drew near his capital, the folk decorated the city for him and for his
son. So they entered in state and the King, sitting on his throne with
his son by his side, gave alms and largesse and loosed all who were in
his jails. Then he held a second bridal for his son, and the sound of
the singing-women and players upon instruments was never silent for a
whole month, and the tirewomen stinted not to adorn the Lady Dunya and
display her in various dresses; and she tired not of the displaying nor
did the women weary of gazing on her. Then Taj al-Muluk, after having
foregathered awhile with his father and mother, took up his sojourn with
his wife, and they abode in all joyance of life and in fairest fortune,
till there came to them the Destroyer of all delights.[57] Now when the
Wazir Dandan had ended the tale of Taj al-Muluk and the Lady Dunya, Zau
al-Makan said to him, "Of a truth, it is the like of thee who lighten
the mourner's heart and who deserve to be the boon-companions of Kings
and to guide their policy in the right way." All this befel and they
were still besieging Constantinople, where they lay four whole years,
till they yearned after their native land; and the troops murmured,
being weary of vigil and besieging and the endurance of fray and foray
by night and by day. Then King Zau al-Makan summoned Rustam and Bahram
and Tarkash, and when they were in presence bespoke them thus, "Know
that we have lain here all these years and we have not won to our wish;
nay, we have but gained increase of care and concern; for indeed we
came, thinking to take our man-bote for King Omar bin al-Nu'uman and in
so doing my brother Sharrkan was slain; so is our sorrow grown to
sorrows twain and our affliction to afflictions twain. All this came of
the old woman Zat al-Dawahi, for it was she who slew the Sultan in his
kingdom and carried off his wife, the Queen Sophia; nor did this suffice
her, but she must put another cheat on us and cut the throat of my
brother Sharrkan: and indeed I have bound myself and sworn by the
solemnest oaths that there is no help but I take blood-wit from her.
What say ye? Ponder my address and answer me." Then they bowed their
heads and answered, "It is for the Wazir Dandan to opine." So the
Minister came forward and said, "Know O King of the Age! it booteth us
nought to tarry here; and 'tis my counsel that we strike camp and return
to our own country, there to abide for a certain time and after that we
should return for a razzia upon the worshippers of idols." Replied the
King, "This rede is right, for indeed the folk weary for a sight of
their families, and I am another who is also troubled with yearning
after my son Kanmakan and my brother's daughter Kuzia Fakan, for she is
in Damascus and I know not how is her case." When the troops heard this
report, they rejoiced and blessed the Wazir Dandan. Then the King bade
the crier call the retreat after three days. They fell to preparing for
the march, and, on the fourth day, they beat the big drums and unfurled
the banners and the army set forth, the Wazir Dandan in the van and the
King riding in the mid-battle, with the Grand Chamberlain by his side;
and all journeyed without ceasing, night and day, till they reached
Baghdad city. The folk rejoiced in their return, and care and fear
ceased from them whilst the stay-at-homes met the absentees and each
Emir betook him to his own house. As for Zau al-Makan he marched up to
the Palace and went in to his son Kanmakan, who had now reached the age
of seven; and who used to go down to the weapon-plain and ride. As soon
as the King was rested of his journey, he entered the Hammam with his
son, and returning, seated himself on his sofa of state, whilst the
Wazir Dandan took up his station before him and the Emirs and Lords of
the realm presented themselves and stood in attendance upon him. Then
Zau al-Makan called for his comrade, the Fireman, who had befriended him
in his wanderings; and, when he came into presence, the King rose to do
him honour and seated him by his side. Now he had acquainted the Wazir
with all the kindness and good turns which the Stoker had done him; and
he found that the wight had waxed fat and burly with rest and good fare,
so that his neck was like an elephant's throat and his face like a
dolphin's belly. Moreover, he was grown dull of wit, for that he had
never stirred from his place; so at first he knew not the King by his
aspect. But Zau al-Makan came up to him smiling in his face, and greeted
him after the friendliest fashion, saying, "How soon hast thou forgotten
me?" With this the Fireman roused himself and, looking steadfastly at
Zau al-Makan, made sure that he knew him; whereupon he sprang hastily to
his feet and exclaimed, "O my friend, who hath made thee Sultan?" Then
Zau al-Makan laughed at him and the Wazir, coming up to him expounded
the whole story to him and said, "In good sooth he was thy brother and
thy friend; and now he is King of the land and needs must thou get great
good of him. So I charge thee, if he say:—Ask a boon of me, ask not but
for some great thing; for thou art very dear to him." Quoth the Fireman,
"I fear lest, if I ask of him aught, he may not choose to give it or may
not be able to grant it." Quoth the Wazir, "Have no care; whatsoever
thou askest he will give thee." Rejoined the Stoker, "By Allah, I must
