[Illustration]
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[Illustration: لا لابرار كلّ شي تبر]
“TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE.”
(Puris omnia pura)
—_Arab Proverb._
“Niuna corrotta mente intese mai sanamente parole.”
—“_Decameron_”—_conclusion_.
“Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucretia librum
Sed coram Bruto. Brute! recede, leget.”
—_Martial._
“Mieulx est de ris que de larmes escripre,
Pour ce que rire est le propre des hommes.”
—RABELAIS.
“The pleasure we derive from perusing the Thousand-and-One Stories makes
us regret that we possess only a comparatively small part of these truly
enchanting fictions.”
—CRICHTON’S “_History of Arabia_.”
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[Illustration]
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_A PLAIN AND LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE ARABIAN NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENTS.
NOW ENTITULED_
_THE BOOK OF THE_
=Thousand Nights and a Night=
_WITH INTRODUCTION EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF MOSLEM MEN AND A
TERMINAL ESSAY UPON THE HISTORY OF THE
NIGHTS_
VOLUME V.
BY
RICHARD F. BURTON
[Illustration]
PRINTED BY THE BURTON CLUB FOR PRIVATE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shammar Edition
Limited to one thousand numbered sets, of which this is
Number _547_
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
TO DOCTOR GEORGE BIRD.
MY DEAR BIRD,
This is not a strictly medical work, although in places treating of
subjects which may modestly be called hygienic. I inscribe it to you
because your knowledge of Egypt will enable you to appreciate its finer
touches; and for another and a yet more cogent reason, namely, that you
are one of my best and oldest friends.
Ever yours sincerely.
RICHARD F. BURTON.
ATHENÆUM CLUB, _October 20, 1885_.
CONTENTS OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.
PAGE
THE EBONY HORSE 1
(_Lane, Vol. II., Chapt. XVII. Story of the Magic Horse: pp. 517–545._)
UNS AL-WUJUD AND THE WAZIR’S DAUGHTER ROSE-IN-HOOD 32
(_Chapt. XVIII. Story of Uns el-Wujood and El-Ward fi’l-Akmam: p.
549._)
ABU NOWAS WITH THE THREE BOYS AND THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID 64
ABDALLAH BIN MA’AMAR WITH THE MAN OF BASSORAH AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL 69
(_Anecdote of a Man and his Slave-Girl: p. 578._)
THE LOVERS OF THE BANU OZRAH 70
(_Anecdote of Two Victims of Love: p. 579._)
THE WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER 71
THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL 73
(_Love in a School: p. 580._)
AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH 74
HARUN AL-RASHID AND ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH 75
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS 77
MUS’AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH HIS WIFE 79
ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL 80
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS 81
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS 81
THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE 82
(_Lane, Vol. II. Anecdote of a Faithless Wife: p. 582._)
THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER 83
(_Anecdote of a Simpleton and a Sharper: p. 582._)
THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH 85
THE CALIPH AL HAKIM AND THE MERCHANT 86
(_Anecdote of El-Hakim bi-amri-llah and a Merchant of Cairo: p. 583._)
KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN AND THE VILLAGE DAMSEL 87
(_Anecdote of Anooshirwán: p. 884._)
THE WATER-CARRIER AND THE GOLDSMITH’S WIFE 89
KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN 91
(_Anecdote of Khusrow and Sheereen and a Fisherman: p. 585._)
YAHYA BIN KHALID AND THE POOR MAN 92
(_Anecdote of Yahya el-Barmekee: p. 586._)
MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL 93
(_Mohammad el-Emeen and the Slave-Girl El-Bedr el-Kebeer: p. 587._)
THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SAID BIN SALIM 94
(_Anecdote of El-Fadl and Ja’afar the Barmekee: p. 588._)
THE WOMAN’S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND 96
(_Anecdote of a Deceitful Wife: p. 589._)
THE DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED ELDERS 97
JA’AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWI 98
OMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB AND THE YOUNG BADAWI 99
(_Anecdote of a Homicide: p. 589._)
AL-MAAMUN AND THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT 105
THE THIEF AND THE MERCHANT 107
(_Anecdote of an Impudent Thief: p. 592._)
MASRUR THE EUNUCH AND IBN AL-KARIBI 109
(_Compact of Mesroor with Ibn el-Karibee: p. 594._)
THE DEVOTEE PRINCE 111
(_Lane, Vol. II. Anecdote of a Devotee Son of Harun er-Rasheed: p.
