THE LINGUIST-DAME, THE DUENNA AND THE
KING'S SON.
We here begin,[FN#184] with the aidance of Allah Almighty, and
invite the History of the Tarjumánah[FN#185] and the
Kahramanah[FN#186] and the young man, the King's son, and whatso
happed between them of controversy and of contention and
interrogation on various matters.
It is related (but Allah is All-knowing anent what passed and
preceded us of the histories belonging to bygone peoples) that
there reigned in a city of Roum[FN#187] a King of high degree and
exalted dignity, a lord of power and puissance. But this Sovran
was issue-less, so he ceased not to implore Allah Almighty that
boon of babe might be vouchsafed to him, and presently the Lord
had pity upon him and deigned grant him a man-child. He bade
tend the young Prince with tenderest tending, and caused him to
be taught every branch of knowledge, and the divine precepts of
wisdom and morals and manners; nor did there remain aught of
profitable learning wherein the Youth was not instructed; and
upon this education the King expended a mint of money. Now after
the Youth grew up Time rounded upon the Sovran his sire and his
case was laid bare and he was perplext as to himself and he
wotted not whatso he should ever do. Presently his son took
heart to direct him aright, and asked, "O my father, say me, wilt
thou give ear to that wherewith I would bespeak thee?" "Speak
out," quoth the King, "that is with thee of fair rede;" and quoth
the youth, "Rise, O my sire, that we depart this city ere any be
ware of our wending; so shall we find rest and issue from the
straits of indigence now closing around us. In this place there
is no return of livelihood to us and poverty hath emaciated us
and we are set in the sorriest of conditions than which naught
can be sorrier." "O my child," quoth his sire in reply,
"admirable is this advice wherewith thou hast advised us, O my
son, pious and dutiful; and be the affair now upon Allah and upon
thee." Hereupon the Youth gat all ready and arising one night
took his father and mother without any being cognisant; and the
three, entrusting themselves to the care of Allah Almighty,
wandered forth from home. And they ceased not wandering over the
wilds and the wolds till at last they saw upon their way a large
city and a mighty fine; so they entered it and made for a place
whereat they alighted. Presently the young Prince arose and went
forth to stroll about the streets and take his solace; and whilst
he walked about he asked concerning the city and who was its
Sovran. They gave him tidings thereof saying, "This be the
capital of a Sultan, equitable and high in honour amongst the
Kings." Hereupon returning to his father and mother, quoth he to
them, "I desire to sell you as slaves to this Sultan,[FN#188] and
what say ye?" Quoth they, "We have committed our case to
Almighty Allah and then to thee, O our son; so do whatso thou
wishest and judgest good." Hereat the Prince, repairing to the
Palace, craved leave to enter to the King and, having obtained
such permission, made his obeisance in the presence. Now when
the Sultan looked upon him he saw that his visitor was of the
sons of the great, so he asked him, "What be thy need, Ho thou
the Youth?" and the other made answer, "O my lord, thy slave is a
merchant man and with me is a male captive, handy of handicraft,
God-fearing and pious, and a pattern of honesty and honour in
perfect degree: I have also a bondswoman goodly in graciousness
and of civility complete in all thou canst command of bondswomen;
these I desire to vend, O my lord, to thy Highness, and if thou
wouldst buy them of thy servant they are between thy hands and at
thy disposal, and we all three are thy chattels." When the King
heard these pleasant words spoken by the Youth, he said to him,
"And where are they? Bring them hither that I behold them; and,
if they be such as thou informest me, I will bid them be bought
of thee!" Hereupon the Prince fared forth and informed his
parents of this offer and said to them, "Rise up with me that I
vend you and take from this Sultan your price wherewith I will
pass into foreign parts and win me wealth enough to redeem and
free you on my return hither. And the rest we will expend upon
our case." "O our son," said they, "do with us whatso thou
wishest." Anon,[FN#189] the parents arose and prepared to
accompany him and the Youth took them and led them into the
presence of that Sultan where they made their obeisance, and the
King at first sight of them marvelled with extreme marvel and
said to them, "Are ye twain slaves to this young man?" Said
they, "Yes, O our lord;" whereupon he turned to the Youth and
asked him, "What be the price thou requirest for these two?" "O
my lord," replied he, "give me to the price of this man slave, a
mare saddled and bridled and perfect in weapons and
furniture;[FN#190] and, as for this bondswoman, I desire thou
make over to me as her value, a suit of clothes, the choicest and
completest." Accordingly the Sultan bade pay him all his
requirement, over and above which he largessed him with an
hundred dinars; and the Youth, after obtaining his demand and
receiving such tokens of the royal liberality, kissed the King's
hands and farewelled his father and mother. Then he applied
himself to travel, seeking prosperity from Allah and all
unknowing whither he should wend. And whilst he was faring upon
his wayfare he was met by a horseman of the horsemen,[FN#191] and
they both exchanged salutations and welcomings, when the stranger
was highly pleased at the politeness of the King's son and the
elegance of his expressions. Presently, pulling from his pocket
a sealed letter wrapt in a kerchief he passed it over to the
Youth, saying, "In very sooth, O my brother, affection for thee
hath befallen my heart by reason of the goodliness of thy manners
and elegance of thine address and the sweetness of thy language;
and now I desire to work thy weal by means of this missive."
