I was not at Bagdad when this tragical adventure befel my fourth brother.  He retired into a remote place, where he lay concealed till he was cured of the blows with which his back was terribly gored.  When able to walk, he went by night to a certain town where nobody knew him, and there he took a lodging, from whence he seldom went out; but, being at last weary of his life, he took a walk into one of the suburbs, where he was suddenly alarmed with the noise of horsemen coming behind him.  He was then by chance near the gate of a great house; and fearing, after what had befallen him, that these horsemen were pursuing him, he opened the gate in order to hide himself; and, after shutting it again, he came into a wide court, where two servants immediately came and took him by the neck, and said, Heaven be praised that you are come voluntarily to surrender yourself up to us!  You have frightened us so much these three last nights, that we could not sleep; nor would you have spared our lives, if you could have come at us!  You may very well imagine that my brother was much surprised at this compliment.  Good people, said he, I know not what you mean; you certainly take me for another!  No, no, replied they; you and your comrades are great robbers:  you were not contented with robbing our master of all that he had, and thereby reducing him to beggary, but you were also going to take his life; let us examine whether you have not a knife about you, which you had in your hand when you pursued us last night.  Having said this, they searched him, and found that he had a knife.  Ho! ho! cried they, laying hold of him; and dare you say that you are not a robber?  Why, said my brother, cannot a man carry a knife without being a highwayman?  If you will be attentive to my story, continued he, instead of having so bad an opinion of me, you will be touched with compassion at my misfortunes.  But, far from hearkening to him, they fell upon him, trod him underfoot, took away his clothes, and tore his shirt.  Then observing the scars on his back, O you dog! cried they, redoubling their blows, would you have us to believe you are an honest man, when your back convinces us to the contrary?  Alas! said my brother, my faults must be very great, since, after having been abused already so unjustly, I am ill treated a second time without being more culpable!

The two servants, no way moved with his complaint, carried him before the judge, who asked him how he durst be so bold as to go into their house, and pursue them with a drawn knife.  Sir, replied poor Alcouz, I am the most innocent man in the world, and am undone if you will not hear me patiently:  nobody deserves more compassion.  Sir, replied one of the domestics, will you listen to a robber, who enters people’s houses to plunder and murder them? if you will not believe us, only look upon his back.  Upon which they showed it to the judge, who, without any other information, immediately commanded one hundred lashes