to great delight and his sister said to him, "O my brother, whoso
decideth in aught against himself, him it behoveth to abide by it and
do according to his word; and thou hast judged against thyself by this
judgement." Then said she, "O Ni'amah, stand up and do thou likewise up
stand, O Naomi!" So they stood up and she continued, "O Prince of True
Believers, she who standeth before thee is Naomi the stolen, whom
Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Sakafi kidnapped and sent to thee, falsely
pretending in his letter to thee that he had bought her for ten
thousand gold pieces. And this other who standeth before thee is her
lord, Ni'amah, son of Al-Rabi'a; and I beseech thee, by the honour of
thy pious forebears and by Hamzah and Ukayl and Abbas,[FN#20] to pardon
them both and overlook their offence and bestow them one on the other,
that thou mayst win rich reward in the next world of thy just dealing
with them; for they are under thy hand and verily they have eaten of
thy meat and drunken of thy drink; and behold, I make intercession for
them and beg of thee the boon of their blood." Thereupon quoth the
Caliph, "Thou speakest sooth: I did indeed give judgement as thou
sayst, and I am not one to pass sentence and to revoke it." Then said
he, "O Naomi, say, be this thy lord?" And she answered "Even so, O
Commander of the Faithful." Then quoth he, "No harm shall befall you, I
give you each to other;" adding to the young man, "O Ni'amah, who told
thee where she was and taught thee how to get at this place?" He
replied, "O Commander of the Faithful, hearken to my tale and give ear
to my history; for, by the virtue of thy pious forefathers, I will hide
nothing from thee!" And he told him all that had passed between himself
and the Persian physician and the old nurse, and how she had brought
him into the palace and he had mistaken the doors; whereat the Caliph
wondered with exceeding wonder and said, "Fetch me the Persian." So
they brought him into the presence and he was made one of his chief
officers. Moreover the King bestowed on him robes of honour and ordered
him a handsome present, saying, "When a man hath shown like this man
such artful management, it behoveth us to make him one of our chief
officers." The Caliph also loaded Ni'amah and Naomi with gifts and
honours and rewarded the old nurse; and they abode with him seven days
in joy and content and all delight of life, when Ni'amah craved leave
to return to Cufa with his slave-girl. The Caliph gave them permission
and they departed and arrived in due course at Cufa, where Ni'amah was
restored to his father and mother, and they abode in all the joys and
jollities of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights
and the Sunderer of societies. Now when Amjad and As'ad heard from
Bahram this story, they marvelled with extreme marvel and said, "By
Allah, this is indeed a rare tale!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad and
As'ad heard this story from Bahram the Magian who had become a Moslem,
they marvelled with extreme marvel and thus passed that night; and when
the next morning dawned, they mounted and riding to the palace, sought
an audience of the King who granted it and received them with high
honour. Now as they were sitting together talking, of a sudden they
heard the towns folk crying aloud and shouting to one another and
calling for help; and the Chamberlain came in to the King and said to
him, "Some King hath encamped before the city, he and his host, with
arms and weapons displayed, and we know not their object and aim." The
King took counsel with his Wazir Amjad and his brother As'ad; and Amjad
said, "I will go out to him and learn the cause of his coming." So he
took horse and, riding forth from the city, repaired to the stranger's
camp, where he found the King and with him a mighty many and mounted
Mamelukes. When the guards saw him, they knew him for an envoy from the
King of the city; so they took him and brought him before their Sultan.
Then Amjad kissed the ground before him; but lo! the King was a Queen,
who was veiled with a mouth-veil, and she said to Amjad, "Know that I
have no design on this your city and that I am come hither only in
quest of a beardless slave of mine, whom if I find with you, I will do
you no harm, but if I find him not, then shall there befall sore
onslaught between me and you." Asked Amjad, "O Queen, what like is thy
slave and what is his story and what may be his name?" Said she, "His
name is As'ad and my name is Marjanah, and this slave came to my town
in company of Bahram, a Magian, who refused to sell him to me; so I
took him by force, but his master fell upon him by night and bore him
away by stealth and he is of such and such a favour." When Amjad heard
that, he knew it was indeed his brother As'ad whom she sought and said
to her, "O Queen of the age, Alhamdolillah, praised be Allah, who hath
brought us relief! Verily this slave whom thou seekest is my brother."
