dawn-white is mine enemy.'
And that of another,
'How many a night I've passed with the beloved of me, * While
gloom with dusky tresses veilиd our desires:
But when the morn-light showed it caused me sad affright; * And I
to Morning said, 'Who worship light are liars!'[FN#366]
And saith a third,
'He came to see me, hiding neath the skirt of night, * Hasting
his steps as wended he in cautious plight.
I rose and spread my cheek upon his path like rug, * Abject, and
trailed my skirt to hide it from his sight;
But rose the crescent moon and strave its best to show * The
world our loves like nail-slice raying radiant
light:[FN#367]
Then what befel befel: I need not aught describe; * But think thy
best, and ask me naught of wrong or right.
Meet not thy lover save at night for fear of slander * The Sun's
a tittle-tattler and the Moon's a pander.'
And a fifth,
'I love not white girls blown with fat who puff and pant; * The
maid for me is young brunette embonpoint-scant.
I'd rather ride a colt that's darn upon the day * Of race, and
set my friends upon the elephant.'
And a sixth,
My lover came to me one night, * And clips we both with fond
embrace;
And lay together till we saw * The morning come with swiftest
pace.
Now I pray Allah and my Lord * To reunite us of His grace
And make night last me long as he * Lies in the arms that tightly
lace.'
Were I to set forth all the praises of blackness, my tale would be
tedious; but little and enough is better than too much of unfilling
stuff. As for thee, O blonde, thy colour is that of leprosy and thine
embrace is suffocation;[FN#368] and it is of report that hoar-frost and
icy cold[FN#369] are in Gehenna for the torment of the wicked. Again,
of things black and excellent is ink, wherewith is written Allah's
word; and were it not for black ambergris and black musk, there would
be no perfumes to carry to Kings. How many glories I may not mention
dwell in blackness, and how well saith the poet,
'Seest not that musk, the nut brown musk, e'er claims the highest
price * Whilst for a load of whitest lime none more than
dirham bids?
And while white speck upon the eye deforms the loveliest youth, *
Black eyes discharge the sharpest shafts in lashes from
their lids.'
Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down: this much sufficeth.' So she sat down
and he signed to the fat girl, who rose"—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the man of
Al-Yaman, the master of the handmaids, signed to the fat girl who rose
and, pointing her finger at the slim girl, bared her calves and wrists
and uncovered her stomach, showing its dimples and the plump rondure of
her navel. Then she donned a shift of fine stuff, that exposed her
whole body, and said: 'Praised be Allah who created me, for that He
beautified my face and made me fat and fair of the fattest and fairest;
and likened me to branches laden with fruit, and bestowed upon me
abounding beauty and brightness: and praised be He no less, for that He
hath given me the precedence and honoured me, when He mentioneth me in
His holy Book! Quoth the Most High, 'And he brought a fatted
calf.'[FN#370] And He hath made me like unto a vergier full of peaches
and pomegranates. In very sooth even as the townsfolk long for fat
birds and eat of them and love not lean birds, so do the sons of Adam
desire fat meat and eat of it. How many vauntful attributes are there
not in fatness, and how well saith the poet,
'Farewell thy love, for see, the Cafilah's[FN#371] on the move: *
O man, canst bear to say adieu and leave thy love?
'Tis as her going were to seek her neighbour's tent, * The gait
of fat fair maid, whom hearts shall all approve.'
Sawest thou ever one stand before a flesher's stall but sought of him
fat flesh? The wise say, 'Joyance is in three things, eating meat and
riding meat and putting meat into meat.'[FN#372] As for thee, O thin
one, thy calves are like the shanks of sparrows or the pokers of
furnaces; and thou art a cruciform plank of a piece of flesh poor and
rank; there is naught in thee to gladden the heart; even as saith the
poet,
'With Allah take I refuge from whatever driveth me * To bed with
one like footrasp[FN#373] or the roughest ropery:
In every limb she hath a horn that butteth me whene'er * I fain
would rest, so morn and eve I wend me wearily.'
Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down: this much sufficeth.' So she sat down
and he signed to the slender girl, who rose, as she were a willow-wand,
or a rattan-frond or a stalk of sweet basil, and said: 'Praised be
Allah who created me and beautified me and made my embraces the end of
all desire and likened me to the branch, whereto all hearts incline. If
I rise, I rise lightly; if I sit, I sit prettily; I am nimble-witted at
a jest and merrier-souled than mirth itself. Never heard I one describe
his mistress, saying, 'My beloved is the bigness of an elephant or like
a mountain long and broad;' but rather, 'My lady hath a slender waist
and a slim shape.'[FN#374] Furthermore a little food filleth me and a
little water quencheth my thirst; my sport is agile and my habit
active; for I am sprightlier than the sparrow and lighter-skipping than
the starling. My favours are the longing of the lover and the delight
of the desirer; for I am goodly of shape, sweet of smile and graceful
as the bending willow-wand or the rattan-cane[FN#375] or the stalk of
the basil- plant; nor is there any can compare with me in loveliness,
even as saith one of me,
'Thy shape with willow branch I dare compare, * And hold thy
figure as my fortunes fair:
I wake each morn distraught, and follow thee, * And from the
rival's eye in fear I fare.'
It is for the like of me that amourists run mad and that those who
desire me wax distracted. If my lover would draw me to him, I am drawn
to him; and if he would have me incline to him, I incline to him and
not against him. But now, as for thee, O fat of body, thine eating is
the feeding of an elephant, and neither much nor little filleth thee.
When thou liest with a man who is lean, he hath no ease of thee; nor
can he anyways take his pleasure of thee; for the bigness of thy belly
holdeth him off from going in unto thee and the fatness of thy thighs
hindereth him from coming at thy slit. What goodness is there in thy
grossness, and what courtesy or pleasantness in thy coarseness? Fat
flesh is fit for naught but the flasher, nor is there one point therein
that pleadeth for praise. If one joke with thee, thou art angry; if one
sport with thee, thou art sulky; if thou sleep, thou snorest if thou
walk, thou lollest out thy tongue! if thou eat, thou art never filled.
Thou art heavier than mountains and fouler than corruption and crime.
Thou hast in thee nor agility nor benedicite nor thinkest thou of aught
save meat and sleep. When thou pissest thou swishes"; if thou turd thou
gruntest like a bursten wine skin or an elephant transmogrified. If
thou go to the water closet, thou needest one to wash thy gap and pluck
out the hairs which overgrow it; and this is the extreme of sluggish
ness and the sign, outward and visible, of stupidity[FN#376] In short,
there is no good thing about thee, and indeed the poet Title of thee,
'Heavy and swollen like an urine-bladder blown, * With hips and
thighs like mountain propping piles of stone;
Whene'er she walks in Western hemisphere, her tread * Makes the
far Eastern world with weight to moan and groan.'
Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down, this sufficeth;' so she sat down and
he signed to the yellow girl, who rose to her feet and praised Allah
Almighty and magnified His name, calling down peace and blessing on
Mohammed the best of His creatures; after which she pointed her finger
at the brunette and said to her," And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-seventh Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "the yellow
girl stood up and praised Almighty Allah and magnified His name; after
which she pointed her finger at the brown girl and said to her: 'I am
the one praised in the Koran, and the Compassionate hath described my
complexion and its excellence over all other hues in His manifest Book,
where Allah saith, 'A yellow, pure yellow, whose colour gladdeneth the
beholders.'[FN#377] Wherefore my colour is a sign and portent and my
grace is supreme and my beauty a term extreme; for that my tint is the
tint of a ducat and the colour of the planets and moons and the hue of
ripe apples. My fashion is the fashion of the fair, and the dye of
saffron outvieth all other dyes; so my semblance is wondrous and my
colour marvellous. I am soft of body and of high price, comprising all
qualities of beauty. My colour is essentially precious as virgin gold,
and how many boasts and glories cloth it not unfold! Of the like of me
quoth the poet,
'Her golden yellow is the sheeny sun's; * And like gold sequins
she delights the sight:
Saffron small portion of her glance can show; * Nay,[FN#378] she
outvies the moon when brightest bright.'
And I shall at once begin in thy dispraise, O berry-brown girl! Thy
tincture is that of the buffalo, and all souls shudder at thy sight. If
thy colour be in any created thing, it is blamed; if it be in food, it
is poisoned; for thy hue is the hue of the dung- fly; it is a mark of
ugliness even in dogs; and among the colours it is one which strikes
with amazement and is of the signs of mourning. Never heard I of brown
gold or brown pearls or brown gems. If thou enter the privy, thy colour
changeth, and when thou comest out, thou addest ugliness to ugliness.
