There was erewhile in the land of Al-Yaman a man which was a Sultan and
under him were three Kinglets whom he overruled. He had four children;
to wit, three sons and a daughter: he also owned wealth and treasures
greater than reed can pen or page may contain; as well as animals such
as horses and camels, sheep and black cattle; and he was held in awe by
all the sovrans. But when his reign had lasted for a length of time,
Age[2] brought with it ailments and infirmities and he became incapable
of faring forth his Palace to the Divan, the hall of audience; whereupon
he summoned his three sons to the presence and said to them, “As for me,
’tis my wish to divide among you all my substance ere I die, that ye may
be equal in circumstance and live in accordance with whatso I shall
command.” And they said, “Hearkening and obedience.” Then quoth the
Sultan, “Let the eldest of you become sovereign after me: let the cadet
succeed to my moneys and treasures[3] and as for the youngest let him
inherit my animals of every kind. Suffer none to transgress against
other; but each aid each and assist his co-partner.” He then caused them
to sign a bond and agreement to abide by his bequeathal; and, after
delaying a while, he departed to the mercy of Allah. Thereupon his three
sons got ready the funeral gear and whatever was suited to his estate
for the mortuary obsequies such as cerements and other matters: they
washed the corpse and enshrouded it and prayed over it: then, having
committed it to the earth they returned to their palaces where the
Wazirs and the Lords of the Land and the city-folk in their multitudes,
high and low, rich and poor, flocked to condole with them on the loss of
their father. And the news of his decease was soon bruited abroad in all
the provinces; and deputations from each and every city came to offer
condolence to the King’s sons. These ceremonies duly ended, the eldest
Prince demanded that he should be seated as Sultan on the stead of his
sire in accordance with the paternal will and testament; but he could
not obtain it from his two brothers as both and each said, “I will
become ruler in room of my father.” So enmity and disputes for the
government now arose amongst them and it was not to be won by any; but
at last quoth the eldest Prince, “Wend we and submit ourselves to the
arbitration of a Sultan of the tributary sultans; and let him to whom he
shall adjudge the realm take it and reign over it.” Quoth they “’Tis
well!” and thereto agreed, as did also the Wazirs; and the three set out
without suite seeking the capital of one of the subject Sovrans.——And
Shahrázád[4] was surprised by the dawn of day[5] and fell silent and
ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyázád, “How
sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!”
Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was
the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
Dunyázád said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deed fair-seeming and worthy
celebrating, that the three Princes fared seeking a Sultan of the
sultans who had been under the hands of their sire, in order that they
might take him to arbitrator. And they stinted not faring till the
middle way, when behold, they came upon a mead abounding in herbage and
in rain-water lying sheeted.[6] So they sat them down to rest and to eat
of their victual, when one of the brothers, casting his eye upon the
herbage, cried, “Verily a camel hath lately passed this way laden half
with Halwá-sweetmeats and half with Hámiz-pickles.”[7] “True,” cried the
second, “and he was blind of an eye.” Exclaimed the third, “’Tis sooth;
and indeed he hath lost his tail.” Hardly, however, had they ended their
words when lo! the owner of the camel came upon them (for he had
overheard their speech and had said to himself, “By Allah, these three
fellows have driven off my property, inasmuch as they have described the
burthen and eke the beast as tail-less and one-eyed”), and cried out,
“Ye three have carried away my camel!”[8] “By Allah we have not seen
him,” quoth the Princes, “much less have we touched him;” but quoth the
man, “By the Almighty, who can have taken him except you? and if you
will not deliver him to me, off with us, I and you three, to the
Sultan.” They replied, “By all manner of means; let us wend to the
Sovran.” So the four hied forth, the three Princes and the Cameleer, and
ceased not faring till they reached the capital of the King. There they
took seat without the wall to rest for an hour’s time and presently they
arose and pushed into the city and came to the royal Palace. Then they
craved leave of the Chamberlains, and one of the Eunuchs caused them
enter and signified to the sovereign that the three sons of
Such-and-such a Sultan had made act of presence. So he bade them be set
before him and the four went in and saluted him, and prayed for him and
he returned their salams. He then asked them, “What is it hath brought
you hither and what may ye want in the way of enquiry?” Now the first to
speak was the Cameleer and he said, “O my lord the Sultan; verily these
three men have carried off my camel by proof of their own speech.”——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!”
Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was
the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating, that the Cameleer came forward between the Sultan’s
hands and said, “O my lord, verily these men have carried away the camel
which belongeth to me,[9] for they have indeed described him and the
burthen he bore! And I require of our lord the Sultan that he take from
these wights and deliver to me the camel which is mine as proved by
their own words.” Presently, asked the Sultan, “What say ye to the
claims of this man and the camel belonging to him?” Hereto the Princes
made answer, “By Allah, O King of the Age, we have not seen the camel,
much less have we stolen him.” Thereupon the Cameleer exclaimed, “O my
lord, I heard yonder one say that the beast was blind of an eye; and the
second said that he was tail-less, and the third said that half his load
was of sour stuff and the other half was of sweet stuff.” They replied,
“True, we spake these words;” and the Sultan cried to them, “Ye have
purloined the beast by this proof.” They rejoined, “No, by Allah, O my
lord. We sat us in such a place for repose and refreshment and we
remarked that some of the pasture had been grazed down, so we said:—This
is the grazing of a camel; and he must have been blind of one eye as the
grass was eaten only on one side. But as for our saying that he was
tail-less, we noted the droppings lying heaped[10] upon the ground which
made us agree that the tail must have been cut off, it being the custom
of camels at such times to whisk their tails and scatter the dung
abroad. So ’twas evident to us that the camel had lost his tail. But as
for our saying that the load was half Halwá and half Hámiz, we saw on
the place where the camel had knelt the flies gathering in great numbers
while on the other were none: so the case was clear to us (as flies
settle on naught save the sugared) that one of the panniers must have
contained sweets and the other sours.” Hearing this the Sultan said to
the Cameleer, “O man, fare thee forth and look after thy camel; for
these signs and tokens prove not the theft of these men but only the
power of their intellect and their penetration.”[11] And when the
Cameleer heard this, he went his ways. Presently the Sultan cleared a
place in the Palace and allotted to it the Princes for their
entertainment: he also directed they be supplied with a banquet and the
eunuchs did his bidding. But when it was eventide and supper was served
up, the trio sat down to it purposing to eat; the eldest, however,
having hent in hand a bannock of bread exclaimed, “By Allah, verily this
cake was baked by a woman in blood, to wit, one with the menses.” The
cadet tasting a bit of kid exclaimed, “This kid was suckled by a bitch;”
and the youngest exclaimed, “Assuredly this Sultan must be a son of
shame, a bastard.” All this was said by the youths what while the Sultan
had hidden himself in order to hear and to profit by the Princes’ words.
So he waxed wroth and entered hastily crying, “What be these speeches ye
have spoken?” They replied, “Concerning all thou hast heard enquire
within and thou wilt find it wholly true.” The Sultan then entered his
women’s apartments and after inquisition found that the woman who had
kneaded the bread was sick with her monthly courses. He then went forth
and summoned the head-shepherd and asked him concerning the kid he had
butchered. He replied, “By Allah, O my lord, the nanny-goat that bare
the kid died and we found none other in milk to suckle him; but I had a
bitch that had just pupped and her have I made nourish him.” The Sultan
lastly hent his sword in hand and proceeded to the apartments of the
Sultánah-mother and cried, “By Allah, unless thou avert my shame[12] we
will cut thee down with this scymitar! Say me whose son am I?” She
replied, “By Allah, O my child, indeed falsehood is an excuse, but fact
and truth are more saving and superior. Verily thou art the son of a
cook!”——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent
and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad,
“How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and
delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would
relate to you on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive?”
Now when it was the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating, that the Sultan’s mother said to him, “Verily thou
art a cook’s son. Thy sire could not beget boy-children and I bare him
only a single daughter. But it so fortuned that the kitchener’s wife lay
in of a boy (to wit, thyself); so we gave my girl-babe to the cook and
took thee as the son of the Sultan, dreading for the realm after thy
sire’s death.” The King went forth from his mother in astonishment at
the penetration of the three youths and, when he had taken seat in his
Palace, he summoned the trio and as soon as they appeared he asked them;
“Which of you was it that said:—She who kneaded the bread was in blood?”