at once ask of him a thing that is in my thought: every night I dream of
it and implore Almighty Allah to vouchsafe it to me." Said the Wazir,
"Take heart; by Allah, if thou ask of him the government of Damascus, in
place of his brother, he would surely give it thee and make thee
Governor." With this the Stoker rose to his feet and Zau al-Makan signed
to him to sit; but he refused, saying, "Allah forfend! The days are gone
by of my sitting in thy presence." Answered the Sultan, "Not so, they
endure even now. Thou wast in very deed the cause that I am at present
alive and, by Allah, whatever thing most desired thou requirest of me, I
will give that same to thee. But ask thou first of Allah, and then of
me!" He said, "O my lord, I fear—" "Fear not," quoth the Sultan. He
continued, "I fear to ask aught and that thou shouldst refuse it to me
and it is only—" At this the King laughed and replied, "If thou require
of me the half of my kingdom I would share it with thee: so ask what
thou wilt and leave talking." Repeated the Fireman "I fear—" "Don't
fear," quoth the King. He went on, "I fear lest I ask a thing and thou
be not able to grant it." Upon this the Sultan waxed wroth and cried,
"Ask what thou wilt." Then said he, "I ask, first of Allah and then of
thee, that thou write me a patent of Syndicate over all the Firemen of
the baths in the Holy City, Jerusalem." The Sultan and all present
laughed and Zau al-Makan said, "Ask something more than this." He
replied, "O my lord, said I not I feared that thou wouldst not choose to
give me what I should ask or that thou be not able to grant it?"
Therewith the Wazir signed him with his foot once and twice and thrice,
and every time he began, "I ask of thee—" Quoth the Sultan, "Ask and be
speedy." So he said, "I ask thee to make me Chief of the Scavengers in
the Holy City of Jerusalem, or in Damascus town." Then all those who
were present fell on their backs with laughter and the Wazir beat him;
whereupon he turned to the Minister and said to him, "What art thou that
thou shouldest beat me? 'Tis no fault of mine: didst thou not thyself
bid me ask some important thing?" And he added, "Let me go to my own
land." With this, the Sultan knew that he was jesting and took patience
with him awhile; then turned to him and said, "O my brother, ask of me
some important thing, befitting our dignity." So the Stoker said, "O
King of the Age, I ask first of Allah and then of thee, that thou make
me Viceroy of Damascus in the place of thy brother;" and the King
replied, "Allah granteth thee this." Thereupon the Fireman kissed ground
before him and he bade set him a chair in his rank and vested him with a
viceroy's habit. Then he wrote him a patent and sealed it with his own
seal, and said to the Wazir Dandan, "None shall go with him but thou;
and when thou makest the return journey, do thou bring with thee my
brother's daughter, Kuzia Fakan." "Hearkening and obedience," answered
the Minister; and, taking the Fireman, went down with him and made ready
for the march. Then the King appointed for the Stoker servants and
suite, and gave him a new litter and a princely equipage and said to the
Emirs, "Whoso loveth me, let him honour this man and offer him a
handsome present." So each and every of the Emirs brought him his gift
according to his competence; and the King named him Zibl Khán,[58] and
conferred on him the honourable surname of al-Mujáhid.[59] As soon as
the gear was ready, he went up with the Wazir Dandan to the King, that
he might take leave of him and ask his permission to depart. The King
rose to him and embraced him, and charged him to do justice between his
subjects and bade him make ready for fight against the Infidels after
two years. Then they took leave of each other and the King,[60] the
Fighter for the Faith hight Zibl Khan, having been again exhorted by Zau
al-Makan to deal fairly with his subjects, set out on his journey, after
the Emirs had brought him Mamelukes and eunuchs, even to five thousand
in number, who rode after him. The Grand Chamberlain also took horse, as
did Bahram, captain of the Daylamites, and Rustam, captain of the
Persians, and Tarkash, captain of the Arabs, who attended to do him
service; and they ceased not riding with him three days' journey by way
of honour. Then, taking their leave of him, they returned to Baghdad and
the Sultan Zibl Khan and the Wazir Dandan fared on, with their suite and
troops, till they drew near Damascus. Now news was come, upon the wings
of birds, to the notables of Damascus, that King Zau al-Makan had made
Sultan over Damascus a King named Zibl Khan and surnamed Al-Mujahid; so
when he reached the city he found it dressed in his honour and everyone
in the place came out to gaze on him. The new Sultan entered Damascus in
a splendid progress and went up to the citadel, where he sat down upon
his chair of state, whilst the Wazir Dandan stood in attendance on him,
to acquaint him with the ranks of the Emirs and their stations. Then the
Grandees came in to him and kissed hands and called down blessings on
him. The new King, Zibl Khan, received them graciously and bestowed on
them dresses of honour and various presents and bounties; after which he
opened the treasuries and gave largesse to the troops, great and small.
