them forth of the seas; and he shooteth the birds with a pellet of
clay,[132] and trappeth the elephant with his craft. None is safe from
his mischief and neither bird nor beast escapeth him; and on this wise
have I told thee what I have heard concerning the son of Adam. So I
awoke, fearful and trembling, and from that hour to this my heart hath
not known gladness, for dread of the son of Adam, lest he surprise me
unawares by his wile or trap me in his snares. By the time the end of
the day overtook me, my strength was grown weak and my spunk failed me;
so, desiring to eat and drink, I went forth walking, troubled in spirit
and with a heart ill at ease. Now when I reached yonder mountain I saw a
tawny lion-whelp at the door of a cave; and sighting me he joyed in me
with great joy, for my colour pleased him and my gracious shape; so he
cried out to me saying:—Draw nigh unto me. I went up to him and he asked
me, What is thy name, and what is thy nature? Answered I, My name is
Duck, and I am of the bird-kind; and I added, But thou, why tarriest
thou in this place till this time? Answered the whelp, My father the
lion hath for many a day warned me against the son of Adam, and it came
to pass this night that I saw in my sleep the semblance of a son of
Adam. And he went on to tell me the like of that I have told you. When I
heard these words, I said to him, O lion, I take asylum with thee, that
thou mayest kill the son of Adam and be steadfast in resolve to his
slaughter; verily I fear him for myself with extreme fear and to my
fright affright is added for that thou also dreadest the son of Adam,
albeit thou art Sultan of savage beasts. Then I ceased not, O my sister,
to bid the young lion beware of the son of Adam and urge him to slay
him, till he rose of a sudden and at once from his stead and went out
and he fared on, and I after him and I noted him lashing flanks with
tail. We advanced in the same order till we came to a place where the
roads forked and saw a cloud of dust arise which, presently clearing
away, discovered below it a runaway naked ass, now galloping and running
at speed and now rolling in the dust. When the lion saw the ass, he
cried out to him, and he came up to him in all humility. Then said the
lion:—Harkye, crack-brain brute! What is thy kind and what be the cause
of thy coming hither? He replied, O son of the Sultan! I am by kind an
ass—Asinus Caballus—and the cause of my coming to this place is that I
am fleeing from the son of Adam. Asked the lion-whelp, Dost thou fear
then that he will kill thee? Answered the ass, Not so, O son of the
Sultan, but I dread lest he put a cheat on me and mount upon me; for he
hath a thing called Pack-saddle, which he setteth on my back; also a
thing called Girths which he bindeth about my belly; and a thing called
Crupper which he putteth under my tail, and a thing called Bit which he
placeth in my mouth: and he fashioneth me a goad[133] and goadeth me
with it and maketh me run more than my strength. If I stumble he curseth
me, and if I bray, he revileth me;[134] and at last when I grow old and
can no longer run, he putteth on me a pannel[135] of wood and delivereth
me to the water-carriers, who load my back with water from the river in
skins and other vessels, such as jars, and I cease not to wone in misery
and abasement and fatigue till I die, when they cast me on the
rubbish-heaps to the dogs. So what grief can surpass this grief and what
calamities can be greater than these calamities? Now when I heard, O
peahen, the ass's words, my skin shuddered, and became as gooseflesh at
the son of Adam; and I said to the lion-whelp, O my lord, the ass of a
verity hath excuse and his words add terror to my terror. Then quoth the
young lion to the ass, Whither goest thou? Quoth he, Before sunrise I
espied the son of Adam afar off, and fled from him; and now I am minded
to flee forth and run without ceasing for the greatness of my fear of
him, so haply I may find me a place of shelter from the perfidious son
of Adam. Whilst the ass was thus discoursing with the lion-whelp,
seeking the while to take leave of us and go away, behold, appeared to
us another cloud of dust, whereat the ass brayed and cried out and
looked hard and let fly a loud fart.[136] After a while the dust lifted
and discovered a black steed finely dight with a blaze on the forehead
like a dirham round and bright;[137] handsomely marked about the hoof
with white and with firm strong legs pleasing to sight and he neighed
with affright. This horse ceased not running till he stood before the
