down; and mounting, found upon the bed-clothes semen freshly emitted;
whereat he was startled and troubled with sore trouble. So he called
the Lady Zubaydah and said to her, "What is that spilt on the bed?" She
looked at it and replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is semen."
Quoth he, "Tell me truly what this meaneth or I will lay violent hands
on thee forthright." Quoth she, "By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful,
indeed I know not how it came there and I am guiltless of that whereof
you suspectest me." So he sent for the Kazi Abϊ Yϊsuf and acquainted
him of the case. The Judge raised his eyes to the ceiling and, seeing a
crack therein, said to the Caliph, "O Commander of the Faithful, in
very sooth the bat hath seed like that of a man,[FN#121] and this is
bat's semen." Then he called for a spear and thrust it into the
crevice, whereupon down fell the bat. In this manner the Caliph's
suspicions were dispelled,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three hundred and Eighty-ninth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Kazi Abu
Yusuf took the spear and thrust it into the crevice, down fell the bat,
and thus the Caliph's suspicions were dispelled and the innocence of
Zubaydah was made manifest; whereat she gave loud and liberal vent to
her joy and promised Abu Yusuf a magnificent reward. Now there were
with her certain delicious fruits, out of their season, and she knew of
others in the garden; so she asked Abu Yusuf, "O Imam of the Faith,
which wouldst thou rather have of the two kinds of fruits, those that
are here or those that are not here?" And he answered, "Our code
forbiddeth us to pronounce judgement on the absent; whenas they are
present, we will give our decision." So she let bring the two kinds of
fruits before him; and he ate of both. Quoth she, "What is the
difference between them?" and quoth he, "As often as I think to praise
one kind, the adversary putteth in its claim." The Caliph laughed at
his answer[FN#122] and made him a rich present; and Zubaydah also gave
him what she had promised him, and he went away, rejoicing. See, then
the virtues of this Imαm and how his hands were manifest the truth and
the innocence of the Lady Zubaydah. And amongst other stories is that
of
THE CALIPH AL-HAKIM[FN#123] AND THE MERCHANT
The Caliph Al-Hαkim bi-Amri'llah was riding out in state procession one
day, when he passed along a garden, wherein he saw a man, surrounded by
negro-slaves and eunuchs. He asked him for a draught of water, and the
man gave him to drink, saying, "Belike, the Commander of the Faithful
will honour me by alighting in this my garden." So the Caliph
dismounted and with his suite entered the garden; whereupon the said
man brought out to them an hundred rugs and an hundred leather mats and
an hundred cushions; and set before them an hundred dishes of fruits,
an hundred bowls of sweetmeats and an hundred jars of sugared sherbets;
at which the Caliph marvelled with much amaze and said to his host, "O
man, verily this thy case is wondrous: didst thou know of our coming
and make this preparation for us?" He replied, "No by Allah, O
Commander of the Faithful, I knew not of thy coming and I am a merchant
of the rest of thy subjects; but I have an hundred concubines; so, when
the Commander of the Faithful honoured me by alighting with me, I sent
to each of them, bidding her send me her morning-meal in the garden. So
they sent me each of her furniture and the surplus of her meat and
drink: and every day each sendeth me a dish of meat and another of
cooling marinades, also a platter of fruits and a bowl of sweetmeats
and a jar of sherbet. This is my noon-day dinner, nor have I added
aught thereto for thee." Then the Commander of the Faithful, Al-Hakim
bi-Amri'llah prostrated himself in thanksgiving to the Almighty
(extolled and exalted be His name!) and said, "Praise be Allah, who
hath been so bountiful to one of our lieges, that he entertaineth the
Caliph and his host, without making ready for them; nay, he feedeth
them with the surplusage of his day's provision!" Then he sent for all
the dirhams in the treasury, that had been struck that year (and they
were in number three thousand and seven hundred thousand); nor did he
mount until the money came, when he gave it to the merchant, saying,
"Use this as thy state may require; and thy generosity deserveth more
than this." Then he took horse and rode away. And I have heard a story
concerning
