The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IV
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Title: The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume IV
Translator: John Payne
Release date: August 1, 2005 [eBook #8658]
Most recently updated: February 26, 2015
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8658
Credits: Produced by JC Byers, Graeme Houston, Renate Preuss, Coralee Sheehan, Marryann Short, and Anne Soulard
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT, VOLUME IV ***
Produced by JC Byers, Graeme Houston, Renate Preuss, Coralee
Sheehan, Marryann Short, and Anne Soulard
Editorial Note: Project Gutenberg also has the translation of this work by
Richard F. Burton in 16 volumes.
THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT:
Now First Completely Done Into English
Prose and Verse, From The Original Arabic,
By John Payne
(Author of "The Masque of Shadows," "Intaglios: Sonnets," "Songs
of Life and Death,"
"Lautrec," "The Poems of Master Francis Villon of Paris," "New
Poems," Etc, Etc.).
In Nine Volumes:
VOLUME THE FOURTH.
1901
Delhi Edition
Contents of The Fourth Volume.
1. The Imam Abou Yousuf With Haroun er Reshid and his Vizier
Jaafer
2. The Lover Who Feigned Himself a Thief to save His Mistress's
Honour
3. Jaafer the Barmecide and the Bean-seller
4. Abou Mohammed the Lazy
5. Yehya Ben Khalid and Mensour
6. Yehya Ben Khalid and the Man Who Forged a Letter in His Name
7. The Khalif el Mamoun and the Strange Doctor
8. Ali Shar and Zumurrud
9. The Loves of Jubeir Ben Umeir and the Lady Budour
10. The Man of Yemen and His Six Slave Girls
11. Haroun er Reshid with the Damsel and Abou Nuwas
12. The Man Who Stole The Dog's Dish of Gold
13. The Sharper of Alexandria and the Master of Police
14. El Melik en Nasir and the Three Masters of Police
a. Story of the Chief of the New Cairo Police
b. Story of the Chief of the Boulac Police
c. Story of the chief of the Old Cairo Police
15. The Thief and the Money-Changer
16. The Chief of the Cous Police and the Sharper
17. Ibrahim Ben el Mehdi and the Merchant's Sister
18. The Woman Whose Hands Were Cut Off For Almsgiving
19. The Devout Israelite
20. Abou Hassan ez Ziyadi and the Man From Khorassan
21. The Poor Man and his Generous Friend
22. The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream
23. El Mutawekkil and his Favourite Mehboubeh
24. Werdan the Butcher's Adventure with the Lady and the Bear
25. The King's Daughter and the Ape
26. The Enchanted Horse
27. Uns El Eoujoud and the Vizier's Daughter Rose-in-Bud
28. Abou Nuwas with the Three Boys and the Khalif Haroun er
Reshid
29. Abdallah Ben Maamer with the Man of Bassora and His Slave
Girl
30. The Lovers of the Benou Udhreh
31. The Vizier of Yemen and His Young Brother
32. Loves of the Boy and Girl at School
33. El Mutelemmis and His Wife Umeimeh
34. Haroun er Reshid and Zubeideh in the Bath
35. Haroun er Reshid and the Three Poets
36. Musab Ben ez Zubeir and Aaisheh His Wife
37. Aboulasweh and His Squinting Slave Girl
38. Haroun er Reshid ad the Two Girls
39. Hroun er Reshid and the Three Girls
40. The Miller and his Wife
41. The Simpleton and the Sharper
42. The Imam Abou Yousuf with Haroun er Reshid and Zubeideh
43. The Khalif el Hakim and the Merchant
44. King Kisra Anoushirwan and the Village Damsel
45. The Water-Carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife
46. Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman
47. Yehya Ben Khalid and the Poor Man
48. Mohammed El Amin and Jaafer Ben el Hadi
49. Said Ben Salim and the Barmecides
50. The Woman's Trick Against Her Husband
51. The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders
52. Jaafer the Barmecide and the Old Bedouin
53. Omar Ben Khettab and the Young Bedouin
54. El Mamoun and the Pyramids of Egypt
55. The Thief Turned Merchant and the Other Thief
56. Mesrour and Ibn El Caribi
57. The Devout Prince
58. The Schoolmaster Who Fell in Love by Report
59. The Foolish Schoolmaster
60. The Ignorant Man Who Set up For a Schoolmaster
61. The King and the Virtuous Wife
62. Abdurrehman the Moor's Story of the Roc
63. Adi Ben Zeid and the Princess Hind
64. Dibil el Khuzai With the Lady and Muslim Ben el Welid
65. Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant
66. The Three Unfortunate Lovers
67. The Lovers of the Benou Tai
68. The Mad Lover
69. The Apples of Paradise
70. The Loves of Abou Isa and Current El Ain
71. El Amin and His Uncle Ibrahim Ben el Mehdi
72. El Feth Ben Khacan and El Mutawekkil
73. The Man's Dispute with the Learned Woman of the Relative
Excellence of the Male and the Female
74. Abou Suweid and the Handsome Old Woman
75. Ali Ben Tahir and the Birl Mounis
76. The Woman Who Has a Boy and the Other Who Had a Man to Lover
77. The Haunted House in Baghdad
78. The Pilgrim and the Old Woman Who Dwelt in the Desert
79. Aboulhusn and His Slave Girl Taweddud
THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS
AND ONE NIGHT
HOW THE IMAM ABOU YOUSUF EXTRICATED THE
KHALIF HAROUN ER RESHID AND HIS VIZIER
JAAFER FROM A DILEMMA.
It is said that Jaafer the Barmecide was one night carousing with
Er Reshid, when the latter said to him, 'O Jaafer, I hear that
thou hast bought such and such a slave-girl. Now I have long
sought her and my heart is taken up with love of her, for she is
passing fair; so do thou sell her to me.' 'O Commander of the
Faithful,' replied Jaafer, 'I will not sell her.' 'Then give her
to me,' rejoined the Khalif. 'Nor will I give her,' answered
Jaafer. 'Be Zubeideh triply divorced,' exclaimed Haroun, 'if
thou shalt not either sell or give her to me!' Quoth Jaafer, 'Be
my wife triply divorced, if I either sell or give her to thee!'
After awhile they recovered from their intoxication and were ware
that they had fallen into a grave dilemma, but knew not how to
extricate themselves. Then said Er Reshid, 'None can help us in
this strait but Abou Yousuf.'[FN#1] So they sent for him, and
this was in the middle of the night. When the messenger reached
the Imam, he arose in alarm, saying in himself, 'I should not be
sent for at this hour, save by reason of some crisis in Islam.'
So he went out in haste and mounted his mule, saying to his
servant, 'Take the mule's nose-bag with thee; it may be she has
not finished her feed; and when we come to the Khalif's palace,
put the bag on her, that she may eat what is left of her fodder,
whilst I am with the Khalif.' 'I hear and obey,' replied the man.
So the Imam rode to the palace and was admitted to the presence
of Er Reshid, who made him sit down on the couch beside himself,
whereas he was used to seat none but him, and said to him, 'We
have sent for thee at this hour to advise us upon a grave matter,
with which we know not how to deal' And he expounded to him the
case. 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied Abou Yousuf, 'this
is the easiest of things.' Then he turned to Jaafer and said to
him, 'O Jaafer, sell half of her to the Commander of the Faithful
and give him the other half; so shall ye both be quit of your
oaths.' The Khalif was delighted with this and they did as he
prescribed. Then said Er Reshid, 'Bring me the girl at once, for
I long for her exceedingly.' So they brought her and the Khalif
said to Abou Yousuf, 'I have a mind to lie with her forthright;
for I cannot endure to abstain from her during the prescribed
period of purification; how is this to be done?' 'Bring me one of
thine unenfranchised male slaves,' answered the Imam, 'and give
me leave to marry her to him; then let him divorce her before
consummation. So shall it be lawful for thee to lie with her
before purification.' This expedient pleased the Khalif yet more
than the first and he sent for the slave. When he came, Er Reshid
said to the Imam, 'I authorize thee to marry her to him.' So the
Imam proposed the marriage to the slave, who accepted it, and
performed the due ceremony; after which he said to the slave,
'Divorce her, and thou shalt have a hundred diners.' But he
refused to do this and the Imam went on to increase his offer,
till he bid him a thousand diners. Then said the slave to him,
'Doth it rest with me to divorce her, or with thee or the
Commander of the Faithful?' 'With thee,' answered the Imam.
'Then, by Allah,' quoth the slave, 'I will never do it!'
At this the Khalif was exceeding wroth and said to the Imam,
'What is to be done, O Abou Yousuf?' 'Be not concerned, O
Commander of the Faithful,' replied the Imam; 'the thing is easy.
Make this slave the damsel's property.' Quoth Er Reshid, 'I give
him to her;' and the Imam said to the girl, 'Say, "I accept."' So
she said, 'I accept:' whereupon quoth Abou Yousuf, 'I pronounce
divorce between them, for that he hath become her property, and
so the marriage is annulled.' With this, Er Reshid sprang to his
feet and exclaimed, 'It is the like of thee that shall be Cadi in
my time.' Then he called for sundry trays of gold and emptied
them before Abou Yousuf, to whom he said, 'Hast thou wherein to
put this ?' The Imam bethought him of the mule's nose-bag; so he
sent for it and filling it with gold, took it and went home; and
on the morrow, he said to his friends, 'There is no easier or
shorter road to the goods of this world and the next, than that
of learning; for, see, I have received all this money for
answering two or three questions.' Consider, then, O polite
[reader], the pleasantness of this anecdote, for it comprises
divers goodly features, amongst which are the complaisance of
Jaafer to Er Reshid and the wisdom[FN#2] of the Khalif and the
exceeding wisdom of Abou Yousuf, may God the Most High have mercy
on all their souls!
THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF TO
SAVE HIS MISTRESS'S HONOUR.
There came one day to Khalid ibn Abdallah el Kesri,[FN#3]
governor of Bassora, a company of men dragging a youth of
exceeding beauty and lofty bearing, whose aspect expressed good
breeding and dignity and abundant wit They brought him before the
governor, who asked what was to do with him, and they replied,
'This fellow is a thief, whom we caught last night in our
dwelling.' Khalid looked at him and was struck with wonder at his
well-favouredness and elegance; so he said to the others, 'Loose
him,' and going up to the young man, asked what he had to say for
himself. 'The folk have spoken truly,' answered he; 'and the case
is as they have said.' 'And what moved thee to this,' asked
Khalid, 'and thou so noble and comely of aspect?' 'The lust
after worldly good,' replied the other, 'and the ordinance of
God, glorified and exalted be He!' 'May thy mother be bereaved of
thee!' rejoined Khalid. 'Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and
sound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from
thieving?' 'O Amir,' answered the young man, 'leave this talk
and proceed to what God the Most High hath ordained; this is
what my hands have earned, and God is no oppressor of His
creatures.'[FN#4] Khalid was silent awhile, considering the
matter; then he said to the young man, 'Verily, thy confession
before witnesses perplexes me, for I cannot believe thee to be a
thief. Surely thou hast some story that is other than one of
theft. Tell it me'. 'O Amir,' replied the youth, 'deem thou
nought save what I have confessed; for I have no story other than
that I entered these folk's house and stole what I could lay
hands on, and they caught me and took the stuff from me and
carried me before thee.' Then Khalid bade clap him in prison and
commanded a crier to make proclamation throughout Bassora,
saying, 'Ho, whoso is minded to look upon the punishment of such
an one, the thief, and the cutting off of his hand, let him be
present tomorrow morning at such a place!'
When the youth found himself in prison, with irons on his feet,
he sighed heavily and repeated the following verses, whilst the
tears streamed from his eyes:
Khalid doth threaten me with cutting off my hand, Except I do
reveal to him my mistress' case.
But, "God forbid," quoth I, "that I should e'er reveal That which
of love for her my bosom doth embrace!"
The cutting-off my hand, for that I have confessed Unto, less
grievous were to me than her disgrace.
The warders heard him and went and told Khalid, who sent for the
youth after nightfall and conversed with him. He found him
well-bred and intelligent and of a pleasant and vivacious wit; so
he ordered him food and he ate. Then said Khalid, 'I know thou
hast a story to tell that is no thief's; so, when the Cadi comes
to-morrow morning and questions thee before the folk, do thou
deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the cutting-off
of thy hand; for the Prophet (whom God bless and preserve) saith,
"In cases of doubt, eschew [or defer] punishment."' Then he sent
him back to the prison, where he passed the night.
On the morrow, the folk assembled to see his hand cut off, nor
was there man or woman in Bassora but came forth to look upon his
punishment. Then Khalid mounted in company of the notables of the
city and others and summoning the Cadi, sent for the young man,
who came, hobbling in his shackles. There none saw him but wept
for him, and the women lifted up their voices in lamentation. The
Cadi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, 'These
folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling and steal their
goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar?'[FN#5]
'Nay,' replied he, 'I stole more than that.' 'Peradventure,'
rejoined the Cadi, 'thou art partner with them in some of the
goods?' 'Not so,' replied the young man; 'it was all theirs. I
had no right in it.' At this Khalid was wroth and rose and smote
him on the face with his whip, applying this verse to his own
case:
Man wisheth and seeketh his wish to fulfil, But Allah denieth
save that which He will.
Then he called for the executioner, who came and taking the
prisoner's hand, set the knife to it and was about to cut it off,
when, behold, a damsel, clad in tattered clothes, pressed through
the crowd of women and cried out and threw herself on the young
man. Then she unveiled and showed a face like the moon; whereupon
the people raised a mighty clamour and there was like to have
been a riot amongst them. But she cried out her loudest, saying,
'I conjure thee, by Allah, O Amir, hasten not to cut off this
man's hand, till thou have read what is in this scroll!' So
saying, she gave him a scroll, and he took it and read therein
the following verses:
O Khalid, this man is love-maddened, a cave of desire, Transfixed
by the glances that sped from the bows of my eye.
The shafts of my looks 'twas that pierced him and slew him;
indeed, He a bondsman of love, sick for passion and like for
to die.
Yea, rather a crime, that he wrought not, he choose to confess
Than suffer on her whom he cherished dishonour to lie.
Have ruth on a sorrowful lover; indeed he's no thief, But the
noblest and truest of mortals for passion that sigh.
When he had read this, he called the girl apart and questioned
her; and she told him that the young man was her lover and she
his mistress. He came to the dwelling of her people, thinking to
visit her, and threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his
coming. Her father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and
sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all
the household stuff and made as if he would have stolen it, to
cover his mistress's honour. 'So they seized him,' continued she,
'saying, "A thief!" and brought him before thee, whereupon he
confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he
might spare me dishonour; and this he did, making himself a
thief, of the exceeding nobility and generosity of his nature.'
'He is indeed worthy to have his desire,' replied Khalid and
calling the young man to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then
he sent for the girl's father and bespoke him, saying, 'O elder,
we thought to punish this young man by cutting off his hand; but
God (to whom belong might and majesty) hath preserved us from
this! and I now adjudge him the sum of ten thousand dirhems, for
that he would have sacrificed his hand for the preservation of
thine honour and that of thy daughter and the sparing you both
reproach. Moreover, I adjudge other ten thousand dirhems to thy
daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the case;
and I ask thy leave to marry him to her.' 'O Amir,' rejoined the
old man, 'thou hast my consent.' So Khalid praised God and
thanked Him and offered up a goodly exhortation and prayer; after
which he said to the young man, 'I give thee this damsel to wife,
with her own and her father's consent; and her dowry shall be
this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhems. 'I accept this marriage
at thy hands,' replied the youth and Khalid let carry the money
on trays in procession to the young man's house, whilst the
people dispersed, full of gladness. And surely [quoth he who
tells the tale[FN#6]] never saw I a rarer day than this, for that
its beginning was weeping and affliction and its end joy and
gladness.
JAAFER THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEANSELLER.
When Haroun er Reshid put Jaafer the Barmecide to death, he
commanded that all who wept or made moan for him should be
crucified; so the folk abstained from this. Now there was a
Bedouin from a distant desert, who used every year to make and
bring to Jaafer an ode in his honour, for which he rewarded him
with a thousand diners; and the Bedouin took them and returning
to his own country, lived upon them, he and his family, for the
rest of the year. Accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted
time and finding Jaafer done to death, betook himself to the
place where his body was hanging, and there made his camel kneel
down and wept sore and mourned grievously. Then he recited his
ode and fell asleep. In his sleep Jaafer the Barmecide appeared
to him and said, 'Thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and
findest us as thou seest; but go to Bassora and ask for such a
man there of the merchants of the town and say to him, "Jaafer
the Barmecide salutes thee and bids thee give me a thousand
diners, by the token of the bean."'
When the Bedouin awoke, he repaired to Bassora, where he sought
out the merchant and repeated to him what Jaafer had said in the
dream; whereupon he wept sore, till he was like to depart the
world. Then he welcomed the Bedouin and entertained him three
days as an honoured guest; and when he was minded to depart, he
gave him a thousand and five hundred diners, saying, 'The
thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the five hundred are
a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a
thousand diners.' When the Bedouin was about to take leave, he
said to the merchant, 'I conjure thee, by Allah, tell me the
story of the bean, that I may know the origin of all this.' 'In
the early part of my life,' replied the merchant, 'I was
miserably poor and hawked hot boiled beans about the streets of
Baghdad for a living.
I went out one cold, rainy day, without clothes enough on my body
to protect me from the weather, now shivering for excess of cold
and now stumbling into the pools of rain-water, and altogether in
so piteous a plight as would make one shudder to look upon. Now
it chanced that Jaafer was seated that day, with his officers and
favourites, in an upper chamber overlooking the street, and his
eye fell on me; so he took pity on my case and sending one of his
servants to fetch me to him, said to me, "Sell thy beans to my
people." So I began to mete out the beans with a measure I had
with me, and each who took a measure of beans filled the vessel
with gold pieces, till the basket was empty. Then I gathered
together the money I had gotten, and Jaafer said to me, "Hast
thou any beans left?" "I know not," answered I and sought in the
basket, but found only one bean. This Jaafer took and splitting
it in twain, kept one half himself and gave the other to one of
his favourites, saying, "For how much wilt thou buy this
half-bean?" "For the tale of all this money twice-told," replied
she; whereat I was confounded and said in myself, "This is
impossible." But, as I stood wondering, she gave an order to one
of her handmaids and the girl brought me the amount twice-told.
Then said Jaafer, "And I will buy my half for twice the sum of
the whole. Take the price of thy bean." And he gave an order to
one of his servants, who gathered together the whole of the money
and laid it in my basket; and I took it and departed. Then I
betook myself to Bassora, where I traded with the money and God
prospered me, to Him be the praise and the thanks! So, if I give
thee a thousand diners a year of the bounty of Jaafer, it will in
no wise irk me.' Consider then the munificence of Jaafer's nature
and how he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of God the
Most High be upon him!
ABOU MOHAMMED THE LAZY.
It is told that Haroun er Reshid was sitting one day on the
throne of the Khalifate, when there came in to him a youth of his
eunuchs, bearing a crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies
and all manner other jewels, such as money might not buy, and
kissing the ground before him, said, 'O Commander of the
Faithful, the lady Zubeideh kisses the earth before thee and
saith to thee, thou knowest she hath let make this crown, which
lacks a great jewel for its top; and she hath made search among
her treasures, but cannot find a jewel to her mind.' Quoth the
Khalif to his chamberlains and officers, 'Make search for a
great jewel, such as Zubeideh desires.' So they sought, but found
nothing befitting her and told the Khalif, who was vexed thereat
and exclaimed, 'Am I Khalif and king of the kings of the earth
and lack of a jewel? Out on ye! Enquire of the merchants.' So
they enquired of the merchants, who replied, 'Our lord the Khalif
will not find a jewel such as he requires save with a man of
Bassora, by name Abou Mohammed the Lazy.' They acquainted the
Khalif with this and he bade his Vizier Jaafer send a letter to
the Amir Mohammed ez Zubeidi, governor of Bassora, commanding him
to equip Abou Mohammed the Lazy and bring him to Baghdad.
Jaafer accordingly wrote a letter to that effect and despatched
it by Mesrour, who set out forthright for Bassora and went in to
the governor, who rejoiced in him and entreated him with the
utmost honour. Then Mesrour read him the Khalif's mandate, to
which he replied, 'I hear and obey,' and forthwith despatched
him, with a company of his followers, to Abou Mohammed's house.
When they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a
servant came out and Mesrour said to him, 'Tell thy master that
the Commander of the Faithful calls for him.' The servant went in
and told his master, who came out and found Mesrour, the Khalif's
chamberlain, and a company of the governor's men at the door. So
he kissed the earth before Mesrour and said, 'I hear and obey the
summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but enter ye my house.'
'We cannot do that,' replied Mesrour, 'save in haste; for the
Commander of the Faithful awaits thy coming.' But he said, 'Have
patience with me a little, till I set my affairs in order.' So,
after much pressure and persuasion, they entered and found the
corridor hung with curtains of blue brocade, figured with gold,
and Abou Mohammed bade one of his servants carry Mesrour to the
bath. Now this bath was in the house and Mesrour found its walls
and floor of rare and precious marbles, wrought with gold and
silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. The servants
served Mesrour and his company on the most perfect wise and clad
them, on their going forth of the bath, in robes of honour of
brocade, interwoven with gold.
