his troops in quest of his daughter, whose mother clad herself and her
women in black. Such was their case; but as regards the strange
adventures of Gharib and the Princess, they journeyed on ten days, and
on the eleventh day, appeared a dust-cloud which rose to the confines of
the sky; whereupon Gharib called the Emir of the Persians and said to
him, “Go learn the cause thereof.” “I hear and obey,” replied he and
drave his charger, till he came under the cloud of dust, where he saw
folk and enquired of them. Quoth one of them, “We are of the Banu Hattál
and are questing for plunder; our Emir is Samsám bin Al-Jiráh and we are
five thousand horse.” The Persians returned in haste and told their
saying to Gharib, who cried out to his men of the Banu Kahtan and to the
Persians, saying, “Don your arms!” They did as he bade them and
presently up came the Arabs who were shouting, “A plunder! a plunder!”
Quoth Gharib, “Allah confound you, O dogs of Arabs!” Then he loosed his
horse and drove at them with the career of a right valiant knight,
shouting, “Allaho Akbar! Ho for the faith of Abraham the Friend, on whom
be peace!” And there befel between them great fight and sore fray and
the sword went round in sway and there was much said and say; nor did
they leave fighting till fled the day and gloom came, when they drew
from one another away. Then Gharib numbered his tribesmen and found that
five of the Banu Kahtan had fallen and three-and-seventy of the
Persians; but of the Banu Hattal they had slain more than five hundred
horse. As for Samsam, he alighted and sought nor meat nor sleep, but
said, “In all my life I never saw such a fighter as this youth! Anon he
fighteth with the sword and anon with the mace; but, to-morrow I will go
forth on champion wise and defy him to combat of twain in battle plain
where edge and point are fain and I will cut off these Arabs.” Now, when
Gharib returned to his camp, the Princess Fakhr Taj met him, weeping and
affrighted for the terror of that which had befallen, and kissed his
foot in the stirrup, saying, “May thy hands never wither nor thy foes be
blither, O champion of the age! Alhamdolillah—Praise to God—who hath
saved thee alive this day! Verily, I am in fear for thee from yonder
Arabs.” When Gharib heard this, he smiled in her face and heartened and
comforted her, saying, “Fear not, O Princess! Did the enemy fill this
wild and wold yet would I scatter them, by the might of Allah Almighty.”
She thanked him and prayed that he might be given the victory over his
foes; after which she returned to her women and Gharib went to his tent,
where he cleansed himself of the blood of the Infidels, and they lay on
guard through the night. Next morning, the two hosts mounted and sought
the plain where cut and thrust ruled sovereign. The first to prick into
the open was Gharib, who drave his charger till he was near the Infidels
and cried out, “Who is for jousting with me? Let no sluggard or weakling
come out to me!” Whereupon there rushed forth a giant Amalekite of the
lineage of the tribe of Ad, armed with an iron flail twenty pounds in
weight, and drove at Gharib, saying, “O scum of the Arabs, take what
cometh to thee and learn the glad tidings that thy last hour is at
hand!” So saying, he aimed a blow at Gharib, but he avoided it and the
flail sank a cubit into the ground. Now the Badawi was bent double with
the blow; so Gharib smote him with his mace and clove his forehead in
sunder; and he fell down dead and Allah hurried his soul to Hell-fire.
