The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night โ Volume 11 [Supplement] eBook
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night โ Volume 11 [Supplement] by Richard Francis Burton
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Table of Contents
Page 1
Story of the Larrikin[FN#11] and the Cook
One of the ne’er-do-wells found himself one
fine morning without aught and the world was straightened
upon him and patience failed him; so he lay down to
sleep and ceased not slumbering till the sun stang
him and the foam came out upon his mouth, whereupon
he arose, and he was penniless and had not even so
much as a single dirham. Presently he arrived
at the shop of a Cook, who had set his pots and pans
over the fire and washed his saucers and wiped his
scales and swept his shop and sprinkled it; and indeed
his fats and oils were clear and clarified and his
spices fragrant and he himself stood behind his cooking
pots ready to serve customers. So the Larrikin,
whose wits had been sharpened by hunger, went in to
him and saluting him, said to him, “Weigh me
half a dirham’s worth of meat and a quarter of
a dirham’s worth of boiled grain[FN#12] and
the like of bread.” So the Kitchener weighed
it out to him and the good-for-naught entered the shop,
whereupon the man set the food before him and he ate
till he had gobbled up the whole and licked the saucers
and sat perplexed, knowing not how he should do with
the Cook concerning the price of that he had eaten,
and turning his eyes about upon everything in the
shop; and as he looked, behold, he caught sight of
an earthen pan lying arsy-versy upon its mouth; so
he raised it from the ground and found under it a
horse’s tail, freshly cut off and the blood
oozing from it; whereby he knew that the Cook adulterated
his meat with horseflesh. When he discovered
this default, he rejoiced therein and washing his
hands, bowed his head and went out; and when the Kitchener
saw that he went and gave him naught, he cried out,
saying, “Stay, O pest, O burglar!” So
the Larrikin stopped and said to him, “Dost thou
cry out upon me and call to me with these words, O
cornute?” Whereat the Cook was angry and coming
down from the shop, cried, “What meanest thou
by thy speech, O low fellow, thou that devourest meat
and millet and bread and kitchen and goest forth with
’the Peace[FN#13] be on thee!’ as it were
the thing had not been, and payest down naught for
it?” Quoth the Lackpenny, “Thou liest,
O accursed son of a cuckold!” Whereupon the
Cook cried out and laying hold of his debtor’s
collar, said, “O Moslems, this fellow is my
first customer[FN#14] this day and he hath eaten my
food and given me naught.” So the folk
gathered about them and blamed the Ne’er-do-well
and said to him, “Give him the price of that
which thou hast eaten.” Quoth he, “I
gave him a dirham before I entered the shop;”
and quoth the Cook, “Be everything I sell this
day forbidden to me, if he gave me so much as the name
of a coin! By Allah, he gave me naught but ate
my food and went out and would have made off, without
aught said.” Answered the Larrikin, “I
gave thee a dirham,” and he reviled the Kitchener,
who returned his abuse; whereupon he dealt him a buffet
Page 2
and they gripped and grappled and throttled each other.
When the folk saw them fighting, they came up to
them and asked them, “What is this strife between
you and no cause for it?” and the Lackpenny
answered, “Ay, by Allah, but there is a cause
for it, and the cause hath a tail!” Whereupon,
cried the Cook, “Yea, by Allah, now thou mindest
me of thyself and thy dirham! Yes, he gave me
a dirham and but a quarter of the coin is spent.
Come back and take the rest of the price of thy dirham.”
For he understood what was to do, at the mention
of the tail; “and I, O my brother” (added
Abu al-Hasan), “my story hath a cause, which
I will tell thee.” The Caliph laughed
at his speech and said, “By Allah, this is none
other than a pleasant tale! Tell me thy story
and the cause.” Replied the host, “With
love and goodly gree! Know, O my lord, that
my name is Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a and that my
father died and left me abundant wealth of which I
made two parts. One I laid up and with the other
I betook myself to enjoying the pleasures of friendship
and conviviality and consorting with intimates and
boon-companions and with the sons of the merchants,
nor did I leave one but I caroused with him and he
with me, and I lavished all my money on comrades and
good cheer, till there remained with me naught;[FN#15]
whereupon I betook myself to the friends and fellow-topers
upon whom I had wasted my wealth, so perhaps they
might provide for my case; but, when I visited them
and went round about to them all, I found no vantage
in one of them, nor would any so much as break a bittock
of bread in my face. So I wept for myself and
repairing to my mother, complained to her of my case.
Quoth she:—’Such are friends; an
thou have aught, they frequent thee and devour thee,
but, an thou have naught, they cast thee off and chase
thee away.’ then I brought out the other half
of my money and bound myself to an oath that I would
never entertain any save one single night, after which
I would never again salute him nor notice him; hence
my saying to thee:—’Far be it, alas!
that what is past should again come to pass, for I
will never again company with thee after this night.’”
when the Commander of the Faithful heard this, he
laughed a loud laugh and said, “By Allah, O my
brother, thou art indeed excused in this matter, now
that I know the cause and that the cause hath a tail.
Nevertheless, Inshallah, I will not sever myself
from thee.” replied Abu al-Hasan, “O
my guest, did I not say to thee, ’Far be it,
alas! that what is past should again come to pass?
For indeed I will never again foregather with any!’”
then the Caliph rose and the host set before him
a dish of roast goose and a bannock of first-bread[FN#16]
and sitting down, fell to cutting off morsels and
morselling the Caliph therewith. They gave not
over eating till they were filled, when Abu al-Hasan
brought basin and ewer and potash[FN#17] and they
washed their hands. Then he lighted three wax-candles
Page 3
and three lamps, and spreading the drinking-cloth,
brought strained wine, clear, old and fragrant, whose
scent was as that of virgin musk. He filled
the first cup and saying, “O my boon-companion,
be ceremony laid aside between us by thy leave!
Thy slave is by thee; may I not be afflicted with
thy loss!” drank it off and filled a second
cup, which he handed to the Caliph with due reverence.
His fashion pleased the Commander of the Faithful,
and the goodliness of his speech and he said to himself,
“By Allah, I will assuredly requite him for this!”
Then Abu al-Hasan filled the cup again and handed
it to the Caliph, reciting these two couplets:[FN#18]—
“Had we thy coming known, we would for sacrifice
* Have poured
thee out heart’s
blood or blackness of the eyes;
Ay, and we would have spread our bosoms in thy way,
* That so thy
feet might fare on eyelids,
carpet-wise.”
When the Caliph heard his verses, he took the cup
from his hand and kissed it and drank it off and returned
it to Abu al-Hasan, who make him an obeisance and
filled it and drank. Then he filled again and
kissing the cup thrice, recited these lines:—
“Your presence honoureth the base, * And we
confess the deed of
grace;
An you absent yourself from us, * No freke we find
to fill your
place.”
Then he gave the cup to the Caliph, saying, “Drink
it in health and soundness! It doeth away malady
and bringeth remedy and setteth the runnels of health
to flow free.” So they ceased not carousing
and conversing till middle-night, when the Caliph said
to his host, “O my brother, hast thou in they
heart a concupiscence thou wouldst have accomplished
or a contingency thou wouldst avert?” said
he, “By Allah, there is no regret in my heart
save that I am not empowered with bidding and forbidding,
so I might manage what is in my mind!” Quoth
the Commander of the Faithful, “By Allah, and
again by Allah,[FN#19] O my brother, tell me what
is in thy mind!” and quoth Abu al-Hasan, “Would
Heaven I might be Caliph for one day and avenge myself
on my neighbors, for that in my vicinity is a mosque
and therein four shaykhs, who hold it a grievance
when there cometh a guest to my, and they trouble
me with talk and worry me in words and menace me that
they will complain of me to the Prince of True Believers,
and indeed they oppress me exceedingly, and I crave
of Allah the Most High power for one day, that I may
beat each and every of them with four hundred lashes,
as well as the Imam of the mosque, and parade them
round about the city of Baghdad and bid cry before
them: ’This is the reward and the lest of
the reward for whoso exceedeth in talk and vexeth
the folk and turneth their joy to annoy.’
This is what I wish, and no more.” Said
the Caliph, “Allah grant thee that thou seekest!
Let us crack one last cup and rise ere the dawn draw
near, and to-morrow night I will be with thee again.”
Said Abu al-Hasan, “Far be it!” Then
Page 4
the Caliph crowned a cup, and putting therein a piece
of Cretan Bhang,[FN#20] gave it to his host and said
to him, “My life on thee, O my brother, drink
this cup from my hand!” and Abu al-Hasan answered,
“Ay, by thy life, I will drink it from thy hand.”
So he took it and drank it off; but hardly had it
settled in his stomach, when his head forewent his
heels and he fell to the ground like one slain; whereupon
the Caliph went out and said to his slave Masrur,
“Go in to yonder young man, the house master,
and take him up and bring him to me at the palace;
and when thou goest, shut the door.” So
saying, he went away, whilst Masrur entered, and taking
up Abu al-Hasan, shut the door behind him, and made
after his master, till he reached with him the palace
what while the night drew to an end and the cocks began
crowing,[FN#21] and set him down before the Commander
of the Faithful, who laughed at him.[FN#22] then
he sent for Ja’afar the Barmecide and when he
came before him, said to him, “Note thou yonder
young man” (pointing to Abu al-Hasan), “and
when thou shalt see him to-morrow seated in my place
of estate and on the throne[FN#23] of my Caliphate
and clad in my royal clothing, stand thou in attendance
upon him and enjoin the Emirs and Grandees and the
folk of my household and the officers of my realm
to be upon their feet, as in his service and obey him
in whatso he shall bid them do; and thou, if he speak
to thee of aught, do it and hearken unto his say and
gainsay him not in anything during this coming day.”
Ja’afar acknowledged the order with “Hearkening
and obedience” and withdrew, whilst the Prince
of True Believers went in to the palace women, who
came up to him, and he said to them, “When this
sleeper shall awake to-morrow, kiss ye the ground
between his hands, and do ye wait upon him and gather
round about him and clothe him in the royal clothing
and serve him with the service of the Caliphate and
deny not aught of his estate, but say to him, ‘Thou
art the Caliph.’” Then he taught them
what they should say to him and how they should do
with him and withdrawing to a retired room,[FN#24]
let down a curtain before himself and slept.
Thus fared it with the Caliph; but as regards Abu
al-Hasan, he gave not over snoring in his sleep till
the day brake clear, and the rising of the sun drew
near, when a woman in waiting came up to him and said
to him, “O our lord, the morning prayer!”
hearing these words he laughed and opening his eyes,
turned them about the palace and found himself in
an apartment whose walls were painted with gold and
lapis lazuli and its ceiling dotted and starred with
red gold. Around it were sleeping chambers,
with curtains of gold-embroidered silk let down over
their doors, and all about vessels of gold and porcelain
and crystal and furniture and carpets dispread and
lamps burning before the niche wherein men prayed,
and slave-girls and eunuchs and Mamelukes and black
slaves and boys and pages and attendants. When
Page 5
he saw this he was bewildered in his wit and said,
“By Allah, either I am dreaming a dream, or
this is Paradise and the Abode of Peace!"[FN#25] And
he shut his eyes and would have slept again.
Quoth one of the eunuchs, “O my lord, this is
not of thy wont, O Commander of the Faithful!”
then the rest of the handmaids of the palace came
up to him and lifted him into a sitting posture, when
he found himself upon a mattrass raised a cubit’s
height from the ground and all stuffed with floss
silk. So they seated him upon it and propped
his elbow with a pillow, and he looked at the apartment
and its vastness and saw those eunuchs and slave-girls
in attendance upon him and standing about his head,
whereupon he laughed at himself and said, “By
Allah, ’tis not as I were on wake, yet I am
not asleep! And in his perplexity he bowed his
chin upon his bosom and then opened his eyes, little
by little, smiling and saying, “What is this
state wherein I find myself?” then he arose
and sat up, whilst the damsels laughed at him privily;
and he was bewildered in his wit, and bit his finger;
and as the bite pained him, he cried, “Oh!”
and was vexed; and the Caliph watched him, whence
he saw him not, and laughed. Presently Abu al-Hasan
turned to a damsel and called to her; whereupon she
answered, “At thy service, O Prince of True
Believers!” Quoth he, “what is thy name?”
and quoth she, “Shajarat al-Durr."[FN#26] then
he said to her, “By the protection of Allah,
O damsel, am I Commander of the Faithful?” She
replied, “Yes, indeed, by the protection of Allah
thou in this time art Commander of the Faithful.”
quoth he, “By Allah, thou liest, O thousandfold
whore!"[FN#27] Then he glanced at the Chief Eunuch
and called to him, whereupon he came to him and kissing
the ground before him, said, “Yes, O Commander
of the Faithful.” Asked Abu al-Hasan,
“Who is Commander of the Faithful?” and
the Eunuch answered “Thou.” And Abu
al-Hasan said, “Thou liest, thousandfold he-whore
that thou art!” then he turned to another eunuch
and said to him, “O my chief,[FN#28] by the
protection of Allah, am I Prince of the True Believers?”
Said he, “Ay, by Allah, O my lord, thou art in
this time Commander of the Faithful and Viceregent
of the Lord of the three Worlds.” Abu
al-Hasan laughed at himself and doubted of his reason
and was bewildered at what he beheld, and said, “In
one night do I become Caliph? Yesterday I was
Abu al-Hasan the Wag, and to-day I am Commander of
the Faithful.” then the Chief Eunuch came up
to him and said, “O Prince of True Believers
(the name of Allah encompass thee!), thou art indeed
Commander of the Faithful and Viceregent of the Lord
of the three Worlds!” and the slave-girls and
eunuchs flocked round about him, till he arose and
abode wondering at his case. Hereupon the Eunuch
brought him a pair of sandals wrought with raw silk
and green silk and purfled with red gold, and he took
them and after examining them set them in his sleeve;
whereat the Castrato cried out and said, “Allah!
Page 6
Allah! O my lord, these are sandals for the treading
of thy feet, so thou mayst wend to the wardrobe.”
Abu al-Hasan was confounded, and shaking the sandals
from his sleeve, put them on his feet, whilst the
Caliph died[FN#29] of laughter at him. The slave
forewent him to the chapel of ease, where he entered
and doing his job,[FN#30] came out into the chamber,
whereupon the slave-girls brought him a basin of gold
and a ewer of silver and poured water on his hands[FN#31]
and he made the Wuzu-ablution. Then they spread
him a prayer-carpet and he prayed. Now he knew
not how to pray[FN#32] and gave not over bowing and
prostrating for twenty inclinations,[FN#33] pondering
in himself the while and saying, “By Allah, I
am none other than the Commander of the Faithful in
very truth! This is assuredly no dream, for
all these things happen not in a dream.”
And he was convinced and determined in himself that
he was Prince of True Believers, so he pronounced
the Salam[FN#34] and finished his prayers; whereupon
te Mamelukes and slave-girls came round about him
with bundled suits of silken and linen stuffs and clad
him in the costume of the Caliphate and gave the royal
dagger in his hand. Then the Chief Eunuch came
in and said, “O Prince of True Believers, the
Chamberlain is at the door craving permission to enter.”
Said he, “Let him enter!” whereupon he
came in and after kissing ground offered the salutation,
“Peace be upon thee, O Commander of the Faithful!”
at this Abu al-Hasan rose and descended from the
couch to the floor; whereupon the official exclaimed,
“Allah! Allah! O Prince of True Believers,
wottest thou not that all men are thy lieges and under
thy rule and that it is not meet for the Caliph to
rise to any man?” Presently the Eunuch went
out before him and the little white slaves behind
him, and they ceased not going till they raised the
curtain and brought him into the hall of judgment
and the throne-room of the Caliphate. There
he saw the curtains and the forty doors and Al-’Ijli
and Al-Rakashi the poet, and ’Ibdan and Jadim
and Abu Ishak[FN#35] the cup-companion and beheld
swords drawn and the lions[FN#36] compassing the throne
as the white of the eye encircleth the black, and
gilded glaives and death-dealing bows and Ajams and
Arabs and Turks and Daylamites and folk and peoples
and Emirs and Wazirs and Captains and Grandees and
Lords of the land and men of war in band, and in very
sooth there appeared the might of the house of Abbas[FN#37]
and the majesty of the Prophet’s family.
So he sat down upon the throne of the Caliphate and
set the dagger[FN#38] on his lap, whereupon all present
came up to kiss ground between his hands and called
down on him length of life and continuance of weal.
Then came forward Ja’afar the Barmecide and
kissing the ground, said, “Be the wide world
of Allah the treading of thy feet and may Paradise
be thy dwelling-place and the Fire the home of thy
foes! Never may neighbor defy thee nor the lights
Page 7
of fire die out for thee,[FN#39] O Caliph of all cities
and ruler of all countries!” Therewith Abu al-Hasan
cried out at him and said, “O dog of the sons
of Barmak, go down forthright, thou and the chief of
the city police, to such a place in such a street
and deliver an hundred dinars of gold to the mother
of Abu al-Hasan the Wag and bear her my salutations.
Then, go to such a mosque and take the four Shaykhs
and the Imam and scourge each of them with a thousand[FN#40]
lashes and mount them on beasts, face to tail, and
parade them round all the city and banish them to a
place other than this city; and bid the crier make
cry before them, saying: ’This is the
reward and the least of the reward of whoso multiplieth
words and molesteth his neighbors and damageth their
delights and stinteth their eating and drinking!’”
Ja’afar received the command and answered,
“With obedience”; after which he went
down from before Abu al-Hasan to the city and did all
he had ordered him to do. Meanwhile, Abu al-Hasan
abode in the Caliphate, taking and giving, bidding
and forbidding, and carrying out his command till
the end of the day, when he gave leave and permission
to withdraw, and the Emirs and Officers of state departed
to their several occupations and he looked towards
the Chamberlain and the rest of the attendants and
said, “Begone!” Then the Eunuchs came
to him and calling down on him length of life and
continuance of weal, walked in attendance upon him
and raised the curtain, and he entered the pavilion
of the Harem, where he found candles lighted and lamps
burning and singing-women smiting on instruments,
and ten slave-girls, high-bosomed maids. When
he saw this, he was confounded in his wit and said
to himself, “By Allah, I am in truth Commander
of the Faithful!” presently adding, “or
haply these are of the Jann and he who was my guest
yesternight was one of their kings who saw no way
to requite my favours save by commanding his Ifrits
to address me as Prince of True Believers. But
an these be of the Jann may Allah deliver me in safety
from their mischief!” As soon as he appeared,
the slave-girls rose to him and carrying him up on
to the dais,[FN#41] brought him a great tray, bespread
with the richest viands. So he ate thereof with
all his might and main, till he had gotten his fill,
when he called one of the handmaids and said to her,
“What is thy name?” Replied she, “My
name is Miskah,"[FN#42] and he said to another, “What
is thy name?” Quoth she, “My name is
Tarkah."[FN#43] Then he asked a third, “What
is thy name?” who answered, “My name is
Tohfah;"[FN#44] and he went on to question the damsels
of their names, one after other, till he had learned
the ten, when he rose from that place and removed
to the wine-chamber. He found it every way complete
and saw therein ten great trays, covered with all
fruits and cakes and every sort of sweetmeats.
So he sat down and ate thereof after the measure
of his competency, and finding there three troops
Page 8
of singing-girls, was amazed and made the girls eat.
Then he sat and the singers also seated themselves,
whilst the black slaves and the white slaves and the
eunuchs and pages and boys stood, and of the slave-girls
some sat and some stood. The damsels sang and
warbled all varieties of melodies and the place rang
with the sweetness of the songs, whilst the pipes
cried out and the lutes with them wailed, till it
seemed to Abu al-Hasan that he was in Paradise and
his heart was heartened and his breast broadened.
So he sported and joyance grew on him and he bestowed
robes of honour on the damsels and gave and bestowed,
challenging this girl and kissing that and toying
with a third, plying one with wine and morselling
another with meat, till nightfall. All this while
the Commander of the Faithful was diverting himself
with watching him and laughing, and when night fell
he bade one of the slave-girls drop a piece of Bhang
in the cup and give it to Abu al-Hasan to drink.
So she did his bidding and gave him the cup, which
no sooner had he drunk than his head forewent his
feet.[FN#45] Therewith the Caliph came forth from
behind the curtain, laughing, and calling to the attendant
who had brought Abu al-Hasan to the palace, said to
him, “Carry[FN#46] this man to his own place.”
So Masrur took him up and carrying him to his own
house, set him down in the saloon. Then he went
forth from him, and shutting the saloon-door upon
him, returned to the Caliph, who slept till the morrow.
As for Abu al-Hasan, he gave not over slumbering till
Almighty Allah brought on the morning, when he recovered
from the drug and awoke, crying out and saying, “Ho,
Tuffahah! Ho, Rahat al-Kulub! Ho, Miskah!
Ho, Tohfah!"[FN#47] and he ceased not calling upon
the palace handmaids till his mother heard him summoning
strange damsels, and rising, came to him and said,
“Allah’s name encompass thee! Up
with thee, O my son, O Abu al-Hasan! Thou dreamest.”
So he opened his eyes and finding an old woman at
his head, raised his eyes and said to her, “Who
art thou?” Quoth she, “I am thy mother;”
and quoth he, “Thou liest! I am the Commander
of the Faithful, the Viceregent of Allah.”
Whereupon his mother shrieked aloud and said to him,
“Heaven preserve thy reason! Be silent,
O my son, and cause not the loss of our lives and
the wasting of thy wealth, which will assuredly befal
us if any hear this talk and carry it to the Caliph.”
So he rose from his sleep, and finding himself in
his own saloon and his mother by him, had doubts of
his wit, and said to her, “By Allah, O my mother,
I saw myself in a dream in a palace, with slave-girls
and Mamelukes about me and in attendance upon me,
and I sat upon the throne of the Caliphate and ruled.
By Allah, O my mother, this is what I saw, and in
very sooth it was no dream!” then he bethought
himself awhile and said, “Assuredly,[FN#48] I
am Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a, and this that I
saw was only a dream when I was made Caliph and bade
Page 9
and forbade.” Then he bethought himself
again and said, “Nay, but ’twas not a dream,
and I am none other than the Caliph, and indeed I
gave gifts and bestowed honour-robes.”
Quoth his mother to him, “O my son, thou sportest
with thy reason: thou wilt go to the mad-house[FN#49]
and become a gazing-stock. Indeed, that which
thou hast seen is only from the foul Fiend, and it
was an imbroglio of dreams, for at times Satan sporteth
with men’s wits in all manner of ways."[FN#50]
Then said she to him, “O my son, was there
any one with thee yesternight?” And he reflected
and said, “Yes; one lay the night with me and
I acquainted him with my case and told him my tale.
Doubtless, he was of the Devils and I, O my mother,
even as thou sayst truly, am Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a.”
She rejoined, “O my son, rejoice in tidings
of all good, for yesterday’s record is that
there came the Wazir Ja’afar the Barmecide and
his many, and beat the Shaykhs of the mosque and the
Imam, each a thousand lashes; after which they paraded
them round about the city, making proclamation before
them and saying: ’This is the reward and
the least of the reward of whoso faileth in goodwill
to his neighbours and troubleth on them their lives!’
And he banished them from Baghdad. Moreover,
the Caliph sent me an hundred dinars and sent to salute
me.” Whereupon Abu al-Hasan cried out
and said to her, “O ill-omened crone, wilt thou
contradict me and tell me that I am not the Prince
of True Believers? ’Twas I who commanded
Ja’afar the Barmecide to beat the Shaykhs and
parade them about the city and make proclamations
before them, and ’twas I, very I, who sent thee
the hundred dinars and sent to salute thee, and I,
O beldam of ill-luck, am in very deed the Commander
of the Faithful, and thou art a liar, who would make
me out an idiot.” So saying, he rose up
and fell upon her, and beat her with a staff of almond-wood,
till she cried out, “Help, O Moslems!”
and he increased the beating upon her, till the folk
heard her cries and coming to her, found Abu al-Hasan
bashing his mother and saying to her, “O old
woman of ill-omen, am I not the Commander of the Faithful?
Thou hast ensorcelled me!” When the folk heard
his words, they said, “This man raveth,”
and doubted not of his madness. So they came
in upon him, and seizing him, pinioned his elbows,
and bore him to the Bedlam. Quoth the Superintendent,
“What aileth this youth?” and quoth they,
“This is a madman, afflicted of the Jinn.”
“By Allah, cried Abu al-Hasan, “they
lie against me! I am no madman, but the Commander
of the Faithful.” And the Superintendent
answered him, saying, “None lieth but thou,
O foulest of the Jinn-maddened!” Then he stripped
him of his clothes, and clapping on his neck a heavy
chain,[FN#51] bound him to a high lattice and fell
to beating him two bouts a day and two anights; and
he ceased not abiding on this wise the space of ten
days. Then his mother came to him and said,
“O my son, O Abu al-Hasan, return to thy right
Page 10
reason, for this is the Devil’s doing.”
Quoth he, “Thou sayest sooth, O my mother,
and bear witness of me that I repent me of that talk
and turn me from my madness. So do thou deliver
me, for I am nigh upon death.” Accordingly
his mother went out to the Superintendent[FN#52] and
procured his release and he returned to his own house.
Now this was at the beginning of the month, and when
it ended, Abu al-Hasan longed to drink liquor and,
returning to his former habit, furnished his saloon
and made ready food and bade bring wine; then, going
forth to the bridge, he sat there, expecting one whom
he should converse and carouse with, according to
his custom. As he sat thus, behold, up came the
Caliph and Masrur to him; but Abu al-Hasan saluted
them not and said to Al-Rashid, “No friendly
welcome to thee, O King of the Jann!” Quoth
Al-Rashid, “What have I done to thee?”
and quoth Abu al-Hasan, “What more couldst thou
do than what thou hast done to me, O foulest of the
Jann? I have been beaten and thrown into Bedlam,
where all said I was Jinn-mad and this was caused by
none save thyself. I brought thee to my house
and fed thee with my best; after which thou didst
empower thy Satans and Marids to disport themselves
with my wits from morning to evening. So avaunt
and aroynt thee and wend thy ways!” The Caliph
smiled and, seating himself by his side said to him,
“O my brother, did I not tell thee that I would
return to thee?” Quoth Abu al-Hasan, “I
have no need of thee; and as the byword sayeth in
verse:—
‘Fro’ my friend, ’twere meeter and
wiser to part, * For what eye
sees not born shall
ne’er sorrow heart.’
And indeed, O my brother, the night thou camest to
me and we conversed and caroused together, I and thou,
’twas as if the Devil came to me and troubled
me that night.” Asked the Caliph, “And
who is he, the Devil?” and answered Abu al-Hasan,
“He is none other than thou;” whereat
the Caliph laughed and coaxed him and spake him fair,
saying, “O my brother, when I went out from
thee, I forgot the door and left it open and perhaps
Satan came in to thee."[FN#53] Quoth Abu al-Hasan,
“Ask me not of that which hath betided me.
What possessed thee to leave the door open, so that
the Devil came in to me and there befel me with him
this and that?” And he related to him all that
had betided him, first and last (and in repetition
is not fruition); what while the Caliph laughed and
hid his laughter. Then said he to Abu al-Hasan,
“Praised be Allah who hath done away form thee
whatso irked thee and that I see thee once more in
weal!” And Abu al-Hasan said, “Never
again will I take thee to cup-companion or sitting-comrade;
for the proverb saith, ’Whoso stumbleth on a
stone and thereto returneth, upon him be blame and
reproach.’ And thou, O my brother, nevermore
will I entertain thee nor company with thee, for that
I have not found they heel propitious to me."[FN#54]
But the Caliph coaxed him and said, “I have
Page 11
been the means of thy winning to thy wish anent the
Imam and the Shaykhs.” Abu al-Hasan replied,
“Thou hast;” and Al-Rashid continued, “And
haply somewhat may betide thee which shall gladden
thy heart yet more.” Abu al-Hasan asked,
“What dost thou require of me?” and the
Commander of the Faithful answered, “Verily,
I am thy guest; reject not the guest.”
Quoth Abu al-Hasan, “On condition that thou
swear to me by the characts on the seal of Solomon,
David’s son (on the twain be the Peace!), that
thou wilt not suffer thine Ifrits to make fun of me.”
He replied, “To hear is to obey!” Whereupon
the Wag took him and brought him into the saloon and
set food before him and entreated him with friendly
speech. Then he told him all that had befallen
him, whilst the Caliph was like to die of stifled
laughter; after which Abu al-Hasan removed the tray
of food and bringing the wine-service, filled a cup
and cracked it three times, then gave it to the Caliph,
saying, “O boon-companion mine, I am thy slave
and let not that which I am about to say offend thee,
and be thou not vexed, neither do thou vex me.”
And he recited these verses:—
“Hear one that wills thee well! Lips none
shall bless * Save
those who drink for
drunk and all transgress.
Ne’er will I cease to swill while night falls
dark * Till lout my
forehead low upon my
tasse:
In wine like liquid sun is my delight * Which clears
all care and
gladdens allegresse.”
When the Caliph heard these his verses and saw how
apt he was at couplets, he was delighted with exceeding
delight and taking the cup, drank it off, and the
twain ceased not to converse and carouse till the
wine rose to their heads. Then quoth Abu al-Hasan
to the Caliph, “O boon-companion mine, of a truth
I am perplexed concerning my affair, for meseemed
I was Commander of the Faithful and ruled and gave
gifts and largesse, and in very deed, O my brother,
it was not a dream.” Quoth the Caliph,
“These were the imbroglios of sleep,” and
crumbling a bit of Bhang into the cup, said to him,
“By my life, do thou drink this cup;”
and said Abu al-Hasan, “Surely I will drink it
from thy hand.” Then he took the cup and
drank it off, and no sooner had it settled in his
stomach than his head fell to the ground before his
feet. Now his manners and fashions pleased the
Caliph and the excellence of his composition and his
frankness, and he said in himself, “I will assuredly
make him my cup-companion and sitting-comrade.”
So he rose forthright and saying to Masrur, “Take
him up,” returned to the palace. Accordingly,
the Eunuch took up Abu al-Hasan and carrying him to
the palace of the Caliphate, set him down before Al-Rashid,
who bade the slaves and slave-girls compass him about,
whilst he himself hid in a place where Abu al-Hasan
could not see him. Then he commanded one of
the hand-maidens to take the lute and strike it over
the Wag’s head, whilst the rest smote upon their
instruments. So they played and sang, till Abu
Page 12
al-Hasan awoke at the last of the night and heard
the symphony of lutes and tambourines and the sound
of the flutes and the singing of the slave-girls,
whereupon he opened his eyes and finding himself in
the palace, with the hand-maids and eunuchs about
him, exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there
is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!
Come to my help this night which meseems more unlucky
than the former! Verily, I am fearful of the
Madhouse and of that which I suffered therein the
first time, and I doubt not but the Devil is come to
me again, as before. O Allah, my Lord, put thou
Satan to shame!” Then he shut his eyes and laid
his head in his sleeve, and fell to laughing softly
and raising his head bytimes, but still found the
apartment lighted and the girls singing. Presently,
one of the eunuchs sat down at his head and said to
him, “Sit up, O Prince of True Believers, and
look on thy palace and thy slave-girls.”
Said Abu al-Hasan, “Under the veil of Allah,
am I in truth Commander of the Faithful, and dost
thou not lie? Yesterday I rode not forth neither
ruled, but drank and slept, and this eunuch cometh
to make me rise.” Then he sat up and recalled
to thought that which had betided him with his mother
and how he had beaten her and entered the Bedlam, and
he saw the marks of the beating, wherewith the Superintendent
had beaten him, and was perplexed concerning his affair
and pondered in himself, saying, “By Allah,
I know not how my case is nor what is this that betideth
me!” Then, gazing at the scene around him, he
said privily, “All these are of the Jann in human
shape, and I commit my case to Allah.”
Presently he turned to one of the damsels and said
to her, “Who am I?” Quoth she, “Thou
art the Commander of the Faithful;” and quoth
he, “Thou liest, O calamity![FN#55] If I be
indeed the Commander of the Faithful, bite my finger.”
So she came to him and bit it with all her might,
and he said to her, “It doth suffice.”
Then he asked the Chief Eunuch, “Who am I?”
and he answered, “Thou art the Commander of
the Faithful.” So he left him and returned
to his wonderment: then, turning to a little
white slave, said to him, “Bite my ear;”
and he bent his head low down to him and put his ear
to his mouth. Now the Mameluke was young and
lacked sense; so he closed his teeth upon Abu al-Hasan’s
ear with all his might, till he came near to sever
it; and he knew not Arabic, so, as often as the Wag
said to him, “It doth suffice,” he concluded
that he said, “Bite like a vice,” and redoubled
his bite and made his teeth meet in the ear, whilst
the damsels were diverted from him with hearkening
to the singing-girls, and Abu al-Hasan cried out for
succour from the boy and the Caliph lost his sense
for laughter. Then he dealt the boy a cuff,
and he let go his ear, whereupon all present fell
down with laughter and said to the little Mameluke,
“Art mad that thou bitest the Caliph’s
ear on this wise?” And Abu al-Hasan cried to
Page 13
them, “Sufficeth ye not, O ye wretched Jinns,
that which hath befallen me? But the fault is
not yours: the fault is of your Chief who transmewed
you from Jinn shape to mortal shape. I seek
refuge against you this night by the Throne-verse
and the Chapter of Sincerity[FN#56] and the Two Preventives!"[FN#57]
So saying the Wag put off all his clothes till he
was naked, with prickle and breech exposed and danced
among the slave-girls. They bound his hands and
he wantoned among them, while they died of laughing
at him and the Caliph swooned away for excess of laughter.
Then he came to himself and going forth the curtain
to Abu al-Hasan, said to him, “Out on thee,
O Abu al-Hasan! Thou slayest me with laughter.”
So he turned to him and knowing him, said to him, “By
Allah, ’tis thou slayest me and slayest my mother
and slewest the Shaykhs and the Imam of the Mosque!”
After which he kissed ground before him and prayed
for the permanence of his prosperity and the endurance
of his days. The Caliph at once robed him in
a rich robe and gave him a thousand dinars; and presently
he took the Wag into especial favour and married him
and bestowed largesse on him and lodged him with himself
in the palace and made him of the chief of his cup-companions,
and indeed he was preferred with him above them and
the Caliph advanced him over them all. Now they
were ten in number, to wit, Al-’Ijli and Al-Rakashi
and ’Ibdan and Hasan al-Farazdak and Al-Lauz
and Al-Sakar and Omar al-Tartis and Abu Nowas and
Abu Ishak al-Nadim and Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a,
and by each of them hangeth a story which is told
in other than this book.[FN#58] And indeed Abu al-Hasan
became high in honour with the Caliph and favoured
above all, so that he sat with him and the Lady Zubaydah
bint al-Kasim, whose treasuress Nuzhat al-Fuad[FN#59]
hight, was given to him in marriage. After this
Abu al-Hasan the Wag abode with his wife in eating
and drinking and all delight of life, till whatso
was with them went the way of money, when he said
to her, “Harkye, O Nuzhat al-Fuad!” Said
she, “At they service;” and he continued,
“I have it in mind to play a trick on the Caliph[FN#60]
and thou shalt do the same with the Lady Zubaydah,
and we will take of them at once, to begin with, two
hundred dinars and two pieces of silk. She rejoined,
“As thou willest, but what thinkest thou to do?”
And he said, “We will feign ourselves dead
and this is the trick. I will die before thee
and lay myself out, and do thou spread over me a silken
napkin and loose my turban over me and tie my toes
and lay on my stomach a knife and a little salt.[FN#61]
Then let down thy hair and betake thyself to thy
mistress Zubaydah, tearing thy dress and slapping
thy face and crying out. She will ask thee,
‘What aileth thee?’ and do thou answer
her, ’May thy head outlive Abu al-Hasan the
Wag; for he is dead.’ She will mourn for
me and weep and bid her new treasuress give thee an
hundred dinars and a piece of silk[FN#62] and will
Page 14
say to thee, ’Go, lay him out and carry him
forth.’ So do thou take of her the hundred
dinars and the piece of silk and come back, and when
thou returnest to me, I will rise up and thou shalt
lie down in my place, and I will go to the Caliph
and say to him, ’May thy head outlive Nuzhat
al Fuad,’ and rend my raiment and pluck out
my beard. He will mourn for thee and say to
his treasurer, ’Give Abu al-Hasan an hundred
dinars and a piece of silk.’ Then he will
say to me, ’Go; lay her out and carry her forth;’
and I will come back to thee.” Therewith
Nuzhat al-Fuad rejoiced and said, “Indeed, this
is an excellent device.” Then Abu al-Hasan
stretched himself out forthright and she shut hie
eyes and tied his feet and covered with the napkin
and did whatso her lord had bidden her; after which
she tare her gear and bared her head and letting down
her hair, went in to the Lady Zubaydah, crying out
and weeping. When the Princess saw her in this
state, she cried, “What plight is this?
What is thy story and what maketh thee weep?”
And Nuzhat al-Fuad answered, weeping and loud-wailing
the while, “O my lady, may thy head live and
mayst thou survive Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a;
for he is dead!” The Lady Zubaydah mourned for
him and said, “Alas, poor Abu al-Hasan the Wag!”
and she shed tears for him awhile. Then she
bade her treasuress give Nuzhat al-Fuad an hundred
dinars and a piece of silk and said to her, “O
Nuzhat al-Fuad, go, lay him out and carry him forth.”
So she took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk
and returned to her dwelling, rejoicing, and went
in to her spouse and acquainted him what had befallen,
whereupon he arose and rejoiced and girdled his middle
and danced and took the hundred dinars and the piece
of silk and laid them up. Then he laid out Nuzhat
al-Fuad and did with her as she had done with him;
after which he rent his raiment and plucked out his
beard and disordered his turban and ran out nor ceased
running till he came in to the Caliph, who was sitting
in the judgment-hall, and he in this plight, beating
his breast. The Caliph asked him, “What
aileth thee, O Abu al-Hasan?” and he wept and
answered, “Would heaven thy cup-companion had
never been and would his hour had never come!"[FN#63]
Quoth the Caliph, “Tell me thy case:”
and quoth Abu al-Hasan, “O my lord, may thy
head outlive Nuzhat al-Fuad!” The Caliph exclaimed,
“There is no god but God;” and smote hand
upon hand. Then he comforted Abu al-Hasan and
said to him, “Grieve not, for we will bestow
upon thee a bed-fellow other than she.”
And he ordered the treasurer to give him an hundred
dinars and a piece of silk. Accordingly the
treasurer did what the Caliph bade him, and Al-Rashid
said to him, “Go, lay her out and carry her forth
and make her a handsome funeral.” So Abu
al-Hasan took that which he had given him and returning
to his house, rejoicing, went in to Nuzhat al-Fuad
and said to her, “Arise, for our wish is won.”
Hereat she arose and he laid before her the hundred
Page 15
ducats and the piece of silk, whereat she rejoiced,
and they added the gold to the gold and the silk to
the silk and sat talking and laughing each to other.
Meanwhile, when Abu al-Hasan fared forth the presence
of the Caliph and went to lay out Nuzhat al-Fuad,
the Commander of the Faithful mourned for her and
dismissing the divan, arose and betook himself, leaning
upon Masrur, the Sworder of his vengeance, to the
Lady Zubaydah, that he might condole with her for
her hand-maid. He found her sitting weeping
and awaiting his coming, so she might condole with
him for his boon-companion Abu al-Hasan the Wag.
So he said to her, “May thy head outlive thy
slave-girl Nuzhat al-Fuad!” and said she, “O
my lord, Allah preserve my slave-girl! Mayst
thou live and long survive thy boon-companion Abu
al-Hasan al-Khali’a; for he is dead.”
The Caliph smiled and said to his eunuch, “O
Masrur, verily women are little of wit. Allah
upon thee, say, was not Abu al-Hasan with me but now?"[FN#64]
Quoth the Lady Zubaydah, laughing from a heart full
of wrath, “Wilt thou not leave thy jesting?
Sufficeth thee not that Abu al-Hasan is dead, but
thou must put to death my slave-girl also and bereave
us of the twain, and style me little of wit?”
The Caliph answered, “Indeed, ’tis Nuzhat
al-Fuad who is dead.” And the Lady Zubaydah
said, “Indeed he hath not been with thee, nor
hast thou seen him, and none was with me but now save
Nuzhat al-Fuad, and she sorrowful, weeping with her
clothes torn to tatters. I exhorted her to patience
and gave her an hundred dinars and a piece of silk;
and indeed I was awaiting thy coming, so I might console
thee for thy cup-companion Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a,
and was about to send for thee."[FN#65] The Caliph
laughed and said, “None is dead save Nuzhat
al-Fuad;” and she, “No, no, good my lord;
none is dead but Abu al-Hasan the Wag.”
With this the Caliph waxed wroth, the Hashimi vein[FN#66]
started out from between his eyes and throbbed:
and he cried out to Masrur and said to him, “Fare
thee forth to the house of Abu al-Hasan the Wag and
see which of them is dead.” So Masrur
went out, running, and the Caliph said to the Lady
Zubaydah, “Wilt thou lay me a wager?”
And said she, “Yes, I will wager, and I say
that Abu al-Hasan is dead.” Rejoined the
Caliph, “And I wager and say that none is dead
save Nuzhat al-Fuad; and the stake between me and
thee shall be the Garden of Pleasance[FN#67] against
thy palace and the Pavilion of Pictures."[FN#68]
So they agreed upon this and sat awaiting Masrur’s
return with the news. As for the Eunuch, he ceased
not running till he came to the by-street, wherein
was the stead of Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a.
Now the Wag was comfortably seated and leaning back
against the lattice,[FN#69] and chancing to look round,
saw Masrur running along the street and said to Nuzhat
al-Fuad, “Meseemeth the Caliph, when I went
forth from him dismissed the Divan and went in to
the Lady Zubaydah, to condole with her; whereupon
Page 16
she arose and condoled with him, saying, ’Allah
increase thy recompense for the loss of Abu al-Hasan
al-Khali’a!’ And he said to her, ’None
is dead save Nuzhat al-Fuad, may thy head outlive
her!’ Quoth she, ’’Tis not she who
is dead, but Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a, thy boon-companion.’
And quoth he, ’None is dead save Nuzhat al-Fuad.’
And they waxed so obstinate that the Caliph became
wroth and they laid a wager, and he hath sent Masrur
the Sworder to see who is dead. Now, therefore,
’twere best that thou lie down, so he may sight
thee and go and acquaint the Caliph and confirm my
saying."[FN#70] So Nuzhat al-Fuad stretched herself
out and Abu al-Hasan covered her with her mantilla
and sat weeping at her head. Presently, Masrur
the eunuch suddenly came in to him and saluted him,
and seeing Nuzhat al-Fuad stretched out, uncovered
her face and said, “There is no god but God!
Our sister Nuzhat al-Fuad is dead indeed. How
sudden was the stroke of Destiny! Allah have
ruth on thee and acquit thee of all charge!”
Then he returned and related what had passed before
the Caliph and the Lady Zubaydah, and he laughing
as he spoke. “O accursed one,” cried
the Caliph, “this is no time for laughter!
Tell us which is dead of them.” Masrur
replied, “By Allah, O my lord, Abu al-Hasan is
well, and none is dead but Nuzhat al-Fuad.”
Quoth the Caliph to Zubaydah, “Thou hast lost
thy pavilion in thy play,” and he jeered at her
and said, “O Masrur, tell her what thou sawest.”
Quoth the Eunuch, “Verily, O my lady, I ran
without ceasing till I came in to Abu al-Hasan in
his house and found Nuzhat al-Fuad lying dead and Abu
al-Hasan sitting tearful at her head. I saluted
him and condoled with him and sat down by his side
and uncovered the face of Nuzhat al-Fuad and saw her
dead and her face swollen.[FN#71] So I said to him,
’Carry her out forthwith, so we may pray over
her.’ He replied, ‘’Tis well’;
and I left him to lay her out and came hither, that
I might tell you the news.” The Prince
of True Believers laughed and said, “Tell it
again and again to thy lady Little-wits.”
When the Lady Zubaydah heard Masrur’s words
and those of the Caliph she was wroth and said, “None
is little of wit save he who believeth a black slave.”
And she abused Masrur, whilst the Commander of the
Faithful laughed: and the Eunuch, vexed at this,
said to the Caliph, “He spake sooth who said,
“Women are little of wits and lack religion."[FN#72]
Then said the Lady Zubaydah to the Caliph, “O
Commander of the Faithful, thou sportest and jestest
with me, and this slave hoodwinketh me, the better
to please thee; but I will send and see which of them
be dead.” And he answered, saying, “Send
one who shall see which of them is dead.”
So the Lady Zubaydah cried out to an old duenna,
and said to her, “Hie thee to the house of Nuzhat
al-Fuad in haste and see who is dead and loiter not.”
And she used hard words to her."[FN#73] So the old
woman went out running, whilst the Prince of True
Page 17
Believers and Masrur laughed, and she ceased not running
till she came into the street. Abu al-Hasan saw
her, and knowing her, said to his wife, “O Nuzhat
al-Fuad, meseemeth the Lady Zubaydah hath sent to
us to see who is dead and hath not given credit to
Masrur’s report of thy death: accordingly,
she hath despatched the old crone, her duenna, to
discover the truth. So it behoveth me to be dead
in my turn for the sake of thy credit with the Lady
Zubaydah.” Hereat he lay down and stretched
himself out, and she covered him and bound his eyes
and feet and sat in tears at his head. Presently
the old woman came in to her and saw her sitting at
Abu al-Hasan’s head, weeping and recounting
his fine qualities; and when she saw the old trot,
she cried out and said to her, “See what hath
befallen me! Indeed Abu al-Hasan is dead and
hath left me lone and lorn!” Then she shrieked
out and rent her raiment and said to the crone, “O
my mother, how very good he was to me!"[FN#74] Quoth
the other, “Indeed thou art excused, for thou
wast used to him and he to thee.” Then
she considered what Masrur had reported to the Caliph
and the Lady Zubaydah and said to her, “Indeed,
Masrur goeth about to cast discord between the Caliph
and the Lady Zubaydah.” Asked Nuzhat al-Fuad,
“And what is the cause of discord, O my mother?”
and the other replied, “O my daughter, Masrur
came to the Caliph and the Lady Zubaydah and gave them
news of thee that thou wast dead and that Abu al-Hasan
was well.” Nuzhat al-Fuad said to her,
“O naunty mine,[FN#75] I was with my lady just
now and she gave me an hundred dinars and a piece of
silk; and now see my case and that which hath befallen
me! Indeed, I am bewildered, and how shall I
do, and I lone, and lorn? Would heaven I had
died and he had lived!” Then she wept and with
her wept the old woman, who, going up to Abu al-Hasan
and uncovering his face, saw his eyes bound and swollen
for the swathing. So she covered him up again
and said, “Indeed, O Nuzhat al-Fuad, thou art
afflicted in Abu al-Hasan!” Then she condoled
with her and going out from her, ran along the street
until she came in to the Lady Zubaydah and related
to her the story; and the Princess said to her, laughing,
“Tell it over again to the Caliph, who maketh
me out little of wit, and lacking of religion, and
who made this ill-omened liar of a slave presume to
contradict me.” Quoth Masrur, “This
old woman lieth; for I saw Abu al-Hasan well and Nuzhat
al-Fuad it was who lay dead.” Quoth the
duenna, “’Tis thou that liest, and wouldst
fain cast discord between the Caliph and the Lady
Zubaydah.” And Masrur cried,’ “None
lieth but thou, O old woman of ill-omen and thy lady
believeth thee and she must be in her dotage.”
Whereupon Lady Zubaydah cried out at him and in very
sooth she was enraged with him and with his speech
and shed tears. Then said the Caliph to her,
“I lie and my eunuch lieth, and thou liest and
thy waiting-woman lieth; so ’tis my rede we
Page 18
go, all four of us together, that we may see which
of us telleth the truth.” Masrur said,
“Come, let us go, that I may do to this ill-omened
old woman evil deeds[FN#76] and deal her a sound drubbing
for her lying.” And the duenna answered
him, “O dotard, is thy wit like unto my wit?
Indeed, thy wit is as the hen’s wit.”
Masrur was incensed at her words and would have laid
violent hands on her, but the Lady Zubaydah pushed
him away from her and said to him, “Her truth-speaking
will presently be distinguished from thy truth-speaking
and her leasing from thy leasing.” Then
they all four arose, laying wagers one with other,
and went forth a-foot from the palace-gate and hied
on till they came in at the gate of the street where
Abu al-Hasan al-Khali’a dwelt. He saw them
and said to his wife Nuzhat al-Fuad, “Verily,
all that is sticky is not a pancake[FN#77] they cook
nor every time shall the crock escape the shock.
It seemeth the old woman hath gone and told her lady
and acquainted her with our case and she has disputed
with Masrur the Eunuch and they have laid wagers each
with other about our death and are come to us, all
four, the Caliph and the Eunuch and the Lady Zubaydah
and the old trot.” When Nuzhat al-Fuad
heard this, she started up from her outstretched, posture
and asked, “How shall we do?” whereto he
answered, “We will both feign ourselves dead
together and stretch ourselves out and hold our breath.”
So she hearkened to him and they both lay down on
the place where they usually slept the siesta[FN#78]
and bound their feet and shut their eyes and covered
themselves with the veil and held their breath.
Presently, up came the Caliph, Zubaydah, Masrur and
the old woman and entering, found Abu al-Hasan the
Wag and wife both stretched out as dead; which when
the Lady saw, she wept and said, “They ceased
not to bring ill-news of my slave-girl till she died,[FN#79]
methinketh Abu al-Hasan’s death was grievous
to her and that she died after him."[FN#80] Quoth
the Caliph, “Thou shalt not prevent me with thy
prattle and prate. She certainly died before
Abu al-Hasan, for he came to me with his raiment rent
and his beard plucked out, beating his breast with
two bits of unbaked brick,[FN#81] and I gave him an
hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said to him,
“Go, bear her forth and I will give thee a bed-fellow
other than she and handsomer, and she shall be in
stead of her. But it would appear that her death
was no light matter to him and he died after her;[FN#82]
so it is who have beaten thee and gotten thy stake.”
The Lady Zubaydah answered him in words galore and
the dispute between them waxed sore. At last
the Caliph sat down at the head of the pair and said,
“By the tomb of the Apostle of Allah (whom may
He save and assain!) and the sepulchres of my fathers
and forefathers, whoso will tell me which of them
died before the other, I will willingly give him a
thousand dinars!” when Abu al-Hasan heard the
Calipih’s words, he sprang up in haste and said,
Page 19
“I died first, O Commander of the Faithful!
Here with the thousand dinars and acquit thee of
thine oath and the swear thou sworest.”
Nuzhat al-Fuad rose also and stood up before the
Caliph and the Lady Zubaydah, who both rejoiced in
this and in their safety, and the Pricess chid her
slave-girl. Then the Caliph and Zubaydah gave
them joy of their well-being and knew that this death
was a trick to get the gold; and the Lady said to
Nuzhat al-Fuad, “Thou shouldst have sought of
me that which thou needest, without this fashion,
and not have burned[FN#83] my heart for thee.”
And she, “Verily, I was ashamed, O my lady.”
As for the Caliph, he swooned away for laughing and
said, “O Abu al-Hasan, thou wilt never cease
to be a wag and do peregrine things and prodigious!”
Quoth he, “O Commander of the Faithful, this
trick I played off for that money which thou gavest
me was exhausted, and I was ashamed to ask of thee
again. When I was single, I could never keep
money in hand; but since thou marriedst me to this
damsel, if I possessed even thy wealth, I should lay
it waste. Wherefore when all that was in my hand
was spent, I wrought this sleight, so I might get
of thee the hundred dinars and the piece of silk;
and all this is an alms from our lord. But now
make haste to give me the thousand dinars and acquit
thee of thine oath.” The Caliph and the
Lady Zubaydah laughed and returned to the palace;
and he gave Abu al-Hasan the thousand dinars saying,
“Take them as a douceur[FN#84] for thy preservation
from death,” whilst her mistress did the like
with Nuzhat al-Fuad, honouring her with the same words.
Moreover, the Caliph increased the Wag in his solde
and supplies, and he and his wife ceased not to live
in joy and contentment, till there came to them the
Destroyer of delights and Severer of societies, the
Plunderer of palaces, and the Garnerer of Graves.
The caliph Omar
bin Abd al-Aziz and the
poets[FN#85]
It is said that, when the Caliphate devolved on Omar
bin Abd al-Aziz[FN#86] (of whom Allah accept), the
poets resorted to him, as they had been used to resort
to the Caliphs before him, and abode at his door days
and day, but he suffered them not to enter, till there
came to him ’Abi bin Artah,[FN#87] who stood
high in esteem with him. Jarir[FN#88] accosted
him and begged him to crave admission for them to
the presence; so Adi answered, “’Tis well;”
and, going in to Omar, said to him, “The poets
are at thy door and have been there days and days;
yet hast thou not given them leave to enter, albeit
their sayings abide[FN#89] and their arrows from mark
never fly wide.” Quoth Omar, “What
have I to do with the poets?” and quoth Adi,
“O Commander of the Faithful, the Prophet (Abhak!)[FN#90]
was praised by a poet[FN#91] and gave him largesse,
and in him[FN#92] is an exemplar to every Moslem.”
Quoth Omar, “And who praised him?” and
quoth Adi, “’Abbas bin Mirdas[FN#93] praised
him, and he clad him with a suit and said, O Generosity,[FN#94]
cut off from me his tongue!” Asked the Caliph,
“Dost thou remember what he said?” and
Adi answered, “Yes.” Rejoined Omar,
“Then repeat it;” so Adi repeated,[FN#95]
Page 20
“I saw thee, O thou best of human race, * Bring
out a Book which
brought to graceless
Grace.
Thou showedst righteous road to men astray * From
Right, when
darkest Wrong had ta’en
its place;—
Thou with Islam didst light the gloomiest way, Quenching
with
proof live coals of
frowardness;
I own for Prophet Mohammed’s self; And
man’s award upon his
word we base;
Thou madest straight the path that crooked ran, *
Where in old
days foul growth o’ergrew
its face.
Exalt be thou in Joy’s empyrean * And Allah’s
glory ever grow
apace.
“And indeed” (continued Adi), “this
Elegy on the Prophet (Abhak!) is well known and to
comment it would be tedious.” Quoth Omar
“Who is at the door?” and quoth Adi, “Among
them is Omar ibn Abi Rabi’ah, the Korashi;[FN#96]
whereupon the Caliph cried, “May Allah show
him no favour neither quicken him! Was it not
he who said these verses,
’Would Heaven what day Death shall visit me
* I smell as thy
droppings and drippings[FN#97]
smell!
Could I in my clay-bed on Salma lie * There to me
were better
than Heaven or Hell!’
“Had he not been” (continued the Caliph)
“the enemy of Allah, he had wished for her in
this world, so he might after repent and return to
righteous dealing. By Allah, he shall not come
in to me! who is at the door other than he?”
Quoth Adi, “Jamil bin ma’mar al-Uzri[FN#98]
is at the door;” and quoth Omar, “’Tis
he who saith in one of his elegies,
’Would Heaven conjoint we lived, and if I die
* Death only grant
me a grave within her
grave:
For I’d no longer deign to live my life * If
told upon her head
is laid the pave.’"[FN#99]
Quoth Omar, “Away with him from me! Who
is at the door?” and quoth Adi, “Kuthayyir
’Assah"[FN#100]; whereupon Omar cried, “’Tis
he who saith in one of his odes,
’Some talk of faith and creed and nothing else
* And wait for
pains of Hell in prayer-seat;[FN#101]
But did they hear what I from Azzah heard, * They’d
make
prostration, fearfull
at her feet.’
“Leave the mention of him. Who is at the
door?” Quoth Adi, “Al-Ahwas al-’Ansari."[FN#102]
Cried Omar, “Allah Almighty put him away and
estrange him from His mercy! Is it not he who
said, berhyming on a Medinite’s slave-girl,
so she might outlive her lord,
’Allah be judge betwixt me and her lord! * Who
ever flies with
her and I pursue.’
“He shall not come in to me. who is at the
door, other than he?” Adi replied, “Hammam
bin Ghalib al-Farazdak;"[FN#103] and Omar said, “’Tis
he who saith, glorying in whoring,
’Two girls let me down eighty fathoms deep,
* As low sweeps a
falcon wi’ pinions
spread;
And cried; as my toes touched the ground, ’Dost
live * To return,
or the fall hath it
done thee dead?
“He shall not come in to me. who is at the
door, other than he?” Adi replied, “Al-Akhtal
al-Taghlibi"[FN#104] and Omar said, “He is the
Miscreant who saith in his singing,
Page 21
’Ramazan I ne’er fasted in life-time;
nay * I ate flesh in public
at undurn day;[FN#105]
Nor chide I the fair, save in way of love, * Nor seek
Meccah’s
plain[FN#106] in salvation-way:
Nor stand I praying like rest who cry * ’Hie
salvationwards’[FN#107]
at the dawn’s first ray.
But I drink her cooled[FN#108] by fresh Northern breeze
* And my
head at dawn to her
prone I lay.’[FN#109]
“By Allah, he treadeth no carpet of mine! who
is at the door, other than he?” Said Adi, “Jarir
ibn al-Khatafah”; and Omar cried, “’Tis
he who saith,
’But for ill-spying glances had our eyes espied
* Eyne of the
antelope and ringlets
of the Reems.[FN#110]
A huntress of the eyes[FN#111] by night-tide came
and I * Cried,
‘Turn in peace,
no time for visit this, meseems!’
“An it must be and no help, admit Jarir.”
So Adi went forth and admitted Jarir, who entered,
saying.
“Yea, he who sent Mohammed unto man, * A just
successor for
Imam[FN#112] assigned.
His ruth and justice all mankind embrace, * To daunt
the bad and
stablish well-designed.
Verily now I look to present good, * For man hath
ever-transient
weal in mind.”
Quoth Omar, “O Jarir, keep the fear of Allah
before thine eyes and say naught save the sooth.”
And Jarir recited these couplets,
“How many widows loose the hair in far Yamamah-land[FN#113]
* How
many an orphan there
abides feeble of voice and eye,
Since faredst thou who wast to them instead of father
lost * When
they like nested fledglings
were sans power to creep or fly!
And now we hope, since brake the clouds their word
and troth with
us, * Hope from the
Caliph’s grace to gain a rain[FN#114]
that ne’er shall
dry.”
When the Caliph heard this, he said, “By Allah,
O Jarir, Omar possesseth but an hundred dirhams.[FN#115]
Ho, boy! do thou give them to him.” Moreover
he gifted him with the ornaments of his sword; and
Jarir went forth to the other poets, who asked him,
“What is behind thee?"[FN#116] and he answered,
“A man who giveth to the poor and denieth the
poets, and with him I am well-pleased.”
Al-Hajjaj and
the three young men[FN#117]
They tell that Al-Hajjaj[FN#118] once bade the Chief
of Police go his rounds about Bassorah city by night,
and whomsoever he found abroad after supper-tide that
he should smite his neck. So he went round one
night of the nights and came upon three youths swaying
and staggering from side to side, and on them signs
of wine-bibbing. So the watch laid hold of them
and the captain said to them, “Who be you that
ye durst transgress the commandment of the Commander
of the Faithful[FN#119] and come abroad at this hour?”
quoth one of the youths, “I am the son of him
to whom all necks[FN#120] abase themselves, alike the
Page 22
nose-pierced of them and the breaker; they come to
him in their own despite, abject and submissive, and
he taketh of their wealth and of their blood.”
The Master of Police held his hand from him,, saying,
“Belike he is of the kinsman of the Prince of
True Believers,” and said to the second, “Who
art thou?” Quoth he, “I am the son of
him whose rank[FN#121] Time abaseth not, and if it
be lowered one day, ’twill assuredly return to
its former height; thou seest the folk crowd in troops
to the light of his fire, some standing around it
and some sitting.” So the Chief of Police
refrained from slaying him and asked the third, “Who
art thou?” He answered, I am the son of him
who plungeth through the ranks[FN#122] with his might
and levelleth them with the sword, so that they stand
straight; his feet are not loosed from the stirrup,
whenas the horsemen on the day of the battle are a-weary.”
So the Master of the Police held his hand from him
also, saying, “Belike, he is the son of a Brave
of the Arabs. Then he kept them under guard,
and when the morning morrowed, he referred their case
to Al-Hajjaj, who caused bring them before him and
enquiring into their affair, when behold, the first
was the son of a barber-surgeon, the second of a bean-seller,
and the third of a weaver. So he marvelled at
their eloquent readiness of speech and said to the
men of his assembly, “Teach your sons the rhetorical
use of Arabic:[FN#123] for, by Allah, but for their
ready wit, I had smitten off their heads!”
Harun al-Rashid
and the woman of the
Barmecides[FN#124]
They tell[FN#125] that Harun Al-Rashid was sitting
one day to abate grievances, when there came up to
him a woman and said, “O Commander of the Faithful,
may Allah perfect thy purpose and gladden thee in
whatso He hath given thee and increase thee in elevation!
Indeed, thou hast done justice and wrought equitably.”
[FN#126] Quoth the Caliph to those who were present
with him, “Know ye what this one means by her
saying?” and quoth they, “Of a surety,
she meaneth not otherwise than well, O Prince of True
Believers.” Al-Rashid rejoined: “Nay,
in this she purposeth only to curse me. As for
her saying, ’Allah perfect thy purpose,’
she hath taken it from the saying of the poet,
’When thy purpose is effected beginneth its
decay; * when they
say ‘Thy wish
is won’ feel thou sure ‘twill pass away.’
As for her saying ’Allah gladden thee in whatso
He hath given thee,’ she took it from the saying
of Almighty Allah,[FN#127] ’Till, whenas they
were gladdened in that they were given, We suddenly
laid hold of them and lo, they were in despair!’
As for her saying, ‘Allah increase thee in
elevation!’ she took it from the saying of the
poet:—
’No flier flieth however tall * but as he flieth
shall come to
fall.’
Page 23
And as for her saying, ’Indeed, thou hast done
justice and wrought equitably, ’tis from the
saying of the Almighty, ’If ye swerve[FN#128]
or lag behind or turn aside, verily, Allah of that
which ye do is well aware;’ and ’As for
the swervers[FN#129] they are fuel for Hell.’”
Then he turned to the woman and asked her, “Is
it not thus?” answered she, “Yes, O Commander
of the Faithful,” and quoth he, “What
prompted thee to this?” Quoth she, “Thou
slewest my parents and my kinsfolk and despoiledst
their good.” Enquired the Caliph, “Whom
meanest thou?” and she replied, “I am
of the House of Barmak.” Then said he to
her, “As for the dead, they are of those who
are past away, and it booteth not to speak of them;
but, as for that which I took of wealth, it shall
forthright be restored to thee, yea, and more than
it.” And he was bountiful to her to the
uttermost of his bounties.
The ten Wazirs:
Or the history of king
Azadbakht and his
son.[FN#130]
There was once, of old days, a king of the kings,
whose name was Azadbakht; his capital was hight Kunaym
Madud[FN#131] and his kingdom extended to the confines
of Sistan[FN#132] and from the confines of Hindostan
to the Indian Ocean. He had ten Wazirs, who ordered
his kingship and his dominion, and he was possessed
of judgment and exceeding wisdom. One day he
went forth with certain of his guards to the chase
and fell in with an Eunuch riding a mare and hending
in hand the halter of a she-mule, which he led along.
On the mule’s back was a domed litter of brocade
purfled with gold and girded with an embroidered band
set with pearls and gems, and about it was a company
of Knights. When King Azadbakht saw this, he
separated himself from his suite and, making for the
horsemen and that mule, questioned them, saying, “To
whom belongeth this litter and what is therein?”
The Eunuch answered (for he knew not that the speaker
was King Azadbakht), saying, “This litter belongeth
to Isfahand, Wazir to King Azadbakht, and therein
is his daughter, whom he is minded to marry to the
King hight Zad Shah.”
As the Eunuch was speaking with the king, behold,
the maiden raised a corner of the curtain that shut
in the litter, so she might look upon the speaker,
and saw the king. When Azadbakht beheld her and
noted her fashion and her loveliness (and indeed never
did seer[FN#133] espy her like), his soul inclined
to her and she took hold upon his heart and he was
ravished by her sight. So he said to the Eunuch,
“Turn the mule’s head and return, for
I am King Azadbakht and in very sooth I will marry
her myself, inasmuch as Isfahand her sire is my Wazir
and he will accept of this affair and it will not
be hard to him.” Answered the Eunuch, “O
king, Allah prolong thy continuance, have patience
till I acquaint my lord her parent, and thou shalt
wed her in the way of consent, for it befitteth thee
not, neither is it seemly for thee, to seize her on
Page 24
this wise, seeing that it will be an affront to her
father an if thou take her without his knowledge.”
Quoth Azadbakht, ’I have not patience to wait
till thou repair to her sire and return, and no shame
will betide him, if I marry her.” And quoth
the eunuch, “O my lord, naught that in haste
is done long endureth nor doth the heart rejoice therein;
and indeed it behoveth thee not to take her on this
unseemly wise. Whatsoever betideth thee, destroy
not thyself with haste, for I know that her sire’s
breast will be straitened by this affair and this
that thou dost will not win thy wish.” But
the king said, “Verily, Isfahand is my Mameluke
and a slave of my slaves, and I reck not of her father,
an he be fain or unfain.” So saying, he
drew the reins of the mule and carrying the damsel,
whose name was Bahrjaur,[FN#134] to his house, married
her. Meanwhile, the Eunuch betook himself, he
and the knights, to her sire and said to him, “O
my lord, thou hast served the king a-many years’
service and thou hast not failed him a single day;
and now he hath taken thy daughter without thy consent
and permission.” And he related to him
what had passed and how the king had seized her by
force. When Isfahand heard the eunuch’s
words, he was wroth with exceeding wrath and assembling
many troops, said to them, “Whenas the king
was occupied with his women[FN#135] we took no reck
of him; but now he putteth out his hand to our Harim;
wherefore ’tis my rede that we look us out a
place wherein we may have sanctuary.” Then
he wrote a letter to King Azadbakht, saying to him,
“I am a Mameluke of thy Mamelukes and a slave
of thy slaves and my daughter at thy service is a
hand-maid, and Almighty Allah prolong thy days and
appoint thy times to be in joy and gladness!
Indeed, I went ever waist-girded in thy service and
in caring to conserve thy dominion and warding off
from thee all thy foes; but now I abound yet more
than erewhile in zeal and watchfulness, because I
have taken this charge upon myself, since my daughter
is become thy wife.” And he despatched a
courier to the king with the letter and a present.
When the messenger came to King Azadbakht and he read
the letter and the present was laid before him, he
rejoiced with joy exceeding and occupied himself with
eating and drinking, hour after hour. But the
chief Wazir of his Wazirs came to him and said, “O
king, know that Isfahand the Wazir is thine enemy,
for that his soul liketh not that which thou hast
done with him, and this message he hath sent thee is
a trick; so rejoice thou not therein, neither be thou
misled by the sweets of his say and the softness of
his speech.” The king hearkened to his
Wazir’s speech, but presently made light of the
matter and busied himself with that which he was about
of eating and drinking, pleasuring and merrymaking.
Meanwhile, lsfahand the Wazir wrote a letter and sent
it to all the Emirs, acquainting them with that which
had betided him from King Azadbakht and how he had
forced his daughter, adding, “And indeed he will
Page 25
do with you more than he hath done with me.”
When the letter reached the chiefs,[FN#136] they all
assembled together to Isfahand and said to him, “What
was his affair?"[FN#137] Accordingly he discovered
to them the matter of his daughter and they all agreed,
of one accord, to strive for the slaughter of the
king; and, taking horse with their troops, they set
out to seek him. Azadbakht knew naught till the
noise of the revolt beset his capital city, when he
said to his wife Bahrjaur, “How shall we do?”
She answered, “Thou knowest best and I am at
thy commandment;” so he bade fetch two swift
horses and bestrode one himself, whilst his wife mounted
the other. Then they took what they could of gold
and went forth, flying through the night to the desert
of Karman;[FN#138] while Isfahand entered the city
and made himself king. Now King Azadbakht’s
wife was big with child and the labour pains took
her in the mountain; so they alighted at the foot,
by a spring of water, and she bare a boy as he were
the moon. Bahrjaur his mother pulled off a coat
of gold-woven brocade and wrapped the child therein,
and they passed the night in that place, she giving
him the breast till morning. Then said the king
to her, “We are hampered by this child and cannot
abide here nor can we carry him with us; so methinks
we had better leave him in this stead and wend our
ways, for Allah is able to send him one who shall
take him and rear him.” So they wept over
him with exceeding sore weeping and left him beside
the fountain, wrapped in that coat of brocade:
then they laid at his head a thousand gold pieces
in a bag and mounting their horses, fared forth and
fled. Now, by the ordinance of the Most High Lord,
a company of highway robbers fell upon a caravan hard
by that mountain and despoiled them of what was with
them of merchandise. Then they betook themselves
to the highlands, so they might share their loot,
and looking at the foot thereof, espied the coat of
brocade: so they descended to see what it was,
and behold, it was a boy wrapped therein and the gold
laid at his head. They marvelled and said, “Praised
be Allah! By what misdeed cometh this child here?”
Thereupon they divided the money between them and
the captain[FN#139] of the highwaymen took the boy
and made him his son and fed him with sweet milk and
dates,[FN#140] till he came to his house, when he
appointed a nurse for rearing him. Meanwhile,
King Azadbakht and his wife stayed not in their flight
till they came to the court of the King of Fars, whose
name was Kisra[FN#141]. When they presented themselves
to him, he honoured them with all honour and entertained
them with handsomest entertainment, and Azadbakht
told him his tale from incept to conclusion.
So he gave him a mighty power and wealth galore and
he abode with him some days till he was rested, when
he made ready with his host and setting out for his
own dominions, waged war with Isfahand and falling
in upon the capital, defeated the whilome Minister
Page 26
and slew him. Then he entered the city and sat
down on the throne of his kingship; and whenas he was
rested and his kingdom waxed peaceful for him, he
despatched messengers to the mountain aforesaid in
search of the child; but they returned and informed
the king that they had not found him. As time
ran on, the boy, the son of the king, grew up and
fell to cutting the way[FN#142] with the highwaymen,
and they used to carry him with them, whenever they
went banditing. They sallied forth one day upon
a caravan in the land of Sistan, and there were in
that caravan strong men and valiant, and with them
a mighty store of merchandise. Now they had heard
that in that land banditti abounded: so they
gathered themselves together and gat ready their weapons
and sent out spies, who returned and gave them news
of the plunderers. Accordingly, they prepared
for battle, and when the robbers drew near the caravan,
they fell upon them and the twain fought a sore fight.
At last the caravan-folk overmastered the highwaymen
by dint of numbers, and slew some of them, whilst
the others fled. They also took the boy, the son
of King Azadbakht, and seeing him as he were the moon,
a model of beauty and loveliness, bright of face and
engraced with grace, asked him, “Who is thy
father, and how camest thou with these banditti?”
And he answered, saying, “I am the son of the
Captain of the highwaymen.” So they seized
him and carried him to the capital of his sire, King
Azadbakht. When they reached the city, the king
heard of their coming and commanded that they should
attend him with what befitted of their goods.