KING KISRA ANUSHIRWAN[FN#124] AND THE VILLAGE DAMSEL
The Just King, Kisrα Anϊshirwαn, one day rode forth to the chase and,
in pursuit of a deer, became separated from his suite. Presently, he
caught sight of a hamlet near hand and being sore athirst, he made for
it and presenting himself at the door of a house that lay by the
wayside, asked for a draught of water. So a damsel came out and looked
at him; then, going back into the house, pressed the juice from a
single sugar-cane into a bowl and mixed it with water; after which she
strewed on the top some scented stuff, as it were dust, and carried it
tot he King. Thereupon he seeing in it what resembled dust, drank it,
little by little, till he came to the end; when said he to her, "O
damsel, the drink is good, and how sweet it had been but for this dust
in it that troubleth it." Answered she, "O guest, I put in that powder
for a purpose;" and he asked, "And why didst thou thus?"; so she
replied, "I saw thee exceedingly thirsty and feared that thou wouldst
drain the whole at one draught and that this would thee mischief; and
but for this dust that troubled the drink so hadst thou done." The Just
King wondered at her words, knowing that they came of her wit and good
sense, and said to her, "From how many sugar canes didst thou express
this draught?" "One," answered she; whereat Anushirwan marvelled and,
calling for the register of the village taxes, saw that its assessment
was but little and bethought him to increase it, on his return to his
palace, saying in himself, "A village where they get this much juice
out of one sugar-cane, why is it so lightly taxed?" He then left the
village and pursued his chase; and, as he came back at the end of the
day, he passed alone by the same door and called again for drink;
whereupon the same damsel came out and, knowing him at a look, went in
to fetch him water. It was some time before she returned and Anushirwan
wondered thereat and said to her, "Why hast thou tarried?"—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Three hundred and Ninetieth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Anushirwan
hurried the damsel and asked her, "Why hast thou tarried?" she
answered, "Because a single sugar-cane gave not enough for thy need; so
I pressed three; but they yielded not to much as one did before."
Rejoined he, "What is the cause of that?"; and she replied, "The cause
of it is that when the Sultan's[FN#125] mind is changed against a folk,
their prosperity ceaseth and their good waxeth less." So Anushirwan
laughed and dismissed from his mind that which he had purposed against
the villagers. Moreover, he took the damsel to wife then and there,
being pleased with her much wit and acuteness and the excellence of her
speech. And they tell another tale of the
WATER-CARRIER[FN#126] AND THE GOLDSMITH'S WIFE
There was once, in the city of Bokhara, a water-carrier, who used to
carry water to the house of a goldsmith and had done this thirty years.
Now that goldsmith had a wife of exceeding beauty and loveliness,
brilliancy and perfect grace; and she was withal renowned for piety,
chastity and modesty. One day the water- carrier came, as of custom,
and poured the water into the cisterns. Now the woman was standing in
the midst of the court; so he went close up to her and taking her hand,
stroked it and pressed it, then went away and left her. When her
husband came home from the bazar, she said to him, "I would have thee
tell me what thing thou hast done in the market this day, to anger
Almighty Allah." Quoth he, "I have done nothing to offend the Lord."
"Nay," rejoined she, "but, by Allah, thou hast indeed done something to
anger Him; and unless thou tell me the whole truth, I will not abide in
thy house, and thou shalt not see me, nor will I see thee." So he
confessed, "I will tell thee the truth of what I did this day. It so
chanced that, as I was sitting in my shop, as of wont, a woman came up
to me and bade me make her a bracelet of gold. Then she went away and I
wrought her a bracelet and laid it aside. But when she returned and I
brought her out the bracelet, she put forth her hand and I clasped the
bracelet on her wrist; and I wondered at the whiteness of her hand and
the beauty of her wrist, which would captivate any beholder; and I
recalled what the poet saith,
Her fore-arms, dight with their bangles, show *
Like fire ablaze on the waves a-flow;
As by purest gold were the water girt, *
And belted around by a living lowe.'
