2019s two cents a view!\u201d
\nThe lit\u00adtle Bukha\u00adran stood there for a long time as if fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded by the cry, then walked towards the old woman, put his fat fin\u00adgers into his belt, fished some\u00adthing out, and threw two cents into her bowl.<\/p>\n

The mon\u00adey jin\u00adgled as it fell into the bowl, and the boy Nasserdin\u2019s shouts paused in sur\u00adprise. This was a vic\u00adto\u00adry.
\nThe lit\u00adtle Bukhar\u00adi\u00adan opened the door cur\u00adtain and walked into the tent.
\nThe young boy Nasserdin was qui\u00adet\u00adly wait\u00ading for him to come out.
\nThe young Bukha\u00adran stayed in the tent for a long time. It was unclear what he was doing there, per\u00adhaps admir\u00ading the scene. When he emerged, his face was vis\u00adi\u00adbly unhap\u00adpy, as if he had been tricked. He approached the shout\u00ading young man, Nasered\u00addin, his hands still droop\u00ading at his sides, and he stood there like a clay Bud\u00addha. His once sil\u00adly smile now betrayed an expres\u00adsion of anger. He knew he had been tricked, but he did\u00adn\u2019t know how.<\/p>\n

And so the lit\u00adtle Bukhar\u00adi\u00adan left. Now three more peo\u00adple came to the tent, vying to get in first to see it.
\nThey were still some peo\u00adple with some dis\u00adcern\u00adment, and the last per\u00adson to enter could\u00adn\u2019t help laugh\u00ading after com\u00ading out of the tent. Because no fool wants oth\u00aders to be smarter than them\u00adselves, so after these three peo\u00adple came out, they looked at the oth\u00ader two peo\u00adple wait\u00ading out\u00adside the tent door and said noth\u00ading.<\/p>\n

The game of watch\u00ading wild ani\u00admals last\u00aded all day. Mer\u00adchants, arti\u00adsans, peas\u00adants from the coun\u00adtry\u00adside, and even learned Mus\u00adlims wear\u00ading snow-white tur\u00adbans came to watch. They admired the cat\u2019s roar of hunger and its qui\u00adet scratch\u00ading and flea-catch\u00ading game after eat\u00ading lamb liv\u00ader.<\/p>\n

The tent was not closed until the drums sound\u00aded. The old woman count\u00aded the mon\u00adey she had earned that day, a total of nine\u00adteen sil\u00adver dol\u00adlars! On the first day alone, she earned much more than she spent, which indi\u00adcat\u00aded that there would be good income on the sec\u00adond day.<\/p>\n

The old wom\u00adan\u2019s life had changed dra\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly. She now had her own \u201cnest,\u201d for the tent was undoubt\u00aded\u00adly her prop\u00ader\u00adty. She would live there for\u00adev\u00ader. The cat, released from its cage, raised its tail and sniffed the new house, run\u00adning back and forth.<\/p>\n

Nas\u00ader al-Din shout\u00aded in front of the tent for three days straight. Then he told his grand\u00admoth\u00ader he need\u00aded some\u00adone else, as he had oth\u00ader things to do at home. He found an old man who had once been a muezzin at the mosque and agreed to pay him three sil\u00adver dol\u00adlars a day. Although this man shout\u00aded loud\u00adly, he still used a long tune, like a call to prayer. To attract more peo\u00adple, he need\u00aded to buy a nagra drum to accom\u00adpa\u00adny his shout\u00ading.<\/p>\n

Young Nas\u00ader al-Din did not for\u00adget the old woman and vis\u00adit\u00aded her every week. These vis\u00adits brought joy to both of them. The old woman told him that her mon\u00adey was grow\u00ading and she insist\u00aded that he share half. Young Nas\u00ader al-Din refused and, to avoid anger\u00ading the old woman, accept\u00aded only a sil\u00adver dol\u00adlar as a reward.<\/p>\n

When\u00adev\u00ader he said good\u00adbye, young Naserdin would sur\u00advey the tent and admire it. The cat, fed dai\u00adly with goat liv\u00ader, grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly recov\u00adered, even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly becom\u00ading lazy and sleep\u00ading all day on the pil\u00adlows pro\u00advid\u00aded for it. Young Naserdin opened the cage and fond\u00adly stroked the cat\u2019s silky, shiny fur. The black cat would slight\u00adly open one eye, twitch its tail slight\u00adly, and then go back to sleep.<\/p>\n