Then he told her their story and all that had befallen them in the land
of exile, and acquainted her with the cause of their departure from the
Islands of Ebony, whereat she marvelled and rejoiced to have found
As'ad. So she bestowed a dress of honour upon Amjad and he returned
forthright to the King and told him what had passed, at which they all
rejoiced and the King went forth with Amjad and As'ad to meet Queen
Marjanah. When they were admitted to her presence and sat down to
converse with her and were thus pleasantly engaged, behold, a dust
cloud rose and flew and grew, till it walled the view. And after a
while it lifted and showed beneath it an army dight for victory, in
numbers like the swelling sea, armed and armoured cap-а-pie who, making
for the city, encompassed it around as the ring encompasseth the little
finger;[FN#21] and a bared brand was in every hand. When Amjad and
As'ad saw this, they exclaimed, "Verily to Allah we belong and to Him
we shall return! What is this mighty host? Doubtless, these are
enemies, and except we agree with this Queen Marjanah to fight them,
they will take the town from us and slay us. There is no resource for
us but to go out to them and see who they are." So Amjad arose and took
horse and passed through the city gate to Queen Marjanah's camp; but
when he reached the approaching army he found it to be that of his
grand sire, King Ghayur, father of his mother Queen Budur.—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Amjad
reached the approaching host, he found it to be that of his grandsire,
Lord of the Isles and the Seas and the Seven Castles; and when he went
into the presence, he kissed the ground between his hands and delivered
to him the message. Quoth the King, "My name is King Ghayur and I come
wayfaring in quest of my daughter Budur whom fortune hath taken from
me, for she left me and returned not to me, nor have I heard any
tidings of her or of her husband Kamar al-Zaman. Have ye any news of
them?" When Amjad heard this, he hung his head towards the ground for a
while in thought till he felt assured that this King was none other
than his grandfather, his mother's father; where upon he raised his
head and, kissing ground before him, told him that he was the son of
his daughter Budur; on hearing which Ghayur threw himself upon him and
they both fell a weeping.[FN#22] Then said Ghayur, "Praised be Allah, O
my son, for safety, since I have foregathered with thee," and Amjad
told him that his daughter Budur was safe and sound, and her husband
Kamar al-Zaman likewise, and acquainted him that both abode in a city
called the City of Ebony. Moreover, he related to him how his father,
being wroth with him and his brother, had commended that both be put to
death, but that his treasurer had taken pity on them and let them go
with their lives. Quoth King Ghayur, "I will go back with thee and thy
brother to your father and make your peace with him." So Amjad kissed
the ground before him in huge delight and the King bestowed a dress of
honour upon him, after which he returned, smiling, to the King of the
City of the Magians and told him what he had learnt from King Ghayur,
whereat he wondered with exceeding wonder. Then he despatched
guest-gifts of sheep and horses and camels and forage and so forth to
King Ghayur, and did the like by Queen Marjanah; and both of them told
her what chanced; whereupon quoth she, "I too will accompany you with
my troops and will do my endeavour to make this peace." Meanwhile
behold, there arose another dust cloud and flew and grew till it walled
the view and blackened the day's bright hue; and under it they heard
shouts and cries and neighing of steeds and beheld sword glance and the
glint of levelled lance. When this new host drew near the city and saw
the two other armies, they beat their drums and the King of the Magians
exclaimed, "This is indeed naught but a blessed day. Praised be Allah
who hath made us of accord with these two armies; and if it be His
will, He shall give us peace with yon other as well." Then said he to
Amjad and As'ad, "Fare forth and fetch us news of these troops, for
they are a mighty host, never saw I a mightier." So they opened the
city gates, which the King had shut for fear of the beleaguering
armies, and Amjad and As'ad went forth and, coming to the new host,
found that it was indeed a mighty many. But as soon as they came to it
behold, they knew that it was the army of the King of the Ebony
Islands, wherein was their father, King Kamar al-Zaman in person. Now
when they looked upon him, they kissed ground and wept; but, when he
beheld them, he threw himself upon them weeping, with sore weeping, and
strained them to his breast for a full hour. Then he excused himself to
them and told them what desolation he had suffered for their loss and
exile; and they acquainted him with King Ghayur's arrival, whereupon he
mounted with his chief officers and taking with him his two sons,
proceeded to that King's camp. As they drew near, one of the Princes
rode forward and informed King Ghayur of Kamar al-Zaman's coming,
whereupon he came out to meet him and they joined company, marvelling
at these things and how they had chanced to foregather in that place.