Thou art a non- descript; neither black, that thou mayst be recognised,
nor white, that thou mayst be described; and in thee there is no good
quality, even as saith the poet,
'The hue of dusty motes is hers; that dull brown hue of hers * Is
mouldy like the dust and mud by Cossid's foot
upthrown:[FN#379]
I never look upon her brow, e'en for eye-twinkling's space, *
But in brown study fall I and my thoughts take browner
tone.'
Quoth her master, 'Sit thee down; this much sufficeth;' so she sat down
and he signed to the brunette. Now she was a model of beauty and
loveliness and symmetry and perfect grace; soft of skin, slim of shape,
of stature rare, and coal-black hair; with cheeks rosy-pink, eyes black
rimmed by nature's hand, face fair, and eloquent tongue; moreover
slender-waisted and heavy-hipped. So she rose and said: 'Praise be to
Allah who hath created me neither leper-white nor bile-yellow nor
charcoal-black, but hath made my colour to be beloved of men of wit and
wisdom, for all the poets extol berry-brown maids in every tongue and
exalt their colour over all other colours. To 'brown of hue (they say)
praise is due;' and Allah bless him who singeth,
'And in brunettes is mystery, could'st" thou but read it right, *
Thy sight would never dwell on others, be they red or white:
Free-flowing conversation, amorous coquettishness * Would teach
Hбrut himself a mightier spell of magic might.'
And saith another,
'Give me brunettes, so limber, lissom, lithe of sway, * Brunettes
tall, slender straight like Samhar's nut-brown
lance;[FN#380]
Languid of eyelids and with silky down on either cheek, * Who
fixed in lover's heart work to his life mischance.'
And yet another,
'Now, by my life, brown hue hath point of comeliness * Leaves
whiteness nowhere and high o'er the Moon takes place;
But an of whiteness aught it borrowed self to deck, * 'Twould
change its graces and would pale for its disgrace:
Not with his must[FN#381] I'm drunken, but his locks of musk *
Are wine inebriating all of human race.
His charms are jealous each of each, and all desire * To be the
down that creepeth up his lovely face.'
And again another,
'Why not incline me to that show of silky down, * On cheeks of
dark brunette, like bamboo spiring brown?
Whenas high rank in beauty poets sing, they say * Brown ant-like
specklet worn by nenuphar in crown.
And see I sundry lovers tear out others' eyne * For the brown
mole beneath that jetty pupil shown,
Then why do censors blame me for one all a mole? * Allah I pray
demolish each molesting clown!'[FN#382]
My form is all grace and my shape is built on heavy base; Kings desire
my colour which all adore, rich and poor. I am pleasant, active,
handsome, elegant, soft of skin and prized for price: eke I am perfect
in seemlibead and breeding and eloquence; my aspect is comely and my
tongue witty; my temper is bright and my play a pretty sight. As for
thee, thou art like unto a mallow growing about the Lъk Gate;[FN#383]
in hue sallow and streaked-yellow and made all of sulphur. Aroynt thee,
O copper-worth of jaundiced sorrel, O rust of brass-pot, O face of owl
in gloom, and fruit of the Hell-tree Zakkъm;[FN#384] whose bedfellow,
for heart-break, is buried in the tomb. And there is no good thing in
thee, even as saith the poet of the like of thee,
'Yellowness, tincturing her tho' nowise sick or sorry, *
Straitens my hapless heart and makes my head sore ache;
An thou repent not, Soul! I'll punish thee with kissing[FN#385] *
Her lower face that shall mine every grinder break!'
And when she ended her lines, quoth her master, 'Sit thee down, this
much sufficeth!'"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that "when the yellow
girl ended her recitation, quoth her master, 'Sit thee down; this much
sufficeth!' Then he made peace between them and clad them all in
sumptuous robes of honour and hanselled them with precious jewels of
land and sea. And never have I seen, O Commander of the Faithful, any
when or any where, aught fairer than these six damsels fair." Now when
Al-Maamun heard this story from Mohammed of Bassorah, he turned to him
and said, "O Mohammed, knowest thou the abiding-place of these damsels
and their master, and canst thou contrive to buy them of him for us?"
He answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I have heard that
their lord is wrapped up in them and cannot bear to be parted from
them." Rejoined the Caliph, "Take thee ten thousand gold pieces for
each girl, that is sixty thousand for the whole purchase; and carry the
coin to his house and buy them of him." So Mohammed of Bassorah took
the money and, betaking himself to the Man of Al-Yaman, acquainted him
with the wish of the Prince of True Believers. He consented to part
with them at that price to pleasure the Caliph; and despatched them to
Al-Maamun, who assigned them an elegant abode and therein used to sit
with them as cup-companions; marvelling at their beauty and loveliness,
at their varied colours and at the excellence of their conversation.
