ALAEDDIN ABOU ESH SHAMAT.

There lived once in Cairo, of old time, a merchant named

Shemseddin, who was of the best and truest-spoken of the traders

of the city and had great store of money and goods and slaves and

servants, white and black and male and female. Moreover, he was

Provost of the Merchants of Cairo and had a wife, whom he loved

and who loved him; but he had lived with her forty years, yet had

not been blessed with son or daughter by her. One Friday, as he

sat in his shop, he noted that each of the merchants had a son or

two or more, sitting in shops like their fathers. Presently, he

entered the bath and made the Friday ablution; after which he

came out and took the barber's glass, saying, 'I testify that

there is no god but God and that Mohammed is His Apostle!' Then

he looked at his beard and seeing that the white hairs in it

outnumbered the black, bethought himself that hoariness is the

harbinger of death. Now his wife knew the time of his coming and

had washed and made ready for him; so when he came in to her, she

said, 'Good even;' but he replied, 'I see no good.' Then she

called for the evening meal and said to her husband, 'Eat, O my

lord.' Quoth he, 'I will eat nothing,' and pushing the table away

with his foot, turned his back to her. 'Why dost thou thus?' said

she. 'What has vexed thee?' And he answered, 'Thou art the cause

of my vexation.' 'How so?' asked she. 'This morning,' replied he,

'when I opened my shop, I saw that each of the other merchants

had a son or two or more, and I said to myself, "He who took thy

father will not spare thee." Now the night I wedded thee, thou

madest me swear that I would never take a second wife nor a

concubine, Abyssinian or Greek or other, nor would lie a night

from thee: and behold, thou art barren, and swiving thee is like

boring into the rock.' 'God is my witness,' rejoined she, 'that

the fault lies with thee, for that thy seed is thin.' 'And how is

it with him whose seed is thin?' asked he, and she, 'He cannot

get women with child nor beget children.' 'What thickens seed?'

asked he. 'Tell me and I will try it: haply, it will thicken

mine.' Quoth she, 'Enquire for it of the druggists.' They slept

that night and arose on the morrow, repenting each of having

spoken angrily to the other. Then he went to the market and

accosting a druggist, said to him, 'Hast thou wherewithal to

thicken the seed?' 'I had it, but am spent of it,' answered the

druggist; 'ask my neighbour.' So Shemseddin made the round of the

bazaar, till he had asked every one; but they all laughed at him

and he returned to his shop and sat down, troubled. Now there was

in the market a man called Sheikh Mohammed Semsem, who was syndic

of the brokers and was given to the use of opium and bang and

hashish. He was poor and used to wish Shemseddin good morrow

every day; so he came to him according to his wont and saluted

him. The merchant returned his salute, and the other, seeing him

vexed, said to him, 'O my lord, what hath crossed thee?' Quoth

Shemseddin, 'These forty years have I been married to my wife,

yet hath she borne me neither son nor daughter; and I am told

that the cause of my failure to get her with child is the

thinness of my seed; so I have been seeking wherewithal to

thicken it, but found it not.' 'I have a thickener,' said Sheikh

Mohammed; 'but what wilt thou say to him who makes thy wife

conceive by thee, after forty years' barrenness? 'An thou do

this,' answered the merchant, 'I will largely reward thee.' 'Then

give me a dinar,' rejoined the broker, and Shemseddin said, 'Take

these two dinars.' He took them and said, 'Give me also yonder

bowl of porcelain.' So he gave it him, and the broker betook

himself to a hashish-seller, of whom he bought two ounces of

concentrated Turkish opium and equal parts of Chinese cubebs,

cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, white pepper, ginger and mountain

lizard[FN#86] and pounding them all together, boiled them in

sweet oil; after which he added three ounces of frankincense and

a cupful or coriander-seed and macerating the whole, made it into

a paste with Greek honey. Then he put the electuary in the bowl

and carried it to the merchant, to whom he delivered it, saying,

'This is the seed-thickener, and the manner of using it is this.

Make the evening-meal of mutton and house-pigeon, plentifully

seasoned and spiced; then take of this electuary with a spoon

and wash it down with a draught of boiled date-wine.' So the

merchant bought mutton and pigeons and sent them to his wife,

bidding her dress them well and lay up the electuary till he

should call for it. She did as he bade her and he ate the

evening-meal, after which he called for the bowl and ate of the

electuary. It liked him well, so he ate the rest and lay with his

wife. That very night she conceived by him and after three

months, her courses ceased 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 cries of joy. The midwife

delivered her with difficulty [of a son], then, taking the new-

born child, she pronounced over him the names of Mohammed and Ali

and said, 'God is Most Great!' Moreover, she called in his ear

the call to prayer; then swathed him and gave him to his mother,

who took him and put him to her breast; and he sucked his full

and slept. The midwife abode with them three days, till they had

made the mothering-cakes and sweetmeats; and they distributed

them on the seventh day. Then they sprinkled salt[FN#87] and the

merchant, going in to his wife, gave her joy of her safe delivery

and said, 'Where is the gift of God?' So they brought him a babe

of surpassing beauty, the handiwork of the Ever-present Orderer

of all things, whoever saw him would have deemed him a yearling

child, though he was but seven days old. Shemseddin looked on his

face and seeing it like a shining full moon, with moles on both

cheeks, said to his wife, 'What hast thou named him?' 'If it were

a girl,' answered she, 'I had named her; but it 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, they heard one say to his

friend, 'Harkye, my lord Alaeddin!' So the merchant said, 'We

will call him Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat.'[FN#88] Then he committed

the child to the nurses, and he drank milk two years, after which

they weaned him and he grew up and throve and walked upon the

earth. When he came to seven years old, they put him in a chamber

under the earth, for fear of the evil eye, and his father said,

'He shall not come out, till his beard grows.' And he gave him in

charge to a slave-girl and a black slave; the former dressed him

his meals and the latter 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

repeat the Koran and other parts of knowledge, till he became an

accomplished scholar. One day, the slave, after bringing him the

tray of food, went away and forgot to shut the trap-door after

him: so Alaeddin came forth and went in to his mother, with whom

was a company of women of rank. As they sat talking, in came he

upon them, as he were a drunken white slave,[FN#89] for the

excess of his beauty; and when they saw him, they veiled their

faces and said to his mother, 'God requite thee, O such an one!