Then he governed and did justice and proceeded to equip the Lady Kuzia
Fakan, daughter of King Sharrkan, appointing her a litter of silken
stuff. Moreover he furnished the Wazir Dandan equally well for the
return journey and offered him a gift of coin; but he refused, saying,
"Thou art near the time appointed by the King, and haply thou wilt have
need of money, or after this we may send to seek of thee funds for the
Holy War or what not." Now when the Wazir was ready to march, Sultan
al-Mujahid mounted to bid the Minister farewell and brought Kuzia Fakan
to him, and made her enter the litter and sent with her ten damsels to
do her service. Thereupon they set forward, whilst King "Fighter for the
Faith" returned to his government that he might order affairs and get
ready his munitions of war, awaiting such time as King Zau al-Makan
should send a requisition to him. Such was the case with Sultan Zibl
Khan, but as regards the Wazir Dandan, he ceased not faring forward and
finishing off the stages, in company with Kuzia Fakan till they came to
Ruhbah[61] after a month's travel and thence pushed on, till he drew
near Baghdad. Then he sent to announce his arrival to King Zau al-Makan
who, when he heard this, took horse and rode out to meet him. The Wazir
Dandan would have dismounted, but the King conjured him not to do so and
urged his steed till he came up to his side. Then he questioned him of
Zibl Khan hight Al-Mujahid, whereto the Wazir replied that he was well
and that he had brought with him Kuzia Fakan the daughter of his
brother. At this the King rejoiced and said to Dandan, "Down with thee
and rest thee from the fatigue of the journey for three days, after
which come to me again." Replied the Wazir, "With joy and gratitude,"
and betook himself to his own house, whilst the King rode up to his
Palace and went in to his brother's daughter, Kuzia Fakan, a girl of
eight years old. When he saw her, he rejoiced in her and sorrowed for
her sire; then he bade make for her clothes and gave her splendid
jewelry and ornaments, and ordered she be lodged with his son Kanmakan
in one place. So they both grew up the brightest of the people of their
time and the bravest; but Kuzia Fakan became a maiden of good sense and
understanding and knowledge of the issues of events, whilst Kanmakan
approved him a generous youth and freehanded, taking no care in the
issue of aught. And so they continued till each of them attained the age
of twelve. Now Kuzia Fakan used to ride a-horseback and fare forth with
her cousin into the open plain and push forward and range at large with
him in the wold; and they both learnt to smite with swords and spike
with spears. But when they had reached the age of twelve, King Zau
al-Makan, having completed his preparations and provisions and munitions
for Holy War, summoned the Wazir Dandan and said to him, "Know that I
have set mind on a thing, which I will discover to thee, and I want
thine opinion thereon; so do thou with speed return me a reply." Asked
the Wazir, "What is that, O King of the Age?"; and the other answered,
"I am resolved to make my son Kanmakan Sultan and rejoice in him in my
lifetime and do battle before him till death overtake me. What reckest
thou of this?" The Wazir kissed the ground before the King and replied,
"Know, O King and Sultan mine, Lord of the Age and the time! that which
is in thy mind is indeed good, save that it is now no tide to carry it
out, for two reasons; the first, that thy son Kanmakan is yet of tender
years; and the second, that it often befalleth him who maketh his son
King in his lifetime, to live but a little while there afterward.[62]
And this is my reply." Rejoined the King, "Know, O Wazir, that we will
make the Grand Chamberlain guardian over him, for he is now one of the
family and he married my sister, so that he is to me as a brother."