whelp, the son of the lion who, when he saw him, marvelled and made much
of him and said, What is thy kind, O majestic wild beast and wherefore
fleest thou into this desert wide and vast? He replied, O lord of wild
beasts, I am a steed of the horse-kind, and the cause of my running is
that I am fleeing from the son of Adam. The lion-whelp wondered at the
horse's speech and cried to him:—Speak not such words for it is shame to
thee, seeing that thou art tall and stout. And how cometh it that thou
fearest the son of Adam, thou, with thy bulk of body and thy swiftness
of running, when I, for all my littleness of stature am resolved to
encounter the son of Adam and, rushing on him, eat his flesh, that I may
allay the affright of this poor duck and make her dwell in peace in her
own place? But now thou hast come here and thou hast wrung my heart with
thy talk and turned me back from what I had resolved to do, seeing that,
for all thy bulk, the son of Adam hath mastered thee and hath feared
neither thy height nor thy breadth, albeit, wert thou to kick him with
one hoof thou wouldst kill him, nor could he prevail against thee, but
thou wouldst make him drink the cup of death. The horse laughed when he
heard the whelp's words and replied, Far, far is it from my power to
overcome him, O Prince. Let not my length and my breadth nor yet my bulk
delude thee with respect to the son of Adam; for that he, of the excess
of his guile and his wiles, fashioneth me a thing called Hobble and
applieth to my four legs a pair of ropes made of palm-fibres bound with
felt, and gibbeteth me by the head to a high peg, so that I being tied
up remain standing and can neither sit nor lie down. And when he is
minded to ride me, he bindeth on his feet a thing of iron called
Stirrup[138] and layeth on my back another thing called Saddle, which he
fasteneth by two Girths passed under my armpits. Then he setteth in my
mouth a thing of iron he calleth Bit, to which he tieth a thing of
leather called Rein; and, when he sitteth in the saddle on my back, he
taketh the rein in his hand and guideth me with it, goading my flanks
the while with the shovel-stirrups till he maketh them bleed. So do not
ask, O son of our Sultan, the hardships I endure from the son of Adam.
And when I grow old and lean and can no longer run swiftly, he selleth
me to the miller who maketh me turn in the mill, and I cease not from
turning night and day till I grow decrepit. Then he in turn vendeth me
to the knacker who cutteth my throat and flayeth off my hide and
plucketh out my tail, which he selleth to the sieve-maker; and he
melteth down my fat for tallow-candles. When the young lion heard the
horse's words, his rage and vexation redoubled and he said, When didst
thou leave the son of Adam? Replied the horse, At mid-day and he is upon
my track. Whilst the whelp was thus conversing with the horse lo! there
rose a cloud of dust and, presently opening out, discovered below it a
furious camel gurgling and pawing the earth with his feet and never
ceasing so to do till he came up with us. Now when the lion-whelp saw
how big and buxom he was, he took him to be the son of Adam and was
about to spring upon him when I said to him, O Prince, of a truth this
is not the son of Adam, this be a camel, and he seemeth to be fleeing
from the son of Adam. As I was thus conversing, O my sister, with the
lion-whelp, the camel came up and saluted him; whereupon he returned the
greeting and said:—What bringeth thee hither? Replied he, I came here
fleeing from the son of Adam. Quoth the whelp, And thou, with thy huge
frame and length and breadth, how cometh it that thou fearest the son of
Adam, seeing that with one kick of thy foot thou wouldst kill him? Quoth
the camel, O son of the Sultan, know that the son of Adam hath
subtleties and wiles, which none can withstand nor can any prevail
against him, save only Death; for he putteth into my nostrils a twine of
goat's hair he calleth Nose-ring,[139] and over my head a thing he
calleth Halter; then he delivereth me to the least of his little
children, and the youngling draweth me along by the nose-ring, my size
and strength notwithstanding. Then they load me with the heaviest of
burdens and go long journeys with me and put me to hard labour through
the hours of the night and the day. When I grow old and stricken in
years and disabled from working, my master keepeth me not with him, but
selleth me to the knacker who cutteth my throat and vendeth my hide to
the tanners and my flesh to the cooks: so do not ask the hardships I
suffer from the son of Adam. When didst thou leave the son of Adam?