"And what of welfare may that be?" asked the Prince, whereto the
horseman answered, "Take with thee this letter and forthwith upon
arriving at the Court of the King whither thou art wending, hand
to him this same; so shalt thou obtain from him gain abundant and
mighty great good and thou shalt abide with him in degree of
highmost honour. This paper (gifted to me by my teacher) hath
already brought me ample livelihood and prodigious profit, and I
have bestowed it upon thee by reason of thine elegance and good
breeding and thy courteousness in showing me respect." Hereat
the Youth, the son of the King, answered him, "Allah requite thee
with weal and grant thou gain thy wish;" and so saying accepted
the letter of that horseman with honest heart and honourable
intent, meditating in his mind, "Inshallah ta'ála--an it be the
will of God the Greatest I shall have good fortune to my lot by
the blessing of this epistle; then will I fare and set free my
father and my mother." So the Prince resumed his route and he
exulted in himself especially at having secured the writ, by
means whereof he was promised abundant weal. Presently, it
chanced that he became drowthy with excessive drowth that waxed
right sore upon him and he saw upon his path no water to drink;
and by the tortures of thirst he was like to lose his life. So
he turned round and looked at the mare he bestrode and found her
covered with a foam of sweat wholly unlike her wonted way.
Hereat dismounting he brought out the wrapper wherein the letter
was enrolled and loosing it he mopped up therewith his animal's
sweat and squeezing it into a cup he had by him drank it off and
found to his joy that he was somewhat comforted. Then, of his
extreme satisfaction with the letter, he said to himself, "Would
Heaven I knew that which is within, and how the profit which the
horseman promised should accrue to me therefrom. So let me open
it and see its contents that my heart may be satisfied and my
soul be joyed." Then he did as he devised and perused its
purport and he mastered its meaning and the secret committed to
it, which he found as follows, "O my lord, do thou straightway on
the arrival of him who beareth these presents slay him, nor leave
him one moment on life; because this Youth came to me and I
entreated him with honour the highmost that could be of all
honouring, as a return for which this traitor of the salt, this
reprobate betrayed me in a daughter that was by me. I feared to
do him dead lest I come to shame amongst the folk and endure
disgrace, I and my tribe, wherefore I have forwarded him to thy
Highness that thou mayest torture him with torments of varied art
and end his affair and slaughter him, thus saving us from the
shame which befel us at the hands of this reprobate
traitor."[FN#192] Now when the young Prince read this writ and
comprehended its contents, he suspected that it was not written
concerning him and he took thought in himself, saying, "Would
Heaven I knew what I can have done by this horseman who thus
seeketh diligently to destroy my life, for that this one had with
him no daughter, he being alone and wending his way without any
other save himself; and I made acquaintance with him nor passed
there between us a word which was unworthy or unmeet. Now this
affair must needs have one of two faces; to wit, the first, that
such mishap really did happen to him from some youth who
favoureth me and when he saw the likeness he gave me the letter;
or, on the second count, this must be a trial and a test sent to
me from Almighty Allah, and praise be to God the Great who
inspired me to open this missive. At any rate I thank the Most
Highest and laud Him for His warding off the distress and
calamity descending upon me and wherefrom He delivered me." Then
the young Prince ceased not wending over the wildest of wolds
until he came to a mighty grand city which he entered; and,
hiring himself a lodging in a Khan,[FN#193] dismounted thereat;
then, having tethered his mare and fed her with a sufficiency of
fodder, he fared forth to walk about the thoroughfares. Suddenly
he was met by an ancient dame who considered him and noted him
for a handsome youth and an elegant, tall of stature and with the
signs of prosperity showing manifest between his eyes. Hereat he
accosted her and questioned her of the city folk and their
circumstances, whereto the old woman made reply with the
following purport, "Here in our city reigneth a King of exalted
dignity and he hath a daughter fair of favour, indeed the
loveliest of the folk of her time. Now she hath taken upon
herself never to intermarry with any of mankind unless it be one
who can overcome her with instances and arguments and can return
a sufficient reply to all her questions; and this is upon
condition that, should he come off vanquisher, he shall become
her mate, but if vanquished she will cut off his head, and on
such wise hath she done with ninety-and-nine men of the noblest
blood, as sons of the Kings and sundry others. Furthermore, she
hath a towering castle founded upon the heights that overfrown
the whole of this city whence she can descry all who pass under
its walls." As soon as the young Prince heard these words from
the love of the King's daughter and he passed that night as it