Quoth the Wazir, "Do what seemeth good to thee: we have only to obey
thine orders." Then the King sent for the Grand Chamberlain whom they
brought into the presence together with the Lords of the realm and he
said to them, "Ye know that this my son Kanmakan is the first cavalier
of the age, and that he hath no peer in striking with the sword and
lunging with the lance; and now I appoint him to be Sultan over you and
I make the Grand Chamberlain, his uncle, guardian over him." Replied the
Chamberlain, "I am but a tree which thy bounty hath planted"; and Zau
al-Makan said, "O Chamberlain, verily this my son Kanmakan and my niece
Kuzia Fakan are brothers' children; so I hereby marry her to him and I
call those present to witness thereof." Then he made over to his son
such treasures as no tongue can describe; and, going in to his sister,
Nuzhat al-Zaman, told her what he had done, whereat she was a glad woman
and said, "Verily the twain are my children: Allah preserve thee to them
and keep thy life for them many a year!" Replied he, "O my sister, I
have accomplished in this world all my heart desired and I have no fear
for my son! yet it were well thou have an eye on him, and an eye on his
mother." And he charged the Chamberlain and Nuzhat al-Zaman with the
care of his son and niece and wife, and this he continued to do nights
and days till he fell sick and deemed surely that he was about to drink
the cup of death; so he took to his bed, whilst the Chamberlain busied
himself with ordering the folk and realm. At the end of the year, the
King summoned his son Kanmakan and the Wazir Dandan and said, "O my son,
after my death this Wazir is thy sire; for know that I am about to leave
this house of life transitory for the house of eternity. And indeed I
have fulfilled my will of this world; yet there remaineth in my heart
one regret which may Allah dispel through and by thy hands." Asked his
son, "What regret is that, O my father?" Answered Zau al-Makan, "O my
son, the sole regret of me is that I die without having avenged thy
grandfather, Omar bin al-Nu'uman, and thine uncle, Sharrkan, on an old
woman whom they call Zat al-Dawahi; but, if Allah grant thee aid, sleep
not till thou take thy wreak on her, and so wipe out the shame we have
suffered at the Infidel's hands; and beware of the old hag's wile and do
what the Wazir Dandan shall advise thee; because he from old time hath
been the pillar of our realm." And his son assented to what he said.
Then the King's eyes ran over with tears and his sickness redoubled on
him; whereupon his brother-in-law, the Chamberlain, took charge over the
country and, being a capable man, he judged and bade and forbade for the
whole of that year; while Zau al-Makan was occupied with his malady. And
his sickness was sore upon him for four years, during which the Chief
Chamberlain sat in his stead and gave full satisfaction to the commons
and the nobles; and all the country blessed his rule. Such was the case
with Zau al-Makan and the Chamberlain; but as regards the King's son, he
busied himself only with riding and lunging with lance and shooting with
shaft, and thus also did the daughter of his uncle, Kuzia Fakan; for he
and she were wont to fare forth at the first of the day and return at
nightfall, when she would go in to her mother, and he would go in to his
mother whom he ever found sitting in tears by the head of his father's
couch. Then he would tend his father all night long till daybreak, when
he would go forth again with his cousin according to their wont. Now Zau
al-Makan's pains and sufferings were longsome upon him and he wept and
began versifying with these couplets:—
Gone is my strength, told is my tale of days ✿ And, lookye! I am left as
thou dost see:
In honour's day most honoured wont to be, ✿ And win the race from all my
company,
Would Heaven before my death I might behold ✿ My son in seat of empire
sit for me;
And rush upon his foes, to take his wreak ✿ With sway of sword and lance
lunged gallantly:
In this world and the next I am undone, ✿ Except the Lord vouchsafe me
clemency.
When he had ended repeating these verses, he laid his head on his pillow
and closed his eyes and slept. Then saw he in his sleep one who said to
him, "Rejoice, for thy son shall fill the lands with justest sway; and
he shall rule them and him shall the lieges obey." Then he awoke from
his dream gladdened by the good tidings he had seen, and after a few
days, Death smote him, and because of his dying great grief fell on the
people of Baghdad, and simple and gentle mourned for him. But Time
passed over him, as though he had never been[63] and Kanmakan's estate
was changed; for the people of Baghdad set him aside and put him and his
family in a place apart. Now when his mother saw this, she fell into the
sorriest of plights and said, "There is no help but that I go to the
Grand Chamberlain, and I must hope for the aidance of the Subtle, the
All-Wise!" Then she rose from her place and betook herself to the house
of the Chamberlain who was now become Sultan, and she found him sitting
upon his carpet. So she went in to his wife, Nuzhat al-Zaman, and wept
with sore weeping and said unto her, "Verily the dead hath no friend!
May Allah never bring you to want as long as your age and the years
endure, and may you cease not to rule justly over rich and poor. Thine
ears have heard and thine eyes have seen all that was ours of kingship
and honour and dignity and wealth and fair fortune of life and
condition; and now Time hath turned upon us, and fate and the world have
betrayed us and wrought in hostile way with us; wherefore I come to thee
craving thy favours, I from whom favours were craved: for when a man
dieth, women and maidens are brought to despisal." And she repeated
these couplets:—
Suffice thee Death such marvels can enhance, ✿ And severed lives make
lasting severance:
Man's days are marvels, and their stations are ✿ But water-pits[64] of
misery and mischance.