asked the young lion; and he answered, At sundown, and I suppose that
coming to my place after my departure and not finding me there, he is
now in search of me: wherefore let me go, O son of the Sultan, that I
may flee into the wolds and the wilds. Said the whelp, Wait awhile, O
camel, till thou see how I will tear him, and give thee to eat of his
flesh, whilst I craunch his bones and drink his blood. Replied the
camel, O King's son, I fear for thee from the child of Adam, for he is
wily and guilefull. And he began repeating these verses:—
When the tyrant enters the lieges' land, ✿ Naught remains for the lieges
but quick remove!
Now whilst the camel was speaking with the lion-whelp, behold, there
rose a cloud of dust which, after a time, opened and showed an old man
scanty of stature and lean of limb; and he bore on his shoulder a basket
of carpenter's tools and on his head a branch of a tree and eight
planks. He led little children by the hand and came on at a trotting
pace,[140] never stopping till he drew near the whelp. When I saw him, O
my sister, I fell down for excess of fear; but the young lion rose and
walked forward to meet the carpenter and when he came up to him, the man
smiled in his face and said to him, with a glib tongue and in courtly
terms:—O King who defendeth from harm and lord of the long arm, Allah
prosper thine evening and thine endeavouring and increase thy valiancy
and strengthen thee! Protect me from that which hath distressed me and
with its mischief hath oppressed me, for I have found no helper save
only thyself. And the carpenter stood in his presence weeping and
wailing and complaining. When the whelp heard his sighing and his crying
he said, I will succour thee from that thou fearest. Who hath done thee
wrong and what art thou, O wild beast, whose like in my life I never
saw, nor ever espied one goodlier of form or more eloquent of tongue
than thou? What is thy case? Replied the man, O lord of wild beasts, as
to myself I am a carpenter; but as to who hath wronged me, verily he is
a son of Adam, and by break of dawn after this coming night[141] he will
be with thee in this place. When the lion-whelp heard these words of the
carpenter, the light was changed to night before his sight and he
snorted and roared with ire and his eyes cast forth sparks of fire. Then
he cried out saying, By Allah, I will assuredly watch through this
coming night till dawn, nor will I return to my father till I have won
my will. Then he turned to the carpenter and asked, Of a truth I see
thou art short of step and I would not hurt thy feelings for that I am
generous of heart; yet do I deem thee unable to keep pace with the wild
beasts: tell me then whither thou goest? Answered the carpenter, Know
that I am on my way to thy father's Wazir, the lynx; for when he heard
that the son of Adam had set foot in this country he feared greatly for
himself and sent one of the wild beasts on a message for me, to make him
a house wherein he should dwell, that it might shelter him and fend off
his enemy from him, so not one of the sons of Adam should come at him.
Accordingly I took up these planks and set forth to find him. Now when
the young lion heard these words he envied the lynx and said to the
carpenter, By my life there is no help for it but thou make me a house
with these planks ere thou make one for Sir Lynx! When thou hast done my
work, go to him and make him whatso he wisheth. The carpenter replied, O
lord of wild beasts, I cannot make thee aught till I have made the lynx
what he desireth: then will I return to thy service and build thee a
house as a fort to ward thee from thy foe. Exclaimed the lion-whelp, By
Allah, I will not let thee leave this place till thou build me a house
of planks. So saying he made for the carpenter and sprang upon him,
thinking to jest with him, and cuffed him with his paw, knocking the
basket off his shoulder; and threw him down in a fainting fit, whereupon
the young lion laughed at him and said, Woe to thee, O carpenter, of a
truth thou art feeble and hast no force; so it is excusable in thee to
fear the son of Adam. Now when the carpenter fell on his back, he waxed
exceeding wroth; but he dissembled his wrath for fear of the whelp and
sat up and smiled in his face, saying, Well, I will make for thee the
house. With this he took the planks he had brought and nailed together
the house, which he made in the form of a chest after the measure of the
young lion. And he left the door open, for he had cut in the box a large
aperture, to which he made a stout cover and bored many holes therein.
