"O heart, an lover false thee, shun the parting bane * Nor to
forgetfulness thy thoughts constrain:
Be patient; thou shalt bury all thy foes; * Allah ne'er falseth
man of patience fain."
And this also,
"An wouldst be life,long safe, vaunt not delight; * Never
despair, nor wone o'erjoyed in sprite!
Forbear, rejoice not, mourn not o'er thy plight * And in ill day
'Have not we oped?'--recite."[FN#136]
Thereupon the old woman bowed her head groundwards awhile, then,
raising it, said, "Laud be to the Lord, the Mighty of Award!
Indeed I am afflicted with thee, O Hasan! Would Heaven I had
never known thee! This woman, whom thou describest to me as thy
wife, I know by description and I know her to be none other than
the eldest daughter of the Supreme King, she who ruleth over all
the Islands of Wak. So open both eyes and consider thy case; and
if thou be asleep, awake; for, if this woman be indeed thy wife,
it is impossible for thee ever to obtain her, and though thou
come to her, yet couldst thou not avail to her possession, since
between thee and her the distance is as that between earth and
Heaven. Wherefore, O my son, return presently and cast not
thyself into destruction nor cast me with thee; for meseemeth
thou hast no lot in her; so return whence thou camest lest our
lives be lost." And she feared for herself and for him. When
Hasan heard her words, he wept till he fainted and she left not
sprinkling water on his face, till he came to himself, when he
continued to weep, so that he drenched his dress with tears, for
the much cark and care and chagrin which betided him by reason of
her words. And indeed he despaired of life and said to the old
woman, "O my lady, and how shall I go back, after having come
hither? Verily, I thought not thou wouldst forsake me nor fail
of the winning of my wish, especially as thou art the
Commander-in-chief of the army of the girls." Answered Shawahl,
"O my son, I doubted not but thy wife was a maid of the maids,
and had I known she was the King's daughter, I had not suffered
thee to come hither nor had I shown the troops to thee, for all
the love I bear thee. But now, O my son, thou hast seen all the
girls naked; so tell me which of them pleaseth thee and I will
give her to thee, in lieu of thy wife, and do thou put it that
thy wife and children are dead and take her and return to thine
own country in safety, ere thou fall into the King's hand and I
have no means of delivering thee. So, Allah upon thee, O my son,
hearken unto me. Choose thyself one of these damsels, in the
stead of yonder woman, and return presently to thy country in
safety and cause me not quaff the cup of thine anguish! For, by
Allah, thou hast cast thyself into affliction sore and peril
galore, wherefrom none may avail to deliver thee evermore!" But
Hasan hung down his head and wept with long weeping and recited
these couplets,
"'Blame not!' said I to all who blamèd me; * 'Mine eye-lids
naught but tears were made to dree:'
The tears that brim these orbs have overflowed * My checks, for
lovers and love's cruelty.
Leave me to love though waste this form of me! * For I of Love
adore the insanity:
And, Oh my dearling, passion grows on me * For you--and you, why
grudge me clemency?
You wronged me after swearing troth and plight, * Falsed my
companionship and turned to flee:
And cup of humbling for your rigours sore * Ye made me drain what
day departed ye:
Then melt, O heart, with longing for their sight * And, O mine
eyes, with crowns of tears be dight."
--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
old woman said to Hasan, "By Allah, O my son, hearken to my
words! Choose thee one of these girls in lieu of thy wife and
presently return to thy country in safety," he hung down his head
and recited the couplets quoted above. Then he wept till he
swooned away and Shawahl sprinkled water on his face till he
revived, when she addressed him, "O my lord, I have no shift
left; because if I carry thee to the city thy life is lost and
mine also: for, when the Queen cometh to know of this, she will
blame me for admitting thee into her lands and islands, whereto
none of Adam's sons hath access, and will slay me for bringing
thee with me and for suffering mortal to look upon the virgins
seen by thee in the sea, whom ne'er touched male, neither
approached mate." And Hasan sware that he had never looked on
them with evil of eye. She resumed, "O my son, hearken to me and
return to thy country and I will give thee wealth and treasures
and things of price, such as shall suffice thee for all the women
in the world. Moreover, I will give thee a girl of the best of
them, so lend an ear to my words and return presently and imperil
not thyself; indeed I counsel thee with good counsel." But he
wept and rubbed both cheeks against her feet, saying, "O my lady
and mistress and coolth of mine eyes, how can I turn back now
that I have made my way hither, without the sight of those I
desire, and now that I have come near the beloved's site, hoping
for meeting forthright, so haply there may be a portion in
reunion to my plight?" And he improvised these couplets,
"O Kings of beauty, grace to prisoner ta'en * Of eyelids fit to
rule the Chosroës' reign:
Ye pass the wafts of musk in perfumed breath; * Your cheeks the
charms of blooming rose disdain.
The softest Zephyr breathes where pitch ye camp * And thence
far-scattered sweetness fills the plain:
Censor of me, leave blame and stint advice! * Thou bringest
wearying words and wisdom vain:
Why heat my passion with this flame and up- * braid me when
naught thou knowest of its bane?
Captured me eyes with passion maladifs, * And overthrew me with
Love's might and main:
I scatter tears the while I scatter verse; * You are my theme for
rhyme and prosy strain.
Melted my vitals glow of rosy cheeks * And in the Lazá-lowe my
heart is lain:
Tell me, an I leave to discourse of you, * What speech my breast
shall broaden?
Tell me deign! Life-long I loved the lovelings fair, but ah, * To
grant my wish eke Allah must be fain!"
Hearing his verses the old woman was moved to ruth for him and
Allah planted the seed of affection for him in her heart; so
coming up to him she consoled him, saying, "Be of good cheer and
keep thine eyes cool and clear and put away trouble from thy
thought, for, by Allah, I will venture my life with thee, till
thou attain thine aim or death undo me!" With this, Hasan's heart
was comforted and his bosom broadened and he sat talking with the
old woman till the end of the day, when all the girls dispersed,
some entering their town-mansions and others nighting in the
tents. Then the old woman carried him into the city and lodged
him in a place apart, lest any should come to know of him and
tell the Queen of him and she should slay him and slay her who
had brought him thither. Moreover, she served him herself and
strave to put him in fear of the awful majesty of the Supreme
King, his wife's father; whilst he wept before her and said, "O
my lady, I choose death for myself and loathe this worldly life,
if I foregather not with my wife and children: I have set my
existence on the venture and will either attain my aim or die."
So the old woman fell to pondering the means of bringing him and
his wife together and casting about how to do in the case of this
unhappy one, who had thrown himself into destruction and would
not be diverted from his purpose by fear or aught else; for,
indeed he recked not of his life and the sayer of bywords saith,
"Lover in nowise hearkeneth he to the speech of the man who is
fancy-free." Now the name of the Queen of the island wherein they
were was Núr al-Hudà,[FN#137] eldest daughter of the Supreme
King, and she had six virgin sisters, abiding with their father,
whose capital and court were in the chief city of that region and
who had made her ruler over all the lands and islands of Wak. So
when the ancient dame saw Hasan on fire with yearning after his
wife and children, she rose up and repaired to the palace and
going in to Queen Nur al-Huda kissed ground before her; for she
had a claim on her favour because she had reared the King's
daughters one and all and had authority over each and every of
them and was high in honour and consideration with them and with
the King. Nur al-Huda rose to her as she entered and embracing
her, seated her by her side and asked her of her journey. She
answered, "By Allah, O my lady 'twas a blessed journey and I
have brought thee a gift which I will presently present to thee,"
adding, "O my daughter, O Queen of the age and the time, I have a
favour to crave of thee and I fain would discover it to thee,
that thou mayst help me to accomplish it, and but for my
confidence that thou wilt not gainsay me therein, I would not
expose it to thee." Asked the Queen, "And what is thy need?
Expound it to me, and I will accomplish it to thee, for I and my
kingdom and troops are all at thy commandment and disposition."
Therewithal the old woman quivered as quivereth the reed on a day
when the storm-wind is abroad and saying in herself, "O[FN#138]
Protector, protect me from the Queen's mischief!"[FN#139] fell
down before her and acquainted her with Hasan's case, saying, "O
my lady, a man, who had hidden himself under my wooden settle on
the seashore, sought my protection; so I took him under my
safeguard and carried him with me among the army of girls armed
and accoutred so that none might know him, and brought him into
the city; and indeed I have striven to affright him with thy
fierceness, giving him to know of thy power and prowess; but, as
often as I threatened him, he weepeth and reciteth verses and
sayeth, 'Needs must I have my wife and children or die, and I
will not return to my country without them.' And indeed he hath
adventured himself and come to the Islands of Wak, and never in
all my days saw I mortal heartier of heart than he or doughtier
of derring-do, save that love hath mastered him to the utmost of
mastery."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
old woman related to Queen Nur al-Huda the adventure of Hasan,
ending with, "Never I saw any one heartier of heart than he save
that love hath mastered him to the utmost of mastery," the Queen,
after lending an attentive ear and comprehending the case, waxed
wroth at her with exceeding wrath and bowed her head awhile
groundwards; then, raising it, she looked at Shawahi and said to
her, "O ill-omened beldam, art thou come to such a pass of
lewdness that thou carriest males, men, with thee into the
Islands of Wak and bringest them into me, unfearing of my
mischief? Who hath foregone thee with this fashion, that thou
shouldst do thus? By the head of the King, but for thy claim on
me for fosterage and service, I would forthwith do both him and
thee to die the foulest of deaths, that travellers might take
warning by thee, O accursed, lest any other do the like of this
outrageous deed thou hast done, which none durst hitherto! But
go and bring him hither forthright, that I may see him; or I will
strike off thy head, O accursed." So the old woman went out from
her, confounded, unknowing whither she went and saying, "All this
calamity hath Allah driven upon me from this Queen because of
Hasan!" and going in to him, said, "Rise, speak with the Queen, O
wight whose last hour is at hand!" So he rose and went with her,
whilst his tongue ceased not to call upon Almighty Allah and say,
"O my God, be gracious to me in Thy decrees and deliver me from
this Thine affliction!"[FN#140] And Shawahi went with him
charging him by the way how he should speak with the Queen. When
he stood before Nur al-Huda, he found that she had donned the
chinveil[FN#141]; so he kissed ground before her and saluted her
with the salam, improvising these two couplets,
"God make thy glory last in joy of life; * Allah confirm the
boons he deigned bestow:
Thy grace and grandeur may our Lord increase * And aye Th'
Almighty aid thee o'er thy foe!"
When he ended his verse Nur al-Huda bade the old woman ask him
questions before her, that she might hear his answers: so she
said to him, "The Queen returneth thy salam-greeting and saith to
thee, 'What is thy name and that of thy country, and what are the
names of thy wife and children, on whose account thou art come
hither?"' Quoth he, and indeed he had made firm his heart and
destiny aided him, "O Queen of the age and tide and peerless
jewel of the epoch and the time, my name is Hasan the fullfilled
of sorrow, and my native city is Bassorah. I know not the name
of my wife[FN#142] but my children's names are Násir and Mansúr."
