named Hind, who went out one Pasch, which is a feast day of the
Nazarenes, to the White Church, to take the sacrament; she was eleven
years old and was the loveliest woman of her age and time; and it so
chanced that on the same day came to Hirah[FN#178] a young man called
'Adν bin Zayd[FN#179] with presents from the Chosroλ to Al-Nu'uman, and
he also went to the White Church, to communicate. He was tall of
stature and fair of favour, with handsome eyes and smooth cheeks, and
had with him a company of his people. Now there was with Hind bint
al-Nu'uman a slave girl named Mαriyah, who was enamoured of Adi, but
had not been able to foregather with him. So, when she saw him in the
church, she said to Hind, "Look at yonder youth. By Allah, he is
handsomer than all thou seest!" Hind asked, "And who is he?" and
Mariyah answered, "Adi bin Zayd." Quoth Al-Nu'uman's daughter, "I fear
lest he know me, if I draw nearer to look on him." Quoth Mariyah, "How
should he know thee when he hath never seen thee?" So she drew near him
and found him jesting with the youths his companions; and indeed he
surpassed them all, not only in his personal charms but in the
excellence of his speech, the eloquence of his tongue and the richness
of his raiment. When the Princess saw him, she was ravished with him,
her reason was confounded and her colour changed; and Mariyah, seeing
her inclination to him, said to her, "Speak him." So she spoke to him
and went away. Now when he looked upon her and heard her speech, he was
captivated by her and his wit was dazed; his heart fluttered, and his
colour changed so that his companions suspected him, and he whispered
one of them to follow her and find out who she was. The young man went
after her and returning informed him that she was princess Hind,
daughter of Al-Nu'uman. So Adi left the church, knowing not whither he
went, for excess of love, and reciting these two couplets,
"O friends of me, one favour more I pray: *
Unto the convents[FN#180] find more your way:
Turn me that so I face the land of Hind; *
Then go, and fairest greetings for me say."
Then he went to his lodging and lay that night, restless and without
appetite for the food of sleep.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Adi ended
his verses he went to his lodging and lay that night restless and
without appetite for the food of sleep. Now on the morrow Mariyah
accosted him and he received her kindly, though before he would not
incline to her, and said to her, "What is thy will?" Quoth she, "I have
a want of thee;" and quoth he, "Name it, for by Allah, thou shalt not
ask me aught, but I will give it thee!" So she told him that she loved
him, and her want of him was that he would grant her a lover's privacy;
and he agreed to do her will, on condition that she would serve him
with Hind and devise some device to bring them together. Then he took
her into a vintner's tavern in one of the by streets of Hirah, and lay
with her; after which she returned to Hind and asked her, "Dost thou
not long to see Adi?" She answered, "How can this be? Indeed my longing
for him makes me restless, and no repose is left me since yesterday."
Quoth Mariyah, "I will appoint him to be in such a place, where thou
canst look on him from the palace." Quoth Hind, "Do what thou wilt,"
and agreed with her upon the place. So Adi came, and the Princess
looked out upon him; and, when she saw him, she was like to topple down
from the palace top and said, "O Mariyah, except thou bring him in to
me this night, I shall die." So saying, she fell to the ground in a
fainting fit, and her serving women lifted her up and bore her into the
palace; whilst Mariyah hastened to Al-Nu'uman and discovered the whole
matter to him with perfect truth, telling him that indeed she was mad
for the love of Adi; and except he marry her to him she must be put to
shame and die of love for him, which would disgrace her father among
the Arabs, adding at the end, "There is no cure for this but wedlock."
The King bowed his head awhile in thought and exclaimed again and
again, "Verily, we are Allah's and unto Him we are returning!" Then
said he "Woe to thee! How shall the marriage be brought about, seeing I
mislike to open the matter?" And she said, "He is yet more ardently in
love and yet more desireful of her than she is of him; and I will so
order the affair that he shall be unaware of his case being known to
thee; but do not betray thyself, O King." Then she went to Adi and,
after acquainting him with everything said, "Make a feast and bid the
King thereto; and, when the wine hath gotten the better of him, ask of
him his daughter, for he will not refuse thee." Quoth Adi, "I fear lest
this enrage him against me and be the cause of enmity between us." But
quoth she, "I came not to thee, till I had settled the whole affair
with him." Then she returned to Al- Nu'uman and said to him, "Seek of
Adi that he entertain thee in his house." Replied the King, "There is
no harm in that;" and after three days, besought Adi to give him and
his lords the morning meal in his house. He consented and the King went
to him; and when the wine had taken effect on Al-Nu'uman, Adi rose and
sought of him his daughter in wedlock. He consented and married them
and brought her to him after three days; and they abode at Al-Nu'uman's
court, in all solace of life and its delight—And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Adi abode with
Hind bint Al-Nu'uman bin Munzir three years in all solace of life and
its delight, after which time the King was wroth with Adi and slew him.