Then he took out some newly wrought nails and a hammer and said to the
young lion, Enter the house through this opening, that I may fit it to
thy measure. Thereat the whelp rejoiced and went up to the opening, but
saw that it was strait; and the carpenter said to him, Enter and crouch
down on thy legs and arms! So the whelp did thus and entered the chest,
but his tail remained outside. Then he would have drawn back and come
out; but the carpenter said to him, Wait patiently a while till I see if
there be room for thy tail with thee. The young lion did as he was bid
when the carpenter twisted up his tail and, stuffing it into the chest,
whipped the lid on to the opening and nailed it down; whereat the whelp
cried out and said, O carpenter, what is this narrow house thou hast
made me? Let me out, sirrah! But the carpenter answered, Far be it, far
be it from thy thought! Repentance for past avails naught, and indeed of
this place thou shalt not come out. He then laughed and resumed, Verily
thou art fallen into the trap and from thy duresse there is no escape, O
vilest of wild beasts! Rejoined the whelp, O my brother, what manner of
words are these thou addressest to me? The carpenter replied "Know, O
dog of the desert! that thou hast fallen into that which thou fearedst:
Fate hath upset thee, nor shall caution set thee up. When the whelp
heard these words, O my sister, he knew that this was indeed the very
son of Adam, against whom he had been warned by his sire in waking state
and by the mysterious Voice in sleeping while; and I also was certified
that this was indeed he without doubt; wherefore great fear of him for
myself seized me and I withdrew a little apart from him and waited to
see what he would do with the young lion. Then I saw, O my sister, the
son of Adam dig a pit in that place hard by the chest which held the
whelp and, throwing the box into the hole, heap dry wood upon it and
burn the young lion with fire. At this sight, O sister mine, my fear of
the son of Adam redoubled and in my affright I have been these two days
fleeing from him." But when the peahen heard from the duck this
story,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the peahen
heard from the duck this story, she wondered with exceeding wonder and
said to her, "O my sister, here thou art safe from the son of Adam, for
we are in one of the islands of the sea whither there is no way for the
son of Adam; so do thou take up thine abode with us till Allah make easy
thy case and our case." Quoth the duck, "I fear lest some calamity come
upon me by night, for no runaway can rid him of fate by flight."
Rejoined the peahen, "Abide with us, and be like unto us;" and ceased
not to persuade her, till she yielded, saying, "O my sister, thou
knowest how weak is my resistance; but verily had I not seen thee here,
I had not remained." Said the peahen, "That which is on our
foreheads[142] we must indeed fulfil, and when our doomed day draweth
near, who shall deliver us? But not a soul departeth except it have
accomplished its predestined livelihood and term." Now the while they
talked thus, a cloud of dust appeared and approached them, at sight of
which the duck shrieked aloud and ran down into the sea, crying out,
"Beware! beware! though flight there is not from Fate and Lot!"[143]
After awhile, the dust opened out and discovered under it an antelope;
whereat the duck and the peahen were re-assured and the peacock's wife
said to her companion, "O my sister, this thou seest and wouldst have me
beware of is an antelope, and here he is, making for us. He will do us
no hurt, for the antelope feedeth upon the herbs of the earth and, even
as thou art of the bird-kind, so is he of the beast-kind. Be therefore
of good cheer and cease care-taking; for care-taking wasteth the body."