When the Queen heard his reply and his provenance, she bespoke
him herself and said, "And whence took she her children?" He
replied, "O Queen, she took them from the city of Baghdad and the
palace of the Caliphate." Quoth Nur al-Huda, "And did she say
naught to thee at the time she flew away?;" and quoth he, "Yes;
she said to my mother, 'Whenas thy son cometh to thee and the
nights of severance upon him longsome shall be and he craveth
meeting and reunion to see, and whenas the breezes of love and
longing shake him dolefully let him come in the Islands of Wak to
me.'" Whereupon Queen Nur al-Huda shook her head and said to
him, "Had she not desired thee she had not said to thy mother
this say, and had she not yearned for reunion with thee, never
had she bidden thee to her stead nor acquainted thee with her
abiding-place." Rejoined Hasan, "O mistress of Kings and asylum
of prince and pauper, whatso happened I have told thee and have
concealed naught thereof, and I take refuge from evil with Allah
and with thee; wherefore oppress me not, but have compassion on
me and earn recompense and requital for me in the world to come,
and aid me to regain my wife and children. Grant me my urgent
need and cool mine eyes with my children and help me to the sight
of them." Then he wept and wailed and lamenting his lot recited
these two couplets,
"Yea, I will laud thee while the ring-dove moans, * Though fail
my wish of due and lawful scope:
Ne'er was I whirled in bliss and joys gone by * Wherein I found
thee not both root and rope."[FN#143]
The Queen shook her head and bowed it in thought a long time;
then, raising it, she said to Hasan (and indeed she was wroth),
"I have ruth on thee and am resolved to show thee in review all
the girls in the city and in the provinces of my island; and in
case thou know thy wife, I will deliver her to thee; but, an thou
know her not and know not her place, I will put thee to death and
crucify thee over the old woman's door." Replied Hasan, "I accept
this from thee, O Queen of the Age, and am content to submit to
this thy condition. There is no Majesty and there is no Might
save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" And he recited these
couplets,
"You've roused my desire and remain at rest,-- * Waked my wounded
lids while you slept with zest.
And ye made me a vow ye would not hang back * But your guile when
you chained me waxt manifest.
I loved you in childhood unknowing Love; * Then slay me not who
am sore opprest.
Fear ye not from Allah when slaying a friend * Who gazeth on
stars when folk sleep their best?
By Allah, my kinsmen, indite on my tomb * 'This man was the slave
of Love's harshest hest!'
Haps a noble youth, like me Love's own thrall, * When he sees my
grave on my name shall call."
Then Queen Nur al-Huda commanded that not a girl should abide in
the city but should come up to the palace and pass in review
before Hasan and moreover she bade Shawahi go down in person and
bring them up herself. Accordingly all the maidens in the city
presented themselves before the Queen, who caused them to go in
to Hasan, hundred after hundred, till there was no girl left in
the place, but she had shown her to him; yet he saw not his wife
amongst them. Then said she to him, "Seest thou her amongst
these?"; and he replied, "By thy life, O Queen, she is not
amongst them." With this she was sore enraged against him and
said to the old woman, "Go in and bring out all who are in the
palace and show them to him." So she displayed to him every one
of the palace-girls, but he saw not his wife among them and said
to the Queen, "By the life of thy head, O Queen, she is not among
these." Whereat the Queen was wroth and cried out at those around
her, saying, "Take him and hale him along, face to earth, and cut
off his head, least any adventure himself after him and intrude
upon us in our country and spy out our estate by thus treading
the soil of our islands." So they threw him down on his face and
dragged him along; then, covering his eyes with his skirt, stood
at his head with bared brands awaiting royal permission.
Thereupon Shawahi came forward and kissing the ground before the
Queen, took the hem of her garment and laid it on her head,
saying, "O Queen, by my claim for fosterage, be not hasty with
him, more by token of thy knowledge that this poor wretch is a
stranger, who hath adventured himself and suffered what none ever
suffered before him, and Allah (to whom belong Might and
Majesty,) preserved him from death, for that his life was
ordained to be long. He heard of thine equity and entered thy
city and guarded site;[FN#144] wherefore, if thou put him to
death, the report will dispread abroad of thee, by means of the
travellers, that thou hatest strangers and slayest them. He is
in any case at thy mercy and the slain of thy sword, if his wife
be not found in thy dominions; and whensoever thou desireth his
presence, I can bring him back to thee. Moreover, in very sooth
I took him under my protection only of my trust in thy
magnanimity through my claim on thee for fosterage, so that I
engaged to him that thou wouldst bring him to his desire, for my
knowledge of thy justice and quality of mercy. But for this, I
had not brought him into thy kingdom; for I said to myself: 'The
Queen will take pleasure in looking upon him, and hearing him
speak his verses and his sweet discourse and eloquent which is
like unto pearls strung on string.' Moreover, he hath entered our
land and eaten of our meat; wherefore he hath a claim upon
us."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Tenth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Queen Nur al-Huda bade her pages seize Hasan and smite his neck,
the old woman, Shawahi, began to reason with her and say, "Verily
he hath entered our land and eaten of our meat, wherefore he hath
a claim upon us, the more especially since I promised him to
bring him in company with thee; and thou knowest that, parting is
a grievous ill and severance hath power to kill, especially
separation from children. Now he hath seen all our women, save
only thyself; so do thou show him thy face?" The Queen smiled and
said, "How can he be my husband and have had children by me, that
I should show him my face?" Then she made them bring Hasan before
her and when he stood in the presence, she unveiled her face,
which when he saw, he cried out with a great cry and fell down
fainting. The old woman ceased not to tend him, till he came to
himself and as soon as he revived he recited these couplets,
"O breeze that blowest from the land Irak * And from their
corners whoso cry 'Wak! Wak!'
Bear news of me to friends and say for me * I've tasted
passion-food of bitter smack.
O dearlings of my love, show grace and ruth * My heart is melted
for this severance-rack."
When he ended his verse he rose and looking on the Queen's face,
cried out with a great cry, for stress whereof the palace was
like to fall upon all therein. Then he swooned away again and
the old woman ceased not to tend him till he revived, when she
asked him what ailed him and he answered, "In very sooth this
Queen is either my wife or else the likest of all folk to my
wife."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Eleventh Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
old woman asked Hasan what ailed him, he answered, "In very sooth
this Queen is either my wife or else the likest of all folk to my
wife." Quoth Nur al-Huda to the old woman, "Woe to thee, O nurse!
This stranger is either Jinn-mad or out of his mind, for he
stareth me in the face with wide eyes and saith I am his wife."
Quoth the old woman, "O Queen, indeed he is excusable; so blame
him not, for the saying saith, 'For the lovesick is no remedy and
alike are the madman and he.'" And Hasan wept with sore weeping
and recited these two couplets,
"I sight their track and pine for longing love; * And o'er their
homesteads weep I and I yearn:
And I pray Heaven who willèd we should part, * Will deign to
grant us boon of safe return."
Then said Hasan to the Queen once more, "By Allah, thou art not
my wife, but thou art the likest of all folk to her!" Hereupon
Nur al-Huda laughed till she fell backwards and rolled round on
her side.[FN#145] Then she said to him, "O my friend, take thy
time and observe me attentively: answer me at thy leisure what I
shall ask thee and put away from thee insanity and perplexity and
inadvertency for relief is at hand." Answered Hasan, "O mistress
of Kings and asylum of all princes and paupers, when I looked
upon thee, I was distracted, seeing thee to be either my wife or
the likest of all folk to her; but now ask me whatso thou wilt."
Quoth she, "What is it in thy wife that resembleth me?"; and
quoth he, "O my lady, all that is in thee of beauty and
loveliness, elegance and amorous grace, such as the symmetry of
thy shape and the sweetness of thy speech and the blushing of thy
cheeks and the jutting of thy breasts and so forth, all
resembleth her and thou art her very self in thy faculty of
parlance and the fairness of thy favour and the brilliancy of thy
brow."[FN#146] When the Queen heard this, she smiled and gloried
in her beauty and loveliness and her cheeks reddened and her eyes
wantoned; then she turned to Shawahi Umm Dawahi and said to her,
"O my mother, carry him back to the place where he tarried with
thee and tend him thyself, till I examine into his affair; for,
an he be indeed a man of manliness and mindful of friendship and
love and affection, it behoveth we help him to win his wish, more
by token that he hath sojourned in our country and eaten of our
victual, not to speak of the hardships of travel he hath suffered
and the travail and horrors he hath undergone. But, when thou
hast brought him to thy house, commend him to the care of thy
dependents and return to me in all haste; and Allah Almighty
willing![FN#147] all shall be well." Thereupon Shawahi carried
him back to her lodging and charged her handmaids and servants
and suite wait upon him and bring him all he needed nor fail in
what was his due. Then she returned to Queen Nur al-Huda, who
bade her don her arms and set out, taking with her a thousand
doughty horsemen. So she obeyed and donned her war-gear and
having collected the thousand riders reported them ready to the
Queen, who bade her march upon the city of the Supreme King, her
father, there to alight at the abode of her youngest sister,
Manár al-Saná[FN#148] and say to her, "Clothe thy two sons in the
coats of mail which their aunt hath made them and send them to
her; for she longeth for them." Moreover the Queen charged her
keep Hasan's affair secret and say to Manar al-Sana, after
securing her children, "Thy sister inviteth thee to visit her."
"Then," she continued, "bring the children to me in haste and let
her follow at her leisure. Do thou come by a road other than her
road and journey night and day and beware of discovering this
matter to any. And I swear by all manner oaths that, if my
sister prove to be his wife and it appear that her children are
his, I will not hinder him from taking her and them and departing
with them to his own country."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twelfth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
Oueen said, "I swear by Allah and by all manner of oaths that if
she prove to be his wife, I will not hinder him from taking her
but will aid him thereto and eke to departing with them to his
mother-land." And the old woman put faith in her words, knowing
not what she purposed in her mind, for the wicked Jezebel had
resolved that if she were not his wife she would slay him; but if
the children resembled him, she would believe him. The Queen
resumed, "O my mother, an my thought tell me true, my sister
Manar al-Sana is his wife, but Allah alone is All-knowing! seeing
that these traits of surpassing beauty and excelling grace, of
which he spoke, are found in none except my sisters and
especially in the youngest." The old woman kissed her hand and
returning to Hasan, told him what the Queen had said, whereat he
was like to fly for joy and coming up to her, kissed her head.
Quoth she, "O my son, kiss not my head, but kiss me on the mouth
and be this kiss by way of sweetmeat for thy salvation.[FN#149]
Be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear and grudge
not to kiss my mouth, for I and only I was the means of thy
foregathering with her. So take comfort, and hearten thy heart
and broaden thy breast and gladden thy glance and console thy
soul for, Allah willing, thy desire shall be accomplished at my
hand." So saying, she bade him farewell and departed, whilst he
recited these two couplets,
"Witnesses unto love of thee I've four; * And wants each case two
witnesses; no more!
A heart aye fluttering, limbs that ever quake, * A wasted frame
and tongue that speech forswore."
And also these two,
"Two things there be, an blood-tears thereover * Wept eyes till
not one trace thou couldst discover,
Eyes ne'er could pay the tithe to them is due * The prime of
youth and severance from lover."
Then the old woman armed herself and, taking with her a thousand
weaponed horsemen, set out and journeyed till she came to the
island and the city where dwelt the Lady Manar al-Sana and
between which and that of her sister Queen Nur al-Huda was three
days' journey. When Shawahi reached the city, she went in to the
Princess and saluting her, gave her her sister's salam and
acquainted her with the Queen's longing for her and her children
and that she reproached her for not visiting her. Quoth Manar
al-Sana, "Verily, I am beholden to my sister and have failed of
my duty to her in not visiting her, but I will do so forthright."
Then she bade pitch her tents without the city and took with her
for her sister a suitable present of rare things. Presently, the
King her father looked out of a window of his palace, and seeing
the tents pitched by the road, asked of them, and they answered
him, "The Princess Manar al-Sana hath pitched her tents by the
way-side, being minded to visit her sister Queen Nur al-Huda."
