addressed Princess Budur, "Tell me concerning thy tale and what befel
thee: haply Allah may inspire me with a means of deliverance for thee."
Quoth she, "O my brother, hear my story which is this. One night I awoke
from sleep, in the last third of the night[284] and, sitting up, saw by
my side the handsomest of youths that be, and tongue faileth to describe
him, for he was as a willow-wand or an Indian rattan-cane. So methought
it was my father who had done on this wise in order thereby to try me,
for that he had consulted me concerning wedlock, when the Kings sought
me of him to wife, and I had refused. It was this thought withheld me
from arousing him, for I feared that, if I did aught or embraced him, he
would peradventure inform my father of my doings. But in the morning, I
found on my finger his seal-ring, in place of my own which he had taken.
And, O my brother, my heart was seized with love of him at first sight;
and, for the violence of my passion and longing, I have never savoured
the taste of sleep and have no occupation save weeping alway and
repeating verses night and day. And this, O my brother, is my story and
the cause of my madness." Then she poured forth tears and repeated these
couplets:—
"Now Love hast banished all that bred delight; ✿ With that
heart-nibbling fawn my joys took flight:
Lightest of trifles lover's blood to him ✿ Who wastes the vitals of the
hapless wight!
For him I'm jealous of my sight and thought; ✿ My heart acts spy upon my
thought and sight:
Those long-lashed eyelids rain on me their shafts ✿ Guileful, destroying
hearts where'er they light:
Now, while my portion in the world endures, ✿ Shall I behold him ere I
quit world-site?
What bear I for his sake I'd hide, but tears ✿ Betray my feelings to the
spy's despight.
When near, our union seemeth ever far; ✿ When far, my thoughts to him
aye nearest are."
And presently she continued, "See then, O my brother, how thou mayest
aid me in mine affliction." So Marzawan bowed his head groundwards
awhile, wondering and not knowing what to do, then he raised it and said
to her, "All thou hast spoken to me I hold to be true, though the case
of the young man pass my understanding: but I will go round about all
lands and will seek for what may heal thee; haply Allah shall appoint
thy healing to be at my hand. Meanwhile, take patience and be not
disquieted." Thereupon Marzawan farewelled her, praying that she might
be constant and left her repeating these couplets:—
Thine image ever companies my sprite, ✿ For all thou'rt distant from
then pilgrim's sight;
But my heart-wishes e'er attract thee near: ✿ What is the lightning's
speed to Thought's swift flight?
Then go not thou, my very light of eyes ✿ Which, when thou'rt gone, lack
all the Kohl of light.
Then Marzawan returned to his mother's house, where he passed the night.
And when the morrow dawned, having equipped himself for his journey, he
fared forth and ceased not faring from city to city and from island to
island for a whole month, till he came to a town named Al-Tayrab.[285]
Here he went about scenting news of the townsfolk, so haply he might
light on a cure for the Princess's malady, for in every capital he
entered or passed by, it was reported that Queen Budur, daughter of King
Ghayur, had lost her wits. But arriving at Al-Tayrab city, he heard that
Kamar al-Zaman, son of King Shahriman, was fallen sick and afflicted
with melancholy madness. So Marzawan asked the name of the Prince's
capital and they said to him, "It is on the Islands of Khalidan and it
lieth distant from our city a whole month's journey by sea, but by land
it is six months' march." So he went down to the sea in a ship which was
bound for the Khalidan Isles, and she sailed with a favouring breeze for
a whole month, till they came in sight of the capital; and there
remained for them but to make the land when, behold, there came out on
them a tempestuous wind which carried away the masts and rent the
canvas, so that the sails fell into the sea and the ship capsized, with
all on board,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Ninety-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the ship
capsized with all on board, each sought his own safety; and as for
Marzawan the set of the sea carried him under the King's palace, wherein
was Kamar al-Zaman. And by the decree of destiny it so happened that
this was the day on which King Shahriman gave audience to his Grandees
and high officers, and he was sitting, with his son's head on his lap,
whilst an eunuch fanned away the flies; and the Prince had not spoken
neither had he eaten nor drunk for two days, and he was grown thinner
than a spindle.[286] Now the Wazir was standing respectfully a-foot near
the latticed window giving on the sea and, raising his eyes, saw
Marzawan being beaten by the billows and at his last gasp; whereupon his
heart was moved to pity for him, so he drew near to the King and moving
his head towards him said, "I crave thy leave, O King, to go down to the
court of the pavilion and open the water-gate that I may rescue a man
who is at the point of drowning in the sea and bring him forth of danger
into deliverance; peradventure, on this account Allah may free thy son
from what he hath!" The King replied, "O thou Wazir, enough is that
which hath befallen my son through thee and on thine account. Haply, if