Thus matters stood for many a day; but, after awhile, when their former
owner could no longer bear to be parted from them, he sent a letter to
the Commander of the Faithful complaining to him of his own ardent
love-longing for them and containing, amongst other contents, these
couplets,
"Captured me six, all bright with youthful blee; * Then on all
six be best salams from me!
They are my hearing, seeing, very life; * My meat, my drink, my
joy, my jollity:
I'll ne'er forget the favours erst so charmed * Whose loss hath
turned my sleep to insomny:
Alack, O longsome pining and O tears! * Would I had farewelled
all humanity:
Those eyes, with bowed and well arched eyebrows[FN#386] dight, *
Like bows have struck me with their archery."
Now when the letter came to the hands of Al-Maamun, he robed the six
damsels in rich raiment; and, giving them threescore thousand dinars,
sent them back to their lord who joyed in them with exceeding
joy[FN#387] (more especially for the monies they brought him), and
abode with them in all the comfort and pleasance of life, till there
came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of societies.
And men also recount the tale of
HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE DAMSEL AND ABU NOWAS.
The Caliph, Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, being one night
exceedingly restless and thoughtful with sad thought, rose from his
couch and walked about the by-ways of his palace, till he came to a
chamber, over whose doorway hung a curtain. He raised that curtain and
saw, at the upper end of the room, a bedstead whereon lay something
black, as it were a man asleep, with a wax taper on his right hand and
another on his left; and as the Caliph stood wondering at the sight,
behold, he remarked a flagon full of old wine whose mouth was covered
by the cup. The Caliph wondered even more at this, saying, "How came
this black by such wine-service?" Then, drawing near the bedstead, he
found that it was a girl lying asleep there, curtained by her hair; so
he uncovered her face and saw that it was like the moon, on the night
of his fulness.[FN#388] So the Caliph filled himself a cup of wine and
drank it to the roses of her cheeks; and, feeling inclined to enjoy
her, kissed a mole on her face, whereupon she started up from sleep,
and cried out, "O Trusted of Allah,[FN#389] what may this be?" Replied
he, "A guest who knocketh at thy door, hoping that thou wilt give him
hospitality till the dawn;" and she answered; "Even so! I will serve
him with my hearing and my sight." So she brought forward the wine and
they drank together, after which she took the lute and tuning the
strings, preluded in one-and-twenty modes, then returning to the first,
played a lively measure and sang these couplets,
"The tongue of love from heart bespeaks my sprite, * Telling I
love thee with love infinite:
I have an eye bears witness to my pain, * And fluttering heart
sore hurt by parting-plight.
I cannot hide the love that harms my life; * Tears ever roll and
growth of pine I sight:
I knew not what love was ere loving thee; * But Allah's destiny
to all is dight."
And when her verses were ended she said, "O Commander of the Faithful,
I have been wronged!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the damsel cried,
"O Commander of the Faithful, I have been wronged!" Quoth he, "How so,
and who hath wronged thee?" Quoth she "Thy son bought me awhile ago,
for ten thousand dirhams, meaning to give me to thee; but thy wife, the
daughter of thine uncle, sent him the said price and bade him shut me
up from thee in this chamber." Whereupon said the Caliph, "Ask a boon
of me," and she, "I ask thee to lie with me to-morrow night." Replied
the Caliph, "Inshallah!" and leaving her, went away. Now as soon as it
was morning, he repaired to his sitting-room and called for Abu Nowas,
but found him not and sent his chamberlain to ask after him. The
chamberlain found him in a tavern, pawned and pledged for a score of a
thousand dirhams, which he had spent on a certain beardless youth, and
questioned him of his case. So he told him what had betided him with
the comely boy and how he had spent upon him a thousand silver pieces;
whereupon quoth the chamberlain, "Show him to me; and if he be worth
this, thou art excused." He answered, "Patience, and thou shalt see him
presently.' As they were talking together, up came the lad, clad in a
white tunic, under which was another of red and under this yet another
black. Now when Abu Nowas saw him, he sighed a loud sigh and improvised
these couplets,
"He showed himself in shirt of white, * With eyes and eyelids
languor-digit.
Quoth I, 'Doss pass and greet me not? * Though were thy greeting
a delight?
Blest He who clothed in rose thy cheeks, * Creates what wills He
by His might!'
