thou in thine after-pine for forbidden pleasures and how false is thy
pretence of repentance from frowardness!'" And another tale is that of
THE EMIR ALI BIN TAHIR AND THE GIRL MUUNIS.
Once on a time was displayed for sale to Ali bin Mohammed bin Abdallah
bin Tαhir[FN#252] a slave-girl called Muunis who was superior to her
fellows in beauty and breeding, and to boot an accomplished poetess;
and he asked her of her name. Replied she, "Allah advance the Emir, my
name is Muunis."[FN#253] Now he knew this before; so he bowed his head
awhile, then raising his eyes to her, recited this verse,
"What sayest of one by a sickness caught *
For the love of thy love till he waxed distraught?"
Answered she, "Allah exalt the Emir!" and recited this verse in reply,
"If we saw a lover who pains as he ought, *
Wi' love we would grant him all favours he sought."
She pleased him: so he bought her for seventy thousand dirhams and
begat on her Obayd' Allah bin Mohammed, afterwards minister of
Police.[FN#254] And we are told by Abu al-Aynα[FN#255] a tale of
THE WOMAN WHO HAD A BOY AND THE OTHER WHO HAD A MAN TO LOVER.
Quoth Abu al-Aynα, "There were in our street two women, one of whom had
for lover a man and the other a beardless youth, and they foregathered
one night on the terrace-roof of a house adjoining mine, knowing not
that I was near. Quoth the boy's lover to the other, 'O my sister, how
canst thou bear with patience the harshness of thy lover's beard as it
falleth on thy breast, when he busseth thee and his mustachios rub thy
cheek and lips?' Replied the other, 'Silly that thou art, what decketh
the tree save its leaves and the cucumber but its warts?[FN#256] Didst
ever see in the world aught uglier than a scald-head bald of his beard?
Knowest thou not that the beard is to men as the sidelocks to women;
and what is the difference between chin and cheek?[FN#257] Knowest thou
not that Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) hath created an angel in
Heaven, who saith: 'Glory be to Him who ornamenteth men with beards and
women with long hair?' So, were not the beard even as the tresses in
comeliness, it had not been coupled with them, O silly! How shall I
spread-eagle myself under a boy, who will emit long before I can go off
and forestall me in limpness of penis and clitoris; and leave a man
who, when he taketh breath clippeth close and when he entereth goeth
leisurely, and when he hath done, repeateth, and when he pusheth poketh
hard, and as often as he withdraweth, returneth?' The boy's leman was
edified by her speech and said, 'I forswear my lover by the lord of the
Ka'abah!'" And amongst tales is one of
ALI THE CAIRENE AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD.
There lived once, in the city of Cairo, a merchant who had great store
of monies and bullion, gems and jewels, and lands and houses beyond
count, and his name was Hasan the Jeweller, the Baghdad man.
