She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took to
his pillow and murdered sleep. So his case became known and his passion
notorious; and his infirmity grew upon him and his pains redoubled
until he was well nigh dead. His family and hers were urgent with her
to visit him, but she refused, till he was at the point of death when,
being told of this, she relented towards him and vouchsafed him a
visit. As soon as he saw her, his eyes ran over with tears and he
repeated from a broken heart,
"An, by thy life, pass thee my funeral train, *
A bier upborne upon the necks of four,
Wilt thou not follow it, and greet the grave *
Where shall my corpse be graved for evermore?"
Hearing this, she wept with sore weeping and said to him, "By Allah, I
suspected not that passion had come to such a pass with thee, as to
cast thee into the arms of death! Had I wist of this, I had been
favourable to thy wish, and thou shouldst have had thy will." At this
his tears streamed down even as the clouds rail rain, and he repeated
this verse,
"She drew near whenas death was departing us, *
And deigned union grant when twas useless all."
Then he groaned one groan and died. So she fell on him, kissing him and
weeping and ceased not weeping until she swooned away; and when she
came to herself, she charged her people to bury her in his grave and
with streaming eyes recited these two couplets,
"We lived on earth a life of fair content; *
And tribe and house and home of us were proud;
But Time in whirling flight departed us, *
To join us now in womb of earth and shroud.[FN#100]"
Then she fell again to weeping, nor gave over shedding tears and
lamenting till she fainted away; and she lay three days, senseless.
Then she died and was buried in his grave. This is one of the strange
chances of love.[FN#101] And I have heard related a tale of the
WAZIR OF AL-YAMAN AND HIS YOUNG BROTHER
It is said that Badr al-Din, Wazir of Al-Yaman, had a young brother of
singular beauty and kept strait watch over him; so he applied himself
to seek a tutor for him and, coming upon a Shaykh of dignified and
reverend aspect, chaste and religious, lodged him in a house next his
own. This lasted a long time, and he used to come daily from his
dwelling to that of Sαhib[FN#102] Badr al-Din and teach the young
brother. After a while, the old man's heart was taken with love for the
youth, and longing grew upon him and his vitals were troubled, till one
day, he bemoaned his case to the boy, who said, "What can I do, seeing
that I may not leave my brother night or day? and thou thyself seest
how careful he is over me." Quoth the Shaykh, "My lodging adjoineth
thine; so there will be no difficulty, when thy brother sleepeth, to
rise and, entering the privy, feign thyself asleep. Then come to the
parapet[FN#103] of the terrace-roof and I will receive thee on the
other side of the wall; so shalt thou sit with me an eye-twinkling and
return without thy brother's knowledge." "I hear and obey," answered
the lad; and the tutor began to prepare gifts suitable to his degree.
Now when a while of the night was past, he entered the water-closet and
waited until his brother lay down on his bed and took patience till he
was drowned in sleep, when he rose and going to the parapet of the
terrace-roof, found standing there to await him the old man, who gave
him his hand and carried him to the sitting-chamber, where he had made
ready various dainties for his entertainment, and they sat down to
carouse. Now it was the night of the full moon and, as they sat with
the wine-cup going round, her rays shone upon them, and the governor
fell to singing. But, whilst they were thus in joy and jollity and
mirth and merriment, such as confoundeth the wit and the sight and
defieth description, lo! the Wazir awoke and, missing his brother,
arose in affright and found the door open. So he went up to the roof
and hearing a noise of talk, climbed over the parapet to the adjoining
terrace and saw a light shining from the lodging. He looked in from
behind the wall, and espied his brother and his tutor sitting at
carouse; but the Shaykh became aware of him and sang cup in hand, to a
lively measure these couplets,
"He made me drain his wine of honeyed lips, *
Toasting with cheeks which rose and myrtle smother:
Then nighted in embrace, cheek to my cheek, *
A loveling midst mankind without another.
When the full moon arose on us and shone *
Pray she traduce us not to the big brother."
And it proved the perfect politeness of the Wazir Badr al-Din that,
when he heard this, he said, "By Allah, I will not betray you!" And he
went away and left them to their diversions. They also tell a tale
concerning
THE LOVES OF THE BOY AND GIRL AT SCHOOL
A free boy and a slave-girl once learnt together in school, and the boy
fell passionately in love with the girl.—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-Fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the lad fell
passionately in love with the slave-lass: so one day, when the other
boys were heedless, he took her tablet[FN#104] and wrote on it these
two couplets,
"What sayest thou of him by sickness waste, *
Until he's clean distraught for love of thee?