How canst thou let this strange slave in upon us? Knowest thou

not that modesty is a point of the Faith?' 'Pronounce the name of

God,'[FN#90] answered she. 'This is my son, the darling of my

heart and the son of the Provost Shemseddin.' Quoth they, 'We

never knew that thou hadst a son:' and she, 'His father feared

the evil eye for him and shut him up in a chamber under the

earth, nor did we mean that he should come out, before his beard

was grown; but it would seem as if the slave had unawares left

the door open, and he hath come out.' The women gave her joy of

him, and he went out from them into the courtyard, where he

seated himself in the verandah.[FN#91] Presently, in came the

slaves with his father's mule, and he said to them, 'Whence comes

this mule?' Quoth they, 'Thy father rode her to the shop, and we

have brought her back.' 'And what is my father's trade?' asked

he. And they replied, 'He is Provost of the merchants of Cairo

and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs.' Then he went in to his

mother and said to her, 'O my mother, what is my father's trade?'

Said she, 'He is a merchant and Provost of the merchants of Cairo

and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs. His slaves consult him not

in selling aught whose price is less than a thousand dinars, but

sell it at their own discretion; nor doth any merchandise, little

or much, enter or leave Cairo, without passing through his hands;

for, O my son, God the Most Great hath given thy father wealth

past count.' 'Praised be God,' exclaimed he, 'that I am son of

the Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs and that my father is Provost

of the merchants! But why, O my mother, did you put me in the

underground chamber and leave me prisoner there?' 'O my son,'

answered she, 'we did this for fear of (men's) eyes, for it is

true that the evil eye hath power to harm and the most part of

the sojourners in the tombs are of its victims.' 'O my mother,'

rejoined he, 'where is a place of refuge against destiny? Verily,

taking care estoppeth not fate nor is there any escape from that

which is written. He who took my grandfather will not spare

myself nor my father; for, though he live to-day, he shall not

live to-morrow. And when my father dies and I come forth and say,

"I am Alaeddin, son of Shemseddin the merchant," none of the

people will believe me, but the aged will say, "Never in our

lives saw we a son or a daughter of Shemseddin." Then the

Treasury will come down and take my father's estate; and may

Allah have mercy on him who saith, "The noble dies and his wealth

passes away and the meanest of men take his women." So do thou, O

my mother, speak to my father, that he take me with him to the

market and set me up in a shop with merchandise and teach me to

buy and sell and give and take.' 'O my son,' answered his mother,

'when thy father returns, I will tell him this.' So when the

merchant came home, he found his son sitting with his mother and

said to her, 'Why hast thou brought him forth of the underground

chamber?' 'O my cousin,' answered she, 'it was not I that brought

him out; but the servants forgot to shut the door and left it

open; so he came forth and came in to me, as I sat with a company

of women of rank.' And she went on to repeat to him what the boy

had said; and Shemseddin said to the latter, 'O my son, to-

morrow, God willing, I will take thee with me to the market; but

I would have thee know that the commerce of the markets and the

shops demands good manners and an accomplished carriage in all

conditions.' So Alaeddin passed the night, rejoicing in his

father's promise; and on the morrow the merchant carried him to

the bath and clad him in a suit worth much money. As soon as they

had broken their fast and drunken sherbets, Shemseddin mounted

his mule and rode to the market, followed by his son; but when

the market-folk saw their Provost making towards them, followed

by a youth as he were a piece of the moon on its fourteenth

night, they said, one to another, 'See yonder boy behind the

Provost of the merchants. Verily, we thought well of him; but he

is like the leek, grayheaded and green at the heart.' And Sheikh

Mohammed Semsem before mentioned, the Deputy of the market, said,

'O merchants, never will we accept the like of him for our

chief.' Now it was the custom, when the Provost came from his

house and sat down in his shop of a morning, for the Deputy of

the market and the rest of the merchants to go in a body to his

ship and recite to him the opening chapter of the Koran, after

which they wished him good morrow and went away, each to his

shop. Shemseddin seated himself in his shop as usual, but the

merchants come not to him as of wont; so he called the Deputy and

said to him, 'Why come not the merchants together as usual?' 'I

know not how to tell thee,' answered Mohammed Semsem; 'for they

have agreed to depose thee from the headship of the market and to

recite the first chapter to thee no more.' 'And why so?' asked

Shemseddin. 'What boy is this that sits beside thee,' asked the

Deputy, 'and thou a man of years and chief of the merchants? Is

he a slave or akin to thy wife? Verily, I think thou lovest him

and inclinest [unlawfully] to the boy.' With this, the Provost

cried out at him, saying, 'God confound thee, hold thy peace!

This is my son.' 'Never knew we that thou hadst a son,' rejoined

the Deputy; and Shemseddin answered, 'When thou gavest me the

seed-thickener, my wife conceived and bore this youth, whom I

reared in a chamber under the earth, for fear of the evil eye,

nor was it my purpose that he should come forth, till he could

take his beard in his hand. However, his mother would not agree

to this, and he would have me bring him to the market and stock

him a shop and teach him to sell and buy.' So the Deputy returned

to the other merchants and acquainted them with the truth of

the case, whereupon they all arose and going in a body to

Shemseddin's shop, stood before him and recited the first chapter

of the Koran to him; after which they gave him joy of his son and

said to him, 'God prosper root and branch! But even the poorest

of us, when son or daughter is born to him, needs must he make a

pot of custard and bid his friends and acquaintances; yet thou

hast not done this.' Quoth he, 'This is your due from me; be our

rendezvous in the garden.' So next morning, he sent the carpet-

layer to the pavilion in the garden and bade him furnish it.