Furthermore Allah had blessed him with a son of perfect beauty and
brilliancy; rosy-cheeked, fair of face and well-figured, whom he named
Ali of Cairo, and had taught the Koran and science and elocution and
the other branches of polite education, till he became proficient in
all manner of knowledge. He was under his father's hand in trade but,
after a while, Hasan fell sick and his sickness grew upon him, till he
made sure of death; so he called his son to him,—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Jeweller, the Baghdadi, fell sick and made sure of death, he called to
him his son, named Ali of Cairo, and said, "O my son, verily this world
passeth away; but the next world endureth for aye. Every soul shall
taste of death;[FN#258] and now, O my son, my decease is at hand and I
desire to charge thee with a charge, which if thou observe, thou shalt
abide in safety and prosperity, till thou meet Almighty Allah; but if
thou follow it not, there shall befal thee much weariness and thou wilt
repent of having transgressed mine injunctions." Replied Ali, "O my
father, how shall I do other than hearken to thy words and act
according to thy charge, seeing that I am bounden by the law of the
Faith to obey thee and give ear to thy command?" Rejoined his father,
"O my son, I leave thee lands and houses and goods and wealth past
count; so that wert thou each day to spend thereof five hundred dinars,
thou wouldst miss naught of it. But, O my son, look that thou live in
the fear of Allah and follow His Chosen One, Mustafa, (whom may He
bless and preserve!) in whatso he is reported to have bidden and
forbidden in his traditional law.[FN#259] Be thou constant in
alms-deeds and the practice of beneficence and in consorting with men
of worth and piety and learning; and look that thou have a care for the
poor and needy and shun avarice and meanness and the conversation of
the wicked or those of suspicious character. Look thou kindly upon thy
servants and family, and also upon thy wife, for she is of the
daughters of the great and is big with child by thee; haply Allah will
vouchsafe thee virtuous issue by her." And he ceased not to exhort him
thus, weeping and saying, "O my son, I beseech Allah the Bountiful, the
Lord of the glorious Empyrean[FN#260] to deliver thee from all straits
that may encompass thee and grant thee His ready relief!" Thereupon his
son wept with sore weeping and said, "O my father, I am melted by thy
words, for these are as the words of one that saith farewell." Replied
the merchant, "Yes, O my son, I am aware of my condition: forget thou
not my charge." Then he fell to repeating the two professions of the
Faith and to reciting verses of the Koran, until the appointed hour
arrived, when he said, "Draw near unto me, O my son." So Ali drew near
and he kissed him; then he sighed and his soul departed his body and he
went to the mercy of Almighty Allah.[FN#261] Therewith great grief fell
upon Ali; the clamour of keening arose in his house and his father's
friends flocked to him. Then he betook himself to preparing the body
for burial and made him a splendid funeral. They bore his bier to the
place of prayer and prayed over him, then to the cemetery, where they
buried him and recited over him what suited of the sublime Koran; after
which they returned to the house and condoled with the dead man's son
and wended each his own way. Moreover, Ali prayed the Friday prayer for
his father and had perlections of the Koran every day for the normal
forty, during which time he abode in the house and went not forth, save
to the place of prayer; and every Friday he visited his father's tomb.
So he ceased not from his praying and reciting for some time, until his
fellows of the sons of the merchants came in to him one day and
saluting him, said, "How long this thy mourning and neglecting thy
business and the company of thy friends? Verily, this is a fashion
which will bring thee weariness, and thy body will suffer for it
exceedingly." Now when they came in to him, Iblis the Accursed was with
them, prompting them; and they went on to recommend him to accompany
them to the bazar, whilst Iblis tempted him to consent to them, till he
yielded,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the sons of
the merchants went in to Ali the Cairene, son of Hasan the Jeweller,
they recommended him to accompany them to the bazar, till he yielded,
that the will of Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) might be
fulfilled; and he left the house of mourning with them. Presently they
said, "Mount thy she-mule and ride with us to such a garden, that we
may solace us there and that thy grief and despondency may depart from
thee." So he mounted and taking his slave, went with them to the garden
in question; and when they entered one of them went and making ready
the morning-meal, brought it to them there. So they ate and were merry
and sat in talk, till the end of the day, when they mounted and
returned each to his own lodging, where they passed the night. As soon
as the morrow dawned, they again visited Ali and said, "Come with us."