were to him the longsomest of nights, nor would he believe that
the next morn had morrowed. But when dawned the day and anon
showed its sheen and shone, he arose without let or stay and
after saddling his mare mounted her and turned towards the palace
belonging to the King's daughter; and presently reaching it, took
his station at the gateway. Hereat all those present considered
him and asked him saying, "What be the cause of thy standing
hereabouts?" whereto he answered, "I desire speech with the
Princess." But when they heard these words, all fell to
addressing him with kindly words and courteous and dissuading him
from his desire and saying, "Ho thou beautiful youngling!
fear[FN#194] Allah and pity thyself and have ruth upon thy youth;
nor dare seek converse with this Princess, for that she hath
slain fourscore and nineteen men of the nobles and sons of the
kings and for thee sore we fear that thou shalt complete the
century." The Prince, however, would not hear a word from them
nor heed their rede; neither would he be warned by the talk of
others than they; nay he persisted in standing at the Palace
gateway. And presently he asked admission to go in to the King's
daughter; but this was refused by the Princess, who contented
herself with sending forth to him her Tarjumánah, her
Linguist-dame, to bespeak him and say, "Ho thou fair youth! art
thou ready and longing to affront dangers and difficulties?" He
replied, "I am." "Then," quoth she, "hie thee to the King the
father of this Princess and show thyself and acquaint him with
thine affair and thine aim, after which do thou bear witness
against thyself in presence of the Kazi that an thou conquer his
daughter in her propositions and she fail of replying to a query
of thine thou shalt become her mate; whereas if she vanquish thee
she shall lawfully cut off thy head,[FN#195] even as she hath
decapitated so many before thy time. And when this is done come
thou back to us." The Prince forthright fared for the monarch
and did as he was bidden; then he returned to the Linguist-dame
and reported all his proceedings before the King and eke the
Kazi. After this he was led in to the presence of the Princess
and with him was the afore-mentioned Tarjumánah who brought him a
cushion of silk for the greater comfort of his sitting; and the
two fell to questioning and resolving queries and problems in
full sight of a large attendance. Began the Tarjumánah,
interpreting the words of her lady who was present, "Ho thou the
Youth! my mistress saith to thee, Do thou inform me concerning an
ambulant moving sepulchre whose inmate is alive." He answered
and said, "The moving sepulchre is the whale that swallowed Jonas
(upon whom be the choicest of Salams![FN#196]), and the Prophet
was quick in the whale's belly." She pursued, "Tell me
concerning two combatants who fight each other but not with hands
or feet, and who withal never say a say or speak a speech." He
answered saying, "The bull and the buffalo who encounter each
other by ramming with horns." She continued, "Point out to me a
tract of earth which saw not the sun save for a single time and
since that never." He answered saying, "This be the sole of the
Red Sea when Moses the Prophet (upon whom be The Peace!) smote it
with his rod and clove it asunder so that the Children of Israel
crossed over it on dry ground, which was never seen but only
once."[FN#197] She resumed, "Relate to me anent that which drank
water during its life-time and ate meat after its death?" He
answered saying, "This be the Rod[FN#198] of Moses the Prophet
(upon whom be The Peace!) which, when a living branch[FN#199]
struck water from its living root and died only when severed from
the parent tree. Now Almighty Allah cast it upon the land of
Egypt by the hand of Moses, what time this Prophet drowned
Pharaoh and his host[FN#200] and therewith clove the Red Sea,
after which that Rod became a dragon and swallowed up the wands
of all the Magicians of Misraim." Asked she, "Give me tidings of
a thing which is not of mankind nor of the Jánn-kind, neither of
the beasts nor of the birds?" He answered saying, "This whereof
thou speakest is that mentioned by Solomon, to with the
Louse,[FN#201], and secondly the Ant." She enquired, "Tell me to
what end Almighty Allah created the creation and for what aim of
wisdom did He quicken this creation and for what object did He
cause death to be followed by resurrection and resurrection by
the rendering men's accounts?" He answered saying, "God created
all creatures that they might witness His handicraft, and he did
them die that they might behold his absolute dominion and He
requickened them to the end that they learn His All-Might, and He
decreed their rendering account that they might consider His
wisdom and His justice." She questioned him saying, "Tell me
concerning three, of whom my first was not born of father and
mother and yet died; and my second was begotten of sire and born
of woman yet died not, and my third was born of father and mother
yet died not by human death?" He answered saying, "The first
were Adam and Eve,[FN#202] the second was Elias[FN#203] the
Prophet and the third was Lot's wife who died not the death of
the general, for that she was turned into a pillar of salt."
