Free Children of Gebelaawi by Naguib Mahfouz Page B

faltered:
    - For once you 're telling the truth; but I deserve worse than
    death too.
    They had gone hardly any distance from the house when a
    drun ken laugh rang out. They looked i n that direction, and
    there they saw ldrees in front of the hut he had built of
    flattened cans and pieces of wood. His wife Narciss sat quietly
    spinning, and ldrees was laughi ng spitefully, enjoying their
    misery. Adham and Umayma were astonished and stood staring at him. ldrees started dancing and snapping his fingers, annoying Narciss who retreated into the hut. Adham watched,
    his reddened eyes filled with tears of rage. He saw at once the
    trick ldrees had played and its monstrous wickedness. He
    realized too his own immense naivety and stupidity, on account of which the vi llai n was dancing with m alicious joy. This 41
    Children of Gebelaauri
    was the real ldrecs, the i ncarnation of evil. Adham's blood
    boiled and his mind was darkened. He picked up a handful of
    earth and threw it at him, shou ti ng, in a voice distorted by fury:
    - Damned shil! You're worse than a scorpion.
    l drees's answer was to dance still more vigorously, wagging
    his head from side to side and jerking his eyebrows up and
    down, still snapping his fingers. Adham's rage mou nted stil l
    further and he bellowed:
    .
    - Bloody, lousy, low-down .. � liar ... cheat. . . !
    ldrees began swayi ng his body as skillfully as h e was wagging
    his head, sniggering silently. Ad ham took no notice ofUmayma
    who was tryi ng to pull him away, but yelled:
    - You 're worse than a tart, you filthy scum!
    ldrees started wriggling his behind, spinning round slowly
    and provocatively. Adham was blind with fury. He threw down
    h is bu ndle, pushed away Umayma who tried to hold him back,
    rushed at him and seized his throat with all his strength. ldrees
    took no notice of the attack, bu t went on dancing slowly and
    artfully. Adham, by now qu ite mad, rai ned down blows, but
    l drees only made more fun of him, chanting:
    Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.
    Then he stopped, ravi ng and cursing, and shoved Adham i n
    the chest with a force that sent h i m staggering. He lost his
    balance and fell on his back. Umayma hurried over to him,
    helped him up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, saying:
    - Why bother with this savage? Let's get right away.
    He picked up his bu ndle wi thout a word, and she took hers,
    and they made their way to the other side of the Great House.
    Adham was already tired and he threw down the bundle and
    sat on i t, sayi ng he wan Led a rest. His wife sat down facing him,
    crying again. They heard ldrees's voice once more. He stood
    looking defiantly at Lhe house, thu ndering:
    - For the sake of your most despicable child you threw me
    42

    Adham
    out, and you see how he treated you? And now you've thrown
    him into the dirt - and yourself with him. Tit for tat - and the
    one who acts first ends worst. This is so that you shall know that
    ldrees can 't be beaten. Stay alone wi th your useless, spi neless
    sons. You won ' t have any grandsons except those who will run
    about i n the dirt and roll i n the filth. Tomorrow they'l l be
    peddling sweet potatoes and melon seeds. Tomorrow they'll
    be at the mercy of the strongmen in Otouf and Kafr ei-Zaghari.
    Soon your seed wi ll be mixed with that of the lowest of men.
    You 'll sit alone in your room, changi ng things in your book i n
    anger and frustration. You 'll grow old alone i n the shadows
    and, when the end comes, you 'II fi nd nobody to cry for you.
    Then he turned to J\d ham and continued his crazy shouting:
    -And you, blacky Adham, you weakli ng, how are you going
    to face life on your own? You have no strength to help you,
    nobody strong to rely on. In this desert what's the use of your
    reading, writing and ari thmetic? 1-Ia! 1-Ia! 1-Ia!
    Umayma wen t on weeping till it got on Adham's nerves and
    he sai d wearily:
    - Stop cryi ng!
    She dried her eyes.
    - I'll often be crying, J\dham. I'm to blame for