Moreover, he sent thither all that was needful for cooking, such

as sheep and butter and so forth, and spread two tables, one in

the saloon and another in the upper chamber. Then he and his son

girded themselves, and he said to the latter, 'O my son, when a

graybeard enters, I will meet him and carry him into the upper

chamber and seat him at the table; and do thou, in like manner,

receive the beardless youths and seat them at the table in the

saloon.' 'O my father,' asked Alaeddin, 'why dost thou spread two

tables, one for men and another for youths?' 'O my son,' answered

Shemseddin, 'the beardless boy is ashamed to eat with men.' And

his son was content with this answer. So when the merchants

arrived, Shemseddin received the men and seated them in the upper

chamber, whilst Alaeddin received the youths and seated them in

the saloon. Then the servants set on food and the guests ate and

drank and made merry, whilst the attendants served them with

sherbets and perfumed them with the fragrant smoke of scented

woods; and the elders fell to conversing of matters of science

and tradition. Now there was amongst them a merchant called

Mehmoud of Balkh, a Muslim by profession but at heart a Magian, a

man of lewd life, who had a passion for boys. He used to buy

stuffs and merchandise of Alaeddin's father; and when he saw the

boy, one look at his face cost him a thousand sighs and Satan

dangled the jewel before his eyes, so that he was taken with

desire and mad passion for him and his heart was filled with love

of him. So he arose and made for the youths, who rose to receive

him. At this moment, Alaeddin, being taken with an urgent

occasion, withdrew to make water; whereupon Mehmoud turned to the

other youths and said to them, 'If ye will incline Alaeddin's

mind to journeying with me, I will give each of you a dress worth

much money.' Then he returned to the men's party; and when

Alaeddin came back, the youths rose to receive him and seated him

in the place of honour. Presently, one of them said to his

neighbour, 'O my lord Hassan, tell me how thou camest by the

capital on which thou tradest.' 'When I came to man's estate,'

answered Hassan, 'I said to my father, "O my father, give me

merchandise." "O my son," answered he, "I have none by me: but go

thou to some merchant and take of him money and traffic with it

and learn to buy and sell and give and take." So I went to one of

the merchants and borrowed of him a thousand dinars, with which I

bought stuffs and carrying them to Damascus, sold them there at a

profit of two for one. Then I bought Syrian stuffs and carrying

them to Aleppo, disposed of them there at a like profit; after

which I bought stuffs of Aleppo and repaired with them to

Baghdad, where I sold them with the same result; nor did I cease

to buy and sell, till I was worth nigh ten thousand dinars.' Each

of the others told a like tale, till it came to Alaeddin's turn,

when they said to him, 'And thou, O my lord Alaeddin?' Quoth he,

'I was brought up in a chamber underground and came forth from it

but this week and I do but go to the shop and return home.' 'Thou

art used to abide at home,' rejoined they, 'and knowest not the

delight of travel, for travel is for men only.' 'I reck not of

travel,' answered he, 'and value ease above all things.'

Whereupon quoth one to the other, 'This youth is like the fish:

when he leaves the water he dies.' Then they said to him, 'O

Alaeddin, the glory of the sons of the merchants is not but in

travel for the sake of gain.' Their talk angered him and he left

them, weeping-eyed and mourning-hearted, and mounting his mule,

returned home. When his mother saw him thus, she said to him,

'What ails thee to weep, O my son?' And he answered, 'All the

sons of the merchants made mock of me and said to me, "There is

no glory for a merchant's son save in travel for gain."' 'O my

son,' rejoined she, 'hast thou a mind for travel?' 'Yes,' said

he. 'And whither wilt thou go?' asked she. 'To the city of

Baghdad,' answered he; 'for there folk make a profit of two to

one on their goods.' 'O my son,' said she, 'thy father is a very

rich man, and if he provide thee not with merchandise, I will do

so of my own monies.' Quoth he, 'The best of favours is that

which is quickly bestowed; if it is to be, now is the time for

it.' So she called the servants and sent them for packers; then

opening a store-house, brought out ten loads of stuffs, which the

packers made up into bales for him. Meanwhile Shemseddin missed

his son and enquiring after him, was told that he had mounted and

gone home; so he too mounted and followed him. When he entered

the house, he saw the bales packed ready and asked what they

were; whereupon his wife told him what had passed between

Alaeddin and the young merchants and he said, 'O my son, may God

curse foreign travel! Verily, the Prophet (whom God bless and

preserve) hath said, "It is of a man's good fortune that he have

his livelihood in his own land;" and it was said of the ancients,

"Leave travel, though but for a mile."' Then he said to his son,

'Art thou indeed resolved to travel and wilt thou not turn back

from it?' 'Needs must I journey to Baghdad with merchandise,'

answered Alaeddin, 'else will I put off my clothes and don a

dervish's habit and go a-wandering over the world.' Quoth

Shemseddin, 'I am no lackgood, but have great plenty of wealth

and with me are stuffs and merchandise befitting every country in

the world.' Then he showed him his goods and amongst the rest,

forth bales ready packed, with the price, a thousand dinars,

written on each, and said to him, 'Take these forty loads,

together with those thy mother gave thee, and set out under the

safeguard of God the Most High. But, O my son, I fear for thee a

certain wood in thy way, called the Lion's Copse, and a valley

called the Valley of Dogs, for there lives are lost without

mercy.' 'How so?' asked Alaeddin. 'Because of a Bedouin

highwayman, hight Ajlan,' answered his father, 'who harbours

there.' Quoth Alaeddin, 'Fortune is with God; if any part in it

be mine, no harm will befall me.' Then they rode to the cattle

market, where a muleteer alighted from his mule and kissing the

Provost's hand, said to him, 'O my lord, by Allah, it is long

since thou hast employed me to carry merchandise for thee!'

'Every time hath its fortune and its men,' answered Shemseddin;

'and may God have mercy on him who said:

An old man went walking the ways of the world, So bowed and so

bent that his beard swept his knee.

"What makes thee go doubled this fashion?" quoth I. He answered

(and spread out his hands unto me),

"My youth hath escaped me; 'tis lost in the dust, And I bend me

to seek it, where'er it may be."

O captain,'[FN#92] added he, 'it is not I, but this my son that

is minded to travel.' 'God preserve his to thee!' said the

muleteer. Then Shemseddin made a contract between Alaeddin and

the muleteer, appointing that the former should be to the latter

as a son, and gave him into his charge, saying, 'Take these

hundred dinars for thy men.' Moreover, he bought his son

threescore mules and a lamp and covering of honour for the tomb

of Sheikh Abdulcadir el Jilani[FN#93] and said to him, 'O my son,

I am leaving thee, and this is thy father in my stead: whatsoever

he biddeth thee, do thou obey him.' So saying, he returned home

with the mules and servants and they made recitations of the

Koran and held a festival that night in honour of the Sheikh

Abdulcadir. On the morrow, Shemseddin gave his son ten thousand

dinars, saying, 'O my son, when thou comest to Baghdad, if thou

find stuffs brisk of sale, sell them; but if they be dull, spend

of these dinars.' Then they loaded the mules and taking leave of

their friends, set out on their journey.