Accordingly they presented themselves before him,
and the boy with them, whom when the king saw, he
asked them, “To whom belongeth this boy?”
and they answered, “O King, we were going on
such a road, when there came out upon us a sort of
robbers; so we fought them and beat them off and took
this boy prisoner. Then we questioned him, saying,
Who is thy sire? and he replied, I am the son of the
robber-captain.” Quoth the king, “I
would fain have this boy;” and quoth the captain
of the caravan, “Allah maketh thee gift of him,
O king of the age, and we all are thy slaves.”
Then the king (who was not aware that the boy was
his son) dismissed the caravan and bade carry the
lad into his palace, and he became as one of the pages,
while his sire the king still knew not that he was
his child. As the days rolled on, the king observed
in him good breeding and understanding and handiness
galore and he pleased him; so he committed his treasuries
to his charge and shortened the Wazir’s hand
therefrom, commanding that naught should be taken
forth save by leave of the youth. On this wise
he abode a number of years and the king saw in him
only good conduct and the habit of righteousness.
Now the treasuries had been aforetime in the hands
of the Wazirs to do with them whatso they would, and
when they came under the youth’s hand, that of
the Ministers was shortened from them, and he became
Page 27
dearer than a son to the king, who could not support
being separated from him. When the Wazirs saw
this, they were jealous of him and envied him and
sought a device against him whereby they might oust
him from the King’s eye,[FN#143] but found no
means. At last, when Fate descended,[FN#144]
it chanced that the youth one day of the days drank
wine and became drunken and wandered from his right
wits; so he fell to going round about within the king’s
palace and Destiny led him to the lodging of the women,
in which there was a little sleeping chamber, where
the king lay with his wife. Thither came the
youth and entering the dormitory, found there a spread
couch, to wit, a sleeping-place: so he cast himself
on the bed, marvelling at the paintings that were
in the chamber, which was lighted by one waxen taper.
Presently he fell asleep and slumbered heavily till
eventide, when there came a hand-maid, bringing with
her as of wont all the dessert, eatables and drinkables,
usually made ready for the king and his wife, and
seeing the youth lying on his back (and none knowing
of his case and he in his drunkenness unknowing where
he was), thought that he was the king asleep on his
couch; so she set the censing-vessel and laid the
perfumes by the bedding, then shut the door and went
her ways. Soon after this, the king arose from
the wine-chamber and taking his wife by the hand, repaired
with her to the chamber in which he slept. He
opened the door and entered when, lo and behold! he
saw the youth lying on the bed, whereupon he turned
to his wife and said to her, “What doth this
youth here? This fellow cometh not hither save
on thine account.” Said she. “I
have no knowledge of him.” Hereupon the
youth awoke and seeing the king, sprang up and prostrated
himself before him, and Azadbakht said to him, “O
vile of birth,[FN#145] O traitor of unworth, what
hath driven thee to my dwelling?” And he bade
imprison him in one place and the Queen in another.
The First
Day
Of the Uselessness of Endeavour Against Persistent
Ill Fortune.
When the morning morrowed and the king sat on the
throne of his kingship, he summoned his Grand Wazir,
the Premier of all his Ministers, and said to him,
“How seest thou the deed this robber-youth hath
done?[FN#146] He hath entered my Harim and lain down
on my couch and I fear lest there be an object between
him and the woman. What deemest thou of the affair?”
Said the Wazir, “Allah prolong the king’s
continuance! What sawest thou in this youth?[FN#147]
Is he not ignoble of birth, the son of thieves?
Needs must a thief revert to his vile origin, and whoso
reareth the serpent’s brood shall get of them
naught but biting. As for the woman, she is not
at fault; since from time ago until now, nothing appeared
from her except good breeding and modest bearing;
and at this present, an the king give me leave, I will
go to her and question her, so I may discover to thee
the affair.” The king gave him leave for
Page 28
this and the Wazir went to the Queen and said to her,
“I am come to thee, on account of a grave shame,
and I would fain have thee soothfast with me in speech
and tell me how came the youth into the sleeping-chamber.”
Quoth she, “I have no knowledge whatsoever of
it, no, none at all,” and sware to him a binding
oath to that intent, whereby he knew that the woman
had no inkling of the affair, nor was in fault and
said to her, “I will show thee a sleight, wherewith
thou mayst acquit thyself and thy face be whitened
before the king.” Asked she, “What
is it?” and he answered, “When the king
calleth for thee and questioneth thee of this, say
thou to him, ’Yonder youth saw me in the boudoir-chamber
and sent me a message, saying, ’I will give
thee an hundred grains of gem for whose price money
may not suffice, so thou wilt suffer me to enjoy thee.’
I laughed at him who bespake me with such proposal
and rebuffed him; but he sent again to me, saying,
’An thou consent not thereto, I will come one
of the nights, drunken, and enter and lie down in
the sleeping-chamber, and the king will see me and
slay me; so wilt thou be put to shame and thy face
shall be blackened with him and thine honour dishonoured.’
Be this thy saying to the king, and I will fare to
him forthright and repeat this to him.”
Quoth the Queen, “And I also will say thus.”
Accordingly, the Minister returned to the king and
said to him, “Verily, this youth hath merited
grievous pains and penalties after the abundance of
thy bounty, and no kernel which is bitter can ever
wax sweet;[FN#148] but, as for the woman, I am certified
that there is no default in her.” Thereupon
he repeated to the king the story which he had taught
the Queen, which when Azadbakht heard, he rent his
raiment and bade the youth be brought. So they
fetched him and set him before the king, who bade
summon the Sworder, and the folk all fixed their eyes
upon the youth, to the end that they might see what
the Sovran should do with him. Then said Azadbakht
to him (and his words were words of anger and the
speech of the youth was reverent and well-bred), “I
bought thee with my money and looked for fidelity from
thee, wherefore I chose thee over all my Grandees
and Pages and made thee Keeper of my treasuries.
Why, then, hast thou outraged mine honour and entered
my house and played traitor with me and tookest thou
no thought of all I have done thee of benefits?”
Replied the youth, “O king, I did this not of
my choice and freewill and I had no business in being
there; but, of the lack of my luck, I was driven thither,
for that Fate was contrary and fair Fortune failed
me. Indeed, I had endeavoured with all endeavour
that naught of foulness should come forth me and I
kept watch and ward over myself, lest default foreshow
in me; and none may withstand an ill chance, nor doth
striving profit against adverse Destiny, as appeareth
by the example of the merchant who was stricken with
ill luck and his endeavour availed him naught and
he fell by the badness of his fortune.”
The king asked, “What is the story of the merchant
and how was his luck changed upon him by the sorriness
of his doom?” Answered the youth, “May
Allah prolong the king’s continuance!”
and began
Page 29
The Story of the Merchant Who Lost his Luck.[FN#149]
There was once a merchant man, who prospered in trade,
and at one time his every dirham won him fifty.
Presently, his luck turned against him and he knew
it not; so he said to himself, “I have wealth
galore, yet do I toil and travel from country to country;
so better had I abide in my own land and rest myself
in my own house from this travail and trouble and
sell and buy at home.” Then he made two
parts of his money, and with one bought wheat in summer,
saying, “Whenas winter cometh, I shall sell it
at a great profit.” But, when the cold
set in wheat fell to half the price for which he had
purchased it, whereat he was concerned with sore chagrin
and left it till the next year. However, the price
then fell yet lower and one of his intimates said
to him, “Thou hast no luck in this wheat; so
do thou sell it at whatsoever price.” Said
the merchant, “Ah, long have I profited! so ’tis
allowable that I lose this time. Allah is all-knowing!
An it abide with me ten full years, I will not sell
it save for a gaining bargain."[FN#150] Then he walled
up in his anger the granary-door with clay, and by
the ordinance of Allah Almighty, there came a great
rain and descended from the terrace-roofs of the house
wherein was the wheat so that the grain rotted; and
the merchant had to pay the porters from his purse
five hundred dirhams for them to carry it forth and
cast it without the city, the smell of it having become
fulsome. So his friend said to him, “How
often did I tell thee thou hadst no luck in wheat?
But thou wouldst not give ear to my speech, and now
it behoveth thee to go to the astrologer[FN#151] and
question him of thine ascendant.” Accordingly
the trader betook himself to the astrologer and questioned
him of his star, and astrophil said to him, “Thine
ascendant is adverse. Put not forth thy hand to
any business, for thou wilt not prosper thereby.”
However, he paid no heed to the astrologer’s
words and said in himself, “If I do my business,
I am not afraid of aught.” Then he took
the other half of his money, after he had spent the
first in three years, and builded him a ship, which
he loaded with a cargaison of whatso seemed good to
him and all that was with him and embarked on the sea,
so he might voyage questing gain. The ship remained
in port some days, till he should be certified whither
he would wend, and he said, “I will ask the
traders what this merchandise profiteth and in what
land ’tis wanted and how much can it gain.”
They directed him to a far country, where his dirham
should produce an hundredfold. So he set sail
and made for the land in question; but, as he went,
there blew on him a furious gale, and the ship foundered.
The merchant saved himself on a plank and the wind
cast him up, naked as he was, on the sea-shore, where
stood a town hard by. He praised Allah and gave
Him thanks for his preservation; then, seeing a great
village nigh hand, he betook himself thither and saw,
Page 30
seated therein, a very old man, whom he acquainted
with his case and that which had betided him.
The Shaykh grieved for him with sore grieving, when
he heard his tale and set food before him. He
ate of it and the old man said to him, “Tarry
here with me, so I may make thee my overseer[FN#152]
and factor over a farm I have here, and thou shalt
have of me five dirhams a day.” Answered
the merchant, “Allah make fair thy reward, and
requite thee with His boons and bounties.”
So he abode in this employ, till he had sowed and
reaped and threshed and winnowed, and all was clean
in his hand and the Shaykh appointed neither agent
nor inspector, but relied utterly upon him. Then
the merchant bethought himself and said, “I doubt
me the owner of this grain will never give me my due;
so the better rede were to take of it after the measure
of my wage; and if he give me my right, I will return
to him that I have taken.” So he laid hands
upon the grain, after the measure of that which fell
to him, and hid it in a hiding place. Then he
carried the rest and meted it out to the old man,
who said to him “Come, take thy wage, for which
I conditioned with thee, and sell the grain and buy
with the price clothes and what not else; and though
thou abide with me ten years, yet shalt thou still
have this hire and I will acquit it to thee on this
wise.” Quoth the merchant in himself, “Indeed,
I have done a foul deed by taking it without his permission.”
Then he went to fetch that which he had hidden of
the grain, but found it not and returned, perplexed,
sorrowful, to the Shaykh, who asked him, “What
aileth thee to be mournful?” and he answered,
“Methought thou wouldst not pay me my due; so
I took of the grain, after the measure of my hire;
and now thou hast paid me all my right and I went
to bring back to thee that which I had hidden from
thee, but found it gone, for those who had come upon
it have stolen it.” The Shaykh was wroth,
when he heard these words, and said to the merchant,
“There is no device against ill luck! I
had given thee this but, of the sorriness of thy doom
and thy fortune, thou hast done this deed, O oppressor
of thine own self! Thou deemedst I would not fulfil
to thee thy wage; but, by Allah, nevermore will I give
thee aught.” Then he drove him away from
him. So the merchant went forth, woeful, grieving,
weeping-eyed, and wandered along the sea-shore, till
he came to a sort of duckers[FN#153] diving in the
sea for pearls. They saw him weeping and wailing
and said to him, “What is thy case and what
garreth thee shed tears?” So he acquainted them
with his history, from incept to conclusion, whereby
the duckers knew him and asked him “Art thou
Such-an-one, son of Such-an-one?” He answered
“Yes;” whereupon they condoled with him
and wept sore for him and said to him, “Abide
here till we dive upon thy luck this next time and
whatso betideth us shall be between us and thee."[FN#154]
Accordingly, they ducked and brought up ten oyster-shells,
in each two great unions: whereat they marvelled
Page 31
and said to him,"By Allah, thy luck hath re-appeared
and thy good star is in the ascendant!” Then
the pearl-fishers gave him the ten pearls and said
to him, “Sell two of them and make them thy
stock-in-trade: and hide the rest against the
time of thy straitness.” So he took them,
joyful and contented, and applied himself to sewing
eight of them in his gown, keeping the two others
in his mouth; but a thief saw him and went and advertised
his fellows of him; whereupon they gathered together
upon him, and took his gown and departed from him.
When they were gone away, he arose, saying, “The
two unions I have will suffice me,” and made
for the nearest city, where he brought out the pearls
for sale. Now as Destiny would have it, a certain
jeweller of the town had been robbed of ten unions,
like those which were with the merchant; so, when
he saw the two pearls in the broker’s hand,
he asked him, “To whom do these belong?”
and the broker answered, “To yonder man.”
The jeweller, seeing the merchant in pauper case and
clad in tattered clothes, suspected him and said to
him, “Where be the other eight pearls?”
The merchant thought he asked him of those which were
in the gown, whenas the man had purposed only to surprise
him into confession, and replied, “The thieves
stole them from me.” When the jeweller
heard his reply, he was certified that it was the
wight who had taken his good; so he laid hold of him
and haling him before the Chief of Police, said to
him, “This is the man who stole my unions:
I have found two of them upon him and he confesseth
to the other eight.” Now the Wali knew of
the theft of the pearls; so he bade throw the merchant
into jail. Accordingly they imprisoned him and
whipped him, and he lay in trunk a whole year, till,
by the ordinance of Allah Almighty, the Chief of Police
arrested one of the divers aforesaid, and imprisoned
him in the prison where the merchant was jailed.
The ducker saw him and knowing him, questioned him
of his case; whereupon he told them his tale, and
that which had befallen him; and the diver marvelled
at the lack of his luck. So, when he came forth
of the prison, he acquainted the Sultan with the merchant’s
case and told him that it was he who had given him
the pearls. The Sultan bade bring him forth of
the jail, and asked him of his story, whereupon he
told him all that had befallen him, and the Sovran
pitied him and assigned him a lodging in his own palace,
together with pay and allowances for his support.
Now the lodging in question adjoined the king’s
house, and whilst the merchant was rejoicing in this
and saying, “Verily, my luck hath returned, and
I shall live in the shadow of this king the rest of
my life,” he espied an opening walled up with
clay and stones. So he cleared the opening the
better to see what was behind it, and behold, it was
a window giving upon the lodging of the king’s
women. When he saw this, he was startled and
affrighted and rising in haste, fetched clay and stopped
it up again. But one of the eunuchs[FN#155] saw
Page 32
him, and suspecting him, repaired to the Sultan, and
told him of this. So he came and seeing the stones
pulled out, was wroth with the merchant and said to
him, “Be this my reward from thee, that thou
seekest to unveil my Harim?” Thereupon he bade
pluck out his eyes; and they did as he commanded.
The merchant took his eyes in his hand and said, “How
long, O star of ill-omen, wilt thou afflict me?
First my wealth and now my life!” And he bewailed
himself, saying, “Striving profiteth me naught
against evil fortune. The Compassionate aided
me not, and effort was worse than useless."[FN#156]
“On like wise, O king,” continued the
youth, “whilst fortune was favourable to me,
all that I did came to good; but now that it hath
turned against me, everything turneth to mine ill.”
When the youth had made an end of his tale, the king’s
anger subsided a little, and he said, “Return
him to the prison, for the day draweth to an end,
and to-morrow we will look into his affair, and punish
him for his ill-deeds.”
The Second
Day.
Of Looking to the Ends of Affairs.
Whenit was the next day, the second of the king’s
Wazirs, whose name was Baharun, came in to him and
said, “Allah advance the king! This deed
which yonder youth hath done is a grave matter, and
a foul misdeed and a heinous against the household
of the king.” So Azadbakht bade fetch the
youth, because of the Minister’s speech; and
when he came into the presence, said to him, “Woe
to thee, O youth! There is no help but that I
do thee die by the dreadest of deaths, for indeed
thou hast committed a grave crime, and I will make
thee a warning to the folk.” The youth
replied, “O king, hasten not, for the looking
to the ends of affairs is a column of the kingdom,
and a cause of continuance and assurance for the kingship.
Whoso looketh not to the issues of actions, there
befalleth him that which befel the merchant, and whoso
looketh to the consequences of actions, there betideth
him of joyance that which betideth the merchant’s
son.” The king asked, “And what is
the story of the merchant and his sons?” and
the youth answered, “Hear, O king,
The Tale of the Merchant and his Sons.[FN#157]
There was once a merchant, who had abundant wealth,
and a wife to boot. He set out one day on a business
journey, leaving his wife big with child, and said
to her, “Albeit, I now leave thee, yet I will
return before the birth of the babe, Inshallah!”
Then he farewelled her and setting out, ceased not
faring from country to country till he came to the
court of one of the kings and foregathered with him.
Now this king needed one who should order his affairs
and those of his kingdom and seeing the merchant wellbred
and intelligent, he required him to abide at court
and entreated him honourably. After some years,
he sought his Sovran’s leave to go to his own
house, but the king would not consent to this; whereupon
he said to him, “O king, suffer me go and see
my children and come again.” So he granted
Page 33
him permission for this and, taking surety of him
for his return, gave him a purse, wherein were a thousand
gold dinars. Accordingly, the merchant embarked
in a ship and set sail, intending for his mother-land.
On such wise fared it with the trader; but as regards
his wife, news had reached her that her husband had
accepted service with King Such-an-one; so she arose
and taking her two sons (for she had borne twins in
his absence), set out seeking those parts. As
Fate would have it, they happened upon an island,
and her husband came thither that very night in the
ship. So the woman said to her children, “The
ship cometh from the country where your father is:
hie ye to the sea-shore, that ye may enquire of him.”
Accordingly, they repaired to the sea-shore and going
up into the ship, fell to playing about it and busied
themselves with their play till evening evened.
Now the merchant their sire lay asleep in the ship,
and the noisy disport of the boys troubled him; whereupon
he rose to call out to them “Silence”
and let the purse with the thousand dinars fall among
the bales of merchandise. He sought for it and
finding it not, buffeted his head and seized upon
the boys, saying, “None took the purse but you:
ye were playing all about the bales, so ye might steal
somewhat, and there was none here but you twain.”
Then he took his staff, and laying hold of the children,
fell to beating them and flogging them, whilst they
wept, and the crew came round about them saying, “The
boys of this island are all rogues and robbers.”
Then, of the greatness of the merchant’s anger,
he swore an oath that, except they brought out the
purse, he would drown them in the sea; so when by
reason of their denial his oath demanded the deed,
he took the two boys and binding them each to a bundle
of reeds, cast them into the water. Presently,
finding that they tarried from her, the mother of the
two boys went searching for them, till she came to
the ship and fell to saying,"Who hath seen two boys
of mine? Their fashion is so and so and their
age thus and thus.” When the crew heard
her words, they said, “This is the description
of the two boys who were drowned in the sea but now.”
Their mother hearing this began calling on them and
crying, “Alas, my anguish for your loss, O my
sons! Where was the eye of your father this day,
that it might have seen you?” Then one of the
sailors asked her, “Whose wife art thou?”
and she answered, “I am the wife of Such-an-one
the trader. I was on my way to him, and there
hath befallen me this calamity.” When the
merchant heard her words, he knew her and rising to
his feet, rent his raiment and beat his head and said
to his wife, “By Allah, I have destroyed my children
with mine own hand! This is the end of whoso
looketh not to the endings of affairs. This is
his reward who taketh not time to reflect.”
Then he took to wailing and weeping over them, he
and his wife, and he said to his shipmates, “By
Allah, I shall never enjoy my life, till I light upon
Page 34
news of them!” And he began to go round about
the sea, in quest of his sons, but found them not.
Meanwhile, the wind carried the two children from
the ship towards the land, and cast them up on the
sea-shore. As for one of them, a company of the
guards of the king of those parts found him and carried
him to their lord, who marvelled at him with exceeding
marvel and adopted him, giving out to the folk that
he was his own son, whom he had hidden,[FN#158] of
his love for him. So the folk rejoiced in him
with joy exceeding, for their lord’s sake, and
the king appointed him his heir-apparent and the inheritor
of his kingdom. On this wise a number of years
passed, till the king died and they enthroned the
youth sovran in his stead, when he sat down on the
seat of his kingship and his estate flourished and
his affairs prospered with all regularity. Meanwhile,
his father and mother had gone round about, in quest
of him and his brother, all the islands of the sea,
hoping that the tide might have cast them up, but
found no trace of them; so they despaired of them and
took up their abode in a certain of the islands.
One day, the merchant, being in the market, saw a
broker, and in his hand a boy he was crying for sale,
and said in himself, “I will buy yonder boy,
so I may solace myself with him for my sons."[FN#159]
So he bought him and bore him to his house; and, when
his wife saw him, she cried out and said, “By
Allah, this is my son!” Accordingly his father
and mother rejoiced in him with exceeding joy and
asked him of his brother; but he answered, “The
waves parted us and I knew not how it went with him.”
Therewith his father and mother consoled themselves
with him and on this wise a number of years passed
by. Now the merchant and his wife had homed them
in a city of the land where their other son was king,
and when the boy they had recovered grew up, his father
assigned unto him merchandise, to the end that he
might travel therewith. Upon this he fared forth
and entered the city wherein his brother ruled and
anon news reached the king that a merchant had come
thither with merchandise befitting royalties; so he
sent for him and the young trader obeyed the summons
and going in to him, sat down before him. Neither
of them knew the other; but blood moved between them[FN#160]
and the king said to the merchant youth, “I
desire of thee that thou tarry with me and I will exalt
thy station and give thee all that thou requirest
and cravest.” Accordingly, he abode with
him awhile, never quitting him; and when he saw that
he would not suffer him to depart from him, he sent
to his father and mother and bade them remove thither
to him. Hereat they resolved upon moving to that
island, and their son still increased in honour with
the king, albeit he knew not that he was his brother.
Now it chanced one night that the king sallied forth
without the city and drank and the wine got the mastery
of him and he became drunken. So, of the youth’s
fear for his safety, he said, “I will keep watch
Page 35
myself over the king this night, seeing that he deserveth
this from me, for that which he hath done with me
of kindly deeds;” and he arose forthright and
baring his brand, stationed himself at the door of
the king’s pavilion. But one of the royal
pages saw him standing there, with the drawn sword
in his hand, and he was of those who envied him his
favour with the king; therefore, he said to him.
“Why dost thou on this wise at this time and
in the like of this place?” Said the youth,
“I am keeping watch and ward over the king myself,
in requital of his bounties to me.” The
page said no more to him; however, when it was morning,
he acquainted a number of the king’s servants
with the matter, and they said, “This is an
opportunity for us. Come, let us assemble together
and acquaint the king therewith, so the young merchant
may lose regard with him[FN#161] and he rid us of
him and we be at rest from him.” So they
assembled together and going in to the king, said to
him, “We have a warning wherewith we would warn
thee.” Quoth he, “And what is your
warning?” and quoth they, “This youth,
the trader, whom thou hast taken into favour and whose
rank thou hast exalted above the chiefest of thy lords,
we saw yesterday bare his brand and design to fall
upon thee, to the end that he might slay thee.”
Now when the king heard this, his colour changed and
he said to them, “Have ye proof of this?”
They rejoined, “What proof wouldst thou have?
An thou desirest this, feign thyself drunken again
this night and lie down as if asleep, and privily watch
him and thou wilt see with thine eyes all that we
have mentioned to thee.” Then they went
to the youth and said to him, “Know that the
king thanketh thee for thy dealing yesternight and
exceedeth in commendation of thy good deed;”
and they prompted him again to do the like. Accordingly,
when the next night came, the king abode on wake,
watching the youth; and as for the latter, he went
to the door of the pavilion and unsheathing his scymitar,
stood in the doorway. When the king saw him do
thus, he was sore disquieted and bade seize him and
said to him, “Is this my reward from thee?
I showed thee favour more than any else and thou wouldst
do with me this abominable deed.” Then arose
two of the king’s pages and said to him, “O
our lord, an thou order it, we will smite his neck.”
But the king said, “Haste in killing is a vile
thing, for ’tis a grave[FN#162] matter; the quick
we can kill, but the killed we cannot quicken, and
needs must we look to the end of affairs. The
slaying of this youth will not escape us."[FN#163]
Therewith he bade imprison him, whilst he himself
went back to the city and, his duties done, fared forth
to the chase. Then he returned to town and forgot
the youth; so the pages went in to him and said to
him, “O king, an thou keep silence concerning
yonder youth, who designed to slaughter thee, all
thy servants will presume upon the king’s majesty,
and indeed the folk talk of this matter.”
Page 36
Hereat the king waxed wroth and cried, “Fetch
him hither;” and bade the headsman strike off
his head. So they brought the youth and bound
his eyes; and the sworder stood at his head and said
to the king, “By thy leave, O my lord, I will
smite his neck.” But the king cried, “Stay,
till I look into his affair. Needs must I put
him to death and the dispatching of him will not escape
me.” Then he restored him to the prison
and there he abode till it should be the king’s
will to do him die. Presently, his parents heard
of the matter; whereupon his father arose and going
up to the palace, wrote a letter and presented it
to the king, who read it, and behold, therein was
written, saying, “Have ruth on me, so may Allah
have ruth on thee, and hasten not in the slaughter
of my son; for indeed I acted hastily in a certain
affair and drowned his brother in the sea, and to
this day I bemourn him. An thou must needs kill
him, kill me in his stead.” Therewith the
old merchant, weeping bitterly, prostrated himself
before the king, who said to him, “Tell me thy
tale.” Said the merchant, “O my lord,
this youth had a brother and I in my haste cast the
twain into the sea.” And he related to
him his story, first and last, whereupon the king
cried with a mighty loud cry and casting himself down
from the throne, embraced his father and brother and
said to the merchant, “By Allah, thou art my
very father and this is my brother and thy wife is
our mother.” And they abode weeping, all
three of them. Then the king acquainted his people
with the matter and said to them, “O folk, how
deem ye of my looking to the consequences of action?”
and they all marvelled at his wisdom and foresight.
Then he turned to his sire and said to him, “Hadst
thou looked to the issue of thine affair and made due
delay in whatso thou didst, there had not betided thee
this repentance and chagrin all this time.”
Thereupon he sent for his mother and they rejoiced
one in other and lived all their days in joy and gladness.
“What then” (continued the young treasurer),
“is more grievous than the lack of looking to
the ends of things? Wherefore hasten thou not
in the slaying of me, lest penitence betide thee and
sore chagrin.” When the king heard this,
he said, “Return him to the prison till the
morrow, so we may look into his affair; for that deliberation
in such is advisable and the slaughter of this youth
shall not escape us.”
The Third
Day.
Of the Advantages of Patience.[FN#164]
When it was the third day, the third Wazir came in
to the king and said to him, “O king, delay
not the matter of this youth, because his deed hath
caused us fall into the mouths of folk, and it behoveth
that thou slay him forthright, that the talk may be
cut from us and it be not said, ’The king saw
on his bed a man with his wife and spared him.’”
The king was chagrined by these words and bade bring
the youth. Accordingly, they fetched him in fetters,
and indeed the king’s anger was upstirred against
Page 37
him by the Minister’s speech and he was troubled;
so he said to him, “O base of birth, thou hast
dishonoured us and marred our mention, and needs must
I do away thy life from the world.” Quoth
the youth, “O king, make use of patience in
all thine affairs, so wilt thou win to thy wish, for
that Allah Almighty hath appointed the issue of long-suffering
to be in abounding good, and indeed by patience Abu
Sabir ascended from the pit and sat down upon the
throne.” Asked the king, “Who was
Abu Sabir, and what is his tale?” and the youth
answered, saying, “Hear thou, O king,
The Story of Abu Sabir.
There was once a man, a village headman,[FN#165] Abu
Sabir hight, and he had much black cattle and a buxom
wife, who had borne him two sons. They abode
in a certain hamlet and there used to come thither
a lion and rend and devour Abu Sabir’s herd,
so that the most part thereof was wasted and his wife
said to him one day, “This lion hath wasted
the greater part of our property. Arise, mount
thy horse and take thy host and do thy best to kill
him, so we may be at rest from him.” But
Abu Sabir said, “Have patience, O woman, for
the issue of patience is praised. This lion it
is which transgresseth against us, and the transgressor,
perforce must Almighty Allah destroy him. Indeed,
’tis our long-suffering that shall slay him,[FN#166]
and he that doth evil needs must it recoil upon him.”
A few days after, the king went forth one morning
to hunt and falling in with the lion, he and his host,
gave chase to him and ceased not pursuit till they
slew him. This news reached Abu Sabir who improved
the occasion to his wife, “Said I not to thee,
O woman, that whoso doth evil, it shall recoil upon
him? Haply an I sought to slay the lion myself,
I had not prevailed against him, and this is the issue
of patience.” It befel, after this, that
a man was slain in Abu Sabir’s village; wherefore
the Sultan bade plunder the village, and they spoiled
the patient one’s goods with the rest. Thereupon
his wife said to him, “All the king’s
officers know thee; so do thou prefer thy plaint to
the sovran, that he may bid thy beasts to be restored
to thee.” But he said to her, “O woman,
said I not to thee that he who worketh wrong shall
be wronged? Indeed, the king hath done evil,
and right soon he shall suffer the issues of his deed,
for whoso taketh the goods of the folk, needs must
his goods be taken.” A man of his neighbours
heard his speech, and he was an envier of his; so
he went to the Sultan and acquainted him therewith,
whereupon the king sent and plundered all the rest
of his goods and drave him forth from the village,
and his wife and family with him. They went wandering
in the waste grounds about the hamlet and his wife
said to him, “All that hath befallen us cometh
of thy slowness in affairs and thy helplessness.”
But he said to her, “Have patience, for the
issue of patience is good.” Then they walked
on a little way, and thieves met them and despoiling
Page 38
them of whatso remained with them, stripped them of
their raiment and took from them the two children;
whereupon the woman wept and said to her husband,
“Hearkye, my good man, put away from thee this
folly and up with us to follow the thieves, so, peradventure
they may have compassion on us and restore the children
to us.” He replied, “O woman, have
patience, for he who doth evil shall be requited with
evil and his frowardness shall revert upon him.
Were I to follow them, belike one of them would take
his sword and smite my neck and slay me; but have patience,
for the issue of patience is praised.” Then
they fared on till they made a village[FN#167] in
the land of Kirman, and by it a river of water; so
the man said to his wife, “Tarry thou here,
whilst I enter the village and look us out a place
wherein we may home ourselves.” And he
left her by the water and entered the village.
Presently, up came a horseman in quest of water, wherewith
to water his horse: he saw the woman and she was
pleasing in his eyes; so quoth he to her, “Arise,
mount with me and I will take thee to wife and entreat
thee kindly.” Quoth she, “Spare me,
so may Allah spare thee! Indeed I have a husband.”
But he drew his dudgeon and said to her, “An
thou obey me not, I will smite thee and slay thee.”
When she saw his frowardness, she wrote on the ground
in the sand with her finger, saying, “O Abu
Sabir, thou hast not ceased to be patient, till thy
good is gone from thee and thy children and now thy
wife, who was more precious in thy sight than everything
and than all thy monies, and indeed thou abidest in
thy sorrow the whole of thy life long, so thou mayest
see what thy patience will profit thee.”
Then the horseman took her, and setting her behind
him, went his way. As for Abu Sabir, when he
returned, he saw not his wife but he read what was
writ upon the ground, wherefore he wept and sat awhile
sorrowing. Then said he to himself, “O Abu
Sabir, it behoveth thee to be patient, for haply there
shall betide thee an affair yet sorer than this and
more grievous;” and he went forth a-following
his face,[FN#168] like to one lovedistraught and passion-madded,
till he came to a gang of labourers working upon the
palace of the king, by way of forced labour.[FN#169]
When the overseers saw him, they laid hold of him
and said to him, “Work thou with these folk
at the palace of the king; else we will imprison thee
for life.” So he fell to working with them
as a labourer and every day they gave him a bannock
of bread. He wrought with them a month’s
space, till it chanced that one of the labourers mounted
a ladder and falling, brake his leg; whereupon he
cried out and shed tears. Quoth Abu Sabir to him,
“Have patience and weep not; for in thine endurance
thou shalt find ease.” But the man said
to him, “How long shall I have patience?”
And he answered, saying, “Long-suffering bringeth
a man forth of the bottom of the pit and seateth him
on the throne of the kingdom.” It so fortuned
Page 39
that the king was seated at the lattice, hearkening
to their talk, and Abu Sabir’s words angered
him for the moment; wherefore he bade bring him before
him and they brought him forthright. Now there
was in the king’s palace an underground dungeon
and therein a vast silo[FN#170] and a deep, into which
the king caused cast Abu Sabir, saying to him, “O
little of wit, soon shall we see how thou wilt come
forth of the pit to the throne of the kingdom.”
Then he used continuously to come and stand at the
mouth of the pit and say, “O little of wit,
O Abu Sabir,[FN#171] I see thee not come forth of the
pit and sit down on the king’s throne!”
And he assigned him each day two bannocks of bread,
whilst Abu Sabir kept silence and spake not, but patiently
bore whatso betided him. Now the king had a brother,
whom he had imprisoned in that pit of old time, and
he had died there; but the folk of the realm deemed
him still alive, and when his durance grew long, the
courtiers of the king used to talk of this and of
the tyranny of their liege Lord, and the bruit spread
abroad that the sovran was a tyrant, so they fell
upon him one day and slew him. Then they sought
the silo and brought out therefrom Abu Sabir, deeming
him the king’s brother, for that he was the
nearest of folk to him in favour and the likest, and
he had been long in the pit. So they doubted not
but that he was the Prince and said to him, “Reign
thou in thy brother’s room, for we have slain
him and thou art sovran in his stead.”
But Abu Sabir was silent and spoke not a word;[FN#172]
and he knew that this was the result of his patience.
Then he arose and sitting down on the king’s
throne, donned the royal dress and dispensed justice
and equity, and affairs prospered; wherefore the lieges
obeyed him and the subjects inclined to him and many
were his soldiers. Now the king, who erst had
plundered Abu Sabir’s goods and driven him forth
of his village, had an enemy; and the foe mounted
horse against him and overcame him and captured his
capital; wherefore he betook him to flight and came
to Abu Sabir’s city, craving support of him and
seeking that he should succour him. He knew not
that the king of the city was the headman whom he
had spoiled; so he presented himself before him and
made complaint to him; but Abu Sabir knew him and said
to him, “This is somewhat of the issue of patience.
Allah the Most High hath given me power over thee.”
Then he commanded his guards to plunder the unjust
king and his suite; so they spoiled them and stripping
them of their clothes, put them forth of his country.
When Abu Sabir’s troops saw this, they marvelled
and said, “What be this deed the king doth?
There cometh a king to him, craving protection, and
he spoileth him! This is not the fashion of kings.”
But they dared not speak of this. Presently,
news came to the king of highwaymen in his land; so
he set out in quest of them and ceased not to follow
after them, till he had seized on them all. and behold,
Page 40
they were the very thieves who had plundered him and
his wife by the way and had carried off his children.
Accordingly he bade bring them before him, and when
they came into his presence, he questioned them, saying,
“Where are the two boys ye took on such a day?”
Said they, “They are with us and we will present
them to our lord the king for Mamelukes to serve him
and give him wealth galore that we have gotten together
and doff all we own and repent from lawlessness and
fight in thy service.” Abu Sabir, however,
paid no heed to their words, and seized all their
good and bade put them all to death. Furthermore.
he took his two boys and rejoiced in them with exceeding
joy, whereat the troops murmured among themselves,
saying, “Verily, this is a greater tyrant than
his brother! There cometh to him a gang of thieves,
and they seek to repent and proffer two boys by way
of peace-offering, and he taketh the two lads and
all their good and slayeth them! Indeed this be
violent oppression.” After this came the
horseman, who had seized Abu Sabir’s wife, and
complained of her to the king that she would not give
him possession of her person, and solemnly declared
that she was his wife. The king bade bring her
before him, that he might hear her plea and pronounce
judgment upon her. So the horseman came with
her before him, and when the king saw her, he knew
her and taking her from her ravisher, bade put him
to death. Then he became aware of the troops,
that they murmured against him and spake of him as
a tyrant; so he turned to his courtiers and ministers
and said to them, “As for me, by Allah of All-might,[FN#173]
I am not the king’s brother! Nay, I am but
one whom the king imprisoned upon a word he heard
from me and he used every day to come and taunt me
therewith. Ye deem me the king’s brother;
but I am Abu Sabir and the Lord hath given me the
kingship in virtue of my patience. As for the
king who sought protection of me and I plundered him,
’twas he who first wronged me, for that he plundered
me afore, time and drave me forth of my native land
and banished me, without due cause; wherefore I requited
him with that which he had done to me, in the way of
lawful retribution. As for the highwaymen who
proffered repentance, there was no repentance for
them with me, because they began upon me with foul
dealing and waylaid me by the road and despoiled me
and seized my good and my sons, the two boys that
I took of them, and those ye deemed Mamelukes are my
very sons; so I avenged myself on the thieves of that
which they did with me whilome and requited them with
strict justice. As for the horseman whom I slew,
this woman I took from him was my wife and he seized
her by force, but Allah the Most High hath restored
her to me; so this was my right, and my deed that
I have done was righteous, albeit ye, judging by the
externals of the matter, deemed that I had done this
by way of tyranny.” When the folk heard
these words, they marvelled and fell prostrate before
Page 41
him; and they redoubled in esteem for him and exceeding
affection and sued pardon of him, admiring that which
Allah had done with him and how He had given him the
kingship by reason of his longsuffering and his patience
and how he had raised himself by his endurance from
the bottom of the pit to the throne of the kingdom,
what while Allah cast down the late king from the throne
into the pit.[FN#174] Then Abu Sabir foregathered with
his wife and said to her, “How deemest thou
of the fruit of patience and its sweetness and the
fruit of haste and its bitterness? Verily, all
that a man doth of good and evil, he shall assuredly
encounter the same.” “On like wise,
O king” (continued the young treasurer), “it
befitteth thee to practice patience, whenever it is
possible to thee, for that longsuffering is the wont
of the noble, and it is the chiefest of their reliance,
especially for kings.” When the king heard
this from the youth, his wrath subsided; so he bade
return him to the prison, and the folk dispersed that
day.
The Fourth
Day.
Of the Ill Effects of Impatience.
When it was the fourth day, the fourth Wazir, whose
name was Zushad,[FN#175] made his appearance, and
prostrating himself to his liege lord, said to him,
“O king, let not the talk of yonder youth delude
thee, for that he is not a truth-teller. As long
as he shall remain alive, the folk will not leave
talking nor will thy heart cease to be occupied with
him.” Cried the king, “By Allah,
thou sayst sooth and I will cause fetch him this day
and slay him between my hands.” Then bade
he bring the youth; so they fetched him in fetters
and he said to him, “Woe to thee! Thinkest
thou to appease my heart with thy prate, whereby the
days are spent in talk? I mean to do thee die
this day and be quit of thee.” Said the
youth, “O king, ’tis in thy power to put
me out of the world whenso thou wilt, but haste is
the wont of the ignoble and patience the sign of the
noble. An thou do me to death, thou wilt repent,
and when thou desire to bring me back to life, thou
wilt not be able. Indeed, whoso acteth hastily
in an affair, there befalleth him what befel Bihzad,
son of the king.” Quoth the king, “And
what is his tale?” Replied the treasurer, “O
king, hear
The Story of Prince Bihzad.[FN#176]
There was once, of olden time, a king and he had a
son Bihzad hight, there was not in his tide a fairer
than he and he loved to fellow with the folk and to
mix with the merchants and sit and talk with them.
One day, as he was seated in an assembly, amongst
a number of people, he heard them talking of his own
beauty and loveliness, and saying, “There be
not in his time a fairer than he.” But
one of the company said, “Indeed, the daughter
of King Such-an-one is seemlier than he.”
When Bihzad heard this saying, his reason fled and
his heart fluttered and he called the last speaker
and said to him, “Repeat to me that which thou
saidst and tell me the truth concerning her whom thou
Page 42
avouchest to be goodlier than I and whose daughter
she is.” Quoth the man, “She is the
daughter of King Such-an-one;” whereupon Bihzad’s
heart clave to her and his colour changed. Presently
the news reached his sire, who said to him, “O
my son, this maiden to whom thy heart cleaveth is
at thy command and we have power over her; so wait
till I demand her in wedlock for thee.”
But the Prince said, “I will not wait.”
So the king hastened in the matter and sent to demand
her of her sire, who required of him an hundred thousand
dinars paid down to his daughter’s dowry.
Quoth Bihzad’s father, “So be it,”
and weighed out what was in his treasuries, and there
remained to his charge but a little of the dower.[FN#177]
So he said, “Have patience, O my son, till we
gather together the rest of the money and send to
fetch her for thee, since now she is become thine.”
Therewith the Prince waxed wroth with exceeding wrath
and cried, “I will not have patience;”
so he took his sword and his lance[FN#178] and mounting
his horse, went forth and fell to cutting the way.[FN#179]
It chanced one day that he fell upon a company of
folk who overcame him by dint of numbers and taking
him prisoner, pinioned him and carried him to the lord
of that land wherein he was a-highwaying. This
king saw his semblance and loveliness and misdoubting
of him, said, “This be no robber’s favour.
Tell me truly, O youth, who thou art.” Bihzad
was ashamed to acquaint him with his condition and
preferred death for himself; so he answered, “I
am naught but a thief and a bandit.” Quoth
the king, “It behoveth us not to act hastily
in the matter of this youth, but that we look into
his affair, for that impatience gendereth penitence.”
So he imprisoned him in his palace and assigned him
one to serve him. Meanwhile the news spread abroad
that Bihzad, son of the sovran, was lost, whereupon
his father sent letters in quest of him to all the
kings including him with whom he was imprisoned.
When the letter reached the latter, he praised Almighty
Allah for that he had not anyways hastened in Bihzad’s
affair and bidding them bring him before himself,
said to him, “Art thou minded to destroy thy
life?” Quoth Bihzad, “I did this for fear
of shame;” and the king said, “An thou
fear shame, thou shouldst not practise haste in thy
doings; knowest thou not that the fruit of impatience
is repentance? Had we hasted, we also, like thee,
had repented.” Then he conferred on him
a robe of honour and engaged to him for the completion
of the dowry and sent to his father, giving him the
glad tidings and comforting his heart with news of
his son’s safety; after which he said to Bihzad,
“Arise, O my son, and go to thy sire.”
Rejoined the Prince, “O king, complete thy kindness
to me by hastening my going-in to my wife; for, an
I go back to my sire, the time will be long till he
send a messenger and he return, promising me dispatch.”
The king laughed and marvelled at him and said to
him, “I fear for thee from this precipitancy,
Page 43
lest thou come to shame and win not thy wish.”
Then he gave him muchel of wealth and wrote him letters,
commending him to the father of the Princess, and
despatched him to them. When he drew near their
country, the king came forth to meet him with the
people of his realm and assigned him a fine lodging
and bade hasten the going-in of his daughter to him,
in compliance with the other king’s letter.
He also advised the Prince’s father of his son’s
coming and they busied themselves with the affair of
the young lady. When it was the day of the bride’s
going-in[FN#180] Bihzad, of his impetuosity and lack
of patience, betook himself to the wall, which was
between himself and her lodging and wherein was a
hole pierced, and of his haste looked through it,
so he might see his bride. But her mother espied
him[FN#181] and this was grievous to her; so she took
from one of the pages two red-hot iron spits and thrust
them into the hole through which the Prince was looking.
The spits ran into his eyes and put them out and he
fell down fainting and the wedding-festival was changed
to mourning and sore concern. “See, then,
O king” (continued the youth), “the issue
of the Prince’s haste and lack of deliberation,
for indeed his impatience bequeathed him long penitence
and his joy turned to annoy; and on like wise was
it with the woman who hastened to put out his eyes
and delayed not to deliberate. All this was the
doing of haste; wherefore it behoveth the king not
to be hasty in putting me to death, for that I am
under the hold of his hand, and whatso time thou desirest
my slaughter, it shall not escape thee.”
When the king heard this his anger subsided and he
said, “Return him back to the prison till to-morrow,
so we may look into his case.”
The Fifth
Day.
Of the Issues of Good and Evil Actions.
When it was the fifth day, the fifth Wazir, whose
name was Jahrbaur,[FN#182] came in to the king and
prostrating himself before him. said, “O king,
it behoveth thee, an thou see or hear one look on
thy house,[FN#183] that thou pluck out his eyes.
How then should it be with him whom thou sawest a-middlemost
thy palace and on thy royal bed, and he suspected
with thy Harim, and not of thy lineage or of thy kindred?
So do thou away this shame by putting him to death.
Indeed, we urge thee not to this, except for the assurance
of thine empire and of our zeal for thy loyal counselling
and of our affection to thee. How can it be lawful
that this youth should live for a single hour?”
Therewith the king was filled with fury and cried,
“Bring him forthright.” So they fetched
the youth whom they set before him in fetters, and
the king said to him, “Woe to thee! Thou
hast sinned a great sin and the time of thy survival
hath been long;[FN#184] but needs must we put thee
to death, because there is no case for us in thy life
till we take it.” Quoth the youth, “Know
O king, that I, by Allah, am guiltless, and by reason
of this I hope for life, for that he who is innocent
of all offence goeth not in fear of pains and penalties,
neither greateneth his mourning and his concern; but
whoso hath sinned, needs must his sin be expiated upon
him, though his life be prolonged, and it shall overtake
him, even as it overtook Dadbin the king and his Wazir.”
Asked Azadbakht,"How was that?” and the youth
said,"Hear, O king (whose days may Allah increase!),
Page 44
The Story of King Dadbin[FN#185] and his Wazirs.
There was once a king in the land of Tabaristan,[FN#186]
by name Dadbin, and he had two Wazirs, one called
Zorkhan and the other Kardan.[FN#187] The Minister
Zorkhan had a daughter, there was not in her day a
fairer than she nor yet a chaster or a more pious,
for she was a faster, a prayer and an adorer of Allah
the Almighty, and her name was Arwa.[FN#188] Now Dadbin,
the king, heard tell of her praises; so his heart
clave to her and he called the Wazir her sire and
said to him, “I desire of thee that thou marry
me to thy daughter.” Quoth Zorkhan, “O
my liegest lord, suffer me to consult her, and if
she consent, I will marry thee with her.”
And the king, said, “Haste thee with this.”
So the Minister went in to his daughter and said to
her, “O my daughter, the king seeketh thee of
me and desireth to marry thee.” She said.
“O my father, I desire not a husband, and if
thou wilt marry me not but with a mate who shall be
mine inferior in rank and I nobler than he, so he
may not turn to other than myself nor lift his eyes
upon me,[FN#189] and marry me not to one who is nobler
than I, lest I be with him as a slave-girl and a serving-woman.”
Accordingly the Wazir returned to the king and acquainted
him with that which his daughter had said, whenas he
redoubled in desire and love-longing for her, and said
to her sire, “An thou marry me not to her of
good grace, I will take her in thy despite and by
force.” The Minister again betook himself
to his daughter and repeated to her the king’s
words, but she replied, “I want no husband.”
So he returned to the king and told him what she said,
and he was wroth and threatened him, whereupon the
father took his daughter and fled with her. When
this came to the king’s knowledge, he despatched
troops in pursuit of Zorkhan, to stop the road upon
him, whilst he himself went out and overtaking the
Wazir, smote him on the head with his mace[FN#190]
and slew him. Then he took his daughter by force
and returning to his dwelling-place, went in to her
and married her. Arwa resigned herself with patience
to that which betided her and committed her case to
Allah Almighty; and indeed she was used to serve Him
night and day with a goodly service in the house of
King Dadbin her husband. It befel one day that
the king had occasion to make a journey; so he called
his second Wazir Kardan and said to him, “I
have a charge to commit to thy care, and it is yonder
lady, my wife, the daughter of the Wazir Zorkhan,
and I desire that thou keep her and guard her thy
very self, because I have not in the world aught dearer
than she.” Quoth Kardan in his mind, “Of
a truth, the king honoureth me with an exceeding honour
in entrusting me with this lady.” And he
answered, “With love and all gladness.”
When the king had departed on his journey, Kardan
said in himself, “Needs must I look upon this
lady whom the king loveth with all this love.”
So he hid himself in a place, that he might espy her,
Page 45
and saw her surpassing description; wherefor he was
confounded at her and his wit was wildered and love
gat the lordship of him, so that he sent to her, saying,
“Have pity on me, for indeed I perish for the
love of thee.” She sent back to him and
replied, “O Wazir, thou art in the place of faith
and confidence, so do not thou betray thy trust, but
make thine inward life like unto thine outward[FN#191]
and occupy thyself with thy wife and that which is
lawful to thee. As for this, ’tis mere
lust and women are all of one and the same taste.[FN#192]
And if thou wilt not be forbidden from this talk, I
will make thee a byword and a reproach among folk.”
When the Minister heard her answer, he knew that she
was chaste of soul and body; wherefore he repented
with the utmost of repentance and feared for himself
from the king and said, “Needs must I devise
a device whereby I may destroy her; else shall I be
disgraced with the king.” Now when the
king returned from his journey, he questioned Kardan
of the affairs of his kingdom, and the Wazir answered,
“All is right well, O king, save a vile matter,
which I have espied here and with which I am ashamed
to confront the sovran; but, if I hold my peace thereof,
I fear lest other than I discover it and I shall have
played traitor to the king in the matter of my warning
and my trust.” Quoth Dadbin, “Speak,
for to me thou art none other than a truth-teller,
a trustworthy and a loyal counsellor in whatso thou
sayest, undistrusted in aught.” And the
Minister said, “O king, this woman to whose love
thy heart cleaveth and of whose piety thou talkest
and her fasting and her praying, I will plainly prove
to thee that this is craft and guile.”
Hereat the king was troubled and said, “What
may be the matter?” and the Wazir replied, “I
would have thee wot that some days after thy departure,
one came to me and said to me, Come, O Wazir, and
look. So I went to the door of the queen’s
sleeping-chamber and behold, she was sitting with Abu
al-Khayr, her father’s page, whom she favoureth,
and she did with him what she did, and such is the
manner of that which I saw and heard.”
When Dadbin heard this, he burnt with rage and said
to one of his eunuchs,[FN#193] “Go and slay
her in her chamber.” But the eunuch said
to him, “O king, Allah prolong thy life!
Indeed, the killing of her may not be in this way
neither at this time; but do thou bid one of thine
Castratos take her up on a camel and carry her to
one of the trackless wolds and cast her down there;
so, if she be guilty, Allah shall cause her to perish,
and if she be innocent, He will deliver her, and the
king shall be free from default against her; for that
this lady is dear to thee and thou slewest her father
by reason of thy love for her.” Quoth the
king, “By Allah, thou sayst sooth!” Then
he bade one of his eunuchs carry her on a camel to
one of the far-off wilds and cut-off wolds and there
leave her and wend his ways, and he forbade her torment
to be prolonged. So he took her up and betaking
Page 46
himself with her to the desert, left her there without
provaunt or water and returned, whereupon she made
for one of the hills, and ranging stones before her
in form of prayer-niche, stood praying. Now it
chanced that a camel-driver, belonging to Kisra[FN#194]
the king, lost certain camels, and his lord threatened
him, if he found them not, that he would slay him.
Accordingly he set out and plunged into the wastes
till he came to the place where the lady was, and
seeing her standing at prayer utterly alone, waited
till she had made an end of her orisons, when he went
up to her and saluted her with the salam, saying,
“Who art thou?” Quoth she, “I am
a hand-maid of the Almighty.” He asked,
“What doest thou in this desolate place?”
and she answered, “I serve Allah the Most High.”
When he saw her beauty and loveliness, he fell in
love with her, and said to her, “Harkye!
Do thou take me to mate and I will be tender to thee
and use thee with exceeding ruth, and I will further
thee in obedience to Allah Almighty.” But
she answered, saying, “I have no need of wedlock
and I desire to abide here alone with my Lord and
His worship; but an thou wouldst have ruth upon me
and further me in the obedience of Allah the Most
High, carry me to a place where there is water and
thou wilt have done me a kindness.” Thereupon
he took her to a place wherein was running water and
setting her down on the ground, left her and went his
ways, marvelling at her. After he left her, he
found his camels, by her blessing, and when he returned,
King Kisra asked him, “Hast thou found the camels?”
He answered “Yes,” and acquainted him
with the affair of the damsel, and detailed to him
her beauty and loveliness: whereupon the king’s
heart clave to her and he mounted with a few men and
betook himself to that place, where he found the lady
and was amazed at her, because he saw her surpassing
the description wherewith the camel-driver had described
her to him. So he accosted her and said to her,
“I am King Kisra, greatest of the kings.
Wilt thou not have me to husband?” Quoth she,
“What wilt thou do with me, O king, and I a
woman abandoned in the waste?” And quoth he,
“Needs must this be, and if thou wilt not consent
to me, I will take up my abode here and devote myself
to Allah’s service and thy service, and with
thee worship the Almighty.” Then he bade
set up for her a tent and another for himself, facing
hers, so he might adore Allah with her, and fell to
sending her food; and she said in herself, “This
is a king, and ’tis not lawful for me that I
suffer him for my sake to forsake his lieges and his
land.” Presently she said to the servingwoman,
who used to bring her the food, “Speak the king
that he return to his women, for he hath no need of
me, and I desire to abide in this place, so I may
worship therein Allah the Most High.” The
slave-girl returned to the king and told him this,
whereupon he sent back to her, saying, “I have
no need of the kingship and I also desire to tarry
Page 47
here and worship Allah with thee in this waste.”
When she found this earnestness in him, she fell in
with his wishes, and said, “O king, I will consent
to that which thou desirest and will be to thee a
wife, but on condition that thou bring me Dadbin the
king and his Wazir Kardan and his Chamberlain the
chief Eunuch, and that they be present in thine assembly,
so I may speak a word with them in thy presence, to
the intent that thou mayst redouble in affection for
me.” Quoth Kisra, “And what is thy
want unto this?” So she related to him her story
from first to last, how she was the wife of Dadbin
the king and how the Wazir Kardan had misspoken of
her honour. When King Kisra heard this, he redoubled
in love-longing for her and affection and said to
her, “Do whatso thou willest:” then
he let bring a litter[FN#195] and carrying her therein
to his dwelling-place, entreated her with the utmost
honour and espoused her. Presently he sent a
great army to King Dadbin and fetching him and his
Wazir Kardan and the Eunuch-chamberlain, caused bring
them before him, they unknowing the while what he might
purpose to do with them. Moreover, he caused
set up for Arwa a pavilion[FN#196] in the courtyard
of his palace, and she entered it and let down the
curtain before herself. When the servants had
set their seats and they had seated themselves, Arwa
raised a corner of the curtain and said, “O
Kardan, rise to thy feet, for it befitteth not that
thou sit in the like of this assembly, before this
mighty King Kisra.” When the Wazir heard
these words, his heart fluttered and his joints were
loosened and he rose to his feet of his fear.
Then said she to him, “By the virtue of Him
who hath made thee stand up to judgment in this standing-stead,
and thou abject and humiliated, I conjure thee speak
the truth and say what egged thee on to lie against
me and drive me from my home and from the land of
my husband and made thee practise thus against a man
and a Moslem so as to slay him.[FN#197] This is no
place wherein lying availeth nor may artifice be herein.”
When the Wazir was ’ware that she was Arwa and
heard her speech, he knew that it behoved him not
to lie and that naught would avail him save truth;
so he bowed his head groundwards and wept and said,
“Whoso doth evil, needs must he incur it, albe
his day be prolonged. By Allah, I am he who hath
sinned and transgressed, and naught prompted me unto
this but fear and overmastering desire and the misery
writ upon my brow.[FN#198] And indeed this woman is
pure and chaste and free from all fault.”
When King Dadbin heard this, he beat his face and
said to Kardan, his Wazir, “Allah slay thee![FN#199]
’Tis thou that hast parted me and my wife and
wronged me!” But Kisra the king said to him,
“Allah shall assuredly slay thee, because thou
hastenedst and lookedst not into thine affair, and
knewest not the guilty from the guiltless. Hadst
thou wrought deliberately, the unright had been made
manifest to thee from the right; so when this villain
Page 48
Wazir purposed thy ruin, where was thy judgment and
whither went thy sight?” Then he asked Arwa,
“What wilt thou that I do with them?”
and she answered, “Accomplish on them the ordinance
of Almighty Allah:[FN#200] let the slayer be slain
and the transgressor transgressed against, even as
he transgressed against us; yea, and to the well-doer
weal shall be done even as he did unto us.”
So she gave her officers order concerning Dadbin and
they smote him on the head with a mace and slew him,
and she said, “This is for the slaughter of
my sire.” Then she bade set the Wazir on
a beast and bear him to the desert whither he had
caused her to be borne, and leave him there without
provaunt or water; and she said to him, “An
thou be guilty, thou shalt suffer the punishment of
thy guilt and die in the desert of hunger and thirst;
but an there be no guilt in thee, thou shalt be delivered,
even as I was delivered.” As for the Eunuch-chamberlain,
who had counselled King Dadbin not to slay her, but
to cause carry her to the desert, she bestowed on him
a costly robe of honour and said to him, “The
like of thee it befitteth kings to hold in favour
and promote to high place, for that thou spakest loyally
and well, and a man is requited according to his deed.”
And Kisra the King made him Wali in a certain province
of his empire. “Know, therefore, O king”
(continued the youth), “that whoso doeth good
is requited with good, and he who is guiltless of
sin and offence feareth not the issue of his affair.
And I, O my liege lord, am free from guilt, wherefore
I hope in Allah that He will show forth the truth to
mine auspicious king, and vouchsafe me the victory
over enemies and enviers.” When the king
heard this, his wrath subsided and he said, “Return
him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look
into his case.”
The Sixth
Day.
Of Trust in Allah.
When it was the sixth day, the wrath of the Wazirs
redoubled, because they had not won their will of
the youth and they feared for their lives from the
liege lord; so three of them went in to him and prostrating
themselves between his hands, said to him, “O
king, indeed we are loyal counsellors to thy dignity
and fondly solicitous for thy weal. Verily, thou
persistest long in leaving this youth alive and we
know not what is thine advantage therein. Every
day findeth him yet on life and the talk of folk redoubleth
suspicion on thee; so do thou do him dead, that the
talk may be made an end of.” When the king
heard this speech, he said, “By Allah, verily
ye say sooth and speak rightly!” Then he bade
them bring the young treasurer and when he came into
the presence said to him, “How Iong shall I
look into thy case, and find no helper for thee and
see them athirst for thy blood?” The youth answered,
“O king, I hope for succour only from Allah,
not from created beings: an He aid me, none shall
have power to harm me, and if He be with me and on
my side, because of the truth, from whom shall I fear,
because of untruth? Indeed, I have made my intent
with Allah a pure intent and a sincere, and I have
severed my expectation from the help of the creature;
and whoso seeketh aid of Allah findeth of his desire
that which Bakhtzaman found.” Quoth the
king, “Who was Bakhtzaman and what is his story?”
and quoth the youth, “Hear, O king,
Page 49
The Story of King Bakhtzaman.[FN#201]
There was once a king of the kings whose name was
Bakhtzaman, and he was a great eater and drinker and
carouser. Now enemies of his made their appearance
in certain parts of his realm which they coveted;
and one of his friends said to him, “O king,
the foe intendeth for thee: be on thy guard against
him.” Quoth Bakhtzaman “I reck not
of him, for that I have weapons and wealth and warmen
and am not afraid of aught.” Then said his
friends to him, “Ask aid of Allah, O king, for
He will help thee more than thy wealth and thy weapons
and thy warriors.” But he turned a deaf
ear to the speech of his loyal counsellors, and presently
the enemy came upon him and waged war upon him and
got the victory over him and profited him naught his
trust in other than Allah the Most High. So he
fled from him and seeking one of the sovrans, said
to him, “I come to thee and lay hold upon thy
skirts and take refuge with thee, so thou mayst help
me against my foe.” The king gave him money
and men and a mighty many and Bakhtzaman said in himself,
“Now am I fortified with this force and needs
must I conquer my foe with such combatants and overcome
him;” but he said not, “With the aid of
Allah Almighty.” So his enemy met him and
overcame him again and he was defeated and put to
the rout and fled at random: his troops were dispersed
from him and his money lost and the enemy pursued
him. Thereupon he sought the sea and passing
over to the other side, saw a great city and therein
a mighty citadel. He asked its name and that of
its owner, and they said to him, “It belongeth
to Khadidan[FN#202] the king.” So he fared
on till he came to the royal palace and concealing
his condition, passed himself off for a horseman[FN#203]
and sought service with King Khadidan, who attached
him to his attendance and entreated him with honour;
but his heart still clung to his mother-land and his
home. Presently, it chanced that an enemy came
out against King Khadidan; so he sent his troops to
meet him and made Bakhtzaman head of the host.
Then they went forth to the field and Khadidan also
came forth and ranged his troops and levelled lance
and sallied out in person and fought a sore fight
and overcame his foe, who with his troops ignominiously
fled. When the king and his army returned in
triumph, Bakhtzaman said to him, “Harkye, O king!
This be a strange thing I see in thee that thou art
compassed about with this mighty great army, yet dost
thou apply thyself in person to battle and adventurest
thy life.” Quoth the king, “Dost thou
call thyself a knight and a learned wight and deemest
that victory is in the many of men?” Quoth Bakhtzaman,
“Such is indeed my belief.” And Khadidan
the king cried, “By Allah, then, thou errest
in this thy belief!” presently adding, “woe
and again woe to him whose trust is in other than
Allah! Indeed, this army is appointed only for
phantasy and majesty, and victory is from Allah alone.
I too, O Bakhtzaman, whilome believed that victory
Page 50
was in the number of men,[FN#204] and an enemy came
out against me with eight hundred head, whilst I had
eight hundred thousand. I trusted in the tale
of my troops, whilst my foe trusted in Allah, so he
defeated me and routed me and I was put to a shameful
flight and hid myself in one of the mountains, where
I met with a Religious who had withdrawn himself from
the world. So I joined myself to him and complained
to him of my case and acquainted him with all that
had befallen me. Quoth the Recluse, ‘Wottest
thou why this befel thee and thou wast defeated?’
Quoth I, ‘I know not;’ and he said.
’Because thou didst put thy trust in the multitude
of thy warmen and reliedst not upon Allah the Most
High. Hadst thou put thy trust in the Almighty
and believed of Him that it is He alone who advantageth
and endamageth thee, never had thy foe availed to
cope with thee. Return unto Allah.’
So I returned to my right senses, and repented at the
hands of that Religious, who said to me, ’Turn
back with what remaineth to thee of troops and confront
thy foes, for, if their intents be changed and turned
away from Allah, thou wilt overcome them, e’en
wert thou alone.’ When I heard the Solitary’s
words, I put my trust in Allah of All-Might; and,
gathering together those who remained with me, fell
upon mine enemies at unawares in the night. They
deemed us many and fled with the shamefullest flight,
whereupon I entered my city and repossessed myself
of my place by the might of Almighty Allah, and now
I fight not but trusting in His aid. When Bakhtzaman
heard these words he awoke from his heedlessness and
cried, “Extolled be the perfection of God the
Great! O king, this is my case and my story, nothing
added and naught subtracted, for I am King Bakhtzaman
and all this happened to me: wherefore I will
seek the gate of Allah’s mercy and repent unto
Him.” So he went forth to one of the mountains
and worshipped Allah there awhile, till one night,
as he slept, a personage appeared to him in a dream
and said to him, “O Bakhtzaman, Allah accepteth
thy repentance and openeth on thee the door of succour
and will aid thee against thy foe.” When
he was assured of this in the dream, he arose and
turned back, intending for his own city; and when
he drew near thereunto, he saw a company of the king’s
retainers, who said to him, “Whence art thou?
We see that thou art a foreigner and fear for thee
from this king, for that every stranger who entereth
this city, he destroyeth him, of his dread of King
Bakhtzaman.” Said Bakhtzaman, “None
shall prejudice him nor profit him save Allah the
Most High.” And they replied. “Indeed,
he hath a vast army and his heart is fortified in
the multitude of his many.” When King Bakhtzaman
heard this, his mind was comforted and he said to
himself, “I place my trust in Allah. An
He will, I shall overcome mine enemy by the might
of the Lord of Omnipotence.” So he said
to the folk, “Wot ye not who I am?” and
they said, “No, by Allah.” Cried
Page 51
he, “I am King Bakhtzaman.” When they
heard this and knew that it was indeed he, they dismounted
from their horses and kissed his stirrup, to do him
honour, and said to him, “O king, why thus risk
thy life?” Quoth he, “Indeed, my life is
a light matter to me and I set my trust in Almighty
Allah, looking to Him for protection.”
And quoth they, “May that suffice thee!”
presently adding, “We will do with thee that
which is in our power and whereof thou art worthy:
hearten thy heart, for we will succour thee with our
substance and our existence, and we are his chief
officers and the most in favour with him of all folk.
So we will take thee with us and cause the lieges
follow after thee, because the inclination of the
people, all of them, is theewards.” Said
he, “Do whatso Allah Almighty enableth you to
do.” So they carried him into the city and
hid him with them. Then they agreed with a company
of the king’s chief officers, who had aforetime
been those of Bakhtzaman, and acquainted them with
this; whereat they rejoiced with joy exceeding.
Then they assembled together to Bakhtzaman, and made
a covenant and handfast of fealty with him and fell
upon the foe and slew him and seated King Bakhtzaman
again on the throne of his kingship. And his
affairs prospered and Allah amended his estate and
restored to him His bounty, and he ruled his subjects
justly and abode in the obedience of the Almighty.
“On this wise, O king” (continued the
young treasurer), “he with whom Allah is and
whose intent is pure, meeteth naught save good.
As for me, I have no helper other than the Almighty,
and I am content to submit myself to His ordinance,
for that He knoweth the purity of my intent.”
With this the king’s wrath subsided and he said,
“Return him to the prison till the morrow, so
we may look into his case.”
The Seventh
Day.
Of Clemency.
When it was the seventh day, the seventh Wazir, whose
name was Bihkamal,[FN#205] came in to the king and
prostrating himself to him, said, “O king, what
doth thy long-suffering with this youth profit thee?
Indeed the folk talk of thee and of him. Why,
then, dost thou postpone the putting him to death?”
The Minister’s words aroused the anger of the
king, and he bade bring the youth. So they fetched
him before him in fetters and Azadbakht said to him,
“Ho, woe to thee! By Allah, after this day
there abideth no deliverance for thee from my hand,
by reason that thou hast outraged mine honour, and
there can be no forgiveness for thee” The youth
replied, “O king, there is no great forgiveness
save in case of a great default, for according as
the offence is great in so much magnified is mercy;
and it is no grace to the like of thee if he spare
the like of me. Verily, Allah knoweth that there
is no crime in me, and indeed He commandeth to clemency,
and no clemency is greater than that which spareth
from slaughter, for that thy pardon of him whom thou
purposest to put to death is as the quickening of
a dead man; and whoso doth evil shall find it before
him, even as it was with King Bihkard.”
Asked the king, “And what is the story of King
Bihkard?” And the youth answered, “Hear,
O king,
Page 52
The Story of King Bihkard.[FN#206]
There was once a king named Bihkard, and he had mickle
of wealth and many troops; but his deeds were evil
and he would punish for a slight offence, and he never
forgave any offender. He went forth one day to
hunt and a certain of his pages shot a shaft, which
lit on the king’s ear and cut it off. Bihkard
cried, “Who shot that arrow?” So the guards
brought him in haste the misdemeanant, whose name
was Yatru,[FN#207] and he of his fear fell down on
the ground in a fainting fit. Then quoth the king,
“Slay him;” but Yatru said, “O king,
this which hath befallen was not of my choice nor
of my knowledge; so do thou pardon me, in the hour
of thy power over me, for that mercy is of the goodliest
of deeds and belike it shall be in this world a provision
and a good work for which thou shalt be repaid one
of these days, and a treasure laid up to thine account
with Allah in the world to come. Pardon me, therefore,
and fend off evil from me, so shall Allah fend off
from thee the like evil.” When the king
beard this, it pleased him and he pardoned the page,
albeit he had never before pardoned any. Now
this page was of the sons of the kings and had fled
from his sire on account of a sin he had committed:
then he went and took service with Bihkard the king,
and there happened to him what happened. After
a while, it chanced that a man recognised him and
went and told his father, who sent him a letter, comforting
his heart and mind and calling upon him to return
to him. Accordingly he returned to his father,
who came forth to meet him and rejoiced in him, and
the Prince’s affairs were set right with his
sire. Now it befel, one day of the days, that
king Bihkard shipped him in a ship and put out to
sea, so he might fish: but the wind blew on them
and the craft sank. The king made the land upon
a plank, unknown of any, and came forth, mother-naked,
on one of the coasts; and it chanced that he landed
in the country whereof the father of the page aforesaid
was king. So he came in the night to the gate
of the sovran’s capital, and finding it shut,
lodged him in a burying-place there. When the
morning morrowed and the folk came forth of the city,
behold, they found a man lately murthered and cast
down in a corner of the burial ground, and seeing Bihkard
there, doubted not but it was he who had slain him
during the night; so they laid hands on him and carried
him up to the king and said to him, “This fellow
hath slain a man.” The king bade imprison
him; whereupon they threw him in jail, and he fell
to saying in himself, what while he was in the prison,
“All that hath befallen me is of the abundance
of my sins and my tyranny, for, indeed, I have slain
much people unrighteously and this is the requital
of my deeds and that which I have wrought whilome of
oppression.” As he was thus pondering in
himself, there came a bird and lighted down on the
pinnacle of the prison, whereupon, of his passing
eagerness in the chase, he took a stone and threw
Page 53
it at the bird. Now the king’s son was playing
in the exercise-ground with the ball and the bat,[FN#208]
and the stone lit on his ear and cut it off, whereupon
the Prince fell down in a fit. So they enquired
who had thrown the stone and finding that it was Bihkard,
took him and carried him before the king’s son,
who bade do him die. Accordingly, they cast the
turband from his head and were about to fillet his
eyes, when the Prince looked at him and seeing him
cropped of an ear, said to him, “But for thy
villainies thine ear had not been cut off.”
Said Bihkard, “Not so, by Allah! Nay, but
the story of the loss of my ear is so and so, and
I pardoned him who smote me with an arrow and cut off
my ear.” When the prince heard this, he
looked in his face and knowing him, cried out and
said, “Art thou not Bihkard the king?”
“Yes,” replied he, and the Prince said
to him, “What ill chance threw thee here?”
Thereupon he told him all that had betided him and
the folk wondered and extolled the perfection of the
Almighty, crying “Subhana ’llah!—laud
to the Lord!” Then the Prince rose to him and
embraced him and kissed him and, entreating him with
respect, seated him in a chair and bestowed on him
a robe of honour; and he turned to his sire and said
to him, “This be the king who pardoned me and
this be his ear which I cut off with a shaft; and
indeed he deserveth my pardon by having pardoned me.”
Then said he to Bihkard, “Verily, the issue
of mercy hath been a provision for thee in such hour
as this.” And they entreated him with the
utmost kindness and sent him back to his own country
in all honour. “Know, then, O king”
(continued the youth), “that there is no goodlier
quality than mercy and that all thou dost of clemency,
thou shalt find before thee a treasure for thee treasured
up.” When the king heard this, his wrath
subsided and he said, “Return him to the prison
till the morrow, so we may look into his case.
The Eighth
Day.
Of Envy and Malice.