Then Gharib charged and wheeled and called for champions; so there came
out to him a second and a third and a fourth and so on, till ten had
come forth to him and he slew them all. When the Infidels saw his form
of fight and his swashing blows they hung back and forebore to fare
forth to him, whereupon Samsam looked at them and said, “Allah never
bless you! I will go forth to him.” So he donned his battle-gear and
driving his charger into mid-field where he fronted the foe and cried
out to Gharib, saying, “Fie on thee, O dog of the Arabs! hath thy
strength waxed so great that thou shouldst defy me in the open field and
slaughter my men?” And Gharib replied, “Up and take blood-revenge for
the slaughter of thy braves!” So Samsam ran at Gharib who awaited him
with broadened breast and heart enheartened, and they smote each at
other with maces, till the two hosts marvelled and every eye was fixed
on them. Then they wheeled about in the field and struck at each other
two strokes; but Gharib avoided Samsam’s stroke which wreak had wroke
and dealt him a buffet that beat in his breastbone and cast him to the
ground—stone dead. Thereupon all his host ran at Gharib as one man, and
he ran at them, crying, “God is most Great! Help and Victory for us and
shame and defeat for those who misbelieve the faith of Abraham the
Friend, on whom be peace!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Samsam’s
tribesmen rushed upon Gharib as one man, he ran at them crying, “God is
most Great! Help and Victory for us and shame and defeat for the
Miscreant!” Now when the Infidels heard the name of the All-powerful
King, the One, the All-conquering, whom the sight comprehendeth not, but
He comprehendeth the sight,[347] they looked at one another and said,
“What is this say that maketh our side-muscles tremble and weakeneth our
resolution and causeth the life to fail in us? Never in our lives heard
we aught goodlier than this saying!” adding, “Let us leave fighting,
that we may ask its meaning.” So they held their hands from the battle
and dismounted; and their elders assembled and held counsel together,
seeking to go to Gharib and saying, “Let ten of us repair to him!” So
they chose out ten of their best, who set out for Gharib’s tents. Now he
and his people had alighted and returned to their camp, marvelling at
the withdrawal of the Infidels from the fight. But, presently, lo and
behold! the ten came up and seeking speech of Gharib, kissed the earth
before him and wished him glory and lasting life. Quoth he to them,
“What made you leave fighting?”; and quoth they, “O, my lord, thou didst
affright us with the words thou shoutest out at us.” Then asked Gharib,
“What calamity do ye worship?”; and they answered, “We worship Wadd and
Suwá’a and Yaghús,[348] lords of the tribe of Noah”; and Gharib, “We
serve none but Allah Almighty, Maker of all things and Provider of all
livings. He it is who created the heavens and the earth and stablished
the mountains, who made water to well from the stones and the trees to
grow and feedeth wild beasts in wold; for He is Allah, the One, the
All-powerful Lord.” When they heard this, their bosoms broadened to the
words of Unity-faith, and they said, “Verily, this be a Lord high and
great, compassionating and compassionate!”; adding, “And what shall we
say, to become of the Moslems, of those which submit themselves to Him?”
Quoth Gharib, “Say:—There is no god but _the_ God and Abraham is the
Friend of God.” So the ten made veracious profession of the veritable
religion and Gharib said to them, “An the sweet savour of Al-Islam be
indeed stablished in your hearts, fare ye to your tribe and expound the
faith to them; and if they profess, they shall be saved, but if they
refuse we will burn them with fire.” So the ten elders returned and
expounded Al-Islam to their people and set forth to them the path of
truth and creed, and they embraced the Faith of Submission with heart
and tongue. Then they repaired on foot to Gharib’s tent and kissing
ground between his hands wished him honour and high rank, saying, “O our
lord, we are become thy slaves; so command us what thou wilt, for we are
to thee audient and obedient and we will never depart from thee, since
Allah hath guided us into the right way at thy hands.” Replied he,
“Allah abundantly requite you! Return to your dwellings and march forth
with your good and your children and forego me to the Wady of Blossoms
and the castle of Sásá bin Shays,[349] whilst I carry the Princess Fakhr
Taj, daughter of Sabur, King of the Persians, back to her father and
return to you.” “Hearkening and obedience,” said they and straightway
returned to their encampment, rejoicing in Al-Islam, and expounded the
True Faith to their wives and children, who became Believers. Then they
struck their tents and set forth, with their good and cattle, for the
Wady of Blossoms. When they came in sight of the castle of Shays,
Sa’adan and his sons sallied forth to them, but Gharib had charged them,
saying, “If the Ghul of the Mountain come out to you and offer to attack
you, do ye call upon the name of Allah the All-creator, and he will
leave his hostile intent and receive you hospitably.” So when he would
have fallen upon them they called aloud upon the name of Almighty Allah
and straightway he received them kindly and asked them of their case.