Quoth she, "Relate to me concerning one who in this world had two
names?" and he answered saying, "This be Jacob, sire of the
Twelve Tribes, to whom Allah vouchsafed the title of Israel,
which is Man with El or God."[FN#204] She said, "Inform me
concerning the Nákús, or the Gong,[FN#205] who was the inventor
thereof and at what time was it first struck in this world?" He
answered saying, "The Gong was invented by Noah, who first smote
upon it in the Ark." And after this she stinted not to question
him nor he to ree her riddles until evening fell, when quoth the
King's daughter to the Linguist-dame, "Say thou to the young man
that he may now depart, and let him come to me betimes next
morning when, if I conquer him, I will give him drink of the cup
his fellows drained; and, should he vanquish me, I will become
his wife." Then the Tarjumánah delivered her message word for
word, and the Youth went forth from the Princess with fire aflame
in his heart and spent the longest of nights hardly believing
that the morn would morrow. But when day broke and the dawn came
with its sheen and shone upon all mankind, he arose from his
sleep and fared with the first light to the palace where the
King's daughter bade the Linguist-dame introduce him, and when he
came in ordered him to be seated. As soon as he had taken seat
she gave her commands to the Tarjumánah, who said, "My lady
directeth thee to inform her what may be the tree bearing a dozen
boughs, each clothed with thirty leaves and these of two colours,
one half white and the other moiety black?" He answered saying,
"Now that tree is the year, and its twelve branches are the dozen
months, while the thirty leaves upon each of these are the thirty
white days and the thirty black nights." Hereat quoth she, "Tell
me, what tree was it bore many a bough and manifold leaves which
presently became flesh and blood?" He answered saying, "This was
the Rod of Moses the Prophet (upon whom be The Peace!) which was
at first a tree but which after cutting became a serpent with
flesh and blood." Continued she, "Inform me what became of
Moses' Rod and Noah's Ark, and where now be they?" He answered
saying, "They are at this tide sunken in the Lake of
Tabariyyah,[FN#206] and both, at the end of time, will be brought
out by a man hight Al-Násirí.[FN#207] She pursued, "Acquaint me
with spun yarn, whence did it originate and who was it first
practised spinning the same?" He answered, saying, "Almighty
Allah from the beginning of mankind ordered the Archangel Gabriel
to visit Eve and say to her, 'Spin for thyself and for Adam
waistcloths wherewith ye may veil your persons.'"[FN#208] She
enquired, "Tell me concerning the Asáfír,[FN#209] and why they
were so called, and who first named them with such name?" He
answered saying, "There was in the days of the Moses the Prophet
(upon whom be The Peace!) a fowl called Fír, and in the time of
Solomon the King (upon whom be The Peace!) all the birds paid him
obedience, even as did all the beasts, and albeit each and every
created thing was subject to the Prophet, withal this Fír would
not show submission: so the Wise King sent a body of birds to
bring him into the presence, but he refused to present himself.