When the King heard this, he equipped troops to escort her to
her sister and brought out to her from his treasuries meat and
drink and monies and jewels and rarities which beggar
description. Now the King had seven daughters, all
sisters-german by one mother and father except the youngest: the
eldest was called Núr al-Hudà, the second Najm al-Sabáh, the
third Shams al-Zuhà, the fourth Shajarat al-Durr, the fifth Kút
al-Kulúb, the sixth Sharaf al-Banát and the youngest Manar
al-Sana, Hasan's wife, who was their sister by the father's side
only.[FN#150] Anon the old woman again presented herself and
kissed ground before the Princess, who said to her, "Hast thou
any need, O my mother?" Quoth Shawahi, "Thy sister, Queen Nur
al-Huda, biddeth thee clothe thy sons in the two habergeons which
she fashioned for them and send them to her by me, and I will
take them and forego thee with them and be the harbinger of glad
tidings and the announcer of thy coming to her." When the
Princess heard these words, her colour changed and she bowed her
head a long while, after which she shook it and looking up, said
to the old woman, "O my mother, my vitals tremble and my heart
fluttereth when thou namest my children; for, from the time of
their birth none hath looked on their faces either Jinn or man,
male or female, and I am jealous for them of the zephyr when it
breatheth in the night." Exclaimed the old woman, "What words are
these, O my lady? Dost thou fear for them from thy sister?"--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirteenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old
woman said to the Princess Manar al-Sana, "What words be these, O
my lady? Dost thou fear for them from thy sister? Allah
safeguard thy reason! Thou mayst not cross the Queen's majesty
in this matter, for she would be wroth with thee. However, O my
lady, the children are young, and thou art excusable in fearing
for them, for those that love well are wont to deem ill: but, O
my daughter, thou knowest my tenderness and mine affection for
thee and thy children, for indeed I reared thee before them. I
will take them in my charge and make my cheek their pillow and
open my heart and set them within, nor is it needful to charge me
with care of them in the like of this case; so be of cheerful
heart and tearless eye and send them to her, for, at the most, I
shall but precede thee with them a day or at most two days." And
she ceased not to urge her, till she gave way, fearing her
sister's fury and unknowing what lurked for her in the dark
future, and consented to send them with the old woman. So she
called them and bathed them and equipped them and changed their
apparel. Then she clad them in the two little coats of mail and
delivered them to Shawahi, who took them and sped on with them
like a bird, by another road than that by which their mother
should travel, even as the Queen had charged her; nor did she
cease to fare on with all diligence, being fearful for them, till
she came in sight of Nur al-Huda's city, when she crossed the
river and entering the town, carried them in to their aunt. The
Queen rejoiced at their sight and embraced them, and pressed them
to her breast; after which she seated them, one upon the right
thigh and the other upon the left; and turning round said to the
old woman, "Fetch me Hasan forthright, for I have granted him my
safeguard and have spared him from my sabre and he hath sought
asylum in my house and taken up his abode in my courts, after
having endured hardships and horrors and passed through all
manner mortal risks, each terribler than other; yet hitherto is
he not safe from drinking the cup of death and from cutting off
his breath." --And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Fourteenth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Queen Nur al-Huda bade the old woman bring Hasan she said,
"Verily he hath endured hardships and horrors and passed through
all manner mortal risks each terribler than other; yet hitherto
he is not safe from death and from the cutting off of his
breath." Replied Shawahi, "An I bring him to thee, wilt thou
reunite him with these his children? Or, if they prove not his,
wilt thou pardon him and restore him to his own country?"
Hearing these her words the Queen waxed exceeding wroth and cried
to her, "Fie upon thee, O ill-omened old woman! How long wilt
thou false us in the matter of this strange man who hath dared to
intrude himself upon us and hath lifted our veil and pried into
our conditions? Say me: thinkest thou that he shall come to our
land and look upon our faces and betray our honour, and after
return in safety to his own country and expose our affairs to his
people, wherefore our report will be bruited abroad among all the
Kings of the quarters of the earth and the merchants will journey
bearing tidings of us in all directions, saying, 'A mortal
entered the Isles of Wak and traversed the Land of the Jinn and
the lands of the Wild Beasts and the Islands of Birds and set
foot in the country of the Warlocks and the Enchanters and
returned in safety?' This shall never be; no, never; and I swear
by Him who made the Heavens and builded them; yea, by Him who
dispread the earth and smoothed it, and who created all creatures
and counted them, that, an they be not his children, I will
assuredly slay him and strike his neck with mine own hand!" Then
she cried out at the old woman, who fell down for fear; and set
upon her the Chamberlain and twenty Mamelukes, saying, "Go with
this crone and fetch me in haste the youth who is in her house."
So they dragged Shawahi along, yellow with fright and with
side-muscles quivering, till they came to her house, where she
went in to Hasan, who rose to her and kissed her hands and
saluted her. She returned not his salam, but said to him, "Come;
speak the Queen. Did I not say to thee: 'Return presently to
thine own country and I will give thee that to which no mortal
may avail?' And did I forbid thee from all this? But thou
wouldst not obey me nor listen to my words; nay, thou rejectedst
my counsel and chosest to bring destruction on me and on thyself.
Up, then, and take that which thou hast chosen; for death is near
hand. Arise: speak with yonder vile harlot[FN#151] and tyrant
that she is!" So Hasan arose, broken-spirited, heavy-hearted,
and full of fear, and crying, "O Preserver, preserve Thou me! O
my God, be gracious to me in that which Thou hast decreed to me
of Thine affliction and protect me, O Thou the most Merciful of
the Mercifuls!" Then, despairing of his life, he followed the
twenty Mamelukes, the Chamberlain and the crone to the Queen's
presence, where he found his two sons Nasir and Mansur sitting in
her lap, whilst she played and made merry with them. As soon as
his eyes fell on them, he knew them and crying a great cry fell
down a-fainting for excess of joy at the sight of his
children.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Fifteenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Hasan's eyes fell upon his two sons, he knew them both and crying
a great cry fell down a-fainting. They also knew him[FN#152] and
natural affection moved them so that they freed themselves from
the Queen's lap and fell upon Hasan, and Allah (to whom belong
Might and Majesty,) made them speak and say to him, "O our
father!" Whereupon the old woman and all who were present wept
for pity and tenderness over them and said, "Praised be Allah,
who hath reunited you with your Sire!" Presently, Hasan came to
himself and embracing his children, wept till again he swooned
away, and when he revived, he recited these verses,
"By rights of you, this heart of mine could ne'er aby * Severance
from you albeit Union death imply!
Your phantom saith to me, 'A-morrow we shall meet!' * Shall I
despite the foe the morrow-day espy?
By rights of you I swear, my lords, that since the day * Of
severance ne'er the sweets of lips enjoyèd I!
An Allah bade me perish for the love of you, * Mid greatest
martyrs for your love I lief will die.
Oft a gazelle doth make my heart her browsing stead * The while
her form of flesh like sleep eludes mine eye:
If in the lists of Law my bloodshed she deny, * Prove it two
witnesses those cheeks of ruddy dye."
When Nur al-Huda was assured that the little ones were indeed
Hasan's children and that her sister, the Princess Manar al-Sana,
was his wife, of whom he was come in quest, she was wroth against
her with wrath beyond measure.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Sixteenth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nur
al-Huda was certified that the little ones were Hasan's children
and that her sister Manar al-Sana was his wife of whom he had
come in quest, she raged with exceeding rage, too great to be
assuaged and screamed in Hasan's face and reviled him and kicked
him in the breast, so that he fell on his back in a swoon. Then
she cried out at him, saying, "Arise! fly for thy life. But that
I swore that no evil should betide thee from me, should thy tale
prove true, I would slay thee with mine own hand forthright!" And
she cried out at the old woman, who fell on her face for fear,
and said to her, "By Allah, but that I am loath to break the oath
that I swore, I would put both thee and him to death after the
foulest fashion!"; presently adding, "Arise, go out from before
me in safety and return to thine own country, for I swear by my
fortune, if ever mine eye espy thee or if any bring thee in to me
after this, I will smite off thy head and that of whoso bringeth
thee!" Then she cried out to her officers, saying, "Put him out
from before me!" So they thrust him out, and when he came to
himself, he recited these couplets,
"You're far, yet to my heart you're nearest near; * Absent yet
present in my sprite you appear:
By Allah, ne'er to other I've inclined * But tyranny of Time in
patience bear!
Nights pass while still I love you and they end, * And burns my
breast with flames of fell Sa'ir;[FN#153]
I was a youth who parting for an hour * Bore not, then what of
months that make a year?
Jealous am I of breeze-breath fanning thee; * Yea jealous-mad of
fair soft-sided fere!"
Then he once more fell down in a swoon, and when he came to
himself, he found himself without the palace whither they had
dragged him on his face; so he rose, stumbling over his skirts
and hardly crediting his escape from Nur al-Huda. Now this was
grievous to Shawahi; but she dared not remonstrate with the Queen
by reason of the violence of her wrath. And forthright Hasan
went forth, distracted and knowing not whence to come or whither
to go; the world, for all its wideness, was straitened upon him
and he found none to speak a kind word with him and comfort him,
nor any to whom he might resort for counsel or to apply for
refuge; wherefore he made sure of death for that he could not
journey to his own country and knew none to travel with him,
neither wist he the way thither nor might he pass through the
Wady of the Jann and the Land of Beasts and the Islands of Birds.
So giving himself up for lost he bewept himself, till he fainted,
and when he revived, he bethought him of his children and his
wife and of that might befal her with her sister, repenting him
of having come to those countries and of having hearkened to
none, and recited these couplets,
"Suffer mine eye-babes weep lost of love and tears express: *
Rare is my solace and increases my distress:
The cup of Severance-chances to the dregs I've drained; * Who is
the man to bear love-loss with manliness?
Ye spread the Carpet of Disgrace[FN#154] betwixt us twain; * Ah,
when shalt be uprolled, O Carpet of Disgrace?
I watched the while you slept; and if you deemed that I * Forgot
your love I but forget forgetfulness:
Woe's me! indeed my heart is pining for the love * Of you, the
only leaches who can cure my case:
See ye not what befel me from your fell disdain? * Debased am I
before the low and high no less.
I hid my love of you but longing laid it bare, * And burns my
heart wi' fire of passion's sorest stress:
Ah! deign have pity on my piteous case, for I * Have kept our
troth in secresy and patent place!
Would Heaven I wot shall Time e'er deign us twain rejoin! * You
are my heart's desire, my sprite's sole happiness:
My vitals bear the Severance-wound: would Heaven that you * With
tidings from your camp would deign my soul to bless!"
