custom, his father passed by in all his state, surrounded by his Wazirs
and Lords of the realm and the Officers of his household, who seeing
the Caliph's son with a gown of woollen stuff on his body and a twist
of wool on his head by way of turband, said to one another, "Verily
this youth dishonoureth the Commander of the Faithful among Kings: but,
if he reproved him, he would leave his present way of life." The Caliph
heard these words; so quoth he to his son, "O my dear child, of a truth
thou disgracest me by thy present way of life." The young man looked at
him and made no reply: then he beckoned to a bird perched on the
battlements of the palace, and said to it, "O thou bird, I conjure thee
by Him who created thee, alight upon my hand." Whereupon straightway it
swooped down and perched on his finger. Then quoth he, "Return to thy
place;" and it did so. Presently he said, "Alight on the hand of the
Commander of the Faithful;" but it refused there to perch, and he cried
to his father, "It is thou that disgracest me amongst the Holy[FN#160]
Ones, by the love of the world; and now I am resolved to part from
thee, never to return to thee, save in the world to come." Then he went
down to Bassorah, where he took to working with those which wrought in
clay,[FN#161] receiving, as his day's hire, but a dirham and a
danik;[FN#162] and with the danik he fed himself and gave alms of the
dirham. (Quoth Abϊ Amir of Bassorah) "There fell down a wall in my
house; so I went forth to the station of the artisans to find a man who
should repair it for me, and my eyes fell on a handsome youth of a
radiant countenance. So I saluted him and asked him, O my friend, dost
thou seek work?' Yes,' answered he; and I said, Come with me and build
a wall.' He replied, On certain conditions I will make with thee.'
Quoth I What are they, O my friend?'; and quoth he, My wage must be a
dirham and a danik, and again when the Mu'ezzin calleth to prayer, thou
shalt let me go pray with the congregation.' It is well,' answered I
and carried him to my lace, where he fell to work, such work as I never
saw the like of. Presented I named to him the morning-meal; but he
said, No;' and I knew that he was fasting.[FN#163] When he heard the
call to prayer, he said to me, Thou knowest the condition?' Yes,'
answered i. So he loosed his girdle and, applying himself to the lesser
ablution, made it after a fashion than which I never saw a
fairer;[FN#164] then he went to the mosque and prayed with the
congregation and returned to his work. He did the same upon the call to
mid- afternoon prayer, and when I saw him fall to work again
thereafterward, I said to him, O my friend, verily the hours of labour
are over; a workman's day is but till the time of afternoon-prayer.'
But he replied, Praise to the Lord, my service is till the night.' And
he ceased not to work till nightfall, when I gave him two dirhams;
whereupon he asked What is this!'; and I answered, By Allah, this is
but part of thy wage, because of thy diligence in my service.' But he
threw them back to me saying, I will have no more than was agreed upon
between us twain.' I urged him to take them, but could not prevail upon
him; so I gave him the dirham and the danik, and he went away. And when
morning dawned, I went to the station but found him not; so I enquired
for him and was told, He cometh thither only on Sabbaths.' Accordingly,
when Saturday came, I betook me to the market and finding him there,
said to him, Bismillah, do me the favour to come and work for me.' Said
he, Upon the conditions thou wottest;' and I answered Yes!' Then
carrying him to my house I stood to watch him where he could not see
me; and he took a handful of puddled clay and laid it on the wall,
when, behold, the stones ranged themselves one upon other; and I said,
On this wise are Allah's holy ones.' he worked out his day and did even
more than before; and when it was night, I gave him his hire, and he
took it and walked away. Now when the third Saturday came round, I went
to the place of standing, but found him not; so I asked after him and
they told me, He is sick and lying in the shanty of such a woman.' Now
this was an old wife, renowned for piety, who had a hovel of reeds in
the burial- ground. So I fared thither and found him stretched on the
floor which was bare, with a brick for a pillow and his face beaming
like the new moon with light. I saluted him and he returned my salam;
and I sat down at his head weeping over his fair young years and
absence from home and submission to the will of his Lord. Then said I
to him, Hast thou any need?' Yes,' answered he; and I said, What is
it?' He replied, Come hither to-morrow in the forenoon and thou wilt
find me dead. Wash me and dig my grave and tell none thereof: but
shroud me in this my gown, after thou hast unsewn it and taken out what
thou shalt find in the bosom-pocket, which keep with thee. Then, when
thou hast prayed over me and laid me in the dust, go to Baghdad and
watch for the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, till he come forth, when do thou
give him what thou shalt find in the breast of my gown and bear him my
salutation.' Then he ejaculated the profession of the Faith and
glorified his God in the most eloquent of words, reciting these
couplets,
Carry the trust of him whom death awaits *
To Al-Rashid and God reward thy care!