Now Mehmoud of Balkh had made ready his own venture for Baghdad

and set up his tents without the city, saying in himself, 'I

shall not enjoy this youth but in the desert, where there is

neither spy not spoil-sport to trouble me.' It chanced that he

had in hand a thousand dinars of Shemseddin's monies, the balance

of a dealing between them; so he went to the Provost and bade him

farewell; and he said to him, 'Give the thousand dinars to my son

Alaeddin,' and commended the latter to his care, saying, 'He is

as it were thy son.' Accordingly, Alaeddin joined company with

Mehmoud, who charged the youth's cook to dress nothing for him,

but himself provided him and his company with meat and drink. Now

he had four houses, one at Cairo, another at Damascus, a third at

Aleppo and a fourth at Baghdad. So they set out and journeyed

over deserts and plains, till they drew near Damascus, when

Mehmoud sent his servant to Alaeddin, whom he found reading. He

went up to him and kissed his hands, and Alaeddin asked him what

he sought. 'My master salutes thee,' answered the slave, 'and

craves thy company to a banquet in his house.' Quoth the youth,

'I must consult my father Kemaleddin, the captain of the

caravan.' So he consulted the muleteer, who said, 'Do not go.'

Then they left Damascus and journeyed on till they came to

Aleppo, where Mehmoud made a second entertainment and sent to bid

Alaeddin; but the muleteer again forbade him. Then they departed

Aleppo and fared on, till they came within a day's journey of

Baghdad. Here Mehmoud repeated his invitation a third time and

Kemaleddin once more forbade Alaeddin to accept it; but the

latter said, 'I must needs go.' So he rose and girding on a sword

under his clothes, repaired to the tent of Mehmoud of Balkh, who

came to meet him and saluted him. Then he set a sumptuous repast

before him, and they ate and drank and washed their hands.

Presently, Mehmoud bent towards Alaeddin, to kiss him, but the

youth received the kiss on his hand and said to him, 'What wilt

thou do?' Quoth Mehmoud, 'I brought thee hither that I might do

delight with thee in this jousting-ground, and we will comment

the words of him who saith:

Can't be thou wilt with us a momentling alight, Like to an

ewekin's milk or what not else of white,

And cat what liketh thee of dainty wastel-bread And take what

thou mayst get of silver small and bright

And bear off what thou wilt, sans grudging or constraint,

Spanling or full-told span or fistling filled outright?'

Then he would have laid hands on Alaeddin; but he rose and

drawing his sword, said to him, 'Shame on thy gray hairs! Hast

thou no fear of God, and He of exceeding great might?[FN#94] May

He have mercy on him who saith:

Look thou thy hoariness preserve from aught that may it stain,

For whiteness still to take attaint is passing quick and

fain.

This merchandise,' added he, 'is a trust from God and may not be

sold. If I sold it to other than thee for gold, I would sell it

thee for silver: but, by Allah, O filthy one, I will never again

company with thee!' Then he returned to Kemaleddin and said to

him, 'Yonder man is a lewd fellow and I will no longer consort

with him nor suffer his company by the way.' 'O my son,' replied

the muleteer, 'did I not forbid thee to go with him? But if we

part company with him, I fear destruction for ourselves; so let

us still make one caravan.' But Alaeddin said, 'It may not be: I

will never again travel with him.' So he loaded his beasts and

journeyed onward, he and his company, till they came to a valley,

where Alaeddin would have halted, but the muleteer said to him,

'Do not halt here; rather let us fare forward and quicken our

pace, so haply we may reach Baghdad before the gates are

closed, for they open and shut them with the sun, for fear the

schismatics should take the city and throw the books of learning

into the Tigris.' 'O my father,' replied Alaeddin, 'I came not to

Baghdad with this merchandise, for the sake of traffic, but to

divert myself with the sight of foreign lands.' And Kemaleddin

rejoined, 'O my son, we fear for thee and for thy goods from the

wild Arabs.' But he answered, 'Harkye, sirrah, art thou master or

servant? I will not enter Baghdad till the morning, that the

townsfolk may see my merchandise and know me.' 'Do as thou wilt,'

said the muleteer; 'I have given thee good counsel, and thou must

judge for thyself.' Then Alaeddin bade them unload the mules and

pitch the tent; so they did his bidding and abode there till the

middle of the night, when the youth went out to do an occasion

and seeing something gleaming afar off, said to Kemaleddin, 'O

captain, what is yonder glittering?' The muleteer sat up and

considering it straitly, knew it for the glint of spear-heads and

Bedouin swords and harness. Now this was a troop of Bedouins

under a chief called Ajlan Abou Naib, Sheikh of the Arabs, and

when the neared the camp and saw the baggage, they said, one to

another, 'O night of booty!' Quoth Kemaleddin, 'Avaunt, O meanest

of Arabs!' But Abou Naib smote him with his javelin in the

breast, that the point came out gleaming from his back, and he

fell down dead at the tent-door. Then cried the water-carrier,

'Avaunt, O foulest of Arabs!' and one of them smote him with a

sword upon the shoulder, that it issued shining from the tendons

of the throat and he also fell slain. Then the Bedouins fell upon

the caravan from all sides and slew the whole company except

Alaeddin, after which they loaded the mules with the spoil and

made off. Quoth Alaeddin to himself, 'Thy dress and mule will be

the death of thee.' So he put off his cassock and threw it over

the back of a mule, remaining in his shirt and drawers alone;

after which he went to the door of the tent and finding there a

pool of blood from the slain, rolled himself in it, till he was

as a slain man, drowned in his blood. Meanwhile Ajlan said to his

men, 'O Arabs, was this caravan bound from Egypt for Baghdad or

from Baghdad for Egypt?' 'It was bound from Egypt for Baghdad,'