So I took her hand and pressed it and squeezed it." Said the woman,
"Great God! Why didst thou this ill thing? Know that the water-carrier,
who hath come to our house these thirty years, nor sawst thou ever any
treason in him took my hand this day and pressed and squeezed it." Said
her husband, "O woman, let us crave pardon of Allah! Verily, I repent
of what I did, and do thou ask forgiveness of the Lord for me." She
cried, "Allah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy
keeping."—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Three hundred and Ninety-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the goldsmith's
wife cried out, "Allah pardon me and thee, and receive us into his holy
keeping!" And on the next day, the water-carrier came in to the
jeweller's wife and, throwing himself at her feet, grovelled in the
dust and besought pardon of her, saying, "O my lady, acquit me of that
which Satan deluded me to do; for it was he that seduced me and led me
astray." She answered, "Go thy ways, the sin was not in thee, but in my
husband, for that he did what he did in his shop, and Allah hath
retaliated upon him in this world." And it related that the goldsmith,
when his wife told him how the water-carrier had used her, said, "Tit
for tat, and blow for blow!; had I done more the water-carrier had done
more";—which became a current byword among the folk. Therefore it
behoveth a wife to be both outward and inward with her husband;
contenting herself with little from him, if he cannot give her much,
and taking pattern by Ayishah the Truthful and Fatimah the virgin
mother (Allah Almighty accept of them the twain!), that she may be of
the company of the righteous ancestry.[FN#127] And I have heard the
following tale of
KHUSRAU AND SHIRIN AND THE FISHERMAN
King Khusrau[FN#128] Shahinshah of Persia loved fish; and one day, as
he sat in his saloon, he and Shirin his wife, there came a fisherman,
with a great fish, and he laid it before the King, who was pleased and
ordered the man four thousand dirhams.[FN#129] Thereupon Shirin said to
the King, "Thou hast done ill." Asked he, "And why?", and she answered,
"Because if, after this, though give one of thy courtiers a like sum,
he will disdain it and say, He hath but given me the like of what he
gave the fisherman.' And if thou give him less, the same will say, He
despiseth me and giveth me less than he gave the fisherman.'" Rejoined
Khusrau, "Thou art right, but it would dishonour a king to go back on
his gift; and the thing is done." Quoth Shirin, "If thou wilt, I will
contrive thee a means to get it back from him." Quoth he, "How so?";
and she said, "Call back, if thou so please, the fisherman and ask him
if the fish be male or female. If he say, Male,' say thou, We want a
female,' and if he say, Female,' say, We want a male.'" So the King
sent for the fisherman, who was a man of wit and astuteness, and said
to him, "Is this fish male or female?" whereupon the fisherman kissed
the ground and answered, "This fish is an hermaphrodite,[FN#130]
neither male nor female." Khusrau laughed at his clever reply and
ordered him other four thousand dirhams. So the fisherman went to the
treasurer and, taking his eight thousand dirhams, put them in a sack he
had with him. Then, throwing it over his shoulder, he was going away,
when he dropped a dirham; so he laid the bag off his back and stooped
down to pick it up. Now the King and Shirin were looking on, and the
Queen said, "O King, didst thou note the meanness of the man, in that
he must needs stoop down to pick up the one dirham, and could not bring
himself to leave it for any of the King's servants?" When the King
heard these words, he was exceeding wroth with the fisherman and said,
"Thou art right, O Shirin!" So he called the man back and said to him,
"Thou low-minded carle! Thou art no man! How couldst thou put the bag
with all this money off thy back and bend thee groundwards to pick up
the one dirham and grudge to leave it where it fell?" Thereupon the
fisherman kissed the earth before him and answered, "May Allah prolong
the King's life! Indeed, I did not pick up the dirham off the ground
because of its value in my eyes; but I raised it off the earth because
on one of its faces is the likeness of the King and on the other his
name; and I feared lest any should unwittingly set foot upon it, thus
dishonouring the name and presentment of the King, and I be blamed for
this offence." The King wondered at his words and approved of his wit
and shrewdness, and ordered him yet another four thousand dirhams.
Moreover, he bade cry abroad in his kingdom, saying, "It behoveth none
to be guided by women's counsel; for whoso followeth their advice,
loseth, with his one dirham, other twain."[FN#131] And here is the tale
they tell of
YAHYA BIN KHALID THE BARMECIDE AND THE POOR MAN
Yahya bin Khαlid the Barmecide was returning home, one day, from the
Caliph's palace, when he saw, at the gate of his mansion, a man who
rose as he drew near and saluted him, saying, "O Yahya, I am in sore
need of that which is in they hand, and I make Allah my intermediary
with thee." So Yahya caused a place to be set aside for him in his
house and bade his treasurer carry him a thousand dirhams every day and
ordered that his diet be of the choicest of his own meat. The man abode
in this case a whole month, at the end of which time, having received
in all thirty thousand dirhams and fearing lest Yahya should take the
money from him, because of the greatness of the sum, he departed by
stealth.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man, taking
with him the money, departed by stealth. But when they told Yahya of
this, he said, "By Allah, though he had tarried with me to the end of
his days, yet had I not stinted him of my largesse nor cut off from him
the bounties of my hospitality!" For, indeed, the excellences of the
Barmecides were past count nor can their virtues be committed to
description, especially those of Yahya bin Khalid, for he was an
ocean[FN#132] of noble qualities, even as saith the poet of him,
"I asked of Bounty, Art thou free?' Quoth she, *
No, I am slave to Yahyα Khαlid-son!'