Presently they returned to the Prophet who asked them, "Where be
Fír?" and they answered, "O our lord, 'Asá Fír,'[FN#210] whence
that name hath clung to the fowls." She resumed, "Inform me of
the two Stationaries and the two Moveables and the two Conjoineds
and the two Disjoineds by jealousy and the twain which be eternal
Foes." He answered saying, "Now the two Stationaries be Heaven
and Earth and the two Moveables are the Sun and the Moon; the two
Conjoineds are Night and Day and the two Disjoineds by jealousy
are the Soul and the Body and the two Hostiles are Death and
Life."[FN#211] On this wise the Linguist-dame ceased not to
question him and he to reply solving all her problems until eve
closed in. Then she bade him go forth that night and on the next
day come again to her. Accordingly, the young Prince returned to
his Khan and no sooner had he made sure that the morn had
morrowed than he resolved to see if that day would bring him
aught better than had come to him before. So arising betimes he
made for the palace of the King's daughter and was received and
introduced by the Tarjumánah who seated him as was her wont and
presently she began, saying, "My lady biddeth thee inform her of
a thing which an a man do that same 'tis unlawful; and if a man
do not that same 'tis also unlawful." He answered, saying, "I
will: this be the prayer[FN#212] of a drunken man which is in
either case illegal." Quoth she, "Tell me how far is the
interval between Heaven and Earth?" and he answered saying, "That
bridged over by the prayer of Moses the Prophet[FN#213] (upon him
be The Peace!) whom Allah Almighty saved and preserved." She
said, "And how far is it betwixt East and West?" whereto he
answered saying, "The space of a day and the course of the Sun
wending from Orient unto Occident." Then she asked, "Let me know
what was the habit[FN#214] of Adam in Paradise?" and he answered
saying, "Adam's habit in Eden was his flowing hair."[FN#215] She
continued, "Tell me of Abraham the Friend (upon whom be The
Peace!) how was it that Allah chose him out and called him
'Friend?'"[FN#216] He answered saying, "Verily the Lord
determined to tempt and to test him albeit he kenned right
clearly that the Prophet was free of will yet fully capable of
enduring the trial; natheless, He resolved to do on this wise
that he might stablish before men the truth of His servant's
trust in the Almighty and the fairness of his faith and the
purity of his purpose. So the Lord bade him offer to Him his son
Is'hák[FN#217] as a Corban or Sacrifice; and of the truth of his
trust he took his child and would have slain him as a victim.
But when he drew his knife with the purpose of slaughtering the
youth he was thus addressed by the Most Highest Creator, 'Now
indeed well I wot that thou gatherest[FN#218] me and keepest my
covenant: so take thou yonder rain and slay it as a victim in the
stead of Is'hák.' And after this he entitled him 'Friend.'" She
pursued, "Inform me touching the sons of Israel how many were
they at the time of the going forth from Egypt?" He answered,
saying, "When they marched out of Misraim-land they numbered six
hundred thousand fighting[FN#219] men besides women and
children." She continued, "Do thou point out to me, some place
on earth which is higher than the Heavens;" and he answered
saying, "This is Jerusalem[FN#220] the Exalted and she standeth
far above the Firmament." Then the Youth turning to the
Linguist-dame, said, "O my lady, long and longsome hath been the
exposition of that which is between us, and were thy lady to ask
me for all time questions such as these and the like of them, I
by the All-might of Allah shall return a full and sufficient
answer to one and all. But, in lieu of so doing, I desire of thy
mistress the Princess to ask of her one question and only one:
and, if she satisfy me of the significance I claim therefor, let
her give me to drain the cup of my foregoers whom she overcame
and slew; and if she fail in the attempt she shall own herself
conquered and become my wife--and The Peace!"[FN#221] Now this
was said in the presence of a mighty host there present, the
great of them as well as the small thereof; so the Tarjumánah
answered willy-nilly, "Say, O Youth, whatso is the will of thee
and speak out that which is in the mind of thee." He rejoined,
"Tell thy lady that she deign enlighten me concerning a man who
was in this condition. He was born and brought up in the highest
of prosperity but Time turned upon him and Poverty mishandled
him;[FN#222] so he mounted his father and clothed him with his
mother[FN#223] and he fared forth to seek comfort and happiness
at the hand of Allah Almighty. Anon Death met him on the way and
Doom bore him upon his head and his courser saved him from
destruction whenas he drank water which came neither from the sky
nor from the ground. Now see thou who may be that man and do
thou give me answer concerning him."[FN#224] But when the
Princess heard this question, she was confused with exceeding
confusion touching the reply to be replied in presence of a posse
of the people, and she was posed and puzzled and perplext to
escape the difficulty and naught availed her save addressing the
Tarjumánah and saying, "Do thou bid this Youth wend his ways and
remove himself until the morrow." The Linguist-dame did as she
was bidden, adding, "And on the morrow (Inshallah!) there shall
be naught save weal;" and the Prince went forth leaving the folk
aghast at the question he had urged upon the King's daughter.