Hind mourned for him with grievous mourning and built her an hermitage
outside the city, whither she retired and became a religious, weeping
and bewailing her husband till she died. And her hermitage is seen to
this day in the suburbs of Hirah. They also tell a tale of
DI'IBIL AL-KHUZA'I WITH THE LADY AND MUSLIM BIN AL-WALID.
Quoth Di'ibil al Khuzα'i[FN#181], "I was sitting one day at the gate of
Al Karkh,[FN#182] when a damsel came past. Never saw I a fairer faced
or better formed than she, walking with a voluptuous swaying gait and
ravishing all beholders with her lithe and undulating pace. Now as my
eyes fell on her, I was captivated by her and my vitals trembled and
meseemed my heart flew forth of my breast; so I stood before her and I
accosted her with this verse,
'The tears of these eyes find easy release; *
But sleep flies these eyelids without surcease.'
Whereon she turned her face and looking at me, straightway made answer
with this distich,
'A trifle this an his eyes be sore, *
When her eyes say 'yes' to his love's caprice!'
I was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the fluency of her
speech and rejoined with this verse,
'Say, cloth heart of my fair incline to him *
Whose tears like a swelling stream increase?'
And she answered me without hesitation, thus,
'If thou crave our love, know that love's a loan; *
And a debt to be paid by us twain a piece.'
Never entered my ears aught sweeter than her speech nor ever saw I
brighter than her face: so I changed rhyme and rhythm to try her, in my
wonder at her words, and repeated this couplet,
'Will Fate with joy of union ever bless our sight, *
And one desireful one with other one unite.'
She smiled at this (never saw I fairer than her mouth nor sweeter than
her lips), and answered me, without stay or delay, in the following
distich,
"Pray, tell me what hath Fate to do betwixt us twain? *
Thou'rt Elate: so bless our eyne with union and
delight.'
At this, I sprang up and fell to kissing her hands and cried, 'I had
not thought that Fortune would vouchsafe me such occasion. Do thou
follow me, not of bidding or against thy will, but of the grace of thee
and thy favour to me.' Then I went on and she after me. Now at that
time I had no lodging I deemed fit for the like of her; but Muslim bin
al-Walνd[FN#183] was my fast friend, and he had a handsome house. So I
made for his abode and knocked at the door, whereupon he came out, and
I saluted him, saying, 'Tis for time like this that friends are
treasured up'; and he replied, 'With love and gladness! Come in you
twain.' So we entered but found money scarce with him: however, he gave
me a kerchief, saying, 'Carry it to the bazar and sell it and buy food
and what else thou needest.' I took the handkerchief, and hastening to
the market, sold it and bought what we required of victuals and other
matters; but when I returned, I found that Muslim had retired, with her
to an underground chamber.[FN#184] When he heard my step he hurried out
and said to me, 'Allah requite thee the kindness thou hast done me, O
Abu Ali and reward thee in time to come and reckon it of thy good deeds
on the Day of Doom!' So saying, he took from me the food and wine and
shut the door in my face. His words enraged me and I knew not what to
do, but he stood behind the door, shaking for mirth; and, when he saw
me thus, he said to me, 'I conjure thee on my life, O Abu Ali, tell who
it was composed this couplet?,
'I lay in her arms all night, leaving him *
To sleep foul-hearted but clean of staff.'
At this my rage redoubled, and I replied, 'He who wrote this other
couplet',
'One, I wish him in belt a thousand horns, *
Exceeding in mighty height Manaf.'[FN#185]
Then I began to abuse him and reproach him with the foulness of his
action and his lack of honour; and he was silent, never uttering a
word. But, when I had finished, he smiled and said, 'Out on thee, O
fool! Thou hast entered my house and sold my kerchief and spent my
silver: so, with whom art thou wroth, O pimp?'[FN#186] Then he left me
and went away to her, whilst I said, 'By Allah, thou art right to twit
me as nincompoop and pander!' Then I left his door and went away in
sore concern, and I feel its trace in my heart to this very day; for I
never had my will of her nor, indeed, ever heard of her more." And
amongst other tales is that about
ISAAC OF MOSUL AND THE MERCHANT.