Boughten?' asked I. Allah forfend,' quoth she, *
By heirship, sire to sire's transmission!'"
And the following is related of
MOHAMMED AL-AMIN AND THE SLAVE-GIRL
Ja'afar bin Musα al-Hαdi[FN#133] once had a slave-girl, a lutist,
called Al-Badr al-Kabνr, than whom there was not in her time a fairer
of face nor shapelier of shape nor a more elegant of manners nor a more
accomplished in the art of singing and striking the strings; she was
indeed perfect in beauty and extreme in every charm. Now Mohammed
al-Amνn,[FN#134] son of Zubaydah, heard of her and was urgent with
Ja'afar to sell her to him; but he replied, "Thou knowest it beseemeth
not one of my rank to sell slave-girls nor set prices on concubines;
but were she not a rearling I would send her to thee, as a gift, not
grudge her to thee." And Mohammed al-Amin, some days after this went to
Ja'afar's house, to make merry; and the host set before him that which
it behoveth to set before true friends and bade the damsel Al-Badr
al-Kabir sing to him and gladden him. So she tuned the lute and sang
with a ravishing melody; whilst Mohammed al-Amin fell to drinking and
jollity and bade the cupbearers ply Ja'afar with much wine, till they
made him drunken, when he took the damsel and carried her to his own
house, but laid not a finger on her. And when the morrow dawned he bade
invite Ja'afar; and when he came, he set wine before him and made the
girl sing to him, from behind the curtain. Ja'afar knew her voice and
was angered at this, but, of the nobleness of his nature and the
magnanimity of his mind he showed no change. Now when the carousal was
at an end, Al-Amin commanded one of his servants to fill the boat,
wherein Ja'afar had come, with dirhams and dinars and all manner of
jewels and jacinths and rich raiment and goods galore. So he laid
therein a thousand myriads of money and a thousand fine pearls, each
worth twenty thousand dirhams; nor did he give over loading the barge
with all manner of things precious and rare, till the boatmen cried out
for help, saying, "The boat can't hold any more;" whereupon he bade
them carry all this to Ja'afar's palace. Such are the exploits of the
magnanimous, Allah have mercy on them! And a tale is related of
THE SONS OF YAHYA BIN KHALID AND SA'ID BIN SALIM AL-BAHILI
Quoth Sa'νd bin Sαlim al'Bαhilν,[FN#135] I was once in very narrow
case, during the days of Harun al-Rashid, and debts accumulated upon
me, burdening my back, and these I had no means of discharging. I was
at my wits' end what to do, for my doors were blocking up with
creditors and I was without cease importuned for payment by claimants,
who dunned me in crowds till at last I was sore perplexed and troubled.
So I betook myself to Abdallah bin Mαlik al-Khuza'ν[FN#136] and
besought him to extend the hand of aid with his judgement and direct me
of his good counsel to the door of relief; and he said, None can save
thee from this thy strait and sorrowful state save the Barmecides.'
Quoth I, Who can brook their pride and put up patiently with their
arrogant pretensions?' and quoth he, Thou wilt put up with all this for
the bettering of thy case.'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-third Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdallah ibn
Malik al-Khuza'i said to Sa'id bin Salim, "Thou wilt put up with all
this for the bettering of thy case." "So I left him suddenly (continued
Sa'id) and went straight to Al-Fazl and Ja'afar, sons of Yahyα bin
Khαlid, to whom I related my circumstances; whereto they replied, Allah
give thee His aid, and render thee by His bounties independent of His
creatures and vouchsafe thee abundant weal and bestow on thee what
shall suffice thee, without the need of any but Himself; for whatso He
willeth that He can, and He is gracious with His servants and knoweth
their wants.' So I went out from the twain and returned to Abdallah,
with straitened breast and mind perplexed and heavy of heart, and
repeated to him what they had said. Quoth he, Thou wouldst do well to
abide with us this day, that we may see what Allah Almighty will
decree.' So I sat with him awhile, when lo! up came my servant, who
said to me, O my lord, there are at our door many laden mules and with
them a man, who says he is the agent of Al-Fazl and Ja'afar bin Yahya.'