Naught wrings my heart save loss of noble friends, ✿ Girt round by rings
of hard, harsh circumstance.
When Nuzhat al-Zaman heard these words, she remembered her brother, Zau
al-Makan, and his son Kanmakan, and, making her draw near to her and
showing her honour, she said, "Verily at this moment, by Allah, I am
grown rich and thou art poor; now by the Lord! we did not cease to seek
thee out, but we feared to wound thy heart lest thou shouldest fancy our
gifts to thee an alms-gift. Withal, whatso weal we now enjoy is from
thee and thy husband; so our house is thy house and our place thy place,
and thine is all our wealth and what goods we have belong to thee." Then
she robed her in sumptuous robes and set apart for her a place in the
Palace adjoining her own; and they abode therein, she and her son, in
all delight of life. And Nuzhat al-Zaman clothed him also in Kings'
raiment and gave to them both especial handmaids for their service.
After a little, she related to her husband the sad case of the widow of
her brother, Zau al-Makan, whereat his eyes filled with tears and he
said, "Wouldest thou see the world after thee, look thou upon the world
after other than thyself. Then entreat her honourably and enrich her
poverty."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhat
al-Zaman related to her husband the sad case of the widow of her
brother, Zau al-Makan, the Chamberlain said, "Entreat her honourably and
enrich her poverty." Thus far concerning Nuzhat al-Zaman and her consort
and the relict of Zau al-Makan; but as regards Kanmakan and his cousin
Kuzia Fakan, they grew up and flourished till they waxed like unto two
fruit-laden boughs or two shining moons; and they reached the age of
fifteen. And she was indeed the fairest of maids who are modestly
veiled, lovely-faced with smooth cheeks graced, and slender waist on
heavy hips based; and her shape was the shaft's thin line and her lips
were sweeter than old wine and the nectar of her mouth as it were the
fountain Salsabíl[65]; even as saith the poet in these two couplets
describing one like her:—
As though ptisane of wine on her lips honey-dew ✿ Dropt from the ripened
grapes her mouth in clusters grew:
And, when her frame thou doublest, and low bends her vine, ✿ Praise her
Creator's might no creature ever knew.
Of a truth Allah had united in her every charm: her shape would shame
the branch of waving tree and the rose before her cheeks craved lenity;
and the honey-dew of her lips of wine made jeer, however old and clear,
and she gladdened heart and beholder with joyous cheer, even as saith of
her the poet:—
Goodly of gifts is she, and charm those perfect eyes, ✿ With lashes
shaming Kohl and all the fair ones Kohl'd[66]
And from those eyne the glances pierce the lover's heart, ✿ Like sword
in Mír al-Muminína Ali's hold.
And (the relator continueth) as for Kanmakan, he became unique in
loveliness and excelling in perfection no less; none could even him in
qualities as in seemliness and the sheen of valour between his eyes was
espied, testifying for him while against him it never testified. The
hardest hearts inclined to his side; his eyelids bore lashes black as by
Kohl; and he was of surpassing worth in body and soul. And when the down
of lips and cheeks began to sprout bards and poets sang for him far and
near:—
Appeared not my excuse till hair had clothed his cheek, ✿ And gloom
o'ercrept that side-face (sight to stagger!)
A fawn, when eyes would batten on his charms, ✿ Each glance deals thrust
like point of Khanjar-dagger.
And saith another:—
His lovers' souls have drawn upon his cheek ✿ An ant that perfected its
rosy light:
I marvel at such martyrs Lazá-pent ✿ Who yet with greeny robes of Heaven
are dight.[67]
Now it chanced one holiday, that Kuzia Fakan fared forth to make
festival with certain kindred of the court, and she went surrounded by
her handmaids. And indeed beauty encompassed her; the roses of her
cheeks dealt envy to their mole; from out her smiling lips leven flashed
white, gleaming like the chamomile[68]; and Kanmakan began to turn about
her and devour her with his sight, for she was the moon of resplendent
light. Then he took heart and giving his tongue a start began to
improvise:—
When shall the disappointed heart be healed of severance, ✿ And lips of
Union smile at ceasing of our hard mischance?
