THE FOURTH OFFICER'S STORY
by Unknown · from Tales from the Arabic — Volume 02
Adapted Version
One night, a man and his friends slept. They were on their roof. The night was dark and quiet.
A woman came into their house. She had a very big belly. She wanted to take their things. She put everything into a big bundle.
While she picked up things, her baby came. It happened right there in the dark. The baby was very small.
The woman found a light. She lit a small lamp. The baby started to cry.
The crying woke the man and his friends. They looked down from the roof. They saw the woman and her baby.
The woman heard them. She looked up at the men. "Why are you looking?" she said. "The night is mine! Go away!"
"If you don't go," she said. "I will make the house fall down!" She sounded scary.
The men were very scared. They thought she was a monster. They ran away quickly.
In the morning, they came back. All their things were gone. The house was empty.
They understood the truth. The woman was a clever thief. She had tricked them.
The man felt very sorry. "We were fooled," he said. "We learned to be careful of tricky people." He would not be fooled again.
Original Story
THE FOURTH OFFICER'S STORY.
We were sleeping one night on the roof, when a woman made her way into the house and gathering into a bundle all that was therein, took it up, that she might go away with it. Now she was great with child and near upon her term and the hour of her deliverance; so, when she made up the bundle and offered to shoulder it and make off with it, she hastened the coming of the pangs of labour and gave birth to a child in the dark. Then she sought for the flint and steel and striking a light, kindled the lamp and went round about the house with the little one, and it was weeping. [The noise awoke us,] as we lay on the roof, and we marvelled. So we arose, to see what was to do, and looking down through the opening of the saloon,[FN#112] saw a woman, who had kindled the lamp, and heard the little one weeping. She heard our voices and raising her eyes to us, said, "Are ye not ashamed to deal with us thus and discover our nakedness? Know ye not that the day belongeth to you and the night to us? Begone from us! By Allah, were it not that ye have been my neighbours these [many] years, I would bring down the house upon you!" We doubted not but that she was of the Jinn and drew back our heads; but, when we arose on the morrow, we found that she had taken all that was with us and made off with it; wherefore we knew that she was a thief and had practised [on us] a device, such as was never before practised; and we repented, whenas repentance advantaged us not.'
When the company heard this story, they marvelled thereat with the utmost wonderment. Then the fifth officer, who was the lieutenant of the bench,[FN#113] came forward and said, '[This is] no wonder and there befell me that which is rarer and more extraordinary than this.
Story DNA
Moral
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Plot Summary
While sleeping on their roof, a group of men are awakened by a crying baby in their house. They discover a pregnant woman who had broken in to steal, unexpectedly gave birth, and then lit a lamp. When confronted, she cleverly pretends to be a Jinn, scolding and threatening them, causing the men to retreat in fear. The next morning, they realize she was merely a cunning thief who used the ruse to escape with all their possessions, leaving them to regret their gullibility.
Themes
Emotional Arc
surprise to regret
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story comes from 'The Arabian Nights' (One Thousand and One Nights), a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled during the Islamic Golden Age. The mention of Jinn is a key cultural element.
Plot Beats (11)
- The narrator and companions are asleep on their roof.
- A heavily pregnant woman enters their house to steal their belongings.
- While gathering the items, she unexpectedly goes into labor and gives birth to a child in the dark.
- She lights a lamp, and the baby's cries awaken the men on the roof.
- The men look down into the house and see the woman and her crying baby.
- The woman, hearing their voices, looks up and chastises them, accusing them of shaming her and reminding them that the night belongs to her.
- She threatens to bring down the house if they don't leave, implying she is a Jinn.
- Believing her to be a supernatural being, the men retreat in fear.
- The next morning, they discover that all their possessions are gone.
- They realize the woman was a cunning thief who used a clever ruse to escape with their goods.
- The narrator expresses regret over their foolishness.
Characters
The Thief Woman
Of average height and build, heavily pregnant and near term, indicating a full figure. Her movements, despite her condition, are swift and decisive when she is gathering the bundle, suggesting underlying strength and agility.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing suitable for a woman of her station and for moving stealthily in the night. Likely a loose-fitting, dark-colored thobe or abaya to conceal her pregnancy and blend into the darkness, made of coarse linen or cotton.
Wants: To steal valuables to provide for herself and her newborn child, driven by desperation or a life of thievery.
Flaw: Her advanced pregnancy, which causes her to go into labor at an inopportune moment, nearly exposing her.
She successfully executes her theft and escapes, demonstrating her cunning and resilience without any apparent change in her character.
Resourceful, cunning, bold, deceptive, resilient.
The Fourth Officer (Narrator)
As a ship's officer, he would likely be of average to robust build, accustomed to physical labor and life at sea. His exact height and features are not specified, but he would be a man of the Arabian Peninsula, possibly with a weathered complexion from sun exposure.
Attire: Simple, practical clothing suitable for sleeping on a roof in a warm climate, likely a loose-fitting thobe or a simple tunic and trousers made of linen or cotton. As an officer, he might have a slightly better quality of fabric than a common sailor, but still functional.
Wants: To understand the strange events unfolding in his home, and later, to share his cautionary tale.
Flaw: His gullibility and fear of the supernatural, which allows the thief to escape.
He learns a harsh lesson about human cunning and deception, realizing that not all strange occurrences are supernatural.
Observant, cautious, easily deceived, regretful.
Locations
House Rooftop
A flat, open rooftop, likely made of packed earth or stone, where the officers sleep to escape the heat. It has an opening or skylight that looks down into the saloon below.
Mood: Initially peaceful and sleepy, then shifts to confusion and fear as strange events unfold below.
The officers are awakened by strange noises and witness the Jinn-woman's actions below.
House Saloon/Interior
The main living area of the house, visible from the rooftop opening. It is initially dark, then illuminated by a lamp. The floor is where the Jinn-woman gives birth and gathers belongings.
Mood: Mysterious and unsettling, illuminated by a single flickering lamp, creating deep shadows.
The Jinn-woman gives birth, lights a lamp, and gathers all the household possessions.