But as soon as he left her the young lady commanded the
Tarjumánah to let slaughter somewhat of the most toothsome
poultry and to prepare them for food as her mistress might direct
her; together with dainty meats and delicate sweetmeats and the
finest fruits fresh and dried and all manner of other eatables
and drinkables, and lastly to take a skin-bottle filled with good
old wine. Then she changed her usual garb and donned the most
sumptuous dress of all her gear; and, taking her Duenna and
favourite handmaiden with a few of her women for comitive, she
repaired to the quarters of the Youth, the King's son; and the
time of her visit was the night-tide. Presently, reaching the
Khan she said to her guardian, "Go thou in to him alone whilst I
hide me somewhere behind the door and do thou sit between his
hands;" after which she taught the old woman all she desired her
do of dissimulation and artifice. The slave obeyed her mistress
and going in accosted the young man with the salam; and, seating
herself before him, said, "Ho thou the Youth! Verily there is
here a lovely damsel, delightsome and perfect of qualities, whose
peer is not in her age, and well nigh able is she to make the sun
fare backwards[FN#225] and to illumine the universe in lieu
thereof. Now when thou wast wont to visit us in the apartment of
the Princess, this maiden looked upon thee and found thee a fair
youth; so her heart loved thee with excessive love and desired
thee with exceeding desire and to such degree that she insisted
upon accompanying me and she hath now taken station at thy door
longing to enter. So do thou grant her permission that she come
in and appear in thy presence and then retire to some privacy
where she may stand in thy service, a slave to thy will."[FN#226]
The Prince replied, "Whoso seeketh us let enter with weal and
welfare, and well come and welcome and fair welcome to each and
every of such guests." Hereat the Princess went in as did all
those who were with her, and presently after taking seat they
brought out and set before the Youth their whole store of edibles
and potables and the party fell to eating and drinking and
converse, exchanging happy sayings blended with wit and disport
and laughter, while the Princess made it her especial task to toy
with her host deeming that he knew her not to be the King's
daughter. He also stinted not to take his pleasure with her; and
on this wise they feasted and caroused and enjoyed themselves and
were cheered and the converse between them was delightful. The
Duenna, however, kept plying the Prince with wine, mere and pure,
until she had made him drunken and his carousal had so mastered
him that he required her person of her; however she refused
herself and questioned him of the enigma wherewith he had
overcome her mistress; whilst he, for stress of drunkenness, was
incapacitated by stammering to explain her aught thereof.
Hereupon the Princess, having doffed her upper dress, propped
herself sideways upon a divan cushion and stretched herself at
full length and the Youth for the warmth of his delight in her
and his desire to her anon recovering his speech explained to her
the reply of his riddle. The King's daughter then joyed with
mighty great joy as though she had won the world
universal;[FN#227] and, springing to her feet incontinently, of
her extreme gladness she would not delay to finish her disport
with her wooer; but ere the morning morrowed she departed and
entered her palace. Now in so doing she clean forgot her outer
robes and the wine-service and what remained of meat and drink.
The Youth had been overcome with sleep and after slumbering he
awoke at dawn when he looked round and saw none of the company
about him; withal he recognised the princely garments which were
of the most sumptuous and costly, robes of brocade and sendal and
suchlike, together with jewels and adornments: and scattered
about lay sundry articles of the wine-service and fragments of
the food they had brought with them. And from these signs of
things forgotten he learnt that the King's daughter had visited
him in person and he was certified that she had beguiled him with
her wiles until she had wrung from him the reply of his question.