Asked he, "Whither?"; and they answered, "To such a garden; for it is
finer than the first and more pleasurable." So he went with them to the
garden, and one of them, going away, made ready the morning-meal and
brought it to them, together with strong heady wine; and after eating,
they brought out the wine, when quoth Ali, "What is this? and quoth
they, "This is what dispelleth sadness and brighteneth gladness. And
they ceased not to commend it to him, till they prevailed upon him and
he drank with them. Then they sat, drinking and talking, till the end
of the day, when each returned home. But as for Ali, the Cairene, he
was giddy with wine and in this plight went in to his wife, who said to
him, "What aileth thee that thou art so changed?" He said, "We were
making merry to-day, when one of my companions brought us liquor; so my
friends drank and I with them, and this giddiness came upon me." And
she replied, "O my lord, say me, hast thou forgotten thy father's
injunction and done that from which he forbade thee, in consorting with
doubtful folk?" Answered he, "These be of the sons of the merchants;
they are no suspicious folk, only lovers of mirth and good cheer." And
he continued to lead this life with his friends, day after day, going
from place to place and feasting with them and drinking, till they said
to him, "Our turns are ended, and now it is thy turn." "Well come, and
welcome and fair cheer!" cried he; so on the morrow, he made ready all
that the case called for of meat and drink, two-fold what they had
provided, and taking cooks and tent-pitchers and coffee-makers,[FN#262]
repaired with the others to Al-Rauzah[FN#263] and the Nilometer, where
they abode a whole month, eating and drinking and hearing music and
making merry. At the end of the month, Ali found that he had spent a
great sum of money; but Iblis the Accursed deluded him and said to him,
"Though thou shouldst spend every day a like sum yet wouldst thou not
miss aught of it." So he took no account of money expenses and
continued this way of life for three years, whilst his wife
remonstrated with him and reminded him of his father's charge; but he
hearkened not to her words, till he had spent all the ready monies he
had, when he fell to selling his jewels and spending their price, until
they also were all gone. Then he sold his houses, fields, farms and
gardens, one after other, till they likewise were all gone and he had
nothing left but the tenement wherein he lived. So he tore out the
marble and wood-work and sold it and spent of its price, till he had
made an end of all this also, when he took thought with himself and,
finding that he had nothing left to expend, sold the house itself and
spent the purchase-money. After that, the man who had bought the house
came to him and said "Seek out for thyself a lodging, as I have need of
my house." So he bethought himself and, finding that he had no want of
a house, except for his wife, who had borne him a son and daughter (he
had not a servant left), he hired a large room in one of the mean
courts[FN#264] and there took up his abode, after having lived in
honour and luxury, with many eunuchs and much wealth; and he soon came
to want one day's bread. Quoth his wife, "Of this I warned thee and
exhorted thee to obey thy father's charge, and thou wouldst not hearken
to me; but there is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah,
the Glorious, the Great! Whence shall the little ones eat? Arise then,
go round to thy friends, the sons of the merchants: belike they will
give thee somewhat on which we may live this day." So he arose and went
to his friends one by one; but they all hid their faces from him and
gave him injurious words revolting to hear, but naught else; and he
returned to his wife and said to her, "They have given me nothing."
Thereupon she went forth to beg of her neighbours the wherewithal to
keep themselves alive,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the wife of Ali
the Cairene, seeing her husband return empty-handed, went forth to beg
of her neighbours the wherewithal to keep themselves alive and repaired
to a woman, whom she had known in former days. When she came in to her
and she saw her case, she rose and receiving her kindly, wept and said,
"What hath befallen you?" So she told her all that her husband had
done, and the other replied, "Well come and welcome and fair cheer!;
whatever thou needest, Seek it of me, without price." Quoth she, "Allah
requite thee abundantly!"[FN#265] Then her friend gave her as much
provision as would suffice herself and her family a whole month, and
she took it and returned to her lodging. When her husband saw her, he
wept and asked, "Whence hadst thou that?"; and she answered, "I got it
of such a woman; for, when I told her what had befallen us, she failed
me not in aught, but said, 'Seek of me all thou needest.'" Whereupon