When it was the eighth day, the Wazirs all assembled
and had speech together and said, “How shall
we do with this youth, who overcometh us with his
much talk? Indeed, we fear lest he be saved and
we fall into destruction. So, let us all go in
to the king and unite our efforts to gain our cause,
ere he appear without guilt and come forth and get
the better of us.” Accordingly they all
went in to the king and prostrating themselves before
him, said to him, “O king, beware lest this
youth ensorcell thee with his sorcery and beguile thee
with his wiles. An thou heardest what we hear,
thou wouldst not suffer him live; no, not a single
day. Wherefore heed not his speech, for we are
thy Ministers, who endeavour for thy permanence, and
if thou hearken not to our word, to whose word wilt
thou hearken? See, we are ten Wazirs who testify
against this youth that he is guilty and entered not
the king’s sleeping chamber save with ill intent,
so he might put the king to shame and outrage his honour;
Page 54
and if the king slay him not, let him banish him his
realm, that the tongue of the folk may desist from
him.” When the king heard his Ministers’
words, he was wroth with exceeding wrath and bade
bring the youth, and when he came in to the king, the
Wazirs all cried out with one voice, saying, “O
Lack-wits, thinkest thou to save thyself from slaughter
by guile and sleight, that thou wilest the king with
thy talk and hopest pardon for the like of this mighty
great crime thou hast committed?” Then the king
bade fetch the sworder, so he might smite his neck;
whereupon each of the Wazirs fell to saying, “I
will slay him;” and they sprang upon him.
Quoth the youth, “O king, consider and ponder
the eagerness of these thy Ministers. Is this
of envy or is it not? They would fain make severance
between me and thee, so there may fall to them what
they shall plunder, as aforetime.” And the
king said to him, “Consider their witness against
thee.” The young man said, “O king,
how shall they testify of that which they saw not?[FN#209]
This is but envy and despight; and thou, an thou slay
me, wilt indeed regret me, and I fear lest there betide
thee of repentance that which betided Aylan Shah,
by reason of the malice of his Wazirs.”
Asked Azadbakht, “And what is his story?”
and the youth answered, “Hear, O king,
The Story of Aylan Shah and Abu Tammam.[FN#210]
Whilome there was a merchant named Abu Tammam, and
he was a clever man and a well-bred, quickwitted and
truthful in all his affairs, and he was monied to
boot. Now there was in his land a king as unjust
as he was jealous, and Abu Tammam feared for his wealth
from this king and said, “I will remove hence
to another place where I shall not be in dread.”
So he made for the city of Aylan Shah and built himself
a palace therein and transporting his wealth thither,
took up his abode there. Presently, the news
of him reached King Aylan Shah; so he sent to invite
him to his presence and said to him, “We know
of thy coming to us and thine entering under our allegiance,
and indeed we have heard of thine excellence and wit
and generosity; so welcome to thee and fair welcome!
The land is thy land and at thy command, and whatsoever
need thou needest of us, ’tis already accomplished
to thee; and it behoveth that thou be near our person
and of our assembly.” Abu Tammam prostrated
himself before the king, and said to him, “O
king, I will serve thee with my monies and with my
life, but do thou excuse me from nearness to thee,
for that an I took office about thee, I should not
be safe from enemies and enviers.” Then
he applied himself to the royal service with presents
and largesses, and the king saw him to be intelligent,
well-bred and of good counsel; so his heart inclined
to him and he committed to him the ordinance of his
affairs and the power to bind and to loose was in
his hand. Now Aylan Shah had three Wazirs, in
whose hands public affairs were wont to be and they
had been accustomed not to quit the king night or day;
Page 55
but they became shut out from him by reason of Abu
Tammam and the king was occupied with him to their
exclusion. Herewith the Ministers took counsel
together upon the matter and said, “What is your
rede we should do, seeing that the king is occupied
from us with yonder man, and indeed he honoureth him
with more honour than us? But now come, let us
devise some device whereby we may alienate him from
the king.” So each of them spoke forth that
which was in his mind, and one of them said, “The
king of the Turks hath a daughter, whose like there
is not in the world, and whatso messenger goeth to
demand her in marriage, him her father slaughtereth.
Now our king hath no knowledge of this; so, come,
let us foregather with him and bring up the mention
of her: when his heart is taken with her, we
will advise him to dispatch Abu Tammam to seek her
hand in marriage; whereupon her father will slay him
and we shall be quit of him and settle his affair once
for all.” Accordingly, they went in to the
king one day (Abu Tammam being present among them),
and mentioned the affair of the damsel, the daughter
of the Turks’ king, and enlarged upon her charms,
till the king’s heart was taken with her and
he said to them, “We will send one to demand
her to wife for us; but who shall be our messenger?”
Quoth the Wazirs, “There is none fit for this
business but Abu Tammam, by reason of his wit and good
breeding;” and the king said, “Indeed,
even as ye say, none is fitting for this affair save
he.” Then he turned to Abu Tammam and said
to him, “Wilt thou not go with my message and
seek me in marriage the daughter of the Turks’
king?” and he answered, “To hear is to
obey, O my Sovran!” So they made ready his affair
and the king conferred on him a robe of honour, and
he took with him a present and a letter under the
king’s hand and setting out, fared on till he
came to the capital city of Turkistan. When the
king of the Turks knew of his coming, he despatched
his officers to receive him and entreated him with
honour and lodged him as befitted his rank. Then
he guested him three days, after which time he summoned
him to his presence and Abu Tammam went in to him;
and, prostrating himself as beseemeth before kings,
laid that present before him and gave him the letter.
The king read the writ and said to Abu Tammam, “We
will do what behoveth in the matter; but, O Abu Tammam,
needs must thou view my daughter and she view thee,
and needs must thou hear her speech and she hear thine.”
So saying, he sent him to the lodging of the Princess,
who had had notice of this; so that they had adorned
her sitting-room with the costliest that might be
of vessels of gold and silver and the like, and she
seated herself on a chair of gold, clad in the richest
of royal robes and ornaments. When Abu Tammam
entered, he took thought and said, “The wise
declare that whoso governeth his sight shall suffer
naught unright and he who guardeth his tongue shall
hear naught of foul taunt, and he who keepeth watch
Page 56
over his hand, it shall be lengthened and not shortened."[FN#211]
So he entered and seating himself on the floor, cast
down his eyes and covered his hands and feet with his
dress.[FN#212] Quoth the king’s daughter to him,
“Raise thy head, O Abu Tammam, and look on me
and speak with me.” But he spake not neither
raised his head, and she continued, “They sent
thee only to view me and talk with me, and yet behold
thou sayest not a word;” presently adding, “Take
of these union-pearls that be round thee and of these
jewels and gold and silver.” But he put
not forth his hand to aught, and when she saw that
he paid no heed to anything, she was angry and cried,
“They have messaged me with a messenger, blind,
dumb, deaf.” Then she sent to acquaint
her father with this; whereupon the king called Abu
Tammam to him and said to him, “Thou camest
not save to view my daughter: why, then, hast
thou not looked upon her?” Quoth Abu Tammam,
“I saw everything;” and quoth the king,
“Why didst thou not take somewhat of that which
thou sawest of jewels and the like? Indeed they
were set out for thee.” But he answered,
“It behoveth me not to put out my hand to aught
that is not mine.” When the king heard
his speech, he gave him a sumptuous robe of honour
and loved him muchly[FN#213] and said to him, “Come,
look at this well.” So Abu Tammam went
up to the pit-mouth and looked, and behold, it was
full of heads of the sons of Adam, and the king said
to him, “These are the heads of envoys whom I
slew, because I saw them without loyalty to their
lords, and I was used, whenas I beheld an envoy without
good manners, to say, ’He who sent him is worsemannered
than he, because the messenger is the tongue of him
who sendeth him and his breeding is of his master’s
breeding; and whoso is after this fashion, it befitteth
not that he be akin to me.’[FN#214] For this
reason I used to put the envoys to death; but, as
for thee, thou hast overcome us and won my daughter,
of the excellence of thy manners; so hearten thy heart,
for she is thy lord’s.” Then he sent
him back to King Aylan Shah with presents and rarities
and a letter, saying, “This that I have done
is in honour of thee and of thine envoy.”
When Abu Tammam returned after accomplishing his mission
and brought the presents and the letter, King Aylan
Shah rejoiced in this and redoubled all his favours
and showed him honour the highest. Some days
after, the King of Turkistan sent his daughter and
she went in to King Aylan Shah, who rejoiced in her
with exceeding joy and Abu Tammam’s worth was
exalted in the royal sight. When the Wazirs saw
this, they redoubled in envy and despite and said,
“’An we contrive us not a contrivance to
rid us of this man, we shall die of rage.”
So they bethought them and agreed upon a device they
should practise. Then they betook themselves to
two boys, pages affected to the service of the king,
who slept not but on their knees,[FN#215] and they
lay at his head, for that they were his bed-chamber
Page 57
pages. So the Ministers gave them each a thousand
dinars of gold, saying, “We desire of you that
ye do somewhat we require and take this gold as a
provision against your time of need.” Quoth
the lads, “What is it ye would have us do?”
and quoth the Wazirs, “This Abu Tammam hath marred
matters for us, and if his case abide in this way,
he will remove us all from the king’s favour;
and what we want of you twain is that, when ye are
alone with the king and he leaneth back, as he were
asleep, one of you say to his fellow, ’Verily,
the king hath taken Abu Tammam into high favour and
hath advanced him to exalted rank, yet he is a transgressor
against the king’s honour and an accursed wight.’
Then let the other of you ask, ’And what is
his transgression?’ and let the first answer,
’He outrageth the king’s honour and saith,
the King of Turkistan was used, when a messenger went
to him to seek his daughter in marriage, to slay him;
but me he spared, because she liked me, and by reason
of this her sire sent her hither, for that she loved
me.’ Then let the other say, ‘Knowest
thou this for truth?’ and let the first reply,
’By Allah, this is familiar to all the folk,
but, of their fear of the king, they dare not divulge
it to him; and as often as the king is absent a-hunting
or a-wayfaring, Abu Tammam cometh to her and is private
with her.’” Whereupon the boys answered,
“We will say this.” Accordingly, one
night, when they were alone with the king and he leant
back, as he were asleep, they said these words and
the king heard all and was like to die of fury and
despite and said to himself, “These are young
boys, not come to years of discretion, and have no
business with any; and unless they had heard these
words from some one, they had not spoken thereof each
with other.” When it was morning wrath overmastered
him, so that he stayed not neither deliberated, but
summoned Abu Tammam and taking him apart, said to
him, “Whoso guardeth not the honour of his liege
lord,[FN#216] what deserveth he?” Said Abu Tammam,
“He deserveth that his lord guard not his honour.”
Aylan Shah continued, “And whoso entereth the
king’s house and playeth traitor with him, what
behoveth unto him?” and Abu Tammam replied,
“He shall not be left alive.” Whereupon
the king spat in his face and said to him, “Both
these deeds hast thou done.” Then he drew
his poinard on him in haste and smiting him in the
belly, slit it and Abu Tammam died forthright; whereupon
the king dragged him along and cast him into a well
that was in his palace. After he had slain him,
he fell into repentance and mourning increased and
chagrin waxed sore upon him, and he would acquaint
none who questioned him with the cause, nor, of his
love for his wife, did he tell her of this, and whenever
she asked him wherefore he grieved, he answered her
not. When the Wazirs knew of Abu Tammam’s
death, they rejoiced with exceeding joy and knew that
the king’s sorrow arose from regret for him.
As for Aylan Shah, after this he used to betake himself
Page 58
by night to the sleeping-chamber of the two boys and
spy upon them, that he might hear what they said concerning
his wife. As he stood one night privily at the
door of their chamber, he saw them spread out the
gold between their hands and play with it and heard
one of them say, “Woe to us! What doth
this gold profit us? Indeed we cannot buy therewith
any thing nor spend it upon ourselves. Nay, but
we have sinned against Abu Tammam and done him dead
unjustly.” And said the other, “Had
we known that the king would slay him on the spot,
we had not done what we did.” When the king
heard that, he could not contain himself, but rushed
in upon them and said to them, “Woe to you!
What did ye? Tell me.” And they cried,
“Aman,[FN#217] O king!” He cried, “An
ye would have pardon from Allah and me, you are bound
to tell me the truth, for nothing shall save you from
me but soothfastness.” Hereat they prostrated
themselves before him and said, “By Allah, O
king, the Wazirs gave us this gold and taught us to
lie against Abu Tammam, so thou mightest kill him,
and what we said was their speech.” When
the king heard this, he plucked at his beard, till
he was like to tear it up by the roots and bit upon
his fingers, till he well nigh cut them in twain,
for repentance and sorrow that he had wrought hastily
and had not delayed with Abu Tammam, so he might consider
his case. Then he sent for the Ministers and said
to them, “O villainous Wazirs, ye deemed that
Allah was heedless of your deed, but right soon shall
your wickedness revert upon you. Know ye not
that whoso diggeth for his brother a pit shall himself
fall into it?[FN#218] Take from me the punishment of
this world and to-morrow ye shall receive the punishment
of the next world and requital from Allah.”
Then he bade put them to death; so the headsman smote
off their heads before the king, and he went in to
his wife and acquainted her with whatso he had misdone
to Abu Tammam; whereupon she grieved for him with mighty
great grief and the king and his household ceased
not weeping and repenting all their lives. Moreover,
they brought Abu Tammam forth of the well and the
king built him a dome[FN#219] in his palace and buried
him therein. “See, then, O auspicious king”
(continued the youth), “what jealousy doth and
injustice and how Allah caused the Wazirs’ malice
to revert upon their own necks; and I trust in the
Almighty that He will empower me over all who envy
me my favour with the king and show forth the truth
unto him. Indeed, I dread naught for my life
from death; only I fear lest the king repent of my
slaughter, for that I am guiltless of offence, and
if I knew that I were guilty on any wise, my tongue
would be dumb-struck.” When the king heard
this, he bowed his head groundwards in perplexity
and confusion and said, “Restore him to the
prison till the morrow, so we may look into his case.”
The Ninth
Day.
Of Destiny or That Which is Written on the Forehead.
Page 59
Now when it was the ninth day, the Wazirs met and
said one to other, “Verily, this youth baffleth
us, for as often as the king is minded to kill him,
he beguileth him and bewitcheth him with a story;
so what be your rede we should do, that we may slay
him and be at rest from him?” Then they advised
together and agreed that they should go to the king’s
wife.[FN#220] So they betook themselves to her and
said to her, “Thou art careless of this affair
wherein thou art and this uncare shall not profit thee;
whilst the king, occupied with eating and drinking
and diversion, forgetteth that the folk beat upon
tambourines and sing of thee and say, The wife of
the king loveth the youth; and as long as he abideth
alive the talk will increase and not diminish.”
Quoth she, “By Allah, ’twas ye egged me
on against him, and what shall I do now?” and
quoth they, “Go thou in to the king and weep
and say to him, ’Verily, the women come to me
and inform me that I am dishonoured throughout the
city, and what is thine advantage in the sparing of
this youth? An thou wilt not slay him, slay me
to the end that this talk may be cut off from us.’”
So the woman arose and rending her raiment, went in
to the king, in the presence of the Wazirs, and cast
herself upon him, saying, “O king, is my shame
not upon thee or fearest thou not shame? Indeed,
this is not the fashion of kings that their jealousy
over their women should be such as this.[FN#221] Thou
art heedless and all the folk of the realm prate of
thee, men and women. Either slay him, that the
talk may be cut off, or slay me, if thy soul will
not consent to his slaughter.” Thereupon
the king’s wrath waxed hot and he said to her,
“I have no pleasure in his continuance and needs
must I slay him this very day. So return to thy
palace and solace thy heart.” Then he bade
fetch the youth; whereupon they brought him before
him and the Wazirs said, O base of base, fie upon
thee! Thy life-term is at hand and earth hungereth
for thy flesh, so it may make a meal of it.”
But he said to them, “Death is not in your word
or in your envy; nay, it is a destiny written upon
the forehead: wherefore, if aught be writ upon
my front, there is no help but it come to pass, and
neither striving nor thought-taking nor precaution-seeking
shall deliver me therefrom; even as happened to King
Ibrahim and his son.” Quoth the king, “Who
was King Ibrahim and who was his son?” and quoth
the youth “Hear, O king,
The Story of King Ibrahim and his Son.[FN#222]
There was once a king of the kings, Sultan Ibrahim
hight, to whom the sovrans abased themselves and did
obedience; but he had no son and was straitened of
breast because of that, fearing lest the kingship
go forth of his hand. He ceased not to long for
a son and to buy slave-girls and he with them, till
one of them conceived, whereat he rejoiced with passing
joy and grave great gifts and the largest largesse.
When the girl’s months were complete and the
time of her lying-in drew near, the king summoned
Page 60
the astrologers and they watched for the hour of child-bearing
and raised their astrolabes and carefully noted the
time. The hand-maid gave birth to a man-child,
whereat the king rejoiced exceedingly, and the people
congratulated one another with this glad news.
Then the astrophils made their calculations and looked
into his nativity and his ascendant, whereupon their
colour changed and they were confounded. Quoth
the king to them, “Acquaint me with his horoscope
and ye shall have assurance of pardon and have naught
to fear."[FN#223] They replied, “O king, this
princely child’s nativity denoteth that, in the
seventh year of his age, there is fearful danger for
him from a lion, which shall attempt to rend him:
and if he be saved from the lion, there will betide
a matter yet sorer and more grievous even than that.”
Asked the king, “What is it?” and they
answered, “We will not speak, except the king
command us and give us assurance from fear.”
Quoth the king, “Allah assure you!” and
quoth they, “An he be saved from the lion, the
king’s destruction shall be at his hand.”
When the king heard this, his complexion changed and
his breast was straitened; but he said to himself,
“I will be watchful and do my endeavour and
suffer not the lion to eat him. It cannot be
that he will kill me, and indeed ’The astrologers
lied.’"[FN#224] Then he caused rear him among
the wet-nurses and the noble matrons;[FN#225] but
withal he ceased not to ponder the prediction of the
astrophils and verily his life was troubled. So
he betook himself to the top of a high mountain and
hollowed there a deep excavation[FN#226] and made
in it many dwelling-places and rooms and filled it
with all that was needful of rations and raiment and
what not else and laid in it pipe-conduits of water
from the mountain and lodged the boy therein, with
a nurse who should rear him. Moreover, at the
first of each month he used to go to the mountain
and stand at the mouth of the hollow and let down
a rope he had with him and draw up the boy to him
and strain him to his bosom and kiss him and play
with him awhile, after which he would let him down
again to his place and return; and he was wont to
count the days till the seven years should pass by.
Now when arrived the time of the Fate foreordered
and the Fortune graven on the forehead and there remained
for the boy but ten days till the seven years should
be complete, there came to that mountain hunters chasing
wild beasts and, seeing a lion, they attacked him.
He fled from them and seeking refuge in the mountain,
fell into the hollow in its midst. The nurse
saw him forthwith and escaped from him into one of
the chambers; upon which the lion made for the lad
and seizing upon him, tare his shoulder, after which
he sought the room wherein was the nurse and falling
upon her, devoured her, whilst the boy lay in a swoon.
Meanwhile, when the huntsmen saw that the lion had
fallen into the pit, they came to the mouth and heard
the shrieking of the boy and the woman; and after awhile
Page 61
the cries died away, whereby they knew that the lion
had slain them. Presently, as they stood by the
mouth of the excavation behold, the lion came scrambling
up the sides and would have issued forth: but,
as often as he showed his head, they pelted him with
stones, till they beat him down and he fell; whereupon
one of the hunters descended into the pit and despatched
him and saw the boy wounded; after which he went to
the chamber, where he found the woman dead, and indeed
the lion had eaten his fill of her. Then he noted
that which was therein of clothes and what not else,
and notifying his mates, fell to passing the stuff
up to them: lastly, he took up the boy and bringing
him forth of the pit, carried him to their dwelling-place
where they dressed his wounds. He grew up with
them, but acquainted them not with his affair; and
indeed, when they questioned him, he knew not what
he should say, because they let him down into the
pit when he was a little one. The hunters marvelled
at his speech and loved him with exceeding love and
one of them took him to son and abode rearing him
by his side and training him in hunting and horseriding,
till he reached the age of twelve and became a brave,
going forth with the folk to the chase and to the cutting
of the way. Now it chanced one day that they sallied
forth to stop the road and fell in with a caravan
during the night: but its stout fellows were
on their guard; so they joined battle with the robbers
and overcame them and slew them and the boy fell wounded
and tarried cast down in that place till the morrow,
when he opened his eyes and finding his comrades slain,
lifted himself up and arose to walk the road.
Presently, there met him a man, a treasure-seeker,
and asked him, “Whither away, O lad?” So
he told him what had betided him and the other said,
“Be of good heart, for that the tide of thy
good fortune is come and Allah bringeth thee joy and
gladness. I am one who am in quest of a hidden
treasure, wherein is a mighty mickle of wealth.
So come with me that thou mayst help me, and I will
give thee monies with which thou shalt provide thyself
all thy life long.” Then he carried the
youth to his dwelling and dressed his wounds and he
tarried with him some days till he was rested; when
the treasure-seeker took him and two beasts and all
that he needed, and they fared on till they came to
a towering highland. Here the man brought out
a book and reading therein, dug in the crest of the
mountain five cubits deep, whereupon there appeared
to him a stone. He pulled it up and behold it
was a trap-door covering the mouth of a pit.
So he waited till the foul air[FN#227] was come forth
from the midst of the pit, when he bound a rope about
the lad’s middle and let him down bucket-wise
to the bottom, and with him a lighted waxen taper.
The boy looked and beheld, at the upper end of the
pit, wealth abundant; so the treasure-seeker let down
a rope and a basket and the boy fell to filling and
the man to drawing up, till the fellow had got his
Page 62
sufficiency, when he loaded his beasts and ceased
working, whilst the boy looked for him to let down
the rope and draw him up; but he rolled a great stone
to the mouth of the pit and went his ways. When
the boy saw what the treasure-seeker had done with
him, he relied upon Allah (extolled and exalted be
He!) and abode perplexed concerning his case and said,
“How bitter be this death!” for indeed
the world was darkened on him and the pit was blinded
to him. So he fell a-weeping and saying, “I
escaped the lion and the robbers and now is my death
to be in this pit, where I shall die by slow degrees.”
And he abode perplexed and looked for nothing but
death. But as he stood pondering, behold, he heard
a sound of water rushing with a thunderous noise;
so he arose and walked in the pit following the sound,
till he came to a corner and heard the mighty coursing
of water. Then he laid his ear to the sound of
the current and hearing it rushing in great strength,
said to himself, “This is the flowing of a mighty
watercourse and needs must I depart life in this place,
be it to-day or to-morrow; so I will throw myself
into the stream and not die a slow death in this pit.”
Thereupon he called up his courage and gathering up
his skirts, cast himself into the water, and it bore
him along with force exceeding and carrying him under
the earth, stayed not till it brought him out into
a deep Wady, adown which ran a great river, that welled
up from under the ground. When he found himself
on the face of earth, he abode dazed and a-swoon all
that day; after which he came to himself and rising,
fared on along that valley; and he ceased not his
wayfare, praising Almighty Allah the while, till he
came to an inhabited land and a great village in the
reign of the king his sire. So he entered and
foregathered with the villagers, who questioned him
of his case; whereupon he told them his tale, and
they admired how Allah had delivered him from all
those dangers. Then he took up his abode with
them and they loved him much. On this wise happened
it to him; but as regards the king, his father, when
he went to the pit, as was his wont, and called the
nurse, she returned him no answer, whereat his breast
was straitened and he let down a man who found the
woman dead and the boy gone and acquainted therewith
the king, who when he heard this, buffeted his head
and wept with sore weeping and descended into the
midst of the pit that he might see how the case stood.
There he espied the nurse slain and the lion dead,
but beheld not the boy; so he returned and acquainted
the astrologers with the soothfastness of their saying,
and they replied, “O king, the lion hath eaten
him; destiny hath been wroughten upon him and thou
art delivered from his hand; for, had he been saved
from the lion, we indeed, by Allah, had feared for
thee from him, because the king’s destruction
would have been at his hand.” So the king
ceased to sorrow for this and the days passed by and
the affair was forgotten. Meanwhile the boy grew
Page 63
up and abode with the people of the village, and when
Allah willed the accomplishing of His commandment,
which no endeavour availeth to avert, he went forth
with a party of the villagers to cut the way.
The folk complained to King Ibrahim his father, who
sallied out with a company of his men and surrounded
the highwaymen. Now that boy was with them, and
he drew forth an arrow and launched it at them, and
it smote the king and wounded him in a mortal place.
So they carried him to his palace, after they had
laid hands upon the youth and his comrades and brought
them before the sovran, saying, “What biddest
us to do with them?” Quoth he, “I am presently
in trouble for myself, so bring me the astrologers.”
Accordingly, they brought them before him and he said
to them, “Ye said to me Thy death shall be by
slaying at the hand of thy son: how, then, befalleth
it that I have got my death-hurt by yonder thieves?”
The astrologers marvelled and said to him, “O
king, ’tis not beyond the lore of the stars,
together with the doom of Allah, that he who hath
smitten thee should be thy son.” When King
Ibrahim heard this, he bade fetch the thieves and said
to them, “Tell me truly, which of you shot the
shaft that wounded me.” Said they, “’Twas
this youth that is with us.” Whereupon the
king fell to considering him and said, “O youth,
acquaint me with thy case and tell me who was thy
father and thou shalt have assurance of safety from
Allah.” The youth replied, “O my lord,
I know no father; as for me, my father lodged me in
a pit, with a nurse to rear me, and one day, there
fell in upon us a lion, which tare my shoulder, then
left me and occupied himself with the nurse and rent
her in pieces; and Allah vouchsafed me one who brought
me forth the pit.” Then he related to him
all that had befallen him, first and last; which when
King Ibrahim heard, he cried out and said, “By
Allah, this is my son!” presently adding, “Bare
thy shoulder.” So he uncovered it, and
behold, it was scarred. Then the king assembled
his lords and lieges and the astrologers and said
to them, “Know that what Allah hath writ upon
the forehead, be it fair fortune or misfortune, none
may efface, and all that is decreed to a man must
perforce befal him. Indeed, this my care-taking
and my endeavour profited me naught, for what weird
Allah decreed for my son, he hath dreed and whatso
He decreed to me I have endured. Nevertheless,
I praise Allah and thank Him because this was at my
son’s hand, and not at the hand of another,
and Alhamdolillah—laud to the Lord—for
that the kingship is come to my son!” And he
strained the youth to his bosom and embraced him and
kissed him, saying “O my son, this matter was
after such fashion, and of my watchfulness over thee
from Fate, I lodged thee in that pit; but caretaking
availed not.” Then he took the crown of
the kingship and set it on his son’s head and
caused the lieges and the people do homage to him
and commended the subjects to his care and enjoined
Page 64
to him justice and equity. And he farewelled
him that night and died and his son reigned in his
stead.[FN#228] “On like wise, O king”
(continued the young treasurer), “’tis
with thee. If Allah have written aught on my
forehead, needs must it befal me and my speech to
the king shall not avail me; no, nor my illustrating
it to him with instances, against the doom of Allah.
And so it is with these Wazirs, for all their eagerness
and endeavour for my destruction, this shall not profit
them; because, if Allah determine to save me, He will
give me the victory over them.” When the
king heard these words he became perplexed and said,
“Return him to the prison till the morrow, so
we may look into his affair, for the day draweth to
an end and I mean to do him dead in foulest sort,
and to-morrow we will visit him with that which he
meriteth.”
The Tenth
Day.
Of the Appointed Term,[FN#229] Which, if it be Advanced,
may not be Deferred, and if it be Deferred, may not
be Advanced.
When it was the tenth day (now this day was called
Al-Mihrjan[FN#230] and it was the day of the coming
in of the folk, gentle and simple, to the king, so
they might give him joy and salute him and go forth),
the council of the Wazirs agreed that they should
speak with a company of the city notables. So
they said to them, “When ye go in today to the
king and salute him, do ye say to him, ’O king
(to the Lord be the laud!), thou art praiseworthy
of policy and procedure and just to all thy subjects;
but respecting this youth whom thou hast favoured and
who nevertheless hath reverted to his base origin and
done this foul deed, what is thy purpose in his continuance?
Indeed, thou hast prisoned him in thy palace, and
every day thou hearest his palaver and thou knowest
not what the folk say.’” And they answered,
“Hearing is obeying.” Accordingly,
when they entered with the folk and had prostrated
themselves before the king and congratulated his majesty,
he raised their several degrees. Now it was the
custom of the folk to salute and go forth; but they
took seat, and the king knew that they had a word they
would fain address to him: so he turned to them
(the Wazirs being also present) and said, “Ask
your need.” Therefore they repeated to
him all that the Ministers had taught them and the
Wazirs also spoke with them; and Azadbakht said to
them, “O folk, I would have it known to you
that there is no doubt with me concerning this your
speech proceeding from love and loyal counsel to me,
and ye ken that, were I inclined to kill half these
folk, I could do them die and this would not be hard
to me; so how shall I not slay this youth and he in
my power and in the hending of my hand? Indeed,
his crime is manifest and he hath incurred death penalty;
and I have deferred it only by reason of the greatness
of the offence; for, an I do this with him and my
proof against him be strengthened, my heart is healed
and the heart of my whole folk; and if I slay him
Page 65
not to-day, his slaying shall not escape me to-morrow.”
Then he bade fetch the youth who, when present between
his hands, prostrated to him and blessed him; whereupon
quoth the king, “Woe to thee! How long shall
the folk upbraid me on thine account and blame me
for delaying thy death? Even the people of my
city reproach me because of thee, so that I am grown
a prating-stock amongst them, and indeed they come
in to me and reproach me for not putting thee to death.
How long shall I delay this? Verily, this very
day I mean to shed thy blood and rid the folk of thy
prattling.” The youth replied, “O
king, an there have betided thee talk because of me,
by Allah, and again by Allah the Great, those who
have brought on thee this talk from the folk are none
but these wicked Wazirs, who chatter with the crowd
and tell them foul tales and ill things in the king’s
house, but I hope in the Most High that He will cause
their malice to recoil upon their own heads.
As for the king’s menace of slaying me, I am
in the grip of his hand; so let not the king occupy
his mind with my slaughter, because I am like the
sparrow in the grasp of the fowler; if he will, he
cutteth his throat, and if he will, he letteth him
go. As for the delaying of my death, ’tis
not from the king, but from Him in whose hand is my
life; for, by Allah, O king, an the Almighty willed
my slaughter, thou couldst not postpone it; no, not
for a single hour. And, indeed, man availeth
not to fend off evil from himself, even as it was with
the son of King Sulayman Shah, whose anxiety and carefulness
for the winning of his wish in the matter of the new-born
child availed him naught, for his last hour was deferred
how many a time! and Allah saved him until he had
accomplished his period and had fulfilled his life-term.”
Cried the king, “Fie upon thee, how great is
thy craft and thy talk! Tell me, what was their
tale.” And the youth said, “Hear,
O king,
The Story of King Sulayman Shah and his Niece.[FN#231]
There was once a king named Sulayman Shah, who was
goodly of policy and rede, and he had a brother who
died and left a daughter; so Sulayman Shah reared
her with the best of rearing and the girl became a
model of reason and perfection, nor was there in her
time a more beautiful than she. Now the king had
two sons, one of whom he had appointed in his mind
to wed her, while the other purposed to take her.
The elder son’s name was Bahluwan[FN#232] and
that of the younger Malik Shah[FN#233], and the girl
was called Shah Khatun. Now one day, King Sulayman
Shah went in to his brother’s daughter and kissing
her head, said to her, “Thou art my daughter
and dearer to me than a child, for the love of thy
late father who hath found mercy; wherefore I purpose
espousing thee to one of my sons and appointing him
my heir apparent, so he may be king after me.
Look, then, which thou wilt have of my sons,[FN#234]
for that thou hast been reared with them and knowest
them.” The maiden arose and kissing his
Page 66
hand, said to him, “O my lord, I am thine hand-maid
and thou art the ruler over me; so whatever liketh
thee do that same, inasmuch as thy wish is higher
and honourabler and holier than mine and if thou wouldst
have me serve thee as a hand-maid for the rest of my
life, ’twere fairer to me than any mate.”
The king commended her speech and conferred on her
a robe of honour and gave her magnificent gifts; after
which, his choice having fallen upon his younger son,
Malik Shah, he wedded her with him and made him his
heir apparent and bade the folk swear fealty to him.
When this reached his brother Bahluwan and he was
ware that his younger brother had by favour been preferred
over him, his breast was straitened and the affair
was sore to him and envy entered in to him and hate;
but he hid this in his heart, whilst fire raged therein
because of the damsel and the dominion. Meanwhile
Shah Khatun went in bridal splendour to the king’s
son and conceived by him and bare a son, as he were
the illuming moon. When Bahluwan saw this betide
his brother, envy and jealousy overcame him; so he
went in one night to his father’s palace and
coming to his brother’s chamber, saw the nurse
sleeping at the door, with the cradle before her and
therein his brother’s child asleep. Bahluwan
stood by him and fell to looking upon his face, whose
radiance was as that of the moon, and Satan insinuated
himself into his heart, so that he bethought himself
and said, “Why be not this babe mine? Verily,
I am worthier of him than my brother; yea, and of
the damsel and the dominion.” Then the
idea got the mastery of him and anger drave him, so
that he took out a knife, and setting it to the child’s
gullet, cut his throat and would have severed his
windpipe. So he left him for dead and entering
his brother’s chamber, saw him asleep, with
the Princess by his side, and thought to slay her,
but said to himself, “I will leave the girl-wife
for myself.” Then he went up to his brother
and cutting his throat, parted head from body, after
which he left him and went away. But now the
world was straitened upon him and his life was a light
matter to him and he sought the lodging of his sire
Sulayman Shah, that he might slay him also, but could
not get admission to him. So he went forth from
the palace and hid himself in the city till the morrow,
when he repaired to one of his father’s fortalices
and therein fortified himself. On this wise it
was with him; but as regards the nurse, she presently
awoke that she might give the child suck, and seeing
the cradle running with blood, cried out; whereupon
the sleepers started up and the king was aroused and
making for the place, found the child with his throat
cut and the bed running over with blood and his father
dead with a slit weasand in his sleeping chamber.
They examined the child and found life in him and
his windpipe whole and they sewed up the place of
the wound: then the king sought his son Bahluwan,
but found him not and saw that he had fled; so he
Page 67
knew that it was he who had done this deed, and this
was grievous to the king and to the people of his
realm and to the lady Shah Khatun. Thereupon
the king laid out his son Malik Shah and buried him
and made him a mighty funeral and they mourned with
passing sore mourning; after which he applied himself
to rearing the infant. As for Bahluwan, when
he fled and fortified himself, his power waxed amain
and there remained for him but to make war upon his
father, who had cast his fondness upon the child and
used to rear him on his knees and supplicate Almighty
Allah that he might live, so he might commit the command
to him. When he came to five years of age, the
king mounted him on horseback and the people of the
city rejoiced in him and prayed for him length of
life, that he might take vengeance for his father[FN#235]
and heal his grandsire’s heart. Meanwhile,
Bahluwan the rebel[FN#236] addressed himself to pay
court to Caesar, king of the Roum[FN#237] and crave
aid of him in debelling his father, and he inclined
unto him and gave him a numerous army. His sire
the king hearing of this sent to Caesar, saying, “O
glorious king of might illustrious, succour not an
evil doer. This is my son and he hath done so
and so and cut his brother’s throat and that
of his brother’s son in the cradle.”
But he told not the king of the Roum that the child
had recovered and was alive. When Caesar heard
the truth of the matter, it was grievous to him as
grievous could be, and he sent back to Sulayman Shah,
saying, “An it be thy wish, O king, I will cut
off his head and send it to thee.” But
he made answer, saying, “I care naught for him:
soon and surely the reward of his deed and his crimes
shall overtake him, if not to-day, then tomorrow.”
And from that date he continued to exchange letters
and presents with Caesar. Now the king of the
Roum heard tell of the widowed Princess[FN#238] and
of the beauty and loveliness wherewith she was endowed,
wherefore his heart clave to her and he sent to seek
her in wedlock of Sulayman Shah, who could not refuse
him. So he arose and going in to Shah Khatun,
said to her, “O my daughter, the king of the
Roum hath sent to me to seek thee in marriage.
What sayst thou?” She wept and replied, “O
king, how canst thou find it in thy heart to address
me thus? As for me, abideth there husband for
me, after the son of my uncle?” Rejoined the
king, “O my daughter, ’tis indeed as thou
sayest; but here let us look to the issues of affairs.
I must now take compt of death, for that I am a man
short in years and fear not save for thee and for thy
little son; and indeed I have written to the king of
the Roum and others of the kings and said, His uncle
slew him, and said not that he had recovered and is
living, but concealed his affair. Now the king
of the Roum hath sent to demand thee in marriage,
and this is no thing to be refused and fain would we
have our back strengthened with him."[FN#239] And
she was silent and spake not. So King Sulayman
Page 68
Shah made answer to Caesar with “Hearing and
obeying.” Then he arose and despatched her
to him, and Caesar went in to her and found her passing
the description wherewith they had described her;
wherefore he loved her every day more and more and
preferred her over all his women and his affection
for Sulayman Shah was increased; but Shah Khatun’s
heart still clave to her child and she could say naught.
As for Sulayman Shah’s son, the rebel Bahluwan,
when he saw that Shah Khatun had married the king
of the Roum, this was grievous to him and he despaired
of her. Meanwhile, his father Sulayman Shah watched
over the child and cherished him and named him Malik
Shah, after the name of his sire. When he reached
the age of ten, he made the folk do homage to him
and appointed him his heir apparent, and after some
days, the old king’s time for paying the debt
of nature drew near and he died. Now a party
of the troops had banded themselves together for Bahluwan;
so they sent to him, and bringing him privily, went
in to the little Malik Shah and seized him and seated
his uncle Bahluwan on the throne of kingship.
Then they proclaimed him king and did homage to him
all, saying, “Verily, we desire thee and deliver
to thee the throne of kingship; but we wish of thee
that thou slay not thy brother’s son, because
we are still bounden by the oaths we sware to his
sire and his grandsire and the covenants we made with
them.” So Bahluwan granted this to them
and imprisoned the boy in an underground dungeon and
straitened him. Presently, the grievous news reached
his mother and this was to her a fresh grief; but
she could not speak and committed her affair to Allah
Almighty, for that she durst not name this to King
Caesar her spouse, lest she should make her uncle
King Sulayman Shah a liar. But as regards Bahluwan
the Rebel, he abode king in his father’s place
and his affairs prospered, while young Malik Shah
lay in the souterrain four full-told years, till his
favour faded and his charms changed. When He
(extolled and exalted be He!) willed to relieve him
and to bring him forth of the prison, Bahluwan sat
one day with his chief Officers and the Lords of his
land and discoursed with them of the story of his
sire, King Sulayman Shah and what was in his heart.
Now there were present certain Wazirs, men of worth,
and they said to him, “O king, verily Allah
hath been bountiful to thee and hath brought thee
to thy wish, so that thou art become king in thy father’s
place and hast won whatso thou wishedst. But,
as for this youth, there is no guilt in him, because
he, from the day of his coming into the world, hath
seen neither ease nor pleasure, and indeed his favour
is faded and his charms changed. What is his
crime that he should merit such pains and penalties?
Indeed, others than he were to blame, and hereto Allah
hath given thee the victory over them, and there is
no fault in this poor lad.” Quoth Bahluwan,
“Verily, ’tis as ye say; but I fear his
machinations and am not safe from his mischief; haply
Page 69
the most part of the folk will incline unto him.”
They replied, “O king, what is this boy and
what power hath he? An thou fear him, send him
to one of the frontiers.” And Bahluwan said,
“Ye speak sooth; so we will send him as captain
of war to reduce one of the outlying stations.”
Now over against the place in question was a host
of enemies, hard of heart, and in this he designed
the slaughter of the youth; so he bade bring him forth
of the underground dungeon and caused him draw near
to him and saw his case. Then he robed him, whereat
the folk rejoiced, and bound for him the banners[FN#240]
and, giving him a mighty many, despatched him to the
quarter aforesaid, whither all who went or were slain
or were taken. Accordingly Malik Shah fared thither
with his force and when it was one of the days, behold,
the enemy attacked them in the night; whereupon some
of his men fled and the rest the enemy captured; and
they seized Malik Shah also and cast him into a pit
with a company of his men. His fellows mourned
over his beauty and loveliness and there he abode
a whole twelvemonth in evillest plight. Now at
the beginning of every year it was the enemy’s
wont to bring forth their prisoners and cast them down
from the top of the citadel to the bottom; so at the
customed time they brought them forth and cast them
down, and Malik Shah with them. However, he fell
upon the other men and the ground touched him not,
for his term was God-guarded. But those who were
cast down there were slain upon the spot and their
bodies ceased not to lie there till the wild beasts
ate them and the winds scattered their bones.
Malik Shah abode strown in his place and aswoon, all
that day and that night, and when he revived and found
himself safe and sound, he thanked Allah the Most High
for his safety and rising, left the place. He
gave not over walking, unknowing whither he went and
dieting upon the leaves of the trees; and by day he
hid himself where he might and fared on at hazard
all his night; and thus he did for some days, till
he came to a populous part and seeing folk there,
accosted them. He acquainted them with his case,
giving them to know that he had been prisoned in the
fortress and that they had thrown him down, but Almighty
Allah had saved him and brought him off alive.
The people had ruth on him and gave him to eat and
drink and he abode with them several days; then he
questioned them of the way that led to the kingdom
of his uncle Bahluwan, but told them not that he was
his father’s brother. So they showed him
the road and he ceased not to go barefoot, till he
drew near his uncle’s capital, naked, anhungered,
and indeed his limbs were lean and his colour changed.
He sat down at the city gate, when behold, up came
a company of King Bahluwan’s chief officers,
who were out a-hunting and wished to water their horses.
They lighted down to rest and the youth accosted them,
saying, “I would ask you of somewhat that ye
may acquaint me therewith.” Quoth they,
Page 70
“Ask what thou wilt;” and quoth he, “Is
King Bahluwan well?” They derided him and replied,
“What a fool art thou, O youth! Thou art
a stranger and a beggar, and whence art thou that
thou should’st question concerning the king?"[FN#241]
Cried he, “In very sooth, he is my uncle;”
whereat they marvelled and said, “’Twas
one catch-question[FN#242] and now ’tis become
two.” Then said they to him, “O youth,
it is as if thou wert Jinn-mad. Whence comest
thou to claim kinship with the king? Indeed, we
know not that he hath any kith and kin save a nephew,
a brother’s son, who was prisoned with him,
and he despatched him to wage war upon the infidels,
so that they slew him.” Said Malik Shah,
“I am he and they slew me not, but there befel
me this and that.” They knew him forthwith
and rising to him, kissed his hands and rejoiced in
him and said to him, “O our lord, thou art indeed
a king and the son of a king, and we desire thee naught
but good and we pray for thy continuance. Look
how Allah hath rescued thee from this wicked uncle,
who sent thee to a place whence none ever came off
safe and sound, purposing not in this but thy destruction;
and indeed thou fellest upon death from which Allah
delivered thee. How, then, wilt thou return and
cast thyself again into thine foeman’s hand?
By Allah, save thyself and return not to him this
second time. Haply thou shalt abide upon the face
of the earth till it please Almighty Allah to receive
thee; but, an thou fall again into his hand, he will
not suffer thee to live a single hour.”
The Prince thanked them and said to them, “Allah
reward you with all weal, for indeed ye give me loyal
counsel; but whither would ye have me wend?”
Quoth they, “To the land of the Roum, the abiding
place of thy mother.” “But,”
quoth he, “My grandfather Sulayman Shah, when
the king of the Roum wrote to him demanding my mother
in marriage, hid my affair and secreted my secret;
and she hath done the same, and I cannot make her a
liar.” Rejoined they, “Thou sayst
sooth, but we desire thine advantage, and even wert
thou to take service with the folk, ’twere a
means of thy continuance.” Then each and
every of them brought out to him money and gave him
a modicum and clad him and fed him and fared on with
him the length of a parasang, till they brought him
far from the city, and letting him know that he was
safe, departed from him, whilst he journeyed till he
came forth of his uncle’s reign and entered
the dominion of the Roum. Then he made a village
and taking up his abode therein, applied himself to
serving one there in earing and seeding and the like.
As for his mother, Shah Khatun, great was her longing
for her child and she thought of him ever and news
of him was cut off from her, so her life was troubled
and she foresware sleep and could not make mention
of him before King Caesar her spouse. Now she
had a Castrato who had come with her from the court
of her uncle King Sulayman Shah, and he was intelligent,
quick-witted, right-reded. So she took him apart
Page 71
one day and said to him, shedding tears the while,
“Thou hast been my Eunuch from my childhood
to this day; canst thou not therefore get me tidings
of my son, seeing that I cannot speak of his matter?”
He replied, “O my lady, this is an affair which
thou hast concealed from the commencement, and were
thy son here, ’twould not be possible for thee
to entertain him, lest[FN#243] thine honour be smirched
with the king; for they would never credit thee, since
the news hath been bruited abroad that thy son was
slain by his uncle.” Quoth she, “The
case is even as thou sayst and thou speaketh sooth;
but, provided I know that my son is alive, let him
be in these parts pasturing sheep and let me not sight
him nor he sight me.” He asked, “How
shall we manage in this matter?” and she answered,
“Here be my treasures and my wealth: take
all thou wilt and bring me my son or else tidings
of him.” Then they devised a device between
them, which was that they should feign some business
in their own country, to wit that she had wealth there
buried from the time of her husband, Malik Shah, and
that none knew of it but this Eunuch who was with
her, so it behoved him to go fetch it. Accordingly
she acquainted the king her husband with that and
sought his permit for the Eunuch to fare: and
the king granted him leave of absence for the journey
and charged him devise a device, lest he come to grief.
The Castrato, therefore, disguised himself in merchant’s
habit and repairing to Bahluwan’s city, began
to make espial concerning the youth’s case; whereupon
they told him that he had been prisoned in a souterrain
and that his uncle had released him and despatched
him to such a place, where they had slain him.
When the Eunuch heard this, the mishap was grievous
to him and his breast was straitened and he knew not
what to do. It chanced one day of the days that
a certain of the horsemen, who had fallen in with
the young Malik Shah by the water and clad him and
given him spendingmoney, saw the Eunuch in the city,
habited as a merchant, and recognising him, questioned
him of his case and of the cause of his coming.
Quoth he, “I came to sell merchandise;”
and quoth the horseman, “I will tell thee somewhat,
an thou canst keep it secret.” Answered
the Neutral, “That I can! What is it?”
and the other said, “We met the king’s
son Malik Shah, I and sundry of the Arabs who were
with me, and saw him by such a water and gave him
spending-money and sent him towards the land of the
Roum, near his mother, for that we feared for him
lest his uncle Bahluwan slay him.” Then
he told him all that had passed between them, whereat
the Eunuch’s countenance changed and he said
to the cavalier “Thou art safe!” The knight
replied, “Thou also art safe though thou come
in quest of him.” And the Eunuch rejoined,
saying, “Truly, that is my errand: there
is no rest for his mother, lying down or rising up,
and she hath sent me to seek news of him.”
Quoth the cavalier, “Go in safety, for he is
Page 72
in a quarter of the land of the Roum, even as I said
to thee.” The Castrato thanked him and
blessed him and mounting, returned upon his road,
following the trail, whilst the knight rode with him
to a certain highway, when he said to him, “This
is where we left him.” Then he took leave
of him and returned to his own city, whilst the Eunuch
fared on along the road, enquiring in every village
he entered of the youth, by the description which
the rider had given him, and he ceased not thus to
do till he came to the village wherein was young Malik
Shah. So he entered, and dismounting, made enquiry
after the Prince, but none gave him news of him; whereat
he abode perplexed concerning his affair and made
ready to depart. Accordingly he mounted his horse;
but, as he passed through the village, he saw a cow
bound with a rope and a youth asleep by her side,
hending the halter in hand; so he looked at him and
passed on and heeded him not in his heart; but presently
he halted and said to himself, “An the youth
whom I am questing have become the like of this sleeping
youth whom I passed but now, how shall I know him?
Alas, the length of my travail and travel! How
shall I go about in search of a somebody I know not,
one whom, if I saw him face to face I should not know?”
So saying he turned back, musing anent that sleeping
youth, and coming to him, he still sleeping, dismounted
from his mare and sat down by his side. He fixed
his eyes upon his face and considered him awhile and
said in himself, “For aught I wot, this youth
may be Malik Shah;” then he began hemming and
saying, “Harkye, O youth!” Whereupon the
sleeper awoke and sat up; and the Eunuch asked him,
“Who be thy father in this village and where
be thy dwelling?” The youth sighed and replied,
“I am a stranger;” and quoth the Castrato,
“From what land art thou and who is thy sire?”
Quoth the other, “I am from such a land,”
and the Eunuch ceased not to question him and he to
answer his queries, till he was certified of him and
knew him. So he rose and embraced him and kissed
him and wept over his case: he also told him
that he was wandering about in search of him and informed
him that he was come privily from the king, his mother’s
husband, and that his mother would be satisfied to
weet that he was alive and well, though she saw him
not. Then he re-entered the village and buying
the Prince a horse, mounted him and they ceased not
going till they came to the frontier of their own
country, where there fell robbers upon them by the
way and took all that was with them and pinioned them;
after which they threw them in a pit hard by the road
and went their ways and left them to die there; and
indeed they had cast many folk into that pit and they
had perished. The Eunuch fell a-weeping in the
pit and the youth said to him, “What is this
weeping and what shall it profit here?” Quoth
the Castrato, “I weep not for fear of death,
but of ruth for thee and the cursedness of thy case
and because of thy mother’s heart and for that
Page 73
which thou hast suffered of horrors and that thy death
should be this ignoble death, after the endurance
of all manner dire distresses.” But the
youth said, “That which hath betided me was
writ to me and that which is written none hath power
to efface; and if my life-term be advanced, none may
defer it."[FN#244] Then the twain passed that night
and the following day and the next night and the next
day in the hollow, till they were weak with hunger
and came nigh upon death and could but groan feebly.
Now it fortuned by the decree of Almighty Allah and
His destiny, that Caesar, king of the Greeks, the
spouse of Malik Shah’s mother Shah Khatun, went
forth a-hunting that morning. He flushed a head
of game, he and his company, and chased it, till they
came up with it by that pit, whereupon one of them
lighted down from his horse, to slaughter it, hard
by the mouth of the hollow. He heard a sound of
low moaning from the sole of the pit; whereat he arose
and mounting his horse, waited till the troops were
assembled. Then he acquainted the king with this
and he bade one of his servants descend into the hollow:
so the man climbed down and brought out the youth
and the Eunuch in fainting condition. They cut
their pinion-bonds and poured wine down their throats,
till they came to themselves, when the king looked
at the Eunuch and recognising him, said, “Harkye,
Suchan-one!” The Castrato replied, “Yes,
O my lord the king,” and prostrated himself
to him; whereat the king wondered with exceeding wonder
and asked him, “How camest thou to this place
and what hath befallen thee?” The Eunuch answered,
“I went and took out the treasure and brought
it thus far; but the evil eye was behind me and I
unknowing. So the thieves took us alone here
and seized the money and cast us into this pit that
we might die the slow death of hunger, even as they
had done with others; but Allah the Most High sent
thee, in pity to us.” The king marvelled,
he and his, and praised the Lord for that he had come
thither; after which he turned to the Castrato and
said to him, “What is this youth thou hast with
thee?” He replied, “O king, this is the
son of a nurse who belonged to us and we left him
when he was a little one. I saw him to-day and
his mother said to me, ‘Take him with thee;’
so this morning I brought him that he might be a servant
to the king, for that he is an adroit youth and a
clever.” Then the king fared on, he and
his company, and with them the Eunuch and the youth,
who questioned his companion of Bahluwan and his dealing
with his subjects, and he replied, saying, “As
thy head liveth, O my lord the king, the folk are
in sore annoy with him and not one of them wisheth
a sight of him, be they high or low.” When
the king returned to his palace, he went in to his
wife Shah Khatun and said to her, “I give thee
the glad tidings of thine Eunuch’s return;”
and he told her what had betided and of the youth
whom he had brought with him. When she heard
this, her wits fled and she would have screamed, but
Page 74
her reason restrained her, and the king said to her,
“What is this? Art thou overcome with grief
for the loss of the monies or for that which hath
befallen the Eunuch?” Said she, “Nay,
as thy head liveth, O king, but women are weaklings.”
Then came the Castrato and going in to her, told her
all that had happened to him and also acquainted her
with her son’s case and with that which he had
suffered of distresses and how his uncle had exposed
him to slaughter, and he had been taken prisoner and
they had cast him into the pit and hurled him from
the highmost of the citadel and how Allah had delivered
him from these perils, all of them; and whilst he
recounted to her all this, she wept. Then she
asked him, “When the king saw him and questioned
thee of him, what was it thou saidst him?” and
he answered, “I said to him, ’This is
the son of a nurse who belonged to us. We left
him a little one and he grew up; so I brought him,
that he might be servant to the king.’”
Cried she, “Thou didst well;” and she
charged him to serve the Prince with faithful service.
As for the king, he redoubled in kindness to the Castrato
and appointed the youth a liberal allowance and he
abode going in to and coming out of the king’s
house and standing in his service, and every day he
waxed better with him. As for Shah Khatun, she
used to station herself at watch for him at the windows
and in the balconies and gaze upon him, and she frying
on coals of fire on his account; yet could she not
speak. In such condition she abode a long while
and indeed yearning for him was killing her; so she
stood and watched for him one day at the door of her
chamber and straining him to her bosom, bussed him
on the breast and kissed him on either cheek.
At this moment, behold, out came the major-domo of
the king’s household and seeing her embracing
the youth, started in amazement. Then he asked
to whom that chamber belonged and was answered, “To
Shah Khatun, wife of the king,” whereupon he
turned back, quaking as one smitten by a leven-bolt.
The king saw him in a tremor and said to him, “Out
on thee! what is the matter?” Said he, “O
king, what matter can be more grievous than that which
I see?” Asked the king, “What seest thou?”
and the officer answered, “I see that the youth,
who came with the Eunuch, was not brought with him
save on account of Shah Khatun; for I passed but now
by her chamber door, and she was standing, watching;
and when the youth came up, she rose to him and clipped
him and kissed him on his cheek.” When
the king heard this, he bowed his head amazed, perplexed,
and sinking into a seat, clutched at his beard and
shook it until he came nigh upon plucking it out.
Then he arose forthright and laid hands on the youth
and clapped him in jail. He also took the Eunuch
and cast them both into a souterrain under his palace.
After this he went in to Shah Khatun and said to her,
“Brava, by Allah, O daughter of nobles.
O thou whom kings sought to wed, for the purity of
thy repute and the fairness of the fame of thee!
Page 75
How seemly is thy semblance! Now may Allah curse
her whose inward contrarieth her outward, after the
likeness of thy base favour, whose exterior is handsome
and its interior fulsome, face fair and deeds foul!
Verily, I mean to make of thee and of yonder ne’er-do-well
an example among the lieges, for that thou sentest
not thine Eunuch but of intent on his account, so
that he took him and brought him into my palace and
thou hast trampled[FN#245] my head with him; and this
is none other than exceeding boldness; but thou shalt
see what I will do with you all.” So saying,
he spat in her face and went out from her; whilst
Shah Khatun said nothing, well knowing that, an she
spoke at that time, he would not credit her speech.
Then she humbled herself in supplication to Allah
Almighty and said, “O God the Great, Thou knowest
the things by secrecy ensealed and their outwards
revealed and their inwards concealed! If an advanced
life-term be appointed to me, let it not be deferred,
and if a deferred one, let it not be advanced!”
On this wise she passed some days, whilst the king
fell into bewilderment and forsware meat and drink
and sleep, and abode knowing not what he should do
and saying to himself, “An I slay the Eunuch
and the youth, my soul will not be solaced, for they
are not to blame, seeing that she sent to fetch him,
and my heart careth not to kill them all three.
But I will not be hasty in doing them die, for that
I fear repentance.” Then he left them, so
he might look into the affair. Now he had a nurse,
a foster-mother, on whose knees he had been reared,
and she was a woman of understanding and suspected
him, yet dared not question him. So she went in
to Shah Khatun and finding her in yet sadder plight
than he, asked her what was to do; but she refused
to answer. However, the nurse gave not over coaxing
and questioning her, till she swore her to concealment.
Accordingly, the old woman made oath that she would
keep secret all that she should say to her, whereupon
the Queen to her related her history, first and last,
and told her that the youth was her son. With
this the old woman prostrated herself before her and
said to her, “This is a right easy matter.”
But the Queen replied, “By Allah, O my mother,
I prefer my destruction and that of my son to defending
myself by a plea which they will not believe; for
they will say, ’She pleadeth this only that
she may fend off shame from herself.’ And
naught will profit me save long-suffering.”
The old woman was moved by her speech and her wisdom
and said to her, “Indeed, O my daughter, ’tis
as thou sayest, and I hope in Allah that He will show
forth the truth. Have patience and I will presently
go in to the king and hear his words and machinate
somewhat in this matter, Inshallah!” Thereupon
the ancient dame arose and going in to the king, found
him with his head between his knees in sore pain of
sorrow. She sat down by him awhile and bespake
him with soft words and said to him,[FN#246] “Indeed,
Page 76
O my son, thou consumest my vitals, for that these
many days thou hast not mounted horse, and thou grievest
and I know not what aileth thee.” He replied,
“O my mother, all is due to yonder accursed,
of whom I deemed so well and who hath done this and
that.” Then he related to her the whole
story from beginning to end, and she cried to him,
“This thy chagrin is on account of a no-better-than-she-should-be!”
Quoth he, “I was but considering by what death
I should slay them, so the folk may take warning and
repent.” And quoth she, “O my son,
’ware precipitance, for it gendereth repentance
and the slaying of them shall not escape thee.
When thou art assured of this affair, do whatso thou
willest.” He rejoined, “O my mother,
there needeth no assurance anent him for whom she
despatched her Eunuch and he fetched him.”
But she retorted, “There is a thing wherewith
we will make her confess,[FN#247] and all that is
in her heart shall be discovered to thee.”
Asked the king, “What is that?” and she
answered, “I will bring thee the heart of a
hoopoe,[FN#248] which, when she sleepeth, do thou
lay upon her bosom and question her of everything
thou wouldst know, and she will discover the same unto
thee and show forth the truth to thee.”
The king rejoiced in this and said to his nurse, “Hasten
thou and let none know of thee.” So she
arose and going in to the Queen, said to her, “I
have done thy business and ’tis as follows.
This night the king will come in to thee and do thou
seem asleep; and if he ask thee of aught, do thou
answer him, as if in thy sleep.” The Queen
thanked her and the old dame went away and fetching
the bird’s heart, gave it to the king.
Hardly was the night come, when he went in to his
wife and found her lying back, a-slumbering; so he
sat down by her side and laying the hoopoe’s
heart on her breast, waited awhile, so he might be
assured that she slept. Then said he to her,
“Shah Khatun,[FN#249] Shah Khatun, is this my
reward from thee?” Quoth she, “What offence
have I committed?” and quoth he, “What
offence can be greater than this? Thou sentest
after yonder youth and broughtest him hither, on account
of the lust of thy heart, so thou mightest do with
him that for which thou lustedst.” Said
she, “I know not carnal desire. Verily,
among thy pages are those who are comelier and seemlier
than he; yet have I never desired one of them.”
He asked “Why, then, didst thou lay hold of
him and kiss him?” And she answered, “This
youth is my son and a piece of my liver; and of my
longing and affection for him, I could not contain
myself, but sprang upon him and kissed him.”
When the king heard this, he was dazed and amazed and
said to her, “Hast thou a proof that this youth
is thy son? Indeed, I have a letter from thine
uncle King Sulayman Shah, informing me that his uncle
Bahluwan cut his throat.” Said she “Yes,
he did indeed cut his throat, but severed not the
wind-pipe; so my uncle sewed up the wound and reared
him, for that his life-term was not come.”
Page 77
When the king heard this, he said, “This proof
sufficeth me,” and rising forthright in the
night, bade bring the youth and the Eunuch. Then
he examined his stepson’s throat with a candle
and saw the scar where it had been cut from ear to
ear, and indeed the place had healed up and it was
like a thread stretched out. Thereupon the king
fell down prostrate before Allah, who had delivered
the Prince from all these perils and from the distresses
he had suffered, and rejoiced with joy exceeding because
he had delayed and had not made haste to slay him,
in which case mighty sore repentance had betided him.[FN#250]
“As for the youth,” continued the young
treasurer, “he was not saved but because his
life-term was deferred, and in like manner, O king,
’tis with me: I too have a deferred term,
which I shall attain, and a period which I shall accomplish,
and I trust in Almighty Allah that He will give me
the victory over these villain Wazirs.”
When the youth had made an end of his speech, the
king said, “Restore him to the prison;”
and when they had done this, he turned to the Ministers
and said to them, “Yonder youth lengtheneth
his tongue upon you, but I know your tenderness for
the weal of mine empire and your loyal counsel to me;
so be of good heart, for all that ye advise me I will
do.” They rejoiced when they heard these
words, and each of them said his say. Then quoth
the king, “I have not deferred his slaughter
but to the intent that the talk might be prolonged
and that words might abound, yet shall he now be slain
without let or stay, and I desire that forthright
ye set up for him a gibbet without the town and that
the crier cry among the folk bidding them assemble
and take him and carry him in procession to the gibbet,
with the crier crying before him and saying, ’This
is the reward of him whom the king delighted to favour
and who hath betrayed him!’” The Wazirs
rejoiced when they heard this, and for their joy slept
not that night; and they made proclamation in the city
and set up the gallows.
The Eleventh
Day.
Of the Speedy Relief of Allah.
When it was the eleventh day, the Wazirs repaired
in early morning to the king’s gate and said
to him, “O king, the folk are assembled from
the portals of the palace to the gibbet, to the end
they may see the king’s order carried out on
the youth.” So Azadbakht bade fetch the
prisoner and they brought him; whereupon the Ministers
turned to him and said to him, “O vile of birth,
can any lust for life remain with thee and canst thou
hope for deliverance after this day?” Said he,
“O wicked Wazirs, shall a man of understanding
renounce all esperance in Almighty Allah? Howsoever
a man be oppressed, there cometh to him deliverance
from the midst of distress and life from the midst
of death, as in the case of the prisoner and how Allah
delivered him.” Asked the king, “What
is his story?” and the youth answered, saying,
“O king, they tell
The Story of the Prisoner and How Allah Gave Him Relief.[FN#251]
Page 78
There was once a king of the kings, who had a high
palace, overlooking his prison, and he used to hear
in the night one saying, “O Ever-present Deliverer,
O Thou whose deliverance is aye present, relieve Thou
me!” One day the king waxed wroth and said,
“Yonder fool looketh for relief from the pains
and penalties of his crime.” Then said
he to his officers, “Who is in yonder jail?”
and said they, “Folk upon whom blood hath been
found."[FN#252] Hearing this the king bade bring that
man before him and said to him, “O fool, O little
of wit, how shalt thou be delivered from this prison,
seeing that thy crime is mortal?” Then he committed
him to a company of his guards and said to them, “Take
this wight and crucify him within sight of the city.”
Now it was the night season. So the soldiers carried
him without the city, thinking to crucify him, when
behold, there came out upon them robbers and fell
upon them with swords and other weapons. Thereat
the guards left him whom they purposed to slay and
fled whilst the man who was going to slaughter also
took to flight and plunging deep into the desert,
knew not whither he went before he found himself in
a copse and there came out upon him a lion of terrible
aspect, who snatched him up and cast him under him.
Then he went up to a tree and uprooting it, covered
the man therewithal and made off into the thicket,
in quest of the lioness.[FN#253] As for the man, he
committed his affair to Allah the Most High, relying
upon Him for deliverance, and said to himself, “What
is this affair?” Then he removed the leaves
from himself and rising, saw great plenty of men’s
bones there, of those whom the lion had devoured.
He looked again and behold, he saw a heap of gold
lying alongside a purse-belt;[FN#254] whereat he marvelled
and gathering up the gold in the breast of his gaberdine,
went forth of the copse and fled at hap-hazard, turning
neither to the right nor to the left, in his fear of
the lion; nor did he cease flying till he came to
a village and cast himself down, as he were dead.
He lay there till the day appeared and he was rested
from his travail, when he arose and burying the gold,
entered the village. Thus Allah gave him relief
and he got the gold. Then said the king, “How
long wilt thou beguile us, O youth, with thy prate?
But now the hour of thy slaughter is come.”
So he bade crucify him upon the gibbet. But as
they were about to hoist him up, lo and behold! the
Captain of the thieves, who had found him and reared
him, came up at that moment and asked, “What
be this assembly and the cause of the crowds here
gathered together?” They informed him that a
page of the king had committed a mighty great crime
and that he was about to do him die; so the Captain
of the thieves pressed forward and looking upon the
prisoner, knew him, whereupon he went up to him and
strained him to his bosom and threw his arms round
his neck, and fell to kissing him upon his mouth.[FN#255]
Then said he, “This is a boy I found under such
Page 79
a mountain, wrapped in a gown of brocade, and I reared
him and he fell to cutting the way with us. One
day, we set upon a caravan, but they put us to flight
and wounded some of us and took the lad and ganged
their gait. From that day to this I have gone
round about the lands seeking him, but have not found
news of him till now; and this is he.” When
the king heard this, he was assured that the youth
was his very son; so he cried out at the top of his
voice and casting himself upon him, embraced him and
kissed him and shedding tears, said, “Had I
put thee to death, as was mine intent, I should have
died of regret for thee.” Then he cut his
pinion-bonds and taking his crown from his head, set
it on the head of his son, whereupon the people raised
cries of joy, whilst the trumpets blared and the kettledrums
beat and there befel a mighty great rejoicing.
They decorated the city and it was a glorious day;
even the birds stayed their flight in the welkin,
for the greatness of the greeting and the clamour
of the crying. The army and the folk carried
the prince to the palace in splendid procession, and
the news came to his mother Bahrjaur, who fared forth
and threw herself upon him. Moreover, the king
bade open the prison and bring forth all who were
therein, and they held high festival seven days and
seven nights and rejoiced with a mighty rejoicing.
Thus it betided the youth; but as regards the Ministers,
terror and silence, shame and affright fell upon them
and they gave themselves up for lost. After this
the king sat, with his son by his side and the Wazirs
on their knees before him, and summoned his chief
officers and the subjects of the city. Then the
prince turned to the Ministers and said to them, “See,
O villain Wazirs, the work of Allah and his speedy
relief.” But they answered ne’er
a syllable and the king said, “It sufficeth me
that there is nothing alive but rejoiceth with me
this day, even to the birds in the sky, but ye, your
breasts are straitened. Indeed, this is the greatest
of hostility in you mewards, and had I hearkened to
you, my regret had been prolonged and I had died miserably
of sorrow.” Quoth the prince, “O
my father, but for the fairness of thy thought and
thy perspicacity and thy longanimity and deliberation
in affairs, there had not betided thee this great
joy. Hadst thou slain me in haste, repentance
would have been sore on thee and longsome annoy, and
on this wise whoso preferreth haste shall rue.”
Presently the king sent for the Captain of the robbers
and bade indue him with a robe of honour, commanding
that all who loved the king should doff their dresses
and cast them upon him.[FN#256] So there fell robes
of honour on him, till he was a-wearied with their
weight, and Azadbakht invested him with the mastership
of the police of his city. Then he bade set up
other nine gibbets by the side of the first and said
to his son, “Thou art innocent, and yet these
villain Wazirs strave for thy slaughter.”
Replied the prince, “O my sire, I had no fault
Page 80
in their eyes but that I was a loyal counsellor to
thee and still kept watch over thy wealth and withdrew
their hands from thy hoards and treasuries; wherefore
they were jealous and envied me and plotted against
me and planned to slay me.” Quoth the king,
“The time of retribution is at hand, O my son;
but what be thy rede we should do with them in requital
of that they did with thee? And indeed they have
striven for thy slaughter and exposed thee to disgrace
and smirched mine honour among the kings.”
Then he turned to the Wazirs and said to them, “Woe
to you! What liars ye are! And is aught
of excuse left to you?” Said they, “O
king, there remaineth no excuse for us and we are
houghed[FN#257] by the deed we would have done to him.
Indeed we planned evil to this youth and it hath reverted
upon us, and we plotted mischief against him and it
hath overtaken us; yea, we digged for him a pit and
we ourselves have fallen into it.” So the
king bade hoist up the Wazirs upon the gibbets and
crucify them there, because Allah is just and decreeth
that which is due. Then Azadbakht and his wife
and son abode in joyance and gladness, till there
came to them the Destroyer of delights and they died
all; and extolled be the Living One, who dieth not,
to whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever
and ever! Amen.
Ja’afar bin
Yahya and Abd al-Malik bin
SALITH the Abbaside[FN#258]
It is told of Ja’afar bin Yahya the Barmecide
that he sat down one day to wine and, being minded
to be private, sent for his boon-companions, with
whom he was most familiar, and charged the chamberlain
that he suffer none of the creatures of Almighty Allah
to enter, save a man of his cup-mates, by name Abd
al-Malik bin Salih, who was behindhand with them.
Then they donned brightly-dyed dresses.[FN#259] for
it was their wont, as often as they sat in the wine-seance,
to endue raiment of red and yellow and green silk,
and they sat down to drink, and the cups went round
the lutes thrilled and shrilled. Now there was
a man of the kinsfolk of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid,
by name Abd al-Malik bin Salih[FN#260] bin Ali bin
Abdallah bin al-Abbas,[FN#261] who was great of gravity
and sedateness, piety and propriety, and Al-Rashid
used instantly to require that he should company him
in converse and carouse and drink with him and had
offered him to such end abounding wealth, but he never
would. It fortuned that this Abd al-Malik bin
Salih came to the door of Ja’afar bin Yahya,
so he might bespeak him of certain requisitions of
his, and the chamberlain, doubting not but he was
the Abd al-Malik bin Salih aforesaid (whom Ja’afar
had permitted him admit and that he should suffer
none but him to enter), allowed him to go in to his
master. Accordingly Abd al-Malik went in, garbed
in black, with his Rusafiyah[FN#262] on his head.
When Ja’afar saw him, his reason was like to
depart for shame and he understood the case, to wit,
Page 81
that the chamberlain had been deceived by the likeness
of the name; and Abd al-Malik also perceived how the
matter stood and perplexity was manifest to him in
Ja’afar’s face. So he put on a cheery
countenance and said, “No harm be upon you![FN#263]
Bring us of these dyed clothes.” Thereupon
they brought him a dyed robe[FN#264] and he donned
it and sat discoursing gaily with Ja’afar and
jesting with him. Then said he, “Allow
us to be a partaker in your pleasures, and give us
to drink of your Nabiz."[FN#265] So they brought
him a silken robe and poured him out a pint, when
he said, “We crave your indulgence, for we have
no wont of this.” Accordingly Ja’afar
ordered a flagon of Nabiz be set before him, that
he might drink whatso he pleased. Then, having
anointed himself with perfumes, he chatted and jested
with them till Ja’afar’s bosom broadened
and his constraint ceased from him and his shame,
and he rejoiced in this with joy exceeding and asked
Abd al-Malik, “What is thine errand? Inform
me thereof, for I cannot sufficiently acknowledge they
courtesy.” Answered the other, “I
come (amend thee Allah!) on three requirements, of
which I would have thee bespeak the Caliph; to wit,
firstly, I have on me a debt to the amount of a thousand
thousand dirhams,[FN#266] which I would have paid:
secondly, I desire for my son the office of Wali or
governor of a province,[FN#267] whereby his rank may
be raised: and thirdly, I would fain have thee
marry him to Al-’Aliyah, the daughter of the
Commander of the Faithful, for that she is his cousin
and he is a match for her.” Ja’afar
said, “Allah accomplisheth unto thee these three
occasions. As for the money, it shall be carried
to thy house this very hour: as for the government,
I make thy son Viceroy of Egypt; and as for the marriage,
I give him to mate Such-an-one, the daughter of our
lord the Prince of True Believers, at a dowry of such
and such a sum. So depart in the assurance
of Allah Almighty.” Accordingly Abd al-Malik
went away much astonished at Ja’afar’s
boldness in undertaking such engagements. He
fared straight for his house, whither he found that
the money had preceded him, and in the morrow Ja’afar
presented himself before Al-Rashid and acquainted him
with what had passed, and that he had appointed Abd
al-Malik’s son Wali of Egypt[FN#268] and had
promised him his daughter, Al-’Aliyah to wife.