Who in the transport of his pain complains, *
Nor can bear load of heart in secrecy?"
Now when the girl took her tablet, she read the verses written thereon
and understanding them, wept for ruth of him; then she wrote thereunder
these two couplets,
"An if we behold a lover love-fordone *
Desiring us, our favours he shall see:
Yea, what he wills of us he shall obtain, *
And so befal us what befalling be."
Now it chanced that the teacher came in on them and taking the tablet,
unnoticed, read what was written thereon. So he was moved to pity of
their case and wrote on the tablet beneath those already written these
two couplets addressed to the girl,
"Console thy lover, fear no consequence; *
He is daft with loving lowe's insanity;
But for the teacher fear not aught from him; *
Love-pain he learned long before learnt ye."
Presently it so happened that the girl's owner entered the school about
the same time and, finding the tablet, read the above verses indited by
the boy, the girl and the schoolmaster; and wrote under them these two
couplets,
"May Allah never make you parting dree *
And be your censurer shamed wearily!
But for the teacher ne'er, by Allah, eye *
Of mine beheld a bigger pimp than he!"
Then he sent for the Kazi and witnesses and married them on the spot.
Moreover, he made them a wedding-feast and treated them with exceeding
munificence; and they ceased not abiding together in joy and happiness,
till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of
societies. And equally pleasant is the story of
AL-MUTALAMMIS AND HIS WIFE UMAYMAH
It is related Al-Mutalammis[FN#105] once fled from Al-Nu'uman bin
Munzir[FN#106] and was absent so long that folk deemed him dead. Now he
had a beautiful wife, Umaymah by name, and her family urged her to
marry again; but she refused, for that she loved her husband
Al-Mutalammis very dearly. However, they were urgent with her, because
of the multitude of her suitors, and importuned with her till at last
she consented, albe reluctantly; and they espoused her to a man of her
own tribe. Now on the night of the wedding, Al-Mutalammis came back
and, hearing in the camp a noise of pipes and tabrets and seeing signs
of a wedding festival, asked some of the children what was the
merry-making, to which they replied, "They have married Umaymah wife of
Al-Mutalammis, to such an one, and he goes in to her this night." When
he heard this, he planned to enter the house amongst the mob of women
and saw the twain seated on the bridal couch.[FN#107] By and by, the
bridegroom came up to her, whereupon she sighed heavily and weeping,
recited this couplet,
"Would Heaven I knew (but many are the shifts of joy and woe) *
In what far distant land thou art, my Mutalammis, oh!"
Now Al-Mutalammis was a renowned poet; so he answered her saying;
"Right near at hand, Umaymah mine! when'er the caravan *
Halted, I never ceased for thee to pine, I would thou know."
When the bridegroom heard this, he guess how the case stood and went
forth from them in hast improvising,
"I was in bestest luck, but now my luck goes contrary: *
A hospitable house and room contain your loves, you two!"
And he returned not but left the twain to their privacy. So Al-
Mutalammis and his wife abode together in all comfort and solace of
life and in all its joys and jollities till death parted them. And
glory be to Him at whose command the earth and the heavens shall arise!
And among other tales is that of
THE CALIPH HARUM AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH IN THE BATH
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid loved the Lady Zubaydah with exceeding love
and laid out for her a pleasaunce, wherein he made a great tank and set
thereabouts a screen of trees and led thither water from all sides;
hence the trees grew and interlaced over the basin so densely, that one
could go in and wash, without being seen of any, for the thickness of
the leafage. It chanced, one day, that Queen Zubaydah entered the
garden and, coming to the swimming-bath,—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night
She said, It hath reached me, "O auspicious King, that Queen Zubaydah
entered the garden one day and, coming to the swimming- bath, gazed
upon its goodliness; and the sheen of the water and the overshading of
the trees pleased her. Now it was a day of exceeding heat; so she
doffed her clothes and, entering the tank, which was not deep enough to
cover the whole person, fell to pouring the water over herself from an
ewer of silver. It also happened that the Caliph heard she was in the
pool; so he left his palace and came down to spy upon her through the
screen of the foliage. He stood behind the trees and espied her mother-
nude, showing everything that is kept hidden. Presently, she became
aware of him and turning, saw him behind the trees and was ashamed that
he should see her naked. So she laid her hands on her parts, but the
Mount of Venus escaped from between them, by reason of its greatness
and plumpness; and the Caliph at once turned and went away, wondering
and reciting this couplet,
"I looked on her with loving eyne *
And grew anew my old repine:"
But he knew not what to say next; so he sent for Abu Nowas and said to
him, "Make me a piece of verse commencing with this line." "I hear and
obey," replied the poet and in an eye- twinkling extemporised these
couplets,
"I looked on her with longing eyne *
And grew anew my old repine
For the gazelle, who captured me *
Where the two lotus-trees incline:
There was the water poured on it *
From ewer of the silvern mine;
And seen me she had hidden it *
But twas too plump for fingers fine.