595._)
THE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY REPORT 117
THE FOOLISH DOMINIE 118
THE ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER 119
(_Anecdote of an Illiterate Schoolmaster: p. 599._)
THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE 121
ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI’S STORY OF THE RUKH 122
(_The Rukh: p. 600._)
ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND 124
DI’IBIL AL-KHUZA’I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM BIN AL-WALID 127
ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT 129
THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS 133
HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND 135
THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY 137
(_Result of Restraint upon Two Lovers: p. 601._)
THE MAD LOVER 138
(_Anecdote of a Distracted Lover: p. 602._)
THE PRIOR WHO BECAME A MOSLEM 141
(_The Converted Prior: p. 603._)
THE LOVES OF ABU ISA AND KURRAT AL-AYN 145
(_Aboo’Esa and Kurrat el-‘Eyn: p. 606._)
AL-AMIN AND HIS UNCLE IBRAHIM BIN AL-MAHDI 152
AL-FATH BIN KHAKAN AND AL-MUTAWAKKIL 153
THE MAN’S DISPUTE WITH THE LEARNED WOMAN CONCERNING THE RELATIVE 154
EXCELLENCE OF MALE AND FEMALE
ABU SUWAYD AND THE PRETTY OLD WOMAN 163
ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS 164
THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER 165
ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD 166
(_Lane, Vol. II., Chapt. XIX. Story of ‘Alee of Cairo: p. 609._)
THE PILGRIM MAN AND THE OLD WOMAN 186
(_Anecdote of a Townsman and a Bedaweeyeh: p. 635._)
ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD 189
THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH THE PROUD KING AND THE DEVOUT MAN 246
THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE RICH KING 248
THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND THE KING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL 250
(_A Tyrannical King and the Angel of Death: p. 636._)
ISKANDAR ZU AL-KARNAYN AND A CERTAIN TRIBE OF POOR FOLK 252
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF KING ANUSHIRWAN 254
THE JEWISH KAZI AND HIS PIOUS WIFE 256
THE SHIPWRECKED WOMAN AND HER CHILD 259
THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE 261
THE DEVOUT TRAY-MAKER AND HIS WIFE 264
(_Advantages of Piety and Industry: p. 637._)
AL-HAJJAJ BIN YUSUF AND THE PIOUS MAN 269
THE BLACKSMITH WHO COULD HANDLE FIRE WITHOUT HURT 271
THE DEVOTEE TO WHOM ALLAH GAVE A CLOUD FOR SERVICE AND THE DEVOUT 274
KING
THE MOSLEM CHAMPION AND THE CHRISTIAN DAMSEL 277
(_Lane, Vol. II. Anecdote of a Moslem Warrior and a Christian Maiden:
p. 639._)
THE CHRISTIAN KING’S DAUGHTER AND THE MOSLEM 283
THE PROPHET AND THE JUSTICE OF PROVIDENCE 286
(_The Justice of Providence: p. 612._)
THE FERRYMAN OF THE NILE AND THE HERMIT 288
THE ISLAND KING AND THE PIOUS ISRAELITE 290
ABU AL-HASAN AND ABU JA’AFAR THE LEPER 294
THE QUEEN OF THE SERPENTS 298
_a._ THE ADVENTURES OF BULUKIYA 304
_b._ THE STORY OF JANSHAH 329
THE EBONY HORSE.[1]
There was once in times of yore and ages long gone before, a great and
puissant King, of the Kings of the Persians, Sábúr by name, who was the
richest of all the Kings in store of wealth and dominion and surpassed
each and every in wit and wisdom. He was generous, open handed and
beneficent, and he gave to those who sought him and repelled not those
who resorted to him; and he comforted the broken-hearted and honourably
entreated those who fled to him for refuge. Moreover, he loved the poor
and was hospitable to strangers and did the oppressed justice upon the
oppressor. He had three daughters, like full moons of shining light or
flower-gardens blooming bright; and a son as he were the moon; and it
was his wont to keep two festivals in the twelvemonth, those of the
Nau-Roz, or New Year, and Mihrgán the Autumnal Equinox,[2] on which
occasions he threw open his palaces and gave largesse and made
proclamation of safety and security and promoted his chamberlains and
viceroys; and the people of his realm came in to him and saluted him and
gave him joy of the holy day, bringing him gifts and servants and
eunuchs. Now he loved science and geometry, and one festival-day as he
sat on his kingly throne there came in to him three wise men, cunning
artificers and past masters in all manner of craft and inventions,
skilled in making things curious and rare, such as confound the wit; and
versed in the knowledge of occult truths and perfect in mysteries and
subtleties. And they were of three different tongues and countries, the
first a Hindi or Indian,[3] the second a Roumi or Greek and the third a
Farsi or Persian. The Indian came forwards and, prostrating himself
before the King, wished him joy of the festival and laid before him a
present befitting his dignity; that is to say, a man of gold, set with
precious gems and jewels of price and hending in hand a golden trumpet.