Hardly had the peahen done speaking, when the antelope came up to them,
thinking to shelter him under the shade of the tree; and, sighting the
peahen and the duck, saluted them and said, "I came to this island
to-day and I have seen none richer in herbage nor pleasanter for
habitation." Then he besought them for company, and amity and, when they
saw his friendly behaviour to them, they welcomed him and gladly
accepted his offer. So they struck up a sincere friendship and sware
thereto; and they slept in one place and they ate and drank together;
nor did they cease dwelling in safety, eating and drinking their fill,
till one day there came thither a ship which had strayed from her course
in the sea. She cast anchor near them and the crew came forth and
dispersed about the island. They soon caught sight of the three friends,
antelope, peahen and duck, and made for them; whereupon the peahen flew
up into the tree and thence winged her way through air; and the antelope
fled into the desert, but the duck abode paralysed by fear. So they
chased her till they caught her and she cried out and said, "Caution
availed me naught against Fate and Lot!"; and they bore her off to the
ship. Now when the peahen saw what had betided the duck, she removed
from the island, saying, "I see that misfortunes lie in ambush for all.
But for yonder ship, parting had not befallen between me and this duck,
because she was one of the truest of friends." Then she flew off and
rejoined the antelope, who saluted her and gave her joy of her safety
and asked for the duck, to which she replied, "The enemy hath taken her,
and I loathe the sojourn of this island after her." Then she wept for
the loss of the duck and began repeating:—
The day of parting cut my heart in twain: ✿ In twain may Allah cut the
parting-day!
And she spake also this couplet:—
I pray some day that we reunion gain, ✿ So may I tell him Parting's ugly
way.
The antelope sorrowed with great sorrow, but dissuaded the peahen from
her resolve to remove from the island. So they abode there together with
him, eating and drinking, in peace and safety, except that they ceased
not to mourn for the loss of the duck; and the antelope said to the
peahen, "O my sister, thou seest how the folk who came forth of the ship
were the cause of our severance from the duck and of her destruction; so
do thou beware of them and guard thyself from them and from the wile of
the son of Adam and his guile." But the peahen replied, "I am assured
that nought caused her death save her neglecting to say Subhán' Allah,
glory to God; indeed I often said to her:—Exclaim thou, Praised be
Allah, and verily I fear for thee, because thou neglectest to laud the
Almighty; for all things created by Allah glorify Him on this wise, and
whoso neglecteth the formula of praise[144] him destruction waylays."
When the antelope heard the peahen's words he exclaimed, "Allah make
fair thy face!" and betook himself to repeating the formula of praise,
and ceased not therefrom a single hour. And it is said that his form of
adoration was as follows:—"Praise be to the Requiter of every good and
evil thing, the Lord of Majesty and of Kings the King!" And a tale is
also told on this wise of
-----
Footnote 130:
Here begins what I hold to be the oldest subject-matter in The Nights,
the apologues or fables proper; but I reserve further remarks for the
terminal Essay. Lane has most objectionably thrown this and sundry of
the following stories into a note (vol. ii., pp. 53-69).
Footnote 131:
In beast stories generally when man appears he shows to disadvantage.
Footnote 132:
Shakespeare's "stone bow" not Lane's "cross-bow" (ii. 53).
Footnote 133:
The goad still used by the rascally Egyptian donkey-boy is a sharp
nail at the end of a stick; and claims the special attention of
societies for the protection of animals.
Footnote 134:
"The most ungrateful of all voices surely is the voice of asses"
(Koran xxxi. 18); and hence the "braying of hell" (Koran lxvii. 7).
The vulgar still believe that the donkey brays when seeing the Devil.
"The last animal which entered the Ark with Noah was the Ass to whose
tail Iblis was clinging. At the threshold the ass seemed troubled and
could enter no further when Noah said to him:—Fie upon thee! come in.
But as the ass was still troubled and did not advance Noah cried:—Come
in, though the Devil be with thee!; so the ass entered and with him
Iblis. Thereupon Noah asked:—O enemy of Allah who brought thee into
the Ark?; and Iblis answered:—Thou art the man, for thou saidest to
the ass, come in though the Devil be with thee!" (Kitáb al-Unwán fi
Makáid al-Niswán quoted by Lane ii. 54).
Footnote 135:
Arab. "Rihl," a wooden saddle stuffed with straw and matting. In
Europe the ass might complain that his latter end is the sausage. In
England they say no man sees a dead donkey: I have seen dozens and,
unfortunately, my own.