Quoth Abdallah, I trust that relief is come to thee: rise up and go see
what is the matter.' So I left him and, hastening to my house, found at
the door a man who gave me a note wherein was written the following:
After thou hadst been with us and we heard thy case, we betook
ourselves to the Caliph and informed him that ill condition had reduced
thee to the humiliation of begging; where upon he ordered us to supply
thee with a thousand thousand dirhams from the Treasury. We represented
to him: The debtor will spend this money in paying off creditors and
wiping off debt; whence then shall he provide for his subsistence? So
he ordered thee other three hundred thousand, and each of us hath also
sent thee, of his proper wealth, a thousand thousand dirhams: so that
thou hast now three thousand thousand and three hundred thousand
dirhams wherewithal to order and amend thine estate.'" See, then, the
munificence of these magnificos: Almighty Allah have mercy on them! And
a tale is told of
THE WOMAN'S TRICK AGAINST HER HUSBAND
A man brought his wife a fish one Friday and, bidding her to cook it
against the end of the congregational prayers, went out to his craft
and business. Meanwhile in came her friend who bade her to a wedding at
his house; so she agreed and, laying the fish in a jar of water, went
off with him and was absent a whole week till the Friday
following;[FN#137] whilst her husband sought her from house to house
and enquired after her; but none could give him any tidings of her. Now
on the next Friday she came home and he fell foul of her; but she
brought out to him the fish alive from the jar and assembled the folk
against him and told them her tale.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the woman brought
out the fish alive from the water-jar and assembled the folk against
her husband, and told them her tale. He also told his; but they
credited him not and said, "It cannot be that the fish should have
remained alive all this while." So they proved him mad and imprisoned
him and mocked at him, where upon he shed tears in floods and recited
these two couplets,
"Old hag, of high degree in filthy life, *
Whose face her monstrous lewdness witnesses.
When menstuous she bawds; when clean she whores; *
And all her time bawd or adulteress is."
And a tale is related of the
THE DEVOUT WOMAN AND THE TWO WICKED ELDERS[FN#138]
There was in times of yore and in ages long gone before, a virtuous
woman among the children of Israel, who was pious and devout and used
every day to go out to the place of prayer, first entering a garden,
which adjoined thereto, and there making the minor ablution. Now there
were in this garden two old men, its keepers, and both Shaykhs fell in
love with her and sought her favours; but she refused, whereupon said
they, "Unless thou yield thy body to us, we will bear witness against
thee of fornication." Quoth she, "Allah will preserve me from your
frowardness!" Then they opened the garden-gate and cried out, and the
folk came to them from all places, saying "What aileth you?" Quoth
they, "We found this damsel in company with a youth who was doing
lewdness with her; but he escaped from our hands." Now it was the wont
of the people in those days to expose adulterer and adulteress to
public reproach for three days, and after stone them. So they cried her
name in the public streets for three days, while the two elders came up
to her daily and, laying their hands on her head, said, "Praised be
Allah who hath sent down on thee His righteous indignation!" Now on the
fourth day, when they bore her away to stone her, they were followed by
a lad named Daniel, who was then only twelve years old, and this was to
be the first of his miracles (upon our Prophet and upon him the
blessing and peace!). And he ceased not following them to the place of
execution, till he came up with them and said to them, "Hasten not to
stone her, till I judge between them." So they set him a chair and he
sat down and summoned the old men separately. (Now he was the first
ever separated witnesses.) Then said he to the first, "What sawest
thou?"[FN#139] So he repeated to him his story, and Daniel asked, "In
what part of the garden did this befal?" and he answered, "On the
eastern side, under a pear-tree." Then he called the other old man and
asked him the same question, and he replied, "On the western side of
the garden, under an apple-tree." Meanwhile the damsel stood by, with
her hands and eyes raised heavenwards, imploring the Lord for
deliverance. Then Allah Almighty sent down His blasting leven-fire upon
the elders and consumed them, and on this wise the Lord made manifest
the innocence of the damsel. Such was the first of the miracles of the
Prophet Daniel, on whom be blessing and peace! And they relate a tale
of
JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE OLD BADAWL