her husband rejoined, "Since thou hast this much I will betake myself
to a place I have in my mind; peradventure Allah Almighty will bring us
relief."[FN#266] With these words he took leave of her and kissed his
children and went out, not knowing whither he should go, and he
continued walking on till he came to Bulαk, where he saw a ship about
to sail for Damietta.[FN#267] Here he met a man, between whom and his
father there had been friendship, and he saluted him and said to him,
"Whither now?" Replied Ali, "To Damietta: I have friends there, whom I
would enquire after and visit them and then return." The man took him
home and treated him honourably; then, furnishing him with vivers for
the voyage and giving him some gold pieces, embarked him on board the
vessel bound for Damietta. When they reached it, Ali landed, not
knowing whither to go; but as he was walking along, a merchant saw him
and had pity on him, and carried him to his house. Here he abode
awhile, after which he said in himself, "How long this sojourning in
other folk's homes?" Then he left the merchant's place and walked to
the wharf where, after enquiry, he found a ship ready to sail for
Syria. His hospitable host provided him with provision and embarked him
in the ship; and it set sail and Ali reached in due season the Syrian
shores where he disembarked and journeyed till he entered Damascus. As
he walked about the great thoroughfare behold, a kindly man saw him and
took him to his house, where he tarried for a time till, one day, going
abroad, he saw a caravan about to start for Baghdad and bethought
himself to journey thither with it. Thereupon he returned to his host
and taking leave of him, set out with the Cafilah. Now Allah (extolled
and exalted be He!) inclined to him the heart of one of the merchants,
so that he took him with him, and Ali ate and drank with him, till they
came within one day's journey of Baghdad. Here, however, a company of
highwaymen fell upon the caravan and took all they had and but few of
the merchants escaped. These made each for a separate place of refuge;
but as for Ali the Cairene he fared for Baghdad, where he arrived at
sundown, as the gatekeepers were about to shut the gates, and said to
them, "Let me in with you." They admitted him and asked him, "Whence
come, and whither wending?" and he answered, "I am a man from
Cairo-city and have with me mules laden with merchandise and slaves and
servants. I forewent them, to look me out a place wherein to deposit my
goods: but, as I rode along on my she-mule, there fell upon me a
company of banditti, who took my mule and gear; nor did I escape from
them but at my last gasp." The gate-guard entreated him honourably and
bade him be of good cheer, saying, "Abide with us this night, and in
the morning we will look thee out a place befitting thee." Then he
sought in his breast-pocket and, finding a dinar of those given to him
by the merchant at Bulak, handed it to one of the gatekeepers, saying,
"Take this and change it and bring us something to eat." The man took
it and went to the market, where he changed it, and brought Ali bread
and cooked meat: so he ate, he and the gate-guards, and he lay the
night with them. Now on the morrow, one of the warders carried him to a
certain of the merchants of Baghdad, to whom he told the same story,
and he believed him, deeming that he was a merchant and had with him
loads of merchandise. Then he took him up into his shop and entreated
him with honour; moreover, he sent to his house for a splendid suit of
his own apparel for him and carried him to the Hammam. "So," quoth Ali
of Cairo: "I went with him to the bath, and when we came out, he took
me and brought me to his house, where he set the morning-meal before
us, and we ate and made merry. Then said he to one of his black slaves,
'Ho Mas'dd, take this thy lord: show him the two houses standing in
such a place, and whichever pleaseth him, give him the key of it and
come back.' So I went with the slave, till we came to a street-road
where stood three houses side by side, newly built and yet shut up. He
opened the first and I looked at it; and we did the same to the second;
after which he said to me 'Of which shall I give thee the key?' 'To
whom doth the big house belong?' 'To us!' 'Open it, that I may view
it.' 'Thou hast no business there.' 'Wherefore?' 'Because it is
haunted, and none nighteth there but in the morning he is a dead man;
nor do we use to open the door, when removing the corpse, but mount the
terrace-roof of one of the other two houses and take it up thence. For
this reason my master hath abandoned the house and saith: 'I will never
again give it to any one.' 'Open it,' I cried, 'that I may view it;'
and I said in my mind, 'This is what I seek; I will pass the night
there and in the morning be a dead man and be at peace from this my
case.' So he opened it and I entered and found it a splendid house,
