The Story of the Barber's Sixth Brother 1

There now remains ¹ for me to relate to you the story of my sixth brother, whose name was Schacabac. Like the rest of us, he inherited a hundred silver drachmas（古希腊的银币名） from our father, which he thought was a large fortune, but through ill-luck, he soon lost it all, and was driven to beg. As he had a smooth tongue and good manners, he really did very well in his new profession, and he devoted ² himself specially ³ to making friends with the servants in big houses, so as to gain access to their masters. , ,One day he was passing a splendid mansion ⁴, with a crowd of servants lounging（闲逛） in the courtyard. He thought that from the appearance of the house it might yield him a rich harvest, so he entered and inquired to whom it belonged. , ,"My good man, where do you come from?" replied the servant. "Can't you see for yourself that it can belong to nobody but a Barmecide?" for the Barmecides were famed for their liberality and generosity ⁵. My brother, hearing this, asked the porters, of whom there were several, if they would give him alms. They did not refuse, but told him politely to go in, and speak to the master himself. , , ,"My lord," he said, "you behold ⁷ in me a poor man who only lives by the help of persons as rich and as generous as you." , ,Before he could proceed further, he was stopped by the astonishment ⁸ shown by the Barmecide. "Is it possible," he cried, "that while I am in Bagdad, a man like you should be starving? That is a state of things that must at once be put an end to! Never shall it be said that I have abandoned you, and I am sure that you, on your part, will never abandon me." , ,The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了
。,He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。