than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating, that when the Prince came upon that sea he was
perplext and wist not what to do, so he leapt from the back of the
Father of the Pigeon and set his steed standing beside him that he might
lean against his quarter[533] when, of the excess of his night watching,
he fell asleep and was drowned in slumber. Then, by doom of Destiny the
beast shook his head and snorted and set off at full speed making for
the wild and the wold and was presently amiddlemost the waste. Now when
some two-told hours of time had passed, the Prince shook off his
drowsihead and opened his eyes, but of his steed he could see nor sign
nor aught of visible trace. So he smote hand upon hand and cried, “There
is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great,” after which he took seat by the side of the sea and sued comfort
of Almighty Allah. On the next day a ship suddenly sailed in and made
fast to the shore, after which a posse of Jews landed from her and as
soon as they saw him they fell upon him and seized him and pinioned him;
then, carrying him perforce aboard, loaded his legs with irons. So quoth
he to himself, “Whenas Fate is so minded our eyes are blinded; however,
patience is fairest and of Allah must we ask aidance.” Hereupon the Jews
again disembarked and filled their kegs with the water of an adjoining
rain-pool, after which they trooped aboard and making sail voyaged over
the billows of the ocean before them. This lasted for a month, after
which time they cast anchor beside a harbour-town, and presently swarmed
out to sell and to buy, and there they delayed for a term of two months
until they had finished their business and they had purchased them what
sufficed of provaunt. All this while the Prince lay bound in the black
hole deep down in the ship’s hold, nor did anyone go near him save a
Jew, a man of a certain age.[534] And whenever he entered that dismal
place he heard the youth reciting from the Koran and he would stand to
hearken until his heart was softened to the speaker and he would favour
him in the matter of meat and drink. When they cast anchor beside the
second place, the King’s son asked the man, “What may be this port-city
and what is her name and the name of her ruler? Would Heaven I wot an
her lord be a King or a Governor under a royal hand?” “Wherefore askest
thou?” quoth the Jew, and quoth the other, “For nothing: my only want is
the city’s name[535] and I would learn whether it belong to Moslems or
Jews or Nazarenes.” “This be peopled by Moslem folk,” replied the Jew,
“natheless can none carry tidings of thee to her inhabitants. However, O
Moslem, I feel a fondness for thee and ’tis my intent when we reach the
city of Andalús[536] to give tidings of thee, but it must be on
condition that thou accept of me to thy company whenas Allah Almighty
shall have delivered thee.” Said the Prince, “And what hindereth thee
from Al-Islam at this hour?” and said the other, “I am forbidden by fear
of the ship’s Captain.[537]” Replied the Prince, “Become a Moslem in
secret and wash and pray in privacy beside me here.” So he became of the
True Believers at the hand of the King’s son, who presently asked him,
“Say me, be there in this vessel any Moslems save myself?” “There are
some twenty here,” answered he, “and ’tis the design of the Captain to
offer them up on arrival at his own country and he shall devote them as
victims in the Greater Synagogue.” Rejoined the other, “Thou art now a
Moslem even as I am a Moslem, and it besitteth thou apprise me of all
and whatsoever befalleth in the ship, but first art thou able to gar me
forgather with the other True Believers?” And the man answered in the
affirmative. Now after the ship had sailed with them for ten days, the
whilome Jew contrived to bring him and the Moslem prisoners together and
they were found to number twenty, each and every in irons. But when it
was the Sabbath about undurn hour, all the Jews including the Captain
fell to wine-bibbing and therein exceeded until the whole of them waxed
drunken; whereat the Prince and his convert arose, and going to the
armoury[538] and opening it found therein all manner war-gear, even
habergeons. So the Youth returned to the captives and unbinding their
bonds, led them to the cabin of weapons and said to them, “Do each and
every of you who shall find aught befitting take it and let such as
avail to wear coat of mail seize one of them and don it.” On this wise