The Caliph was pleased to approve of this and he confirmed
the appointment and the marriage. Then he sent
for the young man and he went not forth of the palace
of the Caliphate till Al-Rashid wrote him the patent
of investiture with the government of Egypt; and he
let bring the Kazis and the witnesses and drew up
the contract of marriage.
Al-Rashid and
the Barmecides[FN#269]
Page 82
It is said that the most wondrous of matters which
happened to Al-Rashid was this. his brother Al-Hadi,[FN#270]
when he succeeded to the Caliphate, enquired of a
seal-ring of great price, which had belonged to his
father Al-Mahdi,[FN#271] and it reached him that Al-Rashid
had taken it. So he required it of him, but
he refused to give it up, and Al-Hadi insisted upon
him, yet he still denied the seal-ring of the Caliphate.
Now this was on Tigris-bridge, and he threw the ring
into the river.[FN#272] When Al-Hadi died and Al-Rashid
succeeded to the Caliphate, he went in person to that
very place with a seal-ring of lead, which he cast
into the stream at the same stead, and bade the divers
seek it. So the duckers did his bidding and brought
up the first ring, and this was counted an omen of
Al-Rashid’s good fortune and of the continuance
of his reign.[FN#273] When Al-Rashid come to the
throne, he invested Ja’afar bin Yahya bin Khalid
al-Barmaki[FN#274] with the Wazirate. Now Ja’afar
was eminently noted for generosity and munificence,
and the histories of him to this purport are renowned
and have been documented. None of the Wazirs
rose to the rank and favour whereto he attained with
Al-Rashid, who was wont to call him brother[FN#275]
and used to carry him with him into his house.
The period of his Wazirate was nineteen[FN#276] years,
and Yahya one day said to his son Ja’afar, “O
my son, as long as thy reed trembleth,[FN#277] water
it with kindness.” Men differ concerning
the reason of Ja’afar’s slaughter, but
the better opinion of it is follows. Al-Rashid
could not bear to be parted from Ja’afar nor
from his own sister ’Abbasah, daughter of Al-Mahdi,
a single hour, and she was the loveliest woman of
her day; so he said to Ja’afar, “I will
marry thee to her, that it may be lawful to thee to
look upon her, but thou shalt not touch her.”
After this time the twain used to be present in Al-Rashid’s
sitting chamber. Now the Caliph would get up
bytimes and leave the chamber, and they being filled
with wine as well as being young, Ja’afar would
rise to her and know her carnally.[FN#278] She conceived
by him and bare a handsome boy; and, fearing Al-Rashid,
she dispatched the new-born child by one of her confidants
to Meccah the Magnified (May Allah Almighty greaten
it in honor and increase it in venerance and nobility
and magnification!). the affair abode concealed till
there befel a brabble between Abbasah and one of her
hand-maidens whereupon the slave-girl discovered the
affair of the child to Al-Rashid and acquainted him
with its abiding-place. So, when the Caliph
pilgrimaged, he sent one who brought him the boy and
found the matter true, where he caused befel the Barmecides
whatso befel.[FN#279]
Ibn al-Sammak
and al-Rashid[FN#280]
Page 83
It is related that Ibn al-Sammak[FN#281] went in one
day to Al-Rashid, and the Caliph, being athirst,
called for drink. So his cup was brought him,
and when he took it, Ibn al-Sammak said to him, “Softly,
O Prince of True Believers! An thou wert denied
this draught, with how much wouldst thou buy it?”
He replied, “With the half of my reign;”
and Ibn al-Sammak said, “Drink and Allah make
it grateful to thee!” Then, when he had drunken;
he asked him, “An thou wert denied the issuing
forth of the draught from thy body, with what wouldst
thou buy its issue?” Answered Al-Rashid, “With
the whole of my reign;” and Ibn al-Sammak said,
“O Commander of the Faithful, verily, a realm
that weighteth not in the balance against a draught
of water or a voiding of urine is not worth the striving
for.” And Harun wept.
Al-Maamun
and Zubaydah[FN#282]
It is said that Al-Maamun[FN#283] came one day upon
Zubaydah, mother of Al-Amin,[FN#284] and saw her moving
her lips and muttering somewhat he understood not;
so he said to her, “O mother mine, art thou
cursing me because I slew thy son and spoiled him
of his realm?” Said she, “Not so, by Allah,
O Commander of the Faithful!” and quoth he,
“What then was it thou saidest?” Quoth
she, “Let the Prince of True Believers excuse
me.” But he was urgent with her, saying,
“There is no help but that thou tell it.”
And she replied, “I said, Allah confound importunity!”
He asked, “How so?” and she answered,
“I played one day at chess with the Commander
of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, and he imposed
on me the condition of forfeits.[FN#285] He won and
made me doff my dress and walk around the palace,
stark naked; so I did this, and I felt incensed against
him. Then we fell to playing and I won; whereat
I made him go to the kitchen and lie with the foulest
and fulsomest wench of the wenches thereof; but I
found not a slave-girl fouler and filthier than they
mother;[FN#286] so I so bade him tumble her.
He did my bidding and she conceived by him of thee,
and thus was I the cause of the slaying of my son
and the spoiling of him of his realm.”
When Al-Maamun heard this, he turned away, saying,
“Allah curse the importunate!” that is,
himself, who had importuned her till she acquainted
him with that affair.
Al-Nu’uman
and the Arab of the Banu
Tay[FN#287]
It is said that Al-Nu’uman[FN#288] had two boon-companions,
one of whom was hight Ibn Sa’ad and the other
Amru bin al-Malik, and he became one night drunken
and bade bury them alive; so they buried him.
When he arose on the morrow, he asked for them and
was acquainted with their affair, whereupon he built
over them a building and appointed to himself a day
of ill-luck and a day of good fortune. If any
met him on his unlucky day, he slew him and with his
blood he washed that monument, which is a place well
known in Kufah; and if any met him on this day of good
Page 84
fortune he enriched him. Now there accosted
him once, on his day of ill-omen, an Arab of the
Banu Tay[FN#289] and Al-Nu’uman would have done
him dead; but the Arab said, “Allah quicken the
king! I have two little girls and have made none
guardian over them; wherefore, and the king see fit
to grant me leave to go to them, I will give him the
covenant of Allah[FN#290] that I will return to him,
as soon as I shall have appointed unto them a guardian.”
Al-Nu’uman had ruth on him and said to him, “An
a man will be surety for thee of those who are with
us, I will let thee go, and if thou return not I will
slay him.” Now there was with Al-Nu’uman
his Wazir Sharik bin Amru: so the Tai[FN#291]
looked at him and said,
“Ho thou, Sharik, O Amru-son is there fro’
Death repair? * O
brother to men brotherless,
brother to all in care!
O brother of Al-Nu’uman an old man this day
spare, * An old man
slain and Allah deign
fair meed for thee prepare!”
Quoth Sharik, “On me be his warranty, Allah
assign the king!” So the Tai departed, after
a term had been assigned him for his returning.
Now when the appointed day arrived, Al-Nu’uman
sent for Sharik and said to him, “Verily the
high noon of this day is past;” and Sharik answered,
“the king hath no procedure against me till
it be eventide.” Whenas evened the evening
there appeared one afar off and Al-Nu’uman fell
to looking upon him and on Sharik who said to him,
“Thou hast no right over me till yonder person
come, for haply he is my man.” As he spake,
up came the Tai in haste and Al-Nu’uman said,
“By Allah, never saw I any more generous than
you two! I know not which of you be the nobler,
whether this one who became warrant for thee in death-risk
or thou who returnest to thy slaughter.”
Then quoth he to Sharik, “What drave thee to
become warrant for him, knowing the while it was death?”
and quoth he, “I did this lest it be said, Generosity
hath departed from Wazirs.” Then Al-Nu’uman
asked the Tai, “And thou, what prompted thee
to return, knowing that therein was death and thine
one destruction?” and the Arab answered, “I
did this lest it be said, Fidelity hath departed from
the folk; for such thing would be a shame to mine
issue and to my tribe.” And Al-Nu’uman
cried, “By Allah, I will be the third of you,
lest it be said, Mercy hath departed from the kings.”
So he pardoned him and bade abolish the day of ill-luck;
whereupon the Arab began to say,
“A many urged me that I false my faith, * But
I refused whatso
the wights could plead;
For I’m a man in whom Faith dwells for aye,
* And every true
man’s word is
pledge of deed.”
Quoth Al-Nu’uman, “What prompted thee
to keep faith, the case being as thou sayest?”
Quoth he, “O king, it was my religion.”
Al-Nu’uman asked, “What is thy religion?”
and he answered “The Nazarene!” The king
said, “Expound it to me.” So the
Tai expounded it to him and Al-Nu’uman became
a Christian.[FN#292]
Page 85
Firuz and
his wife[FN#293]
They relate that a certain king sat one day on the
terrace-roof of his palace, solacing himself with
the view, and presently, his wandering glances espied,
on a house-top over against his palace, a woman seer
never saw her like. So he turned to those present
and asked them, “To whom belongeth yonder house?”
when they answered, “To thy servant Firuz, and
that is his spouse.” So he went down (and
indeed passion had made him drunken as with wine,
and he was deeply in love of her), and calling Firuz,
said to him, “Take this letter and go with it
to such a city and bring me the reply.”
Firuz took the letter and going to his house, laid
it under his head and passed that night; and when
the morning morrowed, he farewelled his wife and fared
for that city, unknowing what his sovran purposed
against him. As for the king, he arose in haste
after the husband had set out and repairing to the
house of Firuz in disguise, knocked at the entrance.
Quoth Firuz’s wife, “Who’s at the
door?” and quoth he, saying, “I am the
king, thy husband’s master.” So she
opened and he entered and sat down, saying, “We
are come to visit thee.” She cried, “I
seek refuge[FN#294] from this visitation, for indeed
I deem not well of it;” but the king said, “O
desire of hearts, I am thy husband’s master
and methinks thou knowest me not.” She replied,
“Nay, I know thee, O my lord and master, and
I wot thy purpose and whatso thou wantest and that
thou art my husband’s lord. I understand
what thou wishest, and indeed the poet hath forestalled
thee in his saying of the verses referring to thy
case,
’Now will I leave your water way untrod; * For
many treading that
same way I see:
When fall the clustering flies upon the food, * I
raise my hand
whate’er my hunger
be:
And lions eke avoid the water way * When dogs to lap
at fountain
side are free.’
"
Then said she, “O king, comest thou to a watering
place whereat thy dog hath drunk and wilt thou drink
thereof?” The king was abashed at her and at
her words and fared forth from her but forgot his
sandal in the house. Such was his case; but as
regards Firuz, when he went forth from his house,
he sought the letter, but found it not in pouch; so
he returned home. Now his return fell in with
the king’s going forth and he came upon the sandal
in his house, whereat his wit was wildered and he knew
that the king had not sent him away save for a device
of his own. However, he kept silence and spake
not a word, but, taking the letter, went on his mission
and accomplished it and returned to the king, who
gave him an hundred dinars. So Firuz betook himself
to the bazar and bought what beseemeth women of goodly
gifts and returning to his wife, saluted her and gave
her all he had purchased, and said to her, “Arise
and hie thee to thy father’s home.”
Asked she, “Wherefore?” and he answered,
“Verily, the king hath been bountiful to me
Page 86
and I would have thee make this public, so thy father
may joy in that which he seeth upon thee.”
She rejoined “With love and gladness,”
and arising forthwith, betook herself to the house
of her father, who rejoiced in her coming and in that
which he saw upon her; and she abode with him a month’s
space, and her husband made no mention of her.
Then came her brother to him and said, “O Firuz,
an thou wilt not acquaint me with the reason of thine
anger against thy wife, come and plead with us before
the king.” Quoth he, “If ye will have
me plead with you, I will e’en plead.”
So they went to the king and found the Kazi sitting
with him; whereupon the damsel’s brother began,
“Allah assist our lord the Kazi! I let this
man on hire a flower-garden, high-walled, with a well
well-conditioned and trees fruit-laden; but he beat
down its walls and ruined its well and ate its fruits,
and now he desireth to return it to me.”
The Kazi turned to Firuz and asked him, “What
sayest thou, O youth?” when he answered, “Indeed,
I delivered him the garden in better case than it
was before.” So the Kazi said to the brother,
“Hath he delivered to thee the garden, as he
avoucheth?” And the pleader replied, “No;
but I desire to question him of the reason of his
returning it.” Quoth the Kazi, “What
sayest thou, O youth?” And quoth Firuz, “I
returned it willy nilly, because I entered it one
day and saw the trail of the lion; so I feared lest
an I entered it again, the lion should devour me.
Wherefore that which I did, I did of reverence to
him and for fear of him.” Now the king
was leaning back upon the cushion, and when he heard
the young man’s words, he comprehended the purport
thereof; so he sat up and said, “Return to thy
flower-garden in all ease of heart; for, by Allah,
never saw I the like of thy garth nor stronger of
guard than its walls over its trees!” So Firuz
returned to his wife, and the Kazi knew not the truth
of the affair, no, nor any of those who were in that
assembly, save the king and the husband and the wife’s
brother.
King Shah
Bakht and his Wazir
al-Rahwan.[FN#295]
They relate that there was once, in days of yore and
in bygone ages and times long gone before, a king
of the kings of the time, Shah Bakht hight, who had
troops and servants and guards in hosts and a Wazir
called Al-Rahwan, who was learned, understanding, a
loyal counsellor and a cheerful acceptor of the commandments
of Almighty Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory.
The king committed to this Minister the affairs of
his kingdom and his lieges and spake according to
his word, and in this way he abode a long space of
time. Now this Wazir had many foes, who envied
his position and sought to do him harm, but thereunto
found no way and the Lord, in His immemorial fore-knowledge
and His fore-ordinance decreed that the king dreamt
that the Minister Al-Rahwan gave him a fruit from
off a tree and he ate it and died. So he awoke,
Page 87
startled and troubled, and when the Wazir had presented
himself before him and had retired and the king was
alone with those in whom he trusted, he related to
them his vision and they advised him to send for the
astrologers and interpreters and commended to him
a Sage, whose skill and wisdom they attested.
Accordingly the king bade him be brought and entreated
him with honour and made him draw near to himself.
Now there had been in private intercourse with that
Sage a company of the Wazir’s enemies, who besought
him to slander the Minister to the king and counsel
him to do him dead, in view of what they promised
him of much wealth; and he made agreement with them
on this and acquainted the king that the Minister
would slay him within the coming month and bade him
hasten to put him to death, else would he surely be
killed. Presently, the Wazir entered and the
king signed to him to clear the place. So he signed
to those who were present to withdraw, and they withdrew;
whereupon quoth the king to him, “How deemest
thou, O Minister of loyal counsel in all manner of
contrivance, concerning a vision I have seen in my
sleep?” “What is it, O king?” asked
the Wazir, and Shah Bakht related to him his dream,
adding, “And indeed the Sage interpreted it
to me and said to me, ’An thou do not the Wazir
dead within a month, assuredly he will slay thee.’
Now to put the like of thee to death, I am loath exceedingly,
yet to leave thee on life do I sorely fear. How
then dost thou advise me act in this affair?”
The Wazir bowed his head earthwards awhile, then raised
it and said, “Allah prosper the king! Verily,
it availeth not to continue him on life of whom the
king is afraid, and my counsel is that thou hasten
to put me out of the world.” When the king
heard his speech and dove into the depths of his meaning,
he turned to him and said, “’Tis grievous
to me, O Wazir of good rede;” and he told him
that the other sages had attested the wit and wisdom
of the astrophil. Now hearing these words Al-Rahwan
sighed and knew that the king went in fear of him;
but he showed him fortitude and said to him, “Allah
assain the sovran! My rede is that the king carry
out his commandment and his decree be dight, for that
needs must death be and ’tis fainer to me that
I die oppressed, than that I die an oppressor.
But, an the king judge proper to postpone the putting
of me to death till the morrow and will pass this
night with me and farewell me whenas the morning cometh,
the king shall do whatso he willeth.” Then
he wept tell he wetted his gray hairs and the king
was moved to ruth for him and granted him that which
he craved and vouchsafed him a respite for that night.[FN#296]
The First Night of
the Month.
When it was eventide, the king caused clear his sitting
chamber and summoned the Wazir, who presented himself
and making his obeisance to the king, kissed ground
before him and related to him
The Tale of the Man of Khorasan, his Son and his Tutor.
Page 88
There was once a man of Khorasan and he had a son,
whose moral weal he ardently wished; but the young
man sought to be alone and far from the eye of his
father, so he might give himself up to pleasuring
and pleasance. Accordingly he sought of his sire
leave to make the pilgrimage to the Holy House of
Allah and to visit the tomb of the Prophet (whom Allah
save and assain!). Now between them and Meccah
was a journey of five hundred parasangs; but his father
could not contrary him, for that the Holy Law had
made pilgrimage[FN#297] incumbent on him and because
of that which he hoped for him of improvement.
So he joined unto him a tutor, in whom he trusted,
and gave him much money and took leave of him.
The son set out with his governor on the holy pilgrimage,[FN#298]
and abode on the like wise, spending freely and using
not thrift. Also there was in his neighbourhood
a poor man, who had a slave-girl of passing beauty
and grace, and the youth conceived a desire for her
and suffered sore cark and care for the love of her
and her loveliness, so that he was like to perish
for passion; and she also loved him with a love yet
greater than his love for her. Accordingly, the
damsel summoned an old woman who used to visit her
and acquainted her with her case, saying, “An
I foregather not with him, I shall die.”
The crone promised her that she would do her best
to bring her to her desire; so she veiled herself
and repairing to the young man, saluted him with the
salam and acquainted him with the girl’s case,
saying, “Her master is a greedy wight; so do
thou invite him and lure him with lucre, and he will
sell thee the hand-maiden.” Accordingly,
he made a banquet, and standing in the man’s
way, invited him[FN#299] and brought him to his house,
where they sat down and ate and drank and abode in
talk. Presently, the young man said to the other,
“I hear thou hast with thee a slave-girl, whom
thou desirest to sell;” but he said, “By
Allah, O my lord, I have no mind to sell her!”
Quoth the youth, “I have heard that she cost
thee a thousand dinars, and I will give thee six hundred
over and above that sum;” and quoth the other,
“I sell her to thee at that price.”
So they fetched notaries who wrote out the contract
of sale, and the young man weighed to the girl’s
master half the purchase money, saying, “Let
her be with thee till I complete to thee the rest of
the price and take my hand-maid.” The owner
consented to this and took of him a written bond for
the rest of the money, and the girl abode with her
master, on deposit.[FN#300] As for the youth, he gave
his governor a thousand dirhams and sent him to his
sire, to fetch money from him, so he might pay the
rest of the hand-maid’s price, saying to him,
“Be not long away.” But the tutor
said in his mind, “How shall I fare to his father
and say to him, ’Thy son hath wasted thy money
and made love with it?’[FN#301] With what eye
shall I look on him and, indeed, I am he in whom he
confided and to whom he hath entrusted his son?
Page 89
Verily, this were ill rede. Nay, I will fare on
with this pilgrimage-caravan[FN#302] in despite of
my fool of a youth; and when he is weary of waiting,
he will demand back his money and return to his father,
and I shall be quit of travail and trouble.”
So he went on with the pilgrimage caravan[FN#303] and
took up his abode there.[FN#304] Meanwhile, the youth
tarried expecting his tutor’s return, but he
returned not; wherefore concern and chagrin grew upon
him because of his mistress, and his yearning for
her redoubled and he was like to kill himself.
She became aware of this and sent him a messenger,
bidding him visit her. Accordingly he went to
her, and she questioned him of the case; when he told
her what was to do of the matter of his tutor, and
she said to him, “With me is longing the like
of that which is with thee, and I doubt me thy messenger
hath perished or thy father hath slain him; but I
will give thee all my jewellery and my dresses, and
do thou sell them and weigh out the rest of my price,
and we will go, I and thou, to thy sire.”
So she handed to him all she had and he sold it and
paid the rest of her price; after which there remained
to him for spending-money an hundred dirhams.
These he spent and lay that night with the damsel in
all delight of life, and his sprite was like to fly
for joy: but when he arose in the morning, he
sat weeping and the damsel said to him, “What
causeth thee to weep?” Said he, “I know
not an my father be dead, and he hath none other heir
save myself; but how shall I get to him, seeing I
own not a dirham?” Quoth she, “I have
a bangle; sell it and buy seed-pearls with the price:
then round them and fashion them into great unions[FN#305]
and thereby thou shalt gain much money, with the which
we may find our way to thy country.” So
he took the bangle and repairing to a goldsmith, said
to him, “Break up this bracelet and sell it;”
but he said, “The king seeketh a perfect bracelet:
I will go to him and bring thee its price.”
Presently he bore the bangle to the Sultan and it
pleased him greatly by reason of its goodly workmanship.
Then he called an old woman, who was in his palace,
and said to her, “Needs must I have the mistress
of this bracelet though but for a single night, or
I shall die;” and the old woman replied, “I
will bring her to thee.” Thereupon she
donned a devotee’s dress and betaking herself
to the goldsmith, said to him, “To whom belongeth
the bangle which is now with the king?” and said
he, “It belongeth to a stranger, who hath bought
him a slave-girl from this city and lodgeth with her
in such a place.” Upon this the old woman
repaired to the young man’s house and knocked
at the door. The damsel opened to her and seeing
her clad in devotee’s garb,[FN#306] saluted
her with the salam and asked her saying, “Haply
thou hast some need of us?” Answered the old
woman, “Yes, I desire a private place, where
I can perform the Wuzu-ablution;” and quoth
the girl, “Enter.” So she entered
and did her requirement and made the ablution and
Page 90
prayed:[FN#307] then she brought out a rosary and
began to tell her beads thereon, and the damsel said
to her, “Whence comest thou, O pilgrimess?"[FN#308]
Said she, “From visiting the Idol of the Absent
in such a church.[FN#309] There standeth up no woman
before him,[FN#310] who hath a distant friend and discloseth
to him her desire, but he acquainteth her with her
case and giveth her news of her absent one.”
Said the damsel, “O pilgrimess, we have an absent
one, and my lord’s heart cleaveth to him and
I desire to go question the Idol of him.”
Quoth the crone, “Do thou wait till to-morrow
and ask leave of thy spouse, and I will come to thee
and fare with thee in weal and welfare.”
Then she went away, and when the girl’s master
came, she sought his permission to go with the old
trot, and he gave her leave. So the beldame came
and took her and carried her to the king’s door,
she, unknowing whither she went. The damsel entered
with her and beheld a goodly house and decorated apartments
which were no idol’s chamber. Then came
the king and seeing her beauty and loveliness, went
up to her to buss her; whereupon she fell down in
a fainting fit and struck out with her hands and feet.[FN#311]
When he saw this, he held aloof from her in ruth and
left her; but the matter was grievous to her and she
refused meat and drink, and as often as the king drew
near to her, she fled from him in fear, so he swore
by Allah that he would not approach her save with
her consent and fell to presenting her with ornaments
and raiment; but her aversion to him only increased.
Meanwhile, the youth her master abode expecting her;
but she returned not and his heart already tasted
the bitter draught of separation; so he went forth
at hap-hazard, distracted and knowing not what he
should do, and began strewing dust upon his head and
crying out, “The old woman hath taken her and
gone away!” The little boys followed him with
stones and pelted him, crying, “A madman!
A madman!” Presently, the king’s Chamberlain,
who was a personage of years and worth, met him, and
when he saw this youth, he forbade the boys and drave
them away from him, after which he accosted him and
asked him of his affair. So he told him his tale
and the Chamberlain said to him, “Fear not!
I will deliver thy slavegirl for thee; so calm thy
concern.” And he went on to speak him fair
and comfort him, till he had firm reliance on his word.
Then he carried him to his home and stripping him of
his clothes, clad him in rags; after which he called
an old woman, who was his housekeeper,[FN#312] and
said to her, “Take this youth and bind on his
neck yon iron chain and go round about with him in
all the great thoroughfares of the city, and when
thou hast done this, go up with him to the palace
of the king.” And he said to the youth,
“In whatsoever stead thou seest the damsel, speak
not a syllable, but acquaint me with her place and
thou shalt owe her deliverance to none save to me.”
The youth thanked him and went with the old woman
Page 91
in such fashion as the Chamberlain bade him. She
fared on with him till they entered the city, and
walked all about it; after which she went up to the
palace of the king and fell to saying, “O fortune’s
favourites, look on a youth whom the devils take twice
in the day and pray to be preserved from such affliction!”
And she ceased not to go round with him till she came
to the eastern wing[FN#313] of the palace, whereupon
the slave-girls hurried out to look upon him and when
they saw him they were amazed at his beauty and loveliness
and wept for him. Then they informed the damsel,
who came forth and considered him and knew him not;
but he knew her; so he drooped his head and shed tears.
She was moved to pity for him and gave him somewhat
and went back to her place, whilst the youth returned
with the housekeeper to the Chamberlain and told him
that she was in the king’s mansion, whereat
he was chagrined and said, “By Allah, I will
assuredly devise a device for her and deliver her!”
Whereupon the youth kissed his hands and feet.
Then he turned to the old woman and bade her change
her habit and her semblance. Now this ancient
dame was sweet of speech and winsome of wit; so he
gave her costly and delicious ottars and said to her,
“Get thee to the king’s slave-girls and
sell them these essences and win thy way to the damsel
and ask her if she desire her master or not.”
So the old woman went out and making her way to the
palace, went in to the hand-maid and drew near her
and recited these couplets,
“Allah preserve our Union-days and their delights.
* Ah me! How
sweet was life! how
joys were ever new!
May he not be who cursed us twain with parting day;
* How many a
bone he brake, how many
a life he slew!
He shed my faultless tear-floods and my sinless blood;
* And
beggaring me of love
himself no richer grew.”
When the damsel heard the old woman’s verses,
she wept till her clothes were drenched and drew near
the speaker, who asked her, “Knowest thou such-an-one?”
And she wept and answered, “He is my lord.
Whence knowest thou him?” Rejoined the old woman,
“O my lady, sawest thou not the madman who came
hither yesterday with the old woman? He was thy
lord,” presently adding, “But this is
no time for talk. When ’tis night, get thee
to the top of the palace and wait on the terrace till
thy lord come to thee and compass thy deliverance.”
Then she gave her what she would of perfumes and returning
to the Chamberlain, acquainted him with whatso had
passed, and he told the youth. Now as soon as
it was evening, the Chamberlain bade bring two hackneys
and great store of water and provaunt and a riding-camel
and a fellow to show them the way. These he ambushed
without the town whilst he and the young man, taking
with them a long rope, made fast to a staple, went
and stood below the palace. Whenas they came
thither, they looked and behold, the damsel was standing
on the terrace-roof, so they threw her the rope and
Page 92
the staple, which she made fast, and tucking up her
sleeves above her wrists, slid down and landed with
them. They carried her without the town, where
they mounted, she and her lord, and fared on, with
the guide in front,[FN#314] directing them on the
way, and they ceased not faring night and day till
they entered his father’s house. The young
man greeted his sire, who was gladdened in him, and
to whom he related all that had befallen him, whereupon
he rejoiced in his safety. As for the tutor,
he wasted whatso was with him and returned to the
city, where he saw the youth and excused himself.
Then he questioned him of what had betided him and
he told him, whereat he admired and returned to companionship
with him; but the youth ceased to have regard for him
and gave him nor solde nor ration as was his wont,
neither discovered to him aught of his secrets.
When the tutor saw that there was no profit from him
he returned to the king, the ravisher of the slave-girl,
and recounted to him what the Chamberlain had done
and counselled him to slay that official and egged
him on to recover the damsel, promising to give his
friend a poison-draught and return. Accordingly
the king sent for the Chamberlain and chid him for
the deed he had done; whereat the king’s servants
incontinently fell upon the Chamberlain and put him
to death. Meanwhile the tutor returned to the
youth, who asked him of his absence, and he told him
that he had been in the city of the king who had taken
the slave-girl. When the youth heard this, he
misdoubted of his governor and never again trusted
him in anything but was always on his guard against
him. Then the tutor without stay or delay caused
prepare great store of sweetmeats and put in them
deadly poison and presented them to the youth, who,
when he saw those sweetmeats, said to himself, “This
is an extraordinary thing of the tutor! Needs
must there be in this sweetmeat some mischief, and
I will make proof of his confectionery upon himself.”
Accordingly he got ready food and set amongst it a
portion of the sweetmeat, and inviting the governor
to his house placed the provaunt before him. He
ate, and amongst the rest which they brought him,
the poisoned sweetmeat; so while in the act of eating
he died; whereby the youth knew that this was a plot
against himself and said, Whoso seeketh his fortune
by his own force[FN#315] attaineth a failure.”
“Nor,” continued the Wazir, “is
this, O king of the age, stranger than the story of
the Druggist and his Wife and the Singer.”
When King Shah Bakht heard the tale of Al-Rahwan he
gave him leave to withdraw to his own house and he
tarried there the rest of the night and the next day
till eventide evened.
The Second Night of
the Mouth.
When the even evened, the king sat private in his
sitting-chamber and his mind was occupied with the
story of the Singer and the Druggist. So he called
the Wazir and bade him tell the tale. Answered
he, “I will well. They recount, O my lord,
the following
Page 93
Tale of the Singer and the Druggist.
There was once in the city of Hamadan[FN#316] a young
man of seemly semblance and skilled in singing to
the lute; wherefore he was well seen of the citizens.
He went forth one day of his home with intent to travel,
and gave not over journeying till his travel brought
him to a town and a goodly. Now he had with him
a lute and its appurtenance,[FN#317] so he entered
and went round about the streets till he happened
upon a druggist who, when he espied him, called to
him. So he went up to him and bade him sit down;
accordingly, the youth sat down by his side, and the
druggist questioned him of his case. The singer
told him what was in his mind, and the pharmacist
took him up into his shop and bought him food and
fed him. Then said he to him, “Rise and
take up thy lute and beg about the streets, and whenas
thou smellest the reek of wine, break in upon the
drinkers and say to them, I am a singer. They
will laugh and cry, Come in to us. And when thou
singest, the folk will know thee and speak one to other
of thee; so shalt thou become known about town, and
thou shalt better thy business.” He went
round about, as the druggist bade him, till the sun
waxed hot, but found none drinking. Then he entered
a lane, that he might take rest, and seeing there a
handsome house and a lofty, stood in its shade and
fell to observing the excellence of its edification.
Now while he was thus engaged, behold, a casement
opened and there appeared thereat a face, as it were
the moon. Quoth the owner of the face, “What
aileth thee to stand there? Dost thou want aught?”
And quoth he, “I am a stranger,” and acquainted
her with his adventure; whereupon asked she, “What
sayst thou to meat and drink and the enjoyment of
a fair face and getting thee spending-money?”
And he answered, “O mistress mine, this is my
desire whereof I am going about in quest!” So
she opened the door to him and brought him in:
then she seated him at the upper end of the room and
served him with food. He ate and drank and lay
with her and futtered her. This ended, she sat
down in his lap and they toyed and laughed and exchanged
kisses till the day was half done, when her husband
came home and she had no recourse but to hide the
singer in a mat,[FN#318] in which she rolled him up.
The husband entered and seeing the battle-place[FN#319]
disordered and smelling the reek of liquor questioned
her of this. Quoth she, “I had with me
a bosom friend of mine and I conjured her to crack
a cup with me; and so we drank a jar full, I and she,
and but now, before thy coming in, she fared forth.”
Her husband deemed her words true and went away to
his shop, he being none other than the singer’s
friend the druggist, who had invited him and fed him;
whereupon the lover came forth and he and the lady
returned to their pleasant pastime and abode on this
wise till evening, when she gave him money and said
to him, “To-morrow in the forenoon come hither
to me.” He replied, “Yes,”
Page 94
and departed; and at nightfall he went to the Hammam-bath.
On the morrow, he betook himself to the shop of his
friend the druggist, who welcomed him as soon as he
saw him, and questioned him of his case and how he
had fared that day. Quoth the singer, “Allah
requite thee with welfare, O my brother, for indeed
thou hast directed me to a restful life!” Then
he acquainted him with his adventure and told him
the tale of the woman, till he came to the mention
of her husband, when he said, “And at midday
came the horned cuckold,[FN#320] her husband, and
knocked at the door. So she wrapped me in the
mat, and when he had wended his ways I came forth
and we returned to our pleasant play.” This
was grievous to the druggist, and he repented of having
taught him how he should do and suspected his wife.
Accordingly he asked the singer, “And what said
she to thee at thy going away?” and the other
answered, “She said, Come back to me on the
morrow. So, behold, I am off to her and I came
not hither but that I might acquaint thee with this,
lest thy thoughts be pre-occupied with me.”
Then he farewelled him, and walked out. As soon
as the druggist was assured that he had reached the
house, he cast the net[FN#321] over his shop and made
for his home, in some suspicion of his wife, and knocked
at the door. Now the singer had entered and the
druggist’s wife said to him, “Up with thee
and enter this chest.” Accordingly he entered
it and she shut it down on him and opened to her husband,
who came in all distraught, and searched the house
but found none and overlooked the chest. Hereat
he said in his mind “The house[FN#322] is one
which favoureth my house and the woman is one who
favoureth my wife,” and returned to his shop;
whereupon the singer came forth of the chest and falling
upon the druggist’s wife, had his wicked will
of her and spent upon her what was her due, and weighed
down the scale for her with full measure. Then
they ate and drank and kissed and clipped necks, and
in this way they abode till the evening, when she gave
him money, because she found his weaving nice and good,[FN#323]
and made him promise to come to her on the morrow.
So he left her and slept his night and on the morrow
he returned to the shop of his friend the druggist
and saluted him. The other welcomed him and questioned
him of his case; whereat he told his tale till he
ended with the mention of the woman’s husband,
when he said, “Then came the horned cuckold,
her mate and she stowed me away in the chest and shut
down the lid upon me, whilst her addlepated pander[FN#324]
of a husband went about the house, top and bottom;
and when he had gone his way, we returned to our pleasant
pastime.” With this, the druggist was assured
that the house was his house and the wife his wife,
and quoth he, “Now what wilt thou do to-day?”
Quoth the singer, “I shall return to her and
weave for her and full her yarn[FN#325], and I came
not[FN#326] save to thank thee for thy dealing with
me.” Then he went away, whilst the fire
Page 95
was loosed in the heart of the druggist and he shut
his shop and returning to his house, rapped at the
door. Said the singer, “Let me jump into
the chest, for he saw me not yesterday;” but
said she, “No! wrap thyself up in the mat.”
So he wrapped himself up and stood in a corner of
the room, whilst the druggist entered and went no
whither else save to the chest, but found naught inside.
Then he walked round about the house and searched
it, top and bottom, but came upon nothing and no one
and abode between belief and disbelief, and said to
himself, “Haply, I suspect my wife of what is
not in her.” So he was certified of her
innocence and going forth content, returned to his
shop, whereupon out came the singer and they resumed
their former little game, as was their wont, till
eventide when she gave him one of her husband’s
shirts and he took it and going away, nighted in his
own lodging. Next morning he repaired to the
druggist, who saluted him with the salam and came to
meet him and rejoiced in him and smiled in his face,
deeming his wife innocent. Then he questioned
him of his case on yesterday and he told him how he
had fared, saying, “O my brother, when the cornute
knocked at the door, I would have jumped into the chest;
but his wife forbade me and rolled me up in the mat.
The man entered and thought of nothing save the chest;
so he brake it open and woned like one jinn-mad, going
up and coming down. Then he went about his business
and I came out and we abode on our accustomed case
till eventide, when she gave me this shirt of her
husband’s; and behold, I am now off to her.”
When the druggist heard the singer’s words,
he was assured of the adventure and knew that the
calamity, all of it, was in his own house and that
the wife was his wife; and he considered the shirt,
whereupon he redoubled in assuredness and said to
the singer, “Art thou now going to her?”
Said he, “Yes, O my brother,” and taking
leave of him, went away; whereupon the druggist started
up, as he were stark mad, and dismantled his shop.[FN#327]
Whilst he was thus doing, the singer won to the house,
and presently up came the druggist and knocked at
the door. The lover would have wrapped himself
up in the mat, but she forbade him and said, “Get
thee down to the ground floor of the house and enter
the oven-jar[FN#328] and close the cover upon thyself.”
So he did her bidding and she went down to her husband
and opened the door to him, whereupon he came in and
went round the house, but found no one and overlooked
the oven-jar. Then he stood musing and sware
that he would not again go forth of the house till
the morrow. As for the singer, when his stay
in the oven-jar grew longsome upon him, he came forth
therefrom, thinking that her husband had gone away;
and he went up to the terrace-roof and looking down,
beheld his friend the druggist: whereat he was
sore concerned and said in himself, “Alas, the
disgrace, ah! This is my friend the druggist,
who of me was fain and dealt me fair and I have paid
Page 96
him with foul.” He feared to return to the
druggist; so he stepped down and opened the first
door and would have gone out at a venture, unseen
of the husband; but, when he came to the outer door,
he found it locked and saw not the key. Hereat
he returned to the terrace and began dropping from
roof to roof till the people of the house heard him
and hastened to fall upon him, deeming him a thief.
Now that house belonged to a Persian man; so they
laid hands on him and the house-master fell to beating
him, saying to him, “Thou art a thief.”
He replied, “No I am not a thief, but a singing-man,
a stranger who, hearing your voices, came to sing
to you.” When the folk heard his words,
they talked of letting him go; but the Persian said,
“O folk, let not his speech cozen you.
This one is none other than a thief who knoweth how
to sing, and when he cometh upon the like of us, he
is a singer.” Said they, “O our lord,
this man is a stranger, and needs we must release
him.” Quoth he, “By Allah, my heart
heaveth at this fellow! Let me kill him with
beating;” but quoth they, “Thou mayst
no ways do that.” So they delivered the
singer from the Persian, the master of the house,
and seated him amongst them, whereupon he began singing
to them and they rejoiced in him. Now the Persian
had a Mameluke,[FN#329] as he were the full moon,
and he arose and went out, and the singer followed
him and wept before him, professing lustful love to
him and kissing his hands and feet. The Mameluke
took compassion on him and said to him, “When
the night cometh and my master entereth the Harim and
the folk fare away, I will grant thee thy desire; and
I sleep in such a place.” Then the singer
returned and sat with the cup-companions, and the
Persian rose and went out with the Mameluke by his
side. Now[FN#330] the singer knew the place which
the Mameluke occupied at the first of the night; but
it chanced that the youth rose from his stead and
the waxen taper went out. The Persian, who was
drunk, fell over on his face, and the singer supposing
him to be the Mameluke, said, “By Allah, ’tis
good!” and threw himself upon him and began
to work at his bag-trousers till the string was loosed;
then he brought out[FN#331] his prickle upon which
he spat and slipped it into him. Thereupon the
Persian started up, crying out and, laying hands on
the singer, pinioned him and beat him a grievous beating,
after which he bound him to a tree that stood in the
house-court. Now there was in the house a beautiful
singing-girl and when she saw the singer tight pinioned
and tied to the tree, she waited till the Persian
lay down on his couch, when she arose and going up
to the singer, fell to condoling with him over what
had betided him and making eyes at him and handling
his yard and rubbing it, till it rose upright.
Then said she to him, “Do with me the deed of
kind and I will loose thy pinion-bonds, lest he return
and beat thee again; for he purposeth thee an ill
purpose.” Quoth he, “Loose me and
Page 97
I will do it;” but quoth she, “I fear
that, an I loose thee, thou wilt not do it. But
I will do it and thou have me standing; and when I
have done, I will loose thee.” So saying,
she opened her clothes and introducing the singer’s
prickle, fell to toing and froing.[FN#332] Now there
was in the house a fighting-ram, which the Persian
had trained to butting,[FN#333] and when he saw what
the woman was doing, he thought she wished to do battle
with him; so he broke his halter and running at her,
butted her and split her skull. She fell on her
back and shrieked; whereupon the Persian started up
hastily from sleep and seeing the singing-girl on
her back and the singer with yard on end, cried to
him, “O accursed, doth not what thou hast erewhile
done suffice thee?” Then he beat him a shrewd
beating and opening the door, thrust him out in the
middle of the night. He lay the rest of the dark
hours in one of the ruins, and when he arose in the
morning, he said, “None is in fault! I,
for one, sought my own good, and he is no fool who
seeketh good for himself; and the druggist’s
wife also sought good for herself; but Predestination
overcometh Precaution and for me there remaineth no
tarrying in this town.” So he went forth
from the place. “Nor” (continued the
Wazir), “is this story, strange though it be,
stranger than that of the King and his Son and that
which betided them of wonders and rare marvels.”
When the king heard this story, he deemed it pretty
and pleasant and said, “This tale is near unto
that which I know and ’tis my rede I should
do well to have patience and hasten not to slay my
Minister, so I may get of him the profitable story
of the King and his Son.” Then he gave
the Wazir leave to go away to his own house; so he
thanked him and tarried in his home all that day.
The Third Night of
the Month.
When it was supper-time the king sought the sitting-chamber;
and, summoning the Wazir, sought of him the story
he had promised him; and the Minister said, “They
tell, O king,
The Tale of the King who Kenned the Quintessence[FN#334]
of Things.
There came to a king of the kings, in his old age,
a son, who grew up comely, quickwitted, clever:
and, when he reached years of discretion and became
a young man, his father said to him, “Take this
realm and rule it in lieu of me, for I desire to flee
from the sin of sovranty[FN#335] to Allah the Most
High and don the woollen dress and devote all my time
to devotion.” Quoth the Prince, “And
I am another who desireth to take refuge with the
Almighty.” So the king said, “Arise,
let us flee forth and make for the mountains and there
worship in shame before God the Most Great.”
Accordingly, the twain gat them gear of wool and clothing
themselves therewith, fared forth and wandered in the
wolds and wastes; but, when some days had passed over
them, both became weak for hunger and repented them
of that they had done whenas penitence profited them
not, and the Prince complained to his father of weariness
Page 98
and hunger. Cried the king, “Dear my son,
I did with thee that which behoved me,[FN#336] but
thou wouldst not hearken to me, and now there is no
means of returning to thy former estate, for that
another hath taken the kingdom and defendeth it from
all foes: but indeed I will counsel thee of somewhat,
wherein do thou pleasure me by compliance.”
The Prince asked, “What is it?” and his
father answered, “Take me and go with me to
the market-street and sell me and receive my price
and do with it whatso thou willest, and I shall become
the property of one who shall provide for my wants.”
The Prince enquired, “Who will buy thee of me,
seeing thou art a very old man? Nay, do thou
rather sell me, inasmuch as the demand for me will
be more.” But the king replied, “An
thou wert king, thou wouldest require service of me.”
Accordingly the youth obeyed his father’s bidding
and taking him, carried him to the slave-dealer and
said, “Sell me this old man.” Said
the dealer, “Who will buy this wight, and he
a son of eighty years?"[FN#337] Then quoth he to the
king, “In what crafts art thou cunning?”
and quoth he, “I ken the quintessence of jewels
and I ken the quintessence of horses and I ken the
quintessence of men; brief, I ken the quintessence
of all things.” So the slave-dealer took
him and went about, offering him for sale to the folk;
but none would buy. Presently, up came the Chef
of the Sultan’s kitchen and asked, “What
is this man?” and the dealer answered, “This
be a Mameluke for sale.” The kitchener
marvelled at this and bought the king, after questioning
him of what he could do, for ten thousand dirhams.
Then he weighed out the money and carried him to his
house, but dared not employ him in aught of service;
so he appointed him an allowance, a modicum sufficient
for his maintenance, and repented him of having bought
him, saying, “What shall I do with the like
of this wight?” Presently, the king of the city
was minded to go forth to his garden,[FN#338] a-pleasuring,
and bade the cook precede him and appoint in his stead
one who should dress the royal meat, so that, when
he returned, he might find the meal ready. The
Chef fell to thinking of whom he should appoint and
was perplexed concerning his affair. As he was
thus, the Shaykh came to him, and seeing him distraught
as to how he should do, said to him, “Tell me
what is in thy mind; haply I may bring thee relief.”
So he acquainted him with the king’s wishes and
he said, “Have no care for this, but leave me
one of the serving-men and do thou go companying thy
lord in peace and surety, for I will suffice thee
of this.” Hereat the cook departed with
the king, after he had brought the old man what he
needed and left him a man of the guards; and when
he was gone, the Shaykh bade the trooper wash the
kitchen-battery and made ready food exceedingly fine.
When the king returned he set the meat before him,
and he tasted dishes whose like he had never savoured;
whereat he was startled and asked who had dressed
Page 99
it. Accordingly they acquainted him with the
Shaykh’s case and he summoned him to his presence
and asking him anent the mystery, increased his allowance
of rations;[FN#339] moreover, he bade that they should
cook together, he and the kitchener, and the old man
obeyed his bidding. Some time after this, there
came two merchants to the king with two pearls of
price and each of them declared that his pearl was
worth a thousand dinars, but the folk were incompetent
to value them. Then said the cook, “Allah
prosper the king! Verily, the Shaykh whom I bought
affirmed that he knew the quintessence of jewels and
that he was skilled in cookery. We have tried
him in his cuisine, and have found him the most knowing
of men; and now, if we send after him and prove him
on jewels, his second claim will be made manifest
to us, whether true or false.” So the king
bade fetch the Shaykh and he came and stood before
the Sultan, who showed him the two pearls. Quoth
he, “Now for this one, ’tis worth a thousand
dinars;” and quoth the king, “So saith
its owner.” “But for this other,”
continued the old man, “’tis worth only
five hundred.” The people laughed and admired
his saying, and the merchant who owned the second pearl
asked him, “How can this, which is bigger of
bulk and worthier for water and righter of rondure,
be less of value than that?” and the old man
answered, “I have said what is with me."[FN#340]
Then quoth the king to him, “Indeed, the outer
semblance thereof is like that of the other pearl;
why then is it worth but the half of its price?”
and quoth the old man, “Yes, but its inward
is corrupt.” Asked the merchant, “Hath
a pearl then an inward and an outward?” and
the Shaykh answered, “Yea! In its interior
is a teredo, a boring worm; but the other pearl is
sound and secure against breakage.” The
merchant continued, “Give us approof of this
thy knowledge and confirm to us the truth of thy saying;”
and the old man rejoined, “We will break it:
an I prove a liar, here is my head, and if I speak
sooth, thou wilt have lost thy pearl;” and the
merchant said, “I agree to that.”
So they brake the pearl and it was even as the old
man had declared, to wit, in the heart of it was a
boring worm. The king marvelled at what he saw
and questioned him of how he came by the knowledge
of this. The Shaykh replied, “O king, this
kind of jewel is engendered in the belly of a creature
called the oyster[FN#341] and its origin is a drop
of rain and it resisteth the touch and groweth not
warm whilst hent in hand:[FN#342] so, when its outer
coat became tepid to my touch, I knew that it harboured
some living thing, for that things of life thrive
not save in heat.” Therefore the king said
to the cook, “Increase his allowance;”
and the Chef appointed to him fresh rations.
Now some time after this, two merchants presented
themselves to the king with two horses, and one said,
“I ask a thousand ducats for my horse,”
and the other, “I seek five thousand ducats
for mine.” Quoth the cook, “We are
Page 100
now familiar with the old man’s just judgment;
what deemeth the king of fetching him?” So the
king bade fetch him, and when he saw the two horses[FN#343]
he said, “This is worth a thousand and that
two thousand ducats.” Quoth the folk, “This
horse thou misjudgest is evidently a thoroughbred
and he is younger and faster and compacter of limb
and finer of head and clearer of colour and skin than
the other;” presently adding, “What assurance
hast thou of the sooth of thy saying?” And the
old man said, “This ye state is true, all true;
but his sire is old and this other is the son of a
young horse. Now, when the son of an old horse
standeth still a-breathing, his breath returneth not
to him and his rider falleth into the hand of him
who followeth after him; but the son of a young horse,
an thou put him to speed and after making him run,
alight from him, thou wilt find him, by reason of his
robustness, untired.” Quoth the merchant,
“’Tis even as the Shaykh avoucheth and
he is an excellent judge.” And the king
said, “Increase his allowance.” But
the Shaykh stood still and did not go away; so the
king asked him, “Why dost thou not go about
thy business?” and he answered, “My business
is with the king.” Said the king, “Name
what thou wouldest have,” and the other replied,
“I would have thee question me of the quintessence
of men, even as thou has questioned me of the quintessence
of horses.” Quoth the king, “We have
no occasion to question thee thereof;” but quoth
the old man, “I have occasion to acquaint thee.”
“Say what thou wilt,” rejoined the king,
and the Shaykh said, “Verily, the king is the
son of a baker.” Cried the king, “How
and whereby kennest thou that?” and the Shaykh
replied, “Know, O king, that I have examined
into degrees and dignities[FN#344] and have learned
this.” Thereupon the king went in to his
mother and asked her anent his sire, and she told him
that the king her husband was impotent;[FN#345] “So,”
quoth she, “I feared for the kingdom, lest it
pass away, after his death; wherefore I yielded my
person to a young man, a baker, and conceived by him
and bare a man-child;[FN#346] and the kingship came
into the hand of my son, that is, thyself.”
So the king returned to the Shaykh and said to him,
“I am indeed the son of a baker; so do thou
expound to me the means whereby thou knewest me for
this.” Quoth the other, “I knew that,
hadst thou been the son of a king, thou wouldst have
gifted me with things of price, such as rubies and
the like; and wert thou the son of a Kazi, thou hadst
given largesse of a dirham or two dirhams, and wert
thou the son of any of the merchants, thou hadst given
me muchel of money. But I saw that thou bestowedst
upon me naught save two bannocks of bread and other
rations, wherefore I knew thee to be the son of a
baker;” and quoth the king, “Thou hast
hit the mark.” Then he gave him wealth
galore and advanced him to high estate. The tale
aforesaid pleased King Shah Bakht and he marvelled
thereat; but the Wazir said to him, “This story
is not stranger than that of the Richard who married
his beautiful daughter to the poor Shaykh.”
The king’s mind was occupied with the promised
tale and he bade the Wazir withdraw to his lodging;
so he went and abode there the rest of the night and
the whole of the following day.
Page 101
The Fourth Night of
the Month.
When the evening evened, the king sat private in his
sitting-chamber and bade fetch the Wazir. When
he presented himself before him, he said to him, “Tell
me the tale of the Richard.” The Minister
replied, “I will. Hear, O puissant king,
The Tale of the Richard who Married his Beautiful
Daughter to the Poor Old Man.
A certain rich merchant had a beautiful daughter,
who was as the full moon, and when she attained the
age of fifteen, her father betook himself to an old
man and spreading him a carpet in his sitting-chamber,
gave him to eat and conversed and caroused with him.
Then said he to him, “I desire to marry thee
to my daughter.” The other drew back, because
of his poverty, and said to him, “I am no husband
for her nor am I a match for thee.” The
merchant was urgent with him, but he repeated his answer
to him, saying, “I will not consent to this
till thou acquaint me with the cause of thy desire
for me. An I find it reasonable, I will fall
in with thy wish; and if not, I will not do this ever.”
Quoth the merchant, “Thou must know that I am
a man from the land of China and was in my youth well-favoured
and well-to-do. Now I made no account of womankind,
one and all, but followed after youths,[FN#347] and
one night I saw, in a dream, as it were a balance
set up, and hard by it a voice said, ’This is
the portion of Such-an-one.’ I listened
and presently I heard my own name; so I looked and
behold, there stood a woman loathly to the uttermost;
whereupon I awoke in fear and cried, ’I will
never marry, lest haply this fulsome female fall to
my lot.’ Then I set out for this city with
merchandise and the journey was pleasant to me and
the sojourn here, so that I took up my abode in the
place for a length of time and gat me friends and factors.
At last I sold all my stock-in-trade and collected
its price and there was left me nothing to occupy
me till the folk[FN#348] should depart and I depart
with them. One day, I changed my clothes and
putting gold into my sleeve, sallied forth to inspect
the holes and corners of this city, and as I was wandering
about, I saw a handsome house: its seemliness
pleased me; so I stood looking on it and beheld a
lovely woman at the window. When she saw me,
she made haste and descended, whilst I abode confounded.
Then I betook myself to a tailor there and questioned
him of the house and anent whose it was. Quoth
he, ’It belongeth to Such-an-one the Notary,[FN#349]
God damn him!’ I asked, ’Is he her sire?’
and he answered, ‘Yes.’ So I repaired
in great hurry to a man, with whom I had been wont
to deposit my goods for sale, and told him I desired
to gain access to Such-an-one the Notary. Accordingly
he assembled his friends and we betook ourselves to
the Notary’s house. When we came in to him,
we saluted him and sat with him, and I said to him,
’I come to thee as a suitor, desiring in marriage
the hand of thy daughter.’ He replied, ’I
Page 102
have no daughter befitting this man;’ and I rejoined,
’Allah aid thee! My desire is for thee
and not for her.’[FN#350] But he still refused
and his friends said to him, ’This is an honourable
match and a man thine equal, nor is it lawful to thee
that thou hinder the young lady of her good luck.’
Quoth he to them, ’She will not suit him!’
nevertheless they were instant with him till at last
he said, ’Verily, my daughter whom ye seek is
passing illfavoured and in her are all blamed qualities
of person.’ And I said, ‘I accept
her, though she be as thou sayest.’ Then
said the folk, ’Extolled be Allah! Cease
we to talk of a thing settled; so say the word, how
much wilt thou have to her marriagesettlement?’
Quoth he, ‘I must have four thousand sequins;’
and I said, ’To hear is to obey!’ Accordingly
the affair was concluded and we drew up the contract
of marriage and I made the bride-feast; but on the
wedding-night I beheld a thing[FN#351] than which never
made Allah Almighty aught more fulsome. Methought
her folk had devised this freak by way of fun; so
I laughed and looked for my mistress, whom I had seen
at the window, to make her appearance; but saw her
not. When the affair was prolonged and I found
none but her, I was like to lose my wits for vexation
and fell to beseeching my Lord and humbling myself
in supplication before Him that He would deliver me
from her. When I arose in the morning, there
came the chamberwoman and said to me, ’Hast thou
need of the bath?’[FN#352] I replied, ‘No;’
and she asked, ’Art thou for breakfast?’
But I still answered ‘No;’ and on this
wise I abode three days, tasting neither meat nor
drink. When the young woman my wife saw me in
this plight, she said to me, ’O man, tell me
thy tale, for, by Allah, if I may effect thy deliverance,
I will assuredly further thee thereto.’
I gave ear to her speech and put faith in her sooth
and acquainted her with the adventure of the damsel
whom I had seen at the window and how 1 had fallen
in love with her; whereupon quoth she, ’An that
girl belong to me, whatso I possess is thine, and
if she belong to my sire, I will demand her of him
and detain her from him and deliver her to thee.’
Then she fell to summoning hand-maid after hand-maid
and showing them to me, till I saw the damsel whom
I loved and said, ’This is she.’
Quoth my wife, ’Let not thy heart be troubled,
for this is my slave-girl. My father gave her
to me and I give her to thee:[FN#353] so comfort thyself
and be of good cheer and of eyes cool and clear.’
Then, when it was night, she brought the girl to me,
after she had adorned her and perfumed her, and said
to her, ’Cross not this thy lord in aught and
every that he shall seek of thee.’ When
she came to bed with me, I said in myself, ’Verily,
this my spouse is more generous than I!’ Then
I sent away the slave-girl and drew not near her,
but arose forthwith and betaking myself to my wife,
lay with her and abated her maidenhead. She conceived
by me at the first bout; and, accomplishing the time
Page 103
of her pregnancy, gave birth to this dear little daughter;
in whom I rejoiced, for that she was beautiful exceedingly,
and she hath inherited her mother’s sound sense
and the comeliness of her sire. Indeed, many
of the notables of the people have sought her of me
in wedlock, but I would not wed her to any, because
I saw in a dream, one night, that same balance set
up and men and women being therein weighed, one against
other, and meseemed I saw thee and her and the voice
said to me, ’This is such a man, the portion
of such a woman.’[FN#354] Wherefore I knew that
Almighty Allah had allotted her unto none other than
thyself, and I choose rather to marry thee to her in
my lifetime than that thou shouldst marry her after
my death.” When the poor man heard the
merchant’s story, he became desirous of wedding
his daughter: so he took her to wife and was blessed
of her with exceeding love. “Nor”
(continued the Wazir), “is this story on any
wise stranger or this tale rarer than that of the
Sage and his three Sons.” When the king
heard his Minister’s story, he was assured that
he would not slay him and said, “I will have
patience with him, so I may get of him the story of
the Sage and his three Sons.” And he bade
him depart to his own house.
The Fifth Night of
the Month.
When the evening evened, the king sat private in his
chamber and summoning the Wazir, required of him the
promised story. So Al-Rahwan said, “Hear,
O king,
The Tale of the Sage and his Three Sons.[FN#355]
There was once a Sage of the sages, who had three
sons and sons’ sons, and when they waxed many
and their, seed multiplied, there befel dissension
between them. So he assembled them and said to
them, “Be ye single-handed against all others
and despise not one another lest the folk despise
you, and know that your case is the case of the man
and the rope which he cut easily, when it was single;
then he doubled it and could not cut it: on this
wise is division and union.[FN#356] And beware lest
ye seek help of others against your own selves or
ye will fall into perdition, for by what means soever
ye win your wish at his hand, his word will rank higher
than your word. Now I have money which I will
presently bury in a certain place, that it may be a
store for you against the time of your need.”
Then they left him and dispersed and one of the sons
fell to spying upon his sire, so that he saw him hide
the hoard outside the city. When he had made an
end of burying it, the Sage returned to his house;
and as soon as the morning morrowed, his son repaired
to the place where he had seen his father bury the
treasure and dug and took all the wealth he found
and fared forth. When the old man felt that his
death[FN#357] drew nigh, he called his sons to him
and acquainted them with the place where he had hidden
his hoard. As soon as he was dead, they went
and dug up the treasure and came upon much wealth,
for that the money, which the first son had taken singly
Page 104
and by stealth, was on the surface and he knew not
that under it were other monies. So they carried
it off and divided it and the first son claimed his
share with the rest and added it to that which he
had before taken, behind the backs of his father and
his brethren. Then he married his cousin, the
daughter of his father’s brother, and was blessed
through her with a male-child, who was the goodliest
of the folk of his time. When the boy grew up,
his father feared for him poverty and decline of case,
so he said to him, “Dear my son, know that during
my green days I wronged my brothers in the matter
of our father’s good, and I see thee in weal;
but, an thou come to want, ask not one of them nor
any other than they, for I have laid up for thee in
yonder chamber a treasure; but do not thou open it
until thou come to lack thy daily bread.”
Then the man died, and his money, which was a great
matter, fell to his son. The young man had not
patience to wait till he had made an end of that which
was with him, but rose and opened the chamber, and
behold, it was empty and its walls were whitened,
and in its midst was a rope hanging down as for a
bucket and ten bricks, one upon other, and a scroll,
wherein was written, “There is no help against
death; so hang thyself and beg not of any, but kick
away the bricks with thy toes, that there may be no
escape for thy life, and thou shalt be at rest from
the exultation of enemies and enviers and the bitterness
of beggary.” Now when the youth saw this,
he marvelled at that which his father had done and
said, “This is an ill treasure.”
Then he went forth and fell to eating and drinking
with the folk, till naught was left him and he passed
two days without tasting food, at the end of which
time he took a handkerchief and selling it for two
dirhams, bought bread and milk with the price and
left it on the shelf and went out. Whilst he
was gone, a dog came and seized the bread and polluted
the milk, and when the young man returned and saw
this, he beat his face, and fared forth distraught.
Presently, he met a friend, to whom he discovered
his case, and the other said to him, “Art thou
not ashamed to talk thus? How hast thou wasted
all this wealth and now comest telling lies and saying,
The dog hath mounted on the shelf, and talking such
nonsense?” And he reviled him. So the youth
returned to his house, and verily the world had waxed
black in his eyes and he cried, “My sire said
sooth.” Then he opened the chamber door
and piling up the bricks under his feet, put the rope
about his neck and kicked away the bricks and swung
himself off; whereupon the rope gave way with him
and he fell to the ground and the ceiling clave asunder
and there poured down on him a world of wealth.
So he knew that his sire meant to chasten him by means
of this and he invoked Allah’s mercy on him.
Then he got him again that which he had sold of lands
and houses and what not else and became once more
in good case; his friends also returned to him and
Page 105
he entertained them for some time. Then said he
to them one day, “There was with us bread and
the locusts ate it; so we set in its place a stone,
one cubit long and the like broad, and the locusts
came and nibbled away the stone, because of the smell
of the bread.” Quoth one of his friends
(and it was he who had given him the lie concerning
the dog and the bread and milk), “Marvel not
at this, for rats and mice do more than that.”
Thereupon he said, “Get ye home! In the
days of my poverty 1 was a liar when I told you of
the dogs jumping upon the shelf and eating the bread
and defiling the milk; and to-day, because I am rich
again, I say sooth when I tell you that locusts devoured
a stone one cubit long and one cubit broad.”
They were abashed by his speech and departed from
him; and the youth’s good prospered and his
case was amended. “Nor” (continued
the Wazir), “is this stranger or more seld-seen
than the story of the Prince who fell in love with
the picture.” Quoth the king, Shah Bakht,
“Haply, an I hear this story, I shall gain wisdom
from it: so I will not hasten in the slaying
of this Minister, nor will I do him die before the
thirty days have expired.” Then he gave
him leave to withdraw, and he hied away to his own
house.
The Sixth Night of
the Month.
When the day absconded and the evening arrived, the
king sat private in his chamber and, summoning the
Wazir, who presented himself to him, questioned him
of the story. So the Minister said, “Hear,
O auspicious king,
The Tale of the Prince who Fell in Love with the Picture.
There was once, in a province of Persia, a king of
the kings, who was great of degree, a magnifico, endowed
with majesty and girt by soldiery; but he was childless.
Towards the end of his life, his Lord vouchsafed him
a male-child, and that boy grew up and was comely
and learned all manner of lore. He made him a
private place, which was a towering palace, edified
with coloured marbles and jewels and paintings.
When the Prince entered the palace, he saw in its
ceiling the picture of a maiden, than whom he had
never beheld a fairer of aspect, and she was surrounded
by slave-girls; whereupon he fell down in a fainting
fit and became distracted for love of her. Then
he sat under the picture till his father came in to
him one day, and finding him lean of limb and changed
of complexion (which was by reason of his continual
looking on that picture), imagined that he was ill
and summoned the sages and the leaches, that they
might medicine him. He also said to one of his
cup-companions, “An thou canst learn what aileth
my son, thou shalt have of me the white hand."[FN#358]
Thereupon he went in to him and spake him fair and
cajoled him, till he confessed to him that his malady
was caused by the picture. Then the courtier
returned to the king and told him what ailed his son,
whereupon he transported the Prince to another palace
and made his former lodging the guest-house; and whoso
Page 106
of the Arabs was entertained therein, him he questioned
of the picture, but none could give him tidings thereof,
till one day, when there came a wayfarer who seeing
the picture, cried, “There is no god but the
God! My brother painted this portrait.”
So the king sent for him and questioned him of the
affair of the picture and where was he who had painted
it. He replied, “O my lord, we are two
brothers and one of us went to the land of Hind and
fell in love with the Indian king’s daughter,
and ’tis she who is the original of the portrait.
He is wont in every city he entereth to limn her likeness,
and I follow him, and longsome is my way.”
When the king’s son heard this, he said, “Needs
must I travel to this damsel.” So he took
all manner rare store and riches galore and journeyed
days and nights till he entered the land of Hind,
nor did he reach it save after sore travail. Then
he asked of the King of Hind who also heard of him,
and invited him to the palace. When the Prince
came before him, he sought of him his daughter in
marriage, and the king said, “Indeed, thou art
her match, but there is one objection, to wit, none
dare name a male before her because of her hate for
men.” So he pitched his tents under her
palace windows, till one day of the days he gat hold
of a girl, one of her favourite slave-girls, and gave
her a mint of money. Quoth she to him, “Hast
thou a need?” and quoth he, “Yes,”
and presently acquainted her with his case; when she
said “’In very sooth, thou puttest thyself
in peril.” Then he tarried, flattering
himself with false hopes, till all that he had with
him was gone and the servants fled from him; whereupon
he said to one in whom he trusted, “I am minded
to repair to my country and fetch what may suffice
me and return hither.” The other answered,
“’Tis for thee to judge.” So
they set out to return, but the way was long to them
and all that the Prince had with him was spent and
his company died and there abode but one with him whom
he loaded with the little that remained of the victual
and they left the rest and fared on. Then there
came out a lion and devoured the servant, and the
king’s son found himself alone. He went
on, till his hackney stood still, whereupon he left
it and walked till his feet swelled. Presently
he came to the land of the Turks,[FN#359] and he naked,
hungry, nor having with him aught but somewhat of
jewels, bound about his fore-arm.[FN#360] So he went
to the bazar of the goldsmiths and calling one of the
brokers gave him the gems. The broker looked and
seeing two great rubies, said to him, “Follow
me.” Accordingly, he followed him, till
he brought him to a goldsmith, to whom he gave the
jewels, saying, “Buy these.” He asked,
“Whence hadst thou these?” and the broker
answered, “This youth is the owner of them.”
Then said the goldsmith to the Prince, “Whence
hadst thou these rubies?” and he told him all
that had befallen him and that he was a king’s
son. The goldsmith sat astounded at his adventures
Page 107
and bought of him the rubies for a thousand gold pieces.
Then said the Prince to him, “Equip thyself
to go with me to my country.” So he made
ready and went with him till the king’s son drew
near the frontiers of his sire’s kingdom, where
the people received him with most honourable reception
and sent to acquaint his father with his son’s
arrival. The king came out to meet him and they
entreated the goldsmith with respect and regard.
The Prince abode a while with his sire, then set out,
he and the goldsmith, to return to the country of
the fair one, the daughter of the king of Hind; but
there met him highwaymen by the way and he fought
the sorest of fights and was slain. The goldsmith
buried him and set a mark[FN#361] on his grave and
returned to his own country sorrowing and distraught,
without telling any of the Prince’s violent
death. Such was the case of the king’s son
and the goldsmith; but as regards the Indian king’s
daughter of whom the Prince went in quest and on whose
account he was slain, she had been wont to look out
from the topmost terrace of her palace and to gaze
on the youth and on his beauty and loveliness; so she
said to her slave-girl one day, “Out on thee!
What is become of the troops which were camped beside
my palace?” The maid replied, “They were
the troops of the youth, son to the Persian king, who
came to demand thee in wedlock, and wearied himself
on thine account, but thou hadst no ruth on him.”
Cried the Princess, “Woe to thee! Why didst
thou not tell me?” and the damsel replied, “I
feared thy fury.” Then she sought an audience
of the king her sire and said to him, “By Allah,
I will go in quest of him, even as he came in quest
of me; else should I not do him justice as due.”
So she equipped herself and setting out, traversed
the wastes and spent treasures till she came to Sistan,
where she called a goldsmith to make her somewhat
of ornaments. Now as soon as the goldsmith saw
her, he knew her (for that the Prince had talked with
him of her and had depictured her to him), so he questioned
her of her case, and she acquainted him with her errand,
whereupon he buffeted his face and rent his raiment
and hove dust on his head and fell a-weeping.
Quoth she, “Why dost thou all this?” And
he acquainted her with the Prince’s case and
how he was his comrade and told her that he was dead;
whereat she grieved for him and faring on to his father
and mother, acquainted them with the case. Thereupon
the Prince’s father and his uncle and his mother
and the lords of the land repaired to his grave and
the Princess made mourning over him, crying aloud.
She abode by the tomb a whole month; then she caused
fetch painters and bade them limn her likeness and
the portraiture of the king’s son. She
also set down in writing their story and that which
had befallen them of perils and afflictions and placed
it, together with the pictures, at the head of the
grave; and after a little, they departed from the
spot. “Nor” (continued the Wazir),
“is this stranger, O king of the age, than the
story of the Fuller and his Wife and the Trooper and
what passed between them.” With this the
king bade the Minister hie away to his lodging, and
when he arose in the morning, he abode his day in
his house.
Page 108
The Seventh Night of
the Month.
At eventide the king sat in his wonted seat and sending
for the Wazir, said to him, “Tell me the story
of the Fuller and his Wife.” The Minister
replied, “With joy and goodly gree!” So
he came forward and said, “Hear, O king of the
age,
The Tale of the Fuller and his Wife and the Trooper.[FN#362]
There was once in a city of the cities a woman fair
of favour, who took to lover a trooper wight.
Her husband was a fuller, and when he went out to
his work, the trooper used to come to her and tarry
with her till the time of the fuller’s return,
when he would go away. After this fashion they
abode awhile, till one day the trooper said to his
mistress, “I mean to take me a tenement close
to thine and dig a Sardabsouterrain from my house to
thy house, and do thou say to thy spouse, ’My
sister hath been absent with her husband and now they
have returned from their travels; and I have made
her home herself in my neighbourhood, in order that
I may foregather with her at all times. So go
thou to her mate the trooper and offer him thy wares
for sale, and thou wilt see my sister with him and
wilt see that she is I and I am she, without a doubt.
Now, Allah, Allah,[FN#363] go to my sister’s
husband and give ear to that which he shall say to
thee.’” So the trooper bought him a house
near hand and made therein a tunnel abutting upon
his mistress’s house. When he had accomplished
his affair, the wife bespoke her husband as her lover
had lessoned her and he went out to go to the trooper’s
house, but turned back by the way, whereupon said
she to him, “By Allah, go at once, for my sister
asketh of thee.” The fool of a fuller went
out and made for the trooper’s house, whilst
his wife forewent him thither by the underground passage,
and going up, sat down beside the soldier her leman.
Presently, the fuller entered and saluted the trooper
and salamed to his own wife and was confounded at the
coincidence of the case.[FN#364] Then, doubt befalling
him, he returned in haste to his dwelling; but she
preceded him by the Sardab to her chamber and donning
her wonted clothes, sat awaiting him and said to him,
“Did I not bid thee go to my sister and greet
her husband and make friends with them?” Quoth
he, “I did this, but I misdoubted of my affair,
when I saw his wife;” and quoth she, “Did
I not tell thee that she favoureth me and I her, and
there is naught to distinguish between us but our
clothes? Go back to her and make sure.”