Would Heaven I knew shall come some night, and with it surely bring ✿
Meeting with friend who like myself endureth sufferance.[69]
When Kuzia Fakan heard these couplets, she showed vexation and
disapproval and, putting on a haughty and angry air, said to him, "Dost
thou name me in thy verse, to shame me amongst folk? By Allah, if thou
turn not from this talk, I will assuredly complain of thee to the Grand
Chamberlain, Sultan of Khorasan and Baghdad and lord of justice and
equity; that disgrace and punishment may befal thee!" Kanmakan made no
reply for anger but he returned to Baghdad; and Kuzia Fakan also
returned to her palace and complained of her cousin to her mother, who
said to her, "O my daughter, haply he meant thee no harm, and is he
aught but an orphan? Withal, he said nought of reproach to thee; so
beware thou tell none of this, lest perchance it come to the Sultan's
ears and he cut short his life and blot out his name and make it even as
yesterday, whose memory hath passed away." However, Kanmakan's love for
Kuzia Fakan spread abroad in Baghdad, so that the women talked of it.
Moreover, his breast became straitened and his patience waned and he
knew not what to do, yet he could not hide his condition from the world.
Then longed he to give vent to the pangs he endured, by reason of the
lowe of separation; but he feared her rebuke and her wrath; so he began
improvising:—
Now is my dread to incur reproaches, which ✿ Disturb her temper and her
mind obscure,
Patient I'll bear them; e'en as generous youth ✿ Beareth the burn of
brand his case to cure.[70]
——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Grand
Chamberlain became Sultan they named him King Sásán; and after he had
assumed the throne he governed the people in righteous way. Now as he
was giving audience one day, Kanmakan's verses came to his knowledge.
Thereupon he repented him of the past and going in to his wife Nuzhat
al-Zaman, said to her, "Verily, to join Halfah-grass and fire,[71] is
the greatest of risks; and man may not be trusted with woman, so long as
eye glanceth and eyelid quivereth. Now thy brother's son, Kanmakan, is
come to man's estate and it behoveth us to forbid him access to the
rooms where anklets tinkle, and it is yet more needful to forbid thy
daughter the company of men, for the like of her should be kept in the
Harim." Replied she, "Thou sayest sooth, O wise King!" Next day came
Kanmakan according to his wont; and, going in to his aunt saluted her.
She returned his salutation and said to him, "O my son! I have somewhat
to say to thee which I would fain leave unsaid; yet I must tell it thee
despite my inclination." Quoth he, "Speak;" and quoth she, "Know then
that thy sire the Chamberlain, the father of Kuzia Fakan, hath heard of
the verses thou madest anent her, and hath ordered that she be kept in
the Harim and out of thy reach; if therefore, O my son, thou want
anything from us, I will send it to thee from behind the door; and thou
shalt not look upon Kuzia Fakan nor shalt thou return hither from this
day forth." When he heard this he arose and withdrew without speaking a
single word; and, betaking himself to his mother, related what his aunt
had said. She observed, "This all cometh of thine overtalking. Thou
knowest that the news of thy passion for Kuzia Fakan is noised abroad
and the tattle hath spread everywhere how thou eatest their food and
thereafter thou courtest their daughter." Rejoined he, "And who should
have her but I? She is the daughter of my father's brother and I have
the best of rights to her." Retorted his mother, "These are idle words.
Be silent, lest haply thy talk come to King Sasan's ears and it prove
the cause of thy losing her and the reason of thy ruin and increase of
thine affliction. They have not sent us any supper to-night and we shall
die an-hungered; and were we in any land but this, we were already dead
of famine or of shame for begging our bread." When Kanmakan heard these
words from his mother, his regrets redoubled; his eyes ran over with
tears and he complained and began improvising:—
Minish this blame I ever bear from you: ✿ My heart loves her to whom all
love is due:
Ask not from me of patience jot or tittle, ✿ Divorce of Patience by
God's House! I rue:
What blamers preach of patience I unheed; ✿ Here am I, love-path firmly
to pursue!
Indeed they bar me access to my love; ✿ Here am I, by God's ruth no ill
I sue!
Good sooth my bones, whenas they hear thy name, ✿ Quail as birds quailed
when Nisus o'er them flew:[72]
Ah! say to them who blame my love that I ✿ Will love that face, fair
cousin, till I die.
