“My story is equally strange,” said the second old man, “These two dogs are my elder brothers. Our father died and left each of us a thousand gold sequins. We all became merchants.”
The eldest brother wanted to become a trader. So, he sold off his shop and used all the money he had to buy goods. He traded in many places and returned home at the end of one year, a poor and miserable man. He had been very unsuccessful.
In the meanwhile, I had prospered and doubled my wealth. Hence, I decided to give half of my wealth to my eldest brother.
A few years later, I met my second brother. He had travelled many places too. But he also lost all his money. I extended my hand to help him as well. I did not hesitate to give him the money to re-open his shop.
After settling down, both my brothers shared their wish to travel again and trade in other places. But I refused to support them due to their earlier experiences. After constant insisting, five years later, I decided to set sail with my brothers to trade in other countries.
I had six thousand sequins. I took half of it to share with my brothers, each with a thousand sequins. I buried the rest in a corner of my house.
We set sail in a ship loaded with merchandise for trading. We did well and were able to buy more goods too at a seaport.
There, a lady came up to me and requested me to marry her immediately.
I was taken by surprise and politely refused. But she was very insistent. Finally, I agreed to marry her and she sailed with us. I found her to be kind and wise and I started falling in love with her.
But my two elder brothers were jealous of me. They waited for an opportunity and threw me and my wife overboard into the sea. That time, I discovered that my wife was actually a fairy!
With her magical powers, she saved me from being drowned and transported me safely to an island. But she was very angry with my brothers for their ungratefulness. So, she vowed to destroy them.
I, however, pleaded that their life might be spared, and she agreed. Then she transported me to my house. When I dug up the three thousand sequins that I had hidden, she vanished.
I went to my shop. There I saw two black dogs standing outside my shop! The fairy returned to tell me that these were my two brothers whom she had punished for ten years. Before she vanished again, she told me where I could find her if I needed her ever again. There was silence after the story was over. The genie and the others had been fascinated listening to it. “Where are you going now, my friend?” asked the first old man.
“The ten years are almost over,” concluded the second old man, “And I am on my way to find my wife, taking my two brothers with me.”
The genie forgave another one-third of the merchant’s offence after listening to this story because it was so remarkable. After hearing the third story, the genie forgave the merchant fully and vanished from the oasis. The merchant thanked his friends and rode back home happily.