thou rescue this drowning man, he will come to know our affairs, and
look on my son who is in this state and exult over me; but I swear by
Allah, that if this half-drowned wretch come hither and learn our
condition and look upon my son and then fare forth and speak of our
secrets to any, I will assuredly strike off thy head before his; for
thou, O my Minister, art the cause of all that hath betided us, first
and last. Now do as thou wilt." Thereupon the Wazir sprang up and,
opening the private postern which gave upon the sea, descended to the
causeway; then walked on twenty steps and came to the water where he saw
Marzawan nigh unto death. So he put out his hand to him and, catching
him by his hair, drew him ashore in a state of insensibility, with belly
full of water and eyes half out of his head. The Wazir waited till he
came to himself, when he pulled off his wet clothes and clad him in a
fresh suit, covering his head with one of his servants' turbands; after
which he said to him, "Know that I have been the means of saving thee
from drowning: do not thou requite me by causing my death and thine
own."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Ninety-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir did
to Marzawan what he did, he thus addressed him, "Know that I have been
the cause of saving thee from drowning, so requite me not by causing my
death and thine own." Asked Marzawan, "And how so?"; and the Wazir
answered, "Thou art at this hour about to go up and pass among Emirs and
Wazirs, all of them silent and none speaking, because of Kamar al-Zaman,
the son of the Sultan." Now when Marzawan heard the name of Kamar
al-Zaman, he knew that this was he whom he had heard spoken of in sundry
cities and of whom he came in search, but he feigned ignorance and asked
the Wazir, "And who is Kamar al-Zaman?" Answered the Minister, "He is
the son of Sultan Shahriman and he is sore sick and lieth strown on his
couch restless alway, eating not nor drinking neither sleeping night or
day; indeed he is nigh upon death and we have lost hope of his living
and are certain that he is dying. Beware lest thou look too long on him,
or thou look on any place other than that where thou settest thy feet:
else thou art a lost man, and I also." He replied, "Allah upon thee, O
Wazir, I implore thee, of thy favour, acquaint me touching this youth
thou describest, what is the cause of the condition in which he is." The
Wazir replied, "I know none, save that, three years ago, his father
required him to wed, but he refused; whereat the King was wroth and
imprisoned him. And when he awoke on the morrow, he fancied that during
the night he had been roused from sleep and had seen by his side a young
lady of passing loveliness, whose charms tongue can never express; and
he assured us that he had plucked off her seal-ring from her finger and
had put it on his own and that she had done likewise; but we know not
the secret of all this business. So by Allah, O my son, when thou comest
up with me into the palace, look not on the Prince, but go thy way; for
the Sultan's heart is full of wrath against me." So said Marzawan to
himself, "By Allah; this is the one I sought!" Then he followed the
Wazir up to the palace, where the Minister seated himself at the
Prince's feet; but Marzawan found forsooth nothing to do but go up to
Kamar al-Zaman and stand before him at gaze. Upon this the Wazir died of
affright in his skin, and kept looking at Marzawan and signalling him to
wend his way; but he feigned not to see him and gave not over gazing
upon Kamar al-Zaman, till he was well assured that it was indeed he whom
he was seeking,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Ninety-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Marzawan
looked upon Kamar al-Zaman and knew that it was indeed he whom he was
seeking, he cried, "Exalted be Allah, Who hath made his shape even as
her shape and his complexion as her complexion and his cheek as her
cheek!" Upon this Kamar al-Zaman opened his eyes and gave earnest ear to
his speech; and, when Marzawan saw him inclining to hear, he repeated
these couplets[287]:—
I see thee full of song and plaint and love's own ecstasy;
Delighting in describing all the charms of loveliness:
Art smit by stroke of Love or hath shaft-shot wounded thee?
None save the wounded ever show such signals of distress!
Ho thou! crown the wine-cup and sing me singular
Praises to Sulaymá, Al-Rabáb, Tan'oum addrest;[288]
Go round the grape-vine sun[289] which for mansion hath a jar;
Whose East the cup-boy is, and here my mouth that opes for West.
I'm jealous of the very clothes that dare her sides enroll
When she veils her dainty body of the delicatest grace:
I envy every goblet of her lips that taketh toll,
When she sets the kissing-cup on that sweetest kissing-place.
But deem not by the keen-edged scymitar I'm slain—
The hurts and harms I dree are from arrows of her eyes.
I found her finger-tips, as I met her once again,
Deep-reddened with the juice of the wood that ruddy dyes;[290]
And cried, "Thy palms thou stainedst when far away was I
And this is how thou payest one distracted by his pine!"
Quoth she (enkindling in my heart a flame that burnèd high
Speaking as one who cannot hide of longing love the sign),
"By thy life, this is no dye used for dyeing; so forbear
Thy blame, nor in charging me with falsing Love persist!"