Would Heaven that I were on it, *
An hour, or better two hours, li'en."[FN#108]
Thereupon the Commander of the Faithful smiled and made him a handsome
present and he went away rejoicing. And I have heard another story of
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE POETS
The Prince of True Believers, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, was exceeding
restless one night; so he rose and walked about his palace, till he
happened upon a handmaid overcome with wine. Now he was prodigiously
enamoured of this damsel; so he played with her and pulled her to him,
whereupon her zone fell down and her petticoat-trousers were loosed and
he besought her of amorous favour. But she said to him, "O Commander of
the Faithful wait till to-morrow night, for I am unprepared for thee,
knowing not of thy coming." So he left her and went away. But, when the
morrow showed its light and the sun shone bright, he sent a page to her
saying, "The Commander of the Faithful is about to visit thine
apartment;" but she replied, "Day doth away with the promise of night."
So he said to his courtiers, "Make me somewhat of verse, introducing
these words, The Promise of Night is effaced by Day.'" Answered they,
"We hear and obey," and Al- Rakαshi[FN#109] came forward and recited
the following couplets,
"By Allah, couldst thou but feel my pain, *
Thy rest had turned and had fled away.
Hath left me in sorrow and love distraught, *
Unseen and unseeing, that fairest may:
She promised me grace, then jilted and said, *
The promise of night is effaced by day!'"
Then Abu Mus'ab came forward and recited these couplets,
"When wilt thou be wise and love-heat allay *
That from food and sleeping so leads astray?
Suffices thee not ever weeping eye, *
And vitals on fire when thy name they say?
He must smile and laugh and in pride must cry *
The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"
Last came Abu Nowas and recited the following couplets,
"As love waxt longer less met we tway *
And fell out, but ended the useless fray;
One night in the palace I found her fou'; *
Yet of modesty still there was some display:
The veil from her shoulders had slipt; and showed *
Her loosened trousers Love's seat and stay:
And rattled the breezes her huge hind cheeks *
And the branch where two little pomegranates lay:
Quoth I, Give me tryst;' whereto quoth she *
To-morrow the fane shall wear best array:'
Next day I asked her, Thy word?' Said she *
The promise of Night is effaced by Day.'"
The Caliph bade give a myriad of money each to Al-Rakashi and Abu
Mus'ab, but bade strike off the head of Abu Nowas, saying, "Thou wast
with us yesternight in the palace." Said he, "By Allah, I slept not but
in my own house! I was directed to what I said by thine own words as to
the subject of the verse; and indeed quoth Almighty Allah (and He is
the truest of all speakers): As for poets (devils pursue them!) dost
thou not see that they rove as bereft of their senses through every
valley and that they say that which they do not?'"[FN#110] So the
Caliph forgave him and gave him two myriads of money. And another tale
is that of
MUS'AB BIN AL-ZUBAYR AND AYISHAH HIS WIFE
It is told of Mus'ab bin al-Zubayr[FN#111] that he met in Al- Medinah
Izzah, who was one of the shrewdest of women, and said to her, "I have
a mind to marry Ayishah[FN#112] daughter of Talhah, and I should like
thee to go herwards and spy out for me how she is made." So she went
away and returning to Mus'ab, said, "I have seen her, and her face is
fairer than health; she hath large and well-opened eyes and under them
a nose straight and smooth as a cane; oval cheeks and a mouth like a
cleft pomegranate, a neck as a silver ewer and below it a bosom with
two breasts like twin- pomegranates and further down a slim waist and a
slender stomach with a navel therein as it were a casket of ivory, and
back parts like a hummock of sand; and plumply rounded thighs and
calves like columns of alabaster; but I saw her feet to be large, and
thou wilt fall short with her in time of need." Upon this report he
married her,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Eighty-seventh Day
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Izzah this
wise reported of Ayishah bint Talhah, Mus'ab married her and went in to
her. And presently Izzah invited Ayishah and the women of the tribe
Kuraysh to her house, when Ayishah sang these two couplets with Mus'ab
standing by,
"And the lips of girls, that are perfume sweet; *
So nice to kiss when with smiles they greet:
Yet ne'er tasted I them, but in thought of him; *
And by thought the Ruler rules worldly seat."