Quoth Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, "It so chanced that, one day
feeling weary of being on duty at the Palace and in attendance upon the
Caliph, I mounted horse and went forth, at break of dawn, having a mind
to ride out in the open country and take my pleasure. So I said to my
servants, 'If there come a messenger from the Caliph or another, say
that I set out at day break, upon a pressing business, and that ye know
not whither I am gone.' Then I fared forth alone and went round about
the city, till the sun waxed hot, when I halted in a great thoroughfare
known as Al Haram,"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak bin Ibrahim
the Mausili continued: "When the sun waxed hot I halted in a great
thoroughfare known as Al-Haram, to take shelter in the shade and found
it in a spacious wing of a house which projected over the street. And I
stood there but a little while before there came up a black slave,
leading an ass bestridden by a damsel; and under her were housings set
with gems and pearls and upon her were the richest of clothes, richness
can go no farther; and I saw that she was elegant of make with
languorous look and graceful mien. I asked one of the passers by who
she was, and he said, 'She is a singer,' so I fell in love with her at
first sight: hardly could I keep my seat on horseback. She entered the
house at whose gate I stood; and, as I was planning a device to gain
access to her, there came up two men young and comely who asked
admission and the housemaster gave them leave to enter. So they
alighted and I also and they entered and I with them, they supposing
that the master of the house had invited me; and we sat awhile, till
food was brought and we ate. Then they set wine before us, and the
damsel came out, with a lute in her hand. She sang and we drank, till I
rose to obey a call of nature. Thereupon the host questioned the two
others of me, and they replied that they knew me not; whereupon quoth
he, 'This is a parasite[FN#187]; but he is a pleasant fellow, so treat
him courteously.' Then I came back and sat down in my place, whilst the
damsel sang to a pleasing air these two couplets,
'Say to the she gazelle, who's no gazelle, *
And Kohl'd ariel who's no ariel.[FN#188]
Who lies with male, and yet no female is, *
Whose gait is female most unlike the male.'
She sang it right well, and the company drank and her song pleased
them. Then she carolled various pieces to rare measures, and amongst
the rest one of mine, which consisted of this distich,
'Bare hills and campground desolate *
And friends who all have ganged their gait.
How severance after union leaves *
Me and their homes in saddest state!'
Her singing this time was even better than the first; then she chanted
other rare pieces, old and new, and amongst them, another of mine with
the following two couplets,
'Say to angry lover who turns away, *
And shows thee his side whatso thou
'Thou wroughtest all that by thee was wrought, *
Albe 'twas haply thy sport and play.'
I prayed her to repeat the song, that I might correct it for her;
whereupon one of the two men accosted me and said, 'Never saw we a more
impudent lick platter than thou. Art thou not content with sponging,
but thou must eke meddle and muddle? Of very sooth, in thee is the
saying made true, Parasite and pushing wight.' So I hung down my head
for shame and made him no answer, whilst his companion would have
withheld him from me, but he would not be restrained. Presently, they
rose to pray, but I lagged behind a little and, taking the lute,
screwed up the sides and brought it into perfect tune. Then I stood up
in my place to pray with the rest; and when we had ended praying, the
same man fell again to blaming me and reviling me and persisted in his
rudeness, whilst I held my peace. Thereupon the damsel took the lute
and touching it, knew that it had been altered, and said, 'Who hath
touched my lute?' Quoth they, 'None of us hath touched it.' Quoth she,
'Nay, by Allah, some one hath touched it, and he is an artist, a past
master in the craft; for he hath arranged the strings and tuned them
like one who is a perfect performer.' Said I, 'It was I tuned it;' and
said she, 'Then, Allah upon thee, take it and play on it!' So I took
it; and, playing a piece so difficult and so rare, that it went nigh to
deaden the quick and quicken the dead, I sang thereto these couplets,
'I had a heart, and with it lived my life: *
'Twas seared with fire and burnt with loving-lowe:
I never won the blessing of her love; *
God would not on His slave such boon bestow:
If what I've tasted be the food of Love, *
Must taste it all men who love food would know.'"