he heartened their hearts and cried to them, “Unless ye do the deeds of
men you will be slaughtered with the slaughtering of sheep, for at this
moment ’tis their design on reaching their own land to offer you up as
corbans in their Greater Synagogue. So be you on your guard and, if ye
fall in this affair,[539] ’tis fairer for you than to die with split
weasands.” So each of them snatched up whatso of war gear suited him and
one equipped other and they heartened their hearts and all waxed eager
for the fray. Then sallied they forth, one and twenty in number, at a
single word, with the Takbír and the Tahlíl,[540] whilst the Jews who
formed the ship’s crew were some one hundred and five. But these were
all drunken with wine and giddy of head, nor did they recover until the
weapons began to play upon their necks and their backs, whereat they
shook off their crapulence and learned that the Moslems had gotten about
them with their war-gear. So they cried out to one another and became
ware and the liquor-fumes left their brains. Then they rushed for the
armoury but found that most of the weapons were with the Moslems, whom
the Prince was urging to derring-do of cut and thrust. Thus were they
departed into two portions and hardly had passed an hour, an hour which
would grey the hair of a little child, in fight and fray and onset and
retreat——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day, and fell silent
and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
“How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable
and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to
survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was
The Eight Hundred and Fifth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating, that the Prince urged on his party and fortified
their hearts to fight, nor had an hour passed in battle and slaughter
(and he smiting rightwards and leftwards) when behold, he was
encountered by the Captain who sprang at him with his scymitar and
designed to cut him down. But he forestalled him with sway of sabre and
smote him a swashing stroke and an all-sufficient which share through
his joints and tare through his limbs; and when the ship’s crew saw
their Chief fall dead they gave in their submission[541] and throwing
down their weapons would have saved their lives. The Prince, however,
went forward to them and fell to pinioning them, one after other, until
he had bound them all, after which he counted them and found them to
number about forty head while the slain were three score and five. These
he threw into the sea,[542] but the captives he placed in prison after
chaining them with iron chains and they padlocked the doors upon them;
and the Moslems worked the ship’s sails while the man who had newly
islamised directed them upon their course until they moored at a holm
hard by the mainland. Here they landed and found the place abounding in
blooms and trees and streams, and the Prince left the ship to
reconnoitre the continent when suddenly a dust cloud drew nigh and a
sand-pillar soared awhile in air high; then it uncovered some fifty
horsemen, and they were pursuing in the hottest of haste,[543] a
stallion which was saddled and bridled and which they intended to
secure. Now for ten days they had galloped after him but none availed to
catch him. When the King’s son looked upon that case he uttered a loud
cry and the courser, hearing the sound of his master’s voice, made for
him and fell to rubbing his cheeks upon his back and shoulders[544]
until they came up with him as he was standing beside his lord. Hereat
all the riders dismounted with intent to seize him, but the Prince
opposed them saying, “This is my horse and he was lost from me in such a
place upon the margin of the main.” Replied they, “’Tis well, but this
is our booty nor will we ever leave him to thee, for that during the
last ten days we have galloped after him until we are melted, and our
horses are melted as well as ourselves. Moreover, our King awaiteth us
and if we return without the steed our heads will be cut off.” Quoth the
Prince, “Nor ye nor that Sovran of yours can have any command over him,
albeit you may have pursued him at speed for ten days or fifteen days or
twenty days; nor shall you make him a quarry or for yourselves or for
the King of you. By Allah, one Sultan was unable to take even a hair
from him and, by the Almighty! were you to pursue him for a full-told
year not one of you could come up with him or make him your own.”