Quoth he, 'Leave prate, forsure my Lord * Of works is wondrous
infinite:
My garment's like my face and luck; * All three are white on
white on white.'"
When the beardless one heard these words, he doffed the white tunic and
appeared in the red; and when Abu Nowas saw him he redoubled in
expressions of admiration and repeated these couplets,
"He showed in garb anemone-red, * A foeman 'friend' entitulиd:
Quoth I in marvel, 'Thou'rt full moon * Whose weed shames rose
however red:
Hath thy cheek stained it red, or hast * Dyed it in blood by
lovers bled?'
Quoth he, 'Sol gave me this for shirt * When hasting down the
West to bed
So garb and wine and hue of cheek * All three are red on red on
red.'"
And when the verses came to an end, the beardless one doffed the red
tunic and stood in the black; and, when Abu Nowas saw him, he redoubled
in attention to him and versified in these couplets,
"He came in sable-huиd sacque * And shone in dark men's heart to
rack:
Quoth I, 'Doss pass and greet me not? * Joying the hateful
envious pack?
Thy garment's like thy locks and like * My lot, three blacks on
black on black.'"
Seeing this state of things and understanding the case of Abu Nowas and
his love-longing, the Chamberlain returned to the Caliph and acquainted
him therewith; so he bade him pouch a thousand dirhams and go and take
him out of pawn. Thereupon the Chamberlain returned to Abu Nowas and,
paying his score, carried him to the Caliph, who said, "Make me some
verses containing the words, O Trusted of Allah, what may this be?"
Answered he, "I hear and I obey, O Commander of the Faithful."—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Fortieth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Nowas
answered, "I hear and I obey, O Commander of the Faithful!" and
forthwith he improvised these couplets,
"Long was my night for sleepless misery; * Weary of body and of
thought ne'er free:
I rose and in my palace walked awhile, * Then wandered thro' the
halls of Haremry:
Till chanced I on a blackness, which I found * A white girl hid
in hair for napery:
Here to her for a moon of brightest sheen! * Like willow-wand and
veiled in pudency:
I quaffed a cup to her; then drew I near, * And kissed the
beauty-spot on cheek had she:
She woke astart, and in her sleep's amaze, * Swayed as the
swaying branch in rain we see;
Then rose and said to me, 'O Trusted One * Of Allah, O Amin, what
may this be?
Quoth I, 'A guest that cometh to thy tents * And craves till morn
thy hospitality.'
She answered, 'Gladly I, my lord, will grace * And honour such a
guest with ear and eye.'"
Cried the Caliph, "Allah strike thee dead! it is as if thou hadst been
present with us.''[FN#390] Then he took him by the hand and carried him
to the damsel and, when Abu Nowas saw her clad in a dress and veil of
blue, he expressed abundant admiration and improvised these couplets,
"Say to the pretty one in veil of blue, * 'By Allah, O my life,
have ruth on dole!
For, when the fair entreats her lover foul, * Sighs rend his
bosom and bespeak his soul
By charms of thee and whitest cheek I swear thee, * Pity a heart
for love lost all control
Bend to him, be his stay 'gainst stress of love, * Nor aught
accept what saith the ribald fool.'"
Now when he ended his verse, the damsel set wine before the Caliph;
and, taking the lute, played a lively measure and sang these couplets,
"Wilt thou be just to others in thy love, and do * Unright, and
put me off, and take new friend in lieu?
Had lovers Kazi unto whom I might complain * Of thee, he'd
peradventure grant the due I sue:
If thou forbid me pass your door, yet I afar * Will stand, and
viewing you waft my salams to you!"
The Caliph bade her ply Abu Nowas with wine, till he lost his right
senses, thereupon he gave him a full cup, and he drank a draught of it
and held the cup in his hand till he slept. Then the Commander of the
Faithful bade the girl take the cup from his grasp and hide it; so she
took it and set it between her thighs, moreover he drew his scymitar
and, standing at the head of Abu Nowas, pricked him with the point;
whereupon he awoke and saw the drawn sword and the Caliph standing over
him. At this sight the fumes of the wine fled from his head and the
Caliph said to him, "Make me some verses and tell me therein what is
become of thy cup; or I will cut off thy head." So he improvised these
couplets,
"My tale, indeed, is tale unlief; * 'Twas yonder fawn who play'd
the thief!
She stole my cup of wine, before * The sips and sups had dealt
relief,
And hid it in a certain place, * My heart's desire and longing
grief.
I name it not, for dread of him * Who hath of it command-in-
chief."