When Sabur[4] saw this, he asked, “O sage, what is the virtue of this
figure?”; and the Indian answered, “O my lord, if this figure be set at
the gate of thy city, it will be a guardian over it; for, if an enemy
enter the place, it will blow this clarion against him and he will be
seized with a palsy and drop down dead.” Much the King marvelled at this
and cried, “By Allah, O sage, an this thy word be true, I will grant
thee thy wish and thy desire.” Then came forward the Greek and,
prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a basin of
silver, in whose midst was a peacock of gold, surrounded by
four-and-twenty chicks of the same metal. Sabur looked at them and
turning to the Greek, said to him, “O sage, what is the virtue of this
peacock?” “O my lord,” answered he, “as often as an hour of the day or
night passeth, it pecketh one of its young and crieth out and flappeth
its wings, till the four-and-twenty hours are accomplished; and when the
month cometh to an end, it will open its mouth and thou shalt see the
crescent therein.” And the King said, “An thou speak sooth, I will bring
thee to thy wish and thy desire.” Then came forward the Persian sage
and, prostrating himself before the King, presented him with a horse[5]
of the blackest ebony-wood inlaid with gold and jewels, and ready
harnessed with saddle, bridle and stirrups such as befit Kings; which
when Sabur saw, he marvelled with exceeding marvel and was confounded at
the beauty of its form and the ingenuity of its fashion. So he asked,
“What is the use of this horse of wood, and what is its virtue and what
the secret of its movement?”; and the Persian answered, “O my lord, the
virtue of this horse is that, if one mount him, it will carry him
whither he will and fare with its rider through the air and cover the
space of a year in a single day.” The King marvelled and was amazed at
these three wonders, following thus hard upon one another on the same
day, and turning to the sage, said to him, “By Allah the Omnipotent, and
our Lord the Beneficent, who created all creatures and feedeth them with
meat and drink, an thy speech be veritable and the virtue of thy
contrivance appear, I will assuredly give thee whatsoever thou lustest
for and will bring thee to thy desire and thy wish!”[6] Then he
entertained the sages three days, that he might make trial of their
gifts; after which they brought the figures before him and each took the
creature he had wroughten and showed him the mystery of its movement.
The trumpeter blew the trump; the peacock pecked its chicks and the
Persian sage mounted the ebony horse, whereupon it soared with him high
in air and descended again. When King Sabur saw all this, he was amazed
and perplexed and felt like to fly for joy and said to the three sages,
“Now I am certified of the truth of your words and it behoveth me to
quit me of my promise. Ask ye, therefore, what ye will, and I will give
you that same.” Now the report of the King’s daughters had reached the
sages, so they answered, “If the King be content with us and accept of
our gifts and allow us to prefer a request to him, we crave of him that
he give us his three daughters in marriage, that we may be his
sons-in-law; for that the stability of Kings may not be gainsaid.” Quoth
the King, “I grant you that which you wish and you desire,” and bade
summon the Kazi forthright, that he might marry each of the sages to one
of his daughters. Now it fortuned that the Princesses were behind a
curtain, looking on; and when they heard this, the youngest considered
her husband to be and behold, he was an old man,[7] an hundred years of
age, with hair frosted, forehead drooping, eyebrows mangy, ears slitten,
beard and mustachios stained and dyed; eyes red and goggle; cheeks
bleached and hollow; flabby nose like a brinjall, or egg-plant[8]; face
like a cobbler’s apron, teeth overlapping and lips like camel’s kidneys,
loose and pendulous; in brief a terror, a horror, a monster, for he was
of the folk of his time the unsightliest and of his age the
fright-fullest; sundry of his grinders had been knocked out and his
eye-teeth were like the tusks of the Jinni who frighteneth poultry in
hen-houses. Now the girl was the fairest and most graceful of her time,
more elegant than the gazelle however tender, than the gentlest zephyr
blander and brighter than the moon at her full; for amorous fray right
suitable; confounding in graceful sway the waving bough and outdoing in
swimming gait the pacing roe; in fine she was fairer and sweeter by far
than all her sisters. So, when she saw her suitor, she went to her
chamber and strewed dust on her head and tore her clothes and fell to
buffeting her face and weeping and wailing. Now the Prince, her brother,
Kamar al-Akmár, or the Moon of Moons hight, was then newly returned from
a journey and, hearing her weeping and crying came in to her (for he
loved her with fond affection, more than his other sisters) and asked
her, “What aileth thee? What hath befallen thee? Tell me and conceal
naught from me.” So she smote her breast and answered, “O my brother and
my dear one, I have nothing to hide. If the palace be straitened upon
thy father, I will go out; and if he be resolved upon a foul thing, I
will separate myself from him, though he consent not to make provision
for me; and my Lord will provide.” Quoth he, “Tell me what meaneth this
talk and what hath straitened thy breast and troubled thy temper.” “O my
brother and my dear one,” answered the Princess, “Know that my father
hath promised me in marriage to a wicked magician who brought him, as a
gift, a horse of black wood, and hath bewitched him with his craft and
his egromancy; but, as for me, I will none of him, and would, because of
him, I had never come into this world!” Her brother soothed her and
solaced her, then fared to his sire and said, “What be this wizard to
whom thou hast given my youngest sister in marriage, and what is this
present which he hath brought thee, so that thou hast killed[9] my
sister with chagrin? It is not right that this should be.” Now the
Persian was standing by and, when he heard the Prince’s words, he was
mortified and filled with fury and the King said, “O my son, an thou
sawest this horse, thy wit would be confounded and thou wouldst be
amated with amazement.” Then he bade the slaves bring the horse before
him and they did so; and, when the Prince saw it, it pleased him. So
(being an accomplished cavalier) he mounted it forthright and struck its
sides with the shovel-shaped stirrup-irons; but it stirred not and the
King said to the Sage, “Go show him its movement, that he also may help
thee to win thy wish.” Now the Persian bore the Prince a grudge because
he willed not he should have his sister; so he showed him the pin of