Then the townsfolk made them banquets of all manner of meats and
sweetmeats and presented to them horses and camels and fodder and other
guest-gifts and all that the troops needed. And while this was doing,
behold, yet another cloud of dust arose and flew till it walled the
view, whilst earth trembled with the tramp of steed and tabors sounded
like stormy winds. After a while, the dust lifted and discovered an
army clad in coats of mail and armed cap-а-pie; but all were in black
garb, and in their midst rode a very old man whose beard flowed down
over his breast and he also was clad in black. When the King of the
city and the city folk saw this great host, he said to the other Kings,
"Praised be Allah by whose omnipotent command ye are met here, all in
one day, and have proved all known one to the other! But what vast and
victorious army is this which hemmeth in the whole land like a wall?"
They answered, "Have no fear of them; we are three Kings, each with a
great army, and if they be enemies, we will join thee in doing battle
with them, were they three times as many as they now are." Meanwhile,
up came an envoy from the approaching host, making for the city. So
they brought him before Kamar al-Zaman, King Ghayur, Queen Marjanah and
the King of the city; and he kissed the ground and said, "My liege lord
cometh from Persia-land; for many years ago he lost his son and he is
seeking him in all countries. If he find him with you, well and good;
but if he find him not, there will be war between him and you and he
will waste your city." Rejoined Kamar al-Zaman, "It shall not come to
that; but how is thy master called in Ajam land?" Answered the envoy,
"He is called King Shahriman, lord of the Khбlidan Islands; and he hath
levied these troops in the lands traversed by him, whilst seeking his
son." No-vv when Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, he cried out with a
great cry and fell down in a fainting fit which lasted a long while;
and anon coming to himself he wept bitter tears and said to Amjad and
As'ad, "Go ye, O my sons, with the herald, salute your grandfather and
my father, King Shahriman and give him glad tidings of me, for he
mourneth my loss and even to the present time he weareth black raiment
for my sake." Then he told the other Kings all that had befallen him in
the days of his youth, at which they wondered and, going down with him
from the city, repaired to his father, whom he saluted, and they
embraced and fell to the ground senseless for excess of joy. And when
they revived after a while, Kamar al-Zaman acquainted his father with
all his adventures and the other Kings saluted Shahriman. Then, after
having married Marjanah to As'ad, they sent her back to her kingdom,
charging her not to cease correspondence with them; so she took leave
and went her way. Moreover they married Amjad to Bostan, Bahram's
daughter, and they all set out for the City of Ebony. And when they
arrived there, Kamar al-Zaman went in to his father-in-law, King
Armanus, and told him all that had befallen him and how he had found
his sons; whereat Armanus rejoiced and gave him joy of his safe return.
Then King Ghayur went in to his daughter, Queen Budur,[FN#23] and
saluted her and quenched his longing for her company, and they all
abode a full month's space in the City of Ebony; after which the King
and his daughter returned to their own country.—And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say,
When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that King Ghayur set
out with his daughter and his host for his own land, and they took with
them Amjad and returned home by easy marches. And when Ghayur was
settled again in his kingdom, he made his grandson King in his stead;
and as to Kamar al-Zaman he also made As'ad king in his room over the
capital of the Ebony Islands, with the consent of his grandfather, King
Armanus and set out himself, with his father, King Shahriman, till the
two made the Islands of Khбlidan. Then the lieges decorated the city in
their honour and they ceased not to beat the drums for glad tidings a
whole month; nor did Kamar al-Zaman leave to govern in his father's
place, till there overtook them the Destroyer of delights and the
Sunderer of societies; and Allah knoweth all things! Quoth King
Shahryar, "O Shahrazad, this is indeed a most wonderful tale!" And she
answered, "O King, it is not more wonderful than that of
ALA AL-DIN ABU AL-SHAMAT.[FN#24]
"What is that?" asked he, and she said, It hath reached me that there
lived, in times of yore and years and ages long gone before, a merchant
of Cairo[FN#25] named Shams al-Din, who was of the best and truest
spoken of the traders of the city; and he had eunuchs and servants and
negro-slaves and handmaids and Mame lukes and great store of money.