And say An exile who desired thy sight *
Long loving, from afar sends greeting fair.
Nor hate nor irk (No!) him from thee withdrew, *
Kissing thy right to Heaven brought him near.[FN#165]
But what estranged his soul, O sire, from thee *
Is that thy worldly joys it would not share!'
Then he betook himself to prayer, asking pardon of Allah'—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth then
betook himself to asking pardon of Allah and to invoking prayer and
praise upon the Apostle and the Lord of the Just and repeating verses
of the Koran; after which he recited these couplets,
"O sire, be not deceived by worldly joys; *
For life must pass, and joy must learn to mourn;
When thou art told of folk in evil plight, *
Think thou must answer for all hearts forlorn;
And when thou bear thy dead towards the tombs, *
Know thou wilt likewise on that way be bourne."
Continued Abu the Basri, "Now when the youth had ended his charge and
his verses I left him and went home. On the morrow, I returned, at the
appointed hour, and found him indeed dead, the mercy of Allah be upon
him! So I washed him and, unsewing his gown, found in the bosom a ruby
worth thousands of gold pieces and said to myself, By Allah, this youth
was indeed weaned from worldly things!' After I had buried him, I made
my way to Baghdad and, going to the Caliph's palace, waited till he
came forth, when I addressed him in one of the streets and gave him the
ruby, which when he saw, he knew and fell down in a fainting- fit. His
attendants laid hands on me, but he revived and said to them, Release
him and bring him courteously to the palace.' They did his bidding, and
when he returned, he sent for me and carrying me into his chamber said
to me, How doth the owner of this ruby?' Quoth I, Verily, he is dead;'
and told him what had passed; whereupon he fell a-weeping and said, The
son hath gained; but the sire hath lost.' Then he called out, saying,
Ho, such an one!'; and behold there came out to him a lady who, when
she saw me, would have withdrawn; but he cried to her, Come, and mind
him not.' So she entered and saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which
when she saw and she knew, she shrieked a great shriek and fell down in
a swoon. As soon as she came to herself, she said, O Commander of the
Faithful, what hath Allah done with my son?'; and he said to me, Do
thou tell her his case' (as he could not speak for weeping).
Accordingly, I repeated the story to her, and she began to shed tears
and say in a faint and wailing voice, How I have longed for thy sight,
O solace of mine eyes![FN#166] Would I might have given thee to drink,
when thou hadst none to slake thy thirst! Would I might have cheered
thee, whenas thou foundest never a cheerer!' And she poured forth tears
and recited these couplets,
I weep for one whose lot a lonely death befel; *
Without a friend to whom he might complain and moan:
And after glory and glad union with his friends, *
He woke to desolation, friendless, lorn and lone;
What Fortune hides a while she soon to all men shall show; *
Death never spared a man; no, not a single one:
O absent one, my Lord decreed thee strangerhood, *
Far from thy nearest friends and to long exile gone:
Though Death forbid my hope of meeting here again, *
On Doom-day's morrow we shall meet again, my
son![FN#167]
Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, was he indeed thy son?' Quoth he,
Yes, and indeed, before I succeeded to this office, he was wont to
visit the learned and company with the devout; but, when I became
Caliph, he grew estranged from me and withdrew himself apart.[FN#168]
Then said I to his mother, Verily this thy son hath cut the world and
devoted his life to Almighty Allah, and it may be that hard times shall
befal him and he be smitten with trial of evil chance; wherefore do
thou given him this ruby, which he may find useful in hour of need.' So
she gave it him, conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her bidding.