ascent on the right side of the horse and saying to him, “Trill this,”
left him. Thereupon the Prince trilled the pin and lo! the horse
forthwith soared with him high in ether, as it were a bird, and gave not
overflying till it disappeared from men’s espying, whereat the King was
troubled and perplexed about his case and said to the Persian, “O sage,
look how thou mayst make him descend.” But he replied, “O my lord, I can
do nothing, and thou wilt never see him again till Resurrection-day, for
he, of his ignorance and pride, asked me not of the pin of descent and I
forgot to acquaint him therewith.” When the King heard this, he was
enraged with sore rage; and bade bastinado the sorcerer and clap him in
jail, whilst he himself cast the crown from his head and beat his face
and smote his breast. Moreover, he shut the doors of his palaces and
gave himself up to weeping and keening, he and his wife and daughters
and all the folk of the city; and thus their joy was turned to annoy and
their gladness changed into sore affliction and sadness. Thus far
concerning them; but as regards the Prince, the horse gave not over
soaring with him till he drew near the sun, whereat he gave himself up
for lost and saw death in the skies, and was confounded at his case,
repenting him of having mounted the horse and saying to himself,
“Verily, this was a device of the Sage to destroy me on account of my
youngest sister; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great! I am lost without recourse; but I
wonder, did not he who made the ascent-pin make also a descent-pin?” Now
he was a man of wit and knowledge and intelligence; so he fell to
feeling all the parts of the horse, but saw nothing save a screw, like a
cock’s head, on its right shoulder and the like on the left, when quoth
he to himself, “I see no sign save these things like buttons.” Presently
he turned the right-hand pin, whereupon the horse flew heavenwards with
increased speed. So he left it and looking at the sinister shoulder and
finding another pin, he wound it up and immediately the steed’s upwards
motion slowed and ceased and it began to descend, little by little,
towards the face of the earth, while the rider became yet more cautious
and careful of his life.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
[Illustration]
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Prince wound up the sinister screw, the steed’s upward motion slowed
and ceased, and it began to descend, little by little, towards the
earth while the rider became yet more cautious and careful of his
life. And when he saw this and knew the uses of the horse, his heart
was filled with joy and gladness and he thanked Almighty Allah for
that He had deigned deliver him from destruction. Then he began to
turn the horse’s head whithersoever he would, making it rise and
fall at pleasure, till he had gotten complete mastery over its every
movement. He ceased not to descend the whole of that day, for that
the steed’s ascending flight had borne him afar from the earth; and,
as he descended, he diverted himself with viewing the various cities
and countries over which he passed and which he knew not, never
having seen them in his life. Amongst the rest, he descried a city
ordered after the fairest fashion in the midst of a verdant and
riant land, rich in trees and streams, with gazelles pacing daintily
over the plains; whereat he fell a-musing and said to himself,
“Would I knew the name of yon town and in what land it is!” And he
took to circling about it and observing it right and left. By this
time, the day began to decline and the sun drew near to its downing;
and he said in his mind, “Verily I find no goodlier place to night
in than this city; so I will lodge here and early on the morrow I
will return to my kith and kin and my kingdom; and tell my father
and family what hath passed and acquaint him with what mine eyes
have seen.” Then he addressed himself to seeking a place wherein he
might safely bestow himself and his horse and where none should
descry him, and presently behold, he espied a-middle-most of the
city a palace rising high in upper air surrounded by a great wall
with lofty crenelles and battlements, guarded by forty black slaves,
clad in complete mail and armed with spears and swords, bows and
arrows. Quoth he, “This is a goodly place,” and turned the
descent-pin, whereupon the horse sank down with him like a weary
bird, and alighted gently on the terrace-roof of the palace. So the
Prince dismounted and ejaculating “Alhamdolillah”—praise be to
Allah[10]—he began to go round about the horse and examine it,
saying, “By Allah, he who fashioned thee with these perfections was
a cunning craftsman, and if the Almighty extend the term of my life
and restore me to my country and kinsfolk in safety and reunite me
with my father, I will assuredly bestow upon him all manner bounties
and benefit him with the utmost beneficence.” By this time night had
overtaken him and he sat on the roof till he was assured that all in
the palace slept; and indeed hunger and thirst were sore upon him,
for that he had not tasted food nor drunk water since he parted from
his sire. So he said within himself, “Surely the like of this palace
will not lack of victual;” and, leaving the horse above, went down
in search of somewhat to eat. Presently, he came to a staircase and
descending it to the bottom, found himself in a court paved with
white marble and alabaster, which shone in the light of the moon. He
marvelled at the place and the goodliness of its fashion, but sensed
no sound of speaker and saw no living soul and stood in perplexed
surprise, looking right and left and knowing not whither he should
wend. Then said he to himself, “I may not do better than return to
where I left my horse and pass the night by it; and as soon as day
shall dawn I will mount and ride away.”——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the king’s
son to himself, “I may not do better than pass the night by my horse;
and as soon as day shall dawn I will mount and ride away.” However, as
he tarried talking to himself, he espied a light within the palace, and
making towards it, found that it came from a candle that stood before a
door of the Harim, at the head of a sleeping eunuch, as he were one of
the Ifrits of Solomon or a tribesman of the Jinn, longer than lumber and
broader than a bench. He lay before the door, with the pommel of his
sword gleaming in the flame of the candle, and at his head was a bag of
leather[11] hanging from a column of granite. When the Prince saw this,
he was affrighted and said, “I crave help from Allah the Supreme! O mine
Holy One, even as Thou hast already delivered me from destruction, so
vouchsafe me strength to quit myself of the adventure of this palace!”