Hereupon talk increased between them and one drew weapon upon other and
there befel between them contest and enmity and rage of bad blood and
each clapt hand to sword and drew it from sheath. When the King’s son
saw this from them, he sprang upon the steed’s back swiftlier than the
blinding leven; and, having settled himself firmly in selle, he put
forth his hand and seized a sword which hung by the saddle bow. As soon
as the folk saw that he had mounted the horse, they charged upon him
with their scymitars and would have cut him down, but he made his steed
curvet and withdrew from them saying, “An you design battle I am not
fain of fight, and do ye all go about your business and covet not the
horse lest your greed deceive you and you ask more than enough and
thereby fall into harm. This much we know and if you require aught else
let the strongest and doughtiest of you do his best.” Then they charged
upon him a second time and a third time and he warded them off and
cried, “Allah draw the line between me and you,[545] O folk, and do ye
gang your gait for you be fifty riders and I be alone and singlehanded
and how shall one contend in fight with half an hundred?” Cried they,
“Naught shall save thee from us except thou dismount from the steed and
suffer us to take him and return home with him;”——And Shahrazad was
surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her
permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story,
O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where
is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an
the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that
was
The Eight Hundred and Seventh Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating, that the fifty horsemen said to the King’s son,
“There is no help but that we take from thee the horse,” and said he, “I
have given you good advice, and well I wot and am certified that were
you two hundred riders ye could never prevail over me whilst I am
mounted on my courser’s back and indeed I have no fear of fight; but let
any of you who hath claim to knightlihood come forwards and take him and
mount him.” So saying he alighted forthright and left his horse and went
to some distance from him, when one of the fifty riders pushed forwards
and designed to seize the steed by the reins and bestride him, when
suddenly the stallion raged like fire at him and attacked him and smote
him with his forehand and drove the entrails out of his belly and the
man at once fell to the ground slain. As his party saw this they bared
their brands and assaulted the horse designing to cut him in pieces when
behold, a dust-cloud high in lift upflew and walled the view; and all
extended their glances in that direction for an hour of time until it
opened and showed some two hundred knights headed by a King mighty of
degree and majesty and over his head were flags a-flying. The fifty
horsemen, seeing him advance with his troops, drew off and stood still
to look and see whom he might be, and when the horse sighted these
banners he sniffed with nostrils opened wide to the air, and made for
them at full speed, as if gladdened by the sight, and approached them
and returned to them a second time in like guise and at the third time
he drew up hard beside them and nearing the King fell to rubbing his
cheeks upon the stirrups whilst the ruler put forth his hand and gentled
the steed by smoothing his head and forehead. As soon as the fifty
riders saw this, they marvelled thereat, but the King’s son who had kept
his ground was astounded and said to himself, “The horse fled me and
when this host drew nigh he sought me again.”[546] Presently the Prince
fixed his glance upon the latest comers and behold, the King was his
father, so he sprang to him and when the sire saw him he knew his son
and footed it and the twain embraced and fell fainting to the ground for
awhile. When they recovered the suite of the Sultan came forward and
salam’d to the Prince who presently asked his sire, “What may be the
cause of thy coming to this plain?” and the ruler informed him by way of
answer that after his child’s departure slumber to him brought no rest
nor was there in food aught of zest and with him longing overflowed for
the sake of his son, so that after a while of time he and the grandees
of his realm had marched forth, and he ended by saying, “O my son, our
leaving home was for the sake of thee, but do thou tell me what befel
thee after mounting the Father of a Pigeon, and what was the cause of
thy coming to this spot.” Accordingly the Prince told all that had
betided him, first and last, of his durance vile amongst the Jews and
how he had devised the killing of the Captain and the capture of the
craft; and how the steed, after being lost in the waste,[547] had
returned to him in this place; also of the fifty riders who encountered
him on landing and would fain have seized him but failed and of the
death of the horseman who was slain by the horse. Hereat they pitched
the pavilions upon that spot and set up a throne for the King who after
taking seat thereon placed his son by his side and bade summon the fifty
riders who were brought into the presence——And Shahrazad was surprised
by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the
Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that
was
The Eight Hundred and Eighth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting, and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating, that when the Sultan took seat upon the throne and
set his son by his side he summoned the fifty riders, who were brought
into the presence and placed between his hands. Then he questioned them
of their case and their country and the cause of their coming to that
stead and they notified to him their native land and their Sovran and
the reason of their wandering; to wit, their headlong pursuit of the
stallion which had lasted for a term of ten days. Now when the Sultan
understood their words and knew and was certified concerning their King
and their country, he robed them with honourable robes[548] and said to
them, “Walláhi! had I known that the stallion would have submitted to
you and would have obeyed you I should have delivered him up to you, but
I feared for any that durst approach him, barring his master. Now,
however, do ye depart and salam to your Sovran and say him:—By Allah, if
the stallion thou sawest wandering the waste befitted the use of thee I
had sent him in free gift.” With this fair message the men farewelled
him and fared from him and they ceased not faring until they returned to
their liege lord and reported to him all that had betided them; that is,
how the owner of the stallion had appeared and proved to be a King who
(they added) “hath sent his salam to thee saying it was his desire to
despatch the horse but none availed to manage him save himself and his
son.” And when the Ruler heard these words, he returned thanks to the
Sovran for the grace of his goodness, and returned forthright to his own
land. Meanwhile the Sultan who was owner of the stallion presented the
captured ship to those who had captured her, and taking his son turned
towards his capital, and they marched without stay or delay until they
reached it. Hereupon the Chamberlains and the Nabobs and the high
Officers and the townsfolk came forth to meet and greet their Ruler and
rejoiced in his safety and that of his son, and they adorned the city
for three days and all were in high mirth and merriment until what time
the Sultan had settled down at home. Such was his case; but as regards
the Khwajah and his daughter, when they had let load their loads they
quitted the cavern and set forth, making for their country and patrial
stead, and they ceased not forcing their marches for a term of ten days.