Then he went on, till he came without the city, where he found
the river, and walked along its bank, knowing not whither he
went. Such was Hasan's case; but as regards his wife Manar
al-Sana, as she was about to carry out her purpose and to set
out, on the second day after the departure of the old woman with
her children, behold, there came in to her one of the
chamberlains of the King her sire, and kissed ground between his
hands,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Manar al-Sana was about to set out upon the journey, behold, a
chamberlain of the King, her sire, came in to her and kissing the
ground before her, said, "O Princess, the Supreme King, thy
father saluteth thee and biddeth thee to him." So she rose and
accompanied the chamberlain to learn what was required by her
father, who seated her by his side on the couch, and said to her,
"O my daughter, know that I have this night had a dream which
maketh me fear for thee and that long sorrow will betide thee
from this thy journey." Quoth she, "How so, O my father, and what
didst thou see in thy dream?" and quoth he, "I dreamt that I
entered a hidden hoard, wherein was great store of monies, of
jewels, of jacinths and of other riches; but 'twas as if naught
pleased me of all this treasure and jewelry save seven bezels,
which were the finest things there. I chose out one of the seven
jewels, for it was the smallest, finest and most lustrous of them
and its water pleased me; so I took it in my hand-palm and fared
forth of the treasury. When I came without the door, I opened my
hand, rejoicing, and turned over the jewel, when, behold, there
swooped down on me out of the welkin a strange bird from a far
land (for it was not of the birds of our country) and, snatching
it from my hand, returned with it whence it came.[FN#155]
Whereupon sorrow and concern and sore vexation overcame me and my
exceeding chagrin so troubled me that I awoke, mourning and
lamenting for the loss of the jewel. At once on awaking I
summoned the interpreters and expounders of dreams and declared
to them my dream,[FN#156] and they said to me: 'Thou hast seven
daughters, the youngest of whom thou wilt lose, and she will be
taken from thee perforce, without thy will.' Now thou, O my
girl, art the youngest and dearest of my daughters and the most
affectionate of them to me, and look'ye thou art about to journey
to thy sister, and I know not what may befal thee from her; so go
thou not; but return to thy palace." But when the Princess heard
her father's words, her heart fluttered and she feared for her
children and bent earthwards her head awhile: then she raised it
and said to her sire, "O King, Queen Nur al-Huda hath made ready
for me an entertainment and awaiteth my coming to her, hour by
hour. These four years she hath not seen me and if I delay to
visit her, she will be wroth with me. The utmost of my stay with
her shall be a month and then I will return to thee. Besides, who
is the mortal who can travel our land and make his way to the
Islands of Wak? Who can gain access to the White Country and the
Black Mountain and come to the Land of Camphor and the Castle of
Crystal, and how shall he traverse the Island of Birds and the
Wady of Wild Beasts and the Valley of the Jann and enter our
Islands? If any stranger came hither, he would be drowned in the
seas of destruction: so be of good cheer and eyes without a tear
anent my journey; for none may avail to tread our earth." And she
ceased not to persuade him, till he deigned give her leave to
depart.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
Princess ceased not to persuade him till he deigned give her
leave to depart, and bade a thousand horse escort her to the
river and abide there, till she entered her sister's city and
palace and returned to them, when they should take her and carry
her back to him. Moreover, he charged her tarry with her sister
but two days and return to him in haste; and she answered,
"Hearing and obedience." Then rising up she went forth and he
with her and farewelled her. Now his words had sunken deep into
her heart and she feared for her children; but it availeth not to
fortify herself by any device against the onset of Destiny. So
she set out and fared on diligently three days, till she came to
the river and pitched her tents on its bank. Then she crossed
the stream, with some of her counsellors, pages and suite and,
going up to the city and the palace, went in to Queen Nur
al-Huda, with whom she found her children who ran to her weeping
and crying out, "O our father!" At this, the tears railed from
her eyes and she wept; then she strained them to her bosom,
saying, "What! Have you seen your sire at this time? Would the
hour had never been, in which I left him! If I knew him to be in
the house of the world, I would carry you to him." Then she
bemoaned herself and her husband and her children weeping and
reciting these couplets,
"My friends, despight this distance and this cruelty, * I pine
for you, incline to you where'er you be.
My glance for ever turns toward your hearth and home * And mourns
my heart the bygone days you woned with me,
How many a night foregathered we withouten fear * One loving,
other faithful ever fain and free!"
When her sister saw her fold her children to her bosom, saying,
"'Tis I who have done thus with myself and my children and have
ruined my own house!" she saluted her not, but said to her, "O
whore, whence haddest thou these children? Say, hast thou
married unbeknown to thy sire or hast thou committed
fornication?[FN#157] An thou have played the piece, it behoveth
thou be exemplarily punished; and if thou have married sans our
knowledge, why didst thou abandon thy husband and separate thy
sons from thy sire and bring them hither?"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth
Nur al-Huda, the Queen, to her sister Manar al-Sana, the
Princess, "An thou have married sans our knowledge, why didst
thou abandon thy husband and separate thy sons from their sire
and bring them to our land? Thou hast hidden thy children from
us. Thinkest thou we know not of this? Allah Almighty, He who
is cognisant of the concealed, hath made known to us thy case and
revealed thy condition and bared thy nakedness." Then she bade
her guards seize her and pinion her elbows and shackle her with
shackles of iron. So they did as she commanded and she beat her
with a grievous beating, so that her skin was torn, and hanged
her up by the hair; after which she cast her in prison and wrote
the King her father a writ acquainting him with her case and
saying, "There hath appeared in our land a man, a mortal, by name
Hasan, and our sister Manar al-Sana avoucheth that she is
lawfully married to him and bare him two sons, whom she hath
hidden from us and thee; nor did she discover aught of herself
till there came to us this man and informed us that he wedded her
and she tarried with him a long while; after which she took her
children and departed, without his knowledge, bidding as she went
his mother tell her son, whenas longing began to rack to come to
her in the Islands of Wak. So we laid hands on the man and sent
the old woman Shawahi to fetch her and her offspring, enjoining
her to bring us the children in advance of her. And she did so,
whilst Manar al-Sana equipped herself and set out to visit me.
When the boys were brought to me and ere the mother came, I sent
for Hasan the mortal who claimeth her to wife, and he on entering
and at first sight knew them and they knew him; whereby was I
certified that the children were indeed his children and that she
was his wife and I learned that the man's story was true and he
was not to blame, but that the reproach and the infamy rested
with my sister. Now I feared the rending of our honour-veil
before the folk of our Isles; so when this wanton, this
traitress, came in to me, I was incensed against her and cast her
into prison and bastinado'd her grievously and hanged her up by
the hair. Behold, I have acquainted thee with her case and it is
thine to command, and whatso thou orderest us that we will do.
Thou knowest that in this affair is dishonour and disgrace to our
name and to thine, and haply the islanders will hear of it, and
we shall become amongst them a byword; wherefore it befitteth
thou return us an answer with all speed." Then she delivered the
letter to a courier and he carried it to the King, who, when he
read it, was wroth with exceeding wrath with his daughter Manar
al-Sana and wrote to Nur al-Huda, saying, "I commit her case to
thee and give thee command over her life; so, if the matter be as
thou sayest, kill her without consulting me." When the Queen had
received and read her father's letter, she sent for Manar al-Sana
and they set before her the prisoner drowned in her blood and
pinioned with her hair, shackled with heavy iron shackles and
clad in hair-cloth; and they made her stand in the presence
abject and abashed. When she saw herself in this condition of
passing humiliation and exceeding abjection, she called to mind
her former high estate and wept with sore weeping and recited
these two couplets,
"O Lord my foes are fain to slay me in despight * Nor deem I
anywise to find escape by flight:
I have recourse to Thee t' annul what they have done; * Thou art
th' asylum, Lord, of fearful suppliant wight."
Then wept she grievously, till she fell down in a swoon, and
presently coming to herself, repeated these two couplets,[FN#158]
"Troubles familiar with my heart are grown and I with them, *
Erst shunning; for the generous are sociable still.
Not one mere kind alone of woe doth lieger with me lie; * Praised
be God! There are with me thousands of kinds of ill."
And also these,
"Oft times Mischance shall straiten noble breast * With grief,
whence issue is for Him to shape:
But when the meshes straitest, tightest, seem * They loose,
though deemed I ne'er to find escape."
--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twentieth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Queen Nur al-Huda ordered into the presence her sister Princess
Manar al-Sana, they set her between her hands and she, pinioned
as she was recited the verses aforesaid. Then the Queen[FN#159]
sent for a ladder of wood and made the eunuchs lay her on her
back, with her arms spread out and bind her with cords thereto;
after which she bared her head and wound her hair about the
ladder-rungs and indeed all pity for her was rooted out from her
heart. When Manar al-Sana saw herself in this state of abjection
and humiliation, she cried out and wept; but none succoured her.
Then said she to the Queen, "O my sister, how is thy heart
hardened against me? Hast thou no mercy on me nor pity on these
little children?" But her words only hardened her sister's heart
and she insulted her, saying, "O Wanton! O harlot! Allah have no
ruth on whoso sueth for thee! How should I have compassion on
thee, O traitress?" Replied Manar al-Sana who lay stretched on
the ladder, "I appeal from thee to the Lord of the Heavens,
concerning that wherewith thou revilest me and whereof I am
innocent! By Allah, I have done no whoredom, but am lawfully
married to him, and my Lord knoweth an I speak sooth or not!
Indeed, my heart is wroth with thee, by reason of thine excessive
hardheartedness against me! How canst thou cast at me the charge
of harlotry, without knowledge? But my Lord will deliver me from
thee and if that whoredom whereof thou accusest me be true, may
He presently punish me for it!" Quoth Nur al-Huda after a few
moments of reflection "How durst thou bespeak me thus?" and rose
and beat her till she fainted away;[FN#160] whereupon they
sprinkled water on her face till she revived; and in truth her
charms were wasted for excess of beating and the straitness of
her bonds and the sore insults she had suffered. Then she
recited these two couplets,
"If aught I've sinned in sinful way, * Or done ill deed and gone
astray,
The past repent I and I come * To you and for your pardon pray!"
When Nur al-Huda heard these lines, her wrath redoubled and she
said to her, "Wilt speak before me in verse, O whore, and seek to
excuse thyself for the mortal sins thou hast sinned? 'Twas my
desire that thou shouldst return to thy husband, that I might
witness thy wickedness and matchless brazenfacedness; for thou
gloriest in thy lewdness and wantonness and mortal heinousness."
Then she called for a palm-stick and, whenas they brought the
Jaríd, she arose and baring arms to elbows, beat her sister from
head to foot; after which she called for a whip of plaited
thongs, wherewith if one smote an elephant, he would start off at
full speed, and came down therewith on her back and her stomach
and every part of her body, till she fainted. When the old woman
Shawahi saw this, she fled forth from the Queen's presence,
weeping and cursing her; but Nur al-Huda cried out to her
eunuchs, saying, "Fetch her to me!" So they ran after her and
seizing her, brought her back to the Queen, who bade throw her on
the ground and making them lay hold of her, rose and took the
whip, with which she beat her, till she swooned away, when she
said to her waiting-women, "Drag this ill-omened beldam forth on
her face and put her out." And they did as she bade them. So far
concerning them; but as regards Hasan, he walked on beside the
river, in the direction of the desert, distracted, troubled, and
despairing of life; and indeed he was dazed and knew not night
from day for stress of affliction. He ceased not faring on
thus, till he came to a tree whereto he saw a scroll hanging: so
he took it and found written thereon these couplets,
"When in thy mother's womb thou wast, * I cast thy case the
bestest best;
And turned her heart to thee, so she * Fosterèd thee on fondest
breast.
We will suffice thee in whate'er * Shall cause thee trouble or
unrest;
We'll aid thee in thine enterprise * So rise and bow to our
behest."
When he had ended reading this scroll, he made sure of
deliverance from trouble and of winning reunion with those he
loved. Then he walked forward a few steps and found himself
alone in a wild and perilous wold wherein there was none to
company with him; upon which his heart sank within him for horror
and loneliness and his side-muscles trembled, for that fearsome
place, and he recited these couplets,
"O Zephyr of Morn, an thou pass where the dear ones dwell, * Bear
greeting of lover who ever in love-longing wones!
And tell them I'm pledged to yearning and pawned to pine * And
the might of my passion all passion of lovers unthrones.
Their sympathies haply shall breathe in a Breeze like thee * And
quicken forthright this framework of rotting bones."[FN#161]
--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Hasan read the scroll he was certified of deliverance from his
trouble and made sure of winning reunion with those he loved.