answered they. 'Then,' said he, 'return to the slain, for

methinks the owner of the caravan is not dead.' So they turned

back and fell to larding the slain with lance and sword-thrusts,

[lest any life were left in them,] till they came to Alaeddin,

who had laid himself among the dead bodies. Quoth they, 'Thou

dost but feign thyself dead, but we will make an end of thee.' So

one of the Bedouins drew his javelin and should have plunged

it into his breast. But he cried out, 'Save me, O my lord

Abdulcadir!' and behold, he saw a hand turn the lance away from

his breast to that of the muleteer, so that it pierced the latter

and spared himself. Then the Bedouins made off; and when Alaeddin

saw that the birds were flown with their purchase, he rose and

set off running; but Abou Naib looked back and said, 'O Arabs, I

see somewhat moving.' So one of the Bedouins turned back and

spying Alaeddin running, called out to him, saying, 'Flight shall

not avail thee, and we after thee;' and he smote his mare with

his fist and pricked after him. Then Alaeddin, seeing before him

a watering tank and a cistern beside it, climbed up into a niche

in the cistern and stretching himself along, feigned sleep and

said, 'O gracious Protector, cover me with the veil of Thy

protection, that may not be torn away!' Presently, the Bedouin

came up to the cistern and standing in his stirrups put out one

hand to lay hold of Alaeddin; but he said 'Save me, O my lady

Nefiseh![FN#95] Now is thy time!' And behold, a scorpion stung

the Bedouin in the palm and he cried out, saying, 'Help, O Arabs!

I am stung;' and fell off his mare. His comrades came up to him

and set him on horseback again, saying, 'What hath befallen

thee?' Quoth he, 'A scorpion stung me.' And they departed,

leaving Alaeddin in the niche.

Meanwhile, Mehmoud of Balkh loaded his beasts and fared on till

he came to the Valley of Dogs, where he found Alaeddin's men

lying slain. At this he rejoiced and went on till he reached the

reservoir. Now his mule was athirst and turned aside to drink,

but took fright at Alaeddin's shadow in the water and started;

whereupon Mehmoud raised his eyes and seeing Alaeddin lying in

the niche, stripped to his shirt and trousers, said to him, 'Who

hath dealt thus with thee and left thee in this ill plight?' 'The

Bedouins,' answered Alaeddin, and Mehmoud said, 'O my son, the

mules and the baggage were thy ransom; so do thou comfort thyself

with the saying of the poet:

So but a man may win to save his soul alive from death, But as

the paring of his nail his wealth he reckoneth.

But now, O my son,' continued he, 'come down and fear no hurt.'

So he came down from the niche and Mehmoud mounted him on a mule

and fared on with him, till they reached Baghdad, where he

brought him to his own house and bade his servants carry him to

the bath, saying to him, 'O my son, the goods and money were the

ransom of thy life; but, if thou wilt harken to me, I will give

thee the worth of that thou hast lost, twice told.' When he came

out of the bath, Mehmoud carried him into a saloon with four

estrades, decorated with gold, and let bring a tray of all manner

meats. So they ate and drank and Mehmoud turned to Alaeddin and

would have taken a kiss of him; but he received it upon his hand

and said, 'Dost thou persist in thy evil designs upon me? Did I

not tell thee that, were I wont to sell this merchandise to other

than thee for gold, I would sell it thee for silver?' Quoth

Mehmoud, 'I will give thee neither mule nor clothes nor

merchandise save at this price; for I am mad for love of thee,

and God bless him who said:

Abou Bilal his saw of an object of love, Which from one of his

elders himself did derive

"The lover's not healed of the pangs of desire By clips nor by

kisses, excepting he swive."

'This may never be,' replied Alaeddin. 'Take back thy dress and

thy mule and open the door, that I may go out.' So he opened the

door, and Alaeddin went forth and walked on, with the dogs

yelping at his heels, till he saw the door of a mosque open and

going in, took shelter in the vestibule. Presently, he espied a

light approaching and examining it, saw that it came from a pair

of lanterns borne by two slaves before two merchants, an old man

of comely aspect and a youth. He heard the latter say to the

other, 'O my uncle, I conjure thee by Allah, give me back my

wife!' The old man replied, 'Did I not warn thee, many a time,

when the oath of divorce was always in thy mouth, as it were thy

Koran?' Then he turned and seeing Alaeddin, as he were a piece of

the moon, said to him, 'Who art thou, O my son?' Quoth he, 'I am

Alaeddin, son of Shemseddin, Provost of the merchants at Cairo. I

besought my father for merchandise; so he packed me fifty loads

of goods and gave me ten thousand dinars, wherewith I set out for

Baghdad; but when I came to the Lion's Copse, the Bedouins fell

upon me and took all I had. So I entered this city, knowing not

where to pass the night, and seeing this place, I took shelter

here.' 'O my son,' said the old man, 'what sayst thou to a

thousand dinars and a suit of clothes and a mule worth other two

thousand?' 'To what end wilt thou give me this?' asked Alaeddin,

and the other answered, 'This young man, whom thou seest, is

the only son of my brother and I have an only daughter called

Zubeideh the Lutanist, who is endowed with beauty and grace. I

married her to him and he loves her, but she hates him. Now he

took an oath of triple divorcement and broke it.[FN#96] As soon

as she heard of this, she left him, and he egged on all the folk

to intercede with me to restore her to him; but I told him that

this could not lawfully be done but by an intermediate marriage,

and we have agreed to make some stranger the intermediary, so

none may taunt him with this affair. So, as thou art a stranger,

come with us and we will marry thee to her; thou shalt lie with

her to-night and on the morrow divorce her, and we will give thee

what I said.' 'By Allah,' quoth Alaeddin to himself, 'it were

better to pass the night with a bride on a bed in a house, than

in the streets and vestibules!' So he went with them to the Cadi,

who, as soon as he saw Alaeddin, was moved to love of him and

said to the old man, 'What is your will?' Quoth he, 'We wish to

marry this young man to my daughter, as an intermediary, and the

contract is to be for ten thousand dinars, dowry precedent, for

which he shall give us a bond. If he divorce her in the morning,

we will give him a thousand dinars and a mule and dress worth

other two thousand; but if he divorce her not, he shall pay down

the ten thousand dinars, according to the bond.' The Cadi drew up

the marriage contract to this effect and the lady's father took a

bond for the dowry. Then he took Alaeddin and clothing him anew,

carried him to his daughter's house, where he left him at the

door, whilst he himself went in to the young lady and gave her

the bond, saying, 'Take the bond of thy dowry, for I have married

thee to a handsome youth by name Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat; so do

thou use him with all consideration.' Then he left her and went

to his own lodging. Now the lady's cousin had an old waiting-

woman, to whom he had done many a kindness and who used to visit

Zubeideh; so he said to her, 'O my mother, if my cousin Zubeideh

see this handsome young man, she will never after accept of me;

so I would fain have thee contrive to keep them apart.' 'By thy

youth,' answered she, 'I will not suffer him to approach her!'