Then they went in to Abou Mohammed and found him seated in his
upper chamber upon a couch inlaid with jewels. Over his head hung
curtains of gold brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the
place was spread with cushions, embroidered in red gold. When he
saw Mesrour, he rose to receive him and bidding him welcome,
seated him by his side. Then he called for food: so they brought
the table of food, which when Mesrour saw, he exclaimed, 'By
Allah, never saw I the like of this in the palace of the
Commander of the Faithful!' For indeed it comprised all manner of
meats, served in dishes of gilded porcelain. So they ate and
drank and made merry till the end of the day, when Abou Mohammed
gave Mesrour and each of his company five thousand diners; and on
the morrow he clad them in dresses of honour of green and
gold and entreated them with the utmost honour. Then said
Mesrour to him, 'We can abide no longer, for fear of the Khalif's
displeasure.' 'O my lord,' answered Abou Mohammed, 'have patience
with us till to-morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will
then depart with you.' So they tarried that day and night with
him; and next morning, Abou Mohammed's servants saddled him a
mule with housings and trappings of gold, set with all manner
pearls and jewels; whereupon quoth Mesrour in himself, 'I wonder
if, when he presents himself in this equipage before the
Commander of the Faithful, he will ask him how he came by all
this wealth.'
Then they took leave of Ez Zubeidi and setting out from Bassora,
fared on, without stopping, till they reached Baghdad and
presented themselves before the Khalif who bade Abou Mohammed be
seated. So he sat down and addressing the Khalif in courtly wise,
said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought with me
a present by way of homage: have I thy leave to produce it?'
'There is no harm in that,' replied the Khalif; whereupon Abou
Mohammed caused bring in a chest, from which he took a number of
rarities and amongst the rest, trees of gold, with leaves of
emerald and fruits of rubies and topazes and pearls. Then he
fetched another chest and brought out of it a pavilion of
brocade, adorned with pearls and rubies and emeralds and
chrysolites and other precious stones; its poles were of the
finest Indian aloes-wood, and its skirts were set with emeralds.
Thereon were depicted all manner beasts and birds and other
created things, spangled with rubies and emeralds and chrysolites
and balass rubies and other precious stones.
When Er Reshid saw these things, he rejoiced exceedingly, and
Abou Mohammed said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, deem not
that I have brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting
aught; but I knew myself to be but a man of the people and that
these things befitted none save the Commander of the Faithful.
And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion,
something of what I can do.' 'Do what thou wilt,' answered Er
Reshid, 'that we may see.' 'I hear and obey,' said Abou Mohammed
and moving his lips, beckoned to the battlements of the palace,
whereupon they inclined to him; then he made another sign to
them, and they returned to their place. Then he made a sign with
his eye, and there appeared before him cabinets with closed
doors, to which he spoke, and lo, the voices of birds answered
him [from within]. The Khalif marvelled exceedingly at this and
said to him, 'How camest thou by all this, seeing that thou art
only known as Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and they tell me that thy
father was a barber-surgeon, serving in a public bath, and left
thee nothing?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered he,
'listen to my story, for it is an extraordinary one and its
particulars are wonderful; were it graven with needles upon the
corners of the eye, it would serve as a lesson to him who can
profit by admonition.' 'Let us hear it,' said the Khalif.
'Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,' replied Abou Mohammed,
'(may God prolong to thee glory and dominion,) that the report of
the folk, that I am known as the Lazy and that my father left me
nothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, but a barber-
surgeon in a bath. In my youth I was the laziest wight on the
face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness that,
if I lay asleep in the sultry season and the sun came round upon
me, I was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the shade;
and thus I abode till I reached my fifteenth year, when my father
was admitted to the mercy of God the Most High and left me
nothing. However, my mother used to go out to service and feed me
and give me to drink, whilst I lay on my side.
One day, she came in to me, with five silver dirhems, and said to
me, "O my son, I hear that the Sheikh Aboul Muzeffer is about to
go a voyage to China." (Now this Sheikh was a good and charitable
man and loved the poor.) "So come, let us carry him these five
dirhems and beg him to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land
of China, so haply thou mayst make a profit of it, by the bounty
of God the Most High!" I was too lazy to move; but she swore by
Allah that, except I rose and went with her, she would neither
bring me meat nor drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to
die of hunger and thirst. When I heard this, O Commander of the
Faithful, I knew she would do as she said; so I said to her,
"Help me to sit up." She did so, and I wept the while and said to
her, "Bring me my shoes." Accordingly, she brought them and I
said, "Put them on my feet." She put them on my feet and I said,
"Lift me up." So she lifted me up and I said, "Support me, that I
may walk." So she supported me and I went along thus, still
stumbling in my skirts, till we came to the river-bank, where we
saluted the Sheikh and I said to him, "O uncle, art thou Aboul
Muzeffer?" "At thy service," answered he, and I said, "Take these
dirhems and buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply, God
may vouchsafe me a profit of it." Quoth the Sheikh to his
companions, "Do ye know this youth?" "Yes," replied they; "he is
known as Abou Mohammed the Lazy, and we never saw him stir from
his house till now." Then said he to me, "O my son, give me the
dirhems and the blessing of God the Most High go with them!" So
he took the money, saying, "In the name of God!" and I returned
home with my mother.
Meanwhile the Sheikh set sail, with a company of merchants, and
stayed not till they reached the land of China, where they bought
and sold, and having done their intent, set out on their homeward
voyage. When they had been three days at sea, the Sheikh said to
his company, "Stay the ship!" And they asked him what was to do
with him. "Know," replied he, "that I have forgotten the
commission with which Abou Mohammed the Lazy charged me; so let
us turn back, that we may buy him somewhat whereby he may
profit." "We conjure thee, by God the Most High," exclaimed they,
"turn not back with us; for we have traversed an exceeding great
distance and endured sore hardship and many perils." Quoth he,
"There is no help for it;" and they said "Take from us double the
profit of the five dirhems and turn not back with us." So he
agreed to this and they collected for him a great sum of money.
Then they sailed on, till they came to an island, wherein was
much people; so they moored thereto and the merchants went
ashore, to buy thence precious metals and pearls and jewels and
so forth. Presently, Aboul Muzeffer saw a man seated, with many
apes before him, and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked
off. As often as the man's attention was diverted from them, the
other apes fell upon the plucked one and beat him and threw him
on their master; whereupon the latter rose and beat them and
bound them and punished them for this; and all the apes were
wroth with the plucked ape therefor and beat him the more. When
Aboul Muzeffer saw this, he took compassion upon the plucked ape
and said to his master, "Wilt thou sell me yonder ape?" "Buy,"
replied the man, and Aboul Muzeffer rejoined, "I have with me
five dirhems, belonging to an orphan lad. Wilt thou sell me the
ape for that sum?" "He is thine," answered the ape-merchant. "May
God give thee a blessing of him!" So the Sheikh paid the money
and his slaves took the ape and tied him up in the ship.
Then they loosed sail and made for another island, where they
cast anchor; and there came down divers, who dived for pearls and
corals and other jewels. So the merchants hired them for money
and they dived. When the ape saw this, he did himself loose from
his bonds and leaping off the ship's side, dived with them;
whereupon quoth Aboul Muzeffer, "There is no power and no virtue
but in God the Most High, the Supreme! The ape is lost to us, by
the [ill] fortune of the poor fellow for whom we bought him." And
they despaired of him; but, after awhile, the company of divers
rose to the surface, and with them the ape, with his hands full
of jewels of price, which he threw down before Aboul Muzeffer,
who marvelled at this and said, "There hangs some great mystery
by this ape!"
Then they cast off and sailed till they came to a third island,
called the Island of the Zunonj,[FN#7] who are a people of the
blacks, that eat human flesh. When the blacks saw them, they
boarded them in canoes and taking all in the ship, pinioned them
and carried them to their king who bade slaughter certain of the
merchants. So they slaughtered them and ate their flesh; and the
rest passed the night in prison and sore concern. But, when it
was [mid]night, the ape arose and going up to Aboul Muzeffer, did
off his bonds. When the others saw him free, they said, "God
grant that our deliverance may be at thy hands, O Aboul
Muzeffer!" But he replied, "Know that he who at delivered me, by
God's leave, was none other than this ape; and I buy my release
of him at a thousand dinars." "And we likewise," rejoined the
merchants, "will pay him a thousand diners each, if he release
us." With this, the ape went up to them and loosed their bonds,
one by one, till he had freed them all, when they made for the
ship and boarding her, found all safe and nothing missing. So
they cast off and set sail; and presently Aboul Muzeffer said to
them, "O merchants, fulfil your promise to the ape." "We hear and
obey," answered they and paid him a thousand diners each, whilst
Aboul Muzeffer brought out to him the like sum of his own monies,
so that there was a great sum of money collected for the ape.
Then they fared on till they reached the city of Bassora, where
their friends came out to meet them; and when they had landed,
the Sheikh said, "Where is Abou Mohammed the Lazy?" The news
reached my mother, who came to me, as I lay asleep, and said to
me, "O my son, the Sheikh Aboul Muzeffer has come back and is now
in the city; so go thou to him and salute him and enquire what he
hath brought thee; it may be God hath blessed thee with
somewhat." "Lift me from the ground," quoth I, "and prop me up,
whilst I walk to the river-bank." So she lifted me up and I went
out and walked on, stumbling in my skirts, till I met the Sheikh,
who exclaimed, at sight of me, "Welcome to him whose money has
been the means of my delivery and that of these merchants, by
the will of God the Most High! Take this ape that I bought for
thee and carry him home and wait till I come to thee." So I
took the ape, saying in myself, "By Allah, this is indeed rare
merchandise!" and drove it home, where I said to my mother,
"Whenever I lie down to sleep, thou biddest me rise and trade;
see now this merchandise with thine own eyes."
Then I sat down, and presently up came Aboul Muzeffer's slaves
and said to me, "Art thou Abou Mohammed the Lazy?" "Yes,"
answered I; and behold, Aboul Muzeffer appeared behind them. So I
went up to him and kissed his hands; and he said to me, "Come
with me to my house." "I hear and obey," answered I and followed
him to his house, where he bade his servants bring me the money
[and what not else the ape had earned me]. So they brought it and
he said to me, "O my son, God hath blessed thee with this wealth,
by way of profit on thy five dirhems." Then the slaves laid the
treasure in chests, which they set on their heads, and Aboul
Muzeffer gave me the keys of the chests, saying, "Go before the
slaves to thy house; for all this wealth is thine." So I returned
to my mother, who rejoiced in this and said to me, "O my son, God
hath blessed thee with this much wealth; so put off thy laziness
and go down to the bazaar and sell and buy." So I shook off my
sloth, and opened a shop in the bazaar, where the ape used to sit
on the same divan with me, eating with me when I ate and drinking
when I drank. But, every day, he was absent from daybreak till
noon-day, when he came back, bringing with him a purse of a
thousand diners, which he laid by my side, and sat down. Thus did
he a great while, till I amassed much wealth, wherewith I bought
houses and lands and planted gardens and got me slaves, black and
white and male and female.
One day, as I sat in my shop, with the ape at my side, he began
to turn right and left, and I said in myself, "What ails the
beast?" Then God made the ape speak with a glib tongue, and he
said to me, "O Abou Mohammed!" When I heard him speak, I was sore
afraid; but he said to me, "Fear not; I will tell thee my case.
Know that I am a Marid of the Jinn and came to thee, because of
thy poor estate; but to-day thou knowest not the tale of thy
wealth; and now I have a need of thee, wherein it thou do my
will, it shall be well for thee." "What is it?" asked I, and he
said, "I have a mind to marry thee to a girl like the full moon."
"How so?" quoth I. "To. morrow," replied he, "don thou thy
richest clothes and mount thy mule, with the saddle of gold, and
ride to the forage-market. There enquire for the shop of the
Sherif[FN#8] and sit down beside him and say to him, 'I come to
thee a suitor for thy daughter's hand.' If he say to thee, 'Thou
hast neither money nor condition nor family,' pull out a thousand
diners and give them to him; and if he ask more, give him more
and tempt him with money." "I hear and obey," answered I;
"to-morrow, if it please God, I will do thy bidding."
So on the morrow I donned my richest clothes and mounting my mule
with trappings of gold, rode, attended by half a score slaves,
black and white, to the forage-market, where I found the Sherif
sitting in his shop. I alighted and saluting him, seated myself
beside him. Quoth he, "Haply, thou hast some business with us,
which we may have the pleasure of transacting?" "Yes," answered
I; "I have business with thee." "And what is it?" asked he. Quoth
I, "I come to thee as a suitor for thy daughter's hand." And he
said, "Thou hast neither money nor condition nor family;"
whereupon I pulled out a thousand diners of red gold and said to
him, "This is my rank and family; and he whom God bless and keep
hath said, 'The best of ranks is wealth.' And how well saith the
poet:
Whoso hath money, though it be but dirhems twain, his lips Have
learnt all manner speech and he can speak and fear no
slight.
His brethren and his mates draw near and hearken to his word And
'mongst the folk thou seest him walk, a glad and prideful
wight.
But for the money, in the which he glorieth on this wise,
Thou'dst find him, midst his fellow-men, in passing sorry
plight.
Yea, whensoe'er the rich man speaks, though in his speech he err,
'Thou hast not spoken a vain thing,' they say; 'indeed,
thou'rt right.'
But, for the poor man, an he speak, albeit he say sooth, They
say, 'Thou liest,' and make void his speech and hold it
light
For money, verily, in all the lands beneath the sun, With
goodliness and dignity cloth its possessors dight.
A very tongue it is for him who would be eloquent And eke a
weapon to his hand who hath a mind to fight."
When he heard this, he bowed his head awhile, then, raising it,
said, "If it must be so, I will have of thee other three thousand
diners." "I hear and obey," answered I and sent one of my
servants to my house for the money. When he came back with it, I
handed it to the Sherif, who rose and bidding his servants shut
his shop, invited his brother-merchants to the wedding; after
which he carried me to his house and drew up the contract of
marriage between his daughter and myself, saying to me, "After
ten days, I will bring thee in to her." So I went home rejoicing
and shutting myself up with the ape, told him what had passed;
and he said, "Thou hast done well."
When the time appointed by the Sherif drew near, the ape said to
me, "There is a thing I would fain have thee do for me; and
after, thou shalt have of me what thou wilt." "What is that?"
asked I. Quoth he, "At the upper end of the bridechamber stands a
cabinet, on whose door is a padlock of brass and the keys under
it. Take the keys and open the cabinet, in which thou wilt find a
coffer of iron, with four talismanic flags at its angles. In its
midst is a brass basin full of money, wherein is tied a white
cock with a cleft comb; and on one side of the coffer are eleven
serpents and on the other a knife. Take the knife and kill the
cock; cut away the flags and overturn the chest; then go back to
the bride and do away her maidenhead. This is what I have to ask
of thee." "I hear and obey," answered I and betook myself to the
Sherif's house.
As soon as I entered the bridechamber, I looked for the cabinet
and found it even as the ape had described it. Then I went in to
the bride and marvelled at her beauty and grace and symmetry, for
indeed they were such as no tongue can set forth. So I rejoiced
in her with an exceeding joy; and in the middle of the night,
when she slept, I rose and taking the keys, opened the cabinet.
Then I took the knife and killed the cock and threw down the
flags and overturned the coffer, whereupon the girl awoke and
seeing the closet open and the cock slain, exclaimed, "There is
no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! The
Marid hath gotten me!" Hardly had she made an end of speaking,
when the Marid came down upon the house and seizing the bride,
flew away with her; whereupon there arose a great clamour and in
came the Sherif, buffeting his face. "O Abou Mohammed," said he,
"what is this thou hast done? Is it thus thou requitest us? I
made the talisman in the cabinet in my fear for my daughter from
this accursed one; for these six years hath he sought to steal
away the girl, but could not. But now there is no more abiding
for thee with us; so go thy ways."
So I went out and returned to my own house, where I made search
for the ape, but could find no trace of him; whereby I knew that
he was the Marid, who had taken my wife and had tricked me into
destroying the talisman that hindered him from taking her, and
repented, rending my clothes and buffeting my face; and there was
no land but was straitened upon me. So I made for the desert,
knowing not whither I should go, and wandered on, absorbed in
melancholy thought, till night overtook me. Presently, I saw two
serpents fighting, a white one and a tawny. So I took up a stone
and throwing it at the tawny serpent, which was the aggressor,
killed it; whereupon the white serpent made off, but returned
after awhile accompanied by ten others of the same colour, which
went up to the dead serpent and tore it in pieces, till but the
head was left. Then they went their ways and I fell prostrate for
weariness on the ground where I stood; but, as I lay, pondering
my case, I heard a voice repeat the following verses, though I
saw no one:
Let destiny with slackened rein its course appointed fare And lie
thou down by night to sleep with heart devoid of care.
For, twixt the closing of the eyes and th' opening thereof, God
hath it in His power to change a case from foul to fair.
When I heard this, great concern got hold of me and I was beyond
measure troubled; and I heard a voice from behind me repeat these
verses also:
Muslim, whose guide's the Koran and his due, Rejoice, for succour
cometh thee unto.
Let not the wiles of Satan make thee rue, For we're a folk whose
creed's the One, the True.
Then said I, "I conjure thee by Him whom thou worshippest, let me
know who thou art!" Thereupon the unseen speaker appeared to me,
in the likeness of a man, and said, "Fear not; for the report of
thy good deed hath reached us, and we are a people of the
true-believing Jinn. So, if thou lack aught, let us know it, that
we may have the pleasure of fulfilling thy need." "Indeed,"
answered I, "I am in sore need, for there hath befallen me a
grievous calamity, whose like never yet befell man." Quoth he,
"Surely, thou art Abou Mohammed the Lazy?" And I answered, "Yes."
"O Abou Mohammed," rejoined the genie, "I am the brother of the
white serpent, whose enemy thou slewest. We are four brothers, by
one father and mother, and we are all indebted to thee for thy
kindness. Know that he who played this trick on thee, in the
likeness of an ape, is a Marid of the Marids of the Jinn; and had
he not used this artifice, he had never been able to take the
girl; for he hath loved her and had a mind to take her this long
while, but could not win at her, being hindered of the talisman;
and had it remained as it was, he could never have done so.
However, fret not thyself for that; we will bring thee to her and
kill the Marid; for thy kindness is not lost upon us."
Then he cried out with a terrible voice, and behold, there
appeared a company of Jinn, of whom he enquired concerning the
ape; and one of them said, "I know his abiding-place; it is in
the City of Brass, upon which the sun riseth not." Then said the
first genie to me, "O Abou Mohammed, take one of these our
slaves, and he will carry thee on his back and teach thee how
thou shalt get back the girl: but know that he is a Marid and
beware lest thou utter the name of God, whilst he is carrying
thee; or he will flee from thee, and thou wilt fall and be
destroyed." "I hear and obey," answered I and chose out one of
the slaves, who bent down and said to me, "Mount." So I mounted
on his back, and he flew up with me into the air, till I lost
sight of the earth and saw the stars as they were fixed mountains
and heard the angels glorifying God in heaven, what while the
Marid held me in converse, diverting me and hindering me from
pronouncing the name of God. But, as we flew, behold, one clad in
green raiment, with streaming tresses and radiant face, holding
in his hand a javelin whence issued sparks of fire, accosted me,
saying, "O Abou Mohammed, say, 'There is no god but God and
Mohammed is His apostle;' or I will smite thee with this
javelin."
Now I was already sick at heart of my [forced] abstention from
calling on the name of God; so I said, "There is no god but God
and Mohammed is His apostle." Whereupon the shining one smote the
Marid with his javelin and he melted away and became ashes;
whilst I was precipitated from his back and fell headlong toward
the earth, till I dropped into the midst of a surging sea,
swollen with clashing billows. Hard by where I fell was a ship
and five sailors therein, who, seeing me, made for me and took me
up into the boat. They began to speak to me in some tongue I knew
not; but I signed to them that I understood not their speech. So
they fared on till ended day, when they cast out a net and caught
a great fish and roasting it, gave me to eat; after which they
sailed on, till they reached their city and carried me in to
their king, who understand Arabic. So I kissed the ground before
him, and he bestowed on me a dress of honour and made me one of
his officers. I asked him the name of the city, and he replied,
"It is called Henad and is in the land of China." Then he
committed me to his Vizier, bidding him show me the city, which
was formerly peopled by infidels, till God the Most High turned
them into stones; and there I abode a month's space, diverting
myself with viewing the place, nor saw I ever greater plenty of
trees and fruits than there.
One day, as I sat on the bank of a river, there accosted me a
horseman, who said to me, "Art thou not Abou Mohammed the Lazy?"
"Yes," answered I; whereupon, "Fear not," said he; "for the
report of thy good deed hath reached us." Quoth I, "Who art
thou?" And he answered, "I am a brother of the white serpent, and
thou art hard by the place where is the damsel whom thou
seekest." So saying, he took off his [outer] clothes and clad me
therein, saying, "Fear not; for he, that perished under thee, was
one of our slaves." Then he took me up behind him and rode on
with me, till we came to a desert place, when he said to me,
"Alight now and walk on between yonder mountains till thou seest
the City of Brass; then halt afar off and enter it not, till I
return to thee and teach thee how thou shalt do." "I hear and
obey," replied I and alighting, walked on till I came to the
city, the walls whereof I found of brass. I went round about it,
looking for a gate, but found none; and presently, the serpent's
brother rejoined me and gave me a charmed sword that should
hinder any from seeing me, then went his way.
He had been gone but a little while, when I heard a noise of
cries and found myself in the midst of a multitude of folk whose
eyes were in their breasts. Quoth they, "Who art thou and what
brings thee hither?" So I told them my story, and they said, "The
girl thou seekest is in the city with the Marid; but we know not
what he hath done with her. As for us, we are brethren of the
white serpent. But go to yonder spring and note where the water
enters, and enter thou with it; for it will bring thee into the
city." I did as they bade me and followed the water-course, till
it brought me to a grotto under the earth, from which I ascended
and found myself in the midst of the city. Here I saw the damsel
seated upon a throne of gold, under a canopy of brocade, midmost
a garden full of trees of gold, whose fruits were jewels of
price, such as rubies and chrysolites and pearls and coral.