—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ishak of Mosul
thus continued: "Now when I had finished my verse, there was not one of
the company but sprang from his place and sat down like schoolboys
before me, saying, 'Allah upon thee, O our lord, sing us another song.'
'With pleasure,' said I, and playing another measure in masterly
fashion, sang thereto these couplets,
'Ho thou whose heart is melted down by force of Amor's fire, *
And griefs from every side against thy happiness conspire:
Unlawful is that he who pierced my vitals with his shaft, * My
blood between my midriff and my breast bone[FN#189] he
desire,
'Twas plain, upon our severance day, that he had set his mind *
On an eternal parting, moved by tongue of envious liar:
He sheds my blood he ne'er had shed except by wound of love, *
Will none demand my blood of him, my wreck of him require?'
When I had made an end of this song, there was not one of them but rose
to his feet and threw himself upon the ground for excess of delight.
Then I cast the lute from my hand, but they said, 'Allah upon thee, do
not on this wise, but let us hear another song, so Allah Almighty
increase thee of His bounty!' Replied I, 'O folk, I will sing you
another song and another and another and will tell you who I am. I am
Ishak bin Ibrahim al Mausili, and by Allah, I bear myself proudly to
the Caliph when he seeketh me. Ye have today made me hear abuse from an
unmannerly carle such as I loathe; and by Allah, I will not speak a
word nor sit with you, till ye put yonder quarrelsome churl out from
among you!' Quoth the fellow's companion to him, 'This is what I warned
thee against, fearing for thy good name.' So they hent him by the hand
and thrust him out; and I took the lute and sang over again the songs
of my own composing which the damsel had sung. Then I whispered the
host that she had taken my heart and that I had no patience to abstain
from her. Quoth he 'She is thine on one condition.' I asked, 'What is
that?' and he answered, 'It is that thou abide with me a month, when
the damsel and all belonging to her of raiment and jewellery shall be
thine.' I rejoined, 'It is well, I will do this.' So I tarried with him
a whole month, whilst none knew where I was and the Caliph sought me
everywhere, but could come by no news of me; and at the end of this
time, the merchant delivered to me the damsel, together with all that
pertained to her of things of price and an eunuch to attend upon her.
So I brought all that to my lodging, feeling as I were lord of the
whole world, for exceeding delight in her; then I rode forthright to
Al-Maamun. And when I stood in the presence, he said, 'Woe to thee, O
Ishak, where hast thou been?' So I acquainted him with the story and he
said, 'Bring me that man at once.' Thereupon I told him where he lived
and he sent and fetched him and questioned him of the case; when he
repeated the story and the Caliph said to him, 'Thou art a man of right
generous mind, and it is only fitting that thou be aided in thy
generosity.' Then he ordered him an hundred thousand dirhams and said
to me, 'O Ishak, bring the damsel before me.' So I brought her to him,
and she sang and delighted him; and being greatly gladdened by her he
said to me, 'I appoint her turn of service every Thursday, when she
must come and sing to me from behind the curtain.' And he ordered her
fifty thousand dirhams, so by Allah, I profited both myself and others
by my ride." And amongst the tales they tell is one of
THE THREE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS.
Quoth Al-'Utbν[FN#190], "I was sitting one day with a company of
educated men, telling stories of the folk, when the talk turned upon
legends of lovers and each of us said his say thereanent. Now there was
in our company an old man, who remained silent, till all had spoken and
had no more to say, when quoth he, 'Shall I tell you a thing, the like
of which you never heard; no, never?' 'Yes,' quoth we; and he said,
'Know, then, that I had a daughter, who loved a youth, but we knew it
not; while the youth loved a singing girl, who in her turn loved my
daughter. One day, I was present at an assembly, wherein were also the
youth'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Tenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Shaykh
continued: 'One day, I was present at an assembly wherein were also the
youth and the singing girl and she chanted to us these couplets,
'Prove how Love bringeth low * Lover those tears that run
Lowering him still the more * When pity finds he none.'