So as soon as it was morning-tide he arose and went, as was his
wont, to the Princess's palace where he was met by the Tarjumánah
who said to him, "O Youth, is it thy pleasure that my lady
expound to thee her explanation of the enigma yesterday proposed
by thee?" "I will tell the very truth," answered he; "and relate
to thee what befel me since I saw you last, and 'twas this. When
I left you there came to me a lovely bird, delightsome and
perfect of charms, and I indeed entertained her with uttermost
honour and worship; we ate and we drank together, but at night
she shook her feathers and flew away from me. And if she deny
this I will produce her plumage before her father and all
present." Now when the Sovran, the sire of the Princess, heard
these words concerning his daughter, to wit, that the youth had
conquered her in her contention and that she had fared to his
quarters to the end that she might wring from him an explanation
of the riddle which she was unable to ree or reply thereto, he
would do naught else save to summon the Cohen[FN#228] and the
Lords of his land and the Grandees of his realm and the Notables
of his kith and kin. And when the Priest and all made act of
presence, he told them the whole tale first and last; namely, the
conditions to the Youth conditioned, that if overcome by his
daughter and unable to answer her questions he should be let
drain the cup of destruction like his fellows, and if he overcame
her he should claim her to wife. Furthermore he declared that
the Youth had answered, with full and sufficient answer, all he
had been asked without doubt or hesitation; while at last he had
proposed to her an enigma which she had been powerless to solve;
and in this matter he had vanquished her twice (he having
answered her and she having failed to answer him). "For which
reason," concluded the King, "'tis only right that he marry her;
even as was the condition between them twain; and it becometh our
first duty to adjudge their contention and decide their case
according to covenant and he being doubtless the conqueror to bid
write his writ of marriage with her. But what say ye?" They
replied, "This is the rightest of redes; moreover the Youth, a
fair and a pleasant, becometh her well and she likewise besitteth
him; and their lot is a wondrous." So they bade write the
marriage writ and the Cohen, arising forthright, pronounced the
union auspicious and began blessing and praying for the pair and
all present. In due time the Prince went in to her and
consummated the marriage according to the custom stablished by
Allah and His Holy Law; and thereafter he related to his bride
all that had betided him, from beginning to end, especially how
he had sold his parents to one of the Kings. Now when she heard
these words, she had ruth upon his case and soothed his spirit
saying to him, "Be of good cheer and keep thine eyes clear and
cool of tear." Then, after a little while the Princess bestowed
upon her bridegroom a mint of money that he might fare forth and
free his father and his mother. Accordingly the Prince,
accepting her largesse, sought the King to whom he had pledged
his parents (and they were still with him in all weal and
welfare) and going in to him made his salam and kissed ground and
told him the whole tale of the past and the conditions of death
or marriage he had made with the King's daughter and of his
wedding her after overcoming her in contention. So the monarch
honoured him with honour galore than which naught could be more;
and, when the Prince paid him over the moneys, he asked, "What be
these dirhams?" "The price of my parents thou paidest to me,"
answered the other. But the King exclaimed, "I gave thee not to
the value of thy father and mother moneys of such amount as this
sum. I only largessed thee with a mare and a suit of clothes
which was not defraying a debt but presenting thee with a present
and thereby honouring thee with due honour. Then
Alhamdolillah-laud be to the Lord, who preserved thee and enabled
thee to win thy wish, and now arise and take thy parents and
return in safety to thy bride." The Prince hereupon thanked him
and praised Allah for the royal guerdon and favours and the fair
treatment wherewith he had been entreated; after which he craved
leave to receive his parents in charge and wend his ways. And
when permission was granted to him, he wished all good wishes to
the King and taking his father and his mother in weal and welfare
he went his ways with them, in joy and gladness and gratitude for
all blessings and benefits by Allah upon him bestowed, till he
had returned to his bride. Here he found that his father-in-law
had deceased during his absence, so he took seat in lieu of him
upon the throne of the kingdom; and he and his consort, during
all the days of their life in this world, ceased not eating and
drinking in health and well-being and eating and drinking in joy
and happiness and bidding and forbidding until they quitted this
mundane scene to the safeguard of the Lord God. And here endeth
and is perfected the history of the Youth, the King's son, and
the sale of his parents and his falling into the springes of the
Princess who insisted upon proposing problems to all her wooers
with the condition that if they did not reply she would do them
drain the cup of destruction and on this wise had slain a many of
men; and, in fine, how she was worsted by and she fell to the lot
of this youth whom Allah gifted with understanding to ree all her
riddles and who had confounded her with his question whereto she
availed not to reply; when his father-in-law died, succeeded to
the kingdom which he ruled so well.[FN#229]