Then he walked forward a couple of steps and stopped finding
himself alone in a wild and perilous wold wherein was none to
company with him, so he wept sore and recited the verses before
mentioned. Then he walked on a few steps farther beside the
river, till he came upon two little boys of the sons of the
sorcerers, before whom lay a rod of copper graven with talismans,
and beside it a skull-cap[FN#162] of leather, made of three gores
and wroughten in steel with names and characts. The cap and rod
were upon the ground and the boys were disputing and beating each
other, till the blood ran down between them; whilst each cried,
"None shall take the wand but I." So Hasan interposed and parted
them, saying, "What is the cause of your contention?" and they
replied, "O uncle, be thou judge of our case, for Allah the Most
High hath surely sent thee to do justice between us." Quoth
Hasan, "Tell me your case, and I will judge between you;" and
quoth one of them, "We twain are brothers-german and our sire was
a mighty magician, who dwelt in a cave on yonder mountain. He
died and left us this cap and rod; and my brother saith, 'None
shall have the rod but I,' whilst I say the like; so be thou
judge between us and deliver us each from other." Hasan asked,
"What is the difference between the rod and the cap and what is
their value? The rod appears to be worth six coppers[FN#163] and
the cap three;" whereto they answered, "Thou knowest not their
properties." "And what are their properties?" "Each of them hath
a wonderful secret virtue, wherefore the rod is worth the revenue
of all the Islands of Wak and their provinces and dependencies,
and the cap the like!" "By Allah, O my sons, discover to me their
secret virtues." So they said, "O uncle, they are extraordinary;
for our father wrought an hundred and thirty and five years at
their contrivance, till he brought them to perfection and
ingrafted them with secret attributes which might serve him
extraordinary services and engraved them after the likeness of
the revolving sphere, and by their aid he dissolved all spells;
and when he had made an end of their fashion, Death, which all
needs must suffer, overtook him. Now the hidden virtue of the
cap is, that whoso setteth it on his head is concealed from all
folks' eyes, nor can any see him, whilst it remaineth on his
head; and that of the rod is that whoso owneth it hath authority
over seven tribes of the Jinn, who all serve the order and
ordinance of the rod; and whenever he who possesseth it smiteth
therewith on the ground, their Kings come to do him homage, and
all the Jinn are at his service." Now when Hasan heard these
words, he bowed his head groundwards awhile, then said in
himself, "By Allah, I shall conquer every foe by means of this
rod and cap, Inshallah! and I am worthier of them both than these
two boys. So I will go about forthright to get them from the
twain by craft, that I may use them to free myself and my wife
and children from yonder tyrannical Queen, and then we will
depart from this dismal stead, whence there is no deliverance for
mortal man nor flight. Doubtless, Allah caused me not to fall in
with these two lads, but that I might get the rod and cap from
them." Then he raised his head and said to the two boys, "If ye
would have me decide the case, I will make trial of you and see
what each of you deserveth. He who overcometh his brother shall
have the rod and he who faileth shall have the cap." They
replied, "O uncle, we depute thee to make trial of us and do thou
decide between us as thou deems fit." Hasan asked, "Will ye
hearken to me and have regard to my words?"; and they answered,
"Yes." Then said he, "I will take a stone and throw it and he who
outrunneth his brother thereto and picketh it up shall take the
rod, and the other who is outraced shall take the cap." And they
said, "We accept and consent to this thy proposal." Then Hasan
took a stone and threw it with his might, so that it disappeared
from sight. The two boys ran under and after it and when they
were at a distance, he donned the cap and hending the rod in
hand, removed from his place that he might prove the truth of
that which the boys had said, with regard to their scant
properties. The younger outran the elder and coming first to the
stone, took it and returned with it to the place where they had
left Hasan, but found no signs of him. So he called to his
brother, saying, "Where is the man who was to be umpire between
us?" Quoth the other, "I espy him not neither wot I whether he
hath flown up to heaven above or sunk into earth beneath." Then
they sought for him, but saw him not, though all the while he was
standing in his stead hard by them. So they abused each other,
saying, "Rod and Cap are both gone; they are neither mine nor
thine: and indeed our father warned us of this very thing; but we
forgot whatso he said." Then they retraced their steps and Hasan
also entered the city, wearing the cap and bearing the rod; and
none saw him. Now when he was thus certified of the truth of
their speech, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and making the
palace, went up into the lodging of Shawahi, who saw him not,
because of the cap. Then he walked up to a shelf[FN#164] over
her head upon which were vessels of glass and chinaware, and
shook it with his hand, so that what was thereon fell to the
ground. The old woman cried out and beat her face; then she rose
and restored the fallen things to their places,[FN#165] saying in
herself, "By Allah, methinks Queen Nur al-Huda hath sent a Satan
to torment me, and he hath tricked me this trick! I beg Allah
Almighty deliver me from her and preserve me from her wrath,
for, O Lord, if she deal thus abominably with her half-sister,
beating and hanging her, dear as she is to her sire, how will she
do with a stranger like myself, against whom she is
incensed?"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the ancient
Lady of Calamities cried, "When Queen Nur al-Huda doeth such
misdeed to her sister, what will she do to a stranger like
myself, against whom she is incensed?" Then said she, "I conjure
thee, O devil, by the Most Compassionate, the Bountiful-great,
the High of Estate, of Dominion Elate who man and Jinn did
create, and by the writing upon the seal of Solomon David-son (on
both be the Peace!) speak to me and answer me;" Quoth Hasan, "I
am no devil; I am Hasan, the afflicted, the distraught." Then he
raised the cap from his head and appeared to the old woman, who
knew him and taking him apart, said to him, "What is come to thy
reason, that thou returnest hither? Go hide thee; for, if this
wicked woman have tormented thy wife with such torments, and she
her sister, what will she do, an she light on thee?" Then she
told him all that had befallen his spouse and that wherein she
was of travail and torment and tribulation, and straitly
described all the pains she endured adding, "And indeed the Queen
repenteth her of having let thee go and hath sent one after thee,
promising him an hundred-weight of gold and my rank in her
service; and she hath sworn that, if he bring thee back, she will
do thee and thy wife and children dead." And she shed tears and
discovered to Hasan what the Queen had done with herself, whereat
he wept and said, "O my lady, how shall I do to escape from this
land and deliver myself and my wife and children from this
tyrannical Queen and how devise to return with them in safety to
my own country?" Replied the old woman, "Woe to thee! Save
thyself." Quoth he, "There is no help but I deliver her and my
children from the Queen perforce and in her despite;" and quoth
Shawahi, "How canst thou forcibly rescue them from her? Go and
hide thyself, O my son, till Allah Almighty empower thee." Then
Hasan showed her the rod and the cap, whereat she rejoiced with
joy exceeding and cried, "Glory be to Him who quickeneth the
bones, though they be rotten! By Allah, O my son, thou and thy
wife were but of lost folk; now, however, thou art saved, thou
and thy wife and children! For I know the rod and I know its
maker, who was my Shaykh in the science of Gramarye. He was a
mighty magician and spent an hundred and thirty and five years
working at this rod and cap, till he brought them to perfection,
when Death the Inevitable overtook him. And I have heard him say
to his two boys, 'O my sons, these two things are not of your
lot, for there will come a stranger from a far country, who will
take them from you by force, and ye shall not know how he taketh
them.' Said they, 'O our father, tell us how he will avail to
take them.' But he answered, 'I wot not.' And O my son," added
she, "how availedst thou to take them?" So he told her how he had
taken them from the two boys, whereat she rejoiced and said, "O
my son, since thou hast gotten the whereby to free thy wife and
children, give ear to what I shall say to thee. For me there is
no woning with this wicked woman, after the foul fashion in which
she durst use me; so I am minded to depart from her to the caves
of the Magicians and there abide with them until I die. But do
thou, O my son, don the cap and hend the rod in hand and enter
the place where thy wife and children are. Unbind her bonds and
smite the earth with the rod saying, 'Be ye present, O servants
of these names!' whereupon the servants of the rod will appear;
and if there present himself one of the Chiefs of the Tribes,
command him whatso thou shalt wish and will." So he farewelled
her and went forth, donning the cap and hending the rod, and
entered the place where his wife was. He found her well-nigh
lifeless, bound to the ladder by her hair, tearful-eyed and
woeful-hearted, in the sorriest of plights, knowing no way to
deliver herself. Her children were playing under the ladder,
whilst she looked at them and wept for them and herself, because
of the barbarities and sore treatings and bitter penalties which
had befallen her; and he heard her repeat these couplets[FN#166],
"There remaineth not aught save a fluttering breath and an eye
whose owner is confounded.
And a desirous lover whose bowels are burned with fire
notwithstanding which she is silent.
The exulting foe pitieth her at the sight of her. Alas for her
whom the exulting foe pitieth!"
When Hasan saw her in this state of torment and misery and
ignominy and infamy, he wept till he fainted; and when he
recovered he saw his children playing and their mother aswoon for
excess of pain; so he took the cap from his head and the children
saw him and cried out, "O our father!" Then he covered his head
again and the Princess came to herself, hearing their cry, but
saw only her children weeping and shrieking, "O our father!" When
she heard them name their sire and weep, her heart was broken and
her vitals rent asunder and she said to them, "What maketh you in
mind of your father at this time?" And she wept sore and cried
out, from a bursten liver and an aching bosom, "Where are ye and
where is your father?" Then she recalled the days of her union
with Hasan and what had befallen her since her desertion of him
and wept with sore weeping till her cheeks were seared and
furrowed and her face was drowned in a briny flood. Her tears
ran down and wetted the ground and she had not a hand loose to
wipe them from her cheeks, whilst the flies fed their fill on her
skin, and she found no helper but weeping and no solace but
improvising verses. Then she repeated these couplets,
"I call to mind the parting-day that rent our loves in twain,
When, as I turned away, the tears in very streams did rain.
The cameleer urged on his beasts with them, what while I found
Nor strength nor fortitude, nor did my heart with me remain.
Yea, back I turned, unknowing of the road nor might shake off The
trance of grief and longing love that numbed my heart and
brain;
And worst of all betided me, on my return, was one Who came to
me, in lowly guise, to glory in my pain.
Since the belovèd's gone, O soul, forswear the sweet of life Nor
covet its continuance, for, wanting him, 'twere vain.
List, O my friend, unto the tale of love, and God forbid That I
should speak and that thy heart to hearken should not deign!
As 'twere El Asmaï himself, of passion I discourse Fancies rare
and marvellous, linked in an endless chain."[FN#167]
--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
She continued, When Hasan went in to his wife he saw his children
and heard her repeating the verses afore mentioned.[FN#168] Then
she turned right and left, seeking the cause of her children's
crying out, "O our father!" but saw no one and marvelled that her
sons should name their sire at that time and call upon him. But
when Hasan heard her verses, he wept till he swooned away and the
tears railed down his cheeks like rain. Then he drew near the
children and raised the cap from his head unseen of his wife,
whereupon they saw him and they knew him and cried out, saying,
"O our father!" Their mother fell a-weeping again, when she heard
them name their sire's name and said, "There is no avoiding the
doom which Almighty Allah hath decreed!" adding, "O Strange!
What garreth them think of their father at this time and call
upon him, albeit it is not of their wont?" Then she wept and
recited these couplets,
"The land of lamping moon is bare and drear; * O eyne of me pour
forth the brimming tear!
They marched: how shall I now be patient? * That I nor heart nor
patience own I swear!
O ye, who marched yet bide in heart of me, * Will you, O lords of
me, return to that we were?
What harm if they return and I enjoy * Meeting, and they had ruth
on tears of care?
Upon the parting-day they dimmed these eyne, * For sad surprise,
and lit the flames that flare.
Sore longed I for their stay, but Fortune stayed * Longings and
turned my hope to mere despair.
Return to us (O love!) by Allah, deign! * Enow of tears have
flowed for absence-bane."
