Section 1
In the land of Kashgar, known to all as situated on the borders of Great Tartary, there lived in ancient times a skilled tailor and his beloved wife. Their affection for one another was deep and true. One day, while the tailor was doing hard work at his shop, a peculiar hunchback wandered by and settled at the entrance of the shop, merrily singing and playing the tambourine. The tailor found amusement in the hunchback's antics and conceived the idea of bringing him home to entertain his wife. The hunchback agreed, and the tailor closed his shop as they embarked on their journey together.
Upon reaching their humble home, they found a table beautifully set for supper. Within moments, they sat down to enjoy a splendid fish, skillfully prepared by the tailor's wife. Misfortune struck when the hunchback accidentally swallowed a large bone. Despite the frantic efforts of the tailor and his wife to save him, the poor hunchback succumbed to suffocation in an instant. The tailor and his wife, deeply saddened by the tragic loss, also trembled with fear for their fate. If news of this incident reached the authorities, they risked imprisonment for the perceived crime of intentional murder. Desperate to avoid this dreadful calamity, they devised a plan to divert suspicion onto a nearby Jewish doctor, whom they deemed the author of the crime. With resolve in their hearts, the tailor held the hunchback's head, while his wife grasped his feet, and together they carried the lifeless body to the doctor's residence.
Upon reaching the doctor's doorstep, which opened directly onto a steep staircase, they rapped on the door. From within emerged a servant, cautiously descending the dark staircase, inquiring about their purpose.
"Kindly inform your master," spoke the tailor, "that we have brought a gravely ill man seeking his curative skills. Furthermore," he added, extending some money, "present him with this advance payment, so that he may not consider his time wasted." The servant ascended the stairs to relay the message to the doctor. The instant she vanished from view, the tailor and his wife swiftly transported the hunchback's body, propping it up at the top of the staircase, before hastening back to their dwelling as swiftly as their legs would allow.
Now, the doctor was overjoyed upon hearing the news of a patient (as he was young and had few such opportunities), and his heart was filled with delight.
"Quickly, fetch a light!" he called out to the servant. "Follow me as swiftly as possible!" With that, he hurried out of his chamber and raced towards the staircase. Unaware of what lay before him, he nearly stumbled over the hunchback's lifeless body. Acting on instinct, he gave it an inadvertent kick, causing it to roll down to the bottom of the stairs, narrowly avoiding dragging the doctor down with it. "A light! Bring me a light!" he cried out once more. When the light was brought forth, revealing the consequences of his hasty actions, the doctor was overcome with terror.
"Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "Why did I not wait for the light? I have inadvertently slain the ailing man they brought to me. If I am not aided by some divine miracle, like the sacred Ass of Esdras, I am doomed! It will not be long before I am led away to prison as a murderer."
Despite his agitation, which was entirely justified, the doctor managed to lock the house door to prevent any passerby from witnessing the unfortunate scene. He then lifted the lifeless body and carried it into his wife's room, causing her to be on the brink of madness due to fear.
"We are utterly ruined!" she lamented. "If we cannot find a way to remove the body from this house, all hope is lost. Once the sun rises, we will no longer be able to conceal it. How did you come to commit such a dreadful act?"
"Let that be," replied the doctor. "We must now focus on finding a solution."
For a considerable amount of time, the doctor and his wife racked their brains in search of an escape plan but failed to devise one that appeared satisfactory. Eventually, the doctor abandoned all hope and resigned himself to face the consequences of his misfortune.
However, his wife, who possessed greater ingenuity, suddenly exclaimed, "I have an idea! Let us carry the body onto the roof of our house and lower it down the chimney of our Muslim neighbor." This Muslim neighbor worked for the Sultan and supplied him with oil and butter. A portion of his residence contained a vast storeroom where rats and mice were revealed.
The doctor eagerly embraced his wife's plan, and together they lifted the hunchback's body. By securing cords under his armpits, they carefully lowered him into the purveyor's bedroom through the chimney, making it appear as though he were simply leaning against the wall. Once they sensed that he had touched the ground, they pulled up the cords and left him there.