And when he had ended his verses he said to his mother, "I have no
longer a place in my aunt's house nor among these people, but I will go
forth from the palace and abide in the corners of the city." So he and
his mother left the court; and, having sought an abode in the
neighbourhood of the poorer sort, there settled; but she used to go from
time to time to King Sasan's palace and thence take daily bread for
herself and her son. As this went on Kuzia Fakan took her aside one day
and said to her, "Alas, O my naunty, how is it with thy son?" Replied
she, "O my daughter, sooth to say, he is tearful-eyed and heavy-hearted,
being fallen into the net of thy love." And she repeated to her the
couplets he had made; whereupon Kuzia Fakan wept and said, "By Allah! I
rebuked him not for his words, nor for ill-will to him, but because I
feared for him the malice of foes. Indeed my passion for him is double
that he feeleth for me; my tongue may not describe my yearning for him;
and were it not for the extravagant wilfulness of his words and the
wanderings of his wit, my father had not cut off from him favours that
besit, nor had decreed unto him exclusion and prohibition as fit.
However, man's days bring nought but change, and patience in all case is
most becoming; peradventure He who ordained our severance will vouchsafe
us reunion!" And she began versifying in these two couplets:—
O son of mine uncle! same sorrow I bear, ✿ And suffer the like of thy
cark and thy care;
Yet hide I from man what I suffer for pine; ✿ Hide it too, and such
secret to man never bare!
When his mother heard this from her, she thanked her and blessed her:
then she left her and acquainted her son with what she had said;
whereupon his desire for her increased and he took heart, being eased of
his despair and the turmoil of his love and care. And he said, "By
Allah, I desire none but her!"; and he began improvising:—
Leave this blame, I will list to no flout of my foe! ✿ I divulged a
secret was told me to keep:
He is lost to my sight for whose union I yearn, ✿ And I watch all the
while he can slumber and sleep.
So the days and nights went by whilst Kanmakan lay tossing upon coals of
fire,[73] till he reached the age of seventeen; and his beauty had waxt
perfect and his wits were at their brightest. One night, as he lay
awake, he communed with himself and said, "Why should I keep silence
till I waste away and see not my lover? Fault have I none save poverty;
so, by Allah, I am resolved to remove me from this region and wander
over the wild and the wold; for my position in this city is a torture
and I have no friend nor lover therein to comfort me; wherefore I am
determined to distract myself by absence from my native land till I die
and take my rest after this shame and tribulation." And he began to
improvise and recited these couplets:—
Albeit my vitals quiver 'neath this ban; ✿ Before the foe myself I'll
ne'er unman!
So pardon me, my vitals are a writ ✿ Whose superscription are my tears
that ran:
Heigh-ho! my cousin seemeth Houri-may ✿ Come down to earth by reason of
Rizwán:
'Scapes not the dreadful sword-lunge of her look ✿ Who dares the
glancing of those eyne to scan:
O'er Allah's wide-spread world I'll roam and roam, ✿ And from such exile
win what bread I can:
Yes, o'er broad earth I'll roam and save my soul, ✿ All but her absence
bearing like a man:
With gladsome heart I'll haunt the field of fight, ✿ And meet the
bravest Brave in battle-van!
So Kanmakan fared forth from the palace barefoot and he walked in a
short-sleeved gown, wearing on his head a skull cap of felt[74] seven
years old and carrying a scone three days stale, and in the deep glooms
of night betook himself to the portal al-Arij of Baghdad. Here he waited
for the gate being opened and when it was opened, he was the first to
pass through it; and he went out at random and wandered about the wastes
night and day. When the dark hours came, his mother sought him but found
him not; whereupon the world waxt strait upon her for all that it was
great and wide, and she took no delight in aught of weal it supplied.
She looked for him a first day and a second day and a third day till ten
days were past, but no news of him reached her. Then her breast became
contracted and she shrieked and shrilled, saying, "O my son! O my
darling! thou hast revived my regrets. Sufficed not what I endured, but
thou must depart from my home? After thee I care not for food nor joy in
sleep, and naught but tears and mourning are left me. O my son, from
what land shall I call thee? And what town hath given thee refuge?" Then
her sobs burst out, and she began repeating these couplets:—
Well learnt we, since you left, our grief and sorrow to sustain, ✿ While
bows of severance shot their shafts in many a railing rain:
They left me, after girthing on their selles of corduwayne ✿ To fight
the very pangs of death while spanned they sandy plain:
Mysterious through the nightly gloom there came the moan of dove; ✿ A
ringdove, and replied I, 'Cease thy plaint, how durst complain?'
If, by my life, her heart, like mine, were full of pain and pine ✿ She
had not deckt her neck with ring nor sole with ruddy stain.[75]
Fled is mine own familiar friend, bequeathing me a store ✿ Of
parting-pang and absence-ache to suffer evermore.