But on the eleventh they encountered fiery heat beginning from
mid-forenoon; and, as the place was grassy ground and overgrown with
greenery, they alighted from their beasts and bade pitch two pavilions,
one for the daughter and the other for her father and his folk, that it
might shade them and shelter them from the excessive sultriness. Now
when it was mid-afternoon behold, the damsel was seized with the
birth-pains and the pangs of child-bearing, but Allah Almighty made
delivery right easy to her and presently she became the mother of a
man-child—Glory be to God who fashioned him and perfected what He had
fashioned in the creation of that babe![549] So his mother cut his
navel-string and, rolling it up in one of her shifts, kept careful guard
over it.[550] And presently her father entered to look upon her, and
finding that she had been delivered was grieved with exceeding grief and
the world was straitened before his face, and unknowing what to do he
said to himself, “Had we reached our homes and that babe appeared with
the damsel, our honour had been smirched and men had blamed us
saying:—The Khwajah’s daughter hath brought forth in sin. So we cannot
confront the world, and if we bear with us this infant they will ask
where is its father?” He remained perplext and distraught, seeing no way
of action, and now he would say, “Let us slay the child,” and anon, “Let
us hide it;” and the while he was in that place his nature bespake him
with such promptings. But when morning came he had determined upon
abandoning the new-born and not carrying it further, so quoth he to his
daughter, “Hearken unto whatso I shall say thee.” Quoth she, “’Tis
well!” and he continued, “If we travel with this infant the tidings of
us will spread through the city and men will say, The Khwajah’s daughter
hath been debauched and hath borne a babe in bastardy; and our right way
(according to me) is that we leave it in this tent under charge of the
Lord and whoso shall come up to the little one shall take it with the
tent; moreover I will place under its head two hundred dinars and any
whose lot it is shall carry off the whole.” When the damsel heard these
words she found the matter grievous, but she could return no reply.
“What sayest thou?” asked he, and she answered, “Whatso is right that do
thou.” Hereupon he took a purse[551] of two hundred gold pieces which he
set under the child’s head and left it in the tent. Then he loaded his
loads and fared forth, he and his daughter and his pages, and they
ceased not pushing their marches until they reached their own land and
native country and entered their home, where they were met by sundry of
their familiars coming forth to greet them. They settled down in their
quarters when the damsel forgathered with her mother who threw her arms
round her neck for exceeding affection to her and asked her of her news;
so she informed her concerning the matter of the cavern and what was
therein and how great was its distance, but she told her naught of what
had befallen her nor of her pregnancy by the Prince nor of the babe she
had abandoned. The mother still supposed that she was a clean maid, yet
she noted the change in her state and complexion. Then the damsel sought
privacy in one of the chambers and wept until her gallbladder was like
to burst and said to herself, “Would Heaven I knew whether Allah will
re-unite me with the child and its father the Prince!” and in this
condition she remained for a while of time. On such wise it befel the
Merchant and his daughter; but as regards the son of the Sultan, when he
had settled down in the city of his sire he remembered the Khwajah’s
daughter, and quoth he to his father, “O my papa, my desire is to
hunting and birding and diversion.” Quoth the King, the better that
Destiny might be fulfilled, “’Tis well, O my son, but take with thee a
suite.” “I desire no more than five men in all,” said the other, and gat
himself ready for travel and, having farewelled his father, set forth
from the city——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would
relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?” Now
when it was the next night and that was
The Eight Hundred and Tenth Night,