When she saw me, she knew me and accosted me with the
[obligatory] salutation, saying, "O my lord, who brought thee
hither?" So I told her all that had passed and she said, "Know
that the accursed Marid, of the greatness of his love for me,
hath told me what doth him hurt and what profit and that there is
here a talisman by means whereof he could, an he would, destroy
this city and all that are therein. It is in the likeness of an
eagle, with I know not what written on it, and whoso possesses
it, the Afrits will do his commandment in everything. It stands
upon a column in such a place; so go thou thither and take it.
Then set it before thee and taking a chafing-dish, throw into it
a little musk, whereupon there will arise a smoke, that will draw
all the Afrits to thee, and they will all present themselves
before thee, nor shall one be absent; and whatsoever thou biddest
them, that will they do. Arise therefore and do this thing, with
the blessing of God the Most High."
"I hear and obey," answered I and going to the column, did what
she bade me, whereupon the Afrits presented themselves, saying,
"Here are we, O our lord! Whatsoever thou biddest us, that will
we do." Quoth I, "Bind the Marid that brought the damsel hither."
"We hear and obey," answered they and disappearing, returned
after awhile and informed me that they had done my bidding. Then
I dismissed them and returning to my wife, told her what had
happened and said to her, "Wilt thou go with me?" "Yes," answered
she. So I carried her forth of the city, by the underground
channel, and we fared on, till we fell in with the folk who had
shown me the way into the city. I besought them to teach me how I
should return to my native land; so they brought us to the
seashore and set us aboard a ship, which sailed on with us with a
fair wind, till we reached the city of Bassora. Here we landed,
and I carried my wife to her father's house; and when her people
saw her, they rejoiced with an exceeding joy. Then I fumigated
the eagle with musk and the Afrits flocked to me from all sides,
saying, "At thy service; what wilt thou have us do?" I bade them
transport all that was in the City of Brass of gold and silver
and jewels and precious things to my house in Bassora, which they
did; and I then ordered them to fetch the ape. So they brought
him before me, abject and humiliated, and I said to him, "O
accursed one, why hast thou dealt thus perfidiously with me?"
Then I commanded the Afrits to shut him in a brazen vessel: so
they put him in a strait vessel of brass and sealed it with lead.
But I abode with my wife in joy and delight; and now, O Commander
of the Faithful, I have under my hand such stores of precious
things and rare jewels and other treasure as neither reckoning
may comprise nor measure suffice unto. All this is of the bounty
of God the Most High, and if thou desire aught of money or what
not, I will bid the Jinn bring it to thee forthright.'
The Khalif wondered greatly at his story and bestowed on him
royal gifts, in exchange for his presents, and entreated him with
the favour he deserved.
THE GENEROUS DEALING OF YEHYA BEN KHALID
THE BARMECIDE WITH MENSOUR.
It is told that Haroun er Reshid, in the days before he became
jealous of the Barmecides, sent once for one of his guards, Salih
by name, and said to him, 'O Salih, go to Mensour[FN#9] and say
to him, "Thou owest us a thousand thousand dirhems and we require
of thee immediate payment of the amount." And I charge thee, O
Salih, an he pay it not before sundown, sever his head from his
body and bring it to me.' 'I hear and obey,' answered Salih and
going to Mensour, acquainted him with what the Khalif had said,
whereupon quoth he, 'By Allah, I am a lost man; for all my estate
and all my hand owns, if sold for their utmost value, would not
fetch more than a hundred thousand dirhems. Whence then, O Salih,
shall I get the other nine hundred thousand?' 'Contrive how thou
mayst speedily acquit thyself,' answered Salih; 'else art thou a
dead man; for I cannot grant thee a moment's delay after the time
appointed me by the Khalif, nor can I fail of aught that he hath
enjoined on me. Hasten, therefore, to devise some means of saving
thyself ere the time expire.' 'O Salih,' quoth Mensour, 'I beg
thee of thy favour to bring me to my house, that I may take
leave of my children and family and give my kinsfolk my last
injunctions.'
So he carried him to his house, where he fell to bidding his
family farewell, and the house was filled with a clamour of
weeping and lamentation and calling on God for help. Then Salih
said to him, 'I have bethought me that God may peradventure
vouchsafe thee relief at the hands of the Barmecides. Come, let
us go to the house of Yehya ben Khalid.' So they went to Yehya's
house, and Mensour told him his case, whereat he was sore
concerned and bowed his head awhile; then raising it, he called
his treasurer and said to him, 'How much money have we in our
treasury?' 'Five thousand dirhems,' answered the treasurer, and
Yehya bade him bring them and sent a message to his son Fezl,
saying, 'I am offered for sale estates of great price, that may
never be laid waste; so send me somewhat of money.' Fezl sent him
a thousand thousand dirhems, and he despatched a like message to
his son Jaafer, who also sent him a thousand thousand dirhems;
nor did he leave sending to his kinsmen of the Barmecides, till
he had collected from them a great sum of mosey for Mensour. But
the latter and Salih knew not of this; and Mensour said to Yehya,
'O my lord, I have laid hold upon thy skirt for I know not
whither to look for the money but to thee; so discharge thou the
rest of my debt for me, in accordance with thy wonted generosity,
and make me thy freed slave.' Thereupon Yehya bowed his head and
wept; then he said to a page, 'Harkye, boy, the Commander of the
Faithful gave our slave-girl Denanir a jewel of great price: go
thou to her and bid her send it us.' The page went out and
presently returned with the jewel, whereupon quoth Yehya, 'O
Mensour, I bought this jewel of the merchants for the Commander
of the Faithful, for two hundred thousand diners, and he gave it
to our slave-girl Denanir the lutanist. When he sees it with
thee, he will know it and spare thy life and do thee honour for
our sake; and now thy money is complete.'
So Salih took the money and the jewel and carried them to the
Khalif, together with Mensour; but on the way? he heard the
latter repeat this verse, applying it to his own case:
It was not love, indeed, my feet to them that led; Nay, but
because the stroke of th' arrows I did dread.
When Salih heard this, he marvelled at the baseness and
ingratitude of Mensour's nature, and turning upon him, said,
'There is none on the face of the earth better than the
Barmecides, nor any baser nor more depraved than thou; for they
bought thee off from death and saved thee from destruction,
giving thee what should deliver thee; yet thou thankest them not
nor praisest them, neither acquittest thee after the manner of
the noble; nay, thou requitest their benevolence with this
speech.' Then he went to Er Reshid and acquainted him with all
that had passed; and he marvelled at the generosity and
benevolence of Yehya ben Khalid and the baseness and ingratitude
of Mensour and bade restore the jewel to Yehya, saying, 'That
which we have given, it befits not that we take again.'
So Salih returned to Yehya, and acquainted him with Mensour's ill
conduct; whereupon, 'O Salih,' replied he, 'when a man is in
distress, sick at heart and distracted with melancholy thought.
he is not to be blamed for aught that falls from him; for it
comes not from the heart.' And he fell to seeking excuse for
Mensour. But Salih wept [in telling the tale] and exclaimed,
'Never shall the revolving sphere bring forth into being the like
of thee, O Yehya! Alas, that one of such noble nature and
generosity should be buried beneath the earth! 'And he repeated
the following verses:
Hasten to do the kindnesses thou hast a mind unto; For bounty is
not possible at every tide and hour.
How many a man denies his soul to do the generous deed, To which
it's fain, till lack of means deprive him of the power!
THE GENEROUS DEALING OF YEHYA BEN KHALID
WITH A MAN WHO FORGED A LETTER IN HIS
NAME.
There was between Yehya ben Khalid and Abdallah ben Malik el
Khuzai[FN#10] a secret enmity, the reason whereof was that Haroun
er Reshid loved the latter with an exceeding love, so that Yehya
and his sons were wont to say that he had bewitched the Khalif;
and thus they abode a long while, with rancour in their hearts,
till it fell out that the Khalif invested Abdallah with the
government of Armenia and sent him thither. Soon after he had
established himself in his seat of government, there came to him
one of the people of Irak, a man of excellent parts and good
breeding, who had lost his wealth and wasted his substance, and
his estate was come to nought; so he forged a letter to Abdallah
in Yehya's name and set out therewith for Armenia. When he came
to the governor's gate, he gave the letter to one of the
chamberlains, who carried it to his master. Abdallah read it and
considering it attentively, knew it to be forged; so he sent for
the man, who presented himself before him and called down
blessings upon him and praised him and those of his court. Quoth
Abdallah to him, 'What moved thee to weary thyself thus and bring
me a forged letter? But be of good heart; for we will not
disappoint thy travail.' 'God prolong the life of our lord the
Vizier!' replied the other. 'If my coming irk thee, cast not
about for a pretext to repel me, for God's earth is wide and the
Divine Provider liveth. Indeed, the letter I bring thee from
Yehya ben Khalid is true and no forgery.' Quoth Abdallah, 'I will
write a letter to my agent at Baghdad and bid him enquire
concerning the letter. If it be true, as thou sayest, I will
bestow on thee the government of one of my cities; or, if thou
prefer a present, I will give thee two hundred thousand dirhems,
besides horses and camels of price and a robe of honour. But, if
the letter prove a forgery, I will have thee beaten with two
hundred blows of a stick and thy beard shaven.'
Accordingly, he bade confine him in a privy chamber and furnish
him therein with all he needed, till his case should be made
manifest. Then he despatched a letter to his agent at Baghdad, to
the following purport: 'There is come to me a man with a letter
purporting to be from Yehya ben Khalid. Now I have my doubts of
this letter: so delay thou not, but go thyself and learn the
truth of the case and let me have an answer in all speed.' When
the letter reached the agent, he mounted at once and betook
himself to the house of Yehya ben Khalid, whom he found sitting
with his officers and boon-companions. So he gave him the letter
and he read it and said to the agent, 'Come back to me to-morrow,
against I write thee an answer.'
When the agent had gone away, Yehya turned to his companions and
said, 'What doth he deserve who forgeth a letter in my name and
carrieth it to my enemy?' They all answered, saying this and
that, each proposing some kind of punishment; but Yehya said, 'Ye
err in that ye say and this your counsel is of the meanness and
baseness of your spirits. Ye all know the close favour of
Abdallah with the Khalif and what is between him and us of
despite and enmity; and now God the Most High hath made this man
an intermediary, to effect a reconciliation between us, and hath
appointed him to quench the fire of hate in our hearts, which
hath been growing this score years; and by his means our
differences shall be accorded. Wherefore it behoves me to requite
him by confirming his expectation and amending his estate; so I
will write him a letter to Abdallah, to the intent that he may
use him with increase of honour and liberality.'
When his companions heard what he said, they called down
blessings on him and marvelled at his generosity and the
greatness of his magnanimity. Then he called for paper and ink
and wrote Abdallah a letter in his own hand, to the following
effect: 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! Thy
letter hath reached me (may God give thee long life!) and I have
read it and rejoice in thy health and well-being. It was thy
thought that yonder worthy man had forged a letter in my name and
that he was not the bearer of any message from me; but the case
is not so, for the letter I myself wrote, and it was no forgery;
and I hope, of thy courtesy and benevolence and the nobility of
thy nature, that thou wilt fulfil this generous and excellent man
of his hope and wish and use him with the honour he deserves and
bring him to his desire and make him the special object of thy
favour and munificence. Whatever thou dost with him, it is to me
that thou dost it, and I am beholden to thee accordingly.' Then
he superscribed the letter and sealing it, delivered it to the
agent, who despatched it to Abdallah.
When the latter read it, he was charmed with its contents and
sending for the man, said to him, 'Now will I give thee which
thou wilt of the two things I promised thee.' 'The gift were more
acceptable to me than aught else,' replied the man; whereupon
Abdallah ordered him two hundred thousand dirhems and ten Arab
horses, five with housings of silk and other five with richly
ornamented saddles of state, besides twenty chests of clothes and
ten mounted white slaves and a proportionate quantity of jewels
of price. Moreover, he bestowed on him a dress of honour and sent
him to Baghdad in great state. When he came thither, he repaired
to Yehya's house, before he went to his own folk, and sought an
audience of him. So the chamberlain went in to Yehya and said to
him, 'O my lord, there is one at our door who craves speech of
thee; and he is a man of apparent wealth and consideration,
comely of aspect and attended by many servants.' Yehya bade admit
him; so he entered and kissed the ground before him. 'Who art
thou?' asked Yehya; and he answered, 'O my lord, I am one who was
dead from the tyranny of fortune; but thou didst raise me again
from the grave of calamities and preferredst me to the paradise
of [my] desires. I am he who forged a letter in thy name and
carried it to Abdallah ben Malek el Khuzai.' 'How hath he dealt
with thee,' asked Yehya, 'and what did he give thee?' Quoth the
man, 'He hath made me rich and overwhelmed me with presents and
favours, thanks to thee and thy great generosity and magnanimity
and to thine exceeding goodness and abounding munificence and
thine all-embracing liberality. And now, behold, I have brought
all that he gave me, and it is at thy door; for it is thine to
command, and the decision is in thy hand.' 'Thou hast done me
better service than I thee,' rejoined Yehya; 'and I owe thee
thanks without stint and abundant largesse, for that thou hast
changed the enmity that was between me and yonder man of worship
into love and friendship. Wherefore I will give thee the like of
what Abdallah gave thee.' Then he ordered him money and horses
and apparel, such as Abdallah had given him; and thus that man's
fortune was restored to him by the munificence of these two
generous men.
THE KHALIF EL MAMOUN AND THE STRANGE
DOCTOR
It is said that there was none, among the Khalifs of the house of
Abbas, more accomplished in all branches of knowledge than El
Mamoun. On two days in each week, he was wont to preside at
conferences of the learned, when the doctors and theologians met
and sitting, each in his several rank and room, disputed in his
presence. One day, as he sat thus, there came into the assembly a
stranger, clad in worn white clothes, and sat down in an obscure
place, behind the doctors of the law. Then the assembled scholars
began to speak and expound difficult questions, it being the
custom that the various propositions should be submitted to each
in turn and that whoso bethought him of some subtle addition or
rare trait, should make mention of it. So the question went round
till it came to the stranger, who spoke in his turn and made a
goodlier answer than that of any of the doctors; and the Khalif
approved his speech and bade advance him to a higher room. When
the second question came round to him, he made a still more
admirable answer, and the Khalif ordered him to be preferred to a
yet higher place. When the third question reached him, he made
answer more justly and appropriately than on the two previous
occasions, and El Mamoun bade him come up and sit near himself.
When the conference broke up, water was brought and they washed
their hands; after which food was set on and they ate. Then the
doctors arose and withdrew; but El Mamoun forbade the stranger to
depart with them and calling him to himself, entreated him with
especial favour and promised him honour and benefits.
Presently, they made ready the banquet of wine; the fair-faced
boon-companions came and the cup went round amongst them till it
came to the stranger, who rose to his feet and said, 'If the
Commander of the Faithful permit me, I will say one word.' 'Say
what thou wilt,' answered the Khalif. Quoth the stranger,
'Verily, the Exalted Intelligence[FN#11] (whose eminence God
increase!) knoweth that his slave was this day, in the august
assembly, one of the unknown folk and of the meanest of the
company, and the Commander of the Faithful distinguished him and
brought him near to himself, little as was the wit he showed,
preferring him above the rest and advancing him to a rank whereto
his thought aspired not: and now he is minded to deprive him of
that small portion of wit that raised him from obscurity and
augmented him, after his littleness. God forfend that the
Commander of the Faithful should envy his slave what little he
hath of understanding and worth and renown! But, if his slave
should drink wine, his reason would depart from him and ignorance
draw near to him and steal away his good breeding; so would he
revert to that low degree, whence he sprang, and become
contemptible and ridiculous in the eyes of the folk. I hope,
therefore, that the August Intelligence, of his power and bounty
and royal generosity and magnanimity, will not despoil his slave
of this jewel.'
When the Khalif heard his speech, he praised him and thanked him
and making him sit down again in his place, showed him high
honour and ordered him a present of a hundred thousand diners.
Moreover he mounted him upon a horse and gave him rich apparel;
and in every assembly he exalted him and showed him favour over
all the other doctors, till he became the highest of them all in
rank.
ALI SHAR AND ZUMURRUD.
There lived once, of old days, in the land of Khorassan, a
merchant called Mejdeddin, who had great wealth and many slaves
and servants, black and white; but he was childless until he
reached the age of threescore, when God the Most High vouchsafed
him a son, whom he named Ali Shar. The boy grew up like the moon
on the night of its full, and when he came to man's estate and
was endowed with all kinds of perfection, his father fell sick of
a mortal malady and calling his son to him, said to him, 'O my
son, the hour of my death is at hand, and I desire to give thee
my last injunctions.' 'And what are they, O my father?' asked
Ali. 'O my son,' answered Mejdeddin, 'I charge thee, be not [too]
familiar with any and eschew what leads to evil and mischief.
Beware lest thou company with the wicked; for he is like the
blacksmith; if his fire burn thee not, his smoke irks thee: and
how excellent is the saying of the poet:
There is no man in all the world whose love thou shouldst desire,
No friend who, if fate play thee false, will true and
constant be.
Wherefore I'd have thee live apart and lean for help on none. In
this I give thee good advice; so let it profit thee.
And what another saith:
Men are a latent malady; Count not on them, I counsel thee.
An if thou look into their case, They're full of guile and
perfidy.
And yet a third:
The company of men will profit thee in nought, Except to pass
away the time in idle prate;
So spare thou to converse with them, except it be For gain of
lore and wit or mending of estate.
And a fourth
If a quickwitted man have made proof of mankind, I have eaten of
them, where but tasted hath he,
And have seen their affection but practice and nought But
hypocrisy found their religion to be.'
'O my father,' said Ali, 'I hear and obey: what more shall I do?'
'Do good when thou art able thereto,' answered his father; 'be
ever courteous and succourable to men and profit by all occasions
of doing a kindness; for a design is not always easy of
accomplishment; and how well saith the poet:
'Tis not at every time and season that to do Kind offices,
indeed, is easy unto you;
So, when the occasion serves, make haste to profit by't, Lest by
and by the power should fail thee thereunto.'
'I hear and obey,' answered Ali; 'what more?' 'Be mindful of
God,' continued Mejdeddin, 'and He will be mindful of thee.
Husband thy wealth and squander it not; for, if thou do, thou
wilt come to have need of the least of mankind. Know that the
measure of a man's worth is according to what his right hand
possesses: and how well saith the poet:
If wealth should fail, there is no friend will bear me company,
But whilst my substance yet abounds, all men are friends to
me.
How many a foe for money's sake hath companied with me! How many
a friend for loss thereof hath turned mine enemy!'
'What more?' asked Ali. 'O my son,' said Mejdeddin, 'take counsel
of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy heart's
desire. Have compassion on those that are below thee, so shall
those that are above thee have compassion on thee; and oppress
none, lest God set over thee one who shall oppress thee. How well
saith the poet:
Add others' wit to thine and counsel still ensue; For that the
course of right is not concealed from two.
One mirror shows a man his face, but, if thereto Another one he
add, his nape thus can he view.
And as saith another:
Be slow to move and hasten not to match thy heart's desire: Be
merciful to all, 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.
And yet another:
Do no oppression, whilst the power thereto is in thine hand; For
still in peril of revenge the sad oppressor goes.
Thine eyes will sleep anon, what while the opprest, on wake, call
down Curses upon thee, and God's eye shuts never in repose.
Beware of drinking wine, for it is the root of all evil: it does
away the reason and brings him who uses it into contempt; and how
well saith the poet:
By Allah, wine shall never invade me, whilst my soul Endureth in
my body and my thoughts my words control!
Not a day long will I turn me to the zephyr-freshened bowl, And
for friend I'll choose him only who of wine-bibbing is
whole.
This, then,' added Mejdeddin, 'is my charge to thee; keep it
before thine eyes, and may God stand to thee in my stead.' Then
he swooned away and kept silence awhile. When he came to himself,
he besought pardon of God and making the profession of the Faith,
was admitted to the mercy of the Most High. His son wept and
lamented for him and made due preparation for his burial. Great
and small attended him to the grave and the readers recited the
Koran about his bier; nor did Ali Shar omit aught of what was due
to the dead. Then they prayed over him and committed him to the
earth, graving these words upon his tomb:
Created of the dust thou wast and cam'st to life And eloquence
didst learn and spokest many a word;
Then to the dust again returnedst and wast dead, As 'twere from
out the dust, indeed, thou'dst never stirred.
His son Ali Shar grieved for him and mourned him after the wont
of men of condition; nor did he cease therefrom till his mother
died also, not long afterward, when he did with her as he had
done with his father. Then he sat in the shop, selling and buying
and consorting with none of God's creatures, in accordance with
his father's injunction.
On this wise he abode for a year, at the end of which time there
came in to him certain whoreson fellows by craft and companied
with him, till he turned with them to lewdness and swerved from
the right way, drinking wine in goblets and frequenting the fair
night and day; for he said in himself, 'My father amassed this
wealth for me, and if I spend it not, to whom shall I leave it?
By Allah, I will not do save as saith the poet:
If all the days of thy life thou get And heap up treasure, to
swell thy hoard,
When wilt thou use it and so enjoy That thou hast gathered and
gained and stored?'