They told him all that had passed between Gharib and themselves,
whereupon he rejoiced in them and lodged them with him and loaded them
with favours. Such was their case; but as regards Gharib, he and his,
escorting the Princess fared on five days’ journey towards the City of
Isbanir, and on the sixth day they saw a dust-cloud. So Gharib sent one
of the Persians to learn the meaning of this and he went and returned,
swiftlier than bird in flight, saying, “O my lord, these be a thousand
horse of our comrades, whom the King hath sent in quest of his daughter
Fakhr Taj.” When Gharib heard this, he commanded his company to halt and
pitch the tents. So they halted and waited till the new comers reached
them, when they went to meet them and told Túmán, their captain, that
the Princess was with them; whereupon he went in to Gharib and kissing
the ground before him, enquired for her. Gharib sent him to her
pavilion, and he entered and kissed her hands and feet and acquainted
her with what had befallen her father and mother. She told him in return
all that had betided her and how Gharib had delivered her from the Ghul
of the Mountain,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King’s
daughter, Fakhr Taj, had told Tuman all that had befallen her from the
Mountain-Ghul, and how he had imprisoned her and would have devoured her
but for Gharib, adding, “And indeed, it behoveth my sire to give him the
half of his reign,” Tuman arose and returned to Gharib and kissed his
hands and feet and thanked him for his good dealing, saying, “With thy
leave, O my lord, I will return to Isbanir City and deliver to our King
the good news of his daughter’s approach.” “Go,” replied Gharib, “and
take of him the gift of glad tidings.” So Tuman returned with all
diligence to Isbanir, the Cities, and entering the palace, kissed ground
before the King, who said to him, “What is there of new, O bringer of
good news?” Quoth Tuman, “I will not speak thee, till thou give me the
gift of glad tidings.” Quoth the King, “Tell me thy glad tidings and I
will content thee.” So Tuman said, “O King, I bring thee joyful
intelligence of the return of Princess Fakhr Taj.” When Sabur heard his
daughter’s name, he fell down fainting and they sprinkled rose-water on
him, till he recovered and cried to Tuman, “Draw near to me and tell me
all the good which hath befallen her.” So he came forward and acquainted
him with all that had betided the Princess; and Sabur beat hand upon
hand, saying, “Unhappy thou, O Fakhr Taj!”[350] And he bade give Tuman
ten thousand gold pieces and conferred on him the government of Isfáhán
City and its dependencies. Then he cried out to his Emirs, saying,
“Mount, all of you, and fare we forth to meet the Princess Fakhr Taj!”;
and the Chief Eunuch went in to the Queen-mother and told her and all
the Harim the good news, whereat she rejoiced and gave him a robe of
honour and a thousand dinars. Moreover, the people of the city heard of
this and decorated the market streets and houses. Then the King and
Tuman took horse and rode till they had sight of Gharib, when Sabur
footed it and made some steps towards Gharib, who also dismounted and
advanced to meet him; and they embraced and saluted each other, and
Sabur bent over Gharib’s hand and kissed it and thanked him for his
favours.[351] They pitched their pavilions in face of each other and
Sabur went in to his daughter, who rose and embracing him told him, all
that had befallen her and how Gharib had rescued her from the clutches
of the Ghul of the Mountain. Quoth the King, “By thy life, O Princess of
fair ones, I will overwhelm him with gifts!”; and quoth she, “O my papa,
make him thy son-in-law, that he may be to thee a force against thy
foes, for he is passing valiant.” Her father replied, “O my daughter,
