Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-11-26
Favored byiFortune.

EAvOr6u DyjFOTCunes
On the great Arabian desert, from
three different points of the compass
three travellers slowly approached one
another. Nearer and nearer they came, |
until presently they joined company
At first there was a moment of suspi- |
cion, and all were on their guard; one
laid his hand on an old razor, concealed
in his girdle; another fumbled in his |
turban for q shoemaker's awl; and the
third and last, shook his sleeve until
the pair of shears hidden there was in
his hand. All drew back the nantes
that protected their heads from the glar
ing sun aud drifting sand, but had no
sooner recognized one another than they
set up q great shout of joy, and throwing
themselves into each others arms. las
we'll as their infirmities would allow
them,) embraced
ALL barber, had but one eye; Ball,
the tailor, had but one hand; Kali, the
cobbler, wanted foot
"Happy is the day when we meet a.
gain i"cried the one-eyed "pray do you
come this side of me, that may better
see you why. Bali, you are less hand
and you, Kali, less foot. myself
want an eye. and pray let me tell you
how I lost it. So let us be seated, and
rest awhile, and will relate to you all
concerning my misfortune"
The three then seated themselves, and
Ali. the one-eyed barber, commenced.
"You know that was bred a barber,
and no one worked more diligently or
shaved better in Bagdad than I did
One unlucky day great lord came to
me aud wanted his head shaved. /
soaped his pate nicely, sharpened my
best razor, and went to work. One half
was done; l caught hold of his nose, as
oursart dictates, to get at the other side,
when, as ill-luck would have it, the
brush full of lather went into his eye;
he roared with pain, and getting into q
rage, gave me such a drubbing that,
when it was over, one eye was gone. My
customers ali left me no one thought a
one-eyed man could shave, and was
ruined. Now, beggar, I am going to
Mecca to try if by prayer / cannot as
suage Mahommed, and beg for good luck
once again in my life."
II think your case a bad one," said
Bali, the one handed tailor, "now listen
to mine. One day there came into my
shop one eyed man, and ordered vest.
He must have been great parsonage,
for the garment was to make was of
the most costly kind. such as are worn
at the palace. worked diligently. and
when it was finished I took it to his
house. He wanted to try it on he put
one arm nicely In, and had got into the
other sleeve as far as the elbow, when ne
yelled with pain. 'Rascal! he cried,
villain of a taller, you have left a nee
die in the sleeve, and it has pierced my
arm; take this, you dog and he began
to beat me with big stick, and when 1t
was over my hand was gone. / could
no longer sew !; my trade all left me and
now, q poor wretch, I am travelling to
the Holy City, to implore the great pro.
phet to take away his curse from me- {"
SIT is my turn-and though your cases
are hard, Just listen to mine,n said Kali,
the shoemaker. "This is the way in
which lost my foot: In Bagdad my
slippers of yellow kurdish leather were
in great repute. One day there came to
Inc great lord and ordered pair of my
yellow slippers. I made them myself,
and carried them to his house He put
one omit fitted perfectly; he tried on
the other, but it would not go on. Per-
ceiving for the first time that he had but
one eye and one arm. and imagining
that their loss had made him rather awk-
ward, / told him to give his foot a
stamp; he did so, and howled with pain.
Dog of a cobbler,' he cried, you have
left nail in your slipper and without
more ado he caught me up in his arm
and threw me out of the window. Some
passers-hy picked me up. and when I
got well one foot was gone My bust
ness went to the dogs my creditors seiz-
ed all / had and now, without copper,
lam hobbling over the desert to the
tomb of the great lawgiver, to beseech
him to grant me fortune"
When Kali had finished all three were
silent, and for full half an hour held
down their heads. AT last simultane
ously. they all burst out with "Oh,
where can three such unlucky fellows
be found ?" and in such loud tone of
voice that a fourth traveller, who had
silently drawn near, heard it, and ex-
claimed:
s"Who says they are unlucky fellows
For if SO, look at me-"
The three jumped up surprised, for
they had been SO absorbed as not to have
heard him approach Ali, Bali and
Kali looked up aud saw a man In rags,
with but one eye one arm and one leg.
"You unlucky!" exclaimed the new
conner ''Do you compare your situa-
ton with mine? T, who am wanting
in SO many things! What do you say
to me. the perfect addition of all your
woes? And with it all, I consider N.Y.
selfthe luckiest fellow in the world ="
And here, with the aid OF a long
crntch, he tripped about me. rily on the
sand.
"And how do you manage to be so hap
Ply ?" they asked.
II will tell you," said the traveller
II owe all my good luck to three excel
lent men-a barber, a tailor, and a shoe
maker The first took my eye the sec
ond nay arm, and the last my leg. Could
/ but find them, l would shower my
blessings on them"
II had the pleasure of spelling your
eye," said Ali, with wink.
"Allow me to recommend myself to
you as the person who deprived you OF
an arm," said Bali, with wave of his
arm.
"If have made you happy by caus-
ing the loss of your leg, am Kali, the
shoemaker, at your SERVICE" said Kali,
and he made a scrape.
And have / the good fortune to meet
you all?" said the traveller. "Then allow
me to embrace you"
And with this, as we'll as his infirmi.
Ties would allow, he Rugged them all
three, and then addressed them as fol.
lows:
"Now. listen. My name is Ben ou-
zaum. was about to be married The
day before the nuptial ceremony, went
to you, Ali, to be shaved. You put your
brush in my eye, and lost it. When
Ipresented myself afterward to the lady,
she would have nothing to do with me,
and married some one else. She turn
ed out to be such wicked creature, SO
unfaithful, that her husband, covered
with shame, killed himself. 1t would GER
tainly have been my fate, if not for the
good fortune that had in going to you
to get shaved.
"Some time afterward the sultan sent
for me. In order to make myself plea
sant to the eyes of the commander of