Then he ceased not to squander his wealth all tides of the day
and watches of the night, till he had made away with it all and
abode in evil case and troubled at heart. So he sold his shop and
lands and so forth, and after this he sold the clothes off his
body, leaving himself but one suit. Then drunkenness left him and
thought came to him, and he fell into melancholy.
One day, when he had sat from day-break to mid-afternoon without
breaking his fast, he said in himself, 'I will go round to those
on whom I spent my wealth: it may be one of them will feed me
this day.' So he went the round of them all; but, as often as he
knocked at any one's door, the man denied himself and hid from
him, till he was consumed with hunger. Then he betook himself to
the bazaar, where he found a crowd of people, assembled in a ring
round somewhat, and said in himself, 'I wonder what ails the folk
to crowd together thus? By Allah, I will not remove hence, till I
see what is within yonder ring!' So he made his way into the ring
and found that the crowd was caused by a damsel exposed for sale.
She was five feet high, slender of shape, rosy-cheeked and high-
bosomed and surpassed all the people of her time in beauty and
grace and elegance and perfection; even as saith one, describing
her:
As she wished, she was created, after such a wise that lo! She in
beauty's mould was fashioned, perfect, neither less no mo'.
Loveliness itself enamoured of her lovely aspect is; Coyness
decks her and upon her, pride and pudour sweetly show.
In her face the full moon glitters and the branch is as her
shape; Musk her breath is, nor midst mortals is her equal,
high or low.
'Tis as if she had been moulded out of water of pure pearls; In
each member of her beauty is a very moon, I trow.
And her name was Zumurrud.
When Ali Shar saw her, he marvelled at her beauty and grace and
said, 'By Allah, I will not stir hence till I see what price this
girl fetches and know who buys her!' So he stood with the rest of
the merchants, and they thought he had a mind to buy her, knowing
the wealth he had inherited from his parents. Then the broker
stood at the damsel's head and said, 'Ho, merchants! Ho, men of
wealth! Who will open the biddings for this damsel, the mistress
of moons, the splendid pearl, Zumurrud the Curtain-maker, the aim
of the seeker and the delight of the desirous? Open the biddings,
and on the opener be nor blame nor reproach.'
So one merchant said, 'I bid five hundred dinars for her.' 'And
ten,' said another. 'Six hundred,' cried an old man named
Reshideddin, blue-eyed and foul of face. 'And ten,' quoth
another. 'I bid a thousand,' rejoined Reshideddin; whereupon the
other merchants were silent and the broker took counsel with the
girl's owner, who said, 'I have sworn not to sell her save to
whom she shall choose; consult her.' So the broker went up to
Zumurrud and said to her, 'O mistress of moons, yonder merchant
hath a mind to buy thee.' She looked as Reshideddin and finding
him as we have said, replied, 'I will not be sold to a grey-
beard, whom decrepitude hath brought to evil plight.' 'Bravo,'
quoth I, 'for one who saith:
I asked her for a kiss one day, but she my hoary head Saw, though
of wealth and worldly good I had great plentihead;
So, with a proud and flouting air, her back she turned on me And,
"No, by Him who fashioned men from nothingness!" she said.
"Now, by God's truth, I never had a mind to hoary hairs, And
shall my mouth be stuffed, forsooth, with cotton, ere I'm
dead?"
'By Allah,' quoth the broker, 'thou art excusable, and thy value
is ten thousand dinars!' So he told her owner that she would not
accept of Reshideddin, and he said, 'Ask her of another.'
Thereupon another man came forward and said, 'I will take her at
the same price.' She looked at him and seeing that his beard was
dyed, said, 'What is this lewd and shameful fashion and
blackening of the face of hoariness?' And she made a great show
of amazement and repeated the following verses:
A sight, and what a sight, did such a one present To me! A neck,
to beat with shoes, by Allah, meant!
And eke a beard for lie a coursing-ground that was And brows for
binding on of ropes all crook'd and bent.[FN#12]
Thou that my cheeks and shape have ravished, with a lie Thou dost
disguise thyself and reck'st not, impudent;
Dyeing thy hoary hairs disgracefully with black[FN#13] And hiding
what appears, with fraudulent intent;
As of the puppet-men thou wert, with one beard go'st And with
another com'st again, incontinent.
And how well saith another:
Quoth she to me, "I see thou dy'st thy hoariness;" and I, "I do
but hide it from thy sight, O thou my ear and eye!"[FN#14]
She laughed out mockingly and said, "A wonder 'tis indeed! Thou
so aboundest in deceit that even thy hair's a lie."
'By Allah,' quoth the broker, 'thou hast spoken truly!' The
merchant asked what she said: so the broker repeated the verses
to him, and he knew that she was in the right and desisted from
buying her. Then another came forward and would have bought her
at the same price; but she looked at him and seeing that he had
but one eye, said, 'This man is one-eyed; and it is of such as he
that the poet saith:
Consort not with him that is one-eyed a day, And be on thy guard
'gainst his mischief and lies:
For God, if in him aught of good had been found, Had not curst
him with blindness in one of his eyes.'
Then the broker brought her another bidder and said to her, 'Wilt
thou be sold to this man?' She looked at him and seeing that he
was short of stature and had a beard that reached to his navel,
said, 'This is he of whom the poet speaks, when he says:
I have a friend, who has a beard, that God Caused flourish
without profit, till, behold.
'Tis, as it were, to look upon, a night Of middle winter, long
and dark and cold.'
'O my lady,' said the broker, 'look who pleases thee of these
that are present, and point him out, that I may sell thee to
him.' So she looked round the ring of merchants, examining them
one by one, till her eyes rested on Ali Shar. His sight cost her
a thousand sighs and her heart was taken with him: for that he
was passing fair of favour and more pleasant than the northern
zephyr; and she said, 'O broker, I will be sold to none but my
lord there, he of the handsome face and slender shape, whom the
poet describes in the following verses:
They showed thy lovely face and railed At her whom ravishment
assailed.
Had they desired to keep me chaste, Thy face so fair they should
have veiled.
None shall possess me but he,' added she; 'for his cheek is
smooth and the water of his mouth sweet as Selsebil;[FN#15] his
sight is a cure for the sick and his charms confound poet and
proser, even as saith one of him:
The water of his mouth is wine, and very musk The fragrance of
his breath; his teeth are camphor white.
Rizwan hath put him our from paradise, for fear The black-eyed
girls of heaven be tempted with the wight.
Men blame him for his pride; but the full moon's excuse, How
proud so'er it be, finds favour in our sight.
Him of the curling locks and rose-red cheeks and enchanting
glances, of whom saith the poet:
A slender loveling promised me his favours fair and free; So my
heart's restless and my eye looks still his sight to see.
His eyelids warranted me the keeping of his troth; But how shall
they, that bankrupt[FN#16] are, fulfil their warranty?
And as saith another:
"The script of whiskers on his cheek," quoth they, "is plain to
see: How canst thou then enamoured be of him, and whiskered
he?"
Quoth I, "Have done with blame and leave your censuring, I pray.
As if it be a very script, it is a forgery.
Lo, in the gathering of his cheeks the meads of Eden be, And more
by token that his lips are Kauther,[FN#17], verily."
When the broker heard the verses she repeated on the charms of
Ali Shar, he marvelled at her eloquence, no less than at the
brightness of her beauty; but her owner said to him, 'Marvel not
at her beauty, that shames the sun of day, nor that her mind is
stored with the choicest verses of the poets; for, besides this,
she can repeat the glorious Koran, according to the seven
readings, and the august Traditions, after the authentic text;
and she writes the seven hands and is versed in more branches of
knowledge than the most learned doctor. Moreover, her hands are
better than gold and silver; for she makes curtains of silk and
sells them for fifty dinars each; and it takes her eight days to
make a curtain.' 'Happy the man,' exclaimed the broker, 'who hath
her in his house and maketh her of his privy treasures!' And her
owner said, 'Sell her to whom she will.' So the broker went up to
Ali Shar and kissing his hands, said to him, 'O my lord, buy thou
this damsel, for she hath made choice of thee.' Then he set forth
to him all her charms and accomplishments, and added: 'I give
thee joy, if thou buy her, for she is a gift from Him who is no
niggard of His giving.'
Ali bowed his head awhile, laughing to himself and saying
inwardly, 'Up to now I have not broken my fast; yet I am ashamed
to own before the merchants that I have no money wherewith to buy
her.' The damsel, seeing him hang down his head, said to the
broker, 'Take my hand and lead me to him, that I may show myself
to him and tempt him to buy me; for I will not be sold to any but
him.' So the broker took her hand and stationed her before Ali
Shar, saying, 'What is thy pleasure, O my lord?' But he made him
no answer, and the girl said to him, 'O my lord and darling of my
heart, what ails thee that thou wilt not bid for me? Buy me for
what thou wilt, and I will bring thee good fortune.' Ali raised
his eyes to her and said, 'Must I buy thee perforce? Thou art
dear at one thousand dinars.' 'Then buy me for nine hundred,'
answered she. 'Nay,' rejoined he; and she said, 'Then for eight
hundred;' and ceased not to abate the price, till she came to a
hundred dinars. Quoth he, 'I have not quite a hundred dinars.'
'How much dost thou lack of a hundred?' asked she, laughing. 'By
Allah,' replied he, 'I have neither a hundred dinars, nor any
other sum; for I own neither white money nor red, neither dinar
nor dirhem. So look out for another customer.' When she knew that
he had nothing, she said to him, 'Take me by the hand and carry
me aside into a passage, as if thou wouldst examine me privily.'
He did so and she took from her bosom a purse containing a
thousand dinars, which she gave him saying, 'Pay down nine
hundred to my price and keep the rest to provide us withal.'
He did as she bade him and buying her for nine hundred dinars,
paid down the price from the purse and carried her to his house,
which when she entered, she found nothing but bare floors,
without carpets or vessels. So she gave him other thousand
dinars, saying, 'Go to the bazaar and buy three hundred dinars'
worth of furniture and vessels for the house and three dinars'
worth of meat and drink, also a piece of silk, the size of a
curtain, and gold and silver thread and [sewing] silk of seven
colours.' He did her bidding, and she furnished the house and
they sat down to eat and drink; after which they went to bed and
took their pleasure, one of the other. And they lay the night
embraced and were even as saith the poet:
Cleave fast to her thou lov'st and let the envious rail amain;
For calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain.
Lo, whilst I slept, in dreams I saw thee lying by my side And
from thy lips the sweetest, sure, of limpid springs did
drain.
Yea, true and certain all I saw is, as I will avouch, And 'spite
the envier, thereto I surely will attain.
There is no goodlier sight, indeed, for eyes to look upon, Than
when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain,
Each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their twinned delight,
Whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks
enchain.
Lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, But
on cold iron smite the folk who chide at them in vain.
Thou, that for loving censurest the votaries of love, Canst thou
assain a heart diseased or heal a cankered brain?
If in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, I rede
thee cast the world away and with that one remain.
They lay together till the morning and love for the other was
stablished in the heart of each of them. On the morrow, Zumurrud
took the curtain and embroidered it with coloured silks and gold
and silver thread, depicting thereon all manner birds and beasts;
nor is there in the world a beast but she wrought on the curtain
the semblant thereof. Moreover, she made thereto a band, with
figures of birds, and wrought at it eight days, till she had made
an end of it, when she trimmed it and ironed it and gave it to
Ali, saying, 'Carry it to the bazaar and sell it to one of the
merchants for fifty dinars; but beware lest thou sell it to a
passer-by, for this would bring about a separation between us,
because we have enemies who are not unmindful of us.' 'I hear and
obey,' answered he and repairing to the bazaar, sold the curtain
to a merchant, as she bade him; after which he bought stuff for
another curtain and silk and gold and silver thread as before and
what they needed of food, and brought all this to her, together
with the rest of the money.
They abode thus a whole year, and every eight days she made a
curtain, which he sold for fifty dinars. At the end of the year,
he went to the bazaar, as usual, with a curtain, which he gave to
the broker; and there came up to him a Christian, who bid him
threescore dinars for the curtain; but he refused, and the
Christian went on to bid higher and higher, till he came to a
hundred dinars and bribed the broker with ten gold pieces. So the
latter returned to Ali and told him of this and urged him to
accept the offer, saying, 'O my lord, be not afraid of this
Christian, for he can do thee no hurt.' The merchants also were
instant with him to accept the offer; so he sold the curtain to
the Christian, though his heart misgave him, and taking the
price, set off to return home.
Presently, he found the Christian walking behind him; so he said
to him, 'O Nazarene, why dost thou follow me?' 'O my lord,'
answered the other, 'I have a need at the end of the street, may
God never bring thee to need!' Ali went on, but, as he came to
the door of his house, the Christian overtook him; so he said to
him, 'O accursed one, what ails thee to follow me wherever I go?'
'O my lord,' replied the other, 'give me a draught of water, for
I am athirst; and with God the Most High be thy reward!' Quoth
Ali in himself, 'Verily, this man is a tributary [of the
Khalifate] and seeks a draught of water of me; by Allah, I will
not disappoint him!' So he entered the house and took a mug of
water; but Zumurrud saw him and said to him, 'O my love, hast
thou sold the curtain?' 'Yes,' answered he. 'To a merchant or a
passer-by?' asked she. 'For my heart forethinketh me of
separation.' 'To a merchant, of course,' replied he. But she
rejoined, 'Tell me the truth of the case, that I may order my
affair; and what wantest thou with the mug of water?' 'To give
the broker a drink,' answered he; whereupon she exclaimed, 'There
is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!'
And repeated the following verses:
O thou that seekest parting, stay thy feet: Let clips and kisses
not delude thy spright.
Softly, for fortune's nature is deceit And parting is the end of
love-delight.
Then he took the mug and going out, found the Christian within
the vestibule and said to him, 'O dog, how darest thou enter my
house without my leave?' 'O my lord,' answered he, 'there is no
difference between the door and the vestibule and I will not
budge hence, save to go out; and I am beholden to thee for thy
kindness.' Then he took the mug and emptying it, returned it to
Ali, who took it and waited for him to go; but he did not move.
So Ali said to him, 'Why dost thou not rise and go thy way?' 'O
my lord,' answered the Christian, 'be not of those that do a
kindness and after make a reproach of it, nor one of whom saith
the poet:
Gone, gone are they who, if thou stoodst before their door of
old, Had, at thy seeking, handselled thee with benefits
untold!
And if thou stoodest at their door who follow after them, These
latter would begrudge to thee a draught of water cold.
O my lord,' continued he, 'I have drunk, and now I would have
thee give me to eat of whatever is in the house, though it be but
a crust of bread or a biscuit and an onion.' 'Begone, without
more talk,' replied Ali; 'There is nothing in the house.' 'O my
lord,' insisted the Christian, 'if there be nothing in the house,
take these hundred dinars and fetch us somewhat from the market,
if but a cake of bread, that bread and salt may pass between us.'
With this, quoth Ali to himself, 'This Christian is surely mad; I
will take the hundred dinars and bring somewhat worth a couple of
dirhems and laugh at him.' 'O my lord,' added the Christian, 'I
want but somewhat to stay my hunger, were it but a cake of dry
bread and an onion; for the best food is that which does away
hunger, not rich meats; and how well saith the poet:
A cake of dry stale bread will hunger out to flight: Why then are
grief and care so heavy on my spright?
Death is, indeed, most just, since, with an equal hand, Khalif
and beggar-wretch, impartial, it doth smite.'
Then said Ali, 'Wait here, whilst I lock the saloon and fetch
thee somewhat from the market.' 'I hear and obey,' said the
Christian. So Ali shut up the saloon and locking the door with a
padlock, put the key in his pocket: after which he repaired to
the market and bought fried cheese and virgin honey and bananas
and bread, with which he returned to the Christian. When the
latter saw this, he said, 'O my lord, this is [too] much; thou
hast brought enough for half a score men and I am alone; but
belike thou wilt eat with me.' 'Eat by thyself,' replied Ali; 'I
am full.' 'O my lord,' rejoined the Christian, 'the wise say, "He
who eats not with his guest is a base-born churl."'
When Ali heard this, he sat down and ate a little with him, after
which he would have held his hand: but [whilst he was not
looking] the Christian took a banana and peeled it, then,
splitting it in twain, put into one half concentrated henbane,
mixed with opium, a drachm whereof would overthrow an elephant.
This half he dipped in the honey and gave to Ali Shar, saying, 'O
my lord, I swear by thy religion that thou shalt take this.' Ali
was ashamed to make him forsworn; so he took the half banana and
swallowed it; but hardly had it reached his stomach, when his
head fell down in front of his feet and he was as though he had
been a year asleep.
When the Nazarene saw this, he rose, as he had been a bald wolf
or a baited cat, and taking the saloon key, made off at a run,
leaving Ali Shar prostrate. Now this Christian was the brother of
the decrepit old man who thought to buy Zumurrud for a thousand
dinars, but she would have none of him and flouted him in verse.
He was an infidel at heart, though a Muslim in outward show, and
called himself Reshideddin;[FN#18] and when Zumurrud mocked him
and would not accept of him to her lord, he complained to his
brother, the aforesaid Christian, Bersoum by name, who said to
him, 'Fret not thyself about this affair; for I will make shift
to get her for thee, without paying a penny.'
Now he was a skilful sorcerer crafty and wicked; so he watched
his time and played Ali Shar the trick aforesaid; then, taking
the key, he went to his brother and told him what had passed,
whereupon Reshideddin mounted his mule and repaired with his
servants to Ali Shar's house, taking with him a purse of a
thousand dinars, wherewith to bribe the master of police, should
he meet him. He unlocked the saloon door, and the men who were
with him rushed in upon Zumurrud and seized her, threatening her
with death if she spoke; but they left the house as it was and
took nothing therefrom. Moreover, they laid the key by Ali's side
and leaving him lying in the vestibule, shut the door on him and
went away. The Christian carried the girl to his own house and
setting her amongst his women and concubines, said to her, 'O
strumpet, I am the old man, whom thou did reject and lampoon; but
now I have thee, without paying a penny.' 'God requite thee, O
wicked old man,' replied she, with her eyes full of tears, 'for
sundering my lord and me!' 'Wanton doxy that thou art,' rejoined
he,' thou shalt see how I will punish thee! By the virtue of the
Messiah and the Virgin, except thou obey me and embrace my faith,
I will torture thee with all manner of torture!' 'By Allah,'
answered she, 'though thou cut me in pieces, I will not forswear
the faith of Islam! It may be God the Most High will bring me
speedy relief, for He is all-powerful, and the wise say, "Better
hurt in body than in religion."'
Thereupon the old man called out to his eunuchs and women,
saying, 'Throw her down!' So they threw her down and he beat her
grievously, whilst she cried in vain for help, but presently
stinted and fell to saying, 'God is my sufficiency, and He is
indeed sufficient!' till her breath failed her and she swooned
away. When he had taken his fill of beating her, he said to the
eunuchs, 'Drag her forth by the feet and cast her down in the
kitchen, and give her nothing to eat.' They did his bidding, and
on the morrow the accursed old man sent for her and beat her
again, after which he bade return her to her place. When the pain
of the blows had subsided, she said, 'There is no god but God and
Mohammed is His Apostle! God is my sufficiency and excellent is
He in whom I put my trust!' And she called upon our lord Mohammed
(whom God bless and preserve) for succour.
Meanwhile, Ali Shar slept on till next day, when the fumes of the
henbane quitted his brain and he awoke and cried out, 'O
Zumurrud!' But none answered him. So he entered the saloon and
found 'the air empty and the place of visitation distant;'[FN#19]
whereby he knew that it was the Nazarene, who had played him this
trick. And he wept and groaned and lamented and repeated the
following verses:
O Fate, thou sparest not nor dost desist from me: Lo, for my soul
is racked with dolour and despite!
Have pity, O my lords, upon a slave laid low, Upon the rich made
poor by love and its unright.
What boots the archer's skill, if, when the foe draw near, His
bowstring snap and leave him helpless in the fight?
And when afflictions press and multiply on man, Ah, whither then
shall he from destiny take flight?
How straitly did I guard 'gainst severance of our loves! But,
when as Fate descends, it blinds the keenest sight.
Then he sobbed and repeated these verses also:
Her traces on the encampment's sands a robe of grace bestow: The
mourner yearneth to the place where she dwelt whiles ago.
Towards her native land she turns; a camp in her doth raise
Longing, whose very ruins now are scattered to and fro.
She stops and questions of the place; but with the case's tongue
It answers her, "There is no way to union, I trow.
'Tis as the lost a Levin were, that glittered on the camp Awhile,
then vanished and to thee appeareth nevermo'."
And he repented, whenas repentance availed him not, and wept and
tore his clothes. Then he took two stones and went round the
city, beating his breast with the stones and crying out, 'O
Zumurrud!' whilst the children flocked round him, calling out, 'A
madman! A madman!' and all who knew him wept for him, saying,
'Yonder is such an one: what hath befallen him?' This he did all
that day, and when night darkened on him, he lay down in one of
the by-streets and slept till morning. On the morrow, he went
round about the city with the stones till eventide, when he
returned to his house, to pass the night. One of his neighbours,
a worthy old woman, saw him and said to him, 'God keep thee, O my
son! How long hast thou been mad?' And he answered her with the
following verse:
Quoth they, "Thou'rt surely mad for her thou lov'st;" and I
replied, "Indeed the sweets of life belong unto the raving
race.
My madness leave and bring me her for whom ye say I'm mad; And if
she heal my madness, spare to blame me for my case."