knowst thou not that King Khirad Sháh seeketh thee in marriage and that
he hath cast the brocade[352] and hath given an hundred thousand dinars
in settlement, and he is King of Shiraz and its dependencies and is lord
of empire and horsemen and footmen?” But when the Princess heard these
words she said, “O my papa! I desire not that whereof thou speakest, and
if thou constrain me to that I have no mind to, I will slay myself.” So
Sabur left her and went in to Gharib, who rose to him; and they sat
awhile together; but the King could not take his fill of looking upon
him; and he said in his mind, “By Allah, my daughter is excusable if she
love this Badawi!” Then he called for food and they ate and passed the
night together. On the morrow, they took horse and rode till they
arrived at the City of Isbanir and entered, stirrup to stirrup, and it
was for them a great day. Fakhr Taj repaired to her palace and the
abiding-place of her rank, where her mother and her women received her
with cries of joy and loud lullilooings. As for King Sabur, he sat down
on his throne and seated Gharib on his right hand, whilst the Princes
and Chamberlains, the Emirs, Wazirs and Nabobs stood on either hand and
gave him joy of the recovery of his daughter. Said Sabur, “Whoso loveth
me let him bestow a robe of honour on Gharib,” and there fell dresses of
honour on him like drops of rain. Then Gharib abode the King’s guest ten
days, when he would have departed, but Sabur clad him in an honourable
robe and swore him by his faith that he should not march for a whole
month. Quoth Gharib, “O King, I am plighted to one of the girls of the
Arabs and I desire to go in to her.” Quoth the King, “Whether is the
fairer, thy betrothed or Fakhr Taj?” “O King of the age,” replied
Gharib, “what is the slave beside the lord?” And Sabur said, “Fakhr Taj
is become thy handmaid, for that thou didst rescue her from the pounces
of the Ghul, and she shall have none other husband than thyself.”
Thereupon Gharib rose and kissed ground, saying, “O King of the age,
thou art a sovereign and I am but a poor man, and belike thou wilt ask a
heavy dowry.” Replied the King, “O my son, know that Khirad Shah, lord
of Shiráz and dependencies thereof, seeketh her in marriage and hath
appointed an hundred thousand dinars to her dower; but I have chosen
thee before all men, that I may make thee the sword of my kingship and
my shield against vengeance.”[353] Then he turned to his Chief Officers
and said to them, “Bear witness[354] against me, O Lords of mine Empire,
that I marry my daughter Fakhr Taj to my son Gharib.”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sabur, King
of Ajam-land said to his Chief Officers, “Bear ye witness against me
that I marry my daughter, Fakhr Taj, to my son Gharib!” With that he
joined palms[355] with him and she became his wife. Then said Gharib,
“Appoint me a dower and I will bring it to thee, for I have in the
Castle of Sasa wealth and treasures beyond count.” Replied Sabur, “O my
son, I want of thee neither treasure nor wealth and I will take nothing
for her dower save the head of Jamrkán King of Dasht and the city of
Ahwáz.[356]” Quoth Gharib, “O King of the age, I will fetch my folk
forthright and go to thy foe and spoil his realm.” Quoth Sabur, “Allah
requite thee with good!” and dismissed the lords and commons, thinking,
“If Gharib go forth against Jamrkan, he will never more return.” When
morning morrowed the King mounted with Gharib and bidding all his troops
take horse rode forth to the plain, where he said to his men, “Do ye
tilt with spears and gladden my heart.” So the champions of Persia-land
played one against other, and Gharib said, “O King of the age, I have a
mind to tilt with the horsemen of Ajam-land, but on one condition.”
