When it was the eleventh day, the Wazirs repaired in early morning to
the king’s gate and said to him, “O king, the folk are assembled from
the portals of the palace to the gibbet, to the end they may see the
king’s order carried out on the youth.” So Azadbakht bade fetch the
prisoner and they brought him; whereupon the Ministers turned to him and
said to him, “O vile of birth, can any lust for life remain with thee
and canst thou hope for deliverance after this day?” Said he, “O wicked
Wazirs, shall a man of understanding renounce all esperance in Almighty
Allah? Howsoever a man be oppressed, there cometh to him deliverance
from the midst of distress and life from the midst of death, as in the
case of the prisoner and how Allah delivered him.” Asked the king, “What
is his story?” and the youth answered, saying, “O king, they tell
_THE STORY OF THE PRISONER AND HOW ALLAH GAVE HIM RELIEF_.”[251]
There was once a king of the kings, who had a high palace, overlooking
his prison, and he used to hear in the night one saying, “O Ever-present
Deliverer, O Thou whose deliverance is aye present, relieve Thou me!”
One day the king waxed wroth and said, “Yonder fool looketh for relief
from the pains and penalties of his crime.” Then said he to his
officers, “Who is in yonder jail?” and said they, “Folk upon whom blood
hath been found.”[252] Hearing this the king bade bring that man before
him and said to him, “O fool, O little of wit, how shalt thou be
delivered from this prison, seeing that thy crime is mortal?” Then he
committed him to a company of his guards and said to them, “Take this
wight and crucify him within sight of the city.” Now it was the night
season. So the soldiers carried him without the city, thinking to
crucify him, when behold, there came out upon them robbers and fell upon
them with swords and other weapons. Thereat the guards left him whom
they purposed to slay and fled whilst the man who was going to slaughter
also took to flight and plunging deep into the desert, knew not whither
he went before he found himself in a copse and there came out upon him a
lion of terrible aspect, who snatched him up and cast him under him.
Then he went up to a tree and uprooting it, covered the man therewithal
and made off into the thicket, in quest of the lioness.[253] As for the
man, he committed his affair to Allah the Most High, relying upon Him
for deliverance, and said to himself, “What is this affair?” Then he
removed the leaves from himself and rising, saw great plenty of men’s
bones there, of those whom the lion had devoured. He looked again and
behold, he saw a heap of gold lying alongside a purse-belt;[254] whereat
he marvelled and gathering up the gold in the breast of his gaberdine,
went forth of the copse and fled at hap-hazard, turning neither to the
right nor to the left, in his fear of the lion; nor did he cease flying
till he came to a village and cast himself down, as he were dead. He lay
there till the day appeared and he was rested from his travail, when he
arose and burying the gold, entered the village. Thus Allah gave him
relief and he got the gold. Then said the king, “How long wilt thou
beguile us, O youth, with thy prate? But now the hour of thy slaughter
is come.” So he bade crucify him upon the gibbet. But as they were about
to hoist him up, lo and behold! the Captain of the thieves, who had
found him and reared him, came up at that moment and asked, “What be
this assembly and the cause of the crowds here gathered together?” They
informed him that a page of the king had committed a mighty great crime
and that he was about to do him die; so the Captain of the thieves
pressed forward and looking upon the prisoner, knew him, whereupon he
went up to him and strained him to his bosom and threw his arms round
his neck, and fell to kissing him upon his mouth.[255] Then said he,
“This is a boy I found under such a mountain, wrapped in a gown of
brocade, and I reared him and he fell to cutting the way with us. One
day, we set upon a caravan, but they put us to flight and wounded some
of us and took the lad and ganged their gait. From that day to this I
have gone round about the lands seeking him, but have not found news of
him till now; and this is he.” When the king heard this, he was assured
that the youth was his very son; so he cried out at the top of his voice
and casting himself upon him, embraced him and kissed him and shedding
tears, said, “Had I put thee to death, as was mine intent, I should have
died of regret for thee.” Then he cut his pinion-bonds and taking his
crown from his head, set it on the head of his son, whereupon the people
raised cries of joy, whilst the trumpets blared and the kettle-drums
beat and there befel a mighty great rejoicing. They decorated the city
and it was a glorious day; even the birds stayed their flight in the
welkin, for the greatness of the greeting and the clamour of the crying.
The army and the folk carried the prince to the palace in splendid
procession, and the news came to his mother Bahrjaur, who fared forth
and threw herself upon him. Moreover, the king bade open the prison and
bring forth all who were therein, and they held high festival seven days
and seven nights and rejoiced with a mighty rejoicing. Thus it betided
the youth; but as regards the Ministers, terror and silence, shame and
affright fell upon them and they gave themselves up for lost. After this
the king sat, with his son by his side and the Wazirs on their knees
before him, and summoned his chief officers and the subjects of the
city. Then the prince turned to the Ministers and said to them, “See, O
villain Wazirs, the work of Allah and his speedy relief.” But they
answered ne’er a syllable and the king said, “It sufficeth me that there
is nothing alive but rejoiceth with me this day, even to the birds in
the sky, but ye, your breasts are straitened. Indeed, this is the
greatest of hostility in you me-wards, and had I hearkened to you, my
regret had been prolonged and I had died miserably of sorrow.” Quoth the
prince, “O my father, but for the fairness of thy thought and thy
perspicacity and thy longanimity and deliberation in affairs, there had
not betided thee this great joy. Hadst thou slain me in haste,
repentance would have been sore on thee and longsome annoy, and on this
wise whoso preferreth haste shall rue.” Presently the king sent for the
Captain of the robbers and bade indue him with a robe of honour,
commanding that all who loved the king should doff their dresses and
cast them upon him.[256] So there fell robes of honour on him, till he
was a-wearied with their weight, and Azadbakht invested him with the
mastership of the police of his city. Then he bade set up other nine
gibbets by the side of the first and said to his son, “Thou art
innocent, and yet these villain Wazirs strave for thy slaughter.”
Replied the prince, “O my sire, I had no fault in their eyes but that I
was a loyal counsellor to thee and still kept watch over thy wealth and
withdrew their hands from thy hoards and treasuries; wherefore they were
jealous and envied me and plotted against me and planned to slay me.”
Quoth the king, “The time of retribution is at hand, O my son; but what
be thy rede we should do with them in requital of that they did with
thee? And indeed they have striven for thy slaughter and exposed thee to
disgrace and smirched mine honour among the kings.” Then he turned to
the Wazirs and said to them, “Woe to you! What liars ye are! And is
aught of excuse left to you?” Said they, “O king, there remaineth no
excuse for us and we are houghed[257] by the deed we would have done to
him. Indeed we planned evil to this youth and it hath reverted upon us,
and we plotted mischief against him and it hath overtaken us; yea, we
digged for him a pit and we ourselves have fallen into it.” So the king
bade hoist up the Wazirs upon the gibbets and crucify them there,
because Allah is just and decreeth that which is due. Then Azadbakht and
his wife and son abode in joyance and gladness, till there came to them
the Destroyer of delights and they died all; and extolled be the Living
One, who dieth not, to whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever
and ever! Amen.