Then he left to us the things of our world and removed himself from us;
nor did he cease to be absent from us, till he went to the presence of
Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!), pious and pure.' Then said he,
Come, show me his grave.' So, I travelled with him to Bassorah and
showed him his son's grave; and when he saw it, he wept and lamented,
till he fell down in a swoon; after which he recovered and asked pardon
of the Lord, saying, We are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!';
and involved blessings on the dead. Then he asked me to become his
companion, but I said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, verily, in
thy son's case is for me the most momentous of admonitions!' And I
recited these couplets,
"Tis I am the stranger, visited by none; *
I am the stranger though in town my own:
Tis I am the stranger! Lacking kith and son, *
And friend to whom I mote for aidance run.
I house in mosques which are my only home; *
My heart there wones and shall for ever wone:
Then laud ye Allah, Lord of Worlds, as long *
As soul and body dwell in union!'"
And a famous tale is told of
THE UNWISE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY REPORT
Quoth one of the learned, "I passed once by a school, wherein a
schoolmaster was teaching children; so I entered, finding him a
good-looking man and a well-dressed; when he rose to me and made me sit
with him. Then I examined him in the Koran and in syntax and prosody
and lexicography; and behold, he was perfect in all required of him, so
I said to him, Allah strengthen thy purpose! Thou art indeed versed in
all that is requisite,' thereafter I frequented him a while,
discovering daily some new excellence in him, and quoth I to myself,
This is indeed a wonder in any dominie; for the wise are agreed upon a
lack of wit in children's teachers.' Then I separated myself from him
and sought him and visited him only every few days, till coming to see
him one day as of wont, I found the school shut and made enquiry of his
neighbors, who replied, Some one is dead in his house.' So I said in my
mind, It behoveth me to pay him a visit of condolence,' and going to
his house, knocked at the door, when a slave-girl came out to me and
asked, What dost thou want?' and I answered, I want thy master.' She
replied, He is sitting alone, mourning;' and I rejoined, Tell him that
his friend so and so seeketh to console him.' She went in and told him;
and he said, Admit him.' So she brought me in to him, and I found him
seated alone and his head bound with mourning fillets. So I said to
him, Allah requite thee amply! this is a path all must perforce tread,
and it behoveth thee to take patience;' adding, But who is dead unto
thee?' He answered, One who was dearest of the folk to me, and best
beloved.' Perhaps thy father?' No!' Thy brother?' "No!' "One of thy
kindred?' No!' Then asked I, What relation was the dead to thee?'; and
he answered, My lover.' Quoth I to myself, This is the first proof to
swear by his lack of wit.' So I said to him, Assuredly there be others
than she and fairer;' and he made answer, I never saw her, that I might
judge whether or no there be others fairer than she.' Quoth I to
myself, This is another proof positive.' Then I said to him, And how
couldst thou fall in love with one thou hast never seen?' He replied
Know that I was sitting one day at the window, when lo! there passed by
a man, singing the following distich,
Umm Amr',[FN#169] thy boons Allah repay! *
Give back my heart be't where it may!'"
And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the schoolmaster
continued, " When I heard the man humming these words as he passed
along the street, I said to myself Except this Umm Amru were without
equal in the world, the poets had not celebrated her in ode and
canzon.' So I fell in love with her; but, two days after, the same man
passed, singing the following couplet,
Ass and Umm Amr' went their way; *
Nor she, nor ass returned for aye.'