Asked the King, “What is that?”; and answered Gharib, “It is that I
shall don a light tunic and take a headless lance, with a pennon dipped
in saffron, whilst the Persian champions sally forth and tilt against me
with sharp spears. If any conquer me, I will render myself to him: but,
if I conquer him I will mark him on the breast and he shall leave the
plain.” Then the King cried to the commander of the troops to bring
forward the champions of the Persians; so he chose out from amongst the
Princes one thousand two hundred of his stoutest champions, and the King
said to them, in the Persian tongue, “Whoso slayeth this Badawi may ask
of me what he will.” So they strove with one another for precedence and
charged down upon Gharib and truth was distinguished from falsehood and
jest from earnest. Quoth Gharib, “I put my trust in Allah, the God of
Abraham the Friend, the Deity who hath power over all and from whom
naught is hidden, the One, the Almighty, whom the sight comprehendeth
not!” Then an Amalekite-like giant of the Persian champions rushed out
to him, but Gharib let him not stand long before him ere he marked him
and covered his breast with saffron, and as he turned away, he smote him
on the nape with the shaft of his lance, and he fell to the ground and
his pages bore him from the lists.[357] Then a second champion came
forth against him and he overcame him and marked him on the breast; and
thus did he with a third and a fourth and a fifth; and there came out
against him champion after champion till he had overcome them all and
marked them on the breast; for Almighty Allah gave him the victory over
them and they fared forth vanquisht from the plain. Then the servants
set food and strong wine before them and they ate and drank, till
Gharib’s wits were dazed by the drink. By and by, he went out to obey a
call of Nature and would have returned, but lost his way and entered the
palace of Fakhr Taj. When she saw him, her reason fled and she cried out
to her women saying, “Go forth from me to your own places!” So they
withdrew and she rose and kissed Gharib’s hand, saying, “Welcome to my
lord, who delivered me from the Ghul! Indeed I am thine handmaid for
ever and ever.” Then she drew him to her bed and embraced him, whereupon
desire was hot upon him and he broke her seal and lay with her till the
morning. Meanwhile the King thought that he had departed; but on the
morrow he went in to him and Sabur rose to him and made him sit by his
side. Then entered the tributary kings and kissing the ground stood
ranged in rows on the right and left and fell to talking of Gharib’s
valour and saying, “Extolled be He who gave him such prowess albeit he
is so young in years!” As they were thus engaged, behold all espied from
the palace-windows the dust of horse approaching and the King cried out
to his scouts, saying, “Woe to you! Go and bring me news of yonder
dust!” So a cavalier took horse and riding off, returned after a while,
and said, “O King, we found under that dust an hundred horse belonging
to an Emir hight Sahim al-Layl.” Gharib hearing these words, cried out,
“O my lord, this is my brother, whom I had sent on an errand, and I will
go forth to meet him.” So saying, he mounted, with his hundred men of
the Banu Kahtan and a thousand Persians, and rode to meet his brother in
great state, but greatness belongeth to God alone.[358] When the two
came up with each other, they dismounted and embraced, and Gharib said
to Sahim, “O my brother, hast thou brought our tribe to the Castle of
Sasa and the Wady of Blossoms?” “O my brother,” replied Sahim, “when the
perfidious dog Mardas heard that thou hadst made thee master of the
stronghold belonging to the Mountain-Ghul, he was sore chagrined and
said:—Except I march hence, Gharib will come and carry off my daughter
Mahdiyah without dower. So he took his daughter and his goods and set
out with his tribe for the land of Irak, where he entered the city of
Cufa and put himself under the protection of King Ajib, seeking to give
him his daughter to wife.” When Gharib heard his brother’s story, he
well-nigh gave up the ghost for rage and said, “By the virtue of the
faith of Al-Islam, the faith of Abraham the Friend, and by the Supreme
Lord, I will assuredly go to the land of Irak and fierce war upon it I
will set on foot.” Then they returned to the city and going in to the
King, kissed ground before him. He rose to Gharib and saluted Sahim;
after which the elder brother told him what had happened and he put ten
captains at his commandment, under each one’s hand ten thousand horse of
the doughtiest of the Arabs and the Ajams, who equipped themselves and
were ready to depart in three days. Then Gharib set out and journeyed
till he reached the Castle of Sasa whence the Ghul and his sons came
forth to meet him and dismounting, kissed his feet in the stirrups. He
told them all that had passed and the giant said, “O my lord, do thou
abide in this thy castle, whilst I with my sons and servants repair to
Irak and lay waste the city Al-Rusták[359] and bring to thy hand all its
defenders bound in straitest bond.” But Gharib thanked him and said, “O
Sa’adan, we will all go.” So he made him ready and the whole body set
out for Irak, leaving a thousand horse to guard the Castle. Thus far
concerning them; but as regards Mardas, he arrived with his tribe in the
land of Irak bringing with him a handsome present and fared for
Cufa-city which he entered. Then, he presented himself before Ajib and
kissed ground between his hands and, after wishing him what is wished to
kings, said, “O my lord, I come to place myself under thy
protection.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Six Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,