So saying, he put out his hand to the budget and taking it, carried it
aside and opened it and found in it food of the best. He ate his fill
and refreshed himself and drank water, after which he hung up the
provision-bag in its place and drawing the eunuch’s sword from its
sheath, took it, whilst the slave slept on, knowing not whence destiny
should come to him. Then the Prince fared forwards into the palace and
ceased not till he came to a second door, with a curtain drawn before
it; so he raised the curtain and behold, on entering he saw a couch of
the whitest ivory, inlaid with pearls and jacinths and jewels, and four
slave-girls sleeping about it. He went up to the couch, to see what was
thereon, and found a young lady lying asleep, chemised with her hair[12]
as she were the full moon rising[13] over the Eastern horizon, with
flower-white brow and shining hair-parting and cheeks like blood-red
anemones and dainty moles thereon. He was amazed at her as she lay in
her beauty and loveliness, her symmetry and grace, and he recked no more
of death. So he went up to her, trembling in every nerve and, shuddering
with pleasure, kissed her on the right cheek; whereupon she awoke
forthright and opened her eyes, and seeing the Prince standing at her
head, said to him, “Who art thou and whence comest thou?” Quoth he, “I
am thy slave and thy lover.” Asked she, “And who brought thee hither?”
and he answered, “My Lord and my fortune.” Then said Shams al-Nahár[14]
(for such was her name), “Haply thou art he who demanded me yesterday of
my father in marriage and he rejected thee, pretending that thou wast
foul of favour. By Allah, my sire lied in his throat when he spoke this
thing, for thou art not other than beautiful.” Now the son of the King
of Hind had sought her in marriage, but her father had rejected him, for
that he was ugly and uncouth, and she thought the Prince was he. So,
when she saw his beauty and grace (for indeed he was like the radiant
moon) the syntheism[15] of love gat hold of her heart as it were a
flaming fire, and they fell to talk and converse. Suddenly, her
waiting-women awoke and, seeing the Prince with their mistress, said to
her, “Oh my lady, who is this with thee?” Quoth she, “I know not; I
found him sitting by me, when I woke up: haply ‘tis he who seeketh me in
marriage of my sire.” Quoth they, “O my lady, by Allah the All-Father,
this is not he who seeketh thee in marriage, for he is hideous and this
man is handsome and of high degree. Indeed, the other is not fit to be
his servant.”[16] Then the handmaidens went out to the eunuch, and
finding him slumbering awoke him, and he started up in alarm. Said they,
“How happeneth it that thou art on guard at the palace and yet men come
in to us, whilst we are asleep?” When the black heard this, he sprang in
haste to his sword, but found it not; and fear took him and trembling.