As win\u00adter approached, young Naserdin said good\u00adbye to his old woman. She was mov\u00ading to live with her Gyp\u00adsies rel\u00ada\u00adtives in Naman\u00adgan. She was leav\u00ading in a cov\u00adered carriage\u2014she already had quite a bit of mon\u00adey! Before she left, she hugged young Naserdin and cried bit\u00adter\u00adly. For the last time, the young man gazed with his shin\u00ading eyes at the \u201cbeast\u201d sleep\u00ading on the pil\u00adlow in the cage, as the car\u00adriage slow\u00adly drove away\u2026<\/p>\n

One day, Nas\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti (peo\u00adple began to respect\u00adful\u00adly address him as Nas\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti!) arrived in Shi\u00adraz, the home\u00adland of the great Saa\u00addi, and over\u00adheard a caller shout\u00ading, \u201cThe beast called a cat! The beast is in a cage!\u201d Excit\u00aded, he head\u00aded toward the sound and saw a tent in the field. Sit\u00adting in front of the tent was a beau\u00adti\u00adful, beam\u00ading gyp\u00adsy girl, wear\u00ading ear\u00adrings in her ears and a bead\u00aded neck\u00adlace around her neck. Before her sat a shiny cop\u00adper tray for receiv\u00ading mon\u00adey. Oppo\u00adsite her, in front of the door, sat an old woman, so exhaust\u00aded she could\u00adn\u2019t even tell if she was dream\u00ading. Nas\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti tossed a large sil\u00adver rupee into the tray. He did this so the pret\u00adty gyp\u00adsy girl could find change and stay with her a lit\u00adtle longer. Of course, the girl noticed imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly and delib\u00ader\u00adate\u00adly picked up the mon\u00adey, her eyes widened with thick, vel\u00advety black lash\u00ades, a smile play\u00ading on her red lips. Nass\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti walked into the tent and saw the cat. Strange\u00adly enough, the cat, like the old woman, was near death. Nass\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti called to the cat. It did\u00adn\u2019t meow, and it did\u00adn\u2019t hear any\u00adthing. Yes, it had become deaf from its age.<\/p>\n

Nass\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti walked out of the oth\u00ader door of the tent and reached the entrance again. The young gyp\u00adsy girl thought he had come for her, so she showed her bright teeth and laughed freely. But Nass\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti ignored her anger, sur\u00adprise, and even rage and still tried to speak to the old woman. He leaned for\u00adward and said soft\u00adly:<\/p>\n

\u201cHel\u00adlo, old woman! Think of Bukhara, think of that lit\u00adtle street boy named Nass\u00ader al-Din\u2026\u201d
\nThe old woman, star\u00adtled awake by these words, a brief flash of light crossed her face, but she remained breath\u00adless for a long time. She uttered a faint cry in her throat, waved her trem\u00adbling hands in the air a few times, and then fell for\u00adward. But Nas\u00ader al-Din Avan\u00adti thought to him\u00adself, \u201cThen let this mem\u00ado\u00adry become a fleet\u00ading dream that will pass by her\u2014a mem\u00ado\u00adry in the long sleep that will soon bring her to rest!\u201d He took a few steps for\u00adward, then turned and looked at the old woman. She still had\u00adn\u2019t regained con\u00adscious\u00adness, her trem\u00adbling hands still waver\u00ading in the air in pan\u00adic. The young gyp\u00adsy girl was filled with sur\u00adprise and anx\u00adi\u00adety, alter\u00adnate\u00adly glanc\u00ading at the old woman and then search\u00ading for the boy who had sud\u00adden\u00adly appeared and then dis\u00adap\u00adpeared into the crowd.<\/p>\n