Then she went to Alaeddin and said to him, 'O my son, I have a

warning to give thee, for the love of God the Most High, and do

thou follow my advice, for I fear for thee from this damsel: let

her lie alone and handle her not nor draw near to her.' 'Why

so?' asked he, and she answered, 'Because her body is full of

elephantiasis and I fear lest she infect thy fair youth.' Quoth

he, 'I have no need of her.' Moreover, she went to the lady and

said the like to her of Alaeddin; and she replied, 'I have no

need of him, but will let him lie alone, and on the morrow he

shall go his way.' Then she called a slave-girl and said to her,

'Take him the tray of food, that he may sup.' So the maid carried

him the tray of food and set it before him, and he ate his fill;

after which he sat down and fell to reciting the chapter called

Ya-sin[FN#97] in a sweet voice. The lady listened to him and

found his voice as melodious as the psalms of David, which when

she heard, she exclaimed, 'Beshrew the old hag that told me that

he was affected with leprosy! Surely, that is a lie against him,

for this is not the voice of one who hath such a disease.' Then

she took a lute of Indian workmanship and tuning it, sang the

following verses, in a voice, whose music would stay the birds in

mid-heaven:

I am enamoured of a fawn with black and languorous eyes; The

willow-branches, as he goes, are jealous of him still.

Me he rejects and others 'joy his favours in my stead. This is

indeed the grace of God He gives to whom He will.

As soon as he had finished his recitation, he sang the following

verse in reply:

My salutation to the shape that through the wede doth show And to

the roses in the cheeks' full-flowering meads that blow!

When she heard this, her inclination for him redoubled and she

rose and lifted the curtain; and Alaeddin, seeing her, repeated

these verses:

She shineth forth, a moon, and bends, a willow-wand, And breathes

out ambergris and gazes, a gazelle.

Meseems as if grief loved my heart and when from her Estrangement

I abide, possession to it fell.

Thereupon she came forward, swinging her hips and swaying

gracefully from side to side with a shape the handiwork of Him

whose bounties are hidden, and each of them stole a glance at the

other, that cost them a thousand regrets. Then, for that the

arrows of her glances overcame his heart, he repeated the

following verses:

The moon of the heavens she spied and called to my thought The

nights of our loves in the meadows under her shine.

Yea, each of us saw a moon, but, sooth to say, It was her

eyes[FN#98] that I saw and she saw mine.[FN#99]

Then she drew near him, and when there remained but two paces

between them, he repeated these verses:

She took up three locks of her hair and spread them out one night

And straight three nights discovered at once unto my sight.

Then did she turn her visage up to the moon of the sky And showed

me two moons at one season, both burning clear and bright.

Then said he to her, 'Keep off from me, lest thou infect me.'

Whereupon she uncovered her wrist to him, and he saw that it was

cleft [like a peach] and its whiteness was as the whiteness of

silver. Then said she, 'Hold off from me, thou, for thou art

stricken with leprosy, and belike thou wilt infect me.' 'Who told

thee I was a leper?' asked he, and she said, 'The old woman.'

Quoth he, 'It was she told me that thou wast afflicted with

elephantiasis.' So saying, he bared his arms and showed her that

his skin was like virgin silver, whereupon she pressed him to her

bosom and they clipped one another. Then she took him and lying

down on her back, did off her trousers, whereupon that which his

father had left him rose up [in rebellion] against him and he

said, 'To it, O elder of yards, O father of nerves!' And putting

his hands to her flanks, set the nerve of sweetness to the mouth

of the cleft and thrust on to the wicket-gate. His passage was by

the gate of victories [or openings] and after this he entered the

Monday market and those of Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and

finding the carpet after the measure of the estrade, he plied [or

turned] the box within its sheath [or cover] till he came to [the

end of] it.[FN#100] When it was morning, he exclaimed, 'Alas for

delight that is not fulfilled! The raven[FN#101] takes it and

flies away!' 'What means this saying?' asked she, and he

answered, 'O my lady, I have but this hour to abide with thee.'

Quoth she, 'Who saith so?' and he, 'Thy father made me give him a

bond to pay ten thousand dinars to thy dowry; and except I pay it

this very day, they will lay me in prison therefor in the Cadi's

house; and now my hand lacketh one para of the sum.' 'O my lord,'

said she, 'is the marriage bond in thy hand or in theirs?' 'In

mine,' answered he, 'but I have nothing.' Quoth she, 'The matter

is easy; fear nothing. Take these hundred dinars; if I had more,

I would give thee what thou lackest; but my father, for his love

of my cousin, hath transported all his good, even to my trinkets,

from my lodging to his. But when they send thee a serjeant of the

court and the Cadi and my father bid thee divorce, answer thou,

"By what code is it right that I should marry at nightfall and

divorce in the morning?" Then kiss the Cadi's hand and give him a

present, and in like manner kiss the Assessors' hands and give

each of them half a score dinars. So they will all speak with

thee and if they say to thee, "Why dost thou not divorce her and

take the thousand dinars and the mule and suit of clothes,

according to contract?" do thou answer, "Every hair of her head

is worth a thousand dinars to me and I will never put her away,

neither will I take a suit of clothes nor aught else." If the

Cadi say to thee, "Then pay down the dowry," do thou reply, "I am

straitened at this present;" whereupon he and the Assessors will

deal friendly with thee and allow thee time to pay.' Whilst they

were talking, the Cadi's officer knocked at the door; so Alaeddin

went down and the man said to him, 'The Cadi cites thee to answer

thy father-in-law's summons.' Alaeddin gave him five dinars and

said to him, 'O serjeant, by what code am I bound to marry at

night and divorce next morning?' 'By none of ours,' answered the

serjeant; 'and if thou be ignorant of the law, I will act as

thine advocate.' Then they went to the court and the Cadi said to

Alaeddin, 'Why dost thou not divorce the woman and take what

falls to thee by the contract?' With this he went up to the Cadi

and kissing his hand, put in it fifty dinars and said, 'O our

lord the Cadi, by what code is it right that I should marry at

night and divorce in the morning in my own despite?' 'Divorce on

compulsion,' replied the Cadi, 'is sanctioned by no school of the

Muslims.' Then said the lady's father, 'If thou wilt not divorce,

pay me the ten thousand dinars, her dowry.' Quoth Alaeddin, 'Give

me three days' time.' But the Cadi said, 'Three days is not

enough; he shall give thee ten.' So they agreed to this and bound

him to pay the dowry or divorce after ten days. Then he left them

and taking meat and rice and butter and what else of food he

needed, returned to his wife and told her what had passed;

whereupon she said, 'Between night and day, wonders may happen:

and God bless him who saith:

Be mild what time thou'rt ta'en with anger and despite And

patient, if there fall misfortune on thy head.

Indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by time And of

all wond'rous things are hourly brought to bed.

Then she rose and made ready food and brought the tray, and they

ate and drank and made merry awhile. Presently, Alaeddin besought

her to let him hear some music; so she took the lute and played a

measure, that would have made the very rock dance for delight,

and the strings cried out, in ecstasy, 'O Loving One!'[FN#102]

after which she passed into a livelier measure. As they were thus

passing the time in mirth and delight, there came a knocking at

the door and Zubeideh said to Alaeddin, 'Go and see who is at the

door.' So he went down and finding four dervishes standing

without, said to them, 'What do you want?' 'O my lord,' answered

they, 'we are foreign dervishes, the food of whose souls is music

and dainty verse, and we would fain take our pleasure with thee

this night. On the morrow we will go our way, and with God the

Most High be thy reward; for we adore music and there is not one

of us but hath store of odes and songs and ballads.' 'I must

consult [my wife],' answered he and returned and told Zubeideh,

who said, 'Open the door to them.' So he went down again and

bringing them up, made them sit down and welcomed them. Then he

brought them food, but they would not eat and said, 'O my lord,

our victual is to magnify God with out hearts and hear music with

our ears: and God bless him who saith:

We come for your company only, and not for your feasts; For

eating for eating's sake is nought but a fashion of beasts.

Just now,' added they, 'we heard pleasant music here; but when we

knocked, it ceased; and we would fain know whether the player was

a slave-girl, white of black, or a lady.' 'It was this my wife,'

answered he and told them all that had befallen him, adding, 'My

father-in-law hath bound me to pay a dowry of ten thousand dinars

for her and they have given me ten days' time.' 'Have no care and

think nought but good,' said one of the dervishes; 'for I am head

of the convent and have forty dervishes under my hand. I will

gather thee from them the ten thousand dinars and thou shalt pay

thy father-in-law the dowry. But now bid thy wife make us music,

that we may be heartened and solaced, for to some music is food,

to others medicine and to others refreshment.'[FN#103] Now

these four dervishes were none other than the Khalif Haroun er

Reshid and his Vizier Jaafer the Barmecide and Abou Nuwas ben

Hani[FN#104] and Mesrour the headsman; and the reason of their

coming thither was that the Khalif, being heavy at heart, had

called his Vizier and signified to him his wish to go forth and

walk about the city, to divert himself. So they all four donned

dervish habits and went out and walked about, till they came to

Zubeideh's house and hearing music, were minded to know the

cause. They spent the night in mirth and harmony and discourse,

till the morning, when the Khalif laid a hundred dinars under the

prayer-carpet and taking leave of Alaeddin, went his way, he and

his companions. Presently, Zubeideh lifted the carpet and finding

the hundred dinars, gave them to her husband, saying, 'Take these

hundred dinars that I have found under the prayer-carpet; the

dervishes must have laid them there, without our knowledge.' So

he took the money and repairing to the market, bought meat and

rice and butter and so forth. When it was night, he lighted the

candled and said to Zubeideh, 'The dervishes have not brought the

ten thousand dinars that they promised me: but indeed they are

poor men.' As they were talking, the dervishes knocked at the

door and she said, 'Go down and open to them.' So he went down

and bringing them up, said to them, 'Have you brought me the ten

thousand dinars?' 'We have not been able to get aught thereof as

yet,' answered they, 'but fear nothing: to-morrow, God willing,

we will make an alchymic operation for thee. But now bid thy wife

play her best to us and gladden our hearts, for we love music.'

So she made them music, that would have caused the very rocks to

dance; and they passed the night in mirth and converse and good

cheer, till the morning appeared with its light and shone, when

they took leave of Alaeddin and went their way, after laying

other hundred dinars under the carpet. They continued to visit

him thus every night for nine nights, and each morning the Khalif

put a hundred dinars under the prayer-carpet, till the tenth

night, when they came not. Now the reason for their failure to

come was that the Khalif had sent to a great merchant, saying to

him, 'Bring me fifty loads of stuffs, such as come from Cairo,

each worth a thousand dinars, and write on each bale its price;

and bring me also a male Abyssinian slave.' The merchant did the

bidding of the Khalif, who write a letter to Alaeddin, as from

his father Shemseddin, and committed it to the slave, together

with the fifty loads and a basin and ewer of gold and other

presents, saying to him, 'Take these bales and what else and go

to such and such a quarter and enquire for Alaeddin Abou esh

Shamat, at the house of the Provost of the merchants.' So the

slave took the letter and the goods and went out on his errand.

Meanwhile the lady's first husband went to her father and said to

him, 'Come, let us go to Alaeddin and make him divorce my

cousin.' So they set out, and when they came to the street in

which Zubeideh's house stood, they found fifty mules, laden with

stuffs, and a black slave riding on a she-mule. So they said to

him, 'Whose goods are these?' 'They belong to my lord Alaeddin

Abou esh Shamat,' answered he. 'His father equipped him with

merchandise and sent him on a journey to Baghdad; but the

Bedouins fell on him and took all he had. So when the news of his

despoilment reached his father, he despatched me to him with

these fifty loads, in place of those he had lost, besides a mule

laden with fifth thousand dinars and a parcel of clothes worth

much money and a cloak of sables and a basin and ewer of gold.'

When the old merchant heard this, he said, 'He whom thou seekest

is my son-in-law and I will show thee his house.' Now Alaeddin

was sitting in great concern, when one knocked at the door, and

he said, 'O Zubeideh, God is all-knowing! Thy father hath surely

sent me an officer from the Cadi or the Chief of the Police.' 'Go

down,' said she, 'and see what it is.' So he went down and

opening the door, found his father-in-law, with an Abyssinian

slave, dusky-hued and pleasant of favour, riding on a mule. When

the slave saw him, he alighted and kissed his hands: and Alaeddin

said, 'What dost thou want?' Quoth he, 'I am the slave of my load

Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, son of Shemseddin, Provost of the

merchants of Cairo, who has sent me to him with this charge.'