Then he went in, confounded, to his mistress and seeing the Prince
sitting at talk with her, said to him, “O my lord, art thou man or
Jinni?” Replied the Prince, “Woe to thee, O unluckiest of slaves: how
darest thou even the sons of the royal Chosroes[17] with one of the
unbelieving Satans?” And he was as a raging lion. Then he took the sword
in his hand and said to the slave, “I am the King’s son-in-law, and he
hath married me to his daughter and bidden me go in to her.” And when
the eunuch heard these words he replied, “O my lord, if thou be indeed
of kind a man as thou avouchest, she is fit for none but for thee, and
thou art worthier of her than any other.” Thereupon the eunuch ran to
the King, shrieking loud and rending his raiment and heaving dust upon
his head; and when the King heard his outcry, he said to him, “What hath
befallen thee?: speak quickly and be brief; for thou hast fluttered my
heart.” Answered the eunuch, “O King, come to thy daughter’s succour;
for a devil of the Jinn, in the likeness of a King’s son, hath got
possession of her; so up and at him!” When the King heard this, he
thought to kill him and said, “How camest thou to be careless of my
daughter and let this demon come at her?” Then he betook himself to the
Princess’s palace, where he found her slave-women standing to await him
and asked them, “What is come to my daughter?” “O King,” answered they,
“slumber overcame us and, when we awoke, we found a young man sitting
upon her couch in talk with her, as he were the full moon; never saw we
aught fairer of favour than he. So we questioned him of his case and he
declared that thou hadst given him thy daughter in marriage. More than
this we know not, nor do we know if he be a man or a Jinni; but he is
modest and well bred, and doth nothing unseemly or which leadeth to
disgrace.” Now when the King heard these words, his wrath cooled and he
raised the curtain little by little and looking in, saw sitting at talk
with his daughter a Prince of the goodliest with a face like the full
moon for sheen. At this sight he could not contain himself, of his
jealousy for his daughter’s honour; and, putting aside the curtain,
rushed in upon them drawn sword in hand like a furious Ghul. Now when
the Prince saw him he asked the Princess, “Is this thy sire?”; and she
answered, “Yes.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixtieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Prince
saw the King rushing in upon them, drawn sword in hand, like a furious
Ghul he asked the Princess, “Is this thy sire?”; and she answered,
“Yes.” Whereupon he sprang to his feet and, seizing his sword, cried out
at the King with so terrible a cry that he was confounded. Then the
youth would have fallen on him with the sword; but the King seeing that
the Prince was doughtier than he, sheathed his scymitar and stood till
the young man came up to him, when he accosted him courteously and said
to him, “O youth, art thou a man or a Jinni?” Quoth the Prince, “Did I
not respect thy right as mine host and thy daughter’s honour, I would
spill thy blood! How darest thou fellow me with devils, me that am a
Prince of the sons of the royal Chosroes who, had they wished to take
thy kingdom, could shake thee like an earthquake from thy glory and thy
dominions and spoil thee of all thy possessions?” Now when the King
heard his words, he was confounded with awe and bodily fear of him and
rejoined, “If thou indeed be of the sons of the Kings, as thou
pretendest, how cometh it that thou enterest my palace without my
permission, and smirchest mine honour, making thy way to my daughter and
feigning that thou art her husband and claiming that I have given her to
thee to wife, I that have slain Kings and King’s sons, who sought her of
me in marriage? And now who shall save thee from my might and majesty
when, if I cried out to my slaves and servants and bade them put thee to
the vilest of deaths they would slay thee forthright? Who shall deliver
thee out of my hand?” When the Prince heard this speech of the King he
answered, “Verily, I wonder at thee and at the shortness and denseness
of thy wit! Say me, canst covet for thy daughter a mate comelier than
myself, and hast ever seen a stouter hearted man or one better fitted
for a Sultan or a more glorious in rank and dominion than I?” Rejoined
the King, “Nay, by Allah! but I would have had thee, O youth, act after
the custom of Kings and demand her from me to wife before witnesses,
that I might have married her to thee publicly; and now, even were I to
marry her to thee privily, yet hast thou dishonoured me in her person.”
Rejoined the Prince, “Thou sayest sooth, O King, but if thou summon thy
slaves and thy soldiers and they fall upon me and slay me, as thou
pretendest, thou wouldst but publish thine own disgrace, and the folk
would be divided between belief in thee and disbelief in thee.
Wherefore, O King, thou wilt do well, meseemeth, to turn from this
thought to that which I shall counsel thee.” Quoth the King, “Let me
hear what thou hast to advise;” and quoth the Prince, “What I have to
propose to thee is this: either do thou meet me in combat singular, I
and thou; and he who slayeth his adversary shall be held the worthier
and having a better title to the kingdom; or else, let me be this night
and, whenas dawns the morn, draw out against me thy horsemen and footmen
and servants; but first tell me their number.” Said the King, “They are
forty thousand horse, besides my own slaves and their followers,[18] who
are the like of them in number.” Thereupon said the Prince, “When the
day shall break, do thou array them against me and say to them”——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-first Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the
Prince, “When day shall break, do thou array them against me and say to
them:—This man is a suitor to me for my daughter’s hand, on condition
that he shall do battle single-handed against you all; for he pretendeth
that he will overcome you and put you to the rout, and indeed that ye
cannot prevail against him. After which, leave me to do battle with