Then Hasan could no longer contain himself, but took the cap from
his head; whereupon his wife saw him and recognising him screamed
a scream which startled all in the palace, and said to him, "How
camest thou hither? From the sky hast thou dropped or through
the earth hast thou come up?" And her eyes brimmed with tears and
Hasan also wept. Quoth she, "O man, this be no time for tears or
blame. Fate hath had its course and the sight was blinded and
the Pen hath run with what was ordained of Allah when Time was
begun: so, Allah upon thee, whencesoever thou comest, go hide,
lest any espy thee and tell my sister and she do thee and me
die!" Answered he, "O my lady and lady of all Queens, I have
adventured myself and come hither, and either I will die or I
will deliver thee from this strait and travel with thee and my
children to my country, despite the nose of this thy wickedest
sister." But as she heard his words she smiled and for awhile
fell to shaking her head and said, "Far, O my life, far is it
from the power of any except Allah Almighty to deliver me from
this my strait! Save thyself by flight and wend thy ways and cast
not thyself into destruction; for she hath conquering hosts none
may withstand. Given that thou tookest me and wentest forth, how
canst thou make thy country and escape from these islands and the
perils of these awesome places? Verily, thou hast seen on thy
way hither, the wonders, the marvels, the dangers and the terrors
of the road, such as none may escape, not even one of the rebel
Jinns. Depart, therefore, forthright and add not cark to my cark
and care to my care, neither do thou pretend to rescue me from
this my plight; for who shall carry me to thy country through all
these vales and thirsty wolds and fatal steads?" Rejoined Hasan,
"By thy life, O light of mine eyes, I will not depart this place
nor fare but with thee!" Quoth she, "O man! How canst thou avail
unto this thing and what manner of man art thou? Thou knowest
not what thou sayest! None can escape from these realms, even
had he command over Jinns, Ifrits, magicians, chiefs of tribes
and Marids. Save thyself and leave me; perchance Allah will
bring about good after ill." Answered Hasan, "O lady of fair
ones, I came not save to deliver thee with this rod and with this
cap." And he told her what had befallen him with the two boys;
but, whilst he was speaking, behold, up came the Queen and heard
their speech. Now when he was ware of her, he donned the cap and
was hidden from sight, and she entered and said to the Princess,
"O wanton, who is he with whom thou wast talking?" Answered Manar
al-Sanar, "Who is with me that should talk with me, except these
children?" Then the Quee took the whip and beat her, whilst Hasan
stood by and looked on, nor did she leave beating her till she
fainted; whereupon she bade transport her to another place. So
they loosed her and carried her to another chamber whilst Hasan
followed unseen. There they cast her down, senseless, and stood
gazing upon her, till she revived and recited these
couplets,[FN#169]
"I have sorrowed on account of our disunion with a sorrow that
made the tears to overflow from my eyelids;
And I vowed that if Fortune reunite us, I would never again
mention our separation;
And I would say to the envious, Die ye with regret; By Allah I
have now attained my desire!
Joy hath overwhelmed me to such a degree that by its excess it
hath made me weep.
O eye, how hath weeping become thy habit? Thou weepest in joy as
well, as in sorrows."
When she ceased her verse the slave-girls went out from her and
Hasan took off the cap; whereupon his wife said to him, "See, O
man, all this befel me not save by reason of my having rebelled
against thee and transgressed thy commandment and gone forth
without thy leave.[FN#170] So, Allah upon thee blame me not for
my sins and know that women never wot a man's worth till they
have lost him. Indeed, I have offended and done evil; but I
crave pardon of Allah Almighty for whatso I did, and if He
reunite us, I will never again gainsay thee in aught, no,
never!"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan's
wife besought pardon of him saying, "Blame me not for my sin; and
indeed I crave mercy of Allah Almighty." Quoth Hasan (and indeed
his heart ached for her), "'Twas not thou that wast in fault;
nay, the fault was mine and mine only, for I fared forth and left
thee with one who knew not thy rank, neither thy worth nor thy
degree. But know, O beloved of my heart and fruit of my vitals
and light of mine eyes, that Allah (blessed be He!) hath ordained
to me power of releasing thee; so, say me, wouldst thou have me
carry thee to thy father's home, there to accomplish what Allah
decreeth unto thee, or wilt thou forthright depart with me to
mine own country, now that relief is come to thee?" Quoth she,
"Who can deliver me save the Lord of the Heavens? Go to thy
mother-land and put away from thee false hope; for thou knowest
not the perils of these parts which, an thou obey me not, soon
shalt thou sight." And she improvised these couplets,
"On me and with me bides thy volunty; * Why then such anger such
despite to me?
Whate'er befel us Heaven forbid that love * Fade for long time or
e'er forgotten be!
Ceased not the spy to haunt our sides, till seen * Our love
estranged and then estranged was he:
In truth I trusted to fair thoughts of thine * Though spake the
wicked spy maliciously.
We'll keep the secret 'twixt us twain and hold * Although the
brand of blame unsheathed we see.
The livelong day in longing love I spend * Hoping acceptance-
message from my friend."
Then wept she and her children, and the handmaidens heard them:
so they came in to them and found them weeping, but saw not Hasan
with them; wherefore they wept for ruth of them and damned Queen
Nur al-Huda. Then Hasan took patience till night came on and her
guards had gone to their sleeping-places, when he arose and
girded his waist; then went up to her and, loosing her kissed
her on the head and between the eyes and pressed her to his
bosom, saying, "How long have we wearied for our mother-land and
for reunion there! Is this our meeting in sleep, or on wake?"
Then he took up the elder boy and she took up the younger and
they went forth the palace; and Allah veiled them with the veil
of His protection, so that they came safe to the outer gate which
closed the entrance to the Queen's Serraglio. But finding it
locked from without, Hasan said, "There is no Majesty and there
is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Verily we
are Allah's and unto Him shall we return!" With this they
despaired of escape and Hasan beat hand upon hand, saying, "O
Dispeller of dolours! Indeed, I had bethought me of every thing
and considered its conclusion but this; and now, when it is
daybreak, they will take us, and what device have we in this
case?" And he recited the following two couplets,[FN#171]
"Thou madest fair thy thought of Fate, whenas the days were fair,
And fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee might
bring.
The nights were fair and calm to thee; thou wast deceived by
them, For in the peace of night is born full many a
troublous thing."
Then Hasan wept and his wife wept for his weeping and for the
abasement she had suffered and the cruelties of Time and Fortune,
"Baulks me my Fate as tho' she were my foe; * Each day she
showeth me new cark and care:
Fate, when I aim at good, brings clear reverse, * And lets foul
morrow wait on day that's fair."
And also these,
"Irks me my Fate and clean unknows that I * Of my high worth her
shifts and shafts despise.
She nights parading what ill-will she works: * I night parading
Patience to her eyes."
Then his wife said to him, "By Allah, there is no relief for us
but to kill ourselves and be at rest from this great and weary
travail; else we shall suffer grievous torment on the morrow."
At this moment, behold, they heard a voice from without the door
say, "By Allah, O my lady Manar al-Sana, I will not open to thee
and thy husband Hasan, except ye obey me in whatso I shall say to
you!" When they heard these words they were silent for excess of
fright and would have returned whence they came; when lo! the
voice spake again saying, "What aileth you both to be silent and
answer me not?" Therewith they knew the speaker for the old
woman Shawahi, Lady of Calamities, and said to her, "Whatsoever
thou biddest us, that will we do; but first open the door to us;
this being no time for talk." Replied she, "By Allah, I will not
open to you until ye both swear to me that you will take me with
you and not leave me with yonder whore: so, whatever befalleth
you shall befal me and if ye escape, I shall escape, and if ye
perish, I shall perish: for yonder abominable woman,
tribade[FN#172] that she is! entreateth me with indignity and
still tormenteth me on your account; and thou, O my daughter,
knowest my worth." Now recognising her they trusted in her and
sware to her an oath such as contented her, whereupon she opened
the door to them and they fared forth and found her riding on a
Greek jar of red earthenware with a rope of palm-fibres about its
neck,[FN#173] which rolled under her and ran faster than a Najdi
colt, and she came up to them, and said, "Follow me and fear
naught, for I know forty modes of magic by the least of which I
could make this city a dashing sea, swollen with clashing
billows, and ensorcel each damsel therein to a fish, and all
before dawn. But I was not able to work aught of my mischief,
for fear of the King her father and of regard to her sisters, for
that they are formidable, by reason of their many guards and
tribesmen and servants. However, soon will I show you wonders of
my skill in witchcraft; and now let us on, relying upon the
blessing of Allah and His good aid." Now Hasan and his wife
rejoiced in this, making sure of escape, --And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Hasan and his wife, accompanied by the ancient dame Shawahi,
fared forth from the palace, they made sure of deliverance and
they walked on till they came without the city, when he fortified
his heart and, smiting the earth with the rod, cried, "Ho, ye
servants of these names, appear to me and acquaint me with your
conditions!" Thereupon the earth clave asunder and out came
ten[FN#174] Ifrits, with their feet in the bowels of the earth
and their heads in the clouds. They kissed the earth three times
before Hasan and said as with one voice, "Adsumus! Here are we
at thy service, O our lord and ruler over us! What dost thou bid
us do? For we hear and obey thy commandment. An thou wilt, we
will dry thee up seas and remove mountains from their places." So
Hasan rejoiced in their words and at their speedy answer to his
evocation; then taking courage and bracing up his resolution, he
said to them, "Who are ye and what be your names and your races,
and to what tribes and clans and companies appertain ye?" They
kissed the earth once more and answered as with one voice,
saying, "We are seven Kings, each ruling over seven tribes of the
Jinn of all conditions, and Satans and Marids, flyers and divers,
dwellers in mountains and wastes and wolds and haunters of the
seas: so bid us do whatso thou wilt; for we are thy servants and
thy slaves, and whoso possesseth this rod hath dominion over all
our necks and we owe him obedience." Now when Hasan heard this,
he rejoiced with joy exceeding, as did his wife and the old
woman, and presently he said to the Kings of the Jinn, "I desire
of you that ye show me your tribes and hosts and guards." "O our
lord," answered they, "if we show thee our tribes, we fear for
thee and these who are with thee, for their name is legion and
they are various in form and fashion, figure and favour. Some of
us are heads sans bodies and others bodies sans heads, and others
again are in the likeness of wild beasts and ravening lions.