Therewith she knew him for a lover who had lost his mistress and
said, 'There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High,
the Supreme! O my son, I would have thee acquaint me with the
particulars of thine affliction. Peradventure God may enable me
to help thee against it, if it so please Him.' So he told her all
that had happened and she said, 'O my son, indeed thou hast
excuse.' And her eyes ran over with tears and she repeated the
following verses:
Torment, indeed, in this our world, true lovers do aby; Hell
shall not torture them, by God, whenas they come to die!
Of love they died and to the past their passions chastely hid; So
are they martyrs, as, indeed, traditions[FN#20] testify.
Then she said, 'O my son, go now and buy me a basket, such as the
jewel-hawkers carry, and stock it with rings and bracelets and
ear-rings and other women's gear, and spare not money. Bring all
this to me and I will set it on my head and go round about, in
the guise of a huckstress, and make search for her in all the
houses, till I light on news of her, if it be the will of God the
Most High.' Ali rejoiced in her words and kissed her hands, then,
going out, speedily returned with all she required; whereupon she
rose and donning a patched gown and a yellow veil, took a staff
in her hand and set out, with the basket on her head.
She ceased not to go from quarter to quarter and street to street
and house to house, till God the Most High led her to the house
of the accursed Reshideddin the Nazarene. She heard groans within
and knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came down and
opening the door to her, saluted her. Quoth the old woman, 'I
have these trifles for sale: is there any one with you who will
buy aught of them?' 'Yes,' answered the girl and carrying her
indoors, made her sit down; whereupon all the women came round
her and each bought something of her. She spoke to them fair and
was easy with them as to price, so that they rejoiced in her,
because of her pleasant speech and easiness. Meanwhile, she
looked about to see who it was she had heard groaning, till her
eyes fell on Zumurrud, when she knew her and saw that she was
laid prostrate. So she wept and said to the girls, 'O my
children, how comes yonder damsel in this plight?' And they told
her what had passed, adding, 'Indeed, the thing is not of our
choice; but our master commanded us to do this, and he is now
absent on a journey.' 'O my children,' said the old woman, 'I
have a request to make of you, and it is that you loose this
unhappy woman of her bonds, till you know of your lord's return,
when do ye bind her again as she was; and you shall earn a reward
from the Lord of all creatures.' 'We hear and obey,' answered
they and loosing Zumurrud, gave her to eat and drink.
Then said the old woman, 'Would my leg had been broken, ere I
entered your house!' And she went up to Zumurrud and said to her,
'O my daughter, take heart; God will surely bring thee relief.'
Then she told her [privily] that she came from her lord Ali Shar
and appointed her to be on the watch that night, saying, 'Thy
lord will come to the bench under the gallery and whistle to
thee; and when thou hearest him, do thou whistle back to him and
let thyself down to him by a rope from the window, and he will
take thee and go away.' Zumurrud thanked the old woman, and the
latter returned to Ali Shar and told him what she had done,
saying, 'Go to-night, at midnight, to such a quarter,--for the
accursed fellow's house is there and its fashion is thus and
thus. Stand under the window of the upper chamber and whistle;
whereupon she will let herself down to thee; then do thou take
her and carry her whither thou wilt.' He thanked her for her good
offices and repeated the following verses, with the tears running
down his cheeks:
Let censors cease to rail and chide and leave their idle prate:
My body's wasted and my heart weary and desolate;
And from desertion and distress my tears, by many a chain Of true
traditions handed down, do trace their lineage straight.
Thou that art whole of heart and free from that which I endure Of
grief and care, cut short thy strife nor question of my
state.
A sweet-lipped maiden, soft of sides and moulded well of shape,
With her soft speech my heart hath ta'en, ay, and her
graceful gait.
My heart, since thou art gone, no rest knows nor my eyes do
sleep, Nor can the hunger of my hopes itself with patience
sate.
Yea, thou hast left me sorrowful, the hostage of desire, 'Twixt
enviers and haters dazed and all disconsolate.
As for forgetting, 'tis a thing I know not nor will know; For
none but thou into my thought shalt enter, soon or late.
Then he sighed and shed tears and repeated these also:
May God be good to him who brought me news that ye were come! For
never more delightful news unto my ears was borne.
If he would take a worn-out wede for boon, I'd proffer him A
heart that at the parting hour was all in pieces torn.
He waited until the appointed time, then went to the street,
where was the Christian's house, and recognizing it from the old
woman's description, sat down on the bench under the gallery.
Presently, drowsiness overcame him, for it was long since he had
slept, for the violence of his passion, and he became as one
drunken with sleep. Glory be to Him who sleepeth not!
Meanwhile, chance led thither a certain thief, who had come out
that night to steal somewhat and prowled about the skirts of the
city, till he happened on Reshideddin's house. He went round
about it, but found no way of climbing up into it and presently
came to the bench, where he found Ali Shar asleep and took his
turban. At that moment, Zumurrud looked out and seeing the thief
standing in the darkness, took him for her lord; so she whistled
to him and he whistled back to her; whereupon she let herself
down to him, with a pair of saddle-bags full of gold. When the
robber saw this, he said to himself, 'This is a strange thing,
and there must needs be some extraordinary cause to it.' Then,
snatching up the saddle-bags, he took Zumurrud on his shoulders
and made off with both like the blinding lightning.
Quoth she, 'The old woman told me that thou wast weak with
illness on my account; and behold, thou art stronger than a
horse.' He made her no reply; so she put her hand to his face and
felt a beard like a bath-broom,[FN#21] as he were a hog that had
swallowed feathers and they had come out at his gullet; whereat
she took fright and said to him, 'What art thou?' 'O strumpet,'
answered he, 'I am the sharper Jewan the Kurd, of the band of
Ahmed ed Denef; we are forty sharpers, who will all tilt at thy
tail this night, from dusk to dawn.' When she heard his words,
she wept and buffeted her face, knowing that Fate had gotten the
better of her and that there was nothing for it but to put her
trust in God the Most High. So she took patience and submitted
herself to the ordinance of God, saying, 'There is no god but
God! As often as we escape from one trouble, we fall into a
worse.'
Now the manner of Jewan's coming thither was thus: he had said to
Ahmed ed Denef, 'O captain, I have been here before and know a
cavern without the town, that will hold forty souls; so I will go
before you thither and set my mother therein. Then will I enter
the city and steal somewhat on your account and keep it till you
come; so shall you be my guests this day.' 'Do what thou wilt,'
replied Ahmed. So Jewan forewent them to the cavern and left his
mother there; but, as he came out, he found a trooper lying
asleep, with his horse tethered beside him; so he slew him and
taking his clothes and arms, hid them with his mother in the
cave, where also he tied up the horse. Then he betook himself to
the city and prowled about, till he happened on the Christian's
house and did with Ali Shar and Zumurrud as we have said. He
ceased not to run, with Zumurrud on his back, till he came to the
cavern, where he gave her in charge of his mother, saying, 'Keep
watch over her till I come back to thee at point of day,' and
went away.
Meanwhile Zumurrud said to herself, 'Now is the time to cast
about for a means of escape. If I wait till these forty men come,
they will take their turns at me, till they make me like a water-
logged ship.' Then she turned to the old woman and said to her,
'O my aunt, wilt thou not come without the cave, that I may louse
thee in the sun?' 'Ay, by Allah, O my daughter!' replied the old
woman. 'This long time have I been out of reach of the bath; for
these hogs cease not to hale me from place to place.' So they
went without the cavern, and Zumurrud combed out the old woman's
hair and killed the vermin in her head, till this soothed her and
she fell asleep; whereupon Zumurrud arose and donning the clothes
of the murdered trooper, girt herself with his sword and covered
her head with his turban, so that she became as she were a man.
Then she took the saddle-bags full of gold and mounted the horse,
saying in herself, 'O kind Protector, I adjure thee by the glory
of Mohammed, (whom God bless and preserve,) protect me! If I
enter the city, belike one of the trooper's folk will see me, and
no good will befall me.' So she turned her back on the city and
rode forth into the desert.
She fared on ten days, eating of the fruits of the earth and
drinking of its waters, she and her horse; and on the eleventh
day, she came in sight of a pleasant and safe city, stablished in
good; the season of winter had departed from it with its cold and
the spring-tide came to it with its roses and orange-blossoms;
its flowers blew bright, its streams welled forth and its birds
warbled. As she drew near, she saw the troops and Amirs and
notables of the place drawn up before the gate, at which she
marvelled and said to herself, 'The people of the city are all
collected at the gate: there must needs be a reason for this.'
Then she made towards them; but, as she drew near, the troops
hastened forward to meet her and dismounting, kissed the ground
before her and said, 'God aid thee, O our lord the Sultan!'
Then the grandees ranked themselves before her, whilst the troops
ranged the people in order, saying, 'God aid thee and make thy
coming a blessing to the Muslims, O Sultan of all men! God
stablish thee, O king of the age and pearl of the day and the
time!' 'What ails you, O people of the city?' asked Zumurrud; and
the chamberlain answered, 'Verily, He who is no niggard in giving
hath been bountiful to thee and hath made thee Sultan of this
city and ruler over the necks of all that are therein; for know
that it is the custom of the citizens, when their king dies,
leaving no son, that the troops should sally forth of the pace
and abide there three days; and whoever cometh from the quarter
whence thou hast come, they make him king over them. So praised
be God who hath sent us a well-favoured man of the sons of the
Turks; for had a lesser than thou presented himself, he had been
Sultan.'
Now Zumurrud was well-advised in all she did; so she said, 'Think
not that I am of the common folk of the Turks; nay, I am a man of
condition; but I was wroth with my family, so I went forth and
left them. See these saddle-bags full of gold I brought with me,
that I might give alms thereof to the poor and needy by the way.'
So they called down blessings upon her and rejoiced in her with
an exceeding joy and she also rejoiced in them and said in
herself, 'Now that I have attained to this estate, it may be God
will reunite me with my lord in this place, for He can do what He
will.' Then the troops escorted her to the city and dismounting,
walked before her to the palace. Here she alighted and the Amirs
and grandees, taking her under the armpits, carried her into the
palace and seated her on the throne; after which they all kissed
the ground before her. Then she bade open the treasuries and gave
largesse to the troops, who offered up prayers for the continuance
of her reign, and all the townsfolk and the people of the kingdom
accepted her rule.
She abode thus awhile, ordering and forbidding, and remitted
taxes and released prisoners and redressed grievances, so that
all the people came to hold her in exceeding reverence and to
love her, by reason of her generosity and continence; but, as
often as she bethought her of her lord, she wept and besought God
to reunite them; and one night, as she was thinking of him and
calling to mind the days she had passed with him, her eyes ran
over with tears and she repeated the following verses:
My longing, 'spite of time, for thee is ever new; My weeping
wounds my lids and tears on tears ensue.
Whenas I weep, I weep for anguish of desire; For grievous
severance is a lover's heart unto.
Then she wiped away her tears and rising, betook herself to the
harem, where she appointed to the slave-girls and concubines
separate lodgings and assigned them pensions and allowances,
giving out that she was minded to live apart and devote herself
to works of piety. So she betook herself to fasting and praying,
till the Amirs said, 'Verily, this Sultan is exceeding devout.'
Nor would she suffer any attendants about her, save two little
eunuchs, to serve her.
She held the throne thus a whole year, during which time she
heard no news of Ali Shar, and this was exceeding grievous to
her; so, when her distress became excessive, she summoned her
Viziers and chamberlains and bid them fetch architects and
builders and make her a tilting ground, a parasang long and the
like broad, in front of the palace. They hastened to do her
bidding, and when the place was competed to her liking, she went
down into it and they pitched her there a great pavilion, wherein
the chairs of the Amirs were set in their order. Then she bade
spread in the tilting-ground tables with all manner rich meats
and ordered the grandees to eat. So they ate and she said to
them, 'It is my will that, on the first day of each month, ye do
on this wise and proclaim in the city that none shall open his
shop, but that all the people shall come and eat of the king's
banquet, and that whoso disobeyeth shall be hanged over his own
door.'
They did as she bade them, and when came the first day of the
next month, Zumurrud went down into the tilting-ground and the
crier proclaimed aloud, saying, 'Ho, all ye people, great and
small, whoso openeth shop or house or magazine shall straightway
be hanged over his own door; for it behoves you all to come and
eat of the king's banquet.' Then they laid the tables and the
people came in troops; so she bade them sit down at the tables
and eat their fill of all the dishes. So they sat down and she
sat on her chair of estate, watching them, whilst each thought
she was looking at none but him. Then they fell to eating and the
Amirs said to them, 'Eat and be not ashamed; for this is pleasing
to the King.' So they ate their fill and went away, blessing the
King and saying, one to the other, 'Never saw we a Sultan that
loved the poor as doth this Sultan.' And they wished her length
of life, whilst Zumurrud returned to the palace, rejoicing in her
device and saying in herself, 'If it please God the Most High, I
shall surely by this means happen on news of my lord Ali Shar.'
When the first day of the second month came round, she made the
banquet as before and the folk came and sat down at the tables,
company by company and one by one. As she sat on her throne, at
the head of the tables, watching the people eat, her eye fell on
Bersoum, the Nazarene who had bought the curtain of Ali Shar; and
she knew him and said in herself, 'This is the first of my solace
and of the accomplishment of my desire.' Bersoum came up to the
table and sitting down with the rest to eat, espied a dish of
sweet rice, sprinkled with sugar; but it was far from him. So he
pushed up to it and putting out his hand to it, took it and set
it before himself. His next neighbour said to him, 'Why dost thou
not eat of what is before thee? Art thou not ashamed to reach
over for a dish that is distant from thee?' Quoth Bersoum, 'I
will eat of none but this dish.' 'Eat then,' rejoined the other,
'and small good may it do thee!' But another man, a hashish-
eater, said, 'Let him eat of it, that I may eat with him.' 'O
unluckiest of hashish-eaters,' replied the first speaker, 'this
is no meat for thee; it is eating for Amirs. Let it be, that it
may return to those for whom it is meant and they eat it.'
But Bersoum heeded him not and putting his hand to the rice, took
a mouthful and put it in his mouth. He was about to take a second
mouthful, when Zumurrud, who was watching him, cried out to
certain of her guards, saying, 'Bring me yonder man with the dish
of sweet rice before him and let him not eat the mouthful he hath
ready, but throw it from his hand.' So four of the guards went up
to Bersoum and throwing the mouthful of rice from his hand, haled
him forthright before Zumurrud, whilst all the people left eating
and said to one another, 'By Allah, he did wrong in not eating of
the food meant for the like of him.' 'For me,' quoth one, 'I was
content with this frumenty that is before me.' And the hashish-
eater said, 'Praised be God who hindered me from eating of the
dish of sweet rice, for I looked for it to stand before him and
was only waiting for him to have stayed his hunger of it, to eat
with him, when there befell him what we see.' And they said, one
to another, 'Wait till we see what befalls him.'
Then said Zumurrud to Bersoum, 'Out on thee, O blue eyes! What is
thy name and why comest thou hither?' But the accursed fellow
miscalled himself, having a white turban,[FN#22] and answered, 'O
King, my name is Ali; I am a weaver and came hither to trade.'
'Bring me a table of sand and a pen of brass,' quoth Zumurrud,
and they brought her what she sought. She levelled the sand and
taking the pen, drew a geomantic figure, in the likeness of an
ape; then, raising her head, she considered Bersoum straitly and
said to him, 'O dog, how darest thou lie to kings? Art thou not a
Nazarene, Bersoum by name, and comest thou not hither in quest of
somewhat? Speak the truth, or, by the splendour of the Deity, I
will strike off thy head?' At this, Bersoum was confounded and
the Amirs and bystanders said, 'Verily, the King understands
geomancy: blessed be He who hath gifted him!' Then Zumurrud cried
out upon Bersoum and said, 'Tell me the truth, or I will make an
end of thee!' 'Pardon, O King of the age,' replied Bersoum; 'the
table hath told thee aright; thy slave is indeed a Nazarene.'
Whereupon all present wondered at the King's skill in geomancy,
saying, 'Verily, the King is a diviner, whose like there is not
in the world.'
Then Zumurrud bade flay the Christian and stuff his skin with
straw and hang it over the gate of the tilting-ground. Moreover,
she commanded to dig a pit without the city and burn his flesh
and bones therein and throw over his ashes offal and rubbish. 'We
hear and obey,' answered they and did with him as she bade. When
the people saw what had befallen the Christian, they said, 'He
hath his deserts; but what an unlucky mouthful was that for him!'
And another said, 'Be my wife triply divorced if ever I eat of
sweet rice as long as I live!' 'Praised be God,' quoth the
hashish-eater, 'who saved me from this fellow's fate by hindering
me from eating of the rice!' Then they all went out, minded
thenceforth to leave sitting in the Christian's place, over
against the dish of sweet rice.
When the first day of the third month came, they laid the tables
as of wont, and Queen Zumurrud came down and sat on her throne,
with her guards in attendance on her, fearing her danger. Then
the townsfolk entered, as usual, and went round about the tables,
looking for the place of the dish of sweet rice, and quoth one to
another, 'Hark ye, Hajji Khelef!' 'At thy service, O Hajji
Khalid,' answered the other. 'Avoid the dish of sweet rice,' said
Khalid, 'and look thou eat not thereof; for if thou do, thou wilt
be hanged.' Then they sat down to meat; and as they were eating,
Zumurrud chanced to look at the gate of the tilting-ground and
saw a man come running in. So she considered him and knew him for
Jewan the Kurd.
Now the manner of his coming was on this wise. When he left his
mother, he went to his comrades and said to them, 'I had fine
purchase yesterday; for I slew a trooper and took his horse.
Moreover there fell to me last night a pair of saddle-bags, full
of gold, and a girl worth more than the money; and I have left
them all with my mother in the cave.' At this they rejoiced and
repaired to the cavern at nightfall, whilst they forewent them,
that he might fetch them the booty. But he found the place empty
and questioned his mother, who told him what had befallen;
whereupon he bit his hands for despite and exclaimed, 'By Allah,
I will make search for yonder harlot and take her, wherever she
is, though it be in the shell of a pistachio-nut, and quench my
malice on her!' So he went forth in quest of her and journeyed
from place to place, till he came to Queen Zumurrud's city. He
found the town deserted and enquiring of some women whom he saw
looking from the windows, learnt that it was the Sultan's custom
to make a banquet for all the people on the first of each month
and was directed to the tilting-ground, where the feast was
spread.
So he came running in and finding no place empty, save that
before the dish of sweet rice, took his seat there and put out
his hand to the dish; whereupon the folk cried out to him,
saying, 'O brother, what wilt thou do?' Quoth he, 'I mean to eat
my fill of this dish.' 'If thou eat of it,' rejoined one of the
people, 'thou wilt assuredly be hanged.' But Jewan said, 'Hold
thy peace and talk not thus.' Then he stretched out his hand to
the dish aforesaid and drew it to him.
Now the hashish-eater, of whom we have before spoken, was sitting
by him; but when he saw him do this, the fumes of the hashish
left his head and he fled from his place and sat down afar off,
saying, 'I will have nothing to do with yonder dish.' Then Jewan
put out his hand, as it were a crow's foot, and dipping it in the
dish, scooped up therewith half the dishful and drew it out, as
it were a camel's hoof, and the bottom of the dish appeared. He
rolled the rice in his hand, till it was like a great orange, and
threw it ravenously into his mouth; and it rolled down his
gullet, with a noise like thunder. 'Praised by God,' quoth his
neighbour, 'who hath not made me meat before thee; for thou hast
emptied the dish at one mouthful.' 'Let him eat,' said the
hashish-eater; 'methinks he hath a gallows-face.' Then, turning
to Jewan, 'Eat,' added he, 'and small good may it do thee!'
Jewan put out his hand again and taking another mouthful, was
rolling it in his hands like the first, when Zumurrud cried out
to the guards, saying, 'Bring me yonder man in haste and let him
not eat the mouthful in his hand.' So they ran and seizing him,
as he bent over the dish, brought him to her, whilst the people
exulted over him and said, one to the other, 'He hath his
deserts, for we warned him, but he would not take warning.
Verily, this place is fated to be the death of whoso sits
therein, and yonder rice is fatal to all who eat of it.'
Then said Zumurrud to Jewan, 'What is thy name and condition and
why comest thou hither?' 'O our lord the Sultan,' answered he,
'my name is Othman; I am a gardener and am come hither in quest
of somewhat I have lost.' 'Bring me a table of sand,' said
Zumurrud. So they brought it, and she took the pen and drawing a
geomantic figure, considered it awhile, then raising her head,
exclaimed, 'Out on thee, thou sorry knave! How darest thou lie to
kings? This sand tells me that thy name is Jewan the Kurd and
that thou art by trade a robber, taking men's goods in the way of
unright and slaying those whom God hath forbidden to slay, save
for just cause.' And she cried out upon him, saying, 'O hog, tell
me the truth of thy case or I will cut off thy head!'
When he heard this, he turned pale and his teeth chattered; then,
deeming that he might save himself by telling the truth, he
replied, 'O King, thou sayest sooth; but I repent at thy hands
henceforth and turn to God the Most High!' Quoth she, 'I may not
leave a pest in the way of the true-believers.' And she said to
her guards, 'Take him and flay him and do with him as ye did by
his like last month.' And they did her commandment. When the
hashish-eater saw this, he turned his back upon the dish of rice,
saying, 'It is unlawful to present my face to thee.' Then, when
they had made an end of eating, they dispersed and Zumurrud
returned to her palace and dismissed her attendants.
When the fourth month came round, they made the banquet, as of
wont, and the folk sat awaiting leave to begin. Presently
Zumurrud entered and sitting down on her throne, looked at the
tables and saw that room for four people was left void before the
dish of rice, at which she wondered. As she sat, looking around,
she saw a man come running in at the gate, who stayed not till he
reached the tables and finding no room, save before the dish of
rice, took his seat there. She looked at him and knowing him for
the accursed Christian, who called himself Reshideddin, said in
herself, 'How blessed is this device of the food, into whose
toils this infidel hath fallen!'