them: if they slay me, then is thy secret the surer guarded and thine
honour the better warded; and if I overcome them and see their backs,
then is it the like of me a King should covet to his son-in-law.” So the
King approved of his opinion and accepted his proposition, despite his
awe at the boldness of his speech and amaze at the pretensions of the
Prince to meet in fight his whole host, such as he had described it to
him, being at heart assured that he would perish in the fray and so he
should be quit of him and freed from the fear of dishonour. Thereupon he
called the eunuch and bade him go to his Wazir without stay and delay
and command him to assemble the whole of the army and cause them don
their arms and armour and mount their steeds. So the eunuch carried the
King’s order to the Minister, who straightway summoned the Captains of
the host and the Lords of the realm and bade them don their harness of
derring-do and mount horse and sally forth in battle array. Such was
their case; but as regards the King, he sat a long while conversing with
the young Prince, being pleased with his wise speech and good sense and
fine breeding. And when it was daybreak he returned to his palace and,
seating himself on his throne, commanded his merry men to mount and bade
them saddle one of the best of the royal steeds with handsome selle and
housings and trappings and bring it to the Prince. But the youth said,
“O King, I will not mount horse, till I come in view of the troops and
review them.” “Be it as thou wilt,” replied the King. Then the two
repaired to the parade-ground, where the troops were drawn up, and the
young Prince looked upon them and noted their great number; after which
the King cried out to them, saying, “Ho, all ye men, there is come to me
a youth who seeketh my daughter in marriage; and in very sooth never
have I seen a goodlier than he; no, nor a stouter of heart nor a
doughtier of arm, for he pretendeth that he can overcome you,
single-handed, and force you to flight and that, were ye an hundred
thousand in number, yet for him would ye be but few. Now when he
chargeth down on you, do ye receive him upon point of pike and sharp of
sabre; for, indeed, he hath undertaken a mighty matter.” Then quoth the
King to the Prince, “Up, O my son, and do thy devoir on them.” Answered
he, “O King, thou dealest not justly and fairly by me: how shall I go
forth against them, seeing that I am afoot and the men be mounted?” The
King retorted, “I bade thee mount, and thou refusedst; but choose thou
which of my horses thou wilt.” Then he said, “Not one of thy horses
pleaseth me, and I will ride none but that on which I came.” Asked the
King, “And where is thy horse?” “Atop of thy palace.” “In what part of
my palace?” “On the roof.” Now when the King heard these words, he
cried, “Out on thee! this is the first sign thou hast given of madness.
How can the horse be on the roof? But we shall at once see if thou speak
truth or lies.” Then he turned to one of his chief officers and said to
him, “Go to my palace and bring me what thou findest on the roof.” So
all the people marvelled at the young Prince’s words, saying one to
other, “How can a horse come down the steps from the roof? Verily this
is a thing whose like we never heard.” In the mean time the King’s
messenger repaired to the palace and mounting to the roof, found the
horse standing there and never had he looked on a handsomer; but when he
drew near and examined it, he saw that it was made of ebony and ivory.
Now the officer was accompanied by other high officers, who also looked
on and they laughed to one another, saying, “Was it of the like of this
horse that the youth spake? We cannot deem him other than mad; however,
we shall soon see the truth of his case.”——And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the high
officials looked upon the horse, they laughed one to other and said,
“Was it of the like of this horse that the youth spake? We cannot deem
him other than mad; however, we shall soon see the truth of his case.
Peradventure herein is some mighty matter, and he is a man of high
degree.” Then they lifted up the horse bodily and, carrying it to the
King, set it down before him, and all the lieges flocked round to look
at it, marvelling at the beauty of its proportions and the richness of
its saddle and bridle. The King also admired it and wondered at it with
extreme wonder; and he asked the Prince, “O youth, is this thy horse?”
He answered, “Yes, O King, this is my horse, and thou shalt soon see the
marvel it showeth.” Rejoined the King, “Then take and mount it,” and the
Prince retorted, “I will not mount till the troops withdraw afar from
it.” So the King bade them retire a bowshot from the horse; whereupon
quoth its owner, “O King, see thou; I am about to mount my horse and
charge upon thy host and scatter them right and left and split their
hearts asunder.” Said the King, “Do as thou wilt; and spare not their
lives, for they will not spare thine.” Then the Prince mounted, whilst
the troops ranged themselves in ranks before him, and one said to
another, “When the youth cometh between the ranks, we will take him on
the points of our pikes and the sharps of our sabres.” Quoth another,
“By Allah, this is a mere misfortune: how shall we slay a youth so
comely of face and shapely of form?” And a third continued, “Ye will
have hard work to get the better of him; for the youth had not done
this, but for what he knew of his own prowess and pre-eminence of
valour.” Meanwhile, having settled himself in his saddle, the Prince
turned the pin of ascent; whilst all eyes were strained to see what he
would do, whereupon the horse began to heave and rock and sway to and
fro and make the strangest of movements steed ever made, till its belly
was filled with air and it took flight with its rider and soared high
into the sky. When the King saw this, he cried out to his men, saying,
“Woe to you! catch him, catch him, ere he ‘scape you!” But his Wazirs
and Viceroys said to him, “O King, can a man overtake the flying bird?