Cried the youth, 'By Allah, thou hast said well, O my mistress.' Dost
thou incite me to die?' Answered the girl from behind the curtain,
'Yes, if thou be a true lover.' So he laid his head on a cushion and
closed his eyes; and when the cup came round to him, we shook him and
behold, he was dead.[FN#191] Therewith we all flocked to him, and our
pleasure was troubled and we grieved and broke up at once. When I came
home, my people took in bad part my returning before the appointed
time, and I told them what had befallen the youth, thinking that
thereby I should greatly surprise them. My daughter heard my words and
rising, went from the sitting chamber into another, whither I followed
her and found her lying with her head on a cushion, even as I had told
of the young man. So I shook her and lo! she was dead. Then we laid her
out and set forth next morning to bury her, whilst the friends of the
young man set forth in like guise to bury him. As we were on the way to
the burial place, we met a third funeral and asking whose it was, were
told that it was that of the singing girl who, hearing of my daughter's
death, had done even as she did and was dead. So we buried them all
three on one day, and this is the rarest tale that ever was heard of
lovers." And they also tell a tale of
HOW ABU HASAN BRAKE WIND.
They recount that in the City Kaukabαn of Al-Yaman there was a man of
the Fazlν tribe who had left Badawi life, and become a townsman for
many years and was a merchant of the most opulent merchants. His wife
had deceased when both were young; and his friends were instant with
him to marry again, ever quoting to him the words of the poet,
"Go, gossip! re-wed thee, for Prime draweth near:
A wife is an almanac—good for the year."
So being weary of contention, Abu Hasan entered into negotiations with
the old women who procure matches, and married a maid like Canopus when
he hangeth over the seas of Al-Hind. He made high festival therefor,
bidding to the wedding banquet kith and kin, Olema and Fakirs; friends
and foes and all his acquaintances of that countryside. The whole house
was thrown open to feasting: there were rices of five several colours,
and sherbets of as many more; and kids stuffed with walnuts and almonds
and pistachios and a camel colt[FN#192] roasted whole. So they ate and
drank and made mirth and merriment; and the bride was displayed in her
seven dresses and one more, to the women, who could not take their eyes
off her. At last, the bridegroom was summoned to the chamber where she
sat enthroned; and he rose slowly and with dignity from his divan; but
in so doing, for that he was over full of meat and drink, lo and
behold! he let fly a fart, great and terrible. Thereupon each guest
turned to his neighbour and talked aloud and made as though he had
heard nothing, fearing for his life. But a consuming fire was lit in
Abu Hasan's heart; so he pretended a call of nature; and, in lieu of
seeking the bride chamber, he went down to the house court and saddled
his mare and rode off, weeping bitterly, through the shadow of the
night. In time he reached Lαhej where he found a ship ready to sail for
India; so he shipped on board and made Calicut of Malabar. Here he met
with many Arabs, especially Hazramνs[FN#193], who recommended him to
the King; and this King (who was a Kafir) trusted him and advanced him
to the captainship of his body guard. He remained ten years in all
solace and delight of life; at the end of which time he was seized with
home sickness; and the longing to behold his native land was that of a
lover pining for his beloved; and he came near to die of yearning
desire. But his appointed day had not dawned; so, after taking the
first bath of health, he left the King without leave, and in due course
landed at Makallα of Hazramaut. Here he donned the rags of a religious;
and, keeping his name and case secret, fared for Kaukaban afoot;
enduring a thousand hardships of hunger, thirst and fatigue; and
braving a thousand dangers from the lion, the snake and the Ghul. But
when he drew near his old home, he looked down upon it from the hills
with brimming eyes, and said in himself, "Haply they might know thee;
so I will wander about the outskirts, and hearken to the folk. Allah
grant that my case be not remembered by them!" He listened carefully
for seven nights and seven days, till it so chanced that, as he was
sitting at the door of a hut, he heard the voice of a young girl
saying, "O my mother, tell me the day when I was born; for such an one
of my companions is about to take an omen[FN#194] for me." And the
mother answered, "Thou was born, O my daughter, on the very night when
Abu Hasan farted." Now the listener no sooner heard these words than he
rose up from the bench, and fled away saying to himself, "Verily thy
fart hath become a date, which shall last for ever and ever; even as
the poet said,
'As long as palms shall shift the flower; *
As long as palms shall sift the flour.'[FN#195]
And he ceased not travelling and voyaging and returned to India; and
there abode in self exile till he died; and the mercy of Allah be upon
him![FN#196] And they tell another story of
THE LOVERS OF THE BANU TAYY.