Moreover, he was Consul[FN#26] of the Merchants of Cairo and owned a
wife, whom he loved and who loved him; except that he had lived with
her forty years, yet had not been blessed with a son or even a
daughter. One day, as he sat in his shop, he noted that the merchants,
each and every, had a son or two sons or more sitting in their shops
like their sires. Now the day being Friday, he entered the Hammam-bath
and made the total-ablution: after which he came out and took the
barber's glass and looked in it, saying, "I testify that there is no
god but the God and I testify that Mohammed is the Messenger of God!"
Then he considered his beard and, seeing that the white hairs in it
covered the black, bethought himself that hoariness is the harbinger of
death. Now his wife knew the time of his coming home and had washed and
made herself ready for him, so when he came in to her, she said, "Good
evening," but he replied "I see no good." Then she called to the
handmaid, "Spread the supper-tray;" and when this was done quoth she to
her husband "Sup, O my lord." Quoth he, "I will eat nothing," and
pushing the tray away with his foot, turned his back upon her. She
asked, "Why dost thou thus? and what hath vexed thee?"; and he
answered, "Thou art the cause of my vexation."—And Shahrazed perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say,
When it was the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Shams al-Din said
to his wife, "Thou art the cause of my vexation." She asked,
"Wherefore?" and he answered, "When I opened my shop this morning, I
saw that each and every of the merchants had with him a son or two sons
or more, sitting in their shops like their fathers; and I said to
myself:—He who took thy sire will not spare thee. Now the night I first
visited thee,[FN#27] thou madest me swear that I would never take a
second wife over thee nor a concubine, Abyssinian or Greek or handmaid
of other race; nor would lie a single night away from thee: and behold,
thou art barren, and having thee is like boring into the rock."
Rejoined she, "Allah is my witness that the fault lies with thee, for
that thy seed is thin." He asked, "And what showeth the man whose semen
is thin?" And she answered, "He cannot get women with child, nor beget
children." Quoth he, "What thickeneth the seed? tell me and I will buy
it: haply, it will thicken mine." Quoth she, "Enquire for it of the
druggists." So he slept with her that night and arose on the morrow,
repenting of having spoken angrily to her; and she also regretted her
cross words. Then he went to the market and, finding a druggist,
saluted him; and when his salutation was returned said to him, "Say,
hast thou with thee a seed-thickener?" He replied, "I had it, but am
out of it: enquire thou of my neighbour." Then Shams al-Din made the
round till he had asked every one, but they all laughed at him, and
presently he returned to his shop and sat down, sore troubled. Now
there was in the bazar a man who was Deputy Syndic of the brokers and
was given to the use of opium and electuary and green hashish.[FN#28]
He was called Shaykh Mohammed Samsam and being poor he used to wish
Shams al-Din good morrow every day. So he came to him according to his
custom and saluted him. The merchant returned his salute, but in
ill-temper, and the other, seeing him vexed, said, "O my lord, what
hath crossed thee?" Thereupon Shams al-Din told him all that occurred
between himself and his wife, adding, "These forty years have I been
married to her yet hath she borne me neither son nor daughter; and they
say:—The cause of thy failure to get her with child is the thinness of
thy seed; so I have been seeking a some thing wherewith to thicken my
semen but found it not." Quoth Shaykh Mohammed, "O my lord, I have a
seed-thickener, but what wilt thou say to him who causeth thy wife to
conceive by thee after these forty years have passed?" Answered the
merchant, "If thou do this, I will work thy weal—and reward thee."