This is surely none but some mighty magician or Mar¡d of the Jinn or
devil, and Allah save thee from him. So praise thou the Almighty for
deliverance of thee and of all thy host from his hand.” Then the King
returned to his palace after seeing the feat of the Prince and, going in
to his daughter, acquainted her with what had befallen them both on the
parade-ground. He found her grievously afflicted for the Prince and
bewailing her separation from him; wherefore she fell sick with violent
sickness and took to her pillow. Now when her father saw her on this
wise, he pressed her to his breast and kissing her between the eyes,
said to her, “O my daughter, praise Allah Almighty and thank Him for
that He hath delivered us from this crafty enchanter, this villain, this
low fellow, this thief who thought only of seducing thee!” And he
repeated to her the story of the Prince and how he had disappeared in
the firmament; and he abused him and cursed him knowing not how dearly
his daughter loved him. But she paid no heed to his words and did but
redouble in her tears and wails, saying to herself, “By Allah, I will
neither eat meat nor drain drink, till Allah reunite me with him!” Her
father was greatly concerned for her case and mourned much over her
plight; but, for all he could do to soothe her, love-longing only
increased on her.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King mourned
much over his daughter’s plight but, for all he could do to soothe her,
love-longing only increased on her. Thus far concerning the King and
Princess Shams al-Nahár; but as regards Prince Kamar al-Akmar, when he
had risen high in air, he turned his horse’s head towards his native
land, and being alone mused upon the beauty of the Princess and her
loveliness. Now he had enquired of the King’s people the name of the
city and of its King and his daughter; and men had told him that it was
the city of Sana’á.[19] So he journeyed with all speed, till he drew
near his father’s capital and, making an airy circuit about the city,
alighted on the roof of the King’s palace, where he left his horse,
whilst he descended into the palace and seeing its threshold strewn with
ashes, thought that one of his family was dead. Then he entered, as of
wont, and found his father and mother and sisters clad in mourning
raiment of black, all pale of faces and lean of frames. When his sire
descried him and was assured that it was indeed his son, he cried out
with a great cry and fell down in a fit, but after a time coming to
himself, threw himself upon him and embraced him, clipping him to his
bosom and rejoicing in him with exceeding joy and extreme gladness. His
mother and sisters heard this; so they came in and seeing the Prince,
fell upon him, kissing him and weeping, and joying with exceeding
joyance. Then they questioned him of his case; so he told them all that
had past from first to last, and his father said to him, “Praised be
Allah for thy safety, O coolth of my eyes and core of my heart!” Then
the King bade hold high festival, and the glad tidings flew through the
city. So they beat drums and cymbals and, doffing the weed of mourning,
they donned the gay garb of gladness and decorated the streets and
markets; whilst the folk vied with one another who should be the first
to give the King joy, and the King proclaimed a general pardon and
opening the prisons, released those who were therein prisoned. Moreover,
he made banquets for the people, with great abundance of eating and
drinking, for seven days and nights and all creatures were gladsomest;
and he took horse with his son and rode out with him, that the folk
might see him and rejoice. After awhile the Prince asked about the maker
of the horse, saying, “O my father, what hath fortune done with him?”;
and the King answered, “Allah never bless him nor the hour wherein I set
eyes on him! For he was the cause of thy separation from us, O my son,
and he hath lain in gaol since the day of thy disappearance.” Then the
King bade release him from prison and, sending for him, invested him in
a dress of satisfaction and entreated him with the utmost favour and
munificence, save that he would not give him his daughter to wife;
whereat the Sage raged with sore rage and repented of that which he had
done, knowing that the Prince had secured the secret of the steed and
the manner of its motion. Moreover, the King said to his son, “I reck
thou wilt do well not to go near the horse henceforth and more
especially not to mount it after this day; for thou knowest not its
properties, and belike thou art in error about it.” Now the Prince had
told his father of his adventure with the King of Sana’a and his
daughter and he said, “Had the King intended to kill thee, he had done
so; but thine hour was not yet come.” When the rejoicings were at an
end, the people returned to their places and the King and his son to the
palace, where they sat down and fell to eating and drinking and making
merry. Now the King had a handsome handmaiden who was skilled in playing
the lute; so she took it and began to sweep the strings and sing thereto
before the King and his son of separation of lovers, and she chanted the
following verses:—
Deem not that absence breeds in me aught of forgetfulness; ✿ What should
remember I did you fro’ my remembrance wane?
Time dies but never dies the fondest love for you we bear; ✿ And in your
love I’ll die and in your love I’ll arise again.[20]
When the Prince heard these verses, the fires of longing flamed up in
his heart and pine and passion redoubled upon him. Grief and regret were
sore upon him and his bowels yearned in him for love of the King’s
daughter of Sana’a; so he rose forthright and, escaping his father’s
notice, went forth the palace to the horse and mounting it, turned the
pin of ascent, whereupon birdlike it flew with him high in air and
soared towards the upper regions of the sky. In early morning his father
missed him and, going up to the pinnacle of the palace, in great
concern, saw his son rising into the firmament; whereat he was sore
afflicted and repented in all penitence that he had not taken the horse
and hidden it; and he said to himself, “By Allah, if but my son return
to me, I will destroy the horse, that my heart may be at rest concerning
my son.” And he fell again to weeping and bewailing himself——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,