The Laughing man

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The Laughing man

Once upon a time, in the city of Baghdad lived a boy, orphaned from the age of four he lived on the streets begging from the rich merchants who patronised the city. Life was hard for this boy as the street children of Baghdad were numerous and hungry. You had to be sharp to live on the streets.

At the age of 16 he heard the news of a rich Venetian merchant coming from the unknown lands of the West to trade spices and fine wine from the sparkling vineyards of Baghdad.

The boy enthusiastically ran down to the dock hoping for a job on the merchant’s ship. Life at sea could be very dangerous with pirates and storms but at least one didn’t have to fight for their next meal.
”Sahib, would you be needing a new ships boy for your voyage across the Mediterranean”, shouted the boy to the merchant

“Hop aboard, more the merrier,” shouted the merchant.

As the ship sailed away from the bustling alleys of Baghdad the boy was kept busy up in the crows nest scanning the horizon for the sight of a pirate ship. On the fourth blisteringly hot day the boy spotted three masts on the horizon and shouted down to the deck.

“Pirates on the starboard bow”

As the pirate ship neared, the merchants bravely fought back but it was not to be. Soon the gruesome pirates had boarded the ship and the sailors were at the pirates, mercy.

“Take the loot and the sailors”, said the captain “They can be sold for gold in Constantinople,”.

The boy sheared off a piece of wood from the mast and threw it with all his might at the pirate captain.

“Shiver me timbers, I want the villain who threw that to be strung to the yardarm”

“You’re the villains, get off this ship”

“Put that boy in the vice” replied the captain, brimming with rage.

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With a rough pull on his shoulder the boy was wrestled down to the deck. He resisted with all his might but the pirates managed to get his head into the vice, with three turns the boy was transformed to a cripple with a small whole in the place of his mouth and two slits in the side of his head where his ears were. Now when he talked a laughing noise was heard in the background and the pirates christened him the “Laughing Man”

The journey to Constantinople took six days in which he was forced ...

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