However, if this be thy will, there is no help but we first show
thee those of us who are like unto wild beasts. But, O our lord,
what wouldst thou of us at this present?" Quoth Hasan, "I would
have you carry me forthwith to the city of Baghdad, me and my
wife and this honest woman." But, hearing his words they hung
down their heads and were silent, whereupon Hasan asked them,
"Why do ye not reply?" And they answered as with one voice, "O
our lord and ruler over us, we are of the covenant of Solomon son
of David (on the twain be Peace!) and he sware us in that we
would bear none of the sons of Adam on our backs; since which
time we have borne no mortal on back or shoulder: but we will
straightway harness thee horses of the Jinn, that shall carry
thee and thy company to thy country." Hasan enquired, "How far
are we from Baghdad?" and they, "Seven years' journey for a
diligent horseman." Hasan marvelled at this and said to them,
"Then how came I hither in less than a year?"; and they said,
"Allah softened to thee the hearts of His pious servants else
hadst thou never come to this country nor hadst thou set eyes on
these regions; no, never! For the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, who
mounted thee on the elephant and the magical horse, traversed
with thee, in ten days, three years' journey for a well-girt
rider, and the Ifrit Dahnash, to whom the Shaykh committed thee,
carried thee a three years' march in a day and a night; all which
was of the blessing of Allah Almighty, for that the Shaykh Abu
al-Ruwaysh is of the seed of Ásaf bin Barkhiyá[FN#175] and
knoweth the Most Great name of Allah.[FN#176] Moreover, from
Baghdad to the palace of the damsels is a year's journey, and
this maketh up the seven years." When Hasan heard this, he
marvelled with exceeding marvel and cried, "Glory be to God,
Facilitator of the hard, Fortifier of the weak heart,
Approximator of the far and Humbler of every froward tyrant, Who
hath eased us of every accident and carried me to these countries
and subjected to me these creatures and reunited me with my wife
and children! I know not whether I am asleep or awake or if I be
sober or drunken!" Then he turned to the Jinn and asked, "When ye
have mounted me upon your steeds, in how many days will they
bring us to Baghdad?"; and they answered, "They will carry you
thither under the year, but not till after ye have endured
terrible perils and hardships and horrors and ye have traversed
thirsty Wadys and frightful wastes and horrible steads without
number; and we cannot promise thee safety, O our lord, from the
people of these islands,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jann
said to Hasan, "We cannot promise thee safety, O our lord, from
this Islandry, nor from the mischief of the Supreme King and his
enchanters and warlocks. It may be they will overcome us and
take you from us and we fall into affliction with them, and all
to whom the tidings shall come after this will say to us: 'Ye are
wrong-doers! How could ye go against the Supreme King and carry
a mortal out of his dominions, and eke the King's daughter with
him?' adding, 'Wert thou alone with us the thing were light; but
He who conveyed thee hither is capable to carry thee back to thy
country and reunite thee with thine own people forthright and in
readiest plight. So take heart and put thy trust in Allah and
fear not; for we are at thy service, to convey thee to thy
country." Hasan thanked them therefor and said, "Allah requite
you with good! but now make haste with the horses;" they replied,
"We hear and we obey," and struck the ground with their feet,
whereupon it opened and they disappeared within it and were
absent awhile, after which they suddenly reappeared with three
horses, saddled and bridled, and on each saddle-bow a pair of
saddle-bags, with a leathern bottle of water in one pocket and
the other full of provaunt. So Hasan mounted one steed and took
a child before him, whilst his wife mounted a second and took the
other child before her. Then the old woman alighted from the jar
and bestrode the third horse and they rode on, without ceasing,
all night. At break of day, they turned aside from the road and
made for the mountain, whilst their tongues ceased not to name
Allah. Then they fared on under the highland all that day, till
Hasan caught sight of a black object afar as it were a tall
column of smoke a-twisting skywards; so he recited somewhat of
the Koran and Holy Writ, and sought refuge with Allah from Satan
the Stoned. The black thing grew plainer as they drew near, and
when hard by it, they saw that it was an Ifrit, with a head like
a huge dome and tusks like grapnels and jaws like a lane and
nostrils like ewers and ears like leathern targes and mouth like
a cave and teeth like pillars of stone and hands like winnowing
forks and legs like masts: his head was in the cloud and his feet
in the bowels of the earth had plowed. Whenas Hasan gazed upon
him he bowed himself and kissed the ground before him, saying, "O
Hasan, have no fear of me; for I am the chief of the dwellers in
this land, which is the first of the Isles of Wak, and I am a
Moslem and an adorer of the One God. I have heard of you and
your coming and when I knew of your case, I desired to depart
from the land of the magicians to another land, void of
inhabitants and far from men and Jinn, that I might dwell there
alone and worship Allah till my fated end came upon me. So I
wish to accompany you and be your guide, till ye fare forth of
the Wak Islands; and I will not appear save at night; and do ye
hearten your hearts on my account; for I am a Moslem, even as ye
are Moslems." When Hasan heard the Ifrit's words, he rejoiced
with exceeding joy and made sure of deliverance; and he said to
him, "Allah requite thee weal! Go with us relying upon the
blessing of Allah!" So the Ifrit forewent them and they followed,
talking and making merry, for their hearts were pleased and their
breasts were eased and Hasan fell to telling his wife all that
had befallen him and all the hardships he had undergone, whilst
she excused herself to him and told him, in turn, all she had
seen and suffered. They ceased not faring all that night.--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased
not faring all that night and the horses bore them like the
blinding leven, and when the day rose all put their hands to the
saddle-bags and took forth provaunt which they ate and water
which they drank. Then they sped diligently on their way,
preceded by the Ifrit, who turned aside with them from the beaten
track into another road, till then untrodden, along the sea-shore,
and they ceased not faring on, without stopping, across Wadys and
wolds a whole month, till on the thirty-first day there arose
before them a dust-cloud, that walled the world and darkened the
day; and when Hasan saw this, he was confused and turned pale;
and more so when a frightful crying and clamour struck their
ears. Thereupon the old woman said to him, "O my son, this is
the army of the Wak Islands, that hath overtaken us; and
presently they will lay violent hands on us." Hasan asked, "What
shall I do, O my mother?"; and she answered, "Strike the earth
with the rod." He did so whereupon the Seven Kings presented
themselves and saluted him with the salam, kissing ground before
him and saying, "Fear not neither grieve." Hasan rejoiced at
these words and answered them, saying, "Well said, O Princes of
the Jinn and the Ifrits! This is your time!" Quoth they, "Get ye
up to the mountain-top, thou and thy wife and children and she
who is with thee and leave us to deal with them, for we know that
you all are in the right and they in the wrong and Allah will aid
us against them." So Hasan and his wife and children and the old
woman dismounted and dismissing the horses, ascended the flank of
the mountain.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan
with his wife, his children and the ancient dame ascended the
mountain-flank after they had dismissed the coursers. Presently,
up came Queen Nur al-Huda, with the troops right and left, and
the captains went round about among the host and ranged them rank
by rank in battle array. Then the hosts charged down upon each
other and clashed together the twain with a mighty strain, the
brave pressed on amain and the coward to fly was fain and the
Jinn cast flames of fire from their mouths, whilst the smoke of
them rose up to the confines of the sky and the two armies
appeared and disappeared. The champions fought and heads flew
from trunks and the blood ran in rills; nor did brand leave to
play and blood to flow and battle fire to flow, till the murk o'
night came, when the two hosts drew apart and, alighting from
their steeds rested upon the field by the fires they had kindled.
Therewith the Seven Kings went up to Hasan and kissed the earth
before him. He pressed forwards to meet them and thanked them
and prayed Allah to give them the victory and asked them how they
had fared with the Queen's troops. Quoth they, "They will not
withstand us more than three days, for we had the better of them
to-day, taking some two thousand of them prisoners and slaying of
them much folk whose compt may not be told. So be of good cheer
and broad of breast." Then they farewelled him and went down to
look after the safety of their troops; and they ceased not to
keep up the fires till the morning rose with its sheen and shone,
when the fighting-men mounted their horses of noble strain and
smote one another with thin-edged skean and with brawn of bill
they thrust amain nor did they cease that day battle to darraign.
Moreover, they passed the night on horseback clashing together
like dashing seas; raged among them the fires of war and they
stinted not from battle and jar, till the armies of Wak were
defeated and their power broken and their courage quelled; their
feet slipped and whither they fled soever defeat was before them;
wherefore they turned tail and of flight began to avail: but the
most part of them were slain and their Queen and her chief
officers and the grandees of her realm were captive ta'en. When
the morning morrowed, the Seven Kings presented themselves before
Hasan and set for him a throne of alabaster inlaid with pearls
and jewels, and he sat down thereon. They also set thereby a
throne of ivory, plated with glittering gold, for the Princess
Manar al-Sana and another for the ancient dame Shawahi Zat
al-Dawahi. Then they brought before them the prisoners and among
the rest, Queen Nur al-Huda with elbows pinioned and feet
fettered, whom when Shawahi saw, she said to her, "Thy
recompense, O harlot, O tyrant, shall be that two bitches be
starved and two mares stinted of water, till they be athirst:
then shalt thou be bound to the mares' tails and these driven to
the river, with the bitches following thee that they may rend thy
skin; and after, thy flesh shall be cut off and given them to
eat. How couldst thou do with thy sister such deed, O strumpet,
seeing that she was lawfully married, after the ordinance of
Allah and of His Apostle? For there is no monkery in Al-Islam
and marriage is one of the institutions of the Apostles (on whom
be the Peace!)[FN#177] nor were women created but for men." Then
Hasan commanded to put all the captives to the sword and the old
woman cried out, saying, "Slay them all and spare none[FN#178]!"
But, when Princess Manar al-Sana saw her sister in this plight, a
bondswoman and in fetters, she wept over her and said, "O my
sister, who is this hath conquered us and made us captives in our
own country?" Quoth Nur al-Huda, "Verily, this is a mighty
matter. Indeed this man Hasan hath gotten the mastery over us
and Allah hath given him dominion over us and over all our realm
and he hath overcome us, us and the Kings of the Jinn." And quoth
her sister, "Indeed, Allah aided him not against you nor did he
overcome you nor capture you save by means of this cap and rod."
So Nur al-Huda was certified and assured that he had conquered
her by means thereof and humbled herself to her sister, till she
was moved to ruth for her and said to her husband, "What wilt
thou do with my sister? Behold, she is in thy hands and she hath
done thee no misdeed that thou shouldest punish her." Replied
Hasan, "Her torturing of thee was misdeed enow." But she
answered, saying, "She hath excuse for all she did with me. As
for thee, thou hast set my father's heart on fire for the loss of
me, and what will be his case, if he lose my sister also?" And he
said to her, "'Tis thine to decide; do whatso thou wilt." So she
bade loose her sister and the rest of the captives, and they did
her bidding. Then she went up to Queen Nur al-Huda and embraced
her, and they wept together a long while; after which quoth the
Queen, "O my sister, bear me not malice for that I did with
thee;" and quoth Manar al-Sana, "O my sister, this was
foreordained to me by Fate." Then they sat on the couch talking
and Manar al-Sana made peace between the old woman and her
sister, after the goodliest fashion, and their hearts were set at
ease. Thereupon Hasan dismissed the servants of the rod thanking
them for the succour which they had afforded him against his
foes, and Manar al-Sana related to her sister all that had
befallen her with Hasan her husband and every thing he had
suffered for her sake, saying, "O my sister, since he hath done
these deeds and is possessed of this might and Allah Almighty
hath gifted him with such exceeding prowess, that he hath entered
our country and beaten thine army and taken thee prisoner and
defied our father, the Supreme King, who hath dominion over all
the Princes of the Jinn, it behoveth us to fail not of what is
due to him." Replied Nur al-Huda, "By Allah, O my sister, thou
sayest sooth in whatso thou tellest me of the marvels which this
man hath seen and suffered; and none may fail of respect to him.