Now the manner of his coming was extraordinary, and it was on
this wise. When he returned from his journey, the people of the
house told him that Zumurrud was missing and with her a pair of
saddle-bags full of gold; whereupon he rent his clothes and
buffeted his face and plucked out his beard. Then he despatched
his brother Bersoum in quest of her, and when he was weary of
awaiting news of him, he went forth himself, to seek for him and
for Zumurrud, and fate led him to the latter's city. He entered
it on the first day of the month and finding the streets deserted
and the shops shut, enquired of the women at the windows, who
told him that the King made a banquet on the first of each month
for the people, all of whom were bound to attend it, nor might
any abide in his house or shop that day; and they directed him to
the tilting-ground.
So he betook himself thither and sitting down before the rice,
put out his hand to eat thereof, whereupon Zumurrud cried out to
her guards, saying, 'Bring me him who sits before the dish of
rice.' So they laid hands on him and brought him before Queen
Zumurrud, who said to him, 'Out on thee! What is thy name and
occupation, and what brings thee hither?' 'O King of the age,'
answered he, 'my name is Rustem and I have no occupation, for
I am a poor dervish.' Then said she to her attendants, 'Bring
me a table of sand and pen of brass.' So they brought her what
she sought, as usual; and she took the pen and drawing a
geomantic figure, considered it awhile, then raising her head to
Reshideddin, said, 'O dog, how darest thou lie to kings? Thy name
is Reshideddin the Nazarene; thou art outwardly a Muslim, but a
Christian at heart, and thine occupation is to lay snares for the
slave-girls of the Muslims and take them. Speak the truth, or
I will smite off thy head.' He hesitated and stammered, then
replied, 'Thou sayest sooth, O King of the age!' Whereupon she
commanded to throw him down and give him a hundred blows on each
sole and a thousand on his body; after which she bade flay him
and stuff his skin with hards of flax and dig a pit without the
city, wherein they should burn his body and cast dirt and rubbish
on his ashes. They did as she bade them and she gave the people
leave to eat.
So they ate their fill and went their ways, whilst Zumurrud
returned to her palace, thanking God for that He had solaced her
heart of those who had wronged her. Then she praised the Creator
of heaven and earth and repeated the following verses:
Lo, these erst had power and used it with oppression and unright!
In a little, their dominion was as it ne'er had been.
Had they used their power with justice, they had been repaid the
like; But they wrought unright and Fortune guerdoned them
with dole and teen.
So they perished and the moral of the case bespeaks them thus,
"This is what your crimes have earnt you: Fate is not to
blame, I ween."
Then she called to mind her lord Ali Shar and wept, but presently
recovered herself and said, 'Surely God, who hath given mine
enemies into my hand, will vouchsafe me speedy reunion with my
beloved; for He can do what He will and is generous to His
servants and mindful of their case!' Then she praised God (to
whom belong might and majesty) and besought forgiveness of Him,
submitting herself to the course of destiny, assured that to each
beginning there is an end, and repeating the saying of the poet:
Be at thine ease, for all things' destiny Is in His hands who
fashioned earth and sea.
Nothing of Him forbidden shall befall Nor aught of Him appointed
fail to thee.
And what another saith:
Let the days pass, as they list, and fare, And enter thou not the
house of despair.
Full oft, when the quest of a thing is hard, The next hour brings
us the end of our care.
And a third:
Be mild what time thou'rt ta'en with anger and despite And
patient, if there fall misfortune on thy head.
Indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by Time And of
all wondrous things are hourly brought to bed.
And a fourth:
Take patience, for therein is good; an thou be learn'd in it,
Thou shalt be calm of soul nor drink of anguish any whit.
And know that if, with a good grace, thou do not thee submit, Yet
must thou suffer, will or nill, that which the Pen hath
writ.
She abode thus another whole month's space, judging the folk and
commanding and forbidding by day, and by night weeping and
bewailing her separation from her lord Ali Shar. On the first day
of the fifth month, she bade spread the banquet as usual and sat
down at the head of the tables, whilst the people awaited the
signal to fall to, leaving the space before the dish of rice
vacant. She sat with eyes fixed upon the gate of the tilting-
ground, noting all who entered and saying, 'O Thou that
restoredst Joseph
to Jacob and didst away the affliction of Job, vouchsafe of Thy
power and greatness to restore me my lord Ali Shar; for Thou
canst all things! O Lord of all creatures, O Guide of the erring,
O Hearer of those that cry, O Answerer of prayer, answer Thou my
prayer, O Lord of all creatures!'
Hardly had she made an end of her prayer, when she saw entering
the gate a young man, in shape like the willow wand, the
comeliest and most accomplished of youths, save that his face was
sallow and his form wasted. He came up to the tables and finding
no seat vacant save before the dish of rice, sat down there;
whereupon Zumurrud's heart fluttered and observing him narrowly,
she knew him for her lord Ali Shar and was like to have cried out
for joy, but restrained herself, fearing disgrace before the
folk. Her bowels were troubled and her heart throbbed; but she
concealed that which she suffered.
Now the manner of his coming thither was on this wise. When
he awoke and found himself lying on the bench outside the
Christian's house, with his head bare, he knew that some one had
come upon him and robbed him of his turban, whilst he slept. So
he spoke the word, which whoso saith shall never be confounded,
that is to say, 'Verily, we are God's and to Him we return!' and
going back to the old woman's house, knocked at the door. She
came out and he wept before her, till he swooned away. When he
came to himself, he told her all that had passed, and she blamed
him and chid him for his heedlessness, saying, 'Thou hast but
thyself to thank for thine affliction and calamity.' And she
gave not over reproaching him, till the blood streamed from his
nostrils and he again fainted away. When he revived, he saw her
weeping over him; so he bewailed himself and repeated the
following verses:
How bitter is parting to friends, and how sweet Reunion to
lovers, for sev'rance that sigh!
May God all unite them and watch over me, For I'm of their number
and like for to die.
The old woman mourned over him and said to him, 'Sit here, whilst
I go in quest of news and return to thee in haste.' 'I hear and
obey,' answered he. So she left him and was absent till midday,
when she returned and said to him, 'O Ali, I fear me thou must
die in thy grief; thou wilt never see thy beloved again save on
Es Sirat;[FN#23] for the people of the Christian's house, when
they arose in the morning, found the window giving on the garden
broken in and Zumurrud missing, and with her a pair of saddle-
bags, full of the Christian's money. When I came thither, I found
the Master of Police and his officers standing at the door, and
there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the
Supreme!'
When he heard this, the light in his eyes was changed to darkness
and he despaired of life and made sure of death; nor did he leave
weeping, till he lost his senses. When he recovered, love and
longing were sore upon him; there befell him a grievous sickness
and he kept his house a whole year; during which time the old
woman ceased not to bring him doctors and ply him with diet-
drinks and make him broths, till his life returned to him. Then
he recalled what had passed and repeated the following verses:
Union is parted; in its stead, of grief I am possessed: My tears
flow still, my heart's on fire for yearning and unrest.
Longing redoubles on a wight who hath no peace, so sore Of love
and wakefulness and pain he's wasted and oppressed.
Lord, I beseech Thee, if there be relief for me in aught,
Vouchsafe it, whilst a spark of life abideth in my breast.
When the second year began, the old woman said to him, 'O my son,
all this thy sadness and sorrowing will not bring thee back thy
mistress. Rise, therefore, take heart and seek for her in the
lands: haply thou shalt light on some news of her.' And she
ceased not to exhort and encourage him, till he took heart and
she carried him to the bath. Then she made him drink wine and eat
fowls, and thus she did with him for a whole month, till he
regained strength and setting out, journeyed without ceasing till
he arrived at Zumurrud's city, when he went to the tilting-ground
and sitting down before the dish of sweet rice, put out his hand
to eat of it.
When the folk saw this, they were concerned for him and said to
him, 'O young man, eat not of that dish, for whoso eats thereof,
misfortune befalls him.' 'Leave me to eat of it,' answered he,
'and let them do with me as they list, so haply I may be at rest
from this weary life.' Then he ate a first mouthful, and Zumurrud
was minded to have him brought to her; but bethought her that
belike he was anhungred and said in herself, 'It were well to let
him eat his fill.' So he went on eating, whilst the people looked
on in astonishment, waiting to see what would befall him; and
when he had done, Zumurrud said to certain of her eunuchs, 'Go to
yonder youth that eateth of the rice and bring him to me on
courteous wise, saying, 'The King would have speech of thee on
some slight matter.' 'We hear and obey,' answered they and going
up to Ali Shar, said to him, 'O my lord, the King desires the
favour of a word with thee, and let thy heart be easy.' 'I hear
and obey,' replied he and followed the eunuchs, who carried him
before Zumurrud, whilst the people said to one another, 'There is
no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! I
wonder what the King will do with him!' And others said, 'He will
do him nought but good; for, were he minded to harm him, he had
not suffered him to eat his fill.'
When he came before Zumurrud, he saluted and kissed the earth
before her, whilst she returned his greeting and received him
with honour. Then said she to him, 'What is thy name and
condition and what brought thee hither?' 'O King,' answered he,
'my name is Ali Shar; I am of the sons of the merchants of
Khorassan and the object of my coming hither is to seek for a
slave-girl whom I have lost; for she was dearer to me than my
sight and my hearing, and indeed my soul cleaves to her, since I
lost her.' And he wept, till he swooned away. She caused sprinkle
rose-water on his face, till he came to himself, when she said,
'Bring me the table of sand and the pen.' So they brought them
and she took the pen and drew a geomantic figure, which she
considered awhile; then, 'Thou hast spoken sooth,' quoth she.
'God will grant thee speedy reunion with her; so be not
troubled.' Then she bade her chamberlain carry him to the bath
and after clothe him in a handsome suit of royal apparel, and
mount him an one of the best of the King's horses and bring him
to the palace at end of day. So the chamberlain took him away,
whilst the folk said to one another, 'What makes the King deal
thus courteously with yonder youth?' And one said, 'Did I not
tell you that he would do him no hurt? For he is fair of aspect;
and this I knew, when the King suffered him to eat his fill.' And
each said his say; after which they all dispersed and went their
ways.
As for Zumurrud, she thought the night would never come, that she
might be alone with the beloved of her heart. As soon as it was
dusk, she withdrew to her sleeping-chamber and made as she were
overcome with sleep; and it was her wont to suffer none to pass
the night with her, save the two little eunuchs that waited upon
her. After a little, she sent for Ali Shar and sat down upon the
bed, with candles burning at her head and feet and the place
lighted with hanging lamps of gold that shone like the sun. When
the people heard of her sending for Ali Shar, they marvelled and
said, 'Algates, the King is enamoured of this young man, and to-
morrow he will make him commander of the troops.' And each
thought his thought and said his say. When they brought him in to
her, he kissed the earth before her and called down blessings on
her, and she said in herself, 'Needs must I jest with him awhile,
ere I make myself known to him.' Then said she to him, 'O Ali,
hast thou been to the bath?' 'Yes, O my lord,' answered he.
'Come, eat of this fowl and meat and drink of this wine and
sherbet of sugar,' said she; 'for thou art weary; and after come
hither.' 'I hear and obey,' replied he and did as she bade him.
When he had made an end of eating and drinking, she said to him,
'Come up with me on the couch and rub my feet.' So he fell to
rubbing her feet and legs and found them softer than silk. Then
said she, 'Go higher with the rubbing;' and he, 'Pardon me, O my
lord, I will go no higher than the knee.' Whereupon, 'Wilt thou
gainsay me?' quoth she. 'It shall be an ill-omened night for
thee! Nay, but it behoves thee to do my bidding and I will make
thee my minion and appoint thee one of my Amirs.' 'And in what
must I do thy bidding, O King of the age?' asked Ali. 'Put off
thy trousers,' answered she, 'and lie down on thy face.' Quoth
he, 'That is a thing I never in my life did; and if thou force me
thereto, I will accuse thee thereof before God on the Day of
Resurrection. Take all thou hast given me and let me go to my own
city.' And he wept and lamented. But she said, 'Put off thy
trousers and lie down on thy face, or I will strike off thy
head.' So he did as she bade him and she mounted upon his back.
And he felt what was softer than silk and fresher than cream and
said in himself, 'Of a truth, this King is better than all the
women!'
She abode a while on his back, then turned over on to the ground,
and he said [in himself], 'Praised be God! It seems his yard is
not in point.' Then said she, 'O Ali, it is of the wont of my
yard that it standeth not on end, except it be rubbed with the
hand; so, some, rub it with thy hand, till it be in point, else
will I kill thee.' So saying, she lay down on her back and taking
his hand, set it to her kaze, and he found it a kaze softer than
silk, white, plump and great, resembling for heat the hot room of
the bath or the heart of a lover, whom passion hath wasted. Quoth
Ali in himself, 'Verily, this King hath a kaze. This is a wonder
of wonders!' And desire got hold on him and his yard stood on end
to the utmost; which when Zumurrud saw, she burst out laughing
and said to him, 'O my lord, all this betideth and yet thou
knowest me not!' 'And who art thou, O King?' asked he; and she
said, 'I am thy slave-girl Zumurrud.'
When he knew this and was certified that she was indeed his very
slave-girl Zumurrud, he threw himself upon her, as the lion upon
the sheep, and kissed her and embraced her. Then he thrust his
yard into her poke and stinted not to play the porter at her door
and the Imam[FN#24] at her prayer-niche, whilst she with him
ceased not from inclination and prostration and rising up and
sitting down,[FN#25] accompanying her canticles of praise[FN#26]
with motitations and other amorous gestures, till the [two
little] eunuchs [aforesaid] heard [the noise]. So they came and
peeping out from behind the curtains, saw the King lying [on his
back] and Ali Shar upon him, thrusting and thronging amain,
whilst she puffed and blew and wriggled. Quoth they, 'This is no
man's wriggle; belike this King is a woman.' But they concealed
their affair and discovered it to none.
On the morrow, Zumurrud summoned all the troops and the grandees
of the realm and said to them, 'I am minded to journey to this
man's country; so choose a deputy, who shall rule over you, till
I return to you.' And they answered, 'We hear and obey.' Then she
applied herself to making ready for the journey and furnished
herself with victual and treasure and camels and mules and so
forth; after which she set out with Ali Shar, and they fared on,
till they arrived at his native place, where he entered his house
and gave alms and largesse. God vouchsafed him children by her,
and they both lived the happiest of lives, till there came to
them the Destroyer of Delights and Sunderer of Companies. Glory
be to God, the Eternal without cease, and praised be He in every
case!
THE LOVES OF JUBEIR BEN UMEIR AND THE LADY
BUDOUR
It is related the Khalif Haroun er Reshid was restless one night
and could not sleep; so that he ceased not to toss from side to
side for very restlessness, till, growing weary of this, he
called Mesrour and said to him, 'O Mesrour, look what may solace
me of this my restlessness.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,'
answered Mesrour, 'wilt thou walk in the garden of the palace and
divert thyself with the sight of its flowers and gaze upon the
stars and note the beauty of their ordinance and the moon among
them, shining on the water?' 'O Mesrour,' replied the Khalif, 'my
heart inclines not to aught of this.' 'O my lord,' continued
Mesrour, 'there are in thy palace three hundred concubines, each
of whom hath her separate lodging. Do thou bid retire each into
her own apartment and then go thou about and divert thyself with
gazing on them, without their knowledge.' 'O Mesrour,' answered
Haroun, 'the palace is mine and the girls are my property:
moreover, my soul inclineth not to aught of this.' 'O my lord,'
said Mesrour, 'summon the doctors and sages and poets and bid
them contend before thee in argument and recite verses and tell
thee tales and anecdotes.' 'My soul inclines not to aught of
this,' answered the Khalif; and Mesrour said, 'O my lord, bid the
minions and wits and boon-companions attend thee and divert thee
with witty sallies.' 'O Mesrour,' replied the Khalif, 'indeed my
soul inclineth not to aught of this.' 'Then, O my lord,' rejoined
Mesrour, 'strike off my head; maybe, that will dispel thine
unease and do away the restlessness that is upon thee.'
At this the Khalif laughed and said, 'See which of the boon-
companions is at the door.' So Mesrour went out and returning,
said, 'O my lord, he who sits without is Ali ben Mensour of
Damascus, the Wag.' 'Bring him to me,' quoth Haroun; and Mesrour
went out and returned with Ibn Mensour, who said, on entering,
'Peace be on thee, O Commander of the Faithful!' The Khalif
returned his salutation and said to him, 'O Ibn Mensour, tell us
one of thy stories.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' said the
other, 'shall I tell thee what I have seen with my eyes or what I
have only heard tell?' 'If thou have seen aught worth telling,'
replied the Khalif, 'let us hear it; for report is not like eye-
witness.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' said Ibn Mensour, 'lend
me thine ear and thy heart.' 'O Ibn Mensour,' answered the
Khalif, 'behold, I am listening to thee with mine ears and
looking at thee with mine eyes and attending to thee with my
heart.'
'Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,' began Ibn Mensour,
'that I receive a yearly allowance from Mohammed ben Suleiman el
Hashimi, Sultan[FN#27] of Bassora; so I went to him, once upon a
time, as usual, and found him about to ride out a-hunting. I
saluted him, and he returned my salute and would have me mount and
go a-hunting with him; but I said, "O my lord, I cannot ride; so
do thou stablish me in the guest-house and give thy chamberlains
and officers charge over me." And he did so and departed for the
chase. His officers entreated me with the utmost honour and
hospitality; but I said in myself, "By Allah, it is a strange
thing that I should have used so long to come from Baghdad to
Bassora, yet know no more of the town than from the palace to
the garden and back again! When shall I find an occasion like
this to view the different parts of Bassora? I will rise at once
and walk forth alone and divert myself and digest what I have
eaten."
So I donned my richest clothes and went out a-walking in Bassora.
Now it is known to thee, O Commander of the Faithful, that it
hath seventy streets, each seventy parasangs long of Irak
measure; and I lost myself in its by-streets and thirst overcame
me. Presently, as I went along, I came to a great door, on which
were two rings of brass, with curtains of red brocade drawn
before it. Over the door was a trellis, covered with a creeping
vine, that hung down and shaded the doorway; and on either side
the porch was a stone bench. I stood still, to gaze upon the
place, and presently heard a sorrowful voice, proceeding from a
mourning heart, warbling melodiously and chanting the following
verses:
My body is become th' abode of sickness and dismay, By reason of
a fawn, whose land and stead are far away.
O zephyr of the waste, that roused my pain in me, I pray, By God
your Lord, to him, with whom my heart dwells, take your way
And prithee chide him, so reproach may soften him,
maybe.
And if to you he do incline and hearken, then make fair Your
speech and tidings unto him of lovers, 'twixt you, bear.
Yea, and vouchsafe to favour me with service debonair And unto
him I love make known my case and my despair,
Saying, "What ails thy bounden slave that, for
estrangement, she
Should die without offence of her committed or despite Or
disobedience or breach of plighted faith or slight
Or fraud or turning of her heart to other or unright?" And if he
smile, with dulcet speech bespeak ye thus the wight:
"An thou thy company wouldst grant to her, 'twere well
of thee;
For she for love of thee's distraught, as needs must be the case;
Her eyes are ever void of sleep; she weeps and wails apace."
If he show favour and incline to grant the wished-for grace, 'Tis
well and good; but, if ye still read anger in his face,
Dissemble then with him and say, "We know her not, not
we."
Quoth I to myself, "Verily, if the owner of this voice be fair,
she unites beauty of person and eloquence and sweetness of
voice." Then I drew near the door, and raising the curtain little
by little, beheld a damsel, white as the moon, when it rises on
its fourteenth night, with joined eyebrows and languorous
eyelids, breasts like twin pomegranates and dainty lips like twin
corn-marigolds,[FN#28] mouth as it were Solomon's seal and teeth
that sported with the reason of rhymester and proser, even as
saith the poet:
O mouth of the beloved, who set thy pearls arow And eke with
wine fulfilled thee and camomiles like show,
And lent the morning-glory unto thy smile, and who Hath with a
padlock sealed thee of rubies sweet of show?
Whoso but looks upon thee is mad for joy and pride. How should
it fare with him, who kisseth thee, heigho!
And as saith another:
O pearls of the teeth of my love, Have ruth on cornelian and
spare To vie with it! Shall it not find You peerless and
passing compare?
In fine, she comprised all manner of loveliness and was a
ravishment to men and women, nor could the beholder satisfy
himself with the sight of her beauty; for she was as the poet
hath said of her:
If, face to face, she do appear, unveiled, she slays; and if
She turn her back, she makes all men her lovers far and
near.
Like the full moon and eke the sun she is, but cruelty And
inhumanity belong not to her nature dear.
The garden-gates of Paradise are opened with her shift And the
full moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings' sphere.
As I looked at her through the opening of the curtains, she
turned and seeing me standing at the door, said to her maid,
"See who stands at the door." So the maid came up to me and
said, "O old man, hast thou no shame, or do gray hairs and
impudence go together?" "O my mistress," answered I, "I confess
to the gray hairs, but as for unmannerliness, I think not to be
guilty of it." "And what can be more unmannerly," rejoined her
mistress, "than to intrude thyself upon a house other than thy
house and gaze on a harem other than thy harem?" "O my lady,"
said I, "I have an excuse." "And what is thine excuse?" asked
she. Quoth I, "I am a stranger and well-nigh dead of thirst."