without its like; and I said to the slave, 'I will have none other than
this house; give me its key.' But he rejoined, 'I will not give thee
this key till I consult my master,'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the negro
(continued Ali of Cairo) "rejoined, 'I will not give thee its key till
I consult my master,'" and going to him, reported, "'The Egyptian
trader saith, 'I will lodge in none but the big house.'" Now when the
merchant heard this, he rose and coming to Ali, spake thus to him, "O
my lord, thou hast no need of this house." But he answered, "I will
lodge in none other than this; for I care naught for this silly
saying." Quoth the other, "Write me an acknowledgment that, if aught
happen to thee, I am not responsible." Quoth Ali, "So be it;" whereupon
the merchant fetched an assessor from the Kazi's court and, taking the
prescribed acknowledgment, delivered to him the key wherewith he
entered the house. The merchant sent him bedding by a blackamoor who
spread it for him on the built bench behind the door[FN#268] and walked
away. Presently Ali went about and, seeing in the inner court a well
with a bucket, let this down and drew water, wherewith he made the
lesser ablution and prayed the obligatory prayers. Then he sat awhile,
till the slave brought him the evening meal from his master's house,
together with a lamp, a candle and candlestick, a basin and ewer and a
gugglet[FN#269]; after which he left him and returned home. Ali lighted
the candle, supped at his ease and prayed the night-prayer; and
presently he said to himself, "Come, take the bedding and go upstairs
and sleep there; 'twill be better than here." So he took the bed and
carried it upstairs, where he found a splendid saloon, with gilded
ceiling and floor and walls cased with coloured marbles. He spread his
bed there and sitting down, began to recite somewhat of the Sublime
Koran, when (ere he was ware) he heard one calling to him and asking,
"O Ali, O son of Hasan, say me, shall I send thee down the gold?" And
he answered, "Where be the gold thou hast to send?" But hardly had he
spoken, when gold pieces began to rain down on him, like stones from a
catapult, nor ceased till the saloon was full. Then, after the golden
shower, said the Voice, "Set me free, that I may go my way; for I have
made an end of my service and have delivered unto thee that which was
entrusted to me for thee." Quoth Ali, "I adjure thee, by Allah the
Almighty, to tell me the cause of this gold-rain." Replied the Voice,
"This is a treasure that was talisman'd to thee of old time, and to
every one who entered the house, we used to come and say: 'O Ali, O son
of Hasan, shall we send thee down the gold?' Whereat he would be
affrighted and cry out, and we would come down to him and break his
neck and go away. But, when thou camest and we accosted thee by thy
name and that of thy father, saying, 'Shall we send thee down the
gold?' and thou madest answer to us, 'And where be the gold?' we knew
thee for the owner of it and sent it down. Moreover, there is yet
another hoard for thee in the land of Al-Yaman and thou wouldst do well
to journey thither and fetch it. And now I would fain have thee set me
free, that I may go my way." Said Ali, "By Allah, I will not set thee
free, till thou bring me hither the treasure from the land of
Al-Yaman!" Said the Voice, "An I bring it to thee, wilt thou release me
and eke the servant of the other hoard?" "Yes," replied Ali, and the
Voice cried, "Swear to me." So he swore to him, and he was about to go
away, when Ali said to him, "I have one other need to ask of thee;" and
he, "What is that?" Quoth Ali, "I have a wife and children at Cairo in
such a place; thou needs must fetch them to me, at their ease and
without their unease." Quoth he, "I will bring them to thee in a
mule-litter[FN#270] and much state, with a train of eunuchs and
servants, together with the treasure from Al-Yaman, Inshallah!"[FN#271]
Then he took of him leave of absence for three days, when all this
should be with him, and vanished. As soon as it was morning Ali went
round about the saloon, seeking a place wherein to store the gold, and
saw on the edge of the dais a marble slab with a turning-pin; so he
turned the pin and the slab sank and showed a door which he opened and
entering, found a great closet, full of bags of coarse stuff carefully
sewn. So he began taking out the bags and fell to filling them with
gold and storing them in the closet, till he had transported thither
all the hoarded gold, whereupon he shut the door and turning the pin,
the slab returned to its place. Then he went down and seated himself on
the bench behind the door; and presently there came a knock; so he
opened and found the merchant's slave who, seeing him comfortably
sitting, returned in haste to his master,—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Four Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,