Accordingly, of the heaviness of his wit, he believed
her, and returning on his way, went in to the trooper;
but she had foregone him, and when he saw her by the
side of her lover, he began looking on her and pondering.
Then he saluted her and she returned him the salam;
and when she spoke he was clean bewildered. So
the trooper asked him, “What aileth thee to
be thus?” and he answered, “This woman
is my wife, and the speech is her speech.”
Then he rose in haste and, returning to his own house,
Page 109
saw his wife, who had preceded him by the secret passage.
So he went back to the trooper’s house and found
her sitting as before; whereupon he was abashed in
her presence and seating himself in the trooper’s
sitting-chamber, ate and drank with him and became
drunken and abode senseless all that day till nightfall,
when the trooper arose and, the fuller’s hair
being long and flowing, he shaved off a portion of
it after the fashion of the Turks,[FN#365] clipped
the rest short and clapped a Tarbush on his head.
Then he thrust his feet into walking-boots and girt
him with a sword and a girdle and bound about his
middle a quiver and a bow and arrows. He also
put some silvers in his poke and thrust into his sleeve
letters-patent addressed to the governor of Ispahan,
bidding him assign to Rustam Khamartakani a monthly
allowance of an hundred dirhams and ten pounds of
bread and five pounds of meat and enrol him among
the Turks under his commandment. After which he
took him up and carrying him forth, left him in one
of the mosques. The fuller ceased not sleeping
till sunrise, when he awoke and finding himself in
this plight, misdoubted of his affair and fancied that
he was a Turk and fell a-putting one foot forward and
drawing the other back. Then said he in himself,
“I will go to my dwelling, and if my wife know
me, then am I Ahmad the fuller; but an she know me
not, I am a Turk.” So he betook himself
to his house; but when his wife, the cunning witch,
saw him, she cried out in his face, saying, “Whither
now, O trooper? Wilt thou break into the house
of Ahmad the fuller, and he a man of repute, having
a brother-in-law a Turk, a man of rank with the Sultan?
An thou depart not, I will acquaint my husband and
he will requite thee thy deed.” When he
heard her words, the dregs of his drink wobbled in
his brain and he fancied that he was indeed a Turk.
So he went out from her and putting his hand to his
sleeve, found therein a writ and gave it to one who
read it to him. When he heard that which was
in the scroll, his mind was confirmed in his phantasy;
but he said to himself, “My wife may be seeking
to put a cheat on me; so I will go to my fellows the
fullers; and if they recognise me not, then am I for
sure Khamartakani the Turk.” So he betook
himself to the fullers and when they espied him afar
off, they thought that he was really Khamartakani or
one of the Turks, who used to send their washing to
them without payment and give them never a stiver.
Now they had complained of them aforetime to the Sultan,
and he said, “If any one of the Turks come to
you, pelt him with stones.” Accordingly,
when they saw the fuller, they fell upon him with
sticks and stones and pelted him; whereupon quoth
he, “Verily, I am a Turk and knew it not.”
Then he took of the dirhams in his pouch and bought
him victual for the way and hired a hackney and set
out for Ispahan, leaving his wife to the trooper.
“Nor,” continued the Wazir, “is this
stranger than the story of the Merchant and the Crone
and the King.” The Minister’s tale
pleased King Shah Bakht and his heart clave to the
story of the merchant and the old woman; so he bade
Al-Rahwan withdraw to his lodging, and he went away
to his house and abode there the next day till he
should be summoned to the presence.
Page 110
The Eighth Night of
the Month.
When the evening evened, the king sat private in his
chamber and bade fetch the Wazir, who presented himself
before him, and the king required of him the story.
So the Wazir answered “With love and gladness.
Hear, O king,
The Tale of the Merchant, the Crone and the King.
There was once a family of affluence and distinction,
in a city of Khorasan, and the townsfolk used to envy
them for that which Allah had vouchsafed them.
As time went on, their fortune ceased from them and
they passed away, till there remained of them but
one old woman. When she grew feeble and decrepit,
the townsfolk succoured her not with aught, but thrust
her forth of the city, saying, “This old woman
shall not neighbour with us, for that we do good to
her and she requiteth us with evil."[FN#366] So she
took shelter in a ruined place and strangers used to
bestow alms upon her, and in this way she tarried
a length of time. Now the king of that city had
aforetime contended for the kingship with his uncle’s
son, and the people disliked the king; but Allah Almighty
decreed that he should overcome his cousin. However,
jealousy of him abode in his heart and he acquainted
the Wazir, who hid it not and sent him money.
Furthermore, he fell to summoning all strangers who
came to the town, man after man, and questioning them
of their creed and their goods, and whoso answered
him not satisfactory, he took his wealth.[FN#367] Now
a certain wealthy man of the Moslems was way-faring,
without knowing aught of this, and it befel that he
arrived at that city by night, and coming to the ruin,
gave the old woman money and said to her, “No
harm upon thee.” Whereupon she lifted up
her voice and blessed him: so he set down his
merchandise by her and abode with her the rest of
the night and the next day. Now highwaymen had
followed him that they might rob him of his monies,
but succeeded not in aught: wherefore he went
up to the old woman and kissed her head and exceeded
in bounty to her. Then she warned him of that
which awaited strangers entering the town and said
to him, “I like not this for thee and I fear
mischief for thee from these questions that the Wazir
hath appointed for addressing the ignorant.”
And she expounded to him the case according to its
conditions: then said she to him, “But have
thou no concern: only carry me with thee to thy
lodging, and if he question thee of aught enigmatical,
whilst I am with thee, I will expound the answers
to thee.” So he carried the crone with him
to the city and lodged her in his lodging and entreated
her honourably. Presently, the Wazir heard of
the merchant’s coming; so he sent to him and
bade bring him to his house and talked with him awhile
of his travels and of whatso had befallen him therein,
and the merchant answered his queries. Then said
the Minister, “I will put certain critical questions
to thee, which an thou answer me, ’twill be
well for thee,” and the merchant rose and made
Page 111
him no answer. Quoth the Wazir, “What is
the weight of the elephant?” The merchant was
perplexed and returned him no reply, giving himself
up for lost; however, at last he said, “Grant
me three days of delay.” The minister granted
him the time he sought and he returned to his lodging
and related what had passed to the old woman, who
said, “When the morrow cometh, go to the Wazir
and say to him, ’Make a ship and launch it on
the sea and put in it an elephant, and when it sinketh
in the water, mark the place whereunto the water riseth.
Then take out the elephant and cast in stones in its
place, till the ship sink to that same mark; whereupon
do thou take out the stones and weigh them and thou
wilt presently know the weight of the elephant.’"[FN#368]
Accordingly, when he arose in the morning, he went
to the Wazir and repeated to him that which the old
woman had taught him; whereat the Minister marvelled
and said to him, “What sayest thou of a man,
who seeth in his house four holes, and in each hole
a viper offering to sally out upon him and slay him,
and in his house are four sticks and each hole may
not be stopped but with the ends of two sticks?
How, then, shall he stop all the holes and deliver
himself from the vipers?” When the merchant heard
this, there befel him such concern that it garred him
forget the first and he said to the Wazir, “Grant
me delay, so I may reflect on the reply”; and
the Minister cried, “Go out, and bring me the
answer, or I will seize thy monies.” The
merchant fared forth and returned to the old woman
who, seeing him changed of complexion, said to him,
“What did his hoariness ask thee?” So he
acquainted her with the case and she cried, “Fear
not; I will bring thee forth of this strait.”
Quoth he, “Allah requite thee with weal!”
Then quoth she, “To-morrow go to him with a stout
heart and say, ’The answer to that whereof thou
asketh me is this. Put the heads of two sticks
into one of the holes; then take the other two sticks
and lay them across the middle of the first two and
stop with their two heads the second hole and with
their ferrules the fourth hole. Then take the
ferrules of the first two sticks and stop with them
the third hole.’"[FN#369] So he repaired to the
Wazir and repeated to him the answer; and he marvelled
at its justness and said to him, “Go; by Allah;
I will ask thee no more questions, for thou with thy
skill marrest my foundation."[FN#370] Then he treated
him as a friend and the merchant acquainted him with
the affair of the old woman; whereupon quoth the Wazir,
“Needs must the intelligent company with the
intelligent.” Thus did this weak woman restore
to that man his life and his monies on the easiest
wise; “Nor,” continued the Wazir, “is
this stranger than the story of the Simpleton Husband.”
When the king heard this, he said, “How like
it must be to this our own case!” Then he bade
the Minister retire to his lodging; so he withdrew
and on the morrow he abode at home till the king should
summon him to his presence.
Page 112
The Ninth Night of
the Month.
When the night came, the king sat private in his chamber
and sending after the Wazir, sought of him the story;
and he said “Hear, O august king,
The Tale of the Simpleton Husband.[FN#371]
There was once in olden time a foolish man and an
ignorant, who had abounding wealth, and his wife was
a beautiful woman, who loved a handsome youth.
The Cicisbeo used to watch for her husband’s
absence and come to her, and on this wise he abode
a long while. One day of the days, as the woman
was closeted with her lover, he said to her, “O
my lady and my beloved, an thou desire me and love
me, give me possession of thy person and, satisfy
my need in the presence of thy husband; otherwise I
will never again come to thee nor draw near thee while
I live my life.” Now she loved him with
exceeding love and could not suffer his separation
an hour nor could endure to anger him; so, when she
heard his words, she said to him, “Bismillah,
so be it, in Allah’s name, O my darling and
coolth of mine eyes: may he not live who would
vex thee!” Quoth he, “To-day?” and
quoth she, “Yes, by thy life,” and made
an appointment with him for this. When her husband
came home, she said to him, “I want to go a-pleasuring,”
and he said, “With all my heart.”
So he went, till he came to a goodly place, abounding
in vines and water, whither he carried her and pitched
her a tent by the side of a tall tree; and she betook
herself to a place alongside the tent and made her
there a Sardab, in which she hid her lover. Then
said she to her husband, “I want to climb this
tree;"[FN#372] and he said, “Do so.”
So she clomb it and when she came to the tree-top,
she cried out and slapped her face, saying, “O
thou lecher, are these thy lewd ways? Thou swarest
faith to me, and thou liedest.” And she
repeated her speech twice and thrice. Then she
came down from the tree and rent her raiment and said,
“O lecher, an these be thy dealings with me
before my eyes, how dost thou when thou art absent
from me?” Quoth he, “What aileth thee?”
and quoth she, “I saw thee futter the woman
before my very eyes.” Cried he, “Not
so, by Allah! But hold thy peace till I go up
and see.” So he clomb the tree and no sooner
did he begin to do so than out came the lover from
his hiding-place and taking the woman by the legs,
fell to shagging her. When the husband came to
the top of the tree, he looked and beheld a man futtering
his wife; so he called out, “O whore, what doings
are these?” and he made haste to come down from
the tree to the ground. But meanwhile the lover
had returned to his hiding-place and his wife asked
him, “What sawest thou?” and he answered,
“I saw a man shag thee;” but she said,
“Thou liest; thou sawest naught and sayst this
only by way of phantasy.” The same they
did three several times, and every time he clomb the
tree the lover came up out of the underground place
and mounted her, whilst her husband looked on and she
still said, “Seest thou aught, O liar?”
Page 113
“Yes,” would he answer, and came down
in haste, but saw no one and she said to him, “By
my life, look and speak naught but sooth!” Then
he cried to her, “Arise, let us depart this
place, for ’tis full of Jinn and Marids."[FN#373]
Accordingly, they returned to their house and nighted
there, and the man arose in the morning, assured that
this was all but phantasy and fascination. And
so the lover won his wicked will. “Nor,
O king of the age,” continued the Wazir, “is
this stranger than the story of the King and the Tither.”
When the king heard this from the Minister, he bade
him go away, and he went.
The Tenth Night of
the Month.
When it was eventide, the king summoned the Wazir
and sought of him the story of the King and the Tither,
and he said, “Hear, O king,
The Tale of the Unjust King and the Tither.
There was once a king of the kings of the earth, who
dwelt in a flourishing city, abounding in good; but
he wronged its people and entreated them foully, so
that he ruined the city; and he was named naught else
but tyrant and oppressor. Now he was wont, whenas
he heard of a violent man in another land, to send
after him and lure him with lucre to take service
with him; and there was a certain Tither, who exceeded
all other Tithers in oppression of the people and
foul dealing. So the king sent after him and
when he stood before him, he found him a man of mighty
fine presence and said to him, “Thou hast been
described to me, but I see thou surpassest the description.
Set out to me some of thy doings and sayings, so I
may be dispensed therewith from enquiring into the
whole of thy case.” Answered the other,
“With all my heart! Know, O King, that
I oppress the folk and people the land, whilst other
than I ruineth it and peopleth it not.”
Now the king was leaning back: but presently he
sat upright and said, “Tell me of this.”
The Tither replied, “’Tis well: I
go to the man whom I purpose to tithe and cozen him
and feign to be busied with certain business, so that
I seclude myself therewith from the people; and meanwhile
the man is squeezed with the foulest of extortion,
till naught of money is left him. Then I appear
and they come in to me and questions arise concerning
him and I say, ’Indeed, I was ordered worse
than this, for some one (may Allah curse him!) hath
slandered him to the king.’ Presently I
take half of his good and return him the rest publicly
before the folk and dismiss him to his house, in all
honour and worship, and he garreth the money returned
be carried before him, whilst he blesseth me and all
who are with him also bless me. So is it bruited
abroad in the city that I have restored to him his
monies and he himself notifieth the like, to the intent
that he may have a claim on me for the favour due
to those who praise me. On this wise I keep half
his property. Then I seem to forget him till the
year[FN#374] hath passed over him, when I send for
him and recall to him somewhat of that which hath
Page 114
befallen aforetime and require of him somewhat of
money in secret; accordingly he doth this and hasteneth
to his house and forwardeth whatso I bid him, with
a contented heart. Then I send to another man,
between whom and the first is enmity, and lay hands
upon him and feign to the other man that it is he
who hath slandered him to the king and hath taken
the half of his good; and the people praise me."[FN#375]
The King wondered at this and at his wily dealing and
clever contrivance and made him controller of all
his affairs and of his kingdom and the land was placed
under his governance, and he said to him, “Take
and people.” [FN#376] One day, the Tither went
out and saw an old man, a woodcutter, and with him
wood; so he said to him, “Pay a dirham tithe
for thy load.” Quoth the Shaykh, “Behold,
thou killest me and killest my family;” and quoth
the Tither, “What? Who killeth the folk?”
And the oldster answered, “An thou let me enter
the city, I shall there sell the load for three dirhams,
whereof I will give thee one and buy with the other
two silvers what will support my family; but, an thou
press me for the tithe outside the city, the load
will sell but for one dirham and thou wilt take it
and I shall abide without food, I and my family.
Indeed, thou and I in this circumstance are like unto
David and Solomon (on the twain be the Peace!)”
“How so?” asked the Tither, and the woodcutter
answered, “Do thou hear
The Story of David and Solomon.
Certain husbandmen once made complaint to David (on
whom be the Peace!) against some sheep-owners, whose
flocks had come down upon their crops by night and
had devoured them, and he bade value the crops and
that the shepherds should make good the damage.
But Solomon (on whom be the Peace!) rose and said,
“Nay, but let the sheep be delivered to the
husbandmen, so they may take their milk and wool,
till they have recouped the value of their crops;
then let the sheep return to their owners.”
Accordingly David reversed his own decision and caused
execute that of Solomon; yet was David no oppressor;
but Solomon’s judgment was the juster and he
showed himself therein better versed in jurisprudence
and Holy Law.[FN#377] When the Tither heard the old
man’s speech, he felt ruthful and said to him,
“O Shaykh, I make thee a gift of that which
is due from thee, and do thou cleave to me and leave
me not, so haply I may get of thee gain which shall
do away from me my wrongousness and guide me on the
path of righteousness.” So the old man followed
him, and there met him another with a load of wood.
Quoth the Tither to him, “Pay me that which
thou owest me;” and quoth he, “Have patience
with me till to-morrow, for I owe the hire of a house,
and I will sell another load of fuel and pay thee two
days’ tithe.” But he refused him
this and the Shaykh said to him, “An thou constrain
him unto this, thou wilt compel him quit thy country,
because he is a stranger here and hath no domicile;
and if he remove on account of one dirham, thou wilt
Page 115
forfeit of him three hundred and sixty dirhams a year.[FN#378]
Thus wilt thou lose the mickle in keeping the little.”
Quoth the Tither, “Verily[FN#379] will I give
him a dirham every month to the rent of his lodging.”
Then he went on and presently there met him a third
woodcutter and he said to him, “Pay thy due;”
but he said, “I will pay thee a dirham, when
I enter the city; or take of me four daniks[FN#380]
now.” Quoth the Tither, “I will not
do it,” but the Shaykh said to him, “Take
of him the four daniks presently, for ’tis easy
to take and hard to give back.” Exclaimed
the Tither, “By Allah ’tis good!”
and he arose and hied on, crying out at the top of
his voice and saying, “I have no power this
day to do evil."[FN#381] Then he doffed his dress and
went forth wandering at a venture, repenting unto his
Lord. “Nor” (continued the Wazir),
“is this story stranger than that of the Robber
who believed the Woman and sought refuge with Allah
against falling in with her like, by reason of her
cunning contrivance for herself.” When
the king heard this, he said to himself, “Since
the Tither repented, in consequence of the woodcutter’s
warnings, it behoveth I leave this Wazir on life so
I may hear the story of the Robber and the Woman.”
And he bade Al-Rahwan return to his lodging.
The Eleventh Night
of the Month.
When the evening came and the king had taken his seat,
he summoned the Wazir and required of him the story
of the Robber and the Woman. Quoth the Minister,
“Hear, O king,
The Tale of the Robber and the Woman.
A certain Robber was a cunning workman and used not
to steal aught, till he had wasted all that was with
him; moreover, he stole not from his neighbours, neither
companied with any of the thieves, for fear lest some
one should betray him, and his case become public.
After this fashion he abode a great while, in flourishing
condition, and his secret was concealed, till Almighty
Allah decreed that he broke in upon a beggar, a poor
man whom he deemed rich. When he gained access
to the house, he found naught, whereat he was wroth,
and necessity prompted him to wake that man, who lay
asleep alongside of his wife. So he aroused him
and said to him, “Show me thy treasure.”
Now he had no treasure to show; but the Robber believed
him not and was instant upon him with threats and
blows. When he saw that he got no profit of him,
he said to him, “Swear by the oath of divorce[FN#382]
from thy wife that thou hast nothing.”
So he sware and his wife said to him, “Fie on
thee! Wilt thou divorce me? Is not the hoard
buried in yonder chamber?” Then she turned to
the Robber and conjured him to be weightier of blows
upon her husband, till he should deliver to him the
treasure, anent which he had forsworn himself.
So he drubbed him with a grievous drubbing, till he
carried him to a certain chamber, wherein she signed
to him that the hoard was and that he should take
it up. So the Robber entered, he and the husband;
Page 116
and when they were both in the chamber, she locked
on them the door, which was a stout and strong, and
said to the Robber, “Woe to thee, O fool!
Thou hast fallen into the trap and now I have but
to cry out and the officers of police will come and
take thee and thou wilt lose thy life, O Satan!”
Quoth he, “Let me go forth;” and quoth
she, “Thou art a man and I am a woman; and in
thy hand is a knife, and I am afraid of thee.”
He cried, “Take the knife from me.”
So she took it and said to her husband, “Art
thou a woman and he a man? Pain his neck-nape
with tunding, even as he tunded thee; and if he put
out his hand to thee, I will cry out a single cry
and the policemen will come and take him and hew him
in two.” So the husband said to him, “O
thousand-horned,[FN#383] O dog, O dodger, I owe thee
a deposit[FN#384] wherefor thou hast dunned me.”
And he fell to bashing him grievously with a stick
of holm-oak,[FN#385] whilst he called out to the woman
for help and prayed her to deliver him: but she
said, “Keep thy place till the morning, and thou
shalt see queer things.” And her husband
beat him within the chamber, till he killed[FN#386]
him and he swooned away. Then he left beating
him and when the Robber came to himself, the woman
said to her husband, “O man, this house is on
hire and we owe its owners much money, and we have
naught; so how wilt thou do?” And she went on
to bespeak him thus. The Robber asked “And
what is the amount of the rent?” ’The
husband answered, “’Twill be eighty dirhams;”
and the thief said, “I will pay this for thee
and do thou let me go my way.” Then the
wife enquired, “O man, how much do we owe the
baker and the greengrocer?” Quoth the Robber,
“What is the sum of this?” And the husband
said, “Sixty dirhams.” Rejoined the
other, “That makes two hundred dirhams; let me
go my way and I will pay them.” But the
wife said, O my dear, and the girl groweth up and
needs must we marry her and equip her and do what
else is needful.” So the Robber said to
the husband, “How much dost thou want?”
and he rejoined, “An hundred dirhams in a modest
way."[FN#387] Quoth the Robber, “That maketh
three hundred dirhams.” Then the woman
said, “O my dear, when the girl is married,
thou wilt need money for winter expenses, charcoal
and firewood and other necessaries.” The
Robber asked “What wouldst thou have?”
And she answered, “An hundred dirhams.”
He rejoined, “Be it four hundred dirhams.”
And she continued, “O my dear and O coolth of
mine eyes, needs must my husband have capital in hand,[FN#388]
wherewith he may buy goods and open him a shop.”
Said he, “How much will that be?” And she,
“An hundred dirhams.” Quoth the Robber,
“That maketh five hundred dirhams; I will pay
it; but may I be triply divorced from my wife if all
my possessions amount to more than this, and they
be the savings of twenty years! Let me go my
way, so I may deliver them to thee.” Cried
she, “O fool, how shall I let thee go thy way?
Utterly impossible! Be pleased to give me a right
Page 117
token."[FN#389] So he gave her a token for his wife
and she cried out to her young daughter and said to
her, “Keep this door.” Then she charge
her husband to watch over the Robber, till she should
return, and repairing to his wife, acquainted her
with his case and told her that her husband the thief
had been taken and had compounded for his release,
at the price of seven hundred dirhams, and named to
her the token. Accordingly, she gave her the money
and she took it and returned to her house. By
this time, the dawn had dawned; so she let the thief
go his way, and when he went out, she said to him,
“O my dear, when shall I see thee come and take
the treasure?” And he, “O indebted one,[FN#390]
when thou needest other seven hundred dirhams, wherewith
to amend thy case and that of thy children and to
pay thy debts.” And he went out, hardly
believing in his deliverance from her. “Nor,”
continued the Wazir, “is this stranger than
the story of the Three Men and our Lord Isa.”
So the king bade him hie to his own home.
The Twelfth Night of
the Month.
When it was eventide, the king summoned the Minister
and bade him tell the promised tale. He replied,
“Hearing and obeying. Give ear, O glorious
king, to
The Tale of the Three Men and our Lord Isa.
Three men once went out questing treasure and came
upon a nugget of gold, weighing fifty maunds.[FN#391]
When they saw it, they took it up on their shoulders
and carried it till they drew near a certain city,
when one of them said, “Let us sit in the cathedral-mosque,[FN#392]
whilst one of us shall go and buy us what we may eat.”
So they sat down in the mosque and one of them arose
and entered the city. When he came therein, his
soul prompted him to false his two fellows and get
the gold to himself alone. Accordingly, he bought
food and poisoned it: but, when he returned to
his comrades, they sprang upon him and slew him, in
order that they might enjoy the gold without him.
Then they ate of the poisoned food and died, and the
gold lay cast down over against them. Presently,
Isa bin Maryam (on whom be the Peace!) passed by and
seeing this, besought Allah Almighty for tidings of
their case; so He told him what had betided them, whereat
great was his surprise and he related to his disciples[FN#393]
what he had seen. Quoth one of them, “O
Spirit of Allah,[FN#394] naught resembleth this but
my own adventure.” Quoth Isa, “How
so?” and the other began to tell
The Disciple’s Story.
Once I was in such a city, where I hid a thousand
dirhams in a monastery. After a while, I went
thither and taking the money, bound it about my waist.
Then I set out to return and when I came to the Sahara[FN#395]-waste,
the carrying of the money was heavy upon me.
Presently, I espied a horseman pushing on after me;
so I waited till he came up and said to him, “O
rider, carry this money for me and earn reward and
recompense in Heaven.” Said he, “No,
I will not do it, for I should tire myself and tire
Page 118
out my horse.” Then he went on but, before
he had gone far, he said in his mind, “An I
take up the money and put my steed to speed and devance
him, how shall he overtake me?” And I also said
in my mind, “Verily, I erred; for, had he taken
the money and made off, what could I have done?”
Then he turned back to me and cried to me, “Hand
over the money, that I may carry it for thee.”
But I replied to him, “That which hath occurred
to thy mind hath occurred to mine also; so go thou
and go safe.” Quoth Isa (on whom be the
Peace!), “Had these done prudently, they had
taken thought for themselves; but they unheeded the
issues of events; for that whoso acteth cautiously
is safe and winneth his wish, and whoso neglecteth
precaution is lost and repenteth."[FN#396] “Nor,”
continued the Wazir, “is this stranger or rarer
than the story of the King, whose kingdom was restored
to him and his wealth, after he had become poor, possessing
not a single dirham.” When the king heard
this, he said in himself, “How like is this
to my own story in the matter of the Minister and his
slaughter! Had I not used deliberation, I had
done him dead.” And he bade AlRahwan hie
to his own home.
The Thirteenth Night
of the Month.
When the even evened, the king sent for the Wazir
to his sitting-chamber and bade him tell the promised
tale. So he said, “Hearkening and obedience.
They relate, O king,
The Tale of the Dethroned Ruler Whose Reign and Wealth
Were Restored to Him.
There was once, in a city of the cities of Al-Hind,
a just king and a beneficent, and he had a Wazir,
a man of understanding, upright in his rede, and praiseworthy
in his policy, a Minister in whose hand was the handling
of all the affairs of the realm; for he was firmly
based on the Sultan’s favour and high in esteem
with the folk of his time, and the king set great store
by him and entrusted himself to him in all his transactions,
by reason of his excellent management of the lieges,
and he had guards[FN#397] who were content with him
and grateful to him. Now that king had a brother,
who envied him and would lief have taken his place;
and when he was a-weary of looking for his death and
the term of his life seemed distant, he took counsel
with certain of his partisans and they said, “The
Minister is the monarch’s counsellor and but
for this Wazir the king were kingdomless.”
So the pretender cast about for the ruin of the defender,
but could find no means of furthering his design;
and when the affair grew longsome upon him, he said
to his wife, “What deemest thou will gar us
gain herein?” “What is it?” “I
mean in the matter of yonder Minister, who inciteth
my brother to worship with all his might and biddeth
him unto devoutness, and indeed the king doteth upon
his counsel and stablisheth him governor of all monies
and matters.” “True; but how shall
we devise with him?” “I have a device,
so thou wilt help me in that which I shall say to thee.”
“Thou shalt have my help in whatsoever thou desirest.”
Page 119
“I mean to dig him a pit in the vestibule and
conceal it artfully.” Accordingly, he did
this, and when it was night, he covered the pit with
a light covering, so that, when the Wazir trod upon
it, it would give way under his tread. Then he
sent to him and summoned him to the Court in the king’s
name, and the messenger bade him enter by the private
wicket-way. So he came in alone, and when he
stepped upon the covering of the pit, it caved in
with him and he fell to the bottom; whereupon the king’s
brother fell to pelting him with stones. When
the Minister beheld what had betided him he gave himself
up for lost; so he stirred not for a while and lay
still. The Prince, seeing him make no sign, deemed
him dead; so he took him forth and wrapping him up
in his robes, cast him into the surges of the sea
in the middle night. When the Wazir felt the
water, he awoke from the swoon and swam for an hour
or so, till a ship passed by him, whereupon he shouted
to the sailors and they took him up. Now when
the morning morrowed, the people went seeking for
him, but found him not; and the king learning this,
was perplexed concerning his affair and abode unknowing
whatso he should do. Then he sought for a Minister
to stand in his stead, and the king’s brother
said, “I have for Wazir an efficient man.”
Said the king, “Bring him to me.”
So he brought him a man, whom he set at the head of
affairs; but he seized upon the kingdom and threw
the king in fetters and made his brother king in lieu
of him. The new ruler gave himself up to all
manner of frowardness, whereat the folk murmured and
his Minister said to him, “I fear lest the Hindians
take the old king and restore him to the kingship
and we both come to ruin: so, if we seize him
and cast him into the sea, we shall be at rest from
him; and we will publish among the folk that he is
dead.” And they, agreeing upon this, took
him up and carrying him out to sea, cast him in.
When he felt the water, he struck out, and ceased
not swimming till he landed upon an island, where he
tarried five days finding nothing which he might eat
or drink; but, on the sixth day, when he despaired
of his life, behold, there passed a ship; so he made
signals to the crew and they came and took him up
and fared on with him to an inhabited country, where
they set him ashore, mother-naked as he was. There,
seeing a man seeding, he sought guidance of him and
the husbandman asked, “Art thou a foreigner?”
“Yes,” answered the king and sat with
him and they talked. The peasant found him clever
and quick-witted and said to him, “An thou beheld
a comrade of mine, thou wouldst see him the like of
what I see thee, for his case is even as thy case,
and he is at this present my friend.” Quoth
the king, “Verily, thou makest me long to look
at him. Canst thou not bring us together, me
and him?” Quoth the husbandman, “With joy
and goodly gree;” and the king sat with him till
he had made an end of his seeding, when he carried
him to his homestead and brought him in company with
Page 120
the other stranger, and behold it was his Wazir.
When each saw other, the twain wept and embraced, and
the sower wept for their weeping; but the king hid
their affair and said to him, “This man is from
my mother-land and he is as my brother.”
So they homed with the husbandman and helped him for
a hire, wherewith they supported themselves a long
spell. Meanwhile, they sought news of their patrial
stead and learned that which its people suffered of
straitness and severity. One day there came a
ship and in it a merchant from their own country,
who knew them and rejoiced in them with joy exceeding
and clad them in goodly clothing. He also acquainted
them with the manner of the treachery that had been
practised upon them, and counselled them to return
to their own land, they and he with whom they had
made friends,[FN#398] assuring them that Almighty
Allah would restore them to their former rank.
So the king returned and the folk joined themselves
to him and he fell upon his brother and his Wazir
and took them and threw them into jail. Then
he sat down again upon the throne of his kingship,
whilst the Minister stood between his hands and they
returned to their former estate, but they had naught
of worldly wealth. Presently the king said to
his Wazir, “How shall we continue tarrying in
this city, and we thus poorly conditioned?” and
he answered, “Be at thine ease and have no concern.”
Then he singled out one of the soldiers[FN#399] and
said to him, “Send us thy service[FN#400] for
the year.” Now there were in the city fifty
thousand subjects[FN#401] and in the hamlets and villages[FN#402]
a like number; and the Minister sent to each of these,
saying, “Let each and every of you get an egg
and set it under a hen.” They did this
and it was neither burden nor grievance to them; and
when twenty days had passed by, each egg was hatched,
and the Wazir bade them pair the chickens, male with
female, and rear them well. They did accordingly
and it was found a charge unto no one. Then they
waited for them awhile and after this the Minister
asked of the chickens and was answered that they were
become fowls. Furthermore, they brought him all
their eggs and he bade set them; and after twenty
days there were hatched from each pair of them thirty
or five-and-twenty or fifteen chickens at the least.
The Wazir bade note against each man the number of
chickens which pertained to him, and after two months,
he took the old partlets and the cockerels, and there
came to him from each man some half a score, and he
left the young partlets with them. Even so he
sent to the country folk and let the cocks remain
with them. Thus he got him whole broods of young
poultry and appropriated to himself the sale of the
fowls, and on this wise he gained for him, in the
course of a year, that which the kingly estate required
of the King, and his affairs were set right for him
by the cunning contrivance of the Minister. And
he caused the country to thrive and dealt justly by
Page 121
his subjects and returned to them all that he took
from them and lived a grateful and prosperous life.
Thus right counsel and prudence are better than wealth,
for that understanding profiteth at all times and
seasons. “Nor,” continued the Wazir,
“is this stranger than the story of the Man
whose caution slew him.” When the king heard
the words of his Wazir, he wondered with the uttermost
wonder and bade him retire to his lodging.
The Fourteenth Night
of the Month.
Whenthe Minister returned to the presence, the King
sought of him the story of the Man whose caution slew
him and he said, “Hear, O auspicious King,
The Tale of the Man whose Caution Slew Him.
There was once a man who was cautious exceedingly
concerning himself, and he set out one day on a journey
to a land abounding in wild beasts. The caravan
wherewith he fared came by night to the gate of a
city; but the warders would not open to them, for
there were lions there; so they nighted without the
walls. Now that man, of the excess of his caution,
could not determine a place wherein he should pass
the night, for fear of the wild beasts and reptiles;
so he went about seeking an empty stead wherein he
might lie. At last, as there was a ruined building
hard by, he climbed up on to a high wall and ceased
not clambering hither and thither, of the excess of
his carefulness, till his feet betrayed him and he
slipped and fell to the bottom and died, whilst his
companions arose in the morning safe and sound.
Now, had he overmastered his wrongous rede and had
he submitted himself to Fate and Fortune, it had been
safer and better for him; but he made light of the
folk and belittled their wit and was not content to
take example by them; for his soul whispered him that
he was a man of wits and he fancied that, an he abode
with them, he would perish; so his folly cast him into
perdition. “Nor,” continued the Wazir,
“is this stranger than the story of the Man
who was lavish of his house and his provision to one
he knew not.” When the King heard this,
he said, “I will not separate myself from the
folk and slay my Minister.” And he bade
him hie to his own house.
The Fifteenth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King bade fetch the Wazir
and required of him the story. So he said, “Hear,
O King,
The Tale of the Man who was Lavish of his House and
his Provision to One Whom He Knew Not.
There was once an Arab of high rank and noble presence,
a model of magnanimity and exalted generosity, and
he had brethren, with whom he consorted and caroused,
and they were wont to assemble by rotation at one
another’s homes. When it came to his turn,
he gat ready in his house all manner goodly meats
and pleasant and dainty drinks and the fairest flowers
and the finest fruits, and he provided all kinds of
instruments of music and store of wondrous dictes
and marvellous stories and pleasant instances and
histories and witty anecdotes and verses and what not
Page 122
else, for there was none among those with whom he
was wont to company but enjoyed this in every goodly
fashion, and the entertainment he had provided contained
all whereof each had need. Then he sallied forth
in quest of his friends, and went round about the city,
so he might assemble them; but found none of them
at home. Now in that town was a man of pleasant
conversation and large generosity, a merchant of condition,
young of years and bright of blee, who had come to
that place from his own country with merchandise in
great store and wealth galore. He took up his
abode therein and the town was pleasant to him and
he was large in lavishing, so that he came to the
end of all this wealth and there remained in his hand
naught save what was upon him of raiment. So
he left the lodging which had homed him in the days
of his prosperity; after he had wasted that which was
therein of furniture, and fell to finding refuge in
the houses of the townsfolk from night to night.
One day, as he went wandering about the streets, he
beheld a woman of the uttermost beauty and loveliness,
and what he saw of her charms amazed him and there
happened to him what made him forget his sorry plight.
She accosted him and jested with him and he besought
her of union and intimacy; so she consented to this
and said to him, “Let us go to thy lodging.”
Herewith he repented and was perplexed concerning
his procedure and grieved for that which must escape
him of her company by reason of the straitness of
his hand, for that he had not a whit of spending-money.
But he was ashamed to say “No,” after
he had sued and wooed her; wherefore he went on before
her, bethinking him how he should rid himself of her
and seeking some excuse which he might put off on
her, and gave not over going from street to street,
till he entered one that had no issue and saw, at
the farther end, a door, whereon was a padlock.[FN#403]
Then said he to her, “Do thou excuse me, for
my lad hath locked the door and how shall we open
it?” Said she, “O my lord, the padlock
is worth only some ten dirhams;” and presently
she tucked up her sleeves from forearms as they were
crystal and taking a stone, smote the padlock and
broke it; and, opening the door, said to him, “Enter,
O my lord.” Accordingly he went in, committing
his affair to Allah (to whom belong Honour and Glory),
and she entered after him and locked the door from
within. They found themselves in a pleasant house,
collecting all good and gladness; and the young man
fared forwards, till he came to the sitting-chamber,
and, behold, it was furnished with the finest of furniture
as hath before been set out.[FN#404] He seated himself
and leant upon a cushion, whilst she put out her hand
to her veil and doffed it. Then she threw off
her heavy outer clothes till she was clad in the thinnest
which showed her charms, whereupon the young man embraced
her and kissed her and enjoyed her; after which they
washed with the Ghusl-ablution and returned to their
place and he said to her, “Know that I have little
Page 123
knowledge of what goeth on in my own house, for that
I trust to my servant: so arise thou and see
what the lad hath made ready in the kitchen.”
Accordingly, she arose and going down into the kitchen,
saw cooking pots over the fire, wherein were all manner
of dainty viands, and firstsbread[FN#405] and fresh
almond cakes.[FN#406] So she set bread on a dish and
ladled out what she would from the pots and brought
it to him. They ate and drank and played and
made merry a while of the day; and as they were thus
engaged, suddenly up came the master of the house,
with his friends, whom he had brought with him, that
they might converse together, as of wont. He
saw the door opened and knocked a light knock, saying
to his company, “Have patience with me, for
some of my family are come to visit me: wherefore
excuse belongeth first to Allah Almighty, and then
to you."[FN#407] So they farewelled him and fared
their ways, whilst he rapped another light rap at the
door. When the young man heard this, he changed
colour and the woman said to him, “Methinks
thy lad hath returned.” He answered, “Yes;”
and she arose and opening the door to the master of
the house, said to him, “Where hast thou been?
Indeed, thy master is angry with thee!” and
he said, “O my lady, I have not been save about
his business.” Then he girt his waist with
a kerchief and entering, saluted the young merchant,
who said to him, “Where hast thou been?”
Quoth he, “I have done thine errands;”
and quoth the youth, “Go and eat and come hither
and drink.” So he went away, as he bade
him, and ate; then he washed hands and returning to
the sittingroom, sat down on the carpet and fell to
talking with them; whereupon the young merchant’s
heart was heartened and his breast broadened and he
applied himself to pleasure. They were in all
joyance of life and the most abounding pleasance till
a third part of the night was past, when the house-master
arose, and spreading them a bed, invited them to take
their rest. So they lay down and the youth wide
awake, pondering their affair till daybreak, when
the woman roused herself from sleep and said to her
companion, “I wish to go.” He farewelled
her and she departed; whereupon the master of the
house followed her with a purse of silver and gave
it to her, saying, “Blame not my lord,”
and made his excuse to her for his master. Then
he returned to the youth and said to him, “Arise
and come to the Hammam;"[FN#408] and he fell to shampooing
his hands and feet, whilst the youth called down blessings
on him and said “O my lord, who art thou?
Methinks there is not in the world the like of thee;
no, nor a pleasanter in thy disposition.”
Then each of the twain acquainted the other with his
case and condition and they went to the bath; after
which the master of the house conjured the young merchant
to return with him and summoned his friends.
So they ate and drank and he told them the tale, wherefore
they thanked the house-master and praised him; and
their friendship was complete while the young merchant
abode in the town, till Allah made easy to him a means
of travel, whereupon they farewelled him and he departed;
and this is the end of his tale. “Nor,”
continued the Wazir, “O king of the age, is
this stranger than the story of the Richard who lost
his wealth and his wit.” When the king
heard the Minister’s story, it pleased him and
he bade him hie to his home.
Page 124
The Sixteenth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King sat in his sitting-chamber
and sending for his Wazir, bade him relate the story
of the Wealthy Man who lost his wealth and his wit.
So he said, “Hear, O King,
The Tale of the Melancholist and the Sharper.[FN#409]
There was once a Richard hight ’Ajlan, the Hasty,
who wasted his wealth, and concern and chagrin gat
the mastery of him, so that he became a Melancholist[FN#410]
and lost his wit. There remained with him of
his monies about twenty dinars and he used to beg
alms of the folk, and whatso they gave him in charity
he would gather together and add to the gold pieces
that were left him. Now there was in that town
a Sharper, who made his living by roguery, and he
knew that the Melancholist had somewhat of money;
so he fell to spying upon him and ceased not watching
him till he saw him put into an earthen pot that which
he had with him of silvers and enter a deserted ruin,
where he sat down, as if to make water, and dug a
hole, wherein he laid the pot and covering it up,
smoothed the ground as it had been. Then he went
away and the Sharper came and taking what was in the
pot, restored it to its former place. Presently
’Ajlan returned, with somewhat to add to his
hoard, but found it not; so he bethought him of who
had followed him and remembered that he had found
that Sharper assiduous in sitting with him and questioning
him. So he went in search of him, assured that
he had taken the pot, and gave not over looking for
him till he saw him sitting; whereupon he ran to him
and the Sharper saw him. Then the Melancholist
stood within earshot and muttered[FN#411] to himself
and said, “In the pot are sixty ducats and I
have with me other twenty in such a place and to-day
I will unite the whole in the pot.” When
the Sharper heard him say this to himself, muttering
and mumbling, repeating and blundering in his speech,
he repented him of having taken the sequins and said,
“He will presently return to the pot[FN#412]
and find it empty; wherefore that for which I am on
the look-out will escape me; and meseemeth ’twere
best I replace the dinars, so he may see them and
leave all which is with him in the pot, and I can
take the whole.” Now he feared to return
to the pot at once, lest the Melancholist should follow
him to the place and find nothing and on this wise
his arrangements be marred; so he said to him, “O
’Ajlan,[FN#413] I would have thee come to my
lodging and eat bread with me.” Thereupon
the Melancholist went with him to his quarters and
he seated him there and going to the market, sold
somewhat of his clothes and pawned somewhat from his
house and bought the best of food. Then he betook
himself to the ruin and replacing the money in the
pot, buried it again; after which he returned to his
lodging and gave the Melancholist to eat and drink,
and they went out together. The Sharper walked
away and hid himself, lest his guest should see him,
Page 125
whilst ’Ajlan repaired to his hiding-place and
took the pot. Presently, the Sharper returned
to the ruin, rejoicing in that which he deemed he
should get, and dug in the place, but found naught
and knew that the Melancholist had outwitted him.
So he began buffetting his face for regret, and fell
to following the other whitherso he went, to the intent
that he might win what was with him, but he failed
in this, because the Melancholist knew what was in
his mind and was assured that he spied upon him; so
he kept watch over himself. Now, had the Sharper
considered the consequences of haste and that which
is begotten of loss therefrom, he had not done on
such wise. “Nor,” continued the Wazir,
“is this tale, O king of the age, rarer or stranger
or daintier than the story of Khalbas[FN#414] and
his Wife and the learned man and that which befel
between the three.” When the king heard
this story, he left his purpose of putting the Minister
to death and his soul bade him to continue him on
life. So he ordered him off to his house.
The Seventeenth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King summoned the Minister,
and as soon as he presented himself, he required of
him the story. So he said, “Hearkening
and obedience. Hear, O august King,
The Tale of Khalbas and his Wife and the Learned Man.
There was once a man called Khalbas, who was a fulsome
fellow, a calamity, notorious for this note, and he
had a charming wife, renowned for beauty and loveliness.
A man of his townsfolk fell in love with her and she
also loved him. Now Khalbas was a wily wight
and full of guile, and there was in his neighbourhood
a learned man, to whom the folk used to resort every
day and he told them histories and admonished them
with moral instances; and Khalbas was wont to be present
in his assembly, for the sake of making a show before
the folk. This learned man also had a wife famed
for comeliness and seemlihead and quickness of wit
and understanding and the lover sought some device
whereby he might manage to meet Khalbas’s wife;
so he came to him and told him as a secret what he
had seen of the learned man’s wife and confided
to him that he was in love with her and besought his
assistance in this. Khalbas told him that she
was known as a model of chastity and continence and
that she exposed herself not to ill doubts; but the
other said, “I cannot renounce her, in the first
place because the woman inclineth to me and coveteth
my wealth, and secondly, because of the greatness
of my fondness for her; and naught is wanting but
thy help.” Quoth Khalbas, “I will
do thy will;” and quoth the other, “Thou
shalt have of me every day two silvern dirhams, on
condition that thou sit with the learned man and that,
when he riseth from the assembly, thou speak a word
which shall notify to me the breaking up of the meeting.”
So they agreed upon that and Khalbas entered and sat
in the session, whilst the lover was assured in his
Page 126
heart that the secret was safe and secure with him,
wherefore he rejoiced and was content to pay the two
dirhams. Then Khalbas used to attend the learned
man’s assembly, whilst the other would go in
to his wife and be very much with her, on such wise
as he thought good, till the learned man arose from
his meeting; and when Khalbas saw that he proposed
rising, he would speak a word for the lover to hear,
whereupon he went forth from the wife of Khalbas who
knew not that doom was in his own home. But when
the learned man saw Khalbas do the same thing every
day, he began to suspect him, especially on account
of that which he knew of his bad name, and suspicion
grew upon him; so, one day, he resolved to advance
the time of his rising ere the wonted hour and hastening
up to Khalbas, seized him and said to him, “By
Allah, an thou say a single syllable, I will do thee
a damage!” Then he went in to his wife, with
Khalbas in his grip, and behold, she was sitting, as
of her wont, nor was there about her aught of suspicious
or unseemly. The learned man bethought him awhile
of this, then made for Khalbas’s house, which
adjoined his own, still holding his man; and when
they entered, they found the young lover lying on
the bed with Khalbas’s wife; whereupon quoth
the learned man to him, “O accursed, the doom
is with thee and in thine own home!” So Khalbas
divorced his wife and went forth, fleeing, and returned
not to his own land. “This, then”
(continued the Wazir), “is the consequence of
lewdness, for whoso purposeth in himself wile and
perfidious guile, they get possession of him, and had
Khalbas conceived of himself that dishonour and calamity
which he conceived of the folk, there had betided
him nothing of this. Nor is this tale, rare and
curious though it be, stranger or rarer than the story
of the Devotee whose husband’s brother accused
her of lewdness.” When the king heard this,
wonderment gat hold of him and his admiration for
the Wazir redoubled; so he bade him hie to his home
and return to him on the morrow, according to his
custom. So the Minister withdrew to his lodging,
where he passed the night and the ensuing day.
The Eighteenth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King summoned the Wazir
and required of him the story; so he said, “’Tis
well. Hear O King,
The Tale of the Devotee Accused of Lewdness.[FN#415]
There was once a man of Nishabur[FN#416] who, having
a wife of the uttermost beauty and piety, yet was
minded to set out on the pilgrimage. So before
leaving home he commended her to the care of his brother
and besought him to aid her in her affairs and further
her wishes till he should return, for the brothers
were on the most intimate terms.[FN#417] Then he took
ship and departed and his absence was prolonged.
Meanwhile, the brother went to visit his brother’s
wife, at all times and seasons, and questioned her
of her circumstances and went about her wants; and
when his calls were prolonged and he heard her speech
Page 127
and saw her face, the love of her gat hold upon his
heart and he became passionately fond of her and his
soul prompted him to evil. So he besought her
to lie with him, but she refused and showed him how
foul was his deed, and he found him no way to win what
he wished;[FN#418] wherefore he wooed her with soft
speech and gentle ways. Now she was righteous
in all her doings and never swerved from one saying;[FN#419]
so, when he saw that she consented not to him, he
had no doubts but that she would tell his brother,
when he returned from his journey, and quoth he to
her, “An thou consent not to whatso I require
of thee, I will cause a scandal to befal thee and
thou wilt perish.” Quoth she, “Allah
(extolled and exalted be He!) judge betwixt me and
thee, and know that, shouldst thou hew me limb from
limb, I would not consent to that thou biddest me
to do.” His ignorance[FN#420] of womankind
persuaded him that she would tell her spouse; so he
betook himself of his exceeding despite, to a company
of people in the mosque and informed them that he
had witnessed a man commit adultery with his brother’s
wife. They believed his word and documented his
charge and assembled to stone her.[FN#421] Then they
dug her a pit outside the city and seating her therein,
stoned her, till they deemed her dead, when they left
her. Presently a Shaykh of a village passed by
the pit and finding her alive, carried her to his
house and cured her of her wounds. Now he had
a youthful son, who, as soon as he saw her, loved her
and besought her of her person; but she refused and
consented not to him, whereupon he redoubled in love
and longing and his case prompted him to suborn a
youth of the people of his village and agree with
him that he should come by night and take somewhat
from his father’s house and that, when he was
seized and discovered, he should say that she was
his accomplice in this and avouch that she was his
mistress and had been stoned on his account in the
city. Accordingly he did this, and, coming by
night to the villager’s house, stole therefrom
goods and clothes; whereupon the owner awoke and seizing
the thief, pinioned him straitly and beat him to make
him confess; and he confessed against the woman that
she was a partner in the crime and that he was her
lover from the city. The news was bruited abroad
and the citizens assembled to put her to death; but
the Shaykh with whom she was forbade them and said,
“I brought this woman hither, coveting the recompense
of Allah, and I know not the truth of that which is
said of her and will not empower any to hurt or harm
her.” Then he gave her a thousand dirhams,
by way of alms, and thrust her forth of the village.
As for the thief, he was imprisoned for some days;
after which the folk interceded for him with the old
man, saying, “This is a youth and indeed he erred;”
and he released him from his bonds. Meanwhile
the woman went out at hap-hazard and donning a devotee’s
dress, fared on without ceasing, till she came to
Page 128
a city and found the king’s deputies dunning
the townsfolk for the tribute, out of season.
Presently, she saw a man, whom they were pressing
for the tribute; so she asked of his case and being
acquainted with it, paid down the thousand dirhams
for him and delivered him from the bastinado; whereupon
he thanked her and those who were present. When
he was set free, he walked with her and besought her
to go with him to his dwelling: accordingly,
she accompanied him thither and supped with him and
passed the night. When the dark hours gloomed
on him, his soul prompted him to evil, for that which
he saw of her beauty and loveliness, and he lusted
after her, and required her of her person; but she
rejected him and threatened him with Allah the Most
High and reminded him of that which she had done with
him of kindness and how she had delivered him from
the stick and its disgrace. However, he would
not be denied, and when he saw her persistent refusal
of herself to him, he feared lest she should tell
the folk of him. So, when he arose in the morning,
he wrote on a paper what he would of forgery and falsehood
and going up to the Sultan’s palace, said, “I
have an advisement for the King.” So he
bade admit him and he delivered him the writ he had
forged, saying, “I found this letter with the
woman, the devotee, the ascetic, and indeed she is
a spy, a secret informer against the sovran to his
foe; and I deem the King’s due more incumbent
on me than any other claim and warning him to be the
first duty, for that he uniteth in himself all the
subjects, and but for the King’s existence,
the lieges would perish; wherefore I have brought
thee good counsel.” The King gave credit
to his words and sent with him those who should lay
hands upon the Devotee and do her to death; but they
found her not. As for the woman, when the man
went out from her, she resolved to depart; so she fared
forth, saying to herself, “There is no wayfaring
for me in woman’s habit.” Then she
donned men’s dress, such as is worn of the pious,
and set out and wandered over the earth; nor did she
cease wandering till she entered a certain city.
Now the king of that city had an only daughter, in
whom he gloried and whom he loved, and she saw the
Devotee and deeming her a pilgrim youth, said to her
father, “I would fain have this youth take up
his lodging with me, so I may learn of him lere and
piety and religion.” Her father rejoiced
in this and commanded the pilgrim to take up his abode
with his daughter in his palace. So they were
in one place and the Princess was strenuous to the
uttermost in continence and chastity and nobility
of mind and magnanimity and devotion; but the ignorant
tattled anent her and the folk of the realm said,
“The king’s daughter loveth the pilgrim
youth and he loveth her.” Now the king
was a very old man and destiny decreed the ending
of his life-term; so he died and when he was buried,
the lieges assembled and many were the sayings of the
people and of the king’s kinsfolk and officers,
Page 129
and they counselled together to slay the Princess
and the young pilgrim, saying, “This fellow
dishonoureth us with yonder whore and none accepteth
shame save the base.” So they fell upon
them and slew the king’s daughter in her mosque,
without asking her of aught; whereupon the pious woman
(whom they deemed a youth) said to them, “Woe
to you, O miscreants! Ye have slain the pious
lady.” Quoth they, “O thou fulsome
fellow, dost thou bespeak us thus? Thou lovedst
her and she loved thee, and we will assuredly slay
thee.” And quoth she, “Allah forfend.
Indeed, the affair is the clear reverse of this.”
They asked, “What proof hast thou of that?”
and she answered, “Bring me women.”
They did so, and when the matrons looked on her, they
found her a woman. As soon as the townsfolk saw
this, they repented of that they had done and the
affair was grievous to them; so they sought pardon
of Allah and said to her, “By the virtue of
Him whom thou servest, do thou crave pardon for us.”
Said she, “As for me, I may no longer tarry
with you and I am about to depart from you.”
Then they humbled themselves before her and shed tears
and said to her, “We conjure thee, by the might
of Allah the Most High, that thou take upon thyself
the rule of the realm and of the lieges.”
But she refused and drew her back; whereupon they
came up to her and wept and ceased not supplicating
her, till she consented and undertook the kingship.
Her first commandment to them was that they bury the
Princess and build over her a dome and she abode in
that palace, worshipping the Almighty and dealing
judgment between the people with justice, and Allah
(extolled and exalted be He!) vouchsafed her, for
the excellence of her piety and her patience and renunciation,
the acceptance of her prayers, so that she sought
not aught of Him (to whom belong Might and Majesty),
but He granted her petition; and her fame was bruited
abroad in all lands. Accordingly, the folk resorted
to her from all parts and she used to pray Allah (to
whom belong Might and Majesty) for the oppressed and
the Lord granted him relief, and against his oppressor,
and He brake him asunder; and she prayed for the sick
and they were made sound; and in this goodly way she
tarried a great space of time. So fared it with
the wife; but as for her husband, when he returned
from the pilgrimage, his brother and the neighbours
acquainted him with the affair of his spouse, whereat
he was sore concerned and suspected their story, for
that which he knew of her chastity and prayerfulness;
and he shed tears for the loss of her. Meanwhile,
she prayed to Almighty Allah that He would stablish
her innocence in the eyes of her spouse and the folk,
and He sent down upon her husband’s brother
a sickness so sore that none knew a cure for him.
Wherefore he said to his brother, “In such a
city is a Devotee, a worshipful woman and a recluse
whose prayers are accepted; so do thou carry me to
her, that she may pray for my healing and Allah (to
Page 130
whom belong Might and Majesty) may give me ease of
this disease.” Accordingly, he took him
up and journeyed with him, till they came to the village
where dwelt the Shaykh, the grey-beard who had rescued
the devout woman from the pit and carried her to his
dwelling and healed her in his home. Here they
halted and lodged with the old man, who questioned
the husband of his case and that of his brother and
the cause of their journey, and he said, “I
purpose to go with my brother, this sick wight, to
the holy woman, her whose petitions are answered,
so she may pray for him, and Allah may heal him by
the blessing of her orisons.” Quoth the
villager, “By Allah, my son is in parlous plight
for sickness and we have heard that this Devotee prayeth
for the sick and they are made sound. Indeed,
the folk counsel me to carry him to her, and behold,[FN#422]
I will go in company with you.” And they
said, “’Tis well.” So they
all nighted in that intent and on the morrow they
set out for the dwelling of the Devotee, this one carrying
his son and that one bearing his brother. Now
the man who had stolen the clothes and had forged
against the pious woman a lie, to wit, that he was
her lover, sickened of a sore sickness, and his people
took him up and set out with him to visit the Devotee
and crave her prayers, and Destiny brought them altogether
by the way. So they fared forward in a body till
they came to the city wherein the man dwelt for whom
she had paid the thousand dirhams to deliver him from
torture, and found him about to travel to her by reason
of a malady which had betided him. Accordingly,
they all journeyed on together, unknowing that the
holy woman was she whom they had so foully wronged,
and ceased not going till they came to her city and
foregathered at the gates of her palace, that wherein
was the tomb of the Princess. Now the folk used
to go in to her and salute her with the salam, and
crave her orisons; and it was her custom to pray for
none till he had confessed to her his sins, when she
would ask pardon for him and pray for him that he
might be healed, and he was straightway made whole
of sickness, by permission of Almighty Allah.
When the four sick men were brought in to her, she
knew them forthright, though they knew her not, and
said to them “Let each of you confess and specify
his sins, so I may sue pardon for him and pray for
him.” And the brother said, “As for
me, I required my brother’s wife of her person
and she refused; whereupon despite and ignorance prompted
me and I lied against her and accused her to the townsfolk
of adultery; so they stoned her and slew her wrongously
and unrighteously; and this my complaint is the issue
of unright and falsehood and of the slaying of the
innocent soul, whose slaughter Allah hath made unlawful
to man.” Then said the youth, the old villager’s
son, “And I, O holy woman, my father brought
to us a woman who had been stoned, and my people nursed
her till she recovered. Now she was rare of beauty
Page 131
and loveliness; so I required of her her person; but
she refused and clave in chastity to Allah (to whom
belong Might and Majesty), wherefore ignorance prompted
me, so that I agreed with one of the youths that he
should steal clothes and coin from my father’s
house. Then I laid hands on him and carried him
to my sire and made him confess. He declared
that the woman was his mistress from the city and had
been stoned on his account and that she was his accomplice
in the theft and had opened the doors to him; but
this was a lie against her, for that she had not yielded
to me in that which I sought of her. So there
befel me what ye see of requital.” And the
young man, the thief, said, “I am he with whom
thou agreedst concerning the theft, and to whom thou
openedst the door, and I am he who accused her falsely
and calumniously and Allah (extolled be He!) well
knoweth that I never did evil with her; no, nor knew
her in any way before that time.” Then
said he whom she had delivered from torture by paying
down a thousand dirhams and who had required of her
her person in his house, for that her beauty pleased
him, and when she refused had forged a letter against
her and treacherously denounced her to the Sultan
and requited her graciousness with ingratitude, “I
am he who wronged her and lied against her, and this
is the issue of the oppressor’s affair.”
When she heard their words, in the presence of the
folk, she cried, “Alhamdolillah, praise be to
Allah, the King who over all things is omnipotent,
and blessing upon His prophets and apostles!”
Then quoth she to the assembly, “Bear testimony,
O ye here present, to these men’s speech, and
know ye I am that woman whom they confess to having
wronged.” And she turned to her husband’s
brother and said to him, “I am thy brother’s
wife and Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) delivered
me from that whereinto thou castedst me of calumny
and suspicion, and from the folly and frowardness
whereof thou hast spoken, and now hath He shown forth
my innocence, of His bounty and generosity. Go,
for thou art quit of the wrong thou didst me.”
Then she prayed for him and he was made sound of his
sickness. Thereupon she said to the son of the
village Shaykh, “Know that I am the woman whom
thy father delivered from strain and stress and whom
there betided from thee of calumny and ignorance that
which thou hast named.” And she sued pardon
for him and he was made sound of his sickness.
Then said she to the thief, “I am the woman against
whom thou liedst, avouching that I was thy leman who
had been stoned on thine account, and that I was thine
accomplice in robbing the house of the village Shaykh
and had opened the doors to thee.” And
she prayed for him and he was made whole of his malady.[FN#423]
Then said she to the townsman, him of the tribute,
“I am the woman who gave thee the thousand dirhams
and thou didst with me what thou didst.”
And she asked pardon for him and prayed for him and
he was made whole; whereupon the folk marvelled at
Page 132
her enemies who had all been afflicted alike, so Allah
(extolled and exalted be He!) might show forth her
innocence upon the heads of witnesses.[FN#424] Then
she turned to the old man who had delivered her from
the pit and prayed for him and gave him presents manifold
and among them a myriad, a Badrah;[FN#425] and the
sick made whole departed from her. When she was
alone with her husband, she made him draw near unto
her and rejoiced in his arrival, and gave him the
choice of abiding with her. Presently, she assembled
the citizens and notified to them his virtue and worth
and counselled them to invest him with management
of their rule and besought them to make him king over
them. They consented to her on this and he became
king and made his home amongst them, whilst she gave
herself up to her orisons and cohabited with her husband
as she was with him aforetime. “Nor,”
continued the Wazir, “is this tale, O king of
the time, stranger or pleasanter than that of the
Hireling and the Girl whose maw he slit and fled.”
When King Shah Bakht heard this, he said, “Most
like all they say of the Minister is leasing, and his
innocence will be made manifest even as that of the
Devotee was manifested.” Then he comforted
the Wazir’s heart and bade him hie to his house.
The Nineteenth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King bade fetch the Wazir
and sought of him the story of the Hireling and the
Girl. So he said, “Hearkening and obedience.
Give ear, O auspicious King, to
The Tale of the Hireling and the Girl.
There was once, of old time, in one of the tribes
of the Arabs, a woman pregnant by her husband, and
they had a hired servant, a man of insight and understanding.
When the woman came to her delivery-time, she gave
birth to a girl-child in the night and they sought
fire of the neighbours.[FN#426] So the Hireling went
in quest of fire. Now there was in the camp a
Divineress,[FN#427] and she questioned him of the
new-born child, an it was male or female. Quoth
he, “’Tis a girl;” and quoth she,
“That girl will whore with an hundred men and
a hireling shall wed her and a spider shall slay her.”
When the hired man heard this, he returned upon his
steps and going in to the woman, took the child from
her by wily management and slit its maw: then
he fled forth into the wold at hap-hazard and abode
in strangerhood while Allah so willed.[FN#428] He
gained much money; and, returning to his own land,
after twenty years’ absence, alighted in the
neighbourhood of an old woman, whom he wheedled and
treated with liberality, requiring of her a young
person whom he might enjoy without marriage.
Said she, “I know none but a certain fair woman,
who is renowned for this industry.” Then
she described her charms to him and made him lust
after her, and he said, “Hasten to her this
minute and lavish upon her whatso she asketh.”
So the crone betook herself to the girl and discovered
his wishes to her and invited her to him; but she
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answered, “’Tis true that I was in the
habit of whoredom, but now I have repented to Almighty
Allah and have no more longing to this: nay, I
desire lawful wedlock; so, if he be content with that
which is legal, I am between his hands."[FN#429] The
old woman returned to the man and told him what the
damsel said; and he lusted after her, because of her
beauty and her penitence; so he took her to wife, and
when he went in to her, he loved her and after like
fashion she loved him. Thus they abode a great
while, till one day he questioned her of the cause
of a scar[FN#430] he espied on her body, and she said,
“I wot naught thereof save that my mother told
me a marvellous thing concerning it.” Asked
he, “What was that?” and she answered,
“My mother declared that she gave birth to me
one night of the wintry nights and despatched a hired
man, who was with us, in quest of fire for her.
He was absent a little while and presently returning,
took me and slit my maw and fled. When my mother
saw this, chagrin seized her and compassion possessed
her; so she sewed up my stomach and nursed me till
the wound healed by the ordinance of Allah (to whom
belong Might and Majesty).” When her husband
heard this, he said to her, “What is thy name
and what may be the name of thy mother and who may
be thy father?” She told him their names and
her own, whereby he knew that it was she whose maw
he had slit and said to her, “And where are
thy father and mother?” “They are both
dead.” “I am that Hireling who slit
thy stomach.” “Why didst thou that?”
“Because of a saying I heard from the wise woman.”
“What was it?” “She declared thou
wouldst play the whore with an hundred men and that
I after that should wed thee.” “Ay,
I have whored with an hundred men, no more and no
less, and behold, thou hast married me.”
“The Divineress also foresaid that thou shouldst
die, at the last of thy life, of the bite of a spider.
Indeed, her saying hath been verified of the fornication
and the marriage, and I fear lest her word come true
no less in the death.” Then they betook
themselves to a place without the city, where he builded
him a mansion of solid stone and white stucco and stopped
its inner walls and plastered them; leaving not therein
or cranny or crevice, and he set in it two slavegirls
whose services were sweeping and wiping, for fear
of spiders. Here he abode with his wife a great
while, till one day the man espied a spider on the
ceiling and beat it down. When his wife saw it,
she said, “This is that which the wise woman
foresaid would slay me; so, by thy life, suffer me
to kill it with mine own hand.” Her husband
forbade her from this, but she conjured him to let
her destroy the spider; then, of her fearfulness and
her eagerness, she took a piece of wood and smote
it. The wood brake of the force of the blow,
and a splinter from it entered her hand and wrought
upon it, so that it swelled. Then her fore-arm
also swelled and the swelling spread to her side and
thence grew till it reached her heart and she died.
“Nor” (continued the Wazir), “is
this stranger or more wondrous than the story of the
Weaver who became a Leach by commandment of his wife.”
When the King heard this, his admiration redoubled
and he said, “In very truth, Destiny is written
to all creatures, and I will not accept aught that
is said against my Minister the loyal counsellor.”
And he bade him hie to his home.
Page 134
The Twentieth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King bade summon his
Minister and he presented himself before him, whereupon
he required of him the hearing of the story.
So the Wazir said, “Hearkening and obedience.
Give ear, O King, to
The Tale of the Weaver who Became a Leach by Order
of his Wife.
There was once, in the land of Fars,[FN#431] a man
who wedded a woman higher than himself in rank and
nobler of lineage, but she had no guardian to preserve
her from want. She loathed to marry one who was
beneath her; yet she wived with him because of need,
and took of him a bond in writing to the effect that
he would ever be under her order to bid and forbid
and would never thwart her in word or in deed.
Now the man was a Weaver and he bound himself in writing
to pay his wife ten thousand dirhams in case of default.
Atfer such fashion they abode a long while till one
day the wife went out to fetch water, of which she
had need, and saw a leach who had spread a carpet
hard by the road, whereon he had set out great store
of simples[FN#432] and implements of medicine and
he was speaking and muttering charms, whilst the folk
flocked to him from all quarters and girt him about
on every side. The Weaver’s wife marvelled
at the largeness of the physician’s fortune[FN#433]
and said in herself, “Were my husband thus,
he would lead an easy life and that wherein we are
of straitness and poverty would be widened to him.”
Then she returned home, cark-full and care-full, and
when her husband saw her in this condition, he questioned
her of her case and she said to him, “Verily,
my breast is harrowed by reason of thee and of the
very goodness of thine intent,” presently adding,
“Narrow means suit me not and thou in thy present
craft gainest naught; so either do thou seek out a
business other than this or pay me my rightful due[FN#434]
and let me wend my ways.” Her husband chid
her for this and advised her to take patience; but
she would not be turned from her design and said to
him, “Go forth and watch yonder physician how
he doth and learn from him what he saith.”
Said he, “Let not thy heart be troubled,”
and added, “I will go every day to the session
of the leach.” So he began resorting daily
to the physician and committing to memory his answers
and that which he spoke of jargon,[FN#435] till he
had gotten a great matter by rote, and all this he
learned and thoroughly digested it. Then he returned
to his wife and said to her, “I have stored
up the physician’s sayings in memory and have
mastered his manner of muttering and diagnoses and
prescribing remedies and I wot by heart the names
of the medicines[FN#436] and of all the diseases,
and there abideth of thy bidding naught undone:
so what dost thou command me now to do?” Quoth
she, “Leave the loom and open thyself a leach’s
shop;” but quoth he, “My fellow-townsmen
know me and this affair will not profit me, save in
a land of strangerhood; so come, let us go out from
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this city and get us to a foreign land and there live.”
And she said, “Do whatso thou willest.”
Accordingly, he arose and taking his weaving gear,
sold it and bought with the price drugs and simples
and wrought himself a carpet, with which they set out
and journeyed to a certain village, where they took
up their abode. Then the man fell to going round
about the hamlets and villages and outskirts of towns,
after donning leach’s dress; and he began to
earn his livelihood and make much gain. Their
affairs prospered and their circumstances were bettered;
wherefore they praised Allah for their present ease
and the village became to them a home. In this
way he lived for a long time, but at length he wandered
anew,[FN#437] and the days and the nights ceased not
to transport him from country to country, till he came
to the land of the Roum and lighted down in a city
of the cities thereof, wherein was Jalinus[FN#438]
the Sage; but the Weaver knew him not, nor was aware
who he was. So he fared forth, as was his wont,
in quest of a place where the folk might be gathered
together, and hired the courtyard[FN#439] of Jalinus.
There he spread his carpet and setting out on it his
simples and instruments of medicine, praised himself
and his skill and claimed a cleverness such as none
but he might claim.[FN#440] Jalinus heard that which
he affirmed of his understanding and it was certified
unto him and established in his mind that the man
was a skilled leach of the leaches of the Persians
and he said in himself, “Unless he had confidence
in his knowledge and were minded to confront me and
contend with me, he had not sought the door of my
house neither had he spoken that which he hath spoken.”
And care and doubt gat hold upon Jalinus: so he
drew near the Weaver and addressed himself to see
how his doings should end, whilst the folk began to
flock to him and describe to him their ailments,[FN#441]
and he would answer them thereof, hitting the mark
one while and missing it another while, so that naught
appeared to Jalinus of his fashion whereby his mind
might be assured that he had justly estimated his
skill. Presently, up came a woman with a urinal,[FN#442]
and when the Weaver saw the phial afar off, he said
to her, “This is the water of a man, a stranger.”
Said she, “Yes;” and he continued, “Is
he not a Jew and is not his ailment flatulence?”
“Yes,” replied the woman, and the folk
marvelled at this; wherefore the man was magnified
in the eyes of Jalinus, for that he heard speech such
as was not of the usage of doctors, seeing that they
know not urine but by shaking it and looking straitly
thereon, neither wot they a man’s water from
a woman’s water, nor a stranger’s from
a countryman’s, nor a Jew’s from a Sharif’s.[FN#443]
Then the woman asked, “What is the remedy?”
and the Weaver answered, “Bring the honorarium."[FN#444]
So she paid him a dirham and he gave her medicines
contrary to that ailment and such as would only aggravate
the complaint. When Jalinus saw what appeared
Page 136
to him of the man’s incapacity, he turned to
his disciples and pupils and bade them fetch the mock
doctor, with all his gear and drugs. Accordingly
they brought him into his presence without stay or
delay, and when Jalinus saw him before him, he asked
him, “Knowest thou me?” and the other
answered, “No, nor did I ever set eyes on thee
before this day.” Quoth the Sage, “Dost
thou know Jalinus?” and quoth the Weaver, “No.”
Then said Jalinus, “What drave thee to do that
which thou dost?” So he acquainted him with
his adventure, especially with the dowry and the obligation
by which he was bound with regard to his wife whereat
the Sage marvelled and certified himself anent the
matter of the marriage-settlement. Then he bade
lodge him near himself and entreated him with kindness
and took him apart and said to him, “Expound
to me the story of the urine-phial and whence thou
knewest that the water therein was that of a man, and
he a stranger and a Jew, and that his ailment was
flatulence?” The Weaver replied, “’Tis
well. Thou must know that we people of Persia
are skilled in physiognomy,[FN#445] and I saw the woman
to be rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed and tall-statured.
Now these qualities belong to women who are enamoured
of a man and are distracted for love of him;[FN#446]
moreover, I saw her burning with anxiety; so I knew
that the patient was her husband.[FN#447] As for his
strangerhood, I noted that the dress of the woman differed
from that of the townsfolk, wherefore I knew that
she was a foreigner; and in the mouth of the phial
I saw a yellow rag,[FN#448] which garred me wot that
the sick man was a Jew and she a Jewess. Moreover,
she came to me on first day;[FN#449] and ‘tis
the Jews’ custom to take meat puddings[FN#450]
and food that hath passed the night[FN#451] and eat
them on the Saturday their Sabbath, hot and cold,
and they exceed in eating; wherefore flatulence and
indigestion betide them. Thus I was directed and
guessed that which thou hast heard.” Now
when Jalinus heard this, he ordered the Weaver the
amount of his wife’s dowry and bade him pay it
to her and said to him, “Divorce her.”