"But when upon our parting-day I saw thee haste to fare,
The while were bared my hand and my elbow and my wrist;"
"I shed a flood of blood-red tears and with fingers brushed away;
Hence blood-reddened were the tips and still blood-red they remain."
Had I wept before she wept, to my longing-love a prey,
Before repentance came, I had quit my soul of pain;
But she wept before I wept and I wept to see her care
And I said, "All the merit appertains to precedent;"[291]
Blame me not for loving her; now on self of Love I swear
For her sake, for her only, these pains my soul torment.
She hath all the lere of Lukmán[292] and Yúsuf's beauty lief;
Sweet singer David's voice and Maryam's chastity:
While I've all Jacob's mourning and Jonah's prison-grief,
And the sufferings of Job and old Adam's history:
Yet kill her not, albeit of my love for her I die;
But ask her why my blood to her was lawful, ask her why?
When Marzawan recited this ode, the words fell upon Kamar al-Zaman's
heart as freshness after fever and returning health; and he sighed and,
turning his tongue in his mouth, said to his sire, "O my father, let
this youth come and sit by my side."——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al-Zaman
said to his sire, "O my father, allow this youth to come and sit by my
side." Now when the King heard these words from his son, he rejoiced
with exceeding joy, though at the first his heart had been set against
Marzawan and he had determined that the stranger's head needs must be
stricken off: but when he heard Kamar al-Zaman speak, his anger left him
and he arose and drawing Marzawan to him, seated him by his son and
turning to him said, "Praised be Allah for thy safety!" He replied,
"Allah preserve thee! and preserve thy son to thee!" and called down
blessings on the King. Then the King asked, "From what country art
thou?"; and he answered, "From the Islands of the Inland Sea, the
kingdom of King Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and the Seas and the Seven
Palaces." Quoth King Shahriman, "Maybe thy coming shall be blessed to my
son and Allah vouchsafe to heal what is in him." Quoth Marzawan,
"Inshallah, naught shall be save what shall be well!" Then turning to
Kamar al-Zaman, he said to him in his ear unheard of the King and his
court, "O my lord! be of good cheer, and hearten thy heart and let thine
eyes be cool and clear and, with respect to her for whose sake thou art
thus, ask not of her case on thine account. But thou keptest thy secret
and fellest sick, while she told her secret and they said she had gone
mad; so she is now in prison, with an iron chain about her neck, in most
piteous plight; but, Allah willing, the healing of both of you shall
come from my hand." Now when Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, his life
returned to him and he took heart and felt a thrill of joy and signed to
his father to help him sit up; and the King was like to fly for gladness
and rose hastily and lifted him up. Presently, of his fear for his son,
he shook the kerchief of dismissal[293]; and all the Emirs and Wazirs
withdrew; then he set two pillows for his son to lean upon, after which
he bade them perfume the palace with saffron and decorate the city,
saying to Marzawan, "By Allah, O my son, of a truth thine aspect be a
lucky and a blessed!" And he made as much of him as he might and called
for food, and when they brought it, Marzawan came up to the Prince and
said, "Rise, eat with me." So he obeyed him and ate with him, and all
the while the King invoked blessings on Marzawan and said, "How
auspicious is thy coming, O my son!" And when the father saw his boy
eat, his joy and gladness redoubled, and he went out and told the
Prince's mother and all the household. Then he spread throughout the
palace the good news of the Prince's recovery and the King commanded the
decoration of the city and it was a day of high festival. Marzawan
passed that night with Kamar al-Zaman, and the King also slept with them
in joy and delight for his son's recovery.——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Shahriman
also passed that night with them in the excess of his joy for his son's
recovery. And when the next morning dawned, and the King had gone away
and the two young men were left alone, Kamar al-Zaman told his story
from beginning to end to Marzawan who said, "In very sooth I know her
with whom thou didst foregather; her name is the Princess Budur and she
is daughter to King Ghayur." Then he related to him all that had passed
with the Princess from first to last and acquainted him with the
excessive love she bore him, saying, "All that befel thee with thy
father hath befallen her with hers, and thou art without doubt her
beloved, even as she is thine; so brace up thy resolution and take
heart, for I will bring thee to her and unite you both anon and deal
with you even as saith the poet:—
Albe to lover adverse be his love, ✿ And show aversion howso may he
care;
Yet will I manage that their persons[294] meet, ✿ E'en as the pivot of a
scissor-pair."