Then she abstained from food and drink and gave herself up to excessive
tear-shedding and lamentation. Her grief became public property far and
wide and all the people of the town and country side wept with her and
cried, "Where is thine eye, O Zau al-Makan?" And they bewailed the
rigours of Time, saying, "Would Heaven we knew what hath befallen
Kanmakan that he fled his native town, and chased himself from the place
where his father used to fill all in hungry case and do justice and
grace?" And his mother redoubled her weeping and wailing till the news
of Kanmakan's departure came to King Sasan.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that came to King Sasan
the tidings of the departure of Kanmakan, through the Chief Emirs who
said to him, "Verily he is the son of our Sovran and the seed of King
Omar bin al-Nu'uman and it hath reached us that he hath exiled himself
from the land." When King Sasan heard these words, he was wroth with
them and ordered one of them to be hanged by way of silencing him,
whereat the fear of him fell upon the hearts of all the other Grandees
and they dared not speak one word. Then he called to mind all the
kindness that Zau al-Makan had done him, and how he had charged him with
the care of his son; wherefore he grieved for Kanmakan and said, "Needs
must I have search made for him in all countries." So he summoned
Tarkash and bade him choose an hundred horse and wend with them in quest
of the Prince. Accordingly he went out and was absent ten days, after
which he returned and said, "I can learn no tidings of him and have hit
on no trace of him, nor can any tell me aught of him." Upon this King
Sasan repented him of that which he had done by the Prince; whilst his
mother abode in unrest continual nor would patience come at her call:
and thus passed over her twenty days in heaviness all. This is how it
fared with these; but as regards Kanmakan, when he left Baghdad, he went
forth perplexed about his case and knowing not whither he should go: so
he fared on alone through the desert for three days and saw neither
footman nor horseman; withal, his sleep fled and his wakefulness
redoubled, for he pined after his people and his homestead. He ate of
the herbs of the earth and drank of its flowing waters and siesta'd
under its trees at hours of noontide heats, till he turned from that
road to another way and, following it other three days, came on the
fourth to a land of green leas, dyed with the hues of plants and trees
and with sloping valley-sides made to please, abounding with the fruits
of the earth. It had drunken of the cups of the cloud, to the sound of
thunders rolling loud and the song of the turtle-dove gently sough'd,
till its hill-slopes were brightly verdant and its fields were sweetly
fragrant. Then Kanmakan recalled his father's city Baghdad, and for
excess of emotion he broke out into verse:—
I roam, and roaming hope I to return; ✿ Yet of returning see not how or
when:
I went for love of one I could not win, ✿ Nor way of 'scaping ills that
pressed could ken.
When he ended his recital he wept, but presently he wiped away his tears
and ate of the fruits of the earth enough for his present need. Then he
made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the ordained prayers which he had
neglected all this time; and he sat resting in that place through the
livelong day. When night came he slept and ceased not sleeping till
midnight, when he awoke and heard a human voice declaiming these
couplets:—
What's life to me, unless I see the pearly sheen ✿ Of teeth I love, and
sight that glorious mien?
Pray for her Bishops who in convents reign, ✿ Vying to bow before that
heavenly queen.
And Death is lighter than the loved one's wrath, ✿ Whose phantom haunts
me, seen in every scene:
O joy of cup-companions, when they meet, ✿ And loved and lover o'er each
other lean!
E'en more in time of spring, the lord of flowers, ✿ When fragrant is the
world with bloom and green:
Drainer of vine-juice! up wi' thee, for now ✿ Earth is a Heaven where
sweet waters flow.[76]
When Kanmakan heard these distichs his sorrows surged up; his tears ran
down his cheeks like freshets and flames of fire darted into his heart.
So he rose to see who it was that spake these words, but saw none for
the thickness of the gloom; whereupon passion increased on him and he
was frightened and restlessness possessed him. He descended from his
place to the sole of the valley and walked along the banks of the
stream, till he heard the same voice sighing heavy sighs and reciting
these couplets:—
Tho' 'tis thy wont to hide thy love perforce, ✿ Yet weep on day of
parting and divorce!
Twixt me and my dear love were plighted vows; ✿ Pledge of reunion,
fonder intercourse:
With joy inspires my heart and deals it rest ✿ Zephyr, whose coolness
doth desire enforce.
O Sa'adá,[77] thinks of me that anklet-wearer? ✿ Or parting broke she
troth without remorse?
And say! shall nights foregather us, and we ✿ Of suffered hardships tell
in soft discourse?
Quoth she, "Thou'rt daft for us and fey"; quoth I, ✿ "'Sain thee! how
many a friend hast turned to corse!"
If taste mine eyes sweet sleep while she's away, ✿ Allah with loss of
her these eyne accurse.
O wounds in vitals mine! for cure they lack ✿ Union and dewy lips' sweet
theriack.[78]