Footnote 136:
The English reader will not forget Sterne's old mare. Even Al-Hariri,
the prince of Arab rhetoricians, does not disdain to use "pepedit,"
the effect being put for the cause—terror. But Mr. Preston (p. 285)
and polite men translate by "fled in haste" the Arabic "farted for
fear."
Footnote 137:
This is one of the lucky signs and adds to the value of the beast.
There are some fifty of these marks, some of them (like a spiral of
hair in the breast which denotes that the rider is a cuckold) so
ill-omened that the animal can be bought for almost nothing. Of course
great attention is paid to colours, the best being the dark rich bay
("red" of Arabs) with black points, or the flea-bitten grey (termed
Azrak = blue or Akhzar = green) which whitens with age. The worst are
dun, cream coloured, piebald and black, which last are very rare. Yet
according to the Mishkát al-Masábih (Lane 2, 54) Mohammed said, "The
best horses are black (dark brown?) with white blazes (Arab.
"Ghurrah") and upper lips; next, black with blaze and three white legs
(bad, because white-hoofs are brittle): next, bay with white blaze and
white fore and hind legs." He also said, "Prosperity is with sorrel
horses;" and praised a sorrel with white forehead and legs; but he
dispraised the "Shikál" which has white stockings (Arab. "Muhajjil")
on alternate hoofs (_e.g._ right hind and left fore). The curious
reader will consult Lady Anne Blunt's "Bedouin Tribes of the
Euphrates, with some Account of the Arabs and their Horses" (1879);
but he must remember that it treats of the frontier tribes. The late
Major Upton also left a book, "Gleanings from the Desert of Arabia"
(1881); but it is a marvellous production deriving _e.g._ Khayl (a
horse generically) from Kohl or antimony (p. 275). What the Editor was
dreaming of I cannot imagine. I have given some details concerning the
Arab horse especially in Al-Yaman, among the Zú Mohammed, the Zú
Husayn and the Banu Yam in Pilgrimage iii. 270. As late as Marco
Polo's day they supplied the Indian market _viâ_ Aden; but the "Eye of
Al-Yaman" has totally lost the habit of exporting horses.
Footnote 138:
The shovel-iron which is the only form of spur.
Footnote 139:
Used for the dromedary: the baggage-camel is haltered.
Footnote 140:
Arab. "Harwalah," the _pas gymnastique_ affected when circumambulating
the Ka'abah (Pilgrimage iii. 208).
Footnote 141:
"This night" would be our "last night": the Arabs, I repeat, say
"night and day," not "day and night."
Footnote 142:
The vulgar belief is that man's fate is written upon his skull, the
sutures being the writing.
Footnote 143:
Koran ii. 191.
Footnote 144:
Arab "Tasbíh" = saying, "Subhán' Allah." It also means a rosary
(Egypt. Sebhah for Subhah) a string of 99 beads divided by a longer
item into sets of three and much fingered by the would-appear pious.
The professional devotee carries a string of wooden balls the size of
pigeons' eggs.
THE HERMITS.
A certain hermit worshipped on a certain mountain, whither resorted a
pair of pigeons; and the worshipper was wont to make two parts of his
daily bread,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the worshipper was
wont to make two parts of his daily bread, eating one half himself and
giving the other to the pigeon pair. He also prayed for them both that
they might be blest with issue: so they increased and multiplied
greatly. Now they resorted only to that mountain where the hermit was,
and the reason of their foregathering with the holy man was their
assiduity in repeating "Praised be Allah!" for it is recounted that the
pigeon[145] sayeth in praise, "Praised be the Creator of all Creatures,
the Distributor of daily bread, the Builder of the heavens and
Dispreader of the earths!" And that couple ceased not to dwell together
in the happiest of life, they and their brood till the holy man died,
when the company of the pigeons was broken up and they dispersed among
the towns and villages and mountains. Now it is told that on a certain
other mountain there dwelt a shepherd, a man of piety and good sense and
chastity; and he had flocks of sheep which he tended, and he made his
living by their milk and wool. The mountain which gave him a home
abounded in trees and pasturage and also in wild beasts, but these had
no power over his flocks; so he ceased not to dwell upon that highland
in full security, taking no thought to the things of the world, by
reason of his beatitude and his assiduity in prayer and devotion, till
Allah ordained that he should fall sick with exceeding sickness.