And he ceased not to comfort and solace and encourage Kamar al-Zaman and
urge him to eat and drink till he ate food and drank wine, and life
returned to him and he was saved from his ill case; and Marzawan cheered
him and diverted him with talk and songs and stories, and in good time
he became free of his disorder and stood up and sought to go to the
Hammam.[295] So Marzawan took him by the hand and both went to the bath,
where they washed their bodies and made them clean.——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundredth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Kamar
al-Zaman, son of King Shahriman, went to the Hammam, his father in his
joy at this event freed the prisoners, and presented splendid dresses to
his grandees and bestowed large alm-gifts upon the poor and bade
decorate the city seven days. Then quoth Marzawan to Kamar al-Zaman,
"Know, O my lord, that I came not from the Lady Budur save for this
purpose, and the object of my journey was to deliver her from her
present case; and it remaineth for us only to devise how we may get to
her, since thy father cannot brook the thought of parting from thee. So
it is my counsel that to-morrow thou ask his leave to go abroad hunting.
Then do thou take with thee a pair of saddle-bags full of money and
mount a swift steed, and lead a spare horse, and I will do the like, and
say to thy sire:—I have a mind to divert myself with hunting the desert
and to see the open country and there to pass one night. Suffer not any
servant to follow us, for as soon as we reach the open country, we will
go our ways." Kamar al-Zaman rejoiced in this plan with great joy and
cried, "It is good." Then he stiffened his back and, going in to his
father, sought his leave and spoke as he had been taught, and the King
consented to his going forth a-hunting and said, "O my son, blessed be
the day that restoreth thee to health! I will not gainsay thee in this;
but pass not more than one night in the desert and return to me on the
morrow; for thou knowest that life is not good to me without thee, and
indeed I can hardly believe thee to be wholly recovered from what thou
hadst,[296] because thou art to me as he of whom quoth the poet:—
Albe by me I had through day and night ✿ Solomon's carpet and the
Chosroes' might,
Both were in value less than wing of gnat, ✿ Unless these eyne could
hold thee aye in sight."[297]
Then the King equipped his son Kamar al-Zaman and Marzawan for the
excursion, bidding make ready for them four horses, together with a
dromedary to carry the money and a camel to bear the water and
belly-timber; and Kamar al-Zaman forbade any of his attendants to follow
him. His father farewelled him and pressed him to his breast and kissed
him, saying, "I ask thee in the name of Allah, be not absent from me
more than one night, wherein sleep will be unlawful to me, for I am even
as saith the poet:—
Thou present, in the Heaven of heavens I dwell; ✿ Bearing thine absence
is of hells my Hell:
Pledged be for thee my soul! If love for thee ✿ Be crime, my crime is of
the fellest fell.
Does love-lowe burn thy heart as burns it mine, ✿ Doomed night and day
Gehenna-fire to smell?"
Answered Kamar al-Zaman, "O my father, Inshallah, I will lie abroad but
one night!" Then he took leave of him, and he and Marzawan mounted and
leading the spare horses, the dromedary with the money and the camel
with the water and victual, turned their faces towards the open
country;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawning day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and First Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al-Zaman and
Marzawan fared forth and turned their faces towards the open country;
and they travelled from the first of the day till nightfall, when they
halted and ate and drank and fed their beasts and rested awhile; after
which they again took horse and ceased not journeying for three days,
and on the fourth they came to a spacious tract wherein was a thicket.
They alighted in it and Marzawan, taking the camel and one of the
horses, slaughtered them and cut off their flesh and stripped their
bones. Then he doffed from Kamar al-Zaman his shirt and trousers which
he smeared with the horse's blood and he took the Prince's coat which he
tore to shreds and befouled with gore; and he cast them down in the fork
of the road. Then they ate and drank and mounting set forward again;
and, when Kamar al-Zaman asked why this was done, and said, "What is
this O my brother, and how shall it profit us?"; Marzawan replied, "Know
that thy father, when we have outstayed the second night after the night
for which we had his leave, and yet we return not, will mount and follow
in our track till he come hither; and, when he happeneth upon this blood
which I have spilt and he seeth thy shirt and trousers rent and
gore-fouled, he will fancy that some accident befel thee from bandits or
wild-beasts; so he will give up hope of thee and return to his city, and
by this device we shall win our wishes." Quoth Kamar al-Zaman, "By
Allah, this be indeed a rare device! Thou hast done right well."[298]
Then the two fared on days and nights and all that while Kamar al-Zaman
did naught but complain when he found himself alone, and he ceased not
weeping till they drew near their journey's end, when he rejoiced and
repeated these verses:—
Wilt tyrant play with truest friend who thinks of thee each hour, ✿ And
after showing love-desire betray indifference?
May I forfeit every favour if in love I falsed thee, ✿ If thee I left,
abandon me by way of recompense:
But I've been guilty of no crime such harshness to deserve, ✿ And if I
aught offended thee I bring my penitence;
Of Fortune's wonders one it is thou hast abandoned me; ✿ But Fortune
never wearieth of showing wonderments.
When he had made an end of his verses, Marzawan said to him, "Look!
these be King Ghayur's Islands;" whereat Kamar al-Zaman joyed with
exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done, and kissed him
between the eyes and strained him——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Two Hundred and Second Night,