Thereupon I knew she was dead and mourned for her. This was three days
ago, and I have been mourning ever since. So I left him, (concluded the
learned one) and fared forth, having assured myself of the weakness of
the gerund-grinder's wit." And they tell another and a similar tale of
THE FOOLISH DOMINIE[FN#170]
Once upon a time, a schoolmaster was visited by a man of letters who
entered a school and, sitting down by the host's side, entered into
discourse with him and found him an accomplished theologian, poet
grammarian, philologist and poet; intelligent, well bred and pleasant
spoken; whereat he wondered, saying in himself, "It cannot be that a
man who teacheth children in a school, should have a perfect wit." Now
when he was about to go away, the pedant said to him, "Thou are my
guest to-night;" and he consented to receive hospitality and
accompanied him to his house, where he made much of him and set food
before him. They ate and drank and sat talking, till a third part of
the night was past when the host spread his guest a bed and went up to
his Harim. The stranger lay down and addressed himself to sleep, when,
behold, there arose a great clamour in the women's rooms. He asked what
was the matter and they said, "A terrible thing hath befallen the
Shaykh and he is at the last gasp." Said he, "Take me up to him"; so
they took him up to the pedagogue whom he found lying insensible, with
his blood streaming down. He sprinkled water on his face and when he
revived, he asked him, "What hath betided thee? When thou leftest me,
thou wast in all good cheer and whole of body," and he answered, "O my
brother, after I left thee, I sat meditating on the creative works of
Almighty Allah, and said to myself: In every thing the Lord hath
created for man, there is an use; for He (to Whom be glory!) made the
hands to seize, the feet to walk, the eyes to see, the ears to hear and
the penis to increase and multiply; and so on with all the members of
the body, except these two ballocks; there is no use in them.' So I
took a razor I had by me and cut them off; and there befel me what thou
seest." So the guest left him and went away, saying, "He was in the
right who said, Verily no schoolmaster who teacheth children can have a
perfect wit, though he know all the sciences.'" And they tell a
pleasant tale of the
ILLITERATE WHO SET UP FOR A SCHOOLMASTER
There was once, among the menials[FN#171] of a certain mosque, a man
who knew not how to write or even to read and who gained his bread by
gulling folk. One day, it occurred to him to open a school and teach
children; so he got together writing-tablets and written papers and
hung them up in a high place. Then he greatened his turband[FN#172] and
sat down at the door of the school; and when the people, who passed by,
saw his huge head- gear and tablets and scrolls, they thought he must
be a very learned pedagogue; so they brought him their children; and he
would say to this, "Write," and to that "Read"; and thus the little
ones taught each other. Now one day, as he sat as of wont, at the door
of the school, behold, up came a woman letter in hand, and he said in
his mind, "This woman doubtless seeketh me, that I may read her the
missive she hath in her hand: how shall I do with her, seeing I cannot
read writing?" And he would fain have gone down and fled from her; but,
before he could do this, she overtook him and said to him, "Whither
away?" Quoth he, "I purpose to pray the noon-prayer and return." Quoth
she, "Noon is yet distant, so read me this letter." He took the letter
and turning it upside down, fell to looking at it, now shaking his head
till his turband quivered, then dancing his eyebrows and anon showing
anger and concern. Now the letter came from the woman's husband, who
was absent; and when she saw the dominie do on this wise, she said to
herself, "Doubtless my husband is dead, and this learned doctor of law
and religion is ashamed to tell me so." So she said to him, "O my lord,
if he be dead, tell me;" but he shook his head and held his peace. Then
said she, "Shall I rend my raiment?" "Rend!" replied he. "Shall I beat
my face?" asked she; and he answered, "Beat!" So she took the letter
from his hand and returned home fell a-weeping, she and her children.
Presently, one of her neighbours heard her sobbing and asking what
aileth her, was answered, "Of a truth she hath gotten a letter, telling
her that her husband is dead." Quoth the man, "This is a falsehood; for
I had a letter from him but yesterday, advising me that he is whole and
in good health and will be with her after ten days." So he rose
forthright and going in to her, said, "Where is the letter which came
to thee?" She brought it to him, and he took it and read it; and lo! it
ran as follows, "After the usual salutations, I am well and in good
health and whole and will be with you all after ten days. Meanwhile, I
send you a quilt and an extinguisher."[FN#173] So she took the letter
and, returning to the schoolmaster, said to him, "What induced thee to
deal thus with me?" And she repeated to him what her neighbour had told
her of her husband's well- being and of his having sent her a quilt and
an extinguisher. Answered he, "Thou art in the right, O good woman; for
I was, at the time"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fourth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the pedagogue
replied, "Verily I was at that time fashed and absent- minded and,
seeing the extinguisher wrapped up in the quilt, I thought that he was
dead and they had shrouded him." The woman, not smoking the cheat,
said, "Thou art excused," and taking the letter, went her ways.[FN#174]
And they relate a story of
THE KING AND THE VIRTUOUS WIFE.