"Then give me a dinar," rejoined the broker, and Shams al-Din said,
"Take these two dinars." He took them and said, "Give me also yonder
big bowl of porcelain." So he gave it to him and the broker betook
himself to a hashish-seller, of whom he bought two ounces of
concentrated Roumi opium and equal-parts of Chinese cubebs, cinnamon,
cloves, cardamoms, ginger, white pepper and mountain skink[FN#29]; and,
pounding them all together, boiled them in sweet olive-oil; after which
he added three ounces of male frankincense in fragments and a cupful of
coriander-seed; and, macerating the whole, made it into an electuary
with Roumi bee honey. Then he put the confection in the bowl and
carried it to the merchant, to whom he delivered it, saying, "Here is
the seed-thickener, and the manner of using it is this. Take of my
electuary with a spoon after supping, and wash it down with a sherbet
made of rose conserve; but first sup off mutton and house pigeon
plentifully seasoned and hotly spiced." So the merchant bought all this
and sent the meat and pigeons to his wife, saying, "Dress them deftly
and lay up the seed-thickener until I want it and call for it." She did
his bidding and, when she served up the meats, he ate the evening meal,
after which he called for the bowl and ate of the electuary. It pleased
him well, so he ate the rest and knew his wife. That very night she
conceived by him and, after three months, her courses ceased, no blood
came from her and she knew that she was with child. When the days of
her pregnancy were accomplished, the pangs of labour took her and they
raised loud lullilooings and cries of joy. The midwife delivered her
with difficulty, by pronouncing over the boy at his birth the names of
Mohammed and Ali, and said, "Allah is Most Great!"; and she called in
his ear the call to prayer. Then she wrapped him up and passed him to
his mother, who took him and gave him the breast; and he sucked and was
full and slept. The midwife abode with them three days, till they had
made the mothering-cakes of sugared bread and sweetmeats; and they
distributed them on the seventh day. Then they sprinkled salt against
the evil eye and the merchant, going in to his wife, gave her joy of
her safe delivery, and said, "Where is Allah's deposit?" So they
brought him a babe of surpassing beauty, the handiwork of the Orderer
who is ever present and, though he was but seven days old, those who
saw him would have deemed him a yearling child. So the merchant looked
on his face and, seeing it like a shining full moon, with moles on
either cheek, said he to his wife, "What hast thou named him?" Answered
she, "If it were a girl I had named her; but this is a boy, so none
shall name him but thou." Now the people of that time used to name
their children by omens; and, whilst the merchant and his wife were
taking counsel of the name, behold, one said to his friend, "Ho my
lord, Ala al-Din!" So the merchant said, "We will call him Ala al-Din
Abъ al-Shбmбt."[FN#30] Then he committed the child to the nurse, and he
drank milk two years, after which they weaned him and he grew up and
throve and walked upon the floor. When he came to seven years old, they
put him in a chamber under a trap-door, for fear of the evil eye, and
his father said, "He shall not come out, till his beard grow." So he
gave him in charge to a handmaid and a blackamoor; the girl dressed him
his meals and the slave carried them to him. Then his father
circumcised him and made him a great feast; after which he brought him
a doctor of the law, who taught him to write and read and repeat the
Koran, and other arts and sciences, till he became a good scholar and
an accomplished. One day it so came to pass that the slave, after
bringing him the tray of food went away and left the trap door open: so
Ala al-Din came forth from the vault and went in to his mother, with
whom was a company of women of rank. As they sat talking, behold, in
came upon them the youth as he were a white slave drunken[FN#31] for
the excess of his beauty; and when they saw him, they veiled their
faces and said to his mother, "Allah requite thee, O such an one! How
canst thou let this strange Mameluke in upon us? Knowest thou not that
modesty is a point of the Faith?" She replied, "Pronounce Allah's
name[FN#32] and cry Bismillah! this is my son, the fruit of my vitals
and the heir of Consul Shams al-Din, the child of the nurse and the
collar and the crust and the crumb."[FN#33] Quoth they, "Never in our
days knew we that thou hadst a son"; and quoth she, "Verily his father
feared for him the evil eye and reared him in an under-ground
chamber;"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Fifty-first Night,