"We accept thine excuse," answered she and calling one of her
maids, said to her, "O Lutf, give him to drink in the golden
tankard."
So she brought me a tankard of red gold, set with pearls and
jewels, full of water mingled with odoriferous musk and covered
with a napkin of green silk; and I addressed myself to drink
and was long about it, casting stolen glances at her the while,
till I could prolong it no longer. Then I returned the tankard
to the maid, but did not offer to go; and she said to me, "O old
man, go thy way." "O my lady," replied I, "I am troubled in mind."
"For what?" asked she; and I answered, "For the uncertainty of
fortune and the vicissitudes of events." "Well mayst thou be
troubled thereanent," replied she, "for Time[FN#29] is the
mother of wonders. But what hast thou seen of them that thou
shouldst muse upon?" Quoth I, "I was thinking of the former
owner of this house, for he was my good friend in his lifetime."
"What was his name?" asked she. "Mohammed ben Ali the Jeweller,"
answered I; "and he was a man of great wealth. Did he leave
any children?" "Yes," said she; "he left a daughter, Budour
by name, who inherited all his wealth." Quoth I, "Meseems
thou art his daughter?" "Yes," answered she, laughing; then
added, "O old man, thou hast talked long enough; go thy ways."
"Needs must I go," replied I; "but I see thou art out of health.
Tell me thy case; it may be God will give thee solace at
my hands." "O old man," rejoined she, "if thou be a man of
discretion, I will discover to thee my secret; but first
tell me who thou art, that I may know whether thou art worthy
of confidence or not; for the poet saith:
None keepeth secrets but the man who's trusty and discreet: A
secret's ever safely placed with honest fold and leal;
For me, my secrets I preserve within a locked-up house, Whose
key is lost and on whose door is set the Cadi's seal."
"O my lady," answered I, "an thou wouldst know who I am, I am
Ali ben Mensour of Damascus, the Wag, boon-companion to the
Khalif Haroun er Reshid." When she heard my name she came down
from her seat and saluting me, said, "Welcome, O Ibn Mensour!
Now will I tell thee my case and entrust thee with my secret.
Know that I am a lover separated from her beloved." "O my
lady," rejoined I, "thou art fair and shouldst love none but
the fair. Whom then dost thou love?" Quoth she, "I love Jubeir
ben Umeir es Sheibani, Prince of the Benou Sheiban;"[FN#30] and
she described to me a young man than whom there was none
handsomer in Bassora. "O my lady," asked I, "have letters or
interviews passed between you?" "Yes," answered she; "but his
love for me was of the tongue, not of the heart; for he kept
not his covenant nor was faithful to his troth." "And what was
the cause of your separation?" asked I.
"I was sitting one day," replied she, "whilst my maid here
combed my hair. When she had made an end of combing it, she
plaited my tresses, and my beauty and grace pleased her; so she
bent down to me and kissed my cheek. At that moment, he came
in, unawares, and seeing her kiss my cheek, turned away in
anger, vowing eternal separation and repeating the following
verses:
If any share with me in her I love, incontinent, I'll cast her
off from me and be to live alone content.
A mistress, sure, is nothing worth, if, in the way of love, She
wish for aught but that to which the lover doth consent.
And from that time to this, O Ibn Mensour," continued she, "he
hath neither written to me nor answered my letters." "And what
thinkest thou to do?" asked I. Quoth she, "I have a mind to send
him a letter by thee. If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt
have of me five hundred dinars; and if not, then a hundred for
thy pains." "Do what seemeth good to thee," answered I. So she
called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:
Whence this estrangement and despite, beloved of my soul?
Whither have kindliness and love between us taken flight?
What makes thee with aversion turn from me? Indeed, thy face Is
not the face I used to know, when we our troth did plight.
Belike, the slanderers have made a false report of me, And thou
inclin'dst to them, and they redoubled in despite.
If thou believedst their report, far, far it should have been
From thee, that art too whole of wit at such a bait to
bite!
Yea, I conjure thee by thy life, tell me what thou hast heard:
For lo! thou knowest what was said and wilt not do
unright.
If aught I've said that angered thee, a speech of change
admits; Ay, and interpreting, I trow, may change its
meaning quite,
Were it a word sent down from God; for even the Pentateuch Hath
falsified and garbled been of this and th' other
wight.[FN#31]
Whilst, as for lies, how many were of folk before us told!
Joseph to Jacob was traduced and blackened in his sight.
Yea, for the slanderer and myself and thee, an awful day Of
standing up shall come, when God to judgment all shall
cite.
Then she sealed the letter and gave it to me. I took it and
carried it to the house of Jubeir ben Umeir, whom I found
absent hunting. So I sat down, to wait for him, and presently
he returned; and when I saw him come riding up, my wit was
confounded by his beauty ands grace. As soon as he saw me
sitting at the door, he dismounted and coming up to me, saluted
and embraced me; and meseemed I embraced the world and all that
therein is. Then he carried me into his house and seating me on
his own couch, called for food. So they brought a table of
khelenj[FN#32] wood of Khorassan, with feet of gold, whereon
were all manner of meats, fried and roasted and the like. So I
seated myself at the table and examining it, found the following
verses engraved upon it:
Weep for the cranes that erst within the porringers did lie And
for the stews and partridges evanished heave a sigh!
Mourn for the younglings of the grouse; lament unceasingly, As,
for the omelettes and the fowls browned in the pan, do I.
How my heart yearneth for the fish that, in its different
kinds, Upon a paste of wheaten flour, lay hidden in the
pie!
Praised be God for the roast meat, as in the dish it lay, With
pot-herbs, soaked in vinegar, in porringers hard by,
And eke the rice with buffaloes' milk dressed and made savoury,
Wherein the hands were plunged and arms were buried
bracelet high!
O soul, I rede thee patient be, for God is bountiful: What
though thy fortunes straitened be, His succour's ever
nigh.
Then said Jubeir, "Put thy hand to our food and ease our heart
by eating of our victual." "By Allah," answered I, "I will not
eat a mouthful, till thou grant me my desire." "What is thy
desire?" asked he. So I brought out the letter and gave it to
him; but, when he had read it, he tore it into pieces and
throwing it on the floor, said to me, "O Ibn Mensour, I will
grant thee whatever thou askest, save this that concerns the
writer of this letter, for I have no answer to make to her." At
this, I rose in anger; but he caught hold of my skirts, saying,
"O Ibn Mensour, I will tell thee what she said to thee, for all
I was not present with you." "And what did she say to me?"
asked I. "Did she not say to thee," rejoined he, "'If thou bring
me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five hundred dinars;
and if not, a hundred for thy pains?'" "Yes," answered I; and
he said, "Abide with me this day and eat and drink and make
merry, and thou shalt have five hundred dinars."
So I sat with him and ate and drank and made merry and
entertained him with converse; after which I said to him, "O my
master, is there no music in thy house?" "Indeed," answered he,
"we have drunk this long while without music." Then he called
out, saying, "Ho, Shejeret ed Durr!" Whereupon a slave-girl
answered him from her chamber and came in to us, with a lute of
Indian make, wrapped in a silken bag. She sat down and laying
the lute in her lap, preluded in one-and-twenty modes, then,
returning to the first, sang the following verses to a lively
measure:
Who hath not tasted the sweet and the bitter of passion, I
trow, The presence of her whom he loves from her absence
he hardly shall know.
So he, from the pathway of love who hath wandered and fallen
astray, The smooth knoweth not from the rough of the
roadway, wherein he doth go.
I ceased not the votaries of love and of passion to cross and
gainsay, Till I too must taste of its sweet and its
bitter, its gladness and woe.
Then I drank a full draught of the cup of its bitters, and
humbled was I, and thus to the bondman of Love and its
freedman therein was brought low.
How many a night have I passed with the loved one, carousing
with him, Whilst I drank from his lips what was sweeter
than nectar and colder than snow!
How short was the life of the nights of our pleasance! It
seemed to us still, No sooner was night fallen down than
the daybreak to eastward did glow.
But Fortune had vowed she would sever our union and sunder our
loves; And now, in good sooth, she her vow hath
accomplished. Fate ordered it so;
Fate ordered it thus, and against its ordaining, appeal there
is none; For who shall gainsay a supreme one's
commandments or causes him forego?
Hardly had she made an end of these verses, when Jubeir gave a
great cry and fell down in a swoon; whereupon, "May God not
punish thee, O old man!" exclaimed the damsel. "This long time
have we drunk without music, for fear the like of this should
befall our master. But go now to yon chamber and sleep there."
So I went to the chamber in question and slept till the
morning, when a page brought me a purse of five hundred dinars
and said to me, "This is what my master promised thee; but
return thou not to her who sent thee and let it be as if
neither thou nor we had heard of this affair." "I hear and
obey," answered I and taking the purse, went my way.
However, I said in myself, "The lady will have expected me
since yesterday; and by Allah, I must needs return to her and
tell her what passed between me and him; or she will curse me
and all who come from my country." So I went to her and found
her standing behind the door; and when she saw me, she said, "O
Ibn Mensour, thou hast gotten me nought." "Who told thee of
this?" asked I; and she answered, "O Ibn Mensour, yet another
thing hath been revealed to me; and it is that, when thou
gavest hum the letter, he tore it in pieces and throwing it on
the floor, said to thee, 'O Ibn Mensour, ask me anything but
what relates to the writer of this letter; for I have no reply
to make to her.' Then didst thou rise from beside him in anger;
but he laid hold of thy skirts, saying, 'Abide with me to-day,
for thou art my guest, and eat and drink and make merry; and
thou shalt have five hundred dinars.' So thou didst sit with
him, eating and drinking and making merry, and entertainedst
him with converse; and a slave-girl sand such an air and such
verses, whereupon he fell down in a swoon." Quoth I, "Wast thou
then with us?" "O Ibn Mensour," replied she, "hast thou not
heard the saying of the poet:
The heart of the lover hath eyes, well I wot, That see what the
eyes of beholders see not.
But," added she, "day and night alternate not upon aught, but they
change it." Then she raised her eyes to heaven and said, "O my
God and my Master and my Lord, like as Thou hast afflicted me
with love of Jubeir ben Umeir, even so do Thou afflict him with
love of me and transfer the passion from my heart to his!" Then
she gave me a hundred dinars for my pains and I took it and
returned to the palace, when I found the Sultan come back from
hunting; so I took my pension of him and made my way back to
Baghdad.
Next year, I repaired to Bassora, as usual, to seek my pension,
and the Sultan paid it to me; but as I was about to return to
Baghdad, I bethought me of the lady Budour and said to myself,
"By Allah, I must needs go and see what hath befallen between
her and her lover!" So I went to her house and finding the
porch swept and sprinkled and slaves and servants and pages
standing before the door, said to myself, "Most like grief hath
broken the lady's heart and she is dead, and some Amir or other
hath taken up his abode in her house." So I went on to Jubeir's
house, where I found the benches of the porch broken down and
no pages at the door, as of wont, and said to myself, "Belike
he too is dead." Then I took up my station before the door of
his house and with my eyes running over with tears, bemoaned it
in the following verses:
Lords, that are gone, but whom my heart doth evermore ensue,
Return; so shall my festal says return to me with you.
I stand before your sometime stead, bewailing your abodes, With
quivering lids, from which the tears rain down, like
summer dew.
Weeping, I question of the house and ruins, "Where is he Who
was the source of benefits and bounties ever new?"
[They answer] "Go thy ways, for those thou lov'st from the
abode Departed are and neath the dust are buried; so
adieu!"
May God not stint us of the sight [in dreams] of all their
charms Nor be their noble memories aye absent from men's
view!
As I was thus bewailing the folk of the house, there came a
black slave thereout and said to me, "Hold thy peace, O old
man! May thy mother be bereft of thee! What ails thee to bemoan
the house thus?" Quoth I, "I knew it of yore, when it belonged
to a good friend of mine." "What was his name?" asked the
slave. And I answered, "Jubeir ben Umeir the Sheibani." "And
what hath befallen him?" rejoined he. "Praised be God, he is
yet in the enjoyment of wealth and rank and prosperity, except
that God hath stricken him with love of a damsel called the
lady Budour; and he is overcome with love of her, that, for the
violence of his passion and torment, he is like a great rock
overthrown. If he hunger, he saith not, 'Feed me;' nor, if he
thirst, doth he say, 'Give me to drink.'" Quoth I, "Ask leave
me to go in to him." "O my lord," said the slave, "Wilt thou go
in to him who understands or to him who understands not?" "I
must needs see him, whatever be his case," answered I.
Se he went in and presently returned with permission for me to
enter, whereupon I went in to Jubeir and found him like a rock
overthrown, understanding neither sign nor speech. I spoke to
him, but he answered me not; and one of his servants said to
me, "O my lord, if thou know aught of verse, repeat it, and
raise thy voice; and he will be aroused by this and speak with
thee." So I recited the following verses:
Budour's love hast thou forgotten or art deaf still to her
sighs? Wak'st anights, or do thine eyelids close upon thy
sleeping eyes?
If thy tears flow fast and freely, night and day long, torrent-
wise, Know thou, then, that thou shalt sojourn evermore in
Paradise.[FN#33]
When he heard this, he opened his eyes and said, "Welcome, O
Ibn Mensour! Verily, the jest is become earnest." "O my lord,"
said I, "is there aught thou wouldst have me do for thee?"
"Yes," answered he; "I would fain write her a letter and send
it to her by thee. If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt
have of me a thousand dinars; and if not, two hundred for thy
pains." "Do what seemeth good to thee," said I. So he called to
one of his slave-girls for inkhorn and paper and wrote the
following verses:
By Allah, O my lady, have ruth on me, I pray! For all my wit by
passion is ravished quite away.
Yea, love for thee and longing have mastered me and clad With
sickness and bequeathed me abjection and dismay.
Aforetime, O my lady, by love I set small store And deemed it
light and easy to bear, until to-day;
But now that Love hath shown me the billows of its sea, Those I
excuse, repenting, who languish neath its sway.
Vouchsafe thy grace to grant me; or, if thou wilt me slay, At
least, then, for thy victim forget thou not to pray.
Then he sealed the letter and gave it to me. I took it and
repairing to Budour's house, raised the curtain of the door,
little by little, as of wont, and looking in, saw ten damsels,
high-bosomed maids, like moons, and the lady Budour sitting in
their midst, as she were the full moon among stars or the sun,
when it is clear of clouds; nor was there on her any trace of
pain or care. As I looked and marvelled at her case, she turned
and seeing me standing at the gate, said to me, "Welcome and
fair welcome to thee, O Ibn Mensour! Come in." So I entered and
saluting her, gave her the letter. She read it and laughing,
said to me, "O Ibn Mensour, the poet lied not when he said:
The love of thee I will endure with patient constancy, Till
such time as a messenger shall come to me from thee.
O Ibn Mensour," added she, "I will write thee an answer that
he may give thee what he promised thee." "May God requite thee
with good!" answered I. So she called for inkhorn and paper and
wrote the following verses:
How comes it my vows I fulfilled and thou, thou wast false to
thy plight? Thou sawst me do justice and truth, and yet
thou thyself didst unright.
'Twas thou that begannest on me with rupture and rigour, I
trow; 'Twas thou that play'dst foul, and with thee began
the untruth and the slight.
Yea, still I was true to my troth and cherished but thee among
men And ceased not thine honour to guard and keep it
unsullied and bright,
Till tidings of fashions full foul I heard, as reported of
thee, And saw with mine eyes what thou didst, to harm me
and work me despite.
Shall I then abase my estate, that thine may exalted become? By
God, hadst thou generous been, the like should thy conduct
requite!
So now unto solace I'll turn my heart, with forgetting, from
thee And washing my hands of thy thought, blot despair for
thee out of my spright.
"By Allah, O my lady," said I, "there needs but the reading of
this letter, to kill him!" So I tore it in pieces and said to
her, "Write him other than this." "I hear and obey," answered
she and wrote the following:
Indeed, I am consoled and sleep is pleasant to mine eyes; For I
have heard what came of prate of slanderers and spies.
My heart my summons hath obeyed, thee to forget; and eke My
lids to stint from wake for thee have seen it good and
wise.
He lies who says that severance is bitterness; for me I find
its taste none otherwise than sweet; indeed he lies.
I've grown to turn away from those who bring me news of thee
And look upon it as a thing at which my gorge doth rise.
Behold, I have forgotten thee with every part of me. Let then
the spy and who will else this know and recognise.
"By Allah, O my lady," said I, "when he reads these verses, his
soul will depart his body!" "O Ibn Mensour," quoth she, "is
passion indeed come to such a pass with him as thou sayst?"
"Had I said more than this," replied I, "it were but the truth:
but clemency is of the nature of the noble." When she heard
this, her eyes filled with tears and she wrote him a letter, O
Commander of the Faithful, there is none in thy court could
avail to write the like of it; and therein were these verses:
How long shall this despite continue and this pride? My enviers'
spite on me thou sure hast satisfied.
Mayhap, I did amiss and knew it not; so tell Me what thou heardst
of me, that did our loves divide.
Even as I welcome sleep unto mine eyes and lids, So would I
welcome thee, beloved, to my side.
I've quaffed the cup of love for thee, unmixed and pure; So, if
thou see me drunk, reproach me not nor chide.
Then she sealed it and gave it to me; and I said, "O my lady,
this thy letter will heal the sick and ease the thirsting soul."
Then I took it and was going away, when she called me back and
said to me, "Tell me that I will be his guest this night." At
this I rejoiced greatly and carried the letter to Jubeir, whom I
found with his eyes fixed on the door, expecting the reply. I
gave him the letter and he opened and read it, then gave a great
cry and fell down in a swoon. When he came to himself, he said to
me, "O Ibn Mensour, did she indeed write this letter with her
hand and touch it with her fingers?" "O my lord," answered I, "do
folk write with their feet?" And by Allah, O Commander of the
Faithful, I had not done speaking, when we heard the chink of her
anklets in the vestibule and she entered.
When he saw her, he sprang to his feet, as thou there ailed him
nought, and embraced her as the letter Lam embraces Alif,[FN#34]
and the malady, that would not depart, ceased from him. Then he
sat down, but she abode standing and I said to her, "O my lady,
why dost thou not sit?" Quoth she, "I will not sit, O Ibn
Mensour, save on a condition that is between us." "And what is
that?" asked I. "None may know lovers' secrets," answered she and
putting her mouth to Jubeir's ear, whispered to him; whereupon,
"I hear and obey," replied he and rising, said somewhat privily
to one of his slaves, who went out and returned, in a little,
with a Cadi and two witnesses. Then Jubeir rose and taking a bag
containing a hundred thousand dinars, said, "O Cadi, marry me to
this young lady and write this sum to her dowry." Quoth the Cadi
to her, "Say, 'I consent to this.'" "I consent to this," said
she, whereupon he drew up the contract of marriage, and she
opened the bag and taking out a handful of gold, gave it to the
Cadi and the witnesses and handed the rest to Jubeir.
Then the Cadi and the witnesses withdrew, and I sat with them, in
mirth and delight, till the most part of the night was past, when
I said in myself, "These are lovers and have been this long while
separated. I will go now and sleep in some place afar from them
and leave them to be private, one with the other." So I rose, but
she laid hold of my skirts, saying, "What thinkest thou to do?"
"So and so," answered I. But she rejoined, "Sit still, when we
would be rid of thee, we will send thee away." So I sat with them
till near daybreak, when she said to me, "O Ibn Mensour, go to
yonder chamber; for we have furnished it for thee, and it is thy
sleeping-place." So I went thither and slept till morning, when a
page brought me basin and ewer, and I made the ablution and
prayed the morning-prayer. Then I sat down and presently, Jubeir
and his mistress came out of the bath in the house, wringing
their locks.
I wished them good morning and gave them joy of their safety and
reunion, saying to Jubeir, "That which began with constraint hath
ended in contentment." "Thou sayst well," replied he; "and indeed
thou deservest largesse." And he called his treasurer and bade
him fetch three thousand dinars. So he brought a purse containing
that sum, and Jubeir gave it to me, saying, "Favour us by
accepting this." "I will not take it," answered I, "till thou
tell me the manner of the transfer of love from her to thee,
after so great an aversion." "I hear and obey," said he. "Know
that we have a festival, called the festival of the New Year,
when all the people use to take boat and go a-pleasuring on the
river. So I went out, with my comrades, and saw a boat, wherein
were half a score damsels like moons, and amongst them, the lady
Budour, with her lute in her hand. She preluded in eleven modes,
then returning to the first, sang the following verses:
Fire is not so fierce and so hot as the fires in my heart that
glow, And granite itself is less hard than the heart of my
lord, I trow.
Indeed, when I think on his make and his fashion, I marvel to see
A heart that is harder than rock in a body that's softer
than snow.
Quoth I to her, 'Repeat the verses and the air.' But she would
not; so I bade the boatmen pelt her with oranges, and they pelted
her till we feared her boat would sink. Then she went her way,
and this is how the love was transferred from her breast to
mine." So I gave them joy of their reunion and taking the purse,
with its contents, returned to Baghdad.
When the Khalif heard Ibn Mensour's story, his heart was
lightened and the restlessness and oppression from which he
suffered forsook him.
THE MAN OF YEMEN AND HIS SIX SLAVE-GIRLS
The Khalif El-Mamoun was sitting one day in his palace,
surrounded by his grandees and officers of state, and there were
present also before him all his poets and minions, amongst the
rest one named Mohammed of Bassora. Presently, the Khalif turned
to the latter and said to him, 'O Mohammed, I wish thee to tell
me something that I have never before heard.' 'O Commander of the
Faithful,' answered Mohammed, 'shall I tell thee a thing that I
have heard with my ears of a thing that I have seen with my
eyes?' 'Tell me whichever is the rarer,' said El Mamoun.
'Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,' began Mohammed, 'that
there lived once a wealthy man, who was a native of Yemen; but he
left his native land and came to this city of Baghdad, whose
sojourn so pleased him that he transported hither his family and
possessions. Now he had six slave-girls, the first fair, the
second dark, the third fat, the fourth thin, the fifth yellow and
the sixth black, all fair of face and perfectly accomplished and
skilled in the arts of singing and playing upon instruments of
music. One day he sent for them all and called for meat and
drink; and they ate and drank and made merry. Then he filled the
cup and taking it in his hand, said to the blonde, "O new-moon-
face, let us hear somewhat pleasing." So she took the lute and
tuning it, made music thereon with such melodious trills and
modulations that the place danced to the rhythm; after which she
played a lively measure and sang the following verses:
I have a friend, whose form is mirrored in mine eye, And deep
within my breast, his name doth buried lie.
Whenas I call him back to mind, I am all heart, And when on him I
gaze, all eyes indeed am I.
"Forswear the love of him," my censor says; and I, "That which is
not to be, how shall it be?" reply.
"Go forth from me," quoth I, "and leave me, censor mine: Feign
not that eath and light, that's grievous to aby."
At this their master was moved to mirth and drinking off his cup,
gave the damsels to drink, after which he said to the brunette,
"O light of the brasier[FN#35] and delight of souls, let us hear
thy lovely voice, wherewith all that hearken are ravished." So
she took the lute and trilled upon it, till the place was moved
to mirth; then, taking all hearts with her graceful bendings, she
sang the following verses:
As thy face liveth, none but thee I'll love nor cherish e'er,
Till death, nor ever to thy love will I be false, I swear.
O full moon, shrouded, as it were a veil, with loveliness, All
lovely ones on earth that be beneath thy banners fare.
Thou, that in pleasantness and grace excellest all the fair, May
God, the Lord of heaven and earth, be with thee everywhere!
The man was pleased and drank off his cup; after which he filled
again and taking the goblet in his hand, beckoned to the plump
girl and bade her sing and play. So she took the lute and
striking a grief-dispelling measure, sang as follows:
If but thy consent be assured, O thou who art all my desire, Be
all the folk angered 'gainst me; I set not a whit by their
ire.
And if thou but show me thy face, thy brilliant and beautiful
face, I reck not if all the kings of the earth from my
vision retire.
Thy favour, O thou unto whom all beauty must needs be referred,
Of the goods and the sweets of the world is all that I seek
and require.
The man was charmed and emptying his cup, gave the girls to
drink. Then he beckoned to the slender girl and said to her, "O
houri of Paradise, feed thou our ears with sweet sounds." So she
took the lute and tuning it, preluded and sang the following
verses:
Is it not martyrdom that I for thine estrangement dree, Seeing,
indeed, I cannot live, if thou depart from me?
Is there no judge, in Love its law, to judge betwixt us twain, to
do me justice on thy head and take my wreak of thee?
Their lord rejoiced and emptying the cup, gave the girls to
drink. Then he signed to the yellow girl and said to her, "O sun
of the day, let us hear some pleasant verses." So she took the
lute and preluding after the goodliest fashion, sang as follows:
I have a lover, whenas I draw him nigh, He bares upon me a sword
from either eye.
May God avenge me some whit of him! For lo, He doth oppress me,
whose heart in 's hand doth lie.
Oft though, "Renounce him, my heart," I say, yet it Will to none
other than him itself apply.
He's all I ask for, of all created things; Yet jealous Fortune
doth him to me deny.
The man rejoiced and drank and gave the girls to drink; then he
filled the cup and taking it in his hand, signed to the black
girl, saying, "O apple of the eye, let us have a taste of thy
fashion, though it be but two words." So she took the lute and
preluded in various modes, then returned to the first and sang
the following verses to a lively air:
O eyes, be large with tears and pour them forth amain, For, lo,
for very love my senses fail and wane.
All manner of desire I suffer for his sake I cherish, and my foes
make merry at my pain.
My enviers me forbid the roses of a cheek; And yet I have a heart
that is to roses fain.
Ay, once the cups went round with joyance and delight And to the
smitten lutes, the goblets did we drain,
What time my love kept troth and I was mad for him And in faith's
heaven, the star of happiness did reign.
But lo, he turned away from me, sans fault of mine! Is there a
bitterer thing than distance and disdain?
Upon his cheeks there bloom a pair of roses red, Blown ready to
be plucked; ah God, those roses twain!
Were't lawful to prostrate oneself to any else Than God, I'd sure
prostrate myself upon the swain.
Then rose the six girls and kissing the ground before their lord,
said to him, "Judge thou between us, O our lord!" He looked at
their beauty and grace and the difference of their colours and
praised God the Most High and glorified Him: then said he, "There
is none of you but has read the Koran and learnt to sing and is
versed in the chronicles of the ancients and the doings of past
peoples; so it is my desire that each of you rise and pointing to
her opposite, praise herself and dispraise her rival; that is to
say, let the blonde point to the black, the plump to the slender
and the yellow to the brunette; and after, the latter shall, each
in turn, do the like with the former; and be this illustrated
with citations from the Holy Koran and somewhat of anecdotes and
verse, so as to show forth your culture and elegance of
discourse." Quoth they, "We hear and obey."
So the blonde rose first and pointing at the black, said to her,
"Out on thee, blackamoor! It is told that whiteness saith, 'I am
the shining light, I am the rising full moon.' My colour is
patent and my forehead is resplendent, and of my beauty quoth the
poet:
A blonde with smooth and polished cheeks, right delicate and
fair, As if a pearl in beauty hid, as in a shell, she were.
Her shape a splendid Alif[FN#36] is, her smile a medial
Mim[FN#37] And over it her eyebrows make inverted
Nouns,[FN#38] a pair.
Yes, and the glances of her eyes are arrows, and her brows A bow
that therewithal is horned with death and with despair.
If to her cheeks and shape thou pass, her cheeks are roses red,
Sweet basil, ay, and eglantine and myrtles rich and rare.
'Tis of the saplings' wont, to be implanted in the meads But, in
the saplings of thy shape, how many meads are there!
My colour is like the wholesome day and the newly-gathered
orange-blossom and the sparkling star; and indeed quoth God the
Most High, in His precious book, to His prophet Moses (on whom be
peace), 'Put thy hand into thy bosom and it shall come forth
white without hurt.'[FN#39] And again He saith, 'As for those
whose faces are made white, they are in the mercy of God and
dwell for ever therein.'[FN#40] My colour is a miracle and my
grace an extreme and my beauty a term. It is in the like of me
that clothes show fair and to the like of me that hearts incline.
Moreover, in whiteness are many excellences; for instance, the
snow falls white from heaven, and it is traditional that white is
the most beautiful of colours. The Muslims also glory in white
turbans; but I should be tedious, were I to repeat all that may
be said in praise of white; little and enough is better than too
much. So now I will begin with thy dispraise, O black, O colour
of ink and blacksmith's dust, thou whose face is like the crow
that brings about lovers' parting! Verily, the poet saith in
praise of white and dispraise of black:
Seest not that for their milky hue white pearls in price excel
And charcoal for a groat a load the folk do buy and sell?
And eke white faces, 'tis well known, do enter Paradise, Whilst
faces black appointed are to fill the halls of Hell.
And indeed it is told in certain histories, related on the
authority of devout men, that Noah (on whom be peace) was
sleeping one day, with his sons Ham and Shem seated at his head,
when a wind sprang up and lifting his clothes, uncovered his
nakedness; whereat Ham laughed and did not cover him; but Shem
rose and covered him. Presently, Noah awoke and learning what had
passed, blessed Shem and cursed Ham. So Shem's face was whitened
and from him sprang the prophets and the orthodox Khalifs and
Kings; whilst Ham's face was blackened and he fled forth to the
land of Ethiopia, and of his lineage came the blacks. All people
are of a mind in affirming the lack of understanding of the
blacks, even as saith the adage, 'How shall one find a black
having understanding?'"
Quoth her master, "It sufficeth; sit down, thou hast been
prodigal." And he signed to the negress, who rose, and pointing
at the blonde, said, "Doth thou not know that, in the Koran sent
down to His prophet and apostle, is transmitted the saying of God
the Most High, 'By the night, when it veileth [the world with
darkness], and by the day, when it appeareth in all its
glory!'[FN#41] If the night were not more illustrious than the
day, why should God swear by it and give it precedence of the
day? And indeed those of sense and understanding accept this.
Knowst now that black [hair] is the ornament of youth and that,
when whiteness descends upon the head, delights pass away and the
hour of death draws nigh? Were not black the most illustrious of
things, God had not set it in the kernel of the heart and the
apple of the eye; and how excellent is the saying of the poet:
An if I cherish the dusky maids, this is the reason why; They
have the hue of the core of the heart and the apple of the
eye
And youth; nor in error I eschew the whiteness of the blondes;
For 'tis the colour of hoary hair and shrouds in them shun
I.
And that of another:
The brown, not the white, are first in my love And worthiest
eke to be loved of me,
For the colour of damask lips have they, Whilst the white have
the hue of leprosy.
And of a third:
Black women, white of deeds, are like indeed to eyne That, though
jet-black they be, with peerless splendours shine.
If I go mad for her, be not amazed; for black The source of
madness is, when in the feminine.[FN#42]
'Tis as my colour were the middle dark of night; For all no moon
it be, yet brings it light, in fine.
Moreover, is the companying together of lovers good but in the
night? Let this quality and excellence suffice thee. What
protects lovers from spies and censors like the blackness of the
shadows? And nought gives them cause to fear discovery like the
whiteness of the dawn. So, how many claims to honour are there
not in blackness and how excellent is the saying of the poet:
I visit them, and the mirk of night doth help me to my will And
seconds me, but the white of dawn is hostile to me still.
And that of another:
How many a night in joy I've passed with the beloved one, What
while the darkness curtained us about with tresses dun!
Whenas the light of morn appeared, it struck me with affright,
And I to him, 'The Magians lie, who worship fire and sun.'
And saith a third:
He came forth to visit me, shrouding himself in the cloak of the
night, And hastened his steps, as he wended, for caution and
fear and affright.
Then rose I and laid in his pathway my cheek, as a carpet it
were, For abjection, and trailed o'er my traces my skirts,
to efface them from sight.
But lo, the new moon rose and shone, like a nail-paring cleft
from the nail, And all but discovered our loves with the
gleam of her meddlesome light.
And then there betided between us what I'll not discover, i'
faith: So question no more of the matter and deem not of ill
or unright.
And a fourth:
Foregather with thy lover, whilst night your loves may screen;
For that the sun's a telltale, the moon a go-between.
And a fifth:
I love not white women, with fat blown out and overlaid; The girl
of all girls for me is the slender dusky maid.
Let others the elephant mount, if it like them; as for me, I'll
ride but the fine-trained colt on the day of the cavalcade.
And a sixth:
My loved one came to me by night And we did clip and interlace
And lay together through the dark; But, lo, the morning broke
apace.
To God, my Lord, I pray that He Will reunite us of His grace
And make night last to me, what while I hold my love in my
embrace.
Were I to set forth all the praise of blackness, I should be
tedious; but little and enough is better than great plenty and
too much. As for thee, O blonde, thy colour is that of leprosy
and thine embrace is suffocation; and it is of report that frost
and intense cold[FN#43] are in Hell for the torment of the
wicked. Again, of black things is ink, wherewith is written the
word of God; and were is not for black ambergris and black musk,
there would be no perfumes to carry to kings. How many glories
are there not in blackness and how well saith the poet:
Dost thou not see that musk, indeed, is worth its weight in gold,
Whilst for a dirhem and no more a load of lime is sold?
Black eyes cast arrows at men's hearts; but whiteness of the
eyes, In man, is judged of all to be unsightly to behold."
"It sufficeth," said her master. "Sit down." So she sat down and
he signed to the fat girl, who rose and pointing at the slim
girl, uncovered her arms and legs and bared her stomach, showing
its creases and the roundness of her navel. Then she donned a
shift of fine stuff, that showed her whole body, and said,
"Praised be God who created me, for that He beautified my face
and made me fat and fair and likened me to branches laden with
fruit and bestowed upon me abounding beauty and brightness; and
praised be He no less, for that He hath given me the precedence
and honoured me, when He speaks of me in His holy book! Quoth the
Most High, 'And he brought a fat calf.'[FN#44] And indeed He hath
made me like unto an orchard, full of peaches and pomegranates.
Verily, the townsfolk long for fat birds and eat of them and love
not lean birds; so do the sons of Adam desire fat meat and eat of
it. How many precious attributes are there not in fatness, and
how well saith the poet:
Take leave of thy love, for the caravan, indeed, is on the
start. O man, canst thou bear to say farewell and thus
from her to part?
'Tis as her going were, I trow, but to her neighbour's house,
The faultless gait of a fat fair maid, that never tires
the heart.
Sawst thou ever one stop at a butcher's stall, but sought fat
meat of him? The wise say, 'Pleasure is in three things, eating
flesh and riding on flesh and the thrusting of flesh into
flesh.' As for thee, O thin one, thy legs are like sparrow's
legs or pokers, and thou art like a cruciform plank or a piece
of poor meat; there is nought in thee to gladden the heart;
even as saith of thee the poet:
Now God forfend that aught enforce me take for bedfellow A
woman like a foot-rasp, wrapt in palm-fibres and tow!
In every limb she has a horn, that butts me in my sleep, So
that at day-break, bruised and sore, I rise from her and
go."
"It is enough," quoth her master. "Sit down." So she sat down
and he signed to the slender girl, who rose, as she were a
willow-wand or a bamboo-shoot or a plant of sweet basil, and
said, "Praised be God who created me and beautified me and made
my embraces the end of all desire and likened me to the branch,
to which all hearts incline. If I rise, I rise lightly; if
I sit, I sit with grace; I am nimble-witted at a jest and
sweeter-souled than cheerfulness [itself]. Never heard I one
describe his mistress, saying, 'My beloved is the bigness of an
elephant or like a long wide mountain;' but rather, 'My lady
hath a slender waist and a slim shape.'
A little food contents me and a little water stays my thirst;
my sport is nimble and my habit elegant; for I am sprightlier
than the sparrow and lighter-footed than the starling. My
favours are the desire of the longing and the delight of the
seeker; for I am goodly of shape, sweet of smile and graceful
as the willow-wand or the bamboo-cane of the basil-plant; nor
is there any can compare with me in grace, even as saith one of
me:
Thy shape unto the sapling liken I And set my hope to win thee or
to die.
Distraught, I follow thee, and sore afraid, Lest any look on thee
with evil eye.
It is for the like of me that lovers run mad and that the longing
are distracted. If my lover be minded to draw me to him, I am
drawn to him, and if he would have me incline to him, I incline
to him and not against him. But as for thee, O fat of body, thine
eating is as that of an elephant, and neither much not little
contents thee. When thou liest with a man, he hath no ease of
thee, nor can he find a way to take his pleasure of thee; for the
bigness of thy belly holds him off from clipping thee and the
grossness of thy thighs hinders him from coming at thy kaze. What
comeliness is there in thy grossness and what pleasantness or
courtesy in thy coarse nature? Fat meat is fit for nought but
slaughter, nor is there aught therein that calls for praise. If
one joke with thee, thou art angry; if one sport with thee, thou
art sulky; if thou sleep, thou snorest; if thou walk, thou
pantest; if thou eat, thou art never satisfied. Thou art heavier
than mountains and fouler than corruption and sin. Thou hast in
thee nor movement nor blessing nor thinkest of aught but to eat
and sleep. If thou make water, thou scatterest; if thou void,
thou gruntest like a bursten wine-skin or a surly elephant. If
thou go to the draught-house, thou needest one to wash out thy
privy parts and pluck out the hairs; and this is the extreme of
laziness and the sign of stupidity. In fine, there is no good
thing in thee, and indeed the poet saith of thee:
Heavy and swollen with fat, like a blown-out water-skin, With
thighs like the pillars of stone that buttress a mountain's
head,
Lo, if she walk in the West, so cumbrous her corpulence is The
Eastern hemisphere hears the sound of her heavy tread."
Quoth her master, "It is enough: sit down." So she sat down and
he signed to the yellow girl, who rose to her feet and praised
God and magnified His name, calling down peace and blessing on
the best of His creatures;[FN#45] after which she pointed at the
brunette and said to her, "I am praised in the Koran, and the
Compassionate One hath described my colour and its excellence
over all others in His manifest Book, where He saith, 'A yellow
[heifer], pure yellow, whose colour rejoices the beholders.'
[FN#46] Wherefore my colour is a portent and my grace an extreme
and my beauty a term; for that my colour is the colour of a dinar
and of the planets and moons and of apples. My fashion is the
fashion of the fair, and the colour of saffron outvies all
other colours; so my fashion is rare and my colour wonderful. I
am soft of body, and of great price, comprising all attributes of
beauty. My colour, in that which exists, is precious as virgin
gold, and how many glorious qualities are there not in me! Of the
like of me quoth the poet:
Yellow she is, as is the sun that shineth in the sky, And like to
golden dinars, eke, to see, her beauties are.
Nor with her brightness, anywise, can saffron hold compare, And
even the very moon herself her charms outvie by far.
And now I will begin in thy dispraise, O brown of favour! Thy
colour is that of the buffalo, and all souls shudder at thy
sight. If thy colour be in aught, it is blamed; if it be in food,
it is poisoned; for thy colour is that of flies and is a mark of
ugliness in dogs. It is, among colours, one which strikes with
amazement and is of the signs of mourning. Never heard I of brown
gold or brown pearls or brown jewels. If thou enter the wardrobe,
thy colour changes, and when thou comest out, thou addest a new
ugliness to thine ugliness. Thou art neither black, that thou
mayst be known, nor white, that thou mayst be described; and
there is no good quality in thee, even as saith of thee the poet:
As a complexion unto her, the hue of soot doth serve; Her mirky
colour is as dust on couriers' feet upcast.
No sooner fall mine eyes on her, thou but a moment's space, Than
troubles and misgivings straight beset me thick and fast."
"Enough," said her master. "Sit down." So she sat down and he
signed to the brunette. Now she was endowed with grace and beauty
and symmetry and perfection, delicate of body, with coal-back
hair, slender shape, rosy, oval cheeks, liquid black eyes, fair
face, eloquent tongue, slim waist and heavy buttocks. So she rose
and said, "Praised be God who hath created me neither blameably
fat nor lankily slender, neither white like leprosy nor yellow
like colic nor black like coal, but hath made my colour to be
beloved of men of wit; for all the poets praise brunettes in
every tongue and exalt their colour over all others. Brown of
hue, praiseworthy of qualities; and God bless him who saith:
In the brunettes a meaning is, couldst read its writ aright,
Thine eyes would never again look on others, red or white.
Free-flowing speech and amorous looks would teach Harout[FN#47]
himself The arts of sorcery and spells of magic and of
might.
And saith another:
Give me brunettes; the Syrian spears, so limber and so
straight, Tell of the slender dusky maids, so lithe and
proud of gait.
Languid of eyelids, with a down like silk upon her cheek,
Within her wasting lover's heart she queens it still in
state.
And yet another:
Yea, by my life, such virtues in goodly brownness lie, One spot
thereof makes whiteness the shining moons outvie;
But if the like of whiteness is borrowed, then, for sure, Its
beauty were transmuted unto reproach thereby.
Not with her wine[FN#48] I'm drunken, but with her
tresses[FN#49] bright That make all creatures drunken that
dwell beneath the sky.
Each of her charms doth envy the others; yea, and each To be
the down so silky upon her cheek doth sigh.
And again:
Why should I not incline me unto the silken down On the cheeks
of a dusky maiden, like the cane straight and brown,
Seeing the spot of beauty in waterlilies' cups Is of the poets
fabled to be all beauty's crown?
Yea, and I see all lovers the swarthy-coloured mole, Under the
ebon pupil, do honour and renown.
Why, then, do censors blame me for loving one who's all A mole?
May Allah rid me of every railing clown!
My form is beautiful and my shape slender; kings desire my colour
and all love it, rich and poor. I am pleasant, nimble, handsome,
elegant, soft of body and great of price. I am perfect in beauty
and breeding and eloquence; my aspect is comely and my tongue
fluent, my habit light and my sport graceful. As for thee,
[O yellow girl,] thou art like unto a mallow of Bab el Louc,
yellow and made all of sulphur. Perdition to thee, O pennyworth
of sorrel, O rust of copper, O owl's face and food of the damned!
Thy bedfellow, for oppression of spirit, is buried in the tombs,
and there is no good thing in thee, even as saith the poet of the
like of thee:
Paleness[FN#50] is sore on her, for all no illness doth her
fret; My breast is straitened by its sight; ay, and my
head aches yet.
If thou repent thee not, my soul, to punish thee, I vow, I'll
humble thee with a kiss of her face, my teeth on edge
shall set."
"Enough," said her master; "sit down." Then he made peace
between them and clad them all in sumptuous dresses of honour
and handselled them with precious jewels of land and sea. And
never, O Commander of the Faithful, in any place or time have I
seen fairer than these six fair damsels.'
When the Khalif El Mamoun heard this story from Mohammed of Bassora,
he said to him, 'O Mohammed, knowest thou the abiding-place of
these damsels and their master, and canst thou make shift to buy
them of him for us?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered he,
'I have heard that their master is wrapped up in them and cannot
endure to be parted from them.' 'Take threescore thousand dinars,
--that is, ten thousand for
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