Furthermore, he forbade him from returning to the
practice of physic and warned him never again to take
to wife a woman of rank higher than his own; and he
gave him his spending money and charged him return
to his proper craft. “Nor” (continued
the Wazir), “is this tale stranger or rarer
than the story of the Two Sharpers who each cozened
his Compeer.” When King Shah Bakht heard
this, he said to himself, “How like is this
story to my present case with this Minister, who hath
not his like!” Then he bade him hie to his own
house and come again at eventide.
The Twenty-first Night
of the Month.
Whenas nighted the night, the Wazir presented himself
before the King, who bade him relate the promised
story. So he said, “Hearkening and obedience.
Give ear, O king, to
The Tale of the Two Sharpers who each Cozened his
Compeer.
Page 137
There was once, in the city of Baghdad, a man hight
Al-Marwazi,[FN#452] who was a sharper and ruined the
folk with his rogueries and he was renowned in all
quarters for knavery. He went out one day, carrying
a load of sheep’s droppings, and sware to himself
that he would not return to his lodging till he had
sold it at the price of raisins. Now there was
in another city a second sharper, hight Al-Razi,[FN#453]
one of its worst, who went out the same day, bearing
a load of goat’s droppings,[FN#454] anent which
he had sworn to himself that he would not sell it but
at the price of sundried figs. So the twain fared
on with that which was by them and ceased not going
till they met in one of the khans[FN#455] and one
complained to other of what he had suffered on travel
in quest of gain and of the little demand for his
wares. Now each of them had it in mind to cheat
his fellow; so the man of Marw said to the man of
Rayy, “Wilt thou sell me that?” He said,
“Yes,” and the other continued, “And
wilt thou buy that which is with me?” The man
of Rayy consented; so they agreed upon this and each
of them sold to his mate that which was with him in
exchange for the other’s; after which they bade
farewell and both fared forth. As soon as the
twain were out of sight, they examined their loads,
to see what was therein, and one of them found that
he had a load of sheep’s droppings and the other
that he had a load of goat’s droppings; whereupon
each of them turned back in quest of his fellow.
They met again in the khan and laughing at each other
cancelled their bargain; then they agreed to enter
into partnership and that all they had of money and
other good should be in common, share and share alike.
Then quoth Al-Razi to Al-Marwazi, “Come with
me to my city, for that ’tis nearer than thine.”
So he went with him, and when he arrived at his quarters,
he said to his wife and household and neighbours,
“This is my brother, who hath been absent in
the land of Khorasan and is come back.”
And he abode with him in all honour for a space of
three days. On the fourth day, Al-Razi said to
him, “Know, O my brother, that I purpose to do
something.” The other asked, “What
is it?” and the first answered, “I mean
to feign myself dead and do thou go to the bazar and
hire two porters and a bier. Then take me up
and go about the streets and markets with my body
and collect alms on my account."[FN#456] Accordingly
the Marw man repaired to the market and, fetching
that which he sought, returned to the Rayy man’s
house, where he found his fellow cast down in the
entrancepassage, with his beard tied and his eyes
shut, and his complexion was paled and his belly was
blown and his limbs were loose. So he deemed him
really dead and shook him but he spoke not; then he
took a knife and pricked his feet, but he budged not.
Presently said Al-Razi, “What is this, O fool?”
and said Al-Marwazi, “I deemed thou wast dead
in very deed.” Al-Razi cried, “Get
thee to business, and leave funning.” So
Page 138
he took him up and went with him to the market and
collected alms for him that day till eventide, when
he bore him back to his abode and waited till the
morrow. Next morning, he again took up the bier
and walked round with it as before, in quest of charity.
Presently, the Chief of Police, who was of those who
had given him alms on the previous day, met him; so
he was angered and fell on the porters and beat them
and took the dead body, saying, “I will bury
him and win reward in Heaven."[FN#457] So his followers
took him up and carrying him to the Police-officer,
fetched gravediggers, who dug him a grave. Then
they brought him a shroud and perfumes[FN#458] and
fetched an old man of the quarter, to wash him:
so the Shaykh recited over him the appointed prayers[FN#459]
and laying him on the bench, washed him and shrouded
him. After he had been shrouded he skited;[FN#460]
so the grey-beard renewed the washing and went away
to make the Wuzu-ablution, whilst all the folk departed
to do likewise, before the orisons of the funeral.
When the dead man found himself alone, he sprang up,
as he were a Satan; and, donning the corpse-washer’s
dress,[FN#461] took the cups and water-can[FN#462]
and wrapped them up in the napkins; then he clapped
his shroud under his armpit and went out. The
doorkeepers thought that he was the washer and asked
him, “Hast thou made an end of the washing,
so we may acquaint the Emir?” The sharper answered
“Yes,” and made off to his abode, where
he found the Marw man a-wooing his wife and saying
to her, “By thy life, thou wilt never again
look upon his face for the best reason that by this
time he is buried: I myself escaped not from them
but after toil and trouble, and if he speak, they
will do him to death.” Quoth she, “And
what wouldst thou have of me?” and quoth he,
“Satisfy my desire and heal my disorder, for
I am better than thy husband.” And he began
toying with her as a prelude to possession. Now
when the Rayy man heard this, he said, “Yonder
wittol-pimp lusteth after my wife; but I will at once
do him a damage.” Then he rushed in upon
them, and when Al-Marwazi saw him, he wondered at
him and said to him, “How didst thou make thine
escape?” Accordingly he told him the trick he
had played and they abode talking of that which they
had collected from the folk, and indeed they had gotten
great store of money. Then said the man of Marw,
“In very sooth, mine absence hath been prolonged
and lief would I return to my own land.”
Al-Razi said, “As thou willest;” and the
other rejoined, “Let us divide the monies we
have made and do thou go with me to my home, so I may
show thee my tricks and my works.” Replied
the man of Rayy, “Come to-morrow, and we will
divide the coin.” So the Marw man went
away and the other turned to his wife and said to her,
“We have collected us great plenty of money,
and the dog would fain take the half of it; but such
thing shall never be, for my mind hath been changed
against him, since I heard him making love to thee;
Page 139
now, therefore, I propose to play him a trick and enjoy
all the money; and do thou not oppose me.”
She replied, “’Tis well;” and he
said to her, “To-morrow, at peep o’ day
I will feign myself dead, and do thou cry aloud and
tear thy hair, whereupon the folk will flock to me.
Then lay me out and bury me; and, when the folk are
gone away from the grave, dig down to me and take me;
and fear not for me, as I can abide without harm two
days in the tomb-niche."[FN#463] Whereto she made
answer, “Do e’en whatso thou wilt.”
Accordingly, when it was the dawn-hour, she bound his
beard and spreading a veil over him, shrieked aloud,
whereupon the people of the quarter flocked to her,
men and women. Presently, up came AlMarwazi,
for the division of the money, and hearing the keening
asked, “What may be the news?” Quoth they,
“Thy brother is dead;” and quoth he in
himself, “The accursed fellow cozeneth me, so
he may get all the coin for himself, but I will presently
do with him what shall soon requicken him.”
Then he tare the bosom of his robe and bared his head,
weeping and saying, “Alas, my brother, ah!
Alas, my chief, ah! Alas, my lord, ah!”
Then he went in to the men, who rose and condoled with
him. Then he accosted the Rayy man’s wife
and said to her, “How came his death to occur?”
Said she, “I know nothing except that, when
I arose in the morning, I found him dead.”
Moreover, he questioned her of the money which was
with her, but she cried, “I have no knowledge
of this and no tidings.” So he sat down
at his fellow-sharper’s head, and said to him,
“Know, O Razi, that I will not leave thee till
after ten days with their nights, wherein I will wake
and sleep by thy grave. So rise and don’t
be a fool.” But he answered him not, and
the man of Marw drew his knife and fell to sticking
it into the other’s hands and feet, purposing
to make him move; but he stirred not and he presently
grew weary of this and determined that the sharper
was really dead. However, he still had his suspicions
and said to himself, “This fellow is falsing
me, so he may enjoy all the money.” Therewith
he began to prepare the body for burial and bought
for it perfumes and whatso was needed. Then they
brought him to the washing-place and Al-Marwazi came
to him; and, heating water till it boiled and bubbled
and a third of it was evaporated, fell to pouring
it on his skin, so that it turned bright red and lively
blue and was blistered; but he abode still on one case.[FN#464]
Presently they wrapped him in the shroud and set him
on the bier, which they took up and bearing him to
the burial-place, placed him in the grave-niche and
filled in the earth; after which the folk dispersed.
But the Marw man and the widow abode by the tomb,
weeping, and ceased not sitting till sundown, when
the woman said to him, “Come, let us hie us
home, for this weeping will not profit us, nor will
it restore the dead.” He replied to her,
“By Allah, I will not budge hence till I have
slept and waked by this tomb ten days with their nights!”
Page 140
When she heard this his speech, she feared lest he
should keep his word and his oath, and so her husband
perish; but she said in her mind, “This one dissembleth:
an I leave him and return to my house, he will tarry
by him a little while and go away.” And
Al-Marwazi said to her, “Arise, thou, and hie
thee home.” So she arose and repaired to
her house, whilst the man of Marw abode in his place
till the night was half spent, when he said to himself,
“How long? Yet how can I let this knavish
dog die and lose the money? Better I open the
tomb on him and bring him forth and take my due of
him by dint of grievous beating and torment.”
Accordingly, he dug him up and pulled him forth of
the grave; after which he betook himself to a garden
hard by the burial-ground and cut thence staves and
palmfronds.[FN#465] Then he tied the dead man’s
legs and laid on to him with the staff and beat him
a grievous beating; but the body never budged.
When the time grew longsome on him, his shoulders
became a-weary and he feared lest some one of the watch
passing on his round should surprise and seize him.
So he took up Al-Razi and carrying him forth of the
cemetery, stayed not till he came to the Magians’
mortuary place and casting him down in a Tower of
Silence,[FN#466] rained heavy blows upon him till his
shoulders failed him, but the other stirred not.
Then he seated him by his side and rested; after which
he rose and renewed the beating upon him; and thus
he did till the end of the night, but without making
him move. Now, as Destiny decreed, a band of
robbers whose wont it was, when they had stolen any,
thing, to resort to that place and there divide their
loot, came thither in early-dawn, according to their
custom; they numbered ten and they had with them much
wealth which they were carrying. When they approached
the Tower of Silence, they heard a noise of blows
within it and their captain cried, “This is a
Magian whom the Angels[FN#467] are tormenting.”
So they entered the cemetery and as soon as they arrived
over against him, the man of Marw feared lest they
should be the watchmen come upon him, therefore he
fled and stood among the tombs.[FN#468] The robbers
advanced to the place and finding a man of Rayy bound
by the feet and by him some seventy sticks, wondered
at this with exceeding wonder and said, “Allah
confound thee! This was a miscreant, a man of
many crimes; for earth hath rejected him from her
womb, and by my life, he is yet fresh! This is
his first night in the tomb and the Angels were tormenting
him but now; so whoso of you hath a sin upon his soul,
let him beat him, by way of offering to Almighty Allah.”
The robbers said, “We be sinners one and all;”
so each of them went up to the corpse and dealt it
about an hundred blows, one saying the while, “This
is for my father!"[FN#469] and another laid on to
him crying, “This is for my grandfather!”
whilst a third muttered, “This is for my brother!”
and a fourth exclaimed, “This is for my mother!”
Page 141
And they gave not over taking turns at him and beating
him till they were weary, whilst Al-Marwazi stood
laughing and saying in self, “’Tis not
I alone who have entered into default against him.
There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great!"[FN#470] Then the
robbers applied themselves to sharing their loot wherein
was a sword which caused them to fall out anent the
man who should take it. Quoth the Captain, “’Tis
my rede that we make proof of it; so, an it be a fine
blade, we shall know its worth, and if it be worthless
we shall know that;” whereto they said, “Try
it on this corpse, for it is fresh.” So
the Captain took the sword, and drawing it, brandished
and made a false cut with it; but, when the man of
Rayy saw this, he felt sure of death and said in his
mind, “I have borne the washing-slab and the
boiling water and the pricking with the knife-point
and the grave-niche and its straitness and all this,
trusting in Allah that I might be delivered from death,
and indeed I have been delivered; but the sword I
may not suffer seeing that one stroke of it will make
me a dead man.” So saying, he sprang to
his feet and seizing a thigh-bone of one departed,
shouted at the top of his voice, “O ye dead
ones, take them to yourselves!” And he smote
one of them, whilst his mate of Marw smote another
and they cried out at them and buffeted them on their
neck-napes: whereupon the robbers left that which
was with them of loot and ran away; and indeed their
wits took flight for terror and they ceased not running
till they came forth of the Magians’ mortuary-ground
and left it a parasang’s length behind them,
when they halted, trembling and affrighted for the
muchness of that which had befallen them of fear and
awe of the dead.[FN#471] As for Al-Razi and AlMarwazi,
they made peace each with other and sat down to share
the spoil. Quoth the man of Marw, “I will
not give thee a dirham of this money, till thou pay
me my due of the monies that be in thy house.”
And quoth the man of Rayy, “I will do naught
of the kind,[FN#472] nor will I withdraw this from
aught of my due.” So they fell out thereupon
and disputed each with other and either of the twain
went saying to his fellow, “I will not give thee
a dirham!” Wherefore words ran high between
them and the brawl was prolonged. Meanwhile,
when the robbers halted, one of them said to the others,
“Let us go back and see;” and the Captain
said, “This thing is impossible of the dead:
never heard we that they came to life in such way.
Return we and take our monies, for that the dead have
no need of money.” And they were divided
in opinion as to returning: but presently one
said, “Indeed, our weapons are gone and we may
not prevail against them and will not draw near the
place: only let one of us go look at it, and if
he hear no sound of them, let him suggest to us what
we shall do.” At this they agreed that
they should send a man of them and assigned him for
such mission two parts of the plunder. Accordingly
Page 142
he returned to the burial-ground and gave not over
going till he stood at the door of the Tower of Silence,
when he heard the words of Al-Marwazi to his fellow,
“I will not give thee a single dirham of the
money!” The other said the same and they were
occupied with brawling and abuse and talk. So
the robber returned in haste to his mates, who said,
“What is behind thee?"[FN#473] Quoth he, “Get
you gone and run for your lives, O fools, and save
yourselves: much people of the dead are come to
life and between them are words and brawls.”
Hereat the robbers fled, whilst the two sharpers returned
to the man of Rayy’s house and made peace and
added the robbers’ spoil to the monies they had
gained and lived a length of time. “Nor,
O king of the age” (continued the Wazir), “is
this stranger or rarer than the story of the Four
Sharpers with the Shroff and the Ass.” When
the king heard this story, he smiled and it pleased
him and he bade the Minister to his own house.
The Twenty-second Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, King Shah Bakht summoned
the Wazir and required of him the hearing of the story.
So Al-Rahwan said, “Hearkening and obedience.
Give ear, O King, to
The Tale of the Sharpers with the Shroff[FN#474] and
the Ass.
Four sharpers once plotted against a Shroff, a man
of much wealth, and agreed upon a sleight for securing
some of his coins. So one of them took an ass
and laying on it a bag, wherein were dirhams, lighted
down at the shop of the Shroff and sought of him small
change. The man of monies brought out to him the
silver bits and bartered them with him, whilst the
sharper was easy with him in the matter of exchange,
so he might gar him long for more gain. As they
were thus, up came the other three sharpers and surrounded
the donkey; and one of them said, “’Tis
he,” and another said, “Wait till I look
at him.” Then he took to considering the
ass and stroking him from crest[FN#475] to tail; whilst
the third went up to him and handled him and felt him
from head to rump, saying, “Yes, ’tis
in him.” Said another, “No, ’tis
not in him;” and they left not doing the like
of this for some time. Then they accosted the
donkey’s owner and chaffered with him and he
said, “I will not sell him but for ten thousand
dirhams.” They offered him a thousand dirhams;
but he refused and swore that he would not vend the
ass but for that which he had said. They ceased
not adding to their offer till the price reached five
thousand dirhams, whilst their mate still said, “I’ll
not vend him save for ten thousand silver pieces.”
The Shroff advised him to sell, but he would not do
this and said to him, “Ho, shaykh! Thou
wottest not the case of this donkey. Stick to
silver and gold and what pertaineth thereto of exchange
and small change; because indeed the virtue of this
ass is a mystery to thee. For every craft its
crafty men and for every means of livelihood its peculiar
people.” When the affair was prolonged
Page 143
upon the three sharpers, they went away and sat down
aside; then they came up privily to the money-changer
and said to him, “An thou can buy him for us,
do so, and we will give thee twenty dirhams.”
Quoth he, “Go away and sit down at a distance
from him.” So they did as he bade and the
Shroff went up to the owner of the ass and ceased
not luring him with lucre and saying, “Leave
these wights and sell me the donkey, and I will reckon
him a present from thee,” till he sold him the
animal for five thousand and five hundred dirhams.
Accordingly the ,money-changer weighed out to him
that sum of his own monies, and the owner of the ass
took the price and delivered the beast to him, saying,
“Whatso shall betide, though he abide a deposit
upon thy neck,[FN#476] sell him not to yonder cheats
for less than ten thousand dirhams, for that they
would fain buy him because of a hidden hoard they
know, whereto naught can guide them save this donkey.
So close thy hand on him and cross me not, or thou
shalt repent.” With these words he left
him and went away, whereupon up came the three other
sharpers, the comrades of him of the ass, and said
to the Shroff, “God requite thee for us with
good, in that thou hast bought him! How can we
reward thee?” Quoth he, “I will not sell
him but for ten thousand dirhams.” When
they heard that they returned to the ass and fell
again to examining him like buyers and handling him.
Then said they to the money-changer, “Indeed
we were deceived in him. This is not the ass
we sought and he is not worth to us more than ten
nusfs."[FN#477] Then they left him and offered to go
away, whereat the Shroff was sore chagrined and cried
out at their speech, saying, “O folk, ye asked
me to buy him for you and now I have bought him, ye
say, we were deceived in him, and he is not worth
to us more than ten nusfs.” They replied,
“We thought that in him was whatso we wanted;
but, behold, in him is the contrary of that which
we wish; and indeed he hath a blemish, for that he
is short of back.” Then they made long noses[FN#478]
at him and went away from him and dispersed.
The money-changer deemed they did but play him off,
that they might get the donkey at their own price;
but, when they walked away from him and he had long
awaited their return, he cried out saying, “Well-away!”
and “Ruin!” and “Sorry case I am
in!” and shrieked aloud and rent his raiment.
So the market-people assembled to him and questioned
him of his case; whereupon he acquainted them with
his condition and told them what the knaves had said
and how they had cozened him and how they had cajoled
him into buying an ass worth fifty dirhams[FN#479]
for five thousand and five hundred.[FN#480] His friends
blamed him and a gathering of the folk laughed at him
and admired his folly and over-faith in believing
the talk of the sharpers without suspicion, and meddling
with that which he understood not and thrusting himself
into that whereof he had no sure knowledge. “On
this wise, O King Shah Bakht” (continued the
Page 144
Wazir), “is the issue of greed for the goods
of the world and indeed coveting that which our knowledge
containeth not shall lead to ruin and repentance.
Nor, O King of the age” (added he), “is
this story stranger than that of the Cheat and the
Merchants.” When the King heard these words,
he said in himself, “Indeed, had I given ear
to the sayings of my courtiers and inclined to their
idle prate in the matter of my Minister, I had repented
to the utterest of penitence, but Alhamdolillah—laud
be to the Lord—who hath disposed me to
endurance and long-suffering and hath vouchsafed to
me patience!” Then he turned to the Wazir and
dismissed him to his dwelling and gave conge to those
who were present, according to his custom.
The Twenty-third Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King summoned the Minister
and when he presented himself before him, he required
of him the hearing of the story. So he said,
“Hearing and obeying. Give ear, O illustrious
lord, to
The Tale of the Cheat and the Merchants.
There was once in olden time a certain Cheat, who
could turn the ear inside out by his talk, and he
was a model of cleverness and quick wit and skill
and mischief. It was his wont to enter a town
and make a show of being a trader and engage in intimacy
with people of worth and sit in session with the merchants,
for his name was noted as a man of virtue and piety.
Then he would put a sleight on them and take of them
what he might spend and fare forth to another stead;
and he ceased not to do thus for a while of time.
It chanced one day that he entered a certain city and
sold somewhat that was with him of merchandise and
made friends of the merchants of the place and took
to sitting with them and entertaining them and inviting
them to his quarters and his assembly, whilst they
also invited him to their houses. He abode after
such fashion a long time until he was minded to quit
the city; and this was bruited among his intimates,
who grieved for parting from him. Then he betook
himself to one of them who was the richest in substance
and the most conspicuous for generosity, and sat with
him and borrowed his goods; and when rising to depart,
he bade him return the deposit that he had left with
him. Quoth the merchant, “And what is the
deposit?” and quoth the Cheat, “’Tis
such a purse, with the thousand dinars therein.”
The merchant asked, “And when didst thou give
me that same?” and the Cheat answered, “Extolled
be Allah of All Might! Was it not on such a day,
by such a token which is thus and thus?” The
man rejoined, “I know naught of this,”
and words were bandied about between them, whilst
the folk who heard them disputed together concerning
their sayings and doings, till their voices rose high
and the neighbours had knowledge of that which passed
between them.[FN#481] Then said the Cheat, “O
people, this is my friend and I deposited with him
a deposit which he denieth having received: so
in whom shall men put trust after this?” And
Page 145
they said, “This person is a man of worth and
we have known in him naught but trustiness and good
faith and the best of breeding, and he is endowed
with sense and manliness.[FN#482] Indeed, he affirmeth
no false claim, for that we have consorted and associated
with him and he with us and we know the sincerity of
his religion.” Then quoth one of them to
the merchant, “Ho, Such-an-one! Bethink
thee of the past and refresh thy memory. It cannot
be that thou hast forgotten.” But quoth
he, “O people, I wot nothing of what he saith,
for indeed he deposited naught with me:”
and the matter was prolonged between them. Then
said the Cheat to the merchant, “I am about
to travel and I have, praised be Allah Almighty, much
wealth, and this money shall not escape me; but do
thou make oath to me.” And the folk said,
“Indeed, this man doth justice upon himself."[FN#483]
Whereupon the merchant fell into that which he disliked[FN#484]
and came nigh upon loss and ill fame. Now he
had a friend, who pretended to sharpness and intelligence;
so he came up to him secretly and said to him, “Let
me do so I may cheat this Cheat, for I know him to
be a liar and thou art near upon having to weigh out
the gold; but I will parry off suspicion from thee
and say to him, The deposit is with me and thou erredst
in suspecting that it was with other than myself;
and so I will divert him from thee.” The
other replied, “Do so, and rid the people of
such pretended debts.” Accordingly the
friend turned to the Cheat and said to him, “O
my lord, I am Such-an-one, and thou goest under a
delusion. The purse is with me, for it was with
me that thou depositedst it, and this Shaykh is innocent
of it.” But the Cheat answered him with
impatience and impetuosity, saying, “Extolled
be Allah! As for the purse that is with thee,
O noble and faithful man, I know ’tis under
Allah’s charge and my heart is easy anent it,
because ’tis with thee as it were with me; but
I began by demanding the purse which I deposited with
this man, of my knowledge that he coveteth the goods
of folk.” At this the friend was confounded
and put to silence and returned not a reply; and the
only result of his meddling was that each of them--merchant
and friend—had to pay a thousand gold pieces.
So the Cheat took the two thousand dinars and made
off; and when he was gone, the merchant said to his
friend, the man of pretended sharpness and intelligence,
“Ho, Such-an-one! Thou and I are like the
Falcon and the Locust.” The friend asked,
“What was their case?” and the merchant
answered with
The Story of the Falcon and the Locust.[FN#485]
Page 146
There was once, of old time, a Falcon who made himself
a nest hard by the home of a Locust, and his neighbour
gloried in such neighbourhood and betaking herself
to him, saluted him with the salam and said, “O
my lord and lord of all the birds, indeed the nearness
to thee delighteth me and thou honourest me with thy
vicinity and my soul is fortified with thee.”
The Falcon thanked her for this and friendship between
them followed. One day, the Locust said to the
bird, “O prince of the flying race, how is it
that I see thee alone, solitary, having with thee no
friend of thy kind, the volatiles, on whom thou mayst
repose in time of gladness and of whom thou mayst
seek aid in tide of sadness? Indeed, ’tis
said, ’Man goeth about seeking ease of body and
ward of strength,’ and there is naught in this
more necessary to him than a true friend who shall
be the crown of his comfort and the column of his
career and on whom shall be his dependence in his
distress and in his delight. Now I, although ardently
desiring thy weal in that which befitteth thy rank
and degree, yet am weak in that which the soul craveth;
but, an thou deign give me leave, I will seek out
for thee one of the birds who shall fellow thee in
body and strength.” And the Falcon said,
“I commit this to thee and rely upon thee herein.”
Thereupon, the Locust began going round the company
of the birds, but saw naught resembling the Falcon
in bulk and body save the Kite and thought well of
her. So she brought the twain together and counselled
the Falcon to foregather with the Kite. Presently
it fortuned that the Falcon fell sick and the Kite
tarried with and tended him a long while till he recovered
and became sound and strong, wherefore he thanked
her and she fared from him. But after some days
the Falcon’s sickness returned to him and he
needed succour of the Kite, so the Locust went out
from him and was absent from him a day; after which
she returned to him with another locust,[FN#486] saying,
“I have brought thee this one.” When
the Falcon saw her, he said, “God requite thee
with good! Indeed, thou hast done well in the
quest and thou hast shown subtlety and discrimination
in the choice.” All this befel because
the Locust had no knowledge of the essence which lurketh
in the outer semblance of bodies. “As for
thee, O my brother (Allah requite thee with weal!),
thou wast subtle in device and usedst precaution;
but forethought availeth not against Fate, and Fortune
foreordained baffleth force of fence. How excellent
is the saying of the poet when he spake these couplets:—[FN#487]
’It chances whiles that the blind man escapes
a pit, * Whilst he
who is clear of sight
falls into it.
The ignorant man may speak with impunity * A word
that is death
to the wise and the
ripe of wit.
The true believer is pinched for his daily bread,
* Whilst
infidel rogues enjoy
all benefit.
Where is a man’s resource and what can he do?
* It is the
Almighty’s will:
we must submit.’”
Page 147
“Nor” (continued the Wazir) “is
this, O king of the age, rarer or stranger than the
story of the King and his Chamberlain’s wife;
nay, this is more wondrous than that and more delectable.”
When the king heard this story, he was strengthened
in his resolve to spare the Minister and to eschew
haste in an affair whereof he was not certified; so
he comforted him and bade him hie to his home.
The Twenty-fourth Night
of the Month.
When it was night, the King summoned the Wazir and
sought of him the hearing of the story. Al-Rahwan
replied, “Hearkening and obedience! Listen,
O august sovran, to
The Tale of the King and his Chamberlain’s Wife.[FN#488]
There was once, in days of yore and in ages and times
long gone before, a King of the kings of the Persians,
who was much addicted to the love of fair women.
His courtiers spoke him of the wife of a certain of
his Chamberlains, a model of beauty and loveliness
and perfect grace, and this egged him on to go in to
her. When she saw him, she knew him and said to
him, “What urgeth the King to this that he doeth?”
and he replied, saying, “Verily, I long for
thee with excess of longing and there is no help but
that I enjoy thy favours.” And he gave her
of wealth that after whose like women lust; but she
said, “I cannot do the deed whereof the king
speaketh, for fear of my husband; “[FN#489] and
she refused herself to him with the most rigorous of
refusals and would not suffer him to win his wish.
So the king went out in wrath, and forgot his girdle
in the place. Now it chanced that her husband
entered immediately after his lord had departed, and
saw the girdle and knew it. He was aware of the
king’s love for women; so quoth he to his wife,
“What be this I see with thee?” Quoth
she, “I’ll tell thee the truth,”
and recounted to him the occurrence; but he believed
her not and suspicion entered his heart. As for
the King, he passed that night in care and concern,
and when the morning morrowed, he summoned that Chamberlain
and made him governor of one of his provinces; then
he bade him betake himself thither, purposing, after
he should have departed and fared afar, to foregather
with his wife. The Chamberlain perceived his
project and kenned his intent; so he answered, saying,
“To hear is to obey!” presently adding,
“I will go and order my affairs and give such
injunctions as may be needed for the well-doing of
my affairs; then will I go about the sovran’s
commission.” And the King said, “Do
this and make haste.” So the Chamberlain
went about that which he needed and assembling his
wife’s kinsfolk, said to them, “I am determined
to dismiss my wife.” They took this ill
of him and complained of him and summoning him before
the sovereign, sat prosecuting him. Now the King
had no knowledge of that which had passed; so he said
to the Chamberlain, “Why wilt thou put her away
and how can thy soul consent to this and why takest
thou unto thyself a fine and fertile piece of land
and presently forsakest it?” Answered the husband,
“Allah amend the king! By the Almighty,
O my King, I saw therein the trail of the lion and
fear to enter that land, lest the lion devour me;
and the like of my affair with her is that which befel
between the Crone and the Draper’s Wife.
The king asked, “What is their adventure?”
and the Chamberlain answered, “Hear, O king,
Page 148
The Story of the Crone and the Draper’s Wife.[FN#490]
There was once a man of the Drapers, who had a beautiful
wife, and she was curtained[FN#491] and chaste.
A certain young man saw her coming forth of the Hammam
and loved her and his heart was engrossed with her.
So he devised for access to her all manner of devices,
but availed not to foregather with her; and when he
was a-weary and his patience failed for travail and
trouble and his fortitude betrayed and forsook him
and he was at an end of his resources against her,
he complained of this to an ill-omened crone,[FN#492]
who promised him to bring about union between him
and his beloved. He thanked her for this and promised
her all manner of douceurs; and she said to him, “Hie
thee to her husband and buy of him a turband-cloth
of fine linen, and let it be of the very best of stuff.”
So he repaired to the Draper and buying of him a turband-cloth
of lawn, returned and gave it to the old woman, who
took it and burned it in two places. Then she
donned the dress of a devotee and taking the turband-cloth
with her, went to the Draper’s house and knocked
at the door. When the Draper’s wife saw
her thus habited as a holy woman, she opened to her
and admitted her with kindly reception, and made much
of her and welcomed her: so the crone went in
to her and conversed with her awhile. Then said
she to her, “I want to make the Wuzu-ablution
preparatory to prayer."[FN#493] At these words the
wife brought the water and she made the ablution and
standing up to pray, prayed and satisfied herself;
and when she had ended her orisons, she left the turband-cloth
in the place of prayer and fared forth. Presently,
in came the Draper, at the hour of night-devotions,
and sitting down in the prayer-place where the old
woman had prayed, looked about him and espied the turband.
He knew it and suspected foul play; so wrath showed
in his face and he was furious with his wife and reviled
her and abode his day and his night without speaking
to her, during all which while she knew not the cause
of his rage. Then she looked and seeing the turband-cloth
before him and noting the traces of burning thereon,
understood that his anger was on account of this and
concluded that he was in ill-temper because it was
burnt. When the morning morrowed, the Draper
went out, still wroth with his wife, and the crone
returned to her and found her changed of colour, pale
of complexion, dejected and heart-broken. So she
questioned her of the cause, and the wife told her
how her husband was angered against her on account
of the burns in the turband-cloth.[FN#494] Rejoined
the old woman, “O my daughter, be not chagrined;
for I have a son, a fine-drawer, and he, by thy life,
shall fine-draw the holes and restore the turband-cloth
as it was.” The wife rejoiced in her saying
and asked her, “And when shall this be?”
The crone answered, “To-morrow, Inshallah—an
it please Allah the Most High—I will bring
him to thee, at the time of thy husband’s going
Page 149
forth from thee, and he shall fine-draw it and depart
forthwith.” Then she comforted her heart
and going away from her, returned to the young man
and acquainted him with what had passed. Now
when the Draper saw the turband-cloth, he determined
to divorce his wife and waited only till he could
collect that which was obligatory on him of the contingent
dowry and what not else,[FN#495] for fear of her people.
When the crone arose in the morning, she took the
young man and carried him into the Draper’s
house. The wife opened the door to her and the
ill-omened old woman entered with him and said to the
lady, “Go, fetch that which thou wouldest have
fine-drawn and give it to my son.” So saying,
she bolted the door on her, whereupon the young man
raped[FN#496] her against her will and did his want
of her and went forth. Then cried the crone,
“Know that this is my son and that he loved
thee with exceeding love and was like to lose his
life for longing after thee; so I devised for thee
with this device and came to thee with this turband-cloth,
which is not thy husband’s, but my son’s.
Now have I won to my wish; so do thou trust in me
and I will put a sleight on thy husband for setting
thee right with him, and thou wilt be subject to me
and to him and to my son."[FN#497] And the wife replied,
“’Tis well. Do so.” Presently
the old woman returned to the lover and said, “Know
thou that I have engineered the affair for thee with
her; and now we must mend that we have marred.
Hie thee and sit with the Draper and mention to him
the turband-cloth, saying, ’The turband I bought
of thee I chanced to burn in two places; so I gave
it to a certain old woman, to have fine-drawn, and
she took it and went away, and I know not her dwelling-place.’[FN#498]
When thou seest me pass by, rise and lay hold of me,
and demand of me the cloth, to the intent that I may
arrange her affair with her spouse and that matters
go right with thee in her regard.” Accordingly
he repaired to the Draper’s shop and sat down
by him and asked him, “Thou knowest the turband-cloth
I bought of thee?” “Yes.” “Knowest
thou what is come of it?” “No.”
“After I bought it of thee, I fumigated myself[FN#499]
and it fortuned that the turbandcloth was burnt in
two places; so I gave it to a woman, whose son, they
said, was a fine-drawer, and she took it and fared
forth with it; and I know not her home.”
When the Draper heard this, he was startled by the
thought that he had suspected his wife wrongfully,
and marvelled at the story of the turband-cloth, and
his mind was made easy anent her. After a short
while up came the old woman, whereupon the young man
sprang to his feet and seizing her, demanded of her
the turband-cloth. Said she, “Know that
I entered one of the houses and wuzu’d and prayed
in the prayerplace;[FN#500] and I forgot the turband-cloth
there and went out. Now I weet not the house in
which I prayed, nor have I been divinely directed[FN#501]
thereto, and I go round about every day till the night,
Page 150
so haply I may light on the dwelling, for I know not
its owner.” When the Draper heard these
words, he said to the old woman, “Verily, Allah
restoreth to thee what thing thou hast lost.
Be gladdened by good news, for the turband-cloth is
with me and in my house.” And he arose
forthright and handed to her the turband-cloth, as
it was, and she handed it to the young man. Then
the Draper made peace with his wife and gave her raiment
and jewellery, till she was content and her heart
was appeased.[FN#502] When the king heard his Chamberlain’s
story, he was dazed and amazed and said to him, “Abide
on thy service and ear thy field for that the lion
entered it, but marred it not, and he will never more
return thither.” [FN#503] Then he bestowed on
him an honourable robe and made him a costly present;
and the man returned to his wife and people, rejoicing,
his heart having been set at rest concerning his wife.
“Nor” (continued the Wazir), “O King
of the age, is this rarer or stranger than the story
of the beautiful wife, a woman gifted of amorous grace,
with the ugly Man, her husband.” When King
Shah Bakht heard the Minister’s speech, he deemed
it delectable and it pleased him; so he bade him hie
to his house, and there he tarried his day long.
The Twenty-fifth Night
of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King summoned his Wazir
and bade him tell the tale. So he said, “’Tis
well. Hear, O King,
The Tale of the Ugly Man and his Beautiful Wife.
There was once a man of the Arabs who had a number
of children, and amongst them a boy, never was seen
a fairer than he of favour nor a more complete in
comeliness; no, nor a more perfect of prudence.
When he came to man’s estate, his father married
him to his first cousin, the daughter of one of his
paternal uncles, and she excelled not in beauty, neither
was she laudable for qualities; wherefore she pleased
not the youth, but he bore with her for the sake of
kinship. One day, he fared forth in quest of
certain camels[FN#504] of his which had strayed and
hied him on all his day and night till eventide, when
he was fain to seek hospitality in an Arab camp.
So he alighted at one of the tents of the tribesmen
and there came forth to him a man short of stature
and foul of favour, who saluted him with the salam;
and, lodging him in a corner of the tent, sat entertaining
him with chat, the cheeriest that might be. When
his food was dressed, the Arab’s wife brought
it to the guest, and he looked at the mistress of
the tent and saw a semblance than which no seemlier
might be. Indeed, her beauty and loveliness, her
symmetry and perfect grace amazed him and he was struck
with astonishment, gazing now at her and then at her
mate. When his looking grew long, the man said
to him, “Ho, thou son of the worthy! Busy
thyself with thine own business, for by me and this
woman hangeth a wondrous tale, which is even better
than that thou seest of her beauty; and I will tell
Page 151
it to thee when we have made a finish of our food.”
So, when they had ended eating and drinking, the young
man asked his host for the story, and he said, “Know
that in my youth I was the same as thou seest me in
the matter of loathliness and foul favour; and I had
brethren of the fairest of the folk; wherefore my
father preferred them over me and used to show them
kindness, to my exclusion, and made me serve in their
stead, like as a master employeth slaves. One
day, a dromedary of his strayed from the herd of camels,
and he said to me, ’Go thou forth in quest of
her and return not but with her.’ I replied,
‘Send other than I of thy sons.’ But
he would not consent to this and scolded me and insisted
upon me, till the matter came to such a pass with
him that he took a thongwhip and fell to beating me.
So I arose and saddling a riding-camel, mounted her
and sallied forth at random, purposing to go out into
the wolds and the wilds and return to him never more.
I fared on all my night and the next day and coming
at eventide[FN#505] to the encampment of this my wife’s
people, alighted down with and became the guest of
her father, who was a Shaykh well stricken in years.
Now when it was the noon of night, I arose and went
forth the tent at a call of nature, and none knew
of my case save this woman. The dogs followed
me as a suspected stranger and ceased not worrying
me[FN#506] till I fell on my back into a pit, wherein
was water, a deep hollow and a steep; and a dog of
those dogs fell in with me. The woman, who was
then a girl in the bloom of youth, full of strength
and spirit, was moved to ruth on me, for the calamity
whereinto I was fallen, and coming to me with a rope,
said to me, ‘Catch hold of the rope,’
So I hent it and clung to it and she haled me up;
but, when I was half-way up, I pulled her down and
she fell with me into the pit; and there we abode three
days, she and I and the hound. When her people
arose in the morning and did not see her, they sought
her in the camp, but, finding her not and missing
me also, never doubted but she had fled with me.[FN#507]
Now she had four brothers, as they were Saker-hawks,
and they took horse and dispersed in search of us.
When the day yellowed on the fourth dawn, the dog
began to bark and the other hounds answered him and
coming to the mouth of the pit, stood howling to him.
The Shaykh, my wife’s father, hearing the howling
of the hounds, came up and standing at the brink of
the hollow, looked in and beheld a marvel. Now
he was a brave man and a sensible, an elder experienced
in affairs, so he fetched a cord and bringing forth
the three, questioned us twain of our case. I
told him all that had betided and he fell a-pondering
the affair. Presently, her brothers returned,
whereupon the old man acquainted them with the whole
case and said to them, ’O my sons, know that
your sister intended not aught but good, and if ye
kill this man, ye will earn abiding shame and ye will
wrong him, and wrong your own souls and eke your sister:
Page 152
for indeed there appeareth no cause such as calleth
for killing, and it may not be denied that this accident
is a thing whose like may well occur and that he may
easily have been the victim of suchlike chance.’
Then he addressed me and questioned me of my lineage;
so I set forth to him my genealogy and he, exclaiming,
’A man of her match, honourable, understanding,’
offered me his daughter in wedlock. I consented
to this and marrying her, took up my abode with him
and Allah hath opened on me the gates of weal and
wealth, so that I am become the richest in monies of
the tribesmen; and the Almighty hath stablished me
in that which He hath given me of His bounties.”
The young man marvelled at his tale and lay the night
with him; and when he arose in the morning, he found
his estrays. So he took them and returning to
his folk, acquainted them with what he had seen and
all that had befallen him. “Nor”
(continued the Wazir) “is this stranger or rarer
than the story of the King who lost kingdom and wealth
and wife and children and Allah restored them to him
and requited him with a realm more magnificent than
that which he had forfeited and better and finer and
greater of wealth and degree.” The Minister’s
story pleased the King and he bade him depart to his
abode.
The Twenty-sixth Night
of the Month.
When came the night, the king summoned his Wazir and
bade him tell the story of the King who lost kingdom
and wife and wealth. He replied, “Hearing
and obeying! Give ear, O sovran, to
The Tale of the King who lost Kingdom and Wife and
Wealth and Allah restored them to Him.[FN#508]
There was once a king of the kings of Hind, who was
a model of morals, praiseworthy in policy, lief of
justice to his lieges, lavish to men of learning and
piety and abstinence and devoutness and worship and
shunning mischief-makers and froward folk, fools and
traitors. After such goodly fashion he abode in
his kingship what Allah the Most High willed of watches
and days and twelvemonths,[FN#509] and he married
the daughter of his father’s brother, a beautiful
woman and a winsome, endowed with brightness and perfection,
who had been reared in the king’s house in delicacy
and delight. She bare him two sons, the most beauteous
that might be of boys, when came Destiny from whose
decree is no deliverance and Allah the Most High raised
up against the King another king, who came forth upon
his realm, and was joined by all the folk of the city
that had a mind to lewdness and frowardness.
So he strengthened himself by means of them against
the King and compassed his kingdom, routing his troops
and killing his guards. The King took his wife,
the mother of his sons, and what he might of monies
and saved his life and fled in the darkness of the
night, unknowing whither he should wend. Whenas
wayfare grew sore upon them, there met them highwaymen
on the way, who took all that was with them, so that
naught remained to each of them save a shirt and trousers;
Page 153
the robbers left them without even provaunt or camels
or other riding-cattle, and they ceased not to fare
on afoot, till they came to a copse, which was an
orchard of trees on the ocean shore.[FN#510] Now the
road which they would have followed was crossed by
a sea-arm, but it was shallow and scant of water;
wherefore, when they reached that place, the king
took up one of his children and fording the water
with him, set him down on the further bank and returned
for his other son, whom also he seated by his brother.
Lastly, returning for their mother, he took her up
and passing the water with her, came to the place
where he had left his children, but found them not.
Thereupon he looked at the midst of the island and
saw an old man and an old woman, engaged in making
themselves a reed-hut: so he set down his wife
over against them and started off in quest of his
children, but none gave him news of them and he went
round about right and left, yet found not the whereabouts
they were. On this wise fared it with him; but
as to the children, they had entered the copse to
make water, and they found there a forest of trees,
wherein, if a sturdy horseman[FN#511] strayed, he
might wander by the week, and never know its first
from its last. So the boys pushed into it and
wotted not how they should return and went astray in
that wood, for a purpose willed of Allah Almighty,
whilst their father sought them, but found them not.
So he returned to their mother and they abode weeping
for their children; as for whom, when they entered
the forest, it swallowed them up and they fared at
hap-hazard, wandering in it many days, knowing not
whence they came or whither they went, till they issued
forth, at another side, upon the open country.
Meanwhile, their parents, the king and queen, tarried
in the island, over against the old man and his old
woman, and ate of the fruits and drank of the rills
that were in it till, one day of the days, as they
sat, behold, up came a ship and made fast to the island-side,
for provisioning with water, whereupon they[FN#512]
looked one at other and spoke. The master of
the craft was a Magian man and all that was therein,
both crew and goods, belonged to him, for he was a
trader and went round about the world. Now greed
of gain deluded the old man, the owner of the island,
and he fared to the ship and gave the Guebre news
of the King’s wife, setting out to him her charms,
till he made him long for her and his soul moved[FN#513]
him to practise treachery and cozenage upon her and
take her from her husband. Accordingly, he sent
to her, saying, “Aboard with us is a woman with
child, and we dread lest she be delivered this night:
hast thou aught of skill in midwifery?” She
replied, “Yes.” Now it was the last
of the day; so he sent to her to come up into the
ship and deliver the woman, for that the labour-pangs
were come upon her; and he promised her clothes and
spendingmoney. Hereat, she embarked confidently,
with heart at ease for herself, and transported her
Page 154
gear to the ship; but no sooner had she come thither
than the sails were hoisted and the canvas was loosed[FN#514]
and the ship set sail. When the King saw this,
he cried out and his wife wept in the ship and would
have cast herself into the waves; but the Magian bade
his men lay hands on her. So they seized her
and it was but a little while ere the night darkened
and the ship vanished from the King’s eyes;
whereupon he fainted away for excess of weeping and
lamentation and passed his night bewailing his wife
and his children. And when the morning morrowed
he began improvising these couplets:—[FN#515]
“O World, how
long, this spite, this enmity?
Say me, dost ever spare
what spared can be?
And look! my friends have fared fain and free!
They went and went wi’
them my dear delight
E’en from the
day when friends to part were dight
And turbid made their lost life’s clarity.
By Allah, ne’er
I wist their worth aright
Nor ever wot I worth
of friends unite
Till fared they, leaving flame in heart of me!
I’ll ne’er
forget them since what day each wight
Hied and withdrew fro’
me his well-loved sight
And yet I weep this parting-blow to dree.
I vow an Heaven deign
my friends return
And cry the crier in
mine ears that yearn
“The far is near, right soon their sight shalt
see!”
Upon their site my cheeks
I’ll place, to sprite
I’ll say, “Rejoice,
thy friends return to thee!”
Nor blame my heart when
friends were lief to flee:
I rent my heart ere rent my raimentry.”
He sat weeping for the severance of his wife and children
till the morning, when he went forth wandering at
a venture, unweeting what he should do, and ceased
not walking along the sea-shore days and nights, unknowing
whither he went and taking no food save the herbs
of the earth and seeing neither man nor wildling nor
other living thing, till his wayfare brought him to
a mountain-top. He sojourned in the highland
and abode awhile there alone, eating of its fruits
and drinking of its founts; then he came down thence
and trudged along the high road three days, when he
hit upon tilled fields and villages and gave not over
going till he made a great city on the shore of the
salt sea and came to its gate at the last of the day.
The gatekeepers allowed him no admission; so he spent
his night anhungered, and when he arose in the morning,
he sat down hard by the portal. Now the king of
the city was dead and had left no son, and the citizens
fell out anent who should be ruler over them:
and their words and redes differed, so that civil
war was like to befal them thereupon. But it
came to pass that, after long jangle, they agreed to
leave the choice to the late king’s elephant
and that he unto whom he consented should be king
and that they would not contest with him the sway.
So to this they sware and on the morrow, they brought
out their elephant and fared forth to a site within
Page 155
sight of the city; nor was there man or woman but
was present at that moment. Then they adorned
the elephant and raising the throne on his back, gave
him the crown in his trunk; and he went round about
examining the countenances of the folk, but stopped
not over against any of them till he came at last
to the forlorn King, the exile who had lost his children
and his wife, when the beast prostrated himself to
him and placing the crown on his head, took him up
and set him upon his back. Thereupon the people
all prostrated themselves and gave mutual joy of this
and the drums[FN#516] of good tidings beat before
him, and he entered the city and went on till he reached
the House of Justice and the Audience-hall of the
Palace and sat down upon the throne of the kingdom,
crown on head; whereat the lieges entered to congratulate
him and to bless him. Then he addressed himself,
as was his wont in the kingship, to forwarding the
affairs of the folk and ranging the troops according
to their ranks and looking into their affairs and
those of all the Ryots. He also released those
who were in the dungeons and abolished the custom-dues
and gave honourable robes and lavished great gifts
and bestowed largesse and conferred favours on the
Emirs and Wazirs and Lords of the realm, and the Chamberlains’[FN#517]
and Nabobs presented themselves before him and did
him homage. So the city people rejoiced in him
and said, “Indeed, this be none other than a
King of the greatest of the kings.” And
presently he assembled the sages and the theologians
and the sons of the Sovrans and conversed with them
and asked them subtile questions and casuistical problems
and talked over with them things manifold of all fashions
that might direct him to rectitude in the kingship;
and he questioned them also of mysteries and religious
obligations and of the laws of the land and the regulations
of rule and of that which it beseemeth the liege lord
to do of looking into the affairs of the lieges and
repelling the foe and fending off his malice with
force and fight; so the subjects’ contentment
redoubled and their exultation in that which Allah
Almighty had vouchsafed them of his kingship over them.
On such wise he upheld the ordinance of the realm,
and the affairs abode stablished upon the accepted
custom and local usage. Now the late king had
left a wife and two daughters, and the people would
fain have married the Princess royal to the new king
that the rule might not pass clean away from the old
rulers. Accordingly, they proposed to him that
he should wed her or the other of the deceased king’s
daughters, and he promised them this, but he put them
off from him, of his respect for the covenant he had
made with his former wife, his cousin, that he would
marry none other than herself. Then he betook
himself to fasting by day and praying through the
night, multiplying his alms-deeds and beseeching Allah
(extolled and exalted be He!) to reunite him with
his children and his wife, the daughter of his father’s
Page 156
brother. When a year had elapsed, there came to
the city a ship, wherein were many merchants and much
merchandise. Now it was their custom from time
immemorial that the king, whenever a ship made the
port, sent to it such of his pages as he trusted in,
who took agency of the goods, to the end that they
might be first shown to the Sovran, who bought as
much of them as befitted him and gave the merchants
leave to sell whatso he wanted not. So he commissioned,
according to his custom, a man who should fare to
the ship and seal up the bales and set over them one
who could watch and ward them. Meanwhile the
Queen his wife, when the Magian fled with her and
proffered himself to her and lavished upon her abounding
wealth, rejected him and was like to kill herself[FN#518]
for chagrin at that which had befallen and for concern
anent her separation from her husband. She also
refused meat and drink and resolved to cast herself
into the sea; but the Magian chained her and straitened
her and clothed her in a coat of wool and said to
her, “I will continue thee in wretchedness and
humiliation till thou obey me and accept me.”
So she took patience and looked for the Almighty to
deliver her from the hand of that accursed; and she
ceased not travelling with him from country to country
till he came with her in fine to the city wherein
her husband was king and his goods were put under seal.
Now the woman was in a chest and two youths of the
late king’s pages, who were now in the new King’s
service, were those who had been charged with the
watch and ward of the craft and her cargaison.
When the evening evened on them, the twain began talking
and recounted that which had befallen them in their
days of childhood and the manner of the faring forth
of their father and mother from their country and
kingdom when the wicked overcame their realm, and
how they had gone astray in the forest and how Fate
had severed them from their parents; for short, they
told their tale from first to last. When the woman
heard their talk, she knew that they were her sons
and cried out to them from the chest, “I am
your mother, Such-an-one, and the token between you
twain and me is thus and thus.” The young
men knew the token and falling upon the chest, brake
the lock and brought out their mother, who seeing
them, strained them to her bosom, and they fell upon
her and fainted away, all three. When they came
to themselves, they wept awhile and the people assembled
about them, marvelling at that they saw, and questioned
them of their case. So the young Princes vied
each with other who should be the first to discover
the story to the folk; and when the Magian saw this,
he came up, crying out, “Alack!” and “Ruin!”
and said to them, “Why and wherefore have ye
broken open my chest? Verily, I had in it jewels
and ye have stolen them, and this damsel is my slave-girl
and she hath agreed with you both upon a device to
take my wealth.” Then he rent his raiment
and cried for aid, saying, “I appeal to Allah
Page 157
and to the just King, so he may quit me of these wrongous
youths!” They both replied, “This is our
mother and thou stolest her:” whereupon
words waxed manifold between them and the folk plunged
into talk with many a “he said” and “’twas
said” concerning their affair and that of the
pretended slave-girl, and the strife increased between
them, so that at last they carried them all four to
the King’s court. When the two young men
presented themselves between his hands and stated
their case to him and to the folk and the sovran heard
their speech, he knew them and his heart was like to
fly for joy: the tears poured from his eyes at
their sight and the sight of his wife, and he thanked
Allah Almighty and praised Him for that He had deigned
reunite them. Then he bade the folk who were
present about him be dismissed and commanded the Magian
and the woman and the two youths be to morrow committed
to his armoury[FN#519] for the night, ordering that
they should keep guard over them all until the Lord
should make the morning to morrow, so he might assemble
the Kazis and the Justiciaries and Assessors and determine
between them, according to Holy Law, in the presence
of the four judges. So they did this and the King
passed the night praying and praising Allah of All-might
for that which he had vouchsafed him of kingship and
power and victory over the wight who had wronged him
and thanking Him who had reunited him with his own.
When the morning morrowed, he assembled the Kazis
and Deputies and Assessors[FN#520] and summoning the
Magian and the two youths and their mother, questioned
them of their case; whereupon the two young men began
and said, “We are the sons of King Such-an-one
and foemen and lewd fellows gat the mastery of our
realm; so our sire fled forth with us and wandered
at haphazard, for fear of the foe.” And
they recounted to him all that had betided them, from
beginning to end.[FN#521] Quoth he, “Ye tell
a marvel-tale; but what hath Fate done with your father?”
Quoth they, “We know not how Fortune dealt with
him after our loss.” And he was silent.
Then he bespake the woman, “And thou, what sayst
thou?” So she set forth to him her case and
all that had betided her and her husband, from the
beginning of their hardships to the end, and recounted
to him their adventures up to the time when they took
up their abode with the old man and woman who dwelt
on the sea-shore. Then she reported that which
the Magian had practised on her of fraud and how he
had carried her off in the craft and everything that
had betided her of humiliation and torment; all this
while the Kazis and judges and Deputies hearkening
to her speech as they had lent ear to the others’
adventures. When the King heard the last of his
wife’s tale, he said, “Verily, there hath
betided thee a mighty grievous matter; but hast thou
knowledge of what thy husband did and what came of
his affair?” She replied, “Nay, by Allah;
I have no knowledge of him, save that I leave him no
hour unremembered in righteous prayer, and never, whilst
Page 158
I live, will he cease to be to me the father of my
children and my cousin and my flesh and my blood.”
Then she wept and the King bowed his head, whilst
his eyes welled tears at her tale. Presently he
raised his head to the Magian and cried to him, “Say
thy say, thou also.” So the Magian replied,
“This is my slave-girl, whom I bought with my
money from such a land and for so many dinars, and
I made her my betrothed[FN#522] and loved her exceedingly
and gave my monies into her charge; but she falsed
me in my substance and plotted with one of my lads
to slay me, tempting him by a promise that she would
kill me and become his wife. When I knew this
of her and was assured that she purposed treason against
me, I awoke from my dream of happiness and did with
her that which I did, fearing for my life from her
craft and perfidy; for indeed she is a trickstress
with her tongue and she hath taught these two youths
this pretence, by way of sleight and of her guile and
her malice: so be you not deluded by her and by
her talk.” “Thou liest, O accursed,”
cried the King and bade lay hands on him and iron
him. Then he turned to the two youths, his sons,
and strained them to his breast, weeping sore and
saying, “O all ye people who are present of
Kazis and Assessors and Lords of the land, know that
these twain are my sons and that this is my wife and
the daughter of my father’s brother; for that
whilome I was king in such a realm.” And
he recounted to them his history from commencement
to conclusion, nor is there aught of fruition in repetition;
whereupon the folk cried out with weeping and wailing
for the stress of what they heard of marvellous chances
and that wondrous story. As for the king’s
wife, he bade carry her into his palace and lavished
upon her and upon her sons all that befitted and beseemed
them of bounties, whilst the lieges flocked to offer
up prayers for him and give him joy of his reunion
with his wife and children. When they had made
an end of blessings and congratulations, they besought
the king to hasten the punishment of the Magian and
heal their hearts with tormenting and abasing him.
So he appointed them for a day on which they should
assemble to witness his requitement and that which
should betide him of torment, and shut himself up
with his wife and two sons and abode thus private
with them three days, during which they were veiled
from the folk. On the fourth day the King entered
the Hammam, and faring forth, sat down on the throne
of his kingship, crown on head, whereupon the folk
came in to him, according to their custom and after
the measure of their several dignities and degrees,
and the Emirs and Wazirs entered, and eke the Chamberlains
and Nabobs and Captains of war and the Falconers and
Armbearers and Commanders of the body-guard. Then
he seated his two sons, one on his right and the other
on his left hand, whilst the subjects all stood before
him and lifted up their voices in thanksgiving to
Allah the Most High and glorification of Him and were
Page 159
instant in orisons for the king and in setting forth
his virtues and excellent qualities. He answered
them with the most gracious of answers and bade carry
the Magian outside the city and set him on a high
scaffold which had been builded for him there; and
he said to the folk, “Behold, I will torture
him with torments of all kinds and fashions.”
Then he began telling them that which he had wrought
of villainy with his cousin-wife and what he had caused
her of severance between her and her husband and how
he had required her person of her, but she had sought
refuge for her chastity against him with Allah (to
whom belong honour and glory) and chose abasement
rather than obedience to him, despite stress of torture:
neither recked she aught of that which he lavished
to her of monies and raiment, jewels and ornaments.
When the King had made an end of his story, he bade
the bystanders spit in the Magian’s face and
curse him; and they did this. Then he bade cut
out his tongue and on the next day he bade lop off
his ears and nose and pluck out both his eyes.
On the third day he bade hew off his hands and on
the fourth his feet; and they ceased not to dismember
him, limb after limb, and each member they cast into
the fire, after its amputation, before his face, till
his soul departed, after he had endured torments of
all kinds and fashions. Then the King bade crucify
his trunk on the city wall for three days; after which
he gave orders to burn it and reduce its ashes to
powder and scatter them abroad in air. And when
this was done, the King summoned the Kazi and the
Witnesses and commanded them marry the old king’s
daughter and her sister to his own sons; so the youths
wedded them, after the King had made a bride-feast
three days and displayed their brides to them from
nightfall to day-dawn. Then the two Princes went
in unto their brides and abated their maidenheads
and loved them and were vouchsafed issue by them.
As for the King their sire, he abode with his cousin-wife,
their mother, what while Allah (to whom be honour
and glory) willed, and they rejoiced in reunion each
with other. The kingship endured unto them and
high degree and victory, and the sovran continued
to rule with justice and equity, so that the lieges
loved him and prayed for him and for his sons length
of life and durance of days; and they lived the most
delightsome of existences till there came to them the
Destroyer of delights and Severer of societies, the
Depopulator of palaces and Garnerer of graves; and
this is all that hath come down to us of the story
of the King and his Wife and Sons. “Nor,”
continued the Wazir, “if this story be a solace
and a diversion, is it pleasanter or more diverting
than the tale of the Youth of Khorasan and his mother
and sister.” When King Shah Bakht heard
this story, it pleased him and he bade the Minister
hie away to his own house.
The Twenty-seventh Night
of the Month.
When evening came, the king Shah Bakht bade fetch
the Wazir; so he presented himself before him and
the King ordered him to tell the tale. So he
said, “Hearkening and obedience. Give ear,
O sovran, to
Page 160
The Tale of Salim, the Youth of Khorasan, and Salma,
his Sister.
Know, O king (but Allah alone knoweth His secret purpose
and is versed in the past and the foredone among folk
bygone) that there was once, in the parts of Khorasan,
a man of its affluent, who was a merchant of the chiefest
of the merchants[FN#523] and was blessed with two
children, a son and a daughter.[FN#524] He was diligent
exceedingly in rearing them and they were educated
with the fairest of education; for he used to teach
the boy, who taught his sister all that he learnt,
so that, by means of her brother, the damsel became
perfect in the knowledge of the Traditions of the
Prophet and in polite letters. Now the boy’s
name was Salim and that of the girl Salma. When
they grew up and were fully grown, their father built
them a mansion beside his own and lodged them apart
therein and appointed them slave-girls and servants
to tend them and assigned to each of them pay and
allowances and all that they needed of high and low;
meat and bread; wine, dresses, and vessels and what
not else. So Salim and Salma abode in that palace,
as they were one soul in two bodies, and they used
to sleep on one couch and rise amorn with single purpose,
while firmly fixed in each one’s heart were fond
affection and familiar friendship for the other.
One night, when the half was spent, as Salim and Salma
sat recounting and conversing, they heard a noise
on the ground floor; so they looked out from a latticed
casement which gave upon the gate of their father’s
mansion and saw a man of fine presence, whose clothes
were hidden under a wide cloak. He came straight
up to the gate and laying hold of the door-ring, rapped
a light rap; whereupon the door opened and behold,
out came their sister, with a lighted taper, and after
her their mother, who saluted the stranger and embraced
him, saying, “O dearling of my heart and light
of mine eyes and fruit of my vitals, enter.”
So he went in and shut the door, whilst Salim and
Salma abode amazed. The youth turned to the girl
and said to her, “O sister mine, how deemest
thou of this trouble and what advice hast thou to offer?”
She replied, “O my brother, indeed I know not
what I shall say anent the like of this; but he is
not disappointed who divine direction seeketh, nor
doth he repent who counsel taketh. One getteth
not the better of the traces of burning by haste,
and know that this is an affliction that hath descended[FN#525]
on us and a calamity foreordained to us; so we have
need of wise rede to do it away and contrivance which
shall wash our shame from our faces.” And
they ceased not watching the gate till daybreak, when
the young man opened the door and their mother farewelled
him; after which he went his way and she entered,
she and her handmaid. Hereat said Salim to his
sister, “Know thou I am resolved to slay this
man, an he return the next night, and I will say to
the folk, He was a robber, and none shall weet that
which hath befallen. Then I will address myself
Page 161
to the slaughter of whosoever knoweth what is between
the fellow and my mother.” But Salma said,
“I fear lest an thou slay him in our dwelling-place
and he be not convicted of robberhood, suspicion and
ill-fame will revert upon ourselves, and we cannot
be assured that he belongeth not to a tribe whose
mischief is to be feared and whose enmity is to be
dreaded, and thus wilt thou have fled from hidden shame
to open shame and to disgrace public and abiding.”
Asked Salim: “What then is it thy rede
to do?” And she answered, “Is there no
help but thou kill him? Let us not hasten unto
slaughter, for that the slaughter of a soul without
just cause is a mighty grave matter.” When
Shahban[FN#526] heard this, he said within himself,
“By Allah, I have indeed been hasty and reckless
in the slaying of women and girls, and Alhamdolillah—lauded
be the Lord—who hath occupied me with this
damsel from the slaughter of souls, for that the slaughter
of souls is a grave matter and a grievous! By
the Almighty if Shah Bakht spare the Wazir, I will
assuredly spare Shahrazad!"[FN#527] Then he gave ear
to the story and heard her say to her sister:—Quoth
Salma to Salim, “Hasten not to slay him, but
overthink the matter and consider the issue whereto
it may tend; for whoso considereth not of actions
the end hath not Fortune to friend.” Then
they arose on the morrow and busied themselves with
contriving how they should turn away their parent
from that man, and the mother forefelt mischief from
them, for what she saw in their eyes of change, she
being wily and keen of wit. So she took precaution
for herself against her children and Salma said to
Salim, “Thou seest what we have fallen upon through
this woman, and very sooth she hath sensed our purpose
and wotteth that we have discovered her secret.
So, doubtless, she will plot against us the like of
that which we plot for her; for indeed up to now she
had concealed her affair, and from this time forth
she will become harsh to us; wherefore, methinks, there
is a thing forewritten to us, whereof Allah (extolled
and exalted be He!) knew in His foreknowledge and
wherein He carrieth out His commandments.”
He asked, “What is that?” and she answered,
“It is that we arise, I and thou, and go forth
this night from this land and seek us a town wherein
we may wone and witness naught of the doings of yonder
traitress; for whoso is absent from the eye is absent
from the heart, and quoth one of the poets in the
following couplet:[FN#528]—
’Tis happiest, best for thee, the place to leave,
* For then no
eye can see, nor heart
can grieve.”
Quoth Salim to her,[FN#529] “’Tis for
thee to decide and right is thy rede; so let us do
this, in the name of Allah the Almighty, trusting
in Him for guiding and grace.” Accordingly
they arose and took the richest of their raiment and
the lightest of that which was in their treasuries
of gems and things of price and gathered together
much matter. Then they equipped them ten mules
Page 162
and hired them servants of other than the people of
the country; and Salim bade his sister Salma don man’s
dress. Now she was the likest of all creatures
to him, so that, when she was clad in man’s
clothing, the folk knew no difference between them—
extolled be the perfection of Him who hath no like,
there is no god but He! Then he told her to mount
a mare, whilst he himself took another, and they set
out under cover of the night; nor did any of their
family or household know of them. So they fared
on into Allah’s wide world and gave not over
going night and day for a space of two months, at
the end of which they came to a city on the sea-shore
of the land of Makran,[FN#530] by name Al-Sharr, and
it is the first city in Sind.[FN#531] They lighted
down within sight of the place and when they arose
in the morning, they saw a populous city and a goodly,
seemly of semblance and great, abounding in trees
and rills and fruits and wide of suburbs which stretched
to the neighbouring villages. So the young man
said to his sister Salma, “Tarry thou here in
thy place, till I enter the city and make proof of
it and its people and seek us out a stead which we
may buy and whereto we may remove. An it befit
us, we will make us a home therein, otherwise will
we take counsel of departing elsewhere.”
Quoth she, “Do this, trusting in the bounty
of Allah (to whom belong honour and glory) and in
His blessing.” Accordingly he took a belt,
wherein were a thousand gold pieces, and girding it
about his waist, entered the city and ceased not going
round about its streets and bazars and gazing upon
its houses and sitting with those of its citizens
whose aspect showed signs of worth and wealth, till
the day was half spent, when he resolved to return
to his sister and said to himself, “Needs must
I buy what we may eat of ready-cooked food; I and
my sister.” Hereupon he addressed a man
who sold roast meat and who was clean of person, albe
foul in his way of getting a living, and said to him,
“Take the price of this dishful and add thereto
of fowls and chickens and what not else is in your
market of meats and sweetmeats and bread and arrange
it in the plates.” So the Kitchener took
the money and set apart for him what he desired, then
calling a porter, he laid it in the man’s crate,
and Salim, after paying the price of provisions and
porterage in fullest fashion, was about to go away,
when the Cook said to him, “O youth, doubtless
thou art a stranger?” He replied, “Yes;”
and the other rejoined, “’Tis reported
in one of the Traditions that the Apostle said, Loyal
admonition is a part of religion; and the wise and
ware have declared counsel is of the characteristics
of True Believers. And verily that which I have
seen of thy ways pleaseth me and I would fain give
thee a warning.” Rejoined Salim, “Speak
out thy warning, and may Allah strengthen thy purpose!”
Then said the Cook, “Know, O my son, that in
this our city, when a stranger entereth and eateth
of flesh-meat and drinketh not old wine upon it, ’tis
Page 163
harmful to him and disturbeth his body with disorders
which be dangerous. Wherefore, an thou have provided
thee somewhat of wine it is well, but, if not, haste
to procure it, ere thou take the meat and carry it
away.” Quoth Salim, “Allah requite
thee with weal— Canst thou shew me where
liquor is sold?” and quoth the Cook, “With
me is all thou seekest. The youth asked, “Is
there a way for me to see it?” and the Cook
sprang up and answered, “Pass on.”
So he entered and the man showed him somewhat of wine;
but he said, “I desire better than this;”
whereupon he opened a door and entering, said to Salim,
Come in, and follow me.” Accordingly Salim
followed him till he brought him to an underground
chamber and showed him somewhat of wine that suited
him. So he occupied him with looking at it and
taking him unawares, sprang upon him from behind and
threw him to the ground and sat upon his breast.
Then he drew a knife and set it to his jugular; whereupon
there betided Salim that wherewith Allah made him
forget all that He had decreed to him,[FN#532] and
he cried to the Cook, “Why dost thou this thing,
O good fellow? Be mindful of the Almighty and
fear Him. Seest thou not I am a stranger man?
And knowest thou not I have behind me a forlorn defenceless[FN#533]
woman? Wherefore wilt thou kill me?” Quoth
the Kitchener, “Needs must I kill thee, so I
may take thy money;” and quoth Salim, “Take
my money, but kill me not, neither enter into sin
against me; and do with me kindness, for indeed the
taking of my coin is more venial than the taking of
my life.” The Cook replied, “This
is nonsense. Thou canst not deliver thyself herewith,
O youth, because in thy deliverance is my destruction.”
Cried Salim, “I swear to thee and give thee
the bond of Allah (to whom belong honour and glory)
and His covenant, which He took of His prophets that
I will not discover thy secret; no, never.”
But the Kitchener replied, “Away! Away!
Alas! Alas! To this there is no path.”
However, Salim ceased not to conjure him and humble
himself to him and weep, while the Cook persisted
in his intent to cut his throat: then he shed
tears and recited these couplets;[FN#534]
“Haste not to that thou dost desire, for haste
is still unblest;
* Be merciful to men,
as thou on mercy reckonest:
For no hand is there but the hand of God is over it
* And no
oppressor but shall
be with worse than he opprest.”
Quoth the Kitchener, “There is no help save
that I slay thee, O fellow; for an I spare thee, I
shall myself be slain.” But Salim said,
“O my brother, I will advise thee somewhat[FN#535]
other than this.” Asked the Cook, “What
is it? Say and be brief, ere I cut thy throat;”
and Salim answered, “Suffer me to live and keep
me as thy Mameluke, thy white slave, and I will work
at a craft of the skilled workmen, wherefrom there
shall result to thee every day two dinars.”
Quoth the Kitchener, “What is the craft?”
and quoth Salim, “The cutting of gems and jewels.”
Page 164
When the man heard this, he said to himself, “’Twill
do me no hurt if I imprison him and fetter him and
bring him that whereat he may work. An he tell
truth, I will let him live, and if he prove a liar,
I will kill him.” So he took a pair of stout
shackles and fitting them on Salim’s legs, jailed
him within his house and charged a man to guard him.
Then he asked him what tools he needed for work; and
Salim described to him whatso he required, and the
Cook went out from him awhile and brought him all he
wanted. Then Salim sat and wrought at his craft;
and he used every day to earn two dinars; and this
was his wont and custom with the Kitchener, who fed
him not but half his fill. Thus befel it with
Salim; but returning to his sister Salma, she awaited
him till the last of the day, yet he appeared not;
and she expected him a second day and a third and
a fourth, yet there came no news of him. So she
wept and beat hand on breast and bethought her of
her affair and her strangerhood and the disappearance
of her brother; and she improvised these couplets,—
“Salam t’you! Would I could see you
again, * To the joy of my
heart and the coolth
of my eyes:
You are naught but my hope and the whole of my hope
* And under
my ribs[FN#536] love
for you buried lies.”
She tarried on this wise awaiting him till the end
of the month, but no tidings of him came nor happened
she upon aught of his trace; wherefore she was troubled
with exceeding trouble and sending her servants hither
and thither in search of him, abode in the sorest
that might be of chagrin and concern. When it
was the beginning of the new month, she arose in the
morning and bidding one of her men cry her brother
throughout the city, sat to receive visits of condolence,
nor was there any in town but made act of presence
to condole with her; and they were all sorry for her,
doubting not her being a man. When three nights
had passed over her with their days of the second
month, she despaired of him and her tears never dried:
then she resolved to take up her abode in that city,
and making choice of a dwelling, removed thither.