The night of Mus'ab's going in unto her, he departed not from her, till
after seven bouts; and on the morrow, a freewoman of his met him and
said to him, "May I be thy sacrifice! Thou art perfect, even in this."
And a certain woman said, "I was with Ayishah, when her husband came in
to her, and she lusted for him; so he fell upon her and she snarked and
snorted and made use of all wonder of movements and marvellous new
inventions, and I the while within hearing. So, when he came out from
her, I said to her, How canst thou do thus with thy rank and nobility
and condition, and I in thy house?' Quoth she, Verily a woman should
bring her husband all of which she is mistress, by way of excitement
and rare buckings and wrigglings and motitations.[FN#113] What
dislikest thou of this?' And I answered I would have this by nights.'
Rejoined she, Thus is it by day and by night I do more than this; for
when he seeth me, desire stirreth him up and he falleth in heat; so he
putteth it out to me and I obey him, and it is as thou seest.'" And
there also hath reached me an account of
ABU AL-ASWAD AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL
Abu al-Aswad bought a native-born slave-girl, who was blind of an eye,
and she pleased him; but his people decried her to him; whereat he
wondered and, turning the palms of his hands upwards,[FN#114] recited
these two couplets,
"They find me fault with her where I default ne'er find, *
Save haply that a speck in either eye may show:
But if her eyes have fault, of fault her form hath none, *
Slim-built above the waist and heavily made below."
And this is also told of
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE TWO SLAVE-GIRLS
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid lay one night between two slave-girls, one
from Al-Medinah and the other from Cufa and the Cufite rubbed his
hands, whilst the Medinite rubbed his feet and made his concern[FN#115]
stand up. Quoth the Cufite, "I see thou wouldst keep the whole of the
stock-in-trade to thyself; give me my share of it." And the other
answered, "I have been told by Mαlik, on the authority of Hishαm ibn
Orwah,[FN#116] who had it of his (grand) father, that the Prophet said,
Whoso quickeneth the dead, the dead belongeth to him and is his.' But
the Cufite took her unawares and, pushing her away, seized it all in
her own hand and said, "Al-A'amash telleth us, on the authority of
Khaysamah, who had it of Abdallah bin Mas'ud, that the Prophet
declared, Game belongeth to him who taketh it, not to him who raiseth
it.'" And this is also related of
THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE THREE SLAVE-GIRLS
The Caliph Harun al-Rashid once slept with three slave-girls, a Meccan,
a Medinite and an Irakite. The Medinah girl put her hand to his yard
and handled it, whereupon it rose and the Meccan sprang up and drew it
to herself. Quoth the other, "What is this unjust aggression? A
tradition was related to me by Mαlik[FN#117] after Al-Zuhri, after
Abdallah ibn Sαlim, after Sa'νd bin Zayd, that the Apostle of Allah
(whom Allah bless and keep!) said: Whoso enquickeneth a dead land, it
is his.' And the Meccan answered, "It is related to us by Sufyαn, from
Abu Zanαd, from Al-A'araj, from Abu Horayrah, that the Apostle of Allah
said: The quarry is his who catcheth it, not his who starteth it.'" But
the Irak girl pushed them both away and taking it to herself, said,
"This is mine, till your contention be decided." And they tell a tale
of
THE MILLER AND HIS WIFE
There was a miller, who had an ass to turn his mill; and he was married
to a wicked wife, whom he loved, while she hated him because she was
sweet upon a neighbour, who misliked her and held aloof from her. One
night, the miller saw, in his sleep, one who said to him, "Dig in such
a spot of the ass's round in the mill, and thou shalt find a hoard."