Nass\u00ader al-Din Afan\u00adti did not look back. The mar\u00adket swal\u00adlowed him up with a boil\u00ading roar com\u00adposed of thou\u00adsands of voic\u00ades\u2026
\nDur\u00ading his child\u00adhood, an inci\u00addent occurred in the streets of Bukhara.
\nOnce, while wan\u00adder\u00ading through the rows of shops, the unbear\u00adable heat drove him toward the lake. A woman draped in white veil fol\u00adlowed him. Nass\u00ader al-Din Afan\u00adti heard foot\u00adsteps behind him and glanced back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a moment!\u201d the woman said in an unusu\u00adal tone. She came up to him, lift\u00aded her veil, reveal\u00ading her face, and bowed to him. Then, with her thin but warm hand, she touched his face. She pressed her wrin\u00adkled, sor\u00adrow\u00adful face against his, as if she want\u00aded to place some\u00adthing in the child\u2019s heart, or to con\u00adfess some\u00adthing to him. She looked into his eyes. The woman had large, dark eyes, brim\u00adming with tears. Nass\u00ader al-Din Afan\u00adti felt embar\u00adrassed. What did this woman need?<\/p>\n

\u201cGo!\u201d the woman said, gen\u00adtly nudg\u00ading him. \u201cMay the Allah, the All-Mighty, pro\u00adtect you from dis\u00adas\u00adters at all times and in all places! Go!\u201d
\nThe woman dropped her veil and walked quick\u00adly down a side street, as if some\u00adone was chas\u00ading her. Nass\u00ader al-Din Afan\u00adti was sur\u00adprised and did\u00adn\u2019t under\u00adstand any\u00adthing. He watched her back. An hour lat\u00ader, in the hus\u00adtle and bus\u00adtle of the mar\u00adket, he had com\u00adplete\u00adly for\u00adgot\u00adten about the woman and nev\u00ader thought about it again.<\/p>\n

Years lat\u00ader, when he was a grown-up, he once dreamed of the woman while stay\u00ading at a car\u00ada\u00advanserai some\u00adwhere on the road from Beirut to Bas\u00adra. He saw her face, her eyes, and heard her words, \u201cMay Allah, the All-Mighty, pro\u00adtect you from dis\u00adas\u00adters at all times\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Sud\u00adden\u00adly, a chill ran through his body, his heart icy, and he jolt\u00aded awake. Only then did he real\u00adize that she was his bio\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal moth\u00ader. This real\u00adiza\u00adtion was\u00adn\u2019t some ground\u00adless, unfound\u00aded imag\u00adi\u00adnary thing; it was some\u00adthing unde\u00adni\u00adably real and clear, com\u00ading to him from an unknown source. He thought of how he had nev\u00ader spo\u00adken a sin\u00adgle word to his own moth\u00ader in this life\u00adtime, and it was as if the door to his lost child\u00adhood had been opened anew. His heart was sud\u00adden\u00adly filled with immense guilt and love for his lov\u00ading moth\u00ader. He called out and cried out, over and over, using the words that all chil\u00addren in the world love most and the most affec\u00adtion\u00adate words to their moth\u00aders. These words burst forth from his lips uncon\u00adtrol\u00adlably. He was con\u00advinced that his lov\u00ading moth\u00ader, breath\u00ading the same night air as him, would sense his son\u2019s long\u00ading and would respond to his call from afar with a moth\u00ader\u00adly heart.<\/p>\n

He saw his moth\u00ader in his dream, but he could not learn her name, let alone vis\u00adit her grave. Where could he find this name\u00adless grave? More\u00adover, if his moth\u00ader was eter\u00adnal to him, why would he even both\u00ader look\u00ading for her grave?<\/p>\n

The sto\u00adry of Nas\u00ader al-Din Affendi\u2019s child\u00adhood ends. Of course, our sto\u00adry is too short, and the frag\u00adments we have col\u00adlect\u00aded are not exhaus\u00adtive. But the path we have tra\u00adversed will be tra\u00adversed by oth\u00aders, and each per\u00adson who tra\u00advers\u00ades this path will gath\u00ader new frag\u00adments, which will in turn be added to the trea\u00adsure trove of this sto\u00adry. Ulti\u00admate\u00adly, from all these frag\u00adments and the efforts of all who have gath\u00adered them, a new book about Nas\u00ader al-Din Affendi\u2014about his childhood\u2014will emerge. Our con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtion to that book, though mod\u00adest, will serve as a cat\u00ada\u00adlyst for fur\u00adther devel\u00adop\u00adment. When the great writer of the future, who may yet write that book but has yet to be born, puts his final stamp on his work, he will sure\u00adly men\u00adtion our labors\u2014this is the reward we await, our hope, and our source of com\u00adfort.
\n(End of this chap\u00adter)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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