Quoth the eldest, “That was I;” and quoth the King, “What led thee to
suspect that she was menstruous?” He replied, “O my lord, when I took
the bannock and broke off a bittock, the flour fell out in lumps.[13]
Now had the kneader been well, her strength of hand would have remained
and the bread would have been wrought by all the veins; but, when the
blood came, her powers were minished for women’s force is in her hands;
and as soon as the monthly period cometh upon them their strength is
lost. Their bodies contain three hundred and sixty veins all lying hard
by one another and the blood of the catamenia floweth from them all;
hence their force becometh feebleness. And this was my proof of the
woman which was menstruous.” Quoth the Sultan, “’Tis well. We accept as
certain thy saying upon this evidence, for it is agreeable to man’s
understanding nor can any challenge it; this being from the power of
insight into the condition of womankind. And we are assured of its
soothfastness, for ’tis evident to us without concealment. But which is
he who said of the kid’s meat that the beast was suckled by a bitch?
What proof had he of this? How did he learn it and whence did his
intelligence discover it to him?” Now when the deceased Sultan’s second
son heard these words, he made answer. “I, O King of the Age, am he who
said that say!” The King replied, “’Tis Well;” and the Prince resumed,
“O my lord, that which showed me the matter of the meat which was to us
brought is as follows. I found the fat of the kid all hard by the bone,
and I knew that the beast had sucked bitch’s milk; for the flesh of dogs
lieth outside and their fat is on their bones, whereas in sheep and
goats the fat lieth upon the meat. Such, then, was my proof wherein
there is nor doubt nor hesitation; and when thou shalt have made
question and inquiry thou wilt find this to be fact.” Quoth the Sultan,
“’Tis well; thou hast spoken truth and whatso thou sayest is soothfast.
But which is he who declared that I am a bastard and what was his proof
and what sign in me exposed it to him?” Quoth the youngest Prince, “I am
he who said it;” and the Sultan rejoined, “There is no help but that
thou provide me with a proof.” The Prince rejoined. “’Tis well!”——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying
her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!”
Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was
the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied:——With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding lord
of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy
celebrating, that the youngest Prince said to the Sultan, “O my lord, I
have evidence that thou art the son of a cook and a base-born, in that
thou didst not sit at meat with us and this was mine all-sufficient
evidence. Every man hath three properties which he inheriteth at times
from his father, at times from his maternal uncle and at times from his
mother.[14] From his sire cometh generosity or niggardness; from his
uncle courage or cowardice; from his mother modesty or immodesty; and
such is the proof of every man.” Then quoth to him the Sultan, “Sooth
thou speakest; but say me, men who like you know all things thoroughly
by evidence and by your powers of penetration, what cause have they to
come seeking arbitration at my hand? Beyond yours there be no increase
of intelligence. So fare ye forth from me and manage the matter amongst
yourselves, for ’tis made palpable to me by your own words that naught
remaineth to you save to speak of mysterious subjects;[15] nor have I
the capacity to adjudge between you after that which I have heard from
you. In fine an ye possess any document drawn up by your sire before his
decease, act according to it and contrary it not.” Upon this the Princes
went forth from him and made for their own country and city and did as
their father had bidden them do on his death-bed. The eldest enthroned
himself as Sultan; the cadet assumed possession and management of the
moneys and treasures and the youngest took to himself the camels and the
horses and the beeves and the muttons. Then each and every was indeed
equal with his co-partner in the gathering of good. But when the new
year came, there befel a drought among the beasts and all belonging to
the youngest brother died nor had he aught of property left: yet his
spirit brooked not to take anything from his brethren or even to ask of
them aught. This then is the Tale of the King of Al-Yaman in its
entirety; yet is the Story of the Three Sharpers[16] more wondrous and
marvellous than that just recounted.——And Shahrazad was surprised by the
dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and
how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the King suffer
me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other
than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching
of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will! It
hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding,
lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and
worthy celebrating;” and she began to recount