When he awoke, he told his wife the vision and bade her keep the
secret; but she told her neighbour,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-eighth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the miller's wife
told the secret to the neighbour whom she loved, thinking to win his
favour; and he agreed with her to come to her by night. So he came and
they dug in the mill and found the treasure and took it forth. Then he
asked her, "How shall we do with this?" and she answered; "We will
divide it into two halves and will share it equally between us, and do
thou leave thy wife and I will cast about to rid me of my husband. Then
shalt thou marry me and, when we are conjoined, we will join the two
halves of the treasure one to other, and all will be in our hands."
Quoth he, "I fear lest Satan seduce thee and thou take some other man
other than myself; for gold in the house is like the sun in the world.
I reck, therefore, it were right that the money be all in my hands, so
thou give thy whole mind to getting free of thy husband and coming to
me." Quoth she, "I fear even as thou fearest, nor will I yield up my
part to thee; for it was I directed thee to it." When he heard this,
greed of gain prompted him to kill her; so he slew her and threw her
body into the empty hoard-hole; but day overtook him and hindered him
from covering it up; he therefore took the money and went his way. Now
after a while the miller awoke and, missing his wife, went into the
mill, where he fastened the ass to the beam and shouted to it. It went
on a little, then stopped; whereupon he beat it grievously; but the
more he bashed it, the more it drew back; for it was affrighted at the
dead woman and could not go forward. Thereupon the Miller, unknowing
what hindered the donkey, took out a knife and goaded it again and
again, but still it would not budge. Then he was wroth with it, knowing
not the cause of its obstinacy, and drove the knife into its flanks,
and it fell down dead. But when the sun rose, he saw his donkey lying
dead and likewise his wife in the place of the treasure, and great was
his rage and sore his wrath for the loss of his hoard and the death of
his wife and his ass. All this came of his letting his wife into his
secret and not keeping it to himself.[FN#118] And I have heard this
tale of
THE SIMPLETON AND THE SHARPER
A certain simpleton was once walking along, haling his ass after him by
the halter, when a pair of sharpers saw him and one said to his fellow,
"I will take that ass from yonder wight." Asked the other, "How wilt
thou do that?" "Follow me and I will show thee how," answered the
first. So the cony-catcher went up to the ass and, loosing it from the
halter, gave the beast to his fellow; then he haltered his own head and
followed Tom Fool till he knew the other had got clean off with the
ass, when he stood still. The oaf haled at the halter, but the rascal
stirred not; so he turned and seeing the halter on a man's neck, said
to him, "What art thou?" Quoth the sharper, "I am thine ass and my
story is a wonderous one and tis this. Know that I have a pious old
mother and come in to her one day, drunk; and she said to me: O my son,
repent to the Almighty of these thy transgressions.' But I took my
staff and beat her, whereupon she cursed me and Allah changed me into
an ass and caused me fall into thy hands, where I have remained till
this moment. However, to-day, my mother called me to mind and her heart
yearned towards me; so she prayed for me and the Lord restored me to my
former shape amongst the sons of Adam." Cried the silly one, "There is
no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great! Allah upon thee, O my brother, acquit me of what I have done
with thee in the way of riding and so forth." Then he let the
cony-catcher go and returned home, drunken with chagrin and concern as
with wine. His wife asked him, "What aileth thee and where is the
donkey?"; and he answered, "Thou knowest not what was this ass; but I
will tell thee." So he told her the story, and she exclaimed, "Alack
and alas for the punishment we shall receive from Almighty Allah! How
could we have used a man as a beast of burden, all this while? And she
gave alms by way of atonement and prayed pardon of Heaven.[FN#119] Then
the man abode awhile at home, idle and feckless, till she said to him,
"How long wilt thou sit at home doing naught? Go to the market and buy
us an ass and ply thy work with it." Accordingly, he went to the market
and stopped by the ass-stand, where behold, he saw his own ass for
sale. So he went up to it and clapping his mouth to its ear, said to
it, "Woe to thee, thou ne'er-do-well! Doubtless thou hast been getting
drunk again and beating thy mother! But, by Allah, I will never buy
thee more."[FN#120] and he left it and went away. And they tell a tale
concerning
THE KAZI ABU YUSUF WITH HARUN AL-RASHID AND QUEEN ZUBAYDAH