A certain King once went forth in disguise, to look into the affairs of
his lieges. Presently, he came to a great village which he entered
unattended and being athirst, stopped at the door of a house and asked
for water. There came out to him a fair woman with a gugglet, which she
gave him, and he drank. When he looked at her, he was ravished with her
and besought her favours. Now she knew him; so she led him into the
house and, making him sit down, brought out a book and said to him,
"Look therein whilst I order my affair and return to thee." So he
looked into the book, and behold, it treated of the Divine prohibition
against advoutry and of the punishments which Allah hath prepared for
those who commit adulterous sin. When he read this, his flesh quaked
and his hair bristled and he repented to Almighty Allah: then he called
the woman and, giving her the book, went away. Now her husband was
absent and when he returned, she told him what had passed, whereat he
was confounded and said in himself, "I fear lest the King's desire have
fallen upon her." And he dared not have to do with her and know her
carnally after this. When some time had past, the wife told her
kinsfolk of her husband's conduct, and they complained of him to the
King, saying, "Allah advance the King! This man hired of us a piece of
land for tillage, and tilled it awhile; then left it fallow and neither
tilled it nor forsook it, that we might let it to one who would till
it. Indeed, harm is come to the field, and we fear its corruption, for
such land as that if it be not sown, spoileth." Quoth the King to the
man, "What hindereth thee from sowing thy land?" Answered he, "Allah
advance the King! It reached me that the lion entered the field
wherefore I stood in awe of him and dared not draw near it, since
knowing that I cannot cope with the lion, I stand in fear of him." The
King understood the parable and rejoined, saying, "O man, the lion trod
and trampled not thy land, and it is good for seed so do thou till it
and Allah prosper thee in it, for the lion hath done it no hurt." Then
he bade give the man and his wife a handsome present and sent them
away.[FN#175] And amongst the stories is that of
ABD AL-RAHMAN THE MAGHRIBI'S STORY OF THE RUKH.[FN#176]
There was once a man of the people of West Africa who had journeyed far
and wide and traversed many a desert and a tide. He was once cast upon
an island, where he abode a long while and, returning thence to his
native country, brought with him the quill of a wing feather of a young
Rukh, whilst yet in egg and unhatched; and this quill was big enough to
hold a goat skin of water, for it is said that the length of the Rukh
chick's wing, when he cometh forth of the egg, is a thousand fathoms.
The folk marvelled at this quill, when they saw it, and the man who was
called Abd al-Rahman the Moor (and he was known, to boot, as the
Chinaman, for his long sojourn in Cathay), related to them the
following adventure, one of many of his traveller's tales of marvel. He
was on a voyage in the China seas—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abd al- Rahman,
the Moorman, the Chinaman, was wont to tell wondrous tales amongst
which was the following. He was on a voyage in the China seas with a
company of merchants, when they sighted an island from afar; so they
steered for it and, making fast thereto, saw that it was large and
spacious. The ship's crew went ashore to get wood and water, taking
with them hatchets and ropes and water skies (the travellers
accompanying them), and presently espied a great dome, white and
gleaming, an hundred cubits long. So they made towards it and drawing
near, found that it was an egg of the Rukh and fell on it with axes and
stones and sticks till they uncovered the young bird and found the
chick as it were a firm set hill. So they plucked out one of the wing
feathers, but could not do so, save by helping one another, for all the
quills were not full grown, after which they took what they could carry
of the young bird's flesh and cutting the quill away from the vane,
returned to the ship. Then they set sail and putting out to sea,
voyaged with a fair wind all that night, till the sun rose; and while
everything went well, they saw the Rukh come flying after them, as he
were a vast cloud, with a rock in his talons, like a great heap bigger
than the ship. As soon as he poised himself in air over the vessel, he
let fall the rock upon it; but the craft, having great way on her,
outwent the rock, which fell into the sea with a loud crash and a
horrible. So Allah decreed their deliverance and saved them from doom;
and they cooked the young bird's flesh and ate it. Now there were
amongst them old white bearded men; and when they awoke on the morrow,
they found that their beards had turned black, nor did any who had
eaten of the young Rukh grow gray ever after. Some said the cause of
the return of youth to them and the ceasing of hoariness from them was
that they had heated the pot with arrow wood, whilst others would have
it that it came of eating the Rukh chick's flesh; and this is indeed a
wonder of wonders.[FN#177] And a story is related of
ADI BIN ZAYD AND THE PRINCESS HIND.