Thereupon he betook himself to a cavern in the mountain and his sheep
used to go out in the morning to the pasturage and take refuge at night
in the cave. But Allah Almighty, being minded to try him and prove his
patience and his obedience, sent him one of His angels, who came in to
him in the semblance of a fair woman and sat down before him. When the
shepherd saw that woman seated before him, his flesh shuddered at her
with horripilation[146] and he said to her, "O thou woman, what was it
invited thee to this my retreat? I have no need of thee, nor is there
aught betwixt me and thee which calleth for thy coming in to me." Quoth
she, "O man, dost thou not behold my beauty and loveliness and the
fragrance of my breath; and knowest thou not the need women have of men
and men of women? So who shall forbid thee from me when I have chosen to
be near thee and desire to enjoy thy company? Indeed, I come to thee
willingly and do not withhold myself from thee, and near us there is
none whom we need fear; and I wish to abide with thee as long as thou
sojournest in this mountain, and be thy companion and thy true friend. I
offer myself to thee, for thou needest the service of woman: and if thou
have carnal connection with me and know me, thy sickness shall be turned
from thee and health return to thee; and thou wilt repent thee of the
past for having foresworn the company of women during the days that are
now no more. In very sooth, I give thee good advice: so incline to my
counsel and approach me." Quoth the shepherd, "Go out from me, O woman
deceitful and perfidious! I will not incline to thee nor approach thee.
I want not thy company nor wish for union with thee; he who coveteth the
coming life renounceth thee, for thou seducest mankind, those of past
time and those of present time. Allah the Most High lieth in wait for
His servants and woe unto him who is cursed with thy company!" Answered
she, "O thou that errest from the truth and wanderest from the way of
reason, turn thy face to me and look upon my charms and take thy full of
my nearness, as did the wise who have gone before thee. Indeed, they
were richer than thou in experience and sharper of wit; withal they
rejected not, as thou rejectest, the enjoyment of women; nay, they took
their pleasure of them and their company even as thou renouncest them,
and it did them no hurt in things temporal or things spiritual.
Wherefore do thou recede from thy resolve and thou shalt praise the
issue of thy case." Rejoined the shepherd, "All thou sayest I deny and
abhor, and all thou offerest I reject: for thou art cunning and
perfidious and there is no honesty in thee nor is there honour. How much
of foulness hidest thou under thy beauty, and how many a pious man hast
thou seduced from his duty and made his end penitence and perdition?
Avaunt from me, O thou who devotest thyself to corrupt others!"
Thereupon, he threw his goat's-hair cloak over his head that he might
not see her face, and betook himself to calling upon the name of his
Lord. And when the angel saw the excellence of his submission to the
Divine Will, he went out from him and ascended to heaven. Now hard by
the hermit's hill was a village wherein dwelt a pious man, who knew not
the other's station, till one night he heard in a dream a Voice saying
to him, "In such a place near to thee is a devout man: go thou to him
and be at his command!" So when morning dawned he set out to wend
thither, and what time the heat was grievous upon him, he came to a tree
which grew beside a spring of running water. So he sat down to rest in
the shadow of that tree and behold, he saw beasts and birds coming to
that fount to drink; but when they caught sight of the devotee sitting
there, they took fright and fled from before his face. Then said he,
"There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah! I rest not
here but to the hurt of these beasts and fowls." So he arose, blaming
himself and saying, "Verily my tarrying here this day hath wronged these
animals, and what excuse have I towards my Creator and the Creator of
these birds and beasts for that I was the cause of their flight from
their drink and their daily food and their place of pasturage? Alas for
my shame before my Lord on the day when He shall avenge the hornless
sheep on the sheep with horns!"[147] And he wept and began repeating
these couplets:—