The folk resorted to her from all parts, to sit with
her and hear her speech and witness her fine breeding;
nor was it but a little while ere the king died and
the folk differed anent whom they should invest with
the kingship after him, so that civil war was like
to befal them. However, the men of judgment and
the folk of understanding and the people of experience
directed them to crown the youth who had lost his
brother, for that they still held Salma to be a man.
They consented to this one and all; and, betaking
themselves to her, offered the kingship.[FN#537] She
refused, but they were urgent with her, till she consented,
saying within herself, “My sole desire in the
kingship is to find my brother.” Then they
seated her upon the throne of the realm and set the
crown upon her head, after which she undertook the
business of governance and ordinance of affairs; and
Page 165
they rejoiced in her with the utmost joy. On
such wise fared it with her; but as for Salim he abode
with the Cook a whole year’s space, bringing
him two dinars a day; and when his affair waxed longsome,
the man felt for him and pitied him. Presently
he promised him release on condition that, if he let
him go, he should not discover his illdeeds to the
Sultan; for that it was his wont now and then to entrap
a man and carry him to his house and slay him and
take his money and cook his flesh and give it to the
folk to eat.[FN#538] So he asked him, “O youth,
wilt thou that I release thee from this thy misery,
on condition that thou be reasonable and never discover
aught of thine affair?” Salim answered, “I
will swear to thee by whatsoever oath thou wilt administer
that I will keep thy secret and will not speak one
syllable anent thee, what while l am in the land of
the living.” Quoth the Kitchener, “I
purpose to send thee forth with my brother and cause
thee voyage with him over the sea, on condition that
thou be to him a Mameluke, a boughten slave; and when
he cometh to the land of Hind, he shall sell thee
and thus wilt thou be delivered from prison and slaughter.”
And quoth Salim, “’Tis well: be it
as thou sayst, may Allah the Most High requite thee
with weal!” Accordingly the Cook equipped his
brother and freighting him a craft, stowed therein
a cargaison of merchandise. Then he committed
Salim to him and they set out with the ship.
The Lord decreed them safety, so that they arrived
at the first city of Hind, which is known as AlMansurah,[FN#539]
and cast anchor there. Now the king of that city
had died, leaving a daughter and a widow who, being
the quickest-witted of women and cleverest of the
folk of her day, gave out that the girl was a boy,
so that the kingship might be established unto them.
The troops and the Emirs gave credit that the case
was as she avouched and that the Princess was a Prince;
wherefore they obeyed her bidding and the Queenmother
took order for the matter and used to dress the girl
in man’s habit and seat her on the throne of
the kingship, so that the Lords of the land and the
chief officers of the realm used to go in to her and
salute her and do her service and depart, nothing
doubting but she was a boy. After this fashion
they fared for months and years and the Queen-mother
ceased not to do thus till the Cook’s brother
came to the town in his ship, and with him Salim.
He landed with the youth and displayed him for sale
to the Queen who, when she saw him, prognosticated
well of him; presently she bought him and was kind
to him and entreated him with honour. Then began
she to prove him in his moral parts and make assay
of him in his affairs, and she found in him all that
is in kings’ sons of understanding and fine
breeding and good manners and qualities. Thereupon
she sent for him in private and said to him, “I
am minded to do thee a service, so thou canst keep
a secret."[FN#540] He promised her all that she desired
Page 166
and she discovered to him her mystery in the matter
of her daughter, saying, “I will marry thee
to her and commit to thee the governance and constitute
thee king and ruler over this city.” He
thanked her and promised to carry out all she should
order him, and she said to him, “Go forth to
such-an-one of the neighbouring provinces privily.”
So he went forth and on the morrow she made ready
loads and gear and gifts and bestowed on him abundant
substance, all of which they loaded on the backs of
baggage-camels. Then she gave out among the folk
that the nephew of the king, the son of his brother,
was come and bade the Grandees and troops go forth
to meet him in a body: she also decorated the
city in his honour and the kettle-drums of good tidings
beat for him whilst all the king’s household
went out and dismounting before him, escorted him
into, and lodged him with the Queen-mother in the
palace. Then she bade the Headmen of the state
attend his assembly; so they obeyed and witnessed of
his breeding and good parts that which amazed them
and made them forget the breeding of the kings who
had preceded him. When they were grown to like
him, the Queenmother began sending privily for the
Emirs and Councillors, one by one, and swearing them
to conceal her project; and when she was assured of
their discretion, she discovered to them that the
king had left naught save a daughter and that she
had done this only that she might continue the kingship
in his family and that the rule should not go forth
from them; after which she informed them that she was
minded to marry her daughter with her nephew, the new-comer;
and that he should be the holder of the kingship.
They approved her proposal and when she had discovered
the secret to the last of them and assured herself
of their aid, she published the news abroad and threw
off all concealment. Then she sent for the Kazis
and Assessors, who drew up the contract of marriage
between Salim and the Princess, and they lavished
gifts upon the soldiery and overwhelmed them with
largesse. The bride was incontinently carried
in procession to the young man and the kingship was
established to him. They tarried after this fashion
a whole year when Salim said to the Queen-mother,
“Know that my life is not pleasing to me nor
can I abide with you in content till I get me tidings
of my sister and learn how her affair hath ended and
how she hath fared after me. So I will go forth
and be absent from you a year’s space; then
will I return to you, Inshallah—an it please
God the Most High—and I win of this that
which I hope.” Quoth she, “I will
not trust to thy word, but will go with thee and help
thee to whatso thou wishest and further thee myself
therein.” Then she took a ship and loaded
it with all manner things of price, goods and monies
and the like. Furthermore, she appointed one
of the Wazirs, a man in whom she trusted for his conduct
and contrivance, to rule the realm, saying to him,
“Abide in governance a full year and ordain
Page 167
all thou needest.” Presently the Queenmother
and her daughter and son-in-law Salim went down to
the ship and sailed on till they made the land of Makran.
Their arrival there befel at the last of the day; so
they nighted in their ship, and when the morn was
near to dawn, the young king landed, that he might
go to the Hammam, and walked marketwards. As
he drew near the bath, the Cook met him on the way
and knew him; so he seized him and pinioning him straitly,
carried him to his house, where he clapped the old
fetters on his feet and cast him back into his former
place of durance vile.[FN#541] Salim, finding himself
in that sorry condition and considering that wherewith
he was afflicted of tribulation and the reverses of
his fair fortune, in that he had been a king and was
now returned to fetters and prison and hunger, wept
and groaned and lamented and improvised these couplets,
“My God, no patience now can aid afford; * Strait
is my breast, O
Thou of Lords the Lord:
My God, who in resource like thine hath force? * And
Thou, the
Subtle, dost my case
record.”
On this wise fared it with Salim; but as regards his
wife and her mother, when she awoke in the morning
and her husband returned not to her with break of
dawn, she forebode all manner of calamity and, straightway
arising, she despatched her servants and all who were
with her in quest of her spouse; but they happened
not on any trace of him nor could they hear aught of
his news. So she bethought herself concerning
the case and plained and wept and groaned and sighed
and blamed Fortune the fickle, bewailing the changes
of Time and reciting these couplets,[FN#542]
“God keep the days of love-delight! How
passing sweet they were!
* How joyous and how
solaceful was life in them whilere!
Would he were not, who sundered us upon the parting-day!
* How
many a body hath he
slain, how many a bone laid bare!
Sans fault of mine, my blood and tears he shed and
beggared me *
Of him I love yet for
himself gained nought thereby
whate’er.”
When she had made an end of her verses, she considered
her affair and said within herself, “By Allah,
all these things have betided by the predestination
of Almighty Allah and His decree and this upon the
forehead was written in lines.” Then she
landed and walked on till she came to a spacious place,
and an open, where she asked of the folk and hired
a house. Thither she transported forthright all
that was in the ship of goods and sending after brokers,
sold all that was with her. Presently she took
part of the price and began enquiring of the folk,
so haply she might scent out tidings of the lost one;
and she addressed herself to lavishing alms and preparing
medicines for the sick, clothing the naked and watering
the dry ground[FN#543] of the forlorn. She ceased
not so doing a whole year, and little by little she
sold off her goods and gave charitable gifts to the
Page 168
sick and sorry; whereby her report was bruited abroad
in the city and the folk abounded in her praise.
All this while Salim lay in fetters and strait prison,
and melancholy gat hold of him by reason of that whereinto
he had fallen of this affliction. At last, when
care waxed on him and calamity grew longsome, he fell
sick of a sore sickness. Then the Kitchener,
seeing his plight (and verily he was like to sink
for much suffering), loosed him from the fetters and
bringing him forth of the prison, committed him to
an old woman, who had a nose the bigness of a gugglet,[FN#544]
and bade her nurse him and medicine him and serve
him and entreat him kindly, so haply he might be made
whole of that his sickness. Accordingly the old
woman took him and carrying him to her lodging, began
nursing him and giving him to eat and drink; and when
he was delivered of that torment, he recovered from
the malady which had afflicted him. Now the old
woman had heard from the folk of the lady who gave
alms to the sick, and indeed the news of her bounties
reached both poor and rich; so she arose and bringing
out Salim to the door of her house, laid him upon a
mat and wrapped him in an Aba-gown and sat over against
him. Presently, it befel that the lady passed
by them, and the old woman seeing her rose to her
and blessed her, saying, “O my daughter, O thou
to whom belong goodness and beneficence and charity
and almsdoing,[FN#545] know that this young man is
a foreigner, and indeed lack and lice and hunger and
nakedness and cold slay him.” When the
lady heard this, she gave her alms and presented her
with a part of that which was with her; and indeed
her charitable heart inclined to Salim, but she knew
him not for her spouse. The old woman received
the alms from her and carrying it to Salim, took part
for herself and with the rest bought him an old shirt,[FN#546]
in which she clad him, after she had stripped him
of that he had on. Then she threw away the frock
she had taken from off him and arising forthwith,
washed his body of that which was thereon of grime
and scented him with somewhat of scent. She also
bought chickens and made him broth; so he ate and
his life returned to him and he abode with her in all
comfort of condition till the morrow. Next morning
the old woman said to Salim, “When the lady
cometh to thee, arise and buss her hand and say to
her, ’I am a homeless man and indeed cold and
hunger kill me;’ so haply she may give thee
somewhat that thou mayest expend upon thy case.”
And he answered, “To hear is to obey.”
Then she took him by the hand and carrying him without
her house, seated him at the door; and as he sat,
behold, the lady came up to him, whereupon the old
woman rose to her and Salim kissed her hand and, looking
at her the while, blessed her. But when he saw
her, he knew her for his wife; so he shrieked and
shed tears and groaned and plained, at which she came
up to him and threw herself upon him; for indeed she
knew him with all knowledge, even as he knew her.
Page 169
So she hung to him and embraced him and called to
her serving-men and attendants and those who were about
her; and they took him up and carried him forth of
that stead. When the old woman saw this, she
cried out to the Cook within the house, and he said
to her, “Fare thou before me.” So
she forewent him and he ran after her and ceased not
running till he overtook the party and seizing Salim,
exclaimed “What aileth you to take my slave-lad?”
Whereupon the Queen cried out at him, saying, “Know
that this is my husband, whom I had lost;” and
Salim also cried out, saying, “Mercy! Mercy!
I appeal to Allah and to the Sultan against this Satan!”
Therewith a world of folk straightway gathered together
and loud rose the cries and the clamours between them;
but the most part of them said, “Carry their
case up to the Sultan.” So they referred
the matter to the king, who was none other than Salim’s
sister Salma. Then they repaired to the palace
and the dragoman went in to Salma and said to her,
“O king of the age, here is a Hindi woman, who
cometh from the land of Hind, and she hath laid hands
on a servant, a young man, claiming him as her husband,
who hath been lost to her these two years, and she
journeyed not hither save for his sake, and in very
sooth these many days she hath done almsdeeds in thy
city. And here is a fellow, a Kitchener, who
declareth that the young man is his slave."[FN#547]
When the Queen heard these words, her vitals quivered
and she groaned from a grieving heart and called to
mind her brother and that which had betided him.
Then she bade those around her bring them between
her hands, and when she saw them, she knew her brother
and was about to cry aloud; but her reason restrained
her; yet she could not prevent herself rising up and
sitting down.[FN#548] At last, however, she enforced
her soul to patience and said to them, “Let
each and every of you acquaint me with his case.”
So Salim came forward and kissing ground before the
king, lauded him and related to him his story from
first to last, until the time of their coming to that
city, he and his sister, telling him how he had entered
the place and had fallen into the hands of the Cook
and that which had betided him and whatso he had suffered
from him of beating and collars, of fetters and pinioning,
till the man had made him his brother’s Mameluke,
a boughten slave, and how the brother had sold him
in Hind and he had become king by marrying the Princess:
and how life was not lovesome to him till he should
foregather with his sister and now the same Cook bad
fallen in with him a second time and had pinioned
and fettered him. Brief, he acquainted her with
that which had betided him of sickness and sorrow for
the space of a whole year. When he had made an
end of his speech, his wife straightways came forward
and told her story, from incept to termination, how
her mother bought him[FN#549] from the Cook’s
partner and the people of the kingdom came under his
rule; nor did she cease telling till she came, in
Page 170
her history, to that city and acquainted the king
with the manner of her meeting her husband. When
she had made an end of her adventure, the Kitchener
exclaimed, “Alack, what befals us from lying
rascals. By Allah, O king, this woman lieth against
me, for this youth is my rearling[FN#550] and he was
born of one of my slave-girls. He fled from me
and I found him again.” When the Queen heard
the last of the talk, she said to the Cook, “The
decree between you shall not be save in accordance
with justice.” Then she dismissed all those
who were present and turning to her brother, said to
him, “Indeed thy truth is stablished with me
and the sooth of thy speech, and praised be Allah
who hath brought about reunion between thee and thy
wife! So now begone with her to thy country and
cease to seek thy sister Salma and depart in peace.”
But, hearing this, Salim replied, “By Allah,
by the might of the All-knowing King, I will not turn
back from seeking my sister till I die or I find her,
Inshallah!” Then he called his sister to mind
and improvised from a heart disappointed, troubled,
afflicted these couplets,
“O thou who blam’st me for my heart, in
anger twitting me, *
Hadst tasted what my
heart did taste, thou wouldst be
pitying me!
By Allah, O my chider for my sister leave, ah! leave
* My heart
to moan its grief and
feel the woes befitting me.
Indeed I grew to hold her dear privily, publicly;
* And in my
bosom bides a pang at
no time quitting me;
And in my vitals burns a flame that ne’er was
equalled by * The
fire of hell and blazeth
high to Death committing me.”
Now when his sister Salma heard what he said, she
could no longer restrain her soul, but threw herself
upon him and discovered to him her case. When
he knew her, he threw himself upon her swooning awhile;
after which he came to himself and cried, “Lauded
be the Lord, the Bountiful, the Beneficent!”
Then they plained each to other of that they had suffered
from the pangs of parting, whilst Salim’s wife
wondered at this and Salma’s patience and endurance
pleased her. So she saluted her with the Salam,
and thanked her for her fair boons, saying, “By
Allah, O my lady, all that we are in of gladness never
befel us save by thy blessing; so praised be Allah
who deigned vouchsafe us thy sight!” Then they
tarried all three, Salma, Salim and his wife, in joy
and happiness and delight three days, veiled from the
folk; and it was bruited abroad in the city that the
king had found his brother, who was lost for many
a year, and had saved him from the Cook’s house.
On the fourth day, all the troops and the lieges assembled
together to see the King and standing at his gate,
craved leave to enter. Salma bade admit them;
so they entered and paid her royal suit and service
and gave her joy of her brother’s safe return.
She bade them do homage to Salim, and they consented
and sware fealty to him; after which they kept silence
Page 171
awhile, so they might hear what the king should command.
Then quoth Salma, “Ho, ye gathering of soldiers
and subjects, ye wot that ye forced me willy-nilly
to accept the kingship and besought me thereof and
I consented to your desires anent my being raised
to rule over you; and I did this against my will;
for I would have you know that I am a woman and that
I disguised myself and donned man’s dress, so
peradventure my case might be concealed when I lost
my brother. But now Allah hath deigned reunite
me with my brother, and it is no longer lawful to me
that I be king and Sultan over the people, and I a
woman; because there is no Sultanate for women, whenas
men are present.[FN#551] For this reason, an it suit
you, set my brother on the throne of the kingdom,
for this is he; and I will busy myself with the worship
of Allah the Most High and thanksgiving to Him for
my reunion with my brother. Or, an ye prefer
it, take your kingship and make whom ye will ruler
and liege lord thereof.” Upon this the
folk all cried out, saying, “We accept him to
king over us;” and they did him suit and service
and gave him joy of the kingship. So the preachers
preached the sermon[FN#552] in his name and the court-poets
praised him; and he lavished largesse upon the soldiery
and the suite and overwhelmed them with favours and
bounties and was prodigal to the Ryots of justice and
equity, with goodly policy and polity. When he
had effected this much of his affect, he caused bring
forth the Cook and his household to the divan, but
spared the old woman who had nursed him, because she
had been the cause of his deliverance. Then all
assembled without the town and he tormented the Cook
and those who were with him with all manner torments,
after which he did him to die by the foulest of deaths[FN#553]
and burning him with fire, scattered his ashes far
and wide in the air. After this Salim abode in
the governance, invested with the Sultanate, and ruled
the people a whole year, when he returned to Al-Mansurah
and sojourned there another year. And he and
his wife ceased not to go from city to city and tarry
in this a year and that a year, till he was vouchsafed
children and they grew up, whereupon he appointed
him of his sons, who was found fitting, to be his
deputy in one kingdom and he ruled in the other; and
he lived, he and his wife and children, what while
Almighty Allah willed.[FN#554] “Nor” (continued
the Wazir), “O King of the age, is this story
rarer or stranger than the King of Hind and his wronged
and envied Minister.” When the King heard
this, his mind was occupied,[FN#555] and he bade the
Wazir hie to his own house.
The
Twenty-eighth and Last Night of the Month.
When the evening evened, the King summoned the Minister
and bade him tell the story of the King of Hind and
his Wazir. So he said, “Hearkening and
obedience. Give ear, O auspicious King, to
The Tale of the King of Hind and his Wazir.
Page 172
There was once in the Hind-land a king illustrious
of worth, endowed with understanding and policy, and
his name was Shah Bakht. He had a Minister, a
godly man and a sagacious, right prudent in rede,
conformable to him in governance and just in judgment;
for which cause his enviers were many and many were
the hypocrites who sought faults in him and set snares
for him, so that they insinuated into King Shah Bakht’s
eyes hatred against him and sowed in his heart despite
towards him; and plot followed plot, and their rancour
waxed until the king was brought to arrest him and
lay him in jail and to confiscate his wealth and degrade
him from his degree. When they knew that there
was left him no possession for which the king might
lust, they feared lest the sovran release him, by
the influence of the Wazir’s good counsel upon
the king’s heart, and he return to his former
case, so should their machinations be marred and their
degrees degraded, for that they knew that the king
would heed whatso he had known from that man nor would
forget aught wherewith he was familiar in him.
Now it came to pass that a certain person of perverted
belief[FN#556] found a way to the adorning of falsehood
with a semblance of fair-seeming and there proceeded
from him that whereby the hearts of the folk were
occupied, and their minds were corrupted by his lying
tales; for that he made use of Indian quiddities[FN#557]
and forged them into proof for the denial of the Maker
the Creator, extolled be His might and exalted be
He and glorified and magnified above the speech of
the deniers. He avouched that it is the planets
which order all worldly affairs and he set down twelve
mansions[FN#558] to twelve Zodiacal signs and made
each sign thirty degrees,[FN#559] after the number
of the days of the month, so that in twelve mansions
there are three hundred and sixty, after the number
of the days of the year; and he wrought a work, wherein
he lied and was an infidel and denied the Deity, be
He for ever blessed! Then he laid hold of the
king’s heart and the enviers and haters aided
him against the Minister and won the royal favour and
corrupted his intent against the Wazir, so that he
got of him that which he got and at last his lord
banished him and thrust him away. By such means
the wicked man obtained that which he sought of the
Minister and the case was prolonged till the affairs
of the kingdom became disordered, by dint of ill government,
and the most part of the king’s reign fell off
from him and he came nigh unto ruin. On this
wise he was assured of the loyalty of his whilome,
sagacious Wazir and the excellence of his ordinance
and the rectitude of his rede. So he sent after
him and brought him and the wicked man before him
and summoning to his presence the Lords of his land
and the Chiefs of his chieftainship, gave them leave
to talk and dispute and forbade the wicked man from
his perverted belief. [FN#560] Then arose that wise
Minister and skilful and praised Allah Almighty and
Page 173
lauded Him and glorified Him and hallowed Him and
attested His unity and disputed with the miscreant
and overcame him and silenced him; nor did he cease
from him till he compelled him to make confession of
repentance from that which he had misbelieved.
Therewith King Shah Bakht rejoiced with exceeding
great joy and cried, “Praise be to the Lord
who hath saved me from this man and hath preserved
me from the loss of my kingship and my prosperity!”
So the affair of the Wazir returned to order and stablishment
and the king restored him to his place and raised
him to higher rank. Lastly, he assembled the
folk who had striven against him and destroyed them
all, to the last man. “And how like”
(continued the Wazir), “is this story to that
of myself and King Shah Bakht, with regard to that
which befel me of the changing of the King and his
crediting others against me; but now is the fairness
of my fashion fulfilled in thine eyes, for that Allah
Almighty hath inspired thee with wisdom and endowed
thee with longanimity and patience to hear from me
whatso He allotted to those who forewent us, till
He hath shown forth my innocence and made manifest
unto thee the truth. For lo and behold! the days
are now past, wherein it was declared to the king
that I should labour for the loss of my soul,[FN#561]
that is within the month; and lookye, the probation-time
is gone by, and past is the season of evil and it
hath ceased by the protection of the King and his good
fortune.” Then he bowed his head and was
silent. When King Shah Bakht heard his Wazir’s
speech, he was abashed before him and confounded, and
he marvelled at the gravity of his intellect and his
long-suffering. So he sprang up to him and embraced
him and the Minister kissed his feet. Then the
King called for a costly robe of honour and cast it
over Al-Rahwan and honoured him with the highmost
honour and showed him especial favour and restored
him to his degree and Wazirate. Furthermore he
imprisoned those who had devised his destruction with
lies and leasing and gave him full leave and license
to pass judgment upon the Interpreter who had expounded
to him the dream. So the Wazir abode in the ordering
of the realm until Death came to them; “And this”
(added Shahrazad) “is all, O king of the age,
that hath come down to us of King Shah Bakht and his
Wazir.”
SHAHRAZAD AND SHAHRYAR.
As for King Shahryar, he wondered at Shahrazad with
the utmost wonder and drew her near to his heart of
his abounding affection for her; and she was magnified
in his eyes and he said within himself, “By
Allah, the like of this is not deserving of slaughter,
for indeed the time favoureth us not with her equal.
By the Almighty, I have been reckless of mine affair,
and had not the Lord overcome me with His ruth and
put his one at my service so she might recount to
me instances manifest and cases truthful and admonitions
goodly and traits edifying, such as should restore
Page 174
me to the right road, I had come to ruin! Wherefore
to Allah be the praise here for and I beseech the
Most High to make my end with her like that of the
Wazir and Shah Bakht.” Then sleep overcame
the king and glory be unto Him who sleepeth not![FN#562]
When it was the Nine hundred and thirtieth Night,
Shahrazad said, “O king, there is present in
my thought a tale which treateth of women’s
trickery and wherein is a warning to whoso will be
warned and an admonishment to whoso will be admonished
and whoso hath sight and insight; but I fear lest the
hearing of this belittle me with the liege-lord and
lower my degree in his esteem; yet I hope that this
will not be, because ’tis a rare tale.
Women are indeed mischief-makers; their craft and
their cunning may not be told nor may their wiles be
known; while men enjoy their company and are not instant
to uphold them in the right way, neither are they
vigilant over them with all vigilance, but relish
their society and take whatso is winsome and regard
not that which is other than this. Indeed, they
are like unto the crooked rib, which an thou go about
to straighten, thou distortest it, and which an thou
persist in straightening, thou breakest it,[FN#563]
so it behoveth the wise man to be silent concerning
them.” Thereupon quoth Dinarzad, “O
sister mine, bring forth that which is with thee and
that which is present to thy mind of the story concerning
the guile of women and their wiles, and have no fear
lest this lessen thee with the king; for that women
are, like jewels, of all kinds and colours. When
a gem falleth into the hand of an expert, he keepeth
it for himself and leaveth all beside it. Eke
he preferreth some of them over others, and in this
he is like the potter,[FN#564] who filleth his liln
with all the vessels he hath moulded and under them
kindleth his fire. When the making is done and
he taketh out that which is in the kiln, he findeth
no help for it but that he must break some of them,
whilst others are what the folk need and whereof they
make use, while yet others there are which return
to be as they were. So fear thou not nor deem
it a grave matter to adduce that which thou knowest
of the craft of women, for that in this is profit
for all folk.” Then said Shahrazad, “Then
relate, O king (but Allah alone knoweth the secret
things) the Tale of-
End of Volume 11
Arabian Nights,
Volume 11
Footnotes
[FN#1] Arab. “Al-Naim wa al-Yakzan.”
This excellent story is not in the Mac. Or Bresl.
Edits.; but is given in the Breslau Text, iv. 134-189
(Nights cclxxii.-ccxci.). It is familiar to readers
of the old “Arabian Nights Entertainments”
as “Abou-Hassan or the Sleeper Awakened;”
and as yet it is the only one of the eleven added
by Galland whose original has been discovered in Arabic:
the learned Frenchman, however, supplied it with embellishments
more suo, and seems to have taken it from an original
Page 175
fuller than our text as is shown by sundry poetical
and other passages which he apparently did not invent.
Lane (vol. ii. chap. 12), noting that its chief and
best portion is an historical anecdote related as
a fact, is inclined to think that it is not a genuine
tale of The Nights. He finds it in Al-Ishaki
who finished his history about the close of Sultan
Mustafa the Osmanli’s reign, circa A.H. 1032
(= 1623), and he avails himself of this version as
it is “narrated in a simple and agreeable manner.”
Mr. Payne remarks, “The above title (Asleep
and Awake) is of course intended to mark the contrast
between the everyday (or waking) hours of Aboulhusn
and his fantastic life in the Khalif’s palace,
supposed by him to have passed in a dream;”
I may add that amongst frolicsome Eastern despots
the adventure might often have happened and that it
might have given a hint to Cervantes.
[FN#2] i.e., The Wag. See vol. i. 311:
the old version calls him “the Debauchee.”
[FN#3] Arab. “Al-Fars”; a people
famed for cleverness and debauchery. I cannot
see why Lane omitted the Persian, unless he had Persian
friends at Cairo.
[FN#4] i.e., the half he intended for spending-money.
[FN#5] i.e., “men,” a characteristic
Arab idiom: here it applies to the sons of all
time.
[FN#6] i.e., make much of thee.
[FN#7] In Lane the Caliph is accompanied by “certain
of his domestics.”
[FN#8] Arab. “Khubz Mutabbak,”
= bread baked in a platter, instead of an oven, an
earthen jar previously heated, to the sides of which
the scones or bannocks of dough are applied: “it
is lighter than oven-bread, especially if it be made
thin and leavened.” See Al-Shakuri, a
medical writer quoted by Dozy.
[FN#9] In other parts of The Nights Harun al-Rashid
declines wine-drinking.
[FN#10] The ’Allamah (doctissimus) Sayce (p.
212, Comparative Philology, London, Trubner, 1885)
goes far back for Khalifah = a deputy, a successor.
He begins with the Semitic (Hebrew?) root “Khaliph”
= to change, exchange: hence “Khaleph”
= agio. From this the Greeks got their {Greek}
and Cicero his “Collybus,” a money-lender.
[FN#11] Arab. “Harfush” (in Bresl.
Edit. iv. 138, “Kharfush"), in popular parlance
a “blackguard.” I have to thank Mr.
Alexander J. Cotheal, of New York, for sending me a
Ms. Copy of this tale.
[FN#12] Arab. “Ta’am,” in
Egypt and Somaliland = millet seed (Holcus Sorghum)
cooked in various ways. In Barbary it is applied
to the local staff of life, Kuskusu, wheaten or other
flour damped and granulated by hand to the size of
peppercorns, and lastly steamed (as we steam potatoes),
the cullender-pot being placed over a long-necked
jar full of boiling water. It is served with
clarified butter, shredded onions and meat; and it
represents the Risotto of Northern Italy. Europeans
generally find it too greasy for digestion.
This Barbary staff of life is of old date and is thus
mentioned by Leo Africanus in early sixth century.
“It is made of a lump of Dow, first set upon
the fire, in a vessel full of holes and afterwards
tempered with Butter and Pottage.” So
says good Master John Pory, “A Geographical
Historie of Africa, by John Leo, a Moor,” London,
1600, impensis George Bishop.
Page 176
[FN#13] Arab. “Bi al-Salam” (pron.
“Bissalam”) = in the Peace (of Allah).
[FN#14] And would bring him bad luck if allowed to
go without paying.
[FN#15] i.e., of the first half, as has been
shown.
[FN#16] Arab. “Kumajah” from the
Persian Kumash = bread unleavened and baked in ashes.
Egyptians use the word for bannocks of fine flour.
[FN#17] Arab. “Kali,” our “alcali”
; for this and other abstergents see vol. i. 279.
[FN#18] These lines have occurred twice in vol. i.
117 (Night xii.); I quote Mr. Payne.
[FN#19] Arab. “Ya ’llah, ya ’llah;”
vulg. Used for “Look sharp!” e.g.,
“Ya ’llah jari, ya walad” = Be off
at once, boy.”
[FN#20] Arab. “Banj akritashi,”
a term which has occurred before.
[FN#21] A natural clock, called West Africans Cokkerapeek
= Cock-speak. All the world over it is the subject
of superstition: see Giles’s “Strange
Stories from a Chinese Studio” (i. 177), where
Miss Li, who is a devil, hears a cock crow and vanishes.
[FN#22] In Lane Al-Rashid “found at the door
his young men waiting for him and ordered them to
convey Abu-l-Hasan upon a mule and returned to the
palace; Abu-l-Hasan being intoxicated and insensible.
And when the Khaleefah had rested himself in the
palace, he called for,” etc.
[FN#23] Arab. “Kursi,” Assyrian
“Kussu” = throne; and “Korsai”
in Aramaic (or Nabathean as Al-Mas’udi calls
it), the second growth-period of the “Semitic”
family, which supplanted Assyrian and Babylonian,
and became, as Arabic now is, the common speech of
the “Semitic” world.
[FN#24] Arab. “Makan mahjub,” which
Lane renders by “a private closet,” and
Payne by a “privy place,” suggesting that
the Caliph slept in a numero cent. So, when
starting for the “Trakki Campaign,” Sir
Charles Napier (of Sind), in his zeal for lightening
officers’ baggage, inadvertently chose a water-closet
tent for his head-quarters—magno cum risu
not of the staff, who had a strange fear of him, but
of the multitude who had not.
[FN#25] Arab. “Dar al-Salam,” one
of the seven “Gardens” into which the
Mohammedan Paradise is divided. Man’s fabled
happiness began in a Garden (Eden) and the suggestion
came naturally that it would continue there.
For the seven Heavens, see vol. viii., 111.
[FN#26] Branch of Pearl, see vol. ii. 57.
[FN#27] Arab. “Kahbah,” the lowest
word (vol. i. 70), effectively used in contrast with
the speaker’s surroundings.
[FN#28] Arab. “Ya kabiri,” = mon
brave, my good man.
[FN#29] This exaggeration has now become familiar
to English poets.
[FN#30] Like an Eastern he goes to the water-closet
the first thing in the morning, or rather dawn, and
then washes ceremonially before saying the first prayer.
In Europe he would probably wait until after breakfast.
See vol. iii. 242.
Page 177
[FN#31] I have explained why an Eastern does not
wash in the basin as Europeans do in vol. i. p. 241.
[FN#32] i.e., He was confused that he forgot.
All Moslems know how to pray, whether they pray or
not.
[FN#33] The dawn-prayer consists of only four inclinations
(raka’at); two “Farz” (divinely appointed),
and two Sunnah (the custom of the Apostle).
For the Raka’ah see Lane, M.E. chapt. iii.;
it cannot be explained without illustrations.
[FN#34] After both sets of prayers, Farz and Sunnah,
the Moslem looks over his right shoulder and says,
“The Peace (of Allah) be upon you and the ruth
of Allah,” and repeats the words over the left
shoulder. The salutation is addressed to the Guardian
Angels or to the bystanders (Moslems), who, however,
do not return it.
[FN#35] i.e., Ibrahim of Mosul the musician.
See vol. iv. 108.
[FN#36] Arab. “Liyuth” plur. of
“layth,” a lion: here warriors are
meant.
[FN#37] The Abbasides traced their descent from Al-Abbas,
Mohammed’s uncle, and justly held themselves
as belonging to the family of the Prophet. See
vol. ii. 61.
[FN#38] Arab. “Nimshah” = “half-sword.”
See vol. ii. p. 193.
[FN#39] i.e., May thy dwelling-place never fall
into ruin. The prayer has, strange to say, been
granted. “The present city on the eastern
bank of the Tigris was built by Haroun al-Rashid, and
his house still stands there and is an object of reverent
curiosity.” So says my friend Mr. Grattan
Geary (vol. i. p. 212, “Through Asiatic Turkey,”
London: Low, 1878). He also gives a sketch
of Zubaydah’s tomb on the western bank of the
Tigris near the suburb which represents old Baghdad;
it is a pineapple dome springing from an octagon,
both of brick once revetted with white stucco.
[FN#40] In the Bresl. Edit. four hundred.
I prefer the exaggerated total.
[FN#41] i.e., the raised recess at the upper
end of an Oriental saloon, and the place of honour,
which Lane calls by its Egyptian name “Liwan.”
See his vol. i. 312 and his M.E. chapt. i.: also
my vol. iv. p. 71.
[FN#42] “Bit o’Musk.”
[FN#43] “A gin,” a snare.
[FN#44] “A gift,” a present. It
is instructive to compare Abu al-Hasan with Sancho
Panza, sprightly Arab wit with grave Spanish humour.
[FN#45] i.e., he fell down senseless.
The old version has “his head knocked against
his knees.”
[FN#46] Arab. “Waddi” vulg.
Egyptian and Syrian for the classical “Addi”
(ii. of Adu = preparing to do). No wonder that
Lane complains (iii. 376) of the vulgar style, abounding
in errors.”
[FN#47] O Apple, O Repose o’ Hearts, O Musk,
O Choice Gift.
[FN#48] Arab. “Doghri,” a pure
Turkish word, in Egypt meaning “truly, with
truth,” straightforwardly; in Syria = straight
(going), directly.
[FN#49] Arab. “Maristan,” see vol.
i. 288.
Page 178
[FN#50] The scene is a rechauffe of Badr al-Din Hasan
and his wife, i. 247.
[FN#51] Arab. “Janzir,” another
atrocious vulgarism for “Zanjir,” which
however, has occurred before.
[FN#52] Arab. “Arafshah.”
[FN#53] In the “Mishkat al-Masabih” (ii.
341), quoted by Lane, occurs the Hadis, “Shut
your doors anights and when so doing repeat the Basmalah;
for the Devil may not open a door shut in Allah’s
name.” A pious Moslem in Egypt always ejaculates,
“In the name of Allah, the Compassionating,”
etc., when he locks a door, covers up bread,
doffs his clothes, etc., to keep off devils and
daemons.
[FN#54] An Arab idiom meaning, “I have not
found thy good fortune (Ka’b = heel, glory,
prosperity) do me any good.”
[FN#55] Arab. “Ya Nakbah” = a calamity
to those who have to do with thee!
[FN#56] Koran cxii., the “Chapter of Unity.”
See vol. iii. 307
[FN#57] See vol. iii. 222.
[FN#58] Here the author indubitably speaks for himself,
forgetting that he ended Night cclxxxi. (Bresl.
Iv. 168), and began that following with Shahrazad’s
usual formula.
[FN#59] i.e., “Delight of the vitals”
(or heart).
[FN#60] The trick is a rechauffe of the trick played
on Al-Rashid and Zubaydah.
[FN#61] “Kalb” here is not heart, but
stomach. The big toes of the Moslem corpse are
still tied in most countries, and in some a sword
is placed upon the body; but I am not aware that a
knife and sale (both believed to repel evil spirits)
are so used in Cairo.
[FN#62] The Moslem, who may not wear unmixed silk
during his lifetime, may be shrouded in it.
I have noted that the “Shukkah,” or piece,
averages six feet in length.
[FN#63] A vulgar ejaculation; the “hour”
referring either to birth or to his being made one
of the Caliph’s equerries.
[FN#64] Here the story-teller omits to say that Masrur
bore witness to the Caliph’s statement.
[FN#65] Arab. “Wa kuntu raihah ursil
warak,” the regular Fellah language.
[FN#66] Arab. “’Irk al-Hashimi.”
See vol. ii. 19. Lane remarks, “Whether
it was so in Hashim himself (or only in his descendants),
I do not find; but it is mentioned amongst the characteristics
of his great-grandson, the Prophet.”
[FN#67] Arab. “Bostan al-Nuzhah,”
whose name made the stake appropriate. See vol.
ii. 81.
[FN#68] Arab. “Tamasil” = generally
carved images, which, amongst Moslem, always suggest
idols and idolatry.
[FN#69] The “Shubbak” here would be the
“Mashrabiyah,” or latticed balcony, projecting
from the saloon-wall, and containing room for three
or more sitters. It is Lane’s “Mesrebeeyeh,”
sketched in M.E. (Introduction) and now has become
familiar to Englishmen.
[FN#70] This is to show the cleverness of Abu al-Hasan,
who had calculated upon the difference between Al-Rashid
and Zubaydah. Such marvels of perspicacity are
frequent enough in the folk-lore of the Arabs.
Page 179
[FN#71] An artful touch, showing how a tale grows
by repetition. In Abu al-Hasan’s case (infra)
the eyes are swollen by the swathes.
[FN#72] A Hadis attributed to the Prophet, and very
useful to Moslem husbands when wives differ overmuch
with them in opinion.
[FN#73] Arab. “Masarat fi-ha,” which
Lane renders, “And she threw money to her.”
[FN#74] A saying common throughout the world, especially
when the afflicted widow intends to marry again at
the first opportunity.
[FN#75] Arab. “Ya Khalati” = O my
mother’s sister; addressed by a woman to an
elderly dame.
[FN#76] i.e., That I may put her to shame.
[FN#77] Arab. “Zalabiyah.”
[FN#78] Arab. “’Ala al-Kaylah,”
which Mr. Payne renders by “Siesta-carpet.”
Land reads “Kiblah” ("in the direction
of the Kiblah”) and notes that some Moslems
turn the corpse’s head towards Meccah and others
the right side, including the face. So the old
version reads “feet towards Mecca.”
But the preposition “Ala” requires the
former sig.
[FN#79] Many places in this text are so faulty that
translation is mere guess-work; e.g. “Basharah”
can hardly be applied to ill-news.
[FN#80] i.e. of grief for his loss.
[FN#81] Arab. “Tobani” which Lane
renders “two clods.” I have noted
that the Tob (Span. Adobe = Al-Tob) is a sunbaked
brick. Beating the bosom with such material is
still common amongst Moslem mourners of the lower
class, and the hardness of the blow gives the measure
of the grief.
[FN#82] i.e. of grief for her loss.
[FN#83] Arab. “Ihtirak” often used
in the metaphorical sense of consuming, torturing.
[FN#84] Arab. “Halawat,” lit.=a
sweetmeat, a gratuity, a thank-offering.
[FN#85] Bresl. Edit., vol. vi. Pp. 182-188,
Nights ccccxxxii.- ccccxxxiv.
[FN#86] “The good Caliph” and the fifth
of the Orthodox, the other four being Abu Bakr, Omar,
Osman and Ali; and omitting the eight intervening,
Hasan the grandson of the Prophet included. He
was the 13th Caliph and 8th Ommiade A.H. 99-101 (=717-720)
and after a reign of three years he was poisoned by
his kinsmen of the Banu Umayyah who hated him for
his piety, asceticism, and severity in making them
disgorge their ill-gotten gains. Moslem historians
are unanimous in his praise. Europeans find him
an anachorete couronne, a froide et respectable figure,
who lacked the diplomacy of Mu’awiyah and the
energy of Al-Hajjaj. His principal imitator
was Al-Muhtadi bi’llah, who longed for a return
to the rare old days of Al-Islam.
[FN#87] Omar ’Adi bin Artah; governor of Kufah
and Basrah under “the good Caliph.”
[FN#88] Jarir al-Khatafah, one of the most famous
of the “Islami” poets, i.e. those
who wrote in the first century (A.H.) before the corruption
of language began. (See Terminal Essay, p. 230).
Ibn Khallikan notices him at full length i. 294.
Page 180
[FN#89] Arab. “Bakiyah,” which may
also mean eternal as opposed to “Faniyah”
= temporal. Omar’s answer shows all the
narrow-minded fanaticism which distinguished the
early Moslems: they were puritanical as any Praise-God-Barebones,
and they hated “boetry and bainting” as
hotly as any Hanoverian.
[FN#90] The Saturday Review (Jan. 2, ’86),
which has honoured me by the normal reviling in the
shape of a critique upon my two first vols., complains
of the “Curious word Abhak” as “a
perfectly arbitrary and unusual group of Latin letters.”
May I ask Aristarchus how he would render “Sal’am”
(vol ii. 24), which apparently he would confine to
“Arabic MSS."(!). Or would he prefer A(llah)
b(less) h(im) a(nd) k(eep) “W.G.B.” (whom
God bless) as proposed by the editor of Ockley?
But where would be the poor old “Saturnine”
if obliged to do better than the authors it abuses?
[FN#91] He might have said “by more than one,
including the great Labid.”
[FN#92] Fi-hi either “in him” (Mohammed)
or “in it” (his action).
[FN#93] Chief of the Banu Sulaym. According
to Tabari, Abbas bin Mirdas (a well-known poet), being
dissatisfied with the booty allotted to him by the
Prophet, refused it and lampooned Mohammed, who said
to Ali, “Cut off this tongue which attacketh
me,” i.e. “Silence him by giving
what will satisfy him.” Thereupon Ali doubled
the Satirist’s share.
[FN#94] Arab. “Ya Bilal”:
Bilal ibn Rabah was the Prophet’s freedman and
crier: see vol. iii. 106. But bilal also
signifies “moisture” or “beneficence,”
“benefits”: it may be intended for
a double entendre but I prefer the metonymy.
[FN#95] The verses of this Kasidah are too full of
meaning to be easily translated: it is fine old
poetry.
[FN#96] i.e. of the Koraysh tribe. For
his disorderly life see Ibn Khallikan ii. 372:
he died, however, a holy death, battling against the
Infidels in A.H. 93 (= 711-12), some five years before
Omar’s reign.
[FN#97] Arab. “Bayn farsi-k wa ’l-dami”
= lit. between faeces and menses, i.e., the foulest
part of his mistress’s person. It is not
often that The Nights are “nasty”; but
here is a case. See vol. v. 162.
[FN#98] “Jamil the Poet,” and lover of
Buthaynah: see vol. ii. 102, Ibn Khallikan (i.331),
and Al-Mas’udi vi. 381, who quotes him copiously.
He died A.H. 82 (= 701), or sixteen years before
Omar’s reign.
[FN#99] Arab. “Safih” = the slab
over the grave.
[FN#100] A contemporary and friend of Jamil and the
famous lover of Azzah. See vol. ii. 102, and
Al-Mas’udi, vi. 426. The word “Kuthayyir”
means “the dwarf.” Term. Essay,
231.
[FN#101] i.e. in the attitude of prayer.
[FN#102] In Bresl. Edit. “Al-Akhwass,”
clerical error, noticed in Ibn Khallikan i. 526.
His satires banished him to Dahlak Island in the
Red Sea, and he died A.H. 179 (= 795-96).
Page 181
[FN#103] Another famous poet Abu Firas Hammam or
Humaym (dimin. Form), as debauched as Jarir,
who died forty days before him in A.H. 110 (= 728-29),
as Basrah. Cf. Term. Essay, 231.
[FN#104] A famous Christian poet. See C. de
Perceval, Journ. Asiat. April, 1834, Ibn
Khallikan iii. 136, and Term. Essay, 231.
[FN#105] The poet means that unlike other fasters
he eats meat openly. See Pilgrimage (i. 110),
for the popular hypocrisy.
[FN#106] Arab. “Batha” the lowlands
and plains outside the Meccan Valley. See al-Mas’udi,
vi. 157. Mr. (now Sir) W. Muir in his Life of
Mahomet, vol. i., p. ccv., remarks upon my Pilgrimage
(iii.252) that in placing Arafat 12 miles from Meccah,
I had given 3 miles to Muna, + 3 to Muzdalifah + 3
to Arafat = 9. But the total does not include
the suburbs of Meccah and the breadth of the Arafat-Valley.
[FN#107] The words of the Azan, vol. i. 306.
[FN#108] Wine in Arabic is feminine, “Shamul”
= liquor hung in the wind to cool, a favourite Arab
practice often noticed by the poets.
[FN#109] i.e. I will fall down dead drunk.
[FN#110] Arab. “Aram,” plur. of
Irm, a beautiful girl, a white deer. The word
is connected with the Heb. Reem (Deut. xxxiii.
17), which has been explained unicorn, rhinoceros,
and aurochs. It is at the Ass. Rimu, the
wild bull of the mountains, provided with a human
face, and placed at the palace-entrance to frighten
away foes, demon or human.
[FN#111] i.e. she who ensnares [all] eyes.
[FN#112] Imam, the spiritual title of the Caliph,
as head of the Faith and leader (lit. “foreman,”
Antistes) of the people at prayer. See vol.
iv. 111.
[FN#113] For Yamamah see vol. ii. 104. Omar
bin Abd-al-Aziz was governor of the province before
he came to the Caliphate. To the note on Zarka,
the blue-eyed Yamamite, I may add that Marwan was
called Ibn Zarka, son of “la femme au drapeu
bleu,” such being the sign of a public prostitute.
Al-Mas’udi, v. 509.
[FN#114] Rain and bounty, I have said, are synonymous.
[FN#115] About L4.
[FN#116] i.e. what is thy news.
[FN#117] Bresl. Edit., vol. vi. pp. 188-9, Night
ccccxxxiv.
[FN#118] Of this masterful personage and his energie
indomptable I have spoken in vol. iv. 3, and other
places. I may add that he built Wasit city A.H.
83 and rendered eminent services to literature and
civilization amongst the Arabs. When the Ommiade
Caliph Abd al-Malik was dying he said to his son Walid,
“Look to Al-Hajjaj and honour him for, verily,
he it is who hath covered for you the pulpits; and
he is thy sword and thy right hand against all opponents;
thou needest him more than he needeth thee, and when
I die summon the folk to the covenant of allegiance;
and he who saith with his head—thus, say
thou with thy sword—thus” (Al-Siyuti,
p 225) yet the historian simply observes, “the
Lord curse him.”
Page 182
[FN#119] i.e. given through his lieutenant.
[FN#120] “Necks” per synecdochen for
heads. The passage is a description of a barber-surgeon
in a series of double-entendres the “nose-pierced”
(Makhzum) is the subject who is led by the nose like
a camel with halter and ring and the “breaker”
(hashim) may be a breaker of bread as the word originally
meant, or breaker of bones. Lastly the “wealth”
(mal) is a recondite allusion to the hair.
[FN#121] Arab. “Kadr” which a change
of vowel makes “Kidr” = a cooking-pot.
The description is that of an itinerant seller of
boiled beans (Ful mudammas) still common in Cairo.
The “light of his fire” suggests a double-entendre
some powerful Chief like masterful King Kulayb.
See vol. ii. 77.
[FN#122] Arab. “Al-Sufuf,” either
ranks of fighting-men or the rows of thread on a loom.
Here the allusion is to a weaver who levels and corrects
his threads with the wooden spate and shuttle governing
warp and weft and who makes them stand straight (behave
aright). The “stirrup” (rikab) is
the loop of cord in which the weaver’s foot
rests.
[FN#123] “Adab.” See vols. i. 132,
and ix. 41.
[FN#124] Bresl. Edit., vol. vi. pp. 189-191,
Night ccccxxxiv.
[FN#125] Arab. “Za’mu,” a
word little used in the Cal., Mac. or Bul. Edit.;
or in the Wortley Montague Ms.; but very common
in the Bresl. text.
[FN#126] More double-entendres. “Thou
hast done justice” (’adalta) also means
“Thou hast swerved from right;” and “Thou
hast wrought equitably” (Akasta iv. of Kast)
= “Thou hast transgressed.”
[FN#127] Koran vi. 44. Allah is threatening
unbelievers, “And when they had forgotten their
warnings We set open to them the gates of all things,
until, when they were gladdened,” etc.
[FN#128] Arab. “Ta’dilu,”
also meaning, “Ye do injustice”:
quoted from Koran iv. 134.
[FN#129] Arab. “Al-Kasituna,” before
explained. Koran lxxii. 15.
[FN#130] Bresl. Edit. vol. vi. pp. 191-343,
Nights ccccxxxv-cccclxxxvii. This is the old
Persian Bakhtyar Nameh, i.e., the Book of Bakhtyar,
so called from the prince and hero “Fortune’s
Friend.” In the tale of Jili’ad and
Shimas the number of Wazirs is seven, as usual in
the Sindibad cycle. Here we have the full tale
as advised by the Imam al-Jara’i: “it
is meet for a man before entering upon important undertakings
to consult ten intelligent friends; if he have only
five to apply twice to each; if only one, ten times
at different visits, and if none, let him repair to
his wife and consult her; and whatever she advises
him to do let him do the clear contrary” (quoting
Omar), or as says Tommy Moore,
Whene’er
you’re in doubt, said a sage I once knew,
’Twixt
two lines of conduct which course to pursue,
Ask
a woman’s advice, and whate’er she advise
Do
the very reverse, and you’re sure to be wise.
Page 183
The Romance of the Ten Wazirs occurs in dislocated
shape in the “Nouveaux Contes Arabes, ou Supplement
aux Mille et une Nuits,” etc., par M. l’Abbe
* * * Paris, 1788. It is the “Story of
Bohetzad (Bakht-zad=Luck-born, v.p.), and his Ten Viziers,”
in vol. iii., pp. 2-30 of the “Arabian Tales,”
etc., published by Dom Chavis and M. Cazotte,
in 1785; a copy of the English translation by Robert
Heron, Edinburgh, 1792, I owe to the kindness of Mr.
Leonard Smithers of Sheffield. It appears also
in vol. viii. of M. C. de Perceval’s Edition
of The Nights; in Gauttier’s Edition (vol. vi.),
and as the “Historia Decem Vizirorum et filii
Regis Azad-bacht,” text and translation by Gustav
Knos, of Goettingen (1807). For the Turkish, Malay
and other versions see (p. xxxviii. etc.) “The
Bakhtiy r N ma,” etc. Edited (from
the Sir William. Ouseley version of 1801) by Mr.
W. A. Clouston and privately printed, London, 1883.
The notes are valuable but their worth is sadly injured
by the want of an index. I am pleased to see
that Mr. E. J. W. Gibb is publishing the “History
of the Forty Vezirs; or, the Story of the Forty Morns
and Eves,” written in Turkish by “Sheykh-Zadah,”
evidently a nom de plume (for Ahmad al-Misri?), and
translated from an Arabic Ms. which probably
dated about the xvth century.
[FN#131] In Chavis and Cazotte, the “kingdom
of Dineroux (comprehending all Syria and the isles
of the Indian Ocean) whose capital was Issessara.”
An article in the Edinburgh Review (July, 1886), calls
the “Supplement” a “bare-faced forgery”;
but evidently the writer should have “read up”
his subject before writing.
[FN#132] The Persian form; in Arab. Sijistan,
the classical Drangiana or province East of Fars=Persia
proper. It is famed in legend as the feof of
hero Rustam.
[FN#133] Arab. Rawi=a professional tale-teller,
which Mr. Payne justly holds to be a clerical error
for “Rai, a beholder, one who seeth.”
[FN#134] In Persian the name would be Bahr-i-Jaur="luck”
(or fortune, “bahr”) of Jaur- (or Jur-)
city.
[FN#135] Supply “and cared naught for his kingdom.”
[FN#136] Arab. “Atraf,” plur. of
“Tarf,” a great and liberal lord.
[FN#137] Lit. “How was,” etc.
Kayf is a favourite word not only in the Bresl.
Edit., but throughout Egypt and Syria. Classically
we should write “Ma;” vulgarly “Aysh.”
[FN#138] Karmania vulg. and fancifully derived from
Kirman Pers.=worms because the silkworm is supposed
to have been bred there; but the name is of far older
date as we find the Asiatic Aethiopians of Herodotus
(iii. 93) lying between the Germanii (Karman) and
the Indus. Also Karmania appears in Strabo and
Sinus Carmanicus in other classics.
[FN#139] Arab. “Ka’id”; lit.=one
who sits with, a colleague, hence the Span. Alcayde;
in Marocco it is=colonel, and is prefixed e.g.
Ka’id Maclean.
[FN#140] A favourite food; Al-Hariri calls the dates
and cream, which were sold together in bazars, the
“Proud Rider on the desired Steed.”
Page 184
[FN#141] In Bresl. Edit. vi. 198 by misprint
“Kutru”: Chavis and Cazotte have
“Kassera.” In the story of Bihkard
we find a P.N. “Yatru.”
[FN#142] i.e. waylaying travellers, a term which
has often occurred.
[FN#143] i.e. the royal favour.
[FN#144] i.e. When the fated hour came
down (from Heaven).
[FN#145] As the Nights have proved in many places,
the Asl (origin) of a man is popularly held to influence
his conduct throughout life. So the Jeweller’s
wife (vol. ix.) was of servile birth, which accounted
for her vile conduct; and reference is hardly necessary
to a host of other instances. We can trace the
same idea in the sayings and folk-lore of the West,
e.g. Bon sang ne peut mentir, etc.,
etc.
[FN#146] i.e. “What deemest thou
he hath done?”
[FN#147] The apodosis wanting “to make thee
trust in him?”
[FN#148] In the Braj Bakha dialect of Hindi, we find
quoted in the Akhlak-i-Hindi, “Tale of the old
Tiger and the Traveller":—
Jo jako paryo subhao
jae na jio-sun;
Nim na mitho hoe sichh
gur ghio sun.
Ne’er shall his
nature fall a man whate’er that nature be,
The Nim-tree bitter
shall remain though drenched with Gur
and
Ghi.
The Nim (Melia Azadirachta) is the “Persian
lilac” whose leaves, intensely bitter, are used
as a preventive to poison: Gur is the Anglo-Indian
Jaggeri=raw sugar and Ghi clarified butter. Roebuck
gives the same proverb in Hindostani.
[FN#149] In Chavis and Cazotte “Story of Kaskas;
or the Obstinate Man.” For ill-luck, see
Miss Frere’s “Old Deccan Days” (p.
171), and Giles’s “Strange Stories,”
&c. (p. 430), where the young lady says to Ma, “You
often asked me for money; but on account of your weak
luck I hitherto refrained from giving it.”
[FN#150] True to life in the present day, as many
a standing hay-rick has shown.
[FN#151] The “Munajjim” is a recognised
authority in Egyptian townlets, and in the village
republics of Southern India the “Jyoshi”
is one of the paid officials.
[FN#152] Arab. “Amin” sub. and adj.
In India it means a Government employe who collects
revenue; in Marocco a commissioner sent by His Sharifian
Majesty.
[FN#153] Our older word for divers=Arab “Ghawwasun”:
a single pearl (in the text Jauhar=the Port.
AIjofar) is called “habbah"=grain or seed.
[FN#154] The kindly and generous deed of one Moslem
to another, and by no means rare in real life.
[FN#155] “Eunuch,” etymologically meaning
chamberlain ( +
), a bed-chamber-servant
or slave, was presently confined to
castrated men found useful for special purposes, like
gelded horses, hounds, and cockerels turned to capons.
Some writers hold that the creation of the semivir
or apocopus began as a punishment in Egypt and elsewhere;
Page 185
and so under the Romans amputation of the “peccant
part” was frequent: others trace the Greek
“invalid,” i.e., impotent man, to
marital jealousy, and not a few to the wife who wished
to use the sexless for hard work in the house without
danger to the slave-girls. The origin of the
mutilation is referred by Ammianus Marcellinus (lib.
iv. chap. 17), and the Classics generally, to Semiramis,
an “ancient queen” of decidedly doubtful
epoch, who thus prevented the propagation of weaklings.
But in Genesis (xxxvii. 36; xxxix. 1, margin) we find
Potiphar termed a “Sarim” (castrato), an
“extenuating circumstance” for Mrs. P.
Herodotus (iii. chap. 48) tells us that Periander,
tyrant of Corinth, sent three hundred Corcyrean boys
to Alyattes for castration , and that
Panionios of Chios sold caponised lads for high prices
(viii. 105): he notices (viii. 104 and other
places) that eunuchs “of the Sun, of Heaven,
of the hand of God,” were looked upon as honourable
men amongst the Persians whom Stephanus and Brissonius
charge with having invented the name (Dabistan i.
171). Ctesias also declares that the Persian
kings were under the influence of eunuchs. In
the debauched ages of Rome the women found a new use
for these effeminates, who had lost only the testes
or testiculi=the witnesses (of generative force):
it is noticed by Juvenal (i. 22; ii. 365-379; vi.
366)
—sunt quos imbelles et mollia semper
Oscula delectant.
So Martial,
—vult futui Gallia,
non parere,
And Mirabeau knew (see Kadisah) “qu’ils
mordent les femmes et les liment avec une precieuse
continuite.” (Compare my vol. ii. 90; v. 46.)
The men also used them as catamites (Horace i.
Od. xxxvii.).
“Contaminato cum grege
turpium,
Morbo virorum.”
In religion the intestabilis or intestatus was held
ill-omened, and not permitted to become a priest (Seneca
Controv. ii. 4), a practice perpetuated in the various
Christian churches. The manufacture was forbidden,
to the satisfaction of Martial, by Domitian, whose
edict Nero confirmed; and was restored by the Byzantine
empire, which advanced eunuchs, like Eutropius and
Narses, to the highest dignities of the realm.
The cruel custom to the eternal disgrace of mediaeval
Christianity was revived in Rome for providing the
choirs in the Sistine Chapel and elsewhere with boys’
voices. Isaiah mentions the custom (Ivi. 3-6).
Mohammed, who notices in the Koran (xxiv. 31), “such
men as attend women and have no need of women,”
i.e., “have no natural force,” expressly
forbade (iv. 118), “changing Allah’s creatures,”
referring, say the commentators, to superstitious
earcropping of cattle, tattooing, teeth-sharpening,
sodomy, tribadism, and slave-gelding. See also
the “Hidayah,” vol. iv. 121; and the famous
divine Ai-Siyuti, the last of his school, wrote
a tractate Fi ’I-Tahrimi Khidmati ’I-Khisyan=on
the illegality of using eunuchs. Yet the Harem
perpetuated the practice throughout Ai-Islam
Page 186
and African jealousy made a gross abuse of it.
To quote no other instance, the Sultan of Dar-For
had a thousand eunuchs under a Malik or king, and all
the chief offices of the empire, such as Ab (father)
and Bab (door), were monopolised by these neutrals.
The centre of supply was the Upper Nile, where the
operation was found dangerous after the age of fifteen,
and when badly performed only one in four survived.
For this reason, during the last century the Coptic
monks of Girgah and Zawy al-Dayr, near Assiout, engaged
in this scandalous traffic, and declared that it was
philanthropic to operate scientifically (Prof.
Panuri and many others). Eunuchs are now made
in the Sudan, Nubia, Abyssinia, Kordofan, and Dar-For,
especially the Messalmiyah district: one of those
towns was called “Tawashah” (eunuchry)
from the traffic there conducted by Fukaha or religious
teachers. Many are supplied by the district between
Majarah (Majarash?) and the port Masawwah; there are
also depots at Mbadr, near Tajurrah-harbour, where
Yusuf Bey, Governor in 1880, caponised some forty
boys, including the brother of a hostile African chief:
here also the well-known Abu Bakr was scandalously
active. It is calculated that not less than eight
thousand of these unfortunates are annually exported
to Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey. Article iv.
of the AngIo-Egyptian Convention punishes the offense
with death, and no one would object to hanging the
murderer under whose mutilating razor a boy dies.
Yet this, like most of our modern “improvements”
in Egypt, is a mere brutum fulmen. The crime
is committed under our very eyes, but we will not
see it.
The Romans numbered three kinds of eunuchs:—1.
Castrati, clean-shaved, from Gr. ; 2. Spadones,
from , when the testicles are torn out, not from
“Spada,” town of Persia; and, 3.
Thlibii, from , to press, squeeze, when the testicles
are bruised, &c. In the East also, as I have
stated (v. 46), eunuchs are of three kinds:—1.
Sandali, or the clean-shaved, the classical apocopus.
The parts are swept off by a single cut of a razor,
a tube (tin or wooden) is set in the urethra, the wound
is cauterised with boiling oil, and the patient is
planted in a fresh dunghill. His diet is milk;
and if under puberty, he often survives. This
is the eunuque aqueduc, who must pass his water through
a tube. 2. The eunuch whose penis is removed:
he retains all the power of copulation and procreation
without the wherewithal; and this, since the discovery
of caoutchouc, has often been supplied. 3. The
eunuch, or classical Thlibias and Semivir, who has
been rendered sexless by removing the testicles (as
the priests of Cybele were castrated with a stone knife),
or by bruising (the Greek Thlasias), twisting, searing,
or bandaging them. A more humane process has
lately been introduced: a horsehair is tied round
the neck of the scrotum and tightened by slow degrees
till the circulation of the part stops and the bag
drops off without pain. This has been adopted
Page 187
in sundry Indian regiments of Irregular Cavalry, and
it succeeded admirably: the animals rarely required
a day’s rest. The practice was known to
the ancients. See notes on Kadisah in Mirabeau.
The Eunuchata virgo was invented by the Lydians, according
to their historian Xanthus. Zachias (Quaest.
medico-legal.) declares that the process was one of
infibulation or simple sewing up the vulva; but modern
experience has suggested an operation like the “spaying”
of bitches, or mutilation of the womb, in modern euphuism
“baby-house.” Dr. Robert ("Journey
from Delhi to Bombay, Muller’s Archiv. 1843”)
speaks of a eunuch’d woman who after ovariotomy
had no breasts, no pubes, no rotundities, and no desires.
The Australians practice exsection of the ovaries
systematically to make women barren. Miklucho
Maclay learned from the traveller Retsch that about
Lake Parapitshurie men’s urethras were split,
and the girls were spayed: the latter showing
two scars in the groin. They have flat bosoms,
but feminine forms, and are slightly bearded; they
mix with the men, whom they satisfy mechanically,
but without enjoyment (?). MacGillivray, of the
“Rattlesnake,” saw near Cape York a woman
with these scars: she was a surdo-mute, and had
probably been spayed to prevent increase. The
old Scandinavians, from Norway to Iceland, systematically
gelded “sturdy vagrants” in order that
they might not beget bastards. The Hottentots
before marriage used to cut off the left testicle,
meaning by such semi-castration to prevent the begetting
of twins. This curious custom, mentioned by the
Jesuit Tochard, Boeving, and Kolbe, is now apparently
obsolete— at least, the traveller Fritsch
did not find it.
[FN#156] Arab. “Haram"="forbidden,”
sinful.
[FN#157] In Chavis and Cazotte, who out-galland’d
Galland in transmogrifying the Arabic, this is the
“Story of Illage (Ai-Hajj) Mahomet and
his sons; or, the Imprudent Man.” The tale
occurs in many forms and with great modifications.
See, for instance, the Gesta Romanorum “Of the
miraculous recall of sinners and of the consolation
which piety offers to the distressed,” the adventures
of the knight Placidus, vol. ii. 99. Charles
Swan, London. Rivington, 1824.
[FN#158] i.e. For fear of the “eye”;
see vol. i. 123 and passim. In these days the
practice is rare; but, whenever you see at Cairo an
Egyptian dame daintily dressed and leading by the hand
a grimy little boy whose eyes are black with flies
and whose dress is torn and unclean, you see what
has taken its place. And if you would praise
the brat you must not say “Oh, what a pretty
boy!” but “Inshallah!”—the
Lord doth as he pleaseth.
[FN#159] The adoption of slave lads and lasses was
and is still common among Moslems.
[FN#160] I have elsewhere noted this “pathetic
fallacy” which is a lieu commun of Eastern folk-lore
and not less frequently used in the mediaeval literature
of Europe before statistics were invented.
Page 188
[FN#161] Arab. “Yaskut min ’Aynayh,”
lit.=fall from his two eyes, lose favour.
[FN#162] i.e. killing a man.
[FN#163] i.e. we can slay him whenever we will.
[FN#164] In Chavis and Cazotte “Story of Abosaber
the Patient.” “Abu-Sabir” would
mean “Father of the Patient (one).”
[FN#165] Arab. “Dihkan,” in Persian
a villager; but here something more, a villageelder
or chief. Ai-Mas’udi (chap. xxiv.),
and other historians apply the term to a class of noble
Persians descended from the ten sons of Wahkert, the
first,"Dihkan,” the fourth generation from King
Kayomars.
[FN#166] Reminding one not a little of certain anecdotes
anent Quakers, current in England and English-speaking
lands.
[FN#167] Arab. “Karyah,” a word
with a long history. The root seems to be Karaha,
he met; in Chald. Karih and Karia (emphatic Karita)=a
town or city; and in Heb. Kirjath, Kiryathayim,
etc. We find it in Carthage= Karta hadisah,
or New Town as opposed to Utica (Atikah)=Old Town;
in Carchemish and in a host of similar compounds.
In Syria and Egypt Kariyah, like Kafr, now means a
hamlet, a village.
[FN#168] i.e. wandering at a venture.
[FN#169] Arab. “Sakhrah,” the old
French Corvee, and the “Begar” of India.
[FN#170] Arab. “Matmurah:”
see vol. ii. 39, where it was used as an “underground
cell.” The word is extensively used in the
Maghrib or Western Africa.
[FN#171] Arab. “Ya Aba Sabir.”
There are five vocative particles in Arabic; “Ya,”
common to the near and far; “Aya” (ho!)
and “Haya” (holla!) addressed to the far,
and “Ay” and “A” (A-’Abda-llahi,
O Abdullah), to those near. All govern the accusative
of a noun in construction in the literary language
only; and the vulgar use none but the first named.
The English-speaking races neglect the vocative particle,
and I never heard it except in the Southern States
of the AngloAmerican Union=Oh, Mr. Smith.
[FN#172] He was not honest enough to undeceive them;
a neat Quaker-like touch.
[FN#173] Here the oath is justified; but the reader
will have remarked that the name of Allah is often
taken in vain. Moslems, however, so far from
holding this a profanation deem it an acknowledgment
of the Omnipotence and Omnipresence. The Jews
from whom the Christians have borrowed had an interest
in concealing the name of their tribal divinity; and
therefore made it ineffable.
[FN#174] i.e. the grave, the fosse commune of
slain men.
[FN#175] A fancy name; “Zawash” in Pers.
is = the planet Jupiter, either borrowed from
Greece, or both descended from some long forgotten
ancestor.
[FN#176] In Chavis and Cazotte “Story of Bhazad
(!) the Impatient.” The name is Persian,
Bih (well, good) Zad (born). In the adj. bih
we recognize a positive lost in English and German
which retain the comparative (bih-tar = better) and
superlative (bih-tarin=best).
Page 189
[FN#177] i.e. the moiety kept by the bridegroom,
a contingent settlement paid at divorce or on the
death of the husband.
[FN#178] Arab. “Rumh"=the horseman’s
lance not the footman’s spear.
[FN#179] i.e. became a highwayman (a time-honoured
and honourable career) in order to collect money for
completing the dowry.
[FN#180] i.e. to the bride, the wedding-day;
not to be confounded with “going in unto”
etc.
[FN#181] Probably meaning that she saw the eyes espying
through the crevice without knowing whose they were.
[FN#182] A fancy name intended to be Persian
[FN#183] i.e. thy Harem, thy women.
[FN#184] i.e. thy life hath been unduly prolonged.
[FN#185] See Chavis and Cazotte, “Story of
Ravia (Arwa!) the Resigned.” Dadbin (Persian)=one
who looks to justice, a name hardly deserved in this
case.
[FN#186] For this important province and city of
Persia, see Al-Mas’udi, ii. 2; iv. 86, etc.
It gave one of the many names to the Caspian Sea.
The adjective is Tabari, whereas Tabarani=native of
Tiberias (Tabariyah).
[FN#187] Zor-khan=Lord Violence, and Kar-dan=Business-knower;
both Persian.
[FN#188] “Arwa” written with a terminal
of ya is a woman’s P.N. in Arabic.
[FN#189] i.e. Not look down upon me with
eyes of contempt. This “marrying below
one” is still an Eastern idea, very little known
to women in the West.
[FN#190] Chavis and Cazotte call the Dabbus a “dabour”
and explain it as a “sort of scepter used by
Eastern Princes, which serves also as a weapon.”
For the Dabbus, or mace, see vol. vi. 249.
[FN#191] i.e. Let thy purposes be righteous
as thine outward profession.
[FN#192] See vol. vi. 130. This is another lieu
commun amongst Moslems; and its unfact requires only
statement.
[FN#193] Afterwards called his “chamberlain,”
i.e. guardian of the Harem-door.
[FN#194] i.e. Chosroes, whom Chavis and
Cazotte make “Cyrus.”
[FN#195] Arab. “Takiyah,” used for
the Persian Takhtrawan, common in The Nights.
[FN#196] Arab. “Kubbah,” a dome-shaped
tent, as elsewhere.
[FN#197] This can refer only to Abu al-Khayr’s
having been put to death on Kardan’s charge,
although the tale-teller, with characteristic inconsequence,
neglected to mention the event.
[FN#198] Not referring to skull sutures, but to the
forehead, which is poetically compared with a page
of paper upon which Destiny writes her irrevocable
decrees.
[FN#199] Said in the grimmest earnest, not jestingly,
as in vol. iv. 264.
Page 190
[FN#200] i.e. the lex talionis, which is the
essence of Moslem, and indeed, of all criminal jurisprudence.
We cannot wonder at the judgment of Queen Arwa:
even Confucius, the mildest and most humane of lawgivers,
would not pardon the man who allowed his father’s
murderer to live. The Moslem lex talionis (Koran
ii. 173) is identical with that of the Jews (Exod.
xxi. 24), and the latter probably derives from immemorial
usage. But many modern Rabbins explain away the
Mosaical command as rather a demand for a pecuniary
mulct than literal retaliation. The well-known
Isaac Aburbanel cites many arguments in proof of this
position: he asks, for instance, supposing the
accused have but one eye, should he lose it for having
struck out one of another man’s two? Moreover,
he dwells upon the impossibility of inflicting a punishment
the exact equivalent of the injury; like Shylock’s
pound of flesh without drawing blood. Moslems,
however, know nothing of these frivolities, and if
retaliation be demanded the judge must grant it.