But was all this on thine account, O my sister?"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
Princess Manar al-Sana repeated to her sister these praises of
Hasan, the other replied, "By Allah, this man can claim all
respect more by token of his generosity. But was all this on
thine account?" "Yes," answered Manar al-Sana, and they passed
the night in converse till the morning morrowed and the sun rose
and they were minded to depart. So they farewelled one another
and Manar al-Sana gave God-speed to the ancient dame after the
reconciling her with Queen Nur al-Huda. Thereupon Hasan smote
the earth with the rod and its servants the Jinn appeared and
saluted him, saying, "Praised be Allah, who hath set thy soul at
rest! Command us what thou wilt, and we will do it for thee in
less than the twinking of an eye." He thanked them for their
saying and said to them "Allah requite you with good! Saddle me
two steeds of the best." So they brought him forthwith two
saddled coursers, one of which he mounted, taking his elder son
before him, and his wife rode the other, taking the younger son
in front of her. Then the Queen and the old woman also backed
horse and departed, Hasan and his wife following the right and
Nur al-Huda and Shawahi the left hand road. The spouses fared on
with their children, without stopping, for a whole month, till
they drew in sight of a city, which they found compassed about
with trees and streams and making the trees dismounted beneath
them thinking to rest there. As they sat talking, behold, they
saw many horsemen coming towards them, whereupon Hasan rose and
going to meet them, saw that it was King Hassun, lord of the Land
of Camphor and Castle of Crystal, with his attendants. So Hasan
went up to the King and kissed his hands and saluted him; and
when Hassun saw him, he dismounted and seating himself with Hasan
upon carpets under the trees returned his salam and gave him joy
of his safety and rejoiced in him with exceeding joy, saying to
him, "O Hasan, tell me all that hath befallen thee, first and
last." So he told him all of that, whereupon the King marvelled
and said to him, "O my son, none ever reached the Islands of Wak
and returned thence but thou, and indeed thy case is wondrous;
but Alhamdolillah--praised be God--for safety!" Then he mounted
and bade Hasan ride with his wife and children into the city,
where he lodged them in the guest-house of his palace; and they
abode with him three days, eating and drinking in mirth and
merriment, after which Hasan sought Hassun's leave to depart to
his own country and the King granted it. Accordingly they took
horse and the King rode with them ten days, after which he
farewelled them and turned back, whilst Hasan and his wife and
children fared on a whole month, at the end of which time they
came to a great cavern, whose floor was of brass. Quoth Hasan to
his wife, "Kennest thou yonder cave?"; and quoth she, "No." Said
he, "Therein dwelleth a Shaykh, Abu al-Ruwaysh hight, to whom I
am greatly beholden, for that he was the means of my becoming
acquainted with King Hassun." Then he went on to tell her all
that had passed between him and Abu al-Ruwaysh, and as he was
thus engaged, behold, the Shaykh himself issued from the
cavern-mouth. When Hasan saw him, he dismounted from his steed and
kissed his hands, and the old man saluted him and gave him joy of
his safety and rejoiced in him. Then he carried him into the
antre and sat down with him, whilst Hasan related to him what had
befallen him in the Islands of Wak; whereat the Elder marvelled
with exceeding marvel and said, "O Hasan, how didst thou deliver
thy wife and children?" So he told them the tale of the cap and
the rod, hearing which he wondered and said, "O Hasan, O my son,
but for this rod and the cap, thou hadst never delivered thy wife
and children." And he replied, "Even so, O my lord." As they were
talking, there came a knocking at the door and Abu al-Ruwaysh
went out and found Abd al-Kaddus mounted on his elephant. So he
saluted him and brought him into the cavern, where he embraced
Hasan and congratulated him on his safety, rejoicing greatly in
his return. Then said Abu al-Ruwaysh to Hasan, "Tell the Shaykh
Abd al-Kaddus all that hath befallen thee, O Hasan." He repeated
to him every thing that had passed, first and last, till he came
to the tale of the rod and cap,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan
began relating to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus and Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh
(who sat chattting in the cave) all that had passed, first and
last, till he came to the tale of the rod and cap; whereupon
quoth Abd al-Kaddus, "O my son, thou hast delivered thy wife and
thy children and hast no further need of the two. Now we were
the means of thy winning to the Islands of Wak, and I have done
thee kindness for the sake of my nieces, the daughters of my
brother; wherefore I beg thee, of thy bounty and favour, to give
me the rod and the Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh the cap." When Hasan
heard this, he hung down his head, being ashamed to reply, "I
will not give them to you," and said in his mind, "Indeed these
two Shaykhs have done me great kindness and were the means of my
winning to the Islands of Wak, and but for them I had never made
the place, nor delivered my children, nor had I gotten me this
rod and cap." So he raised his head and answered, "Yes, I will
give them to you: but, O my lords, I fear lest the Supreme King,
my wife's father, come upon me with his commando and combat with
me in my own country, and I be unable to repel them, for want of
the rod and the cap." Replied Abd al-Kaddus, "Fear not, O my son;
we will continually succour thee and keep watch and ward for thee
in this place; and whosoever shall come against thee from thy
wife's father or any other, him we will fend off from thee;
wherefore be thou of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool of tear,
and hearten thy heart and broaden thy breast and feel naught
whatsoever of fear, for no harm shall come to thee." When Hasan
heard this he was abashed and gave the cap to Abu al-Ruwaysh,
saying to Abd al-Kaddus, "Accompany me to my own country and I
will give thee the rod." At this the two elders rejoiced with
exceeding joy and made him ready riches and treasures which
beggar all description. He abode with them three days, at the end
of which he set out again and the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus made ready
to depart with him. So he and his wife mounted their beasts and
Abd al-Kaddus whistled when, behold, a mighty big elephant
trotted up with fore hand and feet on amble from the heart of the
desert and he took it and mounted it. Then they farewelled Abu
al-Ruwaysh who disappeared within his cavern; and they fared on
across country traversing the land in its length and breadth
wherever Abd al-Kaddus guided them by a short cut and an easy
way, till they drew near the land of the Princesses; whereupon
Hasan rejoiced at finding himself once more near his mother, and
praised Allah for his safe return and reunion with his wife and
children after so many hardships and perils; and thanked Him for
His favours and bounties, reciting these couplets,
"Haply shall Allah deign us twain unite * And lockt in strict
embrace we'll hail the light:
And wonders that befel me I'll recount, * And all I suffered from
the Severance-blight:
And fain I'll cure mine eyes by viewing you * For ever yearned my
heart to see your sight:
I hid a tale for you my heart within * Which when we meet o' morn
I'll fain recite:
I'll blame you for the deeds by you were done * But while blame
endeth love shall stay in site."
Hardly had he made an end of these verses, when he looked and
behold, there rose to view the Green Dome[FN#179] and the jetting
Fount and the Emerald Palace, and the Mountain of Clouds showed
to them from afar; whereupon quoth Abd al-Kaddus, "Rejoice, O
Hasan, in good tidings: to-night shalt thou be the guest of my
nieces!" At this he joyed with exceeding joy and as also did his
wife, and they alighted at the domed pavilion, where they took
their rest[FN#180] and ate and drank; after which they mounted
horse again and rode on till they came upon the palace. As they
drew near, the Princesses who were daughters of the King, brother
to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, came forth to meet them and saluted them
and their uncle who said to them, "O daughters of my brother,
behold, I have accomplished the need of this your brother Hasan
and have helped him to regain his wife and children." So they
embraced him and gave him joy of his return in safety and health
and of his reunion with his wife and children, and it was a day
of festival[FN#181] with them. Then came forward Hasan's sister,
the youngest Princess, and embraced him, weeping with sore
weeping, whilst he also wept for his long desolation: after which
she complained to him of that which she had suffered for the
pangs of separation and weariness of spirit in his absence and
recited these two couplets,
"After thy faring never chanced I 'spy * A shape, but did thy form
therein descry:
Nor closed mine eyes in sleep but thee I saw, * E'en as though
dwelling 'twixt the lid and eye."
When she had made an end of her verses, she rejoiced with joy
exceeding and Hasan said to her, "O my sister, I thank none in
this matter save thyself over all thy sisters, and may Allah
Almighty vouchsafe thee aidance and countenance!" Then he related
to her all that had past in his journey, from first to last, and
all that he had undergone, telling her what had betided him with
his wife's sister and how he had delivered his wife and wees and
he also described to her all that he had seen of marvels and
grievous perils, even to how Queen Nur al-Huda would have slain
him and his spouse and children and none saved them from her but
the Lord the Most High. Moreover, he related to her the
adventure of the cap and the rod and how Abd al-Kaddus and Abu
al-Ruwaysh had asked for them and he had not agreed to give them
to the twain save for her sake; wherefore she thanked him and
blessed him wishing him long life; and he cried, "By Allah, I
shall never forget all the kindness thou hast done me from incept
to conclusion."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan
foregathered with the Princesses, he related to his sister all
that he had endured and said to her, "Never will I forget what
thou hast done for me from incept to conclusion." Then she turned
to his wife Manar al-Sana and embraced her and pressed her
children to her breast, saying to her, "O daughter of the Supreme
King, was there no pity in thy bosom, that thou partedst him and
his children and settedst his heart on fire for them? Say me,
didst thou desire by this deed that he should die?" The Princess
laughed and answered, "Thus was it ordained of Allah (extolled
and exalted be He!) and whoso beguileth folk, him shall Allah
begule."[FN#182] Then they set on somewhat of meat and drink,
and they all ate and drank and made merry. They abode thus ten
days in feast and festival, mirth and merry-making, at the end of
which time Hasan prepared to continue his journey. So his sister
rose and made him ready riches and rarities, such as defy
description. Then she strained him to her bosom, because of
leave-taking, and threw her arms round his neck whilst he recited
on her account these couplets,
"The solace of lovers is naught but far, * And parting is naught
save grief singular:
And ill-will and absence are naught but woe, * And the victims of
Love naught but martyrs are;
And how tedious is night to the loving wight * From his true love
parted 'neath evening star!
His tears course over his cheeks and so * He cries, 'O tears be
there more to flow?'"
With this Hasan gave the rod to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, who joyed
therein with exceeding joy and thanking him and securing it
mounted and returned to his own place. Then Hasan took horse
with his wife and children and departed from the Palace of the
Princesses, who went forth[FN#183] with him, to farewell him.
Then they turned back and Hasan fared on, over wild and wold, two
months and ten days, till he came to the city of Baghdad, the
House of Peace, and repairing to his home by the private postern
which gave upon the open country, knocked at the door. Now his
mother, for long absence, had forsworn sleep and given herself to
mourning and weeping and wailing, till she fell sick and ate no
meat, neither took delight in slumber but shed tears night and
day. She ceased not to call upon her son's name albeit she
despaired of his returning to her; and as he stood at the door,
he heard her weeping and reciting these couplets,
"By Allah, heal, O my lords, the unwhole * Of wasted frame and
heart worn with dole:
An you grant her a meeting 'tis but your grace * Shall whelm in
the boons of the friend her soul:
I despair not of Union the Lord can grant * And to weal of
meeting our woes control!"
When she had ended her verses, she heard her son's voice at the
door, calling out, "O mother, mother ah! fortune hath been kind
and hath vouchsafed our reunion!" Hearing his cry she knew his
voice and went to the door, between belief and misbelief; but,
when she opened it she saw him standing there and with him his
wife and children; so she shrieked aloud, for excess of joy, and
fell to the earth in a fainting-fit. Hasan ceased not soothing
her, till she recovered and embraced him; then she wept with joy,
and presently she called his slaves and servants and bade them
carry all his baggage into the house.[FN#184] So they brought in
every one of the loads, and his wife and children entered also,
whereupon Hasan's mother went up to the Princess and kissed her
head and bussed her feet, saying, "O daughter of the Supreme
King, if I have failed of thy due, behold, I crave pardon of
Almighty Allah." Then she turned to Hasan and said to him, "O my
son, what was the cause of this long strangerhood?" He related to
her all his adventures from beginning to end; and when she heard
tell of all that had befallen him, she cried a great cry and fell
down a-fainting at the very mention of his mishaps. He solaced
her, till she came to herself and said, "By Allah, O my son, thou
hast done unwisely in parting with the rod and the cap for, hadst
thou kept them with the care due to them, thou wert master of the
whole earth, in its breadth and length; but praised be Allah, for
thy safety, O my son, and that of thy wife and children!" They
passed the night in all pleasance and happiness, and on the
morrow Hasan changed his clothes and donning a suit of the
richest apparel, went down into the bazar and bought black slaves
and slave-girls and the richest stuffs and ornaments and
furniture such as carpets and costly vessels and all manner other
precious things, whose like is not found with Kings. Moreover,
he purchased houses and gardens and estates and so forth and
abode with his wife and his children and his mother, eating and
drinking and pleasuring: nor did they cease from all joy of life
and its solace till there came to them the Destroyer of delights
and the Severer of societies. And Glory be to Him who hath
dominion over the Seen and the Unseen,[FN#185] who is the Living,
the Eternal, Who dieth not at all! And men also recount the
adventures of