There is a legend in Marocco of an English merchant
who was compelled to forfeit tooth for tooth at the
instance of an old woman, but a profitable concession
gilded the pill.
[FN#201] In Chavis and Cazotte “Story of Bhazmant
(!); or the Confident Man.” “Bakht
(-i-) Zaman” in Pers. would=Luck of the Time.
[FN#202] Chavis and Cazotte change the name to “Abadid,”
which, like “Khadidan,” is nonsignificant.
[FN#203] Arab. “Faris,” here a Reiter,
or Dugald Dolgetti, as mostly were the hordes led
by the mediaeval Italian Condottieri.
[FN#204] So Napoleon the Great also believed that
Providence is mostly favorable to “gros bataillons.”
[FN#205] Pers. and Arab.="Good perfection.”
[FN#206] In Chavis and Cazotte “Story of Baharkan.”
Bihkard (in Shiraz pronounced “Kyard")="Well
he did.”
[FN#207] See “Katru” in the Introduction
to the Bakhtiyar-namah.
[FN#208] The text has “Jaukalan” for
Saulajan, the Persian “Chaugan"=the crooked
bat used in Polo. See vol. 1. 46.
[FN#209] Amongst Moslems, I have noted, circumstantial
evidence is not lawful: the witness must swear
to what he has seen. A curious consideration,
how many innocent men have been hanged by “circumstantial
evidence.” See vol. v. 97.
[FN#210] In Chavis and Cazotte “Story of Abattamant
(!), or the Prudent Man;” also Aylan Shah becomes
Olensa after Italian fashion.
[FN#211] In Arab. idiom a long hand or arm means
power, a phrase not wholly unused in European languages.
Chavis and Cazotte paraphrase “He who keeps
his hands crossed upon his breast, shall not see them
cut off.”
[FN#212] Arab. “Jama’a atrafah,”
lit.=he drew in his extremities, it being contrary
to “etiquette” in the presence of a superior
not to cover hands and feet. In the wild Argentine
Republic the savage Gaucho removes his gigantic spurs
when coming into the presence of his master.
Page 191
[FN#213] About the equivalent to the Arab. or rather
Egypto-Syrian form “Jiddan,” used in
the modern slang sense.
[FN#214] i.e. that he become my son-in-law.
[FN#215] For the practice of shampooing often alluded
to in The Nights, see vol. iii. 17. The king
“sleeping on the boys’ knees” means
that he dropped off whilst his feet were on the laps
of the lads.
[FN#216] Meaning the honour of his Harem.
[FN#217] Pardon, lit.=security; the cry for quarter
already introduced into English
“Or
raise the craven cry Aman.”
It was Mohammed’s express command that this
prayer for mercy should be respected even in the fury
of fight. See vol. i. 342.
[FN#218] A saying found in every Eastern language
beginning with Hebrew; Proverbs xxvi. 27, “Whoso
diggeth a pit shall fall therein.”
[FN#219] i.e. a domed tomb where prayers and
perlections of the Koran could be made. “Kubbah”
in Marocco is still the term for a small square building
with a low medianaranja cupola under which a Santon
lies interred. It is the “little Waly”
of our “blind travellers” in the unholy
“Holy Land.”
[FN#220] i.e. to secure her assistance in arousing
the king’s wrath.
[FN#221] i.e. so slow to avenge itself.
[FN#222] Story of Sultan Hebriam (!), and his Son”
(Chavis and Cazotte). Unless they greatly enlarged
upon the text, they had a much fuller copy than that
found in the Bresl. Edit.
[FN#223] A right kingly king, in the Eastern sense
of the word, would strike off their heads for daring
to see omens threatening his son and heir: this
would be constructive treason of the highest because
it might be expected to cause its own fulfilment.
[FN#224] Mohammed’s Hadis “Kazzibu ’l-Munajjimuna
bi Rabbi ’I-Ka’abah"=the Astrologers lied,
by the Ka’abah’s Lord!
[FN#225] Arab. “Khawatin,” plur.
of Khatun, a matron, a lady, vol. iv. 66.
[FN#226] See Al-Mas’udi, chapt. xvii. (Fr.
Transl. ii. 48-49) of the circular cavity two miles
deep and sixty in circuit inhabited by men and animals
on the Caucasus near Derbend.
[FN#227] Arab. “Nafas” lit.=breath.
Arabs living in a land of caverns know by experience
the danger of asphyxiation in such places.
[FN#228] This simple tale is told with much pathos
not of words but of sense.
[FN#229] Arab. “Ajal"=the appointed day
of death, also used for sudden death. See vol.
i. 74.
[FN#230] i.e. the Autumnal Equinox, one of the
two great festival days (the other being the New Year)
of the Persians, and surviving in our Michaelmas.
According to Al-Mas’udi (chap. xxi.), it was
established to commemorate the capture of Zahhak (Azhi-Dahaka),
the biting snake (the Hindu Ahi) of night and darkness,
the Greek Astyages, by Furaydun or Feridun. Prof.
Sayce (Principles of Comparative Philology, p. 11)
connects the latter with the Vedic deity Trita, who
harnessed the Sun-horse (Rig. v. i. 163, 2, 3), the
of Homer, a title of Athene, the Dawn-goddess,
and Burnouf proved the same Trita to be Thraetaona,
son of Athwya, of the Avesta, who finally became Furaydun,
the Greek Kyrus. See vol. v. 1.
Page 192
[FN#231] In Chavis and Cazotte, “Story of Selimansha
and his Family.”
[FN#232] Arab. for Pers. Pahluwan (from Pahlau)
a brave, a warrior, an athlete, applied in India to
a champion in any gymnastic exercise, especially in
wrestling. The Frenchman calls him “Balavan”;
and the Bresl. text in more than one place (p. 312)
calls him “Bahwan.”
[FN#233] i.e. King (Arab.) King (Persian):
we find also Sultan Malik Shah=King King King.
[FN#234] Arab. “Aulad-i,” a vulgarism,
plural for dual.
[FN#235] Mr. Payne translates, “so he might
take his father’s leavings” i.e.
heritage, reading “Asar” which I hold to
be a clerical error for Sar=Vendetta, blood revenge
(Bresl. Edit. vi. 310).
[FN#236] Arab. “Al-’Asi” the
pop. term for one who refuses to obey a constituted
authority and syn. with Pers. “Yaghi.”
“Ant ’Asi?” Wilt thou not yield
thyself? says a policeman to a refractory Fellah.
[FN#237] i.e. of the Greeks: so in Kor.
xxx. 1. “Alif Lam Mim, the Greeks (Al-Roum)
have been defeated.” Mr. Rodwell curiously
remarks that “the vowel-points for ‘defeated’
not being originally written, would make the prophecy
true in either event, according as the verb received
an active or passive sense in pronunciation.”
But in discovering this mare’s nest, a rank piece
of humbug like Aio te Aeacida, etc., he forgets
that all the Prophet’s “Companions,”
numbering some 5000, would pronounce it only in one
way and that no man could mistake “ghalabat”
(active) for “ghulibat” (passive).
[FN#238] The text persistently uses “Jariyah"=damsel,
slave-girl, for the politer “Sabiyah"=young lady,
being written in a rude and uncourtly style.
[FN#239] So our familiar phrase “Some one to
back us.”
[FN#240] Arab. “’Akkada lahu ray,”
plur. of rayat, a banner. See vol. iii. 307.
[FN#241] i.e. “What concern hast
thou with the king’s health?” The question
is offensively put.
[FN#242] Arab. “Masalah,” a question;
here an enigma.
[FN#243] Arab. “Lialla” (i.e. li,
an, la) lest; but printed here and elsewhere with
the ya as if it were “laylan,"=for a single
night.
[FN#244] i.e. if my death be fated to befal
to-day, none may postpone it to a later date.
[FN#245] Arab. “Dusti”: so
the ceremony vulgarly called “Doseh” and
by the ItaloEgyptians “Dosso,” the riding
over disciples’ backs by the Shaykh of the Sa’diyah
Darwayshes (Lane M.E. chapt. xxv.) which took place
for the last time at Cairo in 1881.
[FN#246] In Chavis and Cazotte she conjures him “by
the great Maichonarblatha Sarsourat” (Miat wa
arba’at ashar Surat)=the 114 chapters of the
Alcoran.
Page 193
[FN#247] I have noted that Moslem law is not fully
satisfied without such confession which, however,
may be obtained by the bastinado. It is curious
to compare English procedure with what Moslem would
be in such a case as that of the famous Tichborne
Claimant. What we did need hardly be noticed.
An Arab judge would in a case so suspicious at once
have applied the stick and in a quarter of an hour
would have settled the whole business; but then what
about the “Devil’s own,” the lawyers
and lawyers’ fees? And he would have remarked
that the truth is not less true because obtained by
such compulsory means.
[FN#248] The Hudhud, so called from its cry “Hood!
Hood!” It is the Lat. upupa, Gr. from its
supposed note epip or upup; the old Egyptian Kukufa;
Heb. Dukiphath and Syriac Kikupha (Bochart Hierozoicon,
part ii. 347). The Spaniards call it Gallo de
Marzo (March-Cock) from its returning in that month,
and our old writers “lapwing” (Deut. xiv.
18). This foul-feeding bird derives her honours
from chapt. xxvii. of the Koran (q.v.), the Hudhud
was sharp-sighted and sagacious enough to discover
water underground which the devils used to draw after
she had marked the place by her bill.
[FN#249] Here the vocative Ya is designedly omitted
in poetical fashion (e.g., Khaliliyya—my
friend!) to show the speaker’s emotion.
See p. 113 of Captain A. Lockett’s learned and
curious work the “Miet Amil” (=Hundred
Regimens), Calcutta, 1814.
[FN#250] The story-teller introduces this last instance
with considerable art as a preface to the denouement.
[FN#251] See Chavis and Cazotte “Story of the
King of Haram and the slave.”
[FN#252] i.e. men caught red-handed.
[FN#253] Arab. “Libwah,” one of
the multitudinous names for the king of beasts, still
used in Syria where the animal has been killed out,
soon to be followed by the bear (U. Syriacus).
The author knows that lions are most often found in
couples.
[FN#254] Arab. “Himyan or Hamyan,"=a girdle.
[FN#255] As he would kiss a son. I have never
yet seen an Englishman endure these masculine kisses,
formerly so common in France and Italy, without showing
clearest signs of his disgust.
[FN#256] A cheap way of rewarding merit, not confined
to Eastern monarchs, but practised by all contemporary
Europe.
[FN#257] Arab. “Kasf,"=houghing a camel
so as to render it helpless. The passage may
read. “we are broken to bits (Kisi) by our own
sin.”
[FN#258] Bresl. Edit., vol. vii. pp. 251-4,
Night dlxv.
[FN#259] See vol. vi. 175. A Moslem should dress
for public occasions, like the mediaeval student,
in vestibus (quasi) nigris aut subfuscis; though not,
except amongst the Abbasides, absolutely black, as
sable would denote Jewry.
Page 194
[FN#260] A well-known soldier and statesman, noted
for piety and austerity. A somewhat fuller version
of this story, from which I have borrowed certain
details, is given in the Biographical Dictionary of
Ibn Khallikan (i. 303-4). The latter, however,
calls the first Abd al-Malik “Ibn Bahran”
(in the index Ibn Bahram), which somewhat spoils the
story. “Ibn Khallikan,” by-the-by,
is derived popularly from “Khalli” (let
go), and “Kana” (it was, enough), a favourite
expression of the author, which at last superseded
his real name, Abu al-Abbas Ahmad. He is better
off than the companion nicknamed by Mohammed Abu Horayrah=Father
of the She-kitten (not the cat), and who in consequence
has lost his true name and pedigree.
[FN#261] In Ibn Khallikan (i. 303) he is called the
“Hashimite,” from his ancestor, Hashim
ibn Abd Manaf. The Hashimites and Abbasides were
fine specimens of the Moslem “Pharisee,”
as he is known to Christians, not the noble Purushi
of authentic history.
[FN#262] Meaning a cap, but of what shape we ignore.
Ibn Khallikan afterwards calls it a “Kalansua,”
a word still applied to a mitre worn by Christian
priests.
[FN#263] Arab. “La baas,” equivalent
in conversation to our “No matter,” and
“All right.”
[FN#264] As a member of the reigning family, he wore
black clothes, that being the especial colour of the
Abbasides, adopted by them in opposition to the rival
dynasty of the Ommiades, whose family colour was white,
that of the Fatimites being green. The Moslems
borrowed their sacred green, “the hue of the
Pure,” from the old Nabatheans and the other
primitive colours from the tents of the captains who
were thus distinguished. Hence also amongst
the Turks and Tartars, the White Horde and the Black
Horde.
[FN#265] The word has often occurred, meaning date-wine
or grape-wine. Ibn Khaldun contends that in
Ibn Khallikan it here means the former.
[FN#266] L25,000. Ibn Khallikan (i. 304) makes
the debt four millions of dirhams or L90,000-L100,000.
[FN#267] In the Biographer occurs the equivalent
phrase, “That a standard be borne over his head.”
[FN#268] Here again we have a suggestion that Ja’afar
presumed upon his favour with the Caliph; such presumption
would soon be reported (perhaps by the austere intrigant
himself) to the royal ears, and lay the foundation
of ill-will likely to end in utter destruction.
[FN#269] Bresl. Edit., vol. vii. pp. 258-60,
Night dlxvii.
[FN#270] Fourth Abbaside, A.D. 785-786, vol. v. 93.
He was a fantastic tyrant who was bent upon promoting
to the Caliphate his own son, Ja’afar; he cast
Harun into prison and would probably have slain him
but for the intervention of the mother of one of the
two brothers, Khayzaran widow of Al-Mahdi, and Yahya
the Barmecide.
[FN#271] Third Abbaside, A.D. 775-785, vol. vii.
136; ix. 334.
Page 195
[FN#272] This reminds us of the Bir Al-Khatim (Well
of the Signet) at Al-Medinah; in which Caliph Osman
during his sixth year dropped from his finger the
silver ring belonging to the founder of Al-Islam,
engraved in three lines with “Mohammed / Apostle
(of) / Allah /.” It had served to sign
the letters sent to neighboring kings and had descended
to the first three successors (Pilgrimage ii. 219).
Mohammed owned three seal-rings, the golden one
he destroyed himself; and the third, which was of
carnelian, was buried with other objects by his heirs.
The late Subhi Pasha used to declare that the latter
had been brought to him with early Moslem coins by
an Arab, and when he died he left it to the Sultan.
[FN#273] Mr. Payne quotes Al-Tabari’s version
of this anecdote. “El-Mehdi had presented
his son Haroun with a ruby ring, worth a hundred thousand
dinars, and the latter being one day with his brother
(the then reigning Khalif), El Hadi saw the ring on
his finger and desired it. So, when Haroun went
out from him, he sent after him, to seek the ring
of him. The Khalif’s messenger overtook
Er Reshid on the bridge over the Tigris and acquainted
him with his errand; whereupon the prince, enraged
at the demand, pulled off the ring and threw it into
the river. When El Hadi died and Er Rashid succeeded
to the throne, he went with his suite to the bridge
in question and bade his Vizier Yehya ben Khalid send
for divers and cause them to make search for the ring.
It had then been five months in the water and no one
believed it would be found. However, the divers
plunged into the river and found the ring in the very
place where he had thrown it in, whereat Haroun rejoiced
with an exceeding joy, regarding it as a presage of
fair fortune.”
[FN#274] Not historically correct. Al-Rashid
made Yahya, father of Ja’afar, his Wazir; and
the minister’s two sons, Fazl and Ja’afar,
acted as his lieutenants for seventeen years from A.D.
786 till the destruction of the Barmecides in A.D.
803. The tale-teller quotes Ja’afar because
he was the most famous of the house.
[FN#275] Perhaps after marrying Ja’afar to
his sister. But the endearing name was usually
addressed to Ja’afar’s elder brother Fazl,
who was the Caliph’s foster-brother.
[FN#276] Read seventeen: all these minor inaccuracies
tend to invalidate the main statement.
[FN#277] Arab. “Yar’ad” which
may mean “thundereth.” The dark
saying apparently means, Do good whilst thou art in
power and thereby strengthen thyself.
[FN#278] The lady seems to have made the first advances
and Bin Abu Hajilah quotes a sixaine in which she
amorously addresses her spouse. See D’Herbelot,
s.v. Abbassa.
[FN#279] The tale-teller passes with a very light
hand over the horrors of a massacre which terrified
and scandalised the then civilised world, and which
still haunt Moslem history. The Caliph, like
the eking, can do no wrong; and, as Viceregent of
Allah upon Earth, what would be deadly crime and mortal
sin in others becomes in his case an ordinance from
above. These actions are superhuman events and
fatal which man must not judge nor feel any sentiment
concerning them save one of mysterious respect.
For the slaughter of the Barmecides, see my Terminal
Essay, vol. x.
Page 196
[FN#280] Bresl. Edit., vol. vii. pp. 260-1,
Night dlxviii.
[FN#281] Ibn al-Sammak (Son of the fisherman or fishmonger),
whose name was Abu al-Abbas Mohammed bin Sabih, surnamed
Al-Mazkur (Ibn al-Athir says Al-Muzakkar), was a
native of Kufah (where he died in A.H. 183 = 799-80),
a preacher and professional tale-teller famed as a
stylist and a man of piety. Al-Siyuti (p. 292)
relates of him that when honoured by the Caliph with
courteous reception he said to him, “Thy humility
in thy greatness is nobler than thy greatness.”
He is known to have been the only theologician who,
ex cathedra, promised Al-Rashid a place in Paradise.
[FN#282] Bresl. Edit., vol. vii. pp. 261-2,
Night dlxviii.
[FN#283] Seventh Abbaside, A.H. 198-227 = 813-842.
See vol. iv. 109. He was a favourite with his
father, who personally taught him tradition; but he
offended the Faithful by asserting the creation of
the Koran, by his leaning to Shi’ah doctrine,
and by changing the black garments of the Banu Abbas
into green. He died of a chill at Budandun,
a day’s march from Tarsus, where he was buried:
for this Podendon = = stretch out thy
feet, see Al-Siyuti, pp. 326-27.
[FN#284] Sixth Abbaside, A.D. 809-13. See vol.
v. 93: 152. He was of pure Abbaside blood
on the father’s side and his mother Zubaydah’s.
But he was unhappy in his Wazir Al-Fazl bin Rabi,
the intriguer against the Barmecides, who estranged
him from his brothers Al-Kasim and Al-Maamun.
At last he was slain by a party of Persians, “who
struck him with their swords and cut him through the
nape of his neck and went with his head to Tahir bin
al-Husayn, general to Al-Maamun, who set it upon a
garden-wall and made proclamation, This is the head
of the deposed Mohammed (Al-Amin).” Al-Siyuti,
pp. 306-311. It was remarked by Moslem annalists
that every sixth Abbaside met with a violent death:
the first was this Mohammed al-Amin surnamed Al-Makhlu’
= The Deposed; the second sixth was Al-Musta’in;
and the last was Al-Muktadi bi’llah.
[FN#285] Lit. “Order and acceptance.”
See the Tale of the Sandal-wood Merchant and the
Sharpers: vol. vi. 202.
[FN#286] This is not noticed by Al-Siyuta (p. 318)
who says that his mother was a slave-concubine named
Marajil who died in giving him birth. The tale
in the text appears to be a bit of Court scandal,
probably suggested by the darkness of the Caliph’s
complexion.
[FN#287] Bresl. Edit., vol. viii. pp. 226-9,
Nights dclx-i.
[FN#288] King of the Arab kingdom of Hirah, for whom
see vol. v. 74. This ancient villain rarely
appears in such favourable form when tales are told
of him.
[FN#289] The tribe of the chieftain and poet, Hatim
Tai, for whom see vol. iv. 94.
[FN#290] i.e. I will make a covenant with
him before the Lord. Here the word “Allah”
is introduced among the Arabs of The Ignorance.
[FN#291] i.e. the man of the Tribe of Tay.
Page 197
[FN#292] A similar story of generous dealing is told
of the Caliph Omar in The Nights. See vol. v.
99 et seq.
[FN#293] Bresl. Edit., vol. viii. pp. 273-8,
Nights dclxxv-vi. In Syria and Egypt Firuz (the
Persian “Piroz”) = victorious, triumphant,
is usually pronounced Fayrus. The tale is a rechauffe
of the King and the Wazir’s Wife in The Nights.
See vol. vi. 129.
[FN#294] i.e. I seek refuge with Allah
= God forfend.
[FN#295] Bresl. Edit., vol. xi. pp. 84-318,
Nights dccclxxv-dccccxxx. Here again the names
are Persian, showing the provenance of the tale; Shah
Bakht is=King Luck and Rahwan is a corruption of Rahban=one
who keeps the (right) way; or it may be Ruhban=the
Pious. Mr. W. A. Clouston draws my attention to
the fact that this tale is of the Sindibad (Seven
Wise Masters) cycle and that he finds remotely allied
to it a Siamese collection, entitled Nonthuk Pakaranam
in which Princess Kankras, to save the life of her
father, relates eighty or ninety tales to the king
of Pataliput (Palibothra). He purposes to discuss
this and similar subjects in extenso in his coming
volumes, “Popular Tales and Fictions: their
Migrations and Transformations,” to which I look
forward with pleasant anticipations.
[FN#296] So far this work resembles the Bakhtiyar-nameh,
in which the ten Wazirs are eager for the death of
the hero who relates tales and instances to the king,
warning him against the evils of precipitation.
[FN#297] One pilgrimage (Hajjat al-Islam) is commanded
to all Moslems. For its conditions see The Nights,
vol. v. 202, et seq.
[FN#298] Arab. “Hajj al-Sharif.”
For the expenses of the process see my Pilgrimage
iii. 12. As in all “Holy Places,”
from Rome to Benares, the sinner in search of salvation
is hopelessly taken in and fleeced by the “sons
of the sacred cities.”
[FN#299] Here a stranger invites a guest who at once
accepts the invitation; such is the freedom between
Moslems at Meccah and Al-Medinah, especially during
pilgrimagetime.
[FN#300] i.e. the master could no longer use
her carnally.
[FN#301] i.e. wantoned it away.
[FN#302] Here “Al-Hajj"=the company of pilgrims,
a common use of the term.
[FN#303] The text says, “He went on with the
caravan to the Pilgrimage,” probably a clerical
error. “Hajj” is never applied to
the Visitation (Ziyarah) at Al-Medinah.
[FN#304] Arab. “Jawar,” that is,
he became a mujawir, one who lives in or near a collegiate
mosque. The Egyptian proverb says, “He
pilgrimaged: quoth one, Yes, and for his villainy
lives (yujawir) at Meccah,” meaning that he
found no other place bad enough for him.
[FN#305] I have often heard of this mysterious art
in the East, also of similarly making rubies and branch-coral
of the largest size, but, despite all my endeavours,
I never was allowed to witness the operation.
It was the same with alchemy, which, however, I found
very useful to the “smasher.” See
my History of Sindh, chapt. vii.
Page 198
[FN#306] Elsewhere in The Nights specified as white
woolen robes.
[FN#307] Whilst she was praying the girl could not
address her; but the use of the rosary is a kind of
“parergon.”
[FN#308] Arab. “Ya Hajjah” (in Egypt
pronounced “Haggeh"), a polite address to an
elderly woman, who is thus supposed to have “finished
her faith.”
[FN#309] Arab. “Kanisah” (from Kans=sweeping)
a pagan temple, a Jewish synagogue, and especially
a Christian church.
[FN#310] i.e. standeth in prayer or supplication.
[FN#311] i.e. fell into hysterics, a very common
complaint amongst the highly nervous and excitable
races of the East.
[FN#312] Arab. “Kahramanah,” a word
which has often occurred in divers senses, nurse,
duenna, chamberwoman, stewardess, armed woman defending
the Harem, etc.
[FN#313] Which is supposed to contain the Harem.
[FN#314] Especially mentioned because the guide very
often follows his charges, especially when he intends
to play them an ugly trick. I had an unpleasant
adventure of the kind in Somaliland; but having the
fear of the “Aborigines Protection Society”
before my eyes, refrained from doing more than hinting
at it.
[FN#315] i.e. otherwise than according to ordinance
of Allah.
[FN#316] A well-known city of lrak ’Ajami (or
Persian).
[FN#317] i.e. spare pegs and strings, plectra,
thumb-guards, etc.
[FN#318] Arab. “Hasir,” the fine
matting used for sleeping on during the hot season
in Egypt and Syria.
[FN#319] i.e. The bed where the “rough
and tumble” had taken place.
[FN#320] This word, which undoubtedly derives from
cuculus, cogul, cocu, a cuckoo, has taken a queer
twist, nor can I explain how its present meaning arose
from a shebird which lays her egg in a strange nest.
Wittol, on the other hand, from Witan, to know, is
rightly applied to one whom La Fontaine calls “cocu
et content,” the Arab Dayyus.
[FN#321] Arab. “Shabakah,” here
a net like a fisherman’s, which is hung over
the hole in the wall called a shop, during the temporary
absence of the shopkeeper. See my Pilgrimage,
i. 100.
[FN#322] i.e. of which the singer speaks.
[FN#323] i.e., she found him good at the to-and-fro
movement; our corresponding phrase is “basket-making.”
[FN#324] Arab. “Mu’arris”:
in vol. i. 338, 1 derived the word from ’Ars
marriage, like the Germ. Kupplerin. This
was a mere mistake; the root is ’Ars (with a
Sad not a Sin) and means a pimp who shows off or displays
his wares.
[FN#325] Arab. “Akhmitu Ghazla-ha”
lit.=thicken her yarn or thread.
[FN#326] I must again warn the reader that the negative,
which to us appears unnecessary, is emphatic in Arabic.
[FN#327] i.e. By removing the goods from
the “but” to the “ben.”
Pilgrimage i. 99.
Page 199
[FN#328] Arab. “Tannur,” here the
large earthern jar with a cover of the same material,
round which the fire is built.
[FN#329] Being a musician the hero of the tale was
also a pederast.
[FN#330] Here Mr. Payne supplies “Then they
returned and sat down” (apparently changing
places). He is quite correct in characterising
the Bresl. Edit. as corrupt and “fearfully
incoherent.” All we can make certain of
in this passage is that the singer mistook the Persian
for his white slave (Mameluke).
[FN#331] Arab. “Bazaka,” normally
used in the sense of spitting; here the saliva might
be applied for facilitating insertion.
[FN#332] In Persian “Award o burd,"=brought
and bore away, gen. applied to the movement of the
man as in the couplet,
Chenin burd o award
o award o burd,
Kih dayeh pas-i-pardeh
zi ghussah murd.
He so came and went,
went and came again,
That Nurse who lay curtained
to faint was fain.
[FN#333] Alluding to the fighting rams which are
described by every Anglo-Indian traveller. They
strike with great force, amply sufficient to crush
the clumsy hand which happens to be caught between
the two foreheads. The animals are sometimes used
for Fal or consulting futurity: the name of a
friend is given to one and that of a foe to the other;
and the result of the fight suggests victory or defeat
for the men.
[FN#334] Arab. “Jauhar"=the jewel, the
essential nature of a substance. Compare M. Alcofribas’
“Abstraction of the Quintessence.”
[FN#335] In parts of the Moslem world Al-Jabr=the
tyranny, is the equivalent of what we call “civil
law,” as opposed to Al-Shari’ah, or Holy
Law, the religious code; Diwan al-Jabr (Civil Court)
being the contrary of the Mahkamah or Kazi’s
tribunal. See “First Footsteps in East Africa,”
p. 126.
[FN#336] i.e. in offering thee the kingship.
[FN#337] i.e. “a man of fourscore.”
[FN#338] i.e. outside the city.
[FN#339] See the conclusion of the story.
[FN#340] i.e. I have said my say.
[FN#341] Arab. “Al-Mutabattil,”
usually=one who forsakes the world. The Katarat
alNaysan or rain-drops in the month Naysan (April)
produce pearls when falling into the oyster-shells
and poison in the serpent’s mouth. The
allusions to them are innumerable in Persian poetry,
and the idea gives rise to a host of moralities more
or less insipid.
[FN#342] This is the general idea concerning the
diamond in all countries where the gem is dug, but
I never heard it of the pearl.
[FN#343] Arab. “Faras,” properly
a mare; but the writer begins by using the feminine,
and then employs the masculine. It is an abominable
text.
[FN#344] Arab. “Rutab wa manazil,”
may also mean “stations and mansions (of the
moon and planets).” The double entendre
was probably intended.
Page 200
[FN#345] Arab. “Za-if,” still a
popular word, meaning feeble, sick, ailing, but especially,
weak in venery.
[FN#346] See the original of this tale in King Al-Af’a:
Al-Mas’udi, chap. xlvi.
[FN#347] He says this without any sense of shame,
coolly as Horace or Catullus wrote.
[FN#348] i.e. of the caravan with which he came.
[FN#349] Arab. “Al-’Adl.”
In the form of Zu ’adl it = a legal witness,
a man of good repute; in Marocco and other parts of
the Moslem world ’Adul (plur. ’Udul)
signifies an assessor of the Kazi, a notary.
Padre Lerchundy (loc. cit. p. 345) renders it notario.
[FN#350] i.e. I would marry thy daughter,
not only for her own sake, but for alliance with thy
family.
[FN#351] i.e. the bride’s face.
[FN#352] The Ghusl or complete ablution after car.
cop.
[FN#353] Thus the girl was made lawful to him as
a concubine by the “loathly ladye,” whose
good heart redeemed her ill-looks.
[FN#354] Meaning the poor man and his own daughter.
[FN#355] Mr. Payne changes the Arab title to the
far more appropriate heading, “Story of the
Rich Man and his Wasteful Son.” The tale
begins with AEsop’s fable of the faggot; and
concludes with the “Heir of Linne,” in
the famous Scotch ballad. Mr. Clouston refers
also to the Persian Tale of Murchlis (The Sorrowful
Wazir); to the Forty Vezirs (23rd Story) to Cinthio
and to sundry old English chap-books.
[FN#356] Arab. “Tafrik wa’l-jam’a.”
[FN#357] Arab. “Wafat” pop. used
as death, decease, departure; but containing the idea
of departing to the mercy of Allah and “paying
the debt of nature.” It is not so illomened
a word as Maut=death.
[FN#358] i.e. gifts and presents. See vol.
iv. 185.
[FN#359] i.e. Turcomans; presently called
Sistan, for which see vol. ii. 218.
[FN#360] In my Pilgrimage (i. 38), 1 took from Mr.
Galton’s Art of Travel, the idea of opening
with a lancet the shoulder or other fleshy part of
the body and inserting into it a precious stone.
This was immensely derided by not a few including one
who, then a young man from the country, presently
became a Cabinet Minister. Despite their omniscience,
however, the “dodge” is frequently practised.
See how this device was practised by Jeshua Nazarenus,
vol. v. 238.
[FN#361] Arab. “’Alam,” a pile
of stones, a flag or some such landmark. The
reader will find them described in “The Sword
of Midian,” i. 98, and passim.
[FN#362] Mr. Clouston refers to the “Miles
Gloriosus” (Plautus); to “Orlando Innamorato”
of Berni (the Daughter of the King of the Distant
Isles); to the “Seven Wise Masters” ("The
Two Dreams,” or “The Crafty Knight of
Hungary"); to his Book of Sindibad, p. 343 ff.; to
Miss Busk’s Folk-Lore of Rome, p. 399 ("The Grace
of the Hunchback"); to Prof. Crane’s “Italian
Popular Tales,” p. 167, and “The Elopement,”
from Pitre’s Sicilian collection.
Page 201
[FN#363] In sign of impatience; “Look sharp!”
[FN#364] i.e. the resemblance of the supposed
sister to his wife. This is a rechauffe of Kamar
al-Zaman iid.
[FN#365] This leaving a long lock upon the shaven
poll is a very ancient practice: we find it amongst
the old Egyptians. For the Shushah or top-knot
of hair, see vol. i. 308. It is differently worn
in the several regions of the Moslem world: the
Maroccans of the Rif country grow it not on the poll
but on one side of the head. As a rule, however,
it is confined to boys, and is shaved off at puberty.
[FN#366] Suspecting her to be a witch because she
was old and poor. The same was the case in Europe
when these unfortunates were burned during the early
part of the last century and even now the country-folk
are often ready to beat or drown them. The abominable
witchcraft acts, which arose from bibliolatry and
belief in obsolete superstitions, can claim as many
victims in “Protestant” countries, England
and the Anglo-American States as the Jesuitical Inquisition.
[FN#367] It is not easy to make sense of this passage
especially when the Wazir is spoken of.
[FN#368] This is a rechauffe of the Sandal-Wood Merchant
and the Sharpers. Vol. vi. 202.
[FN#369] I have followed Mr. Payne’s adaptation
of the text as he makes sense, whilst the Arabic does
not. I suppose that the holes are disposed crosswise.
[FN#370] i.e. Thy skill is so great that
thou wilt undermine my authority with the king.
[FN#371] This famous tale is first found in a small
collection of Latin fables (Adolphi Fabulae apud Leyser
Hist. Poet. Medii AEvi, p. 200-8), beginning
Caecus erat quidam,
cui pulcra virago, etc.
The date is 1315, and Caxton printed it in English
in 1483; hence it was adopted by Boccaccio, Day vii.,
Novella 9; whence Chaucer’s “Marchaundes
Tale”: this, by-the-by, was translated by
Pope in his sixteenth or seventeenth year, and christened
“January and May.” The same story
is inserted in La Fontaine (Contes, lib. ii., No.
8), “La Gageure des trois Commeres,” with
the normal poirier; and lastly it appears in Wieland’s
“Oberon,” canto vi.; where the Fairy King
restores the old husband’s sight, and Titania
makes the lover on the pear-tree invisible. Mr.
Clouston refers me also to the Bahar-i-Danish, or Prime
of Knowledge (Scott’s translation, vol. ii.,
pp. 64-68); “How the Brahman learned the Tirrea
Bede”; to the Turkish “Kirk Wazir”
(Forty Wazirs) of the Shaykh-Zadeh (xxivth Wazir’s
story); to the “Comoedia Lydiae,” and
to Barbazan’s “Fabliaux et Contes”
t. iii. p. 451, “La Saineresse,” the cupping-woman.
[FN#372] In the European versions it is always a
pear-tree.
[FN#373] This supernatural agency, ever at hand and
ever credible to Easterns, makes this the most satisfactory
version of the world-wide tale.
[FN#374] i.e. till next harvest time.
Page 202
[FN#375] The “’Ashshar,” or Tither,
is most unpopular in the Nile-valley as in Wales;
and he generally merits his ill-repute. Tales
concerning the villainy of these extortioners abound
in Egypt and Syria. The first step in improvement
will be so to regulate the tithes that the peasants
may not be at the mercy of these “publicans
and sinners” who, however, can plead that they
have paid highly for appointment to office and must
recoup themselves.
[FN#376] Arab. “’Ammir"=cause to flourish.
[FN#377] Arab. “Afkah,” a better
Fakih or theologian; all Moslem law being based upon
the Koran, the Sayings (Hadis) and Doings (Sunnat)
of the Prophet; and, lastly, the Rasm or immemorial
custom of the country provided that it be not opposed
to the other three.
[FN#378] If the number represent the days in the
Moslem year it should be 354=6 months of 29 days and
the rest of 30).
[FN#379] The affirmative particle “kad”
preceding a verb in the past gives it a present and
at times a future signification.
[FN#380] A danik, the Persian “Dang,”
is one-sixth of a dirham, i.e. about one penny.
See vol. ii. 204.
[FN#381] It would mightily tickle an Eastern audience
to hear of a Tither being unable to do any possible
amount of villainy.
[FN#382] i.e. The oath of triple divorce
which is, I have said, irrevocable, and the divorcee
may not be taken again by her husband till her marriage
with another man (the Mustahill of The Nights) has
been consummated. See vol. iv., 48.
[FN#383] i.e. thousandfold cuckold.
[FN#384] Arab. “Wadi’ah"=the blows
which the Robber had given him.
[FN#385] Arab. “Sindiyan” (from
the Persian) gen. used for the holm-oak, the Quercus
pseudococcifera, vulgarly termed ilex, or native oak,
and forming an extensive scrub in Syria, For this and
other varieties of Quercus, as the Mallul and the Ballut,
see Unexplored Syria, i. 68.
[FN#386] Hibernice
[FN#387] Lit. “In the way of moderation"=at
least, at the most moderate reckoning.
[FN#388] Arab. “Rasmal,” the vulg.
Syrian and Egyptian form of Raas al-mal=stockin-trade.
[FN#389] Usually a ring or something from his person
to show that all was fair play; here however, it was
a watchword.
[FN#390] Arab. “Ya Madyubah,” prob.
a clerical error for “Madyunah,” alluding
to her many debts which he had paid. Here, however,
I suspect the truly Egyptian term “Ya Manyukah!"=O
thou berogered; a delicate term of depreciation which
may be heard a dozen times a day in the streets of
Cairo. It has also a masculine form, “Ya
Manyuk!”
[FN#391] About=100 lb. Mr. Sayce (Comparative
Philol. p. 210) owns that Mn is old Egyptian but makes
it a loan from the “Semites,” like Sus
(horse), Sar (prince), Sepet (lip) and Murcabutha
(chariot), and goes to its origin in the Acratan column,
because “it is not found before the times when
the Egyptians borrowed freely from Palestine.”
But surely it is premature to draw such conclusion
when we have so much still to learn concerning the
dates of words in Egyptian.
Page 203
[FN#392] Arab. Jami’. This anachronism,
like many of the same kind, is only apparent.
The faith preached by Sayyidna Isa was the Islam of
his day and dispensation, and it abrogated all other
faiths till itself abrogated by the mission of Mahommed.
It is therefore logical to apply to it terms which
we should hold to be purely Moslem. On the other
hand it is not logical to paint the drop-curtain of
the Ober-Ammergau “Miracle-play” with the
Mosque of Omar and the minarets of Al-Islam.
I humbly represented this fact to the mechanicals
of the village whose performance brings them in so
large a sum every decade; but Snug, Snout and Bottom
turned up the nose of contempt and looked upon me as
a mere “shallow sceptic.”
[FN#393] Arab. “Talamizah,” plur.
of Tilmiz, a disciple, a young attendant. The
word is Syriac Arabic letters and there is a
Heb. root Hebrew letters but no Arabic.
In the Durrat al-Ghawwas, however, Tilmiz, Bilkis,
and similar words are Arabic in the form of Fa’lil
and Fi’lil
[FN#394] Ruh Allah, lit.=breath of Allah, attending
to the miraculous conception according to the Moslems.
See vol. v. 238.
[FN#395] Readers will kindly pronounce this word
“Sahra” not Sahara.
[FN#396] Mr. Clouston refers for analogies to this
tale to his “Oriental Sources of some of Chaucer’s
Tales” (Notes and Queries, 1885-86), and he
finds the original of The Pardoner’s Tale in
one of the Jatakas or Buddhist Birth-stories entitled
Vedabbha Jataka. The story is spread over all
Europe; in the Cento Novelle Antiche; Morlini; Hans
Sachs, etc. And there are many Eastern versions,
e.g. a Persian by Farid al-Din “’Attar”
who died at a great age in A.D. 1278; an Arabic version
in The Orientalist (Kandy, 1884); a Tibetan in Rollston’s
Tibetan Tales; a Cashmirian in Knowles’ Dict.
of Kashmiri Proverbs, etc., etc., etc.
[FN#397] Arab. “’Awan” lit.=aids,
helpers; the “Aun of the Jinn” has often
occurred.
[FN#398] i.e. the peasant.
[FN#399] i.e. those serving on the usual feudal
tenure; and bound to suit and service for their fiefs.
[FN#400] i.e. the yearly value of his fief.
[FN#401] i.e. men who paid taxes.
[FN#402] Arab. “Rasatik” plur. of
Rustak. See vol. vi. 289.
[FN#403] This adventure is a rechauffe of Amjad’s
adventure (vol. iii. 333) without, however, its tragic
catastrophe.
[FN#404] The text is so concise as to be enigmatical.
The house was finely furnished for a feast, as it
belonged to the Man who was lavish, etc.
[FN#405] Arab. “Khubz Samiz;” the
latter is the Arabisation of the Pers. Samid,
fine white bread, simnel, Germ. semmel.
[FN#406] The text has “Bakulat"=pot-herbs;
but it is probably a clerical error for “Baklawat.”
See vol. ii. 311.
[FN#407] Egyptian-like he at once calls upon Allah
to witness a lie and his excuse would be that the
lie was well-intentioned.
Page 204
[FN#408] i.e. The private bagnio which
in old days every grand house possessed.
[FN#409] This is a fancy title, but it suits the
tale better than that in the text (xi. 183) “The
Richard who lost his wealth and his wits.”
Mr. Clouston refers to similar stories in Sacchetti
and other early Italian novelists.
[FN#410] Arab. “Al-Muwaswis”:
for “Wiswas” see vol. i. 106. This
class of men in stories takes the place of our “cunning
idiot,” and is often confounded with the Saudawi,
the melancholist proper.
[FN#411] Arab. “Hamhama,” an onomapoeic,
like our hum, hem, and haw.
[FN#412] Arab. “Barniyah,” a vessel
either of glass or pottery like that in which the
manna was collected (Exod. xvi. 33).
[FN#413] A hasty man, as Ghazban=an angry man.
[FN#414] The Bresl. Edit. misprint. “Khablas”
in more places than one, now with a Sin, then with
a Sad. Khalbas suggests “Khalbus,”
a buffoon, for which see vol. ii. 143. In Egypt,
however, the latter generally ends in a Sad (see Lane’s
“Khalboos,” M. E. chap. xxvii).
[FN#415] This story is a rechauffe of the Jewish
Kazi and his pious wife; see vol. v. 256.
[FN#416] The Arab form of “Nayshapur"=reeds
of (King) Shapur: see vol. ix. 230.
[FN#417] Arab. “Ala Tarik al-Satr wa al-Salamah,”
meaning that each other’s wives did not veil
before their brothers-in-law as is usually done.
It may also mean that they were under Allah’s
protection and in best of condition.
[FN#418] i.e. he dared not rape her.
[FN#419] i.e. her “yes” meant “yes”
and her “no” meant “no.”
[FN#420] “Ignorance” (Jahl) may, here
and elsewhere, mean wickedness, forwardness, folly,
vicious folly or uncalled-for wrath. Here Arabic
teaches a good lesson, for ignorance, intemperance
and egoism are, I repeat, the roots of all evil.
[FN#421] So Mohammed said of a child born in adultery
“The babe to the blanket (i.e. let it be nursed
and reared) and the adultress to the stone.”
[FN#422] Arab. “Wa ha,” etc.,
an interjection corresponding with the Syriac “ho”
lo! (i.e., look) behold! etc.
[FN#423] This paragraph is supplied by Mr. Payne:
something of the kind has evidently fallen out of
the Arab text.
[FN#424] i.e. in the presence of witnesses,
legally.
[FN#425] Lit. a myriad, ten thousand dirhams.
See vol. iv. 281.
[FN#426] The fire was intended to defend the mother
and babe from Jinns, bad spirits, the evil eye, etc.
Romans lit candles in the room of the puerpara; hence
the goddess Candelifera, and the term Candelaria applied
to the B.V. In Brand’s Popular Antiquities
(ii. 144) we find, “Gregory mentions an ordinary
superstition of the old wives who dare not trust a
child in a cradle by itself alone without a candle;”
this was for fear of the “night-hag” (Milton,
Page 205
P. L., ii. 662). The same idea prevailed in Scotland
and in Germany: see the learned Liebrecht (who
translated the Pentamerone) “Zur Folkskunde,”
p. 31. In Sweden if the candle go out, the child
may be carried off by the Trolls (Weckenstedt, Wendische
Sagen, p. 446). The custom has been traced to
the Malay peninsula, whither it was probably imported
by the Hindus or the Moslems, and amongst the Tajiks
in Bokhara. For the Hindu practice, see Katha
S. S. 305, and Prof. Tawney’s learned note
analysed above.
[FN#427] Arab. “Kahinah,” fem. of
Kahin (Cohen): see Kahanah, vol. i. 28.
[FN#428] i.e. for a long time, as has been before
explained.
[FN#429] i.e. at his service. Arabia was
well provided with Hetairae and public women long
before the days of Al-Islam.
[FN#430] Arab. “Athar"=sign, mark, trail.
[FN#431] i.e. Persia. See vol. v.
26.
[FN#432] Arab. “’Akakir” plur.
of ’Akkar prop.=aromatic roots; but applied
to vulgar drugs or simples, as in the Tale of the
Sage Duban, i. 46.
[FN#433] Arab. “Si’at rizki-h”
i.e., the ease with which he earned his copious
livelihood.
[FN#434] i.e. the ten thousand dirhams of the
bond, beside the unpaid and contingent portion of
her “Mahr” or marriage-settlement.
[FN#435] Arab. “Al-Hazur” from Hazr=loquacity,
frivolous garrulity. Every craft in the East
has a jargon of its own and the goldsmith (Zargar)
is famed for speaking a language made unintelligible
by the constant insertion of a letter or letters not
belonging to the word. It is as if we rapidly
pronounced How d’ye do=Howth doth yeth doth?
[FN#436] Arab. “Asma al-Adwiyah,”
such as are contained in volumes like the “Alfaz
al-Adwi-yah” (Nomenclature of Drugs).
[FN#437] I am compelled to insert a line in order
to make sense.
[FN#438] “Galen,” who is considered by
Moslems as a kind of pre-Islamitic Saint; and whom
Rabelais (iii. c. 7) calls Le gentil Falot Galen,
is explained by Eustathius as the Serene {Greek} from
{Greek}=rideo.
[FN#439] Arab. “Sahah” the clear
space before the house as opposed to the “Bathah”
(Span. Patio) the inner court.
[FN#440] A naive description of the naive style of
reclame adopted by the Eastern Bob Sawyer.
[FN#441] Which they habitually do, by the by, with
an immense amount of unpleasant detail. See Pilgrimage
i. 18.
[FN#442] The old French name for the phial or bottle
in which the patient’s water is sent.
[FN#443] A descendant from Mohammed, strictly through
his grandson Husayn. See vol. iv. 170.
[FN#444] Arab. “Al-Futuh” lit. the
victories; a euphemistic term for what is submitted
to the “musculus guineaorum.”
[FN#445] Arab. “Firasah” lit. judging
the points of a mare (faras). Of physiognomy,
or rather judging by externals, curious tales are
told by the Arabs. In Al-Mas’udi’s
(chapt. lvi.) is the original of the camel blind of
one eye, etc., which the genius of Voltaire has
made famous throughout Europe.
Page 206
[FN#446] I here quote Mr. Payne’s note.
“Sic in the text; but the passage is apparently
corrupt. It is not plain why a rosy complexion,
blue eyes and tallness should be peculiar to women
in love. Arab women being commonly short, swarthy
and blackeyed, the attributes mentioned appear rather
to denote the foreign origin of the woman; and it
is probable, therefore, that this passage has by a
copyist’s error, been mixed up with that which
relates to the signs by which the mock physician recognised
her strangerhood, the clause specifying the symptoms
of her love-lorn condition having been crowded out
in the process, an accident of no infrequent occurrence
in the transcription of Oriental works.”
[FN#447] Most men would have suspected that it was
her lover.
[FN#448] The sumptuary laws, compelling for instance
the Jews to wear yellow turbans, and the Christians
to carry girdles date from the Capture of Jerusalem
in A.D. 636 by Caliph Omar. See vol. i. 77; and
Terminal Essay ยง 11.
[FN#449] i.e. Our Sunday: the Jewish
week ending with the Sabbath (Saturday). I have
already noted this term for Saturn’s day, established
as a God’s rest by Commandment No. iv. How
it lost its honours amongst Christians none can say:
the text in Col. ii. 16, 17, is insufficient to abolish
an order given with such pomp and circumstance to,
and obeyed, so strictly and universally by, the Hebrews,
including the Founder of Christianity. The general
idea is that the Jewish Sabbath was done away with
by the Christian dispensation (although Jesus kept
it with the usual scrupulous care), and that sundry
of the Councils at Colossae and Laodicea anathematised
those who observed the Saturday after Israelitish
fashion. With the day its object changed; instead
of “keeping it holy,” as all pious Jews
still do, the early Fathers converted it into the
“Feast of the Resurrection,” which could
not be kept too joyously. The “Sabbatismus”
of the Sabbatarian Protestant who keeps holy the wrong
day is a marvellous perversion and the Sunday feast
of France, Italy, and Catholic countries generally
is far more logical than the mortification day of
England and the so-called Reformed countries.
[FN#450] Harais, plur. of Harisah: see vol.
i. 131.
[FN#451] It would have been cooked on our Thursday
night, or the Jewish Friday night and would be stale
and indigestible on the next day.
[FN#452] Marw (Margiana), which the Turkomans pronounce
“Mawr,” is derived by Bournouf from the
Sansk. Maru or Marw; and by Sir H. Rawlinson
from Marz or Marj, the Lat. Margo; Germ.
Mark; English March; Old French Marche and Neo-Lat.
Marca. So Marzban, a Warden of the Marches:
vol. iii. 256. The adj. is not Marazi, as stated
in vol. iii. 222; but Marwazi, for which see Ibn Khallikan,
vol. i. p. 7, etc.: yet there are good writers
who use “Marazi” as Razi for a native
of Rayy.
[FN#453] i.e. native of Rayy city. See
vol. iv. 104.
Page 207
[FN#454] Normally used for fuel and at times by funny
men to be put into sweetmeats by way of practical
joke: these are called “Nukl-i-Pishkil"=goat-dung
bonbons. The tale will remind old Anglo-Indians
of the two Bengal officers who were great at such
“sells” and who “swopped” a
spavined horse for a broken-down “buggy.”
[FN#455] In the text “khanadik,” ditches,
trenches; probably (as Mr. Payne suggests) a clerical
or typographical error for “Fanadik,”
inns or caravanserais; the plural of “Funduk”
(Span. Fonda), for which see vol. viii. 184.
[FN#456] This sentence is supplied by Mr. Payne to
remedy the incoherence of the text. Moslems are
bound to see True Believers decently buried and the
poor often beg alms for the funeral. Here the
tale resembles the opening of Hajji Baba by Mr. Morier,
that admirable picture of Persian manners and morals.
[FN#457] Arab. “Al-ajr” which has
often occurred.
[FN#458] Arab. “Hanut,” i.e.,
leaves of the lotus-tree to be infused as a wash for
the corpse; camphor used with cotton to close the
mouth and other orifices; and, in the case of a wealthy
man, rose-water, musk, ambergris, sandal-wood, and
lignaloes for fumigation.
[FN#459] Which always begin with four “Takbirs”
and differ in many points from the usual orisons.
See Lane (M. E. chapt. xxviii.) who is, however,
very superficial upon an intricate and interesting
subject. He even neglects to mention the number
of Ruk’at (bows) usual at Cairo and the absence
of prostration (sujud) for which see vol. ii. 10.
[FN#460] Thus requiring all the ablutional offices
to be repeated. The Shaykh, by handling the corpse,
became ceremonially impure and required “Wuzu”
before he could pray either at home or in the Mosque.
[FN#461] The Shaykh had left it when he went out
to perform Wuzu.
[FN#462] Arab. “Satl"=the Lat. and Etruscan
“Situla” and “Situlus,” a
water-pot.
[FN#463] Arab. “Lahd, Luhd,” the
niche or cell hollowed out in the side of the oblong
trench: here the corpse is deposited and covered
with palm-fronds etc. to prevent the earth touching
it. See my Pilgrimage ii. 304.
[FN#464] For the incredible amount of torture which
Eastern obstinacy will sometimes endure, see Al-Mas’udi’s
tale of the miserable little old man who stole the
ten purses, vol. viii. 153 et seq.
[FN#465] Arab. “Jaridah” (whence
the Jarid-game) a palm-frond stripped of its leaves
and used for a host of purposes besides flogging,
chairs, sofas, bedsteads, cages, etc. etc.
Tales of heroism in “eating stick” are
always highly relished by the lower orders of Egyptians
who pride themselves upon preferring the severest
bastinado to paying the smallest amount of “rint.”
[FN#466] Arab. “Nawus,” the hollow
tower of masonry with a grating over the central well
upon which the Magian corpse is placed to be torn
by birds of prey: it is kept up by the Parsi
population of Bombay and is known to Europeans as the
“Tower of Silence.” Nais and Nawus
also mean a Pyrethrum, a fire-temple and have a whimsical
resemblance to the Greek .
Page 208
[FN#467] For Munkar and Nakir, the Interrogating
Angels, see vol. v. iii. According to Al-Mas’udi
(chapt. xxxi.) these names were given by the Egyptians
to the thirteenth and fourteenth cubits marked on
the Nilometer which, in his day, was expected to show
seventeen.
[FN#468] The text (xi. 227) has “Tannur"=an
oven, evidently a misprint for “Kubur"=tombs.
[FN#469] Arab. “’An Abi"=(a propitiatory
offering) for my father. So in Marocco the “Powder-players”
dedicate a shot to a special purpose or person, crying
“To my sweetheart!” “To my dead!”
“To my horse!” etc.
[FN#470] For this formula see vol. i. 65. It
is technically called “Haukalah” and “Haulakah,”
words in the third conjugation of increased triliterals,
corresponding with the quadriliteral radicals and
possessing the peculiar power of Kasr=abbreviation.
Of this same class is Basmalah (vol. v. 206; ix. 1).
[FN#471] This scene with the watch would be relished
in the coffee-house, where the tricks of robbers,
like a gird at the police, are always acceptable.
[FN#472] Arab. “La af’al”;
more commonly Ma af’al. Ma and La are synonymous
negative particles, differing, however, in application.
Ma (Gr. ) precedes definites, or indefinites:
La and Lam (Gr. ) only indefinites as “La
ilaha” etc.
[FN#473] Alluding to the proverb, “What hast
thou left behind thee, O Asam?” i.e., what
didst thou see?
[FN#474] Arab. “Sayrafi,” s.s. as
“Sarraf’: see vol. i. 210.
[FN#475] Arab. “Al-Ma’rafah"=the
place where the mane grows.
[FN#476] i.e. though the ass remain on thy hands.
[FN#477] “Halves,” i.e. of dirhams:
see vol. ii. 37.
[FN#478] Arab. “Taannafu,"=the Germ. lange
Nase.
[FN#479] About forty shillings.
[FN#480] About L220.
[FN#481] Characteristically Eastern and Moslem is
this action of the neighbours and bystanders.
A walk through any Oriental city will show a crowd
of people screaming and gesticulating, with thundering
yells and lightning glances, as if about to close in
mortal fight, concerning some matter which in no way
concerns them. Our European cockneys and badauds
mostly content themselves with staring and mobbing.
[FN#482] Arab. “Muruwwah,” lit.
manliness, especially in the sense of generosity.
So the saying touching the “Miyan,” or
Moslem of India:—
Fi ’l-riuz Kuwwah:
Fi ’I Hindi muruwwah.
When rice have strength,
you’ll haply find,
In Hindi man, a manly
mind.
[FN#483] i.e. His claim is just and reasonable.
[FN#484] I have noted (vol. i. 17) that good Moslems
shun a formal oath, although “by Allah!”
is ever on their tongues. This they seem to have
borrowed from Christianity, which expressly forbade
it, whilst Christians cannot insist upon it too much.
The scandalous scenes lately enacted in a certain
legislative assembly because an M.P. did not believe
in a practice denounced by his creed, will be the
wonder and ridicule of our descendants.
Page 209
[FN#485] Most Arabs believe that the black cloud
which sometimes produces, besides famine, contagious
fevers and pestilence, like that which in 1799 depopulated
the cities and country of Barbary, is led by a king
locust, the Sultan Jarad.
[FN#486] The text is hopelessly corrupt, and we have
no other with which to collate. Apparently a
portion of the tale has fallen out, making a non-sens
of its ending, which suggests that the kite gobbled
up the two locusts at her ease, and left the falcon
to himself.
[FN#487] The lines have occurred in vol. i. 265.
I quote Mr. Payne.
[FN#488] The fabliau is a favourite in the East;
this is the third time it has occurred with minor
modifications. Of course the original was founded
on fact, and the fact was and is by no means uncommon.
[FN#489] This would hardly be our Western way of
treating a proposal of the kind; nor would the European
novelist neglect so grand an opportunity for tall-talk.
[FN#490] This is a rechauffe of “The House
with the Belvedere;” see vol. vi. 188.
[FN#491] Arab. “Masturah,"=veiled, well-guarded,
confined in the Harem.
[FN#492] Arab. “’Ajuz nahs"=an old woman
so crafty that she was a calamity to friends and foes.
[FN#493] Here, as in many places the text is painfully
concise: the crone says only, “The Wuzu
for the prayer!”
[FN#494] I have followed Mr. Payne who supplies this
sentence to make the Tale run smoothly.
[FN#495] i.e. the half of the marriage-settlement
due to the wife on divorcement and whatever monies
he may have borrowed of her.
[FN#496] Here we find the vulgar idea of a rape,
which is that a man can, by mere force, possess a
woman against her will. I contend that this is
impossible unless he use drugs like chloroform or
violence, so as to make the patient faint or she be
exceptionally weak. “Good Queen Bess”
hit the heart of the question when she bade Lord High
Chancellor sheath his sword, she holding the scabbard-mouth
before him and keeping it in constant motion.
But it often happens that the woman, unless she have
a loathing for her violator, becomes infected with
the amorous storge, relaxes her defense, feels pleasure
in the outer contact of the parts and almost insensibly
allows penetration and emission. Even conception
is possible in such cases as is proved in that curious
work, “The Curiosities of Medical Experience.”
[FN#497] i.e. thou wilt have satisfied us all
three.
[FN#498] Here I follow Mr. Payne who has skilfully
fine-drawn the holes in the original text.
[FN#499] See vol. vii. 363; ix. 238.
[FN#500] Arab. “Musalla,” which
may be either a praying carpet, a pure place in a
house, or a small chapel like that near Shiraz which
Hafiz immortalised,
“Bring, boy, the sup that’s in the cup;
in highest Heaven man ne’er shall find Such
watery marge as Ruknabad, MusalIa’s mazes rose
entwined.”
Page 210
[FN#501] Arab. “Ihtida,"=divine direction
to Huda or salvation. The old bawd was still
dressed as a devotee, and keeps up the cant of her
caste. No sensible man in the East ever allows
a religious old woman to pass his threshold.
[FN#502] In this tale “poetical justice”
is neglected, but the teller skilfully caused the
wife to be ravished and not to be a particeps criminis.
The lover escapes scot-free because Moslems, as well
as Hindus, hold that the amourist under certain conditions
is justified in obtaining his object by fair means
or foul. See p. 147 of “Early Ideas, a
Group of Hindoo Stories,” collected and collated
by Anaryan: London, Allens, 1881.
[FN#503] This is supplied from the “Tale of
the King and his Wazir’s Wife,” vol. vi.
129.
[FN#504] Arab. “Ibl,” a specific
name: it is presently opposed to “Nakah,”
a she-dromedary, and “Rahilah,” a riding-camel.
[FN#505] Here “Amsaytu” is used in its
literal sense “I evened” (came at evening),
and this is the case with seven such verbs, Asbaha,
Amsa, Azha, Azhara, A’tama, Zalla, and Bata,
which either conjoin the sense of the sentence with
their respective times, morning, evening, forenoon,
noon and the first sundown watch, all day and all
night or are used “elegantly,” as grammarians
say, for the simple “becoming” or “being.”
[FN#506] The Badawi dogs are as dangerous as those
of Montenegro but not so treacherous: the latter
will sneak up to the stranger and suddenly bite him
most viciously. I once had a narrow escape from
an ignoble death near the slaughter-house of Alexandria-Ramlah,
where the beasts were unusually ferocious. A
pack assailed me at early dawn and but for an iron
stick and a convenient wall I should have been torn
to pieces.
[FN#507] These elopements are of most frequent occurrence:
see Pilgrimage iii. 52.
[FN#508] The principal incidents, the loss and recovery
of wife and children, occur in the Story of the Knight
Placidus (Gesta Romanorum, cx.). But the ecclesiastical
taleteller does not do poetical justice upon any offenders,
and he vilely slanders the great Caesar, Trajan.
[FN#509] i.e. a long time: the idiom has
already been noticed. In the original we have
“of days and years and twelvemonths” in
order that “A’wam” (years) may jingle
with “Ayyam” (days).
[FN#510] Nothing can be more beautiful than the natural
parks which travellers describe on the coasts of tropical
seas.
[FN#511] Arab. “Khayyal” not only
a rider but a good and a hard rider. Hence the
proverb “Al-Khayyal” kabr maftuh=uomo a
cavallo sepoltura aperta.
[FN#512] i.e. the crew and the islanders.
[FN#513] Arab. “Hadas,” a word not
easy to render. In grammar Lumsden renders it
by “event” and the learned Captain Lockett
(Miut Amil) in an awful long note (pp. 195 to 224)
by “mode,” grammatical or logical.
The value of his disquisition is its proving that,
as the Arabs borrowed their romance from the Persians,
so they took their physics and metaphysics of grammar
and syntax; logic and science in general, from the
Greeks.
Page 211
[FN#514] We should say the anchors were weighed and
the canvas spread.
[FN#515] The rhymes are disposed in the quaintest
way, showing extensive corruption. Mr. Payne
has ordered them into couplets with a “bob”
or refrain. I have followed suit, preserving the
original vagaries of rhymes.
[FN#516] Arab. “Nuwab,” broken plur.
(that is, noun of multitude) of Naubah, the Anglo-Indian
Nowbut. This is applied to the band playing at
certain intervals before the gate of a Rajah or high
official.
[FN#517] Arab. “Hajib”; Captain
Trotter ("Our Mission to the Court of Morocco in 1880”:
Edinburgh, Douglas, 1881) speaks, passim, of the “cheery
little Hajeb or Eyebrow.” Really this is
too bad: why cannot travellers consult an Orientalist
when treating of Oriental subjects?
[FN#518] Suicide is rare in Moslem lands, compared
with India, China, and similar “pagan”
countries; for the Mussulman has the same objection
as the Christian “to rush into the presence of
his Creator,” as if he could do so without the
Creator’s permission. The Hindu also has
some curious prejudices on the subject; he will hang
himself, but not by the neck, for fear lest his soul
be defiled by exiting through an impure channel.
In England hanging is the commonest form for men;
then follow in due order drowning, cutting or stabbing,
poison, and gun-shot: women prefer drowning (except
in the cold months) and poison. India has not
yet found a Dr. Ogle to tabulate suicide; but the
cases most familiar to old Anglo-Indians are leaping
down cliffs (as at Giruar), drowning, and starving
to death. And so little is life valued that a
mother will make a vow obliging her son to suicide
himself at a certain age.
[FN#519] Arab. “Zarad-Khanah,” before
noticed: vol. vii. 363. Here it would mean
a temporary prison for criminals of high degree.
De Sacy, Chrestom, ii. 179.
[FN#520] Arab. “’Adul,” I have
said, means in Marocco, that land of lies and subterfuges,
a public notary.
[FN#521] This sentence is inserted by Mr. Payne to
complete the sense.
[FN#522] i.e. he intended to marry her when
time served.
[FN#523] Arab. from Pers. Khwajah and Khawajat:
see vol. vi. 46.
[FN#524] Probably meaning by one mother whom he loved
best of all his wives: in the next page we read
of their sister.
[FN#525] Come down, i.e. from heaven.
[FN#526] This is the Bresl. Edit.’s form
of Shahryar=city-keeper (like Marzban, guardian of
the Marches), for city-friend. The learned Weil
has preferred it to Shahryar.
[FN#527] Sic: in the Mac. Edit. “Shahrazad”
and here making nonsense of the word. It is regretable
that the king’s reflections do not run at times
as in this text: his compunctions lead well up
to the denouement.
[FN#528] The careless text says “couplets.”
It has occurred in vol. i. 149: so I quote Torrens
(p. 149).
Page 212
[FN#529] In the text Salma is made to speak, utterly
confusing the dialogue.
[FN#530] The well-known Baloch province beginning
west of Sind: the term is supposed to be a corruption
of Mahi-Khoran=Ichthyophagi. The reader who wishes
to know more about it will do well to consult “Unexplored
Baluchistan,” etc. (Griffith and Farran,
1882), the excellent work of my friend Mr. Ernest
A. Floyer, long Chief of the Telegraphic Department,
Cairo.
[FN#531] Meaning the last city in Makran before entering
Sind. Al-Sharr would be a fancy name, “The
Wickedness.”
[FN#532] i.e. think of nothing but his present
peril.
[FN#533] Arab. “Munkati’ah"=lit.
“cut off” (from the weal of the world).
See Pilgrimage i. 22.
[FN#534] The lines are in vol. i. 207 and iv. 189.
1 here quote Mr. Payne.
[FN#535] I have another proposal to make.
[FN#536] i.e. In my heart’s core:
the figure has often occurred.
[FN#537] These sudden elevations, so common in the
East and not unknown to the West in the Napoleonic
days, explain how the legend of “Joanna Papissa”
(Pope John XIII), who succeeded Leo iv. in A.D.
855 and was succeeded by Benedict iii., found
ready belief amongst the enemies of papacy. She
was an English woman born in Germany who came to Rome
and professed theology with eclat, wherefore the people
enthroned her. “Pope Joan” governed
with exemplary wisdom, but during a procession on Rogation
Sunday she was delivered of a fine boy in the street:
some make her die on the spot; others declare that
she perished in prison.
[FN#538] That such things should happen in times
of famine is only natural; but not at other seasons.
This abomination on the part of the butcher is, however,
more than once alluded toin The Nights: see vol.
i. 332.
[FN#539] Opinions differ as to the site of this city,
so celebrated in the mediaeval history of Al-Islam:
most probably it stood where Hyderabad of Sind now
is. The question has been ably treated by Sir
Henry M. Elliot in his “History of India,”
edited from his posthumous papers by Professor Dowson.
[FN#540] Which, by-the-by, the average Eastern does
with even more difficulty than the average European.
For the most part the charge to secrecy fixes the
matter in his mind even when he has forgotten that
it is to be kept secret. Hence the most unpleasant
results.
[FN#541] Such an act appears impossible, and yet
history tells us of a celebrated Sufi, Khayr al-Nassaj
(the Weaver), who being of dark complexion was stopped
on return from his pilgrimage at Kufah by a stranger
that said, “Thou art my negro slave and thy
name is Khayr.” He was kept at the loom
for years, till at last the man set him free, and
simply said, “Thou wast not my slave”
(Ibn Khall. i. 513).
[FN#542] These lines have occurred before. I
quote Mr. Payne for variety.
Page 213
[FN#543] Arab. “Tasill saliata ’l-Munkat’in"=lit.
“raining on the drouth-hardened earth of the
cut-off.” The metaphor is admissible in
the eyes of an Arab who holds water to be the chiefest
of blessings, and makes it synonymous with bounty and
beneficence.”
[FN#544] Possibly this is said in mere fun; but,
as Easterns are practical physiognomists, it may hint
the fact that a large nose in womankind is the sign
of a masculine nature.
[FN#545] Arab. “Zakat wa Sadakat,"=lit.
paying of poor rate and purifying thy property by
almsdeeds. See vol. i. 339.
[FN#546] I have noted (i. 293) that Kamis ( ,
Chemise, Cameslia, Camisa) is used in the Hindostani
and Bengali dialects. Like its synonyms praetexta
and shift, it has an equivocal meaning and here probably
signifies the dress peculiar to Arab devotees and
devout beggars.
[FN#547] I omit here and elsewhere the parenthetical
formula “Kala al-Rawi,” etc.=The
Story-teller sayeth, reminding the reader of its significance
in a work collected from the mouths of professional
Tale-tellers and intended mainly for their own use.
[FN#548] The usual sign of emotion, already often
mentioned.
[FN#549] It being no shame to Moslems if a slave
become King.
[FN#550] Arab. “Tarbiyati,” i.e.,
he was brought up in my house.
[FN#551] There is no Salic law amongst Moslems; but
the Rasm or custom of AlIslam, established by the
succession of the four first Caliphs, to the prejudice
of Ayishah and other masterful women would be a strong
precedent against queenly rule. It is the reverse
with the Hindus who accept a Rani as willingly as a
Rajah and who believe with Europeans that when kings
reign women rule, and vice versa. To the vulgar
Moslem feminine government appears impossible, and
I was once asked by an Afghan, “What would happen
if the queen were in childbed?”
[FN#552] Arab. “Khutbah,” the sermon
preached from the pulpit (Mimbar) after the congregational
prayers on Friday noon. It is of two kinds, for
which see Lane, M.E., chap. iii. This public
mention of his name and inscribing it upon the newly-minted
money are the special prerogatives of the Moslem king:
hence it often happens that usurpers cause a confusion
of Khutbah and coinage.
[FN#553] For a specimen of which, blowing a man up
with bellows, see Al-Mas’udi, chap. cxxiii.
[FN#554] i.e. a long time: the idiom has
been noted before more than once.
[FN#555] i.e. with what he had heard and what
he was promised.
[FN#556] Arab. “Shakhs mafsud,”
i.e. an infidel.
[FN#557] Arab. “Bunud,” plur. of
Persian “band"=hypocrisy, deceit.
[FN#558] Arab. “Buruj” pl. of Burj.
lit.=towers, an astrological term equivalent to our
“houses” or constellations which form the
Zodiacal signs surrounding the heavens as towers gird
a city; and applied also to the 28 lunar Mansions.
So in Al-Hariri (Ass. of Damascus) “I swear
by the sky with its towers,” the incept of Koran
chapt. lxxxv.; see also chapts. xv. 26 and xxv. 62.
“Burj” is a word with a long history:
{Greek} burg, burgh, etc.
Page 214
[FN#559] Arab. “Bundukah"=a little bunduk,
nut, filbert, pellet, rule, musket bullet.
[FN#560] See John Raister’s “Booke of
the Seven Planets; or, Seven Wandering Motives,”
London, 1598.
[FN#561] i.e. for the king whom I love as my
own soul.
[FN#562] The Bresl. Edit. (xi. 318-21) seems
to assume that the tales were told in the early night
before the royal pair slept. This is no improvement;
we prefer to think that the time was before peep of
day when Easterns usally awake and have nothing to
do till the dawn-prayer.
[FN#563] See vol. ii. 161.
[FN#564] Arab. Al-Fakhir. No wonder that
the First Hand who moulded the Man-mud is a lieu commun
in Eastern thought. The Pot and the Potter began
with the old Egyptians. “Sitting as a
potter at the wheel, god Cneph (in Philae) moulds clay,
and gives the spirit of life (the Genesitic “breath”)
to the nostrils of Osiris.” Then we meet
him in the Vedas, the Being, “by whom the fictile
vase is formed; the clay out of which it is fabricated.”
We find him next in Jeremiah (xviii. 2) “Arise
and go down unto the Potter’s house,”
etc., and in Romans (ix. 20), “Hath not
the Potter power over the clay?” He appears
in full force in Omar-i-Khayyam (No. xxxvii.):—
For I remember stopping
by the way
To watch a Potter thumping
his wet Clay:
An
with its all obliterated Tongue
I murmur’d-"Gently,
Brother, gently, pray!”
Lastly the Potter shows in the Kasidah of Haji Abdu
al-Yezid (p.4):—
“The first of
pots the Potter made by Chrysorrhoas’ blue-
green wave;
Methinks I see him smile
to see what guerdon to the world he
gave.