Then he gave him the letter and Alaeddin, opening it, read what

follows:

Harkye, my letter, when my beloved sees thee, Kiss thou the earth

before him and his shoes.

Look thou go softly and hasten not nor hurry, For in his hands

are my life and my repose.

Then after the usual salutations from Shemseddin to his son, the

letter proceeded thus: 'Know, O my son, that news hath reached me

of the slaughter of thy men and the plunder of thy baggage; so I

send thee herewith fifty loads of Egyptian stuffs, together with

a suit of clothes and a cloak of sables and an ewer and basin of

gold. Fear no evil and be not anywise troubled, for, O my son,

the goods thou hast lost were the ransom of thy life. Thy mother

and the people of the house are well and in good case and send

thee many greetings. Moreover, O my son, I hear that they have

married thee, by way of intermediation, to the lady Zubeideh the

Lutanist and have imposed on thee a dowry of ten thousand dinars;

wherefore I send thee also fifty thousand dinars by thy slave

Selim, the bearer of these presents, whereout thou mayest pay the

dowry and provide thyself with the rest.' When Alaeddin had made

an end of reading the letter, he took possession of the goods and

turning to the old merchant, said to him, 'O my father-in-law,

take the ten thousand dinars, thy daughter's dowry, and take also

the loads of goods and dispose of them, and thine be the profit;

only return me the cost-price.' 'Nay, by Allah,' answered he, 'I

will take nothing; and as for thy wife's dowry, do thou settle it

with her.' Then they went in to Zubeideh, after the goods had

been brought in, and she said to her father, 'O my father, whose

goods are these?' 'They belong to thy husband Alaeddin,' answered

he; 'his father hath sent them to him in place of those of which

the Bedouins spoiled him. Moreover, he hath sent him fifty

thousand dinars and a parcel of clothes and a cloak of sables and

a riding mule and an ewer and basin of gold. As for the dower,

that is thine affair.' Thereupon Alaeddin rose and opening the

chest [of money] gave her her dowry. Then said the lady's cousin,

'O my uncle, let him divorce to me my wife;' but the old man

replied, 'This may never be now, for the marriage-tie is in his

hand.' With this the young man went out, sore afflicted, and

returning home, fell sick, for he had received his death-blow; so

he took to his bed and presently died. But as for Alaeddin, he

went to the market and buying what victual he needed, made a

banquet as usual against the night, saying to Zubeideh, 'See

these lying dervishes; they promised us and broke their promise.'

Quoth she, 'Thou art the son of a Provost of the merchants yet

did thy hand lack of a para; how then should it be with poor

dervishes?' 'God the Most High hath enabled us to do without

them,' answered Alaeddin; 'but never again will I open the door

to them.' 'Why so,' asked she, 'seeing that their coming brought

us good luck, and moreover, they put a hundred dinars under the

prayer-carpet for us every night? So needs must thou open to

them, if they come.' So when the day departed with its light and

the night came, they lighted the candles and he said to her,

'Come, Zubeideh, make us music.' At this moment some one knocked

at the door, and she said, 'Go and see who is at the door.' So he

went down and opened it and seeing the dervishes, said, 'Welcome

to the liars! Come up.' Accordingly, they went up with him, and

he made them sit down and brought them the tray of food. So they

ate and drank and made merry and presently said to him, 'O my

lord, our hearts have been troubled for thee: what hath passed

between thee and thy father-in-law?' 'God hath compensated us

beyond our desire,' answered he. 'By Allah,' rejoined they, 'we

were in fear for thee and nought kept us from thee but our lack

of money.' Quoth he, 'My Lord hath vouchsafed me speedy relief;

for my father hath sent me fifty thousand dinars and fifty loads

of stuffs, each worth a thousand dinars, besides an Abyssinian

slave and a riding mule and a suit of clothes and a basin and an

ewer of gold. Moreover, I have made my peace with my father-in-

law and my wife is confirmed to me; so praised be God for this!'

Presently the Khalif rose to do an occasion; whereupon Jaafer

turned to Alaeddin and said to him, 'Look to thy manners, for

thou art in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful.' 'How

have I failed in good breeding before the Commander of the

Faithful,' asked he, 'and which of you is he?' Quoth Jaafer, 'He

who went out but now is the Commander of the Faithful and I am

the Vizier Jaafer: this is Mesrour the headsman, and this other

is Abou Nuwas ben Hani. And now, O Alaeddin, use thy reason and

bethink thee how many days' journey it is from Cairo hither.'

'Five-and-forty days' journey,' answered he, and Jaafer rejoined,

'Thy baggage was stolen but ten days ago; so how could the news

have reached thy father, and how could he pack thee up other

goods and send them to thee five-and-forty days' journey in ten

days' time?' 'O my lord,' said Alaeddin, 'and whence then came

they?' 'From the Commander of the Faithful,' replied Jaafer, 'of

his much affection for thee.' As he spoke, the Khalif entered and

Alaeddin, rising, kissed the ground before him and said, 'God

keep thee, O Commander of the Faithful, and give thee long life,

so the folk may not lack thy bounty and beneficence!' 'O

Alaeddin,' replied the Khalif, 'let Zubeideh play us an air, by

way of thank-offering for thy deliverance.' So she played him

the rarest of measures on the lute, till the very stones shook

for delight and the strings cried out for ecstasy, 'O Loving

One!'[FN#105] They spent the night after the merriest fashion,

and in the morning, the Khalif said to Alaeddin, 'Come to the

Divan to-morrow.' 'I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful,'

answered he, 'so it please God and thou be well and in good

case.' So on the morrow he took ten trays and putting a costly

present on each, went up with them to the palace. As the Khalif

was sitting on the throne, Alaeddin appeared at the door of the

Divan, repeating the following verses:

Good fortune and glory still wait on thy days And rubbed in the

dust be thine envier's nose!

May the days never stint to be white unto thee And black with

despite be the days of thy foes!

'Welcome, O Alaeddin!' sad the Khalif, and he replied, 'O

Commander of the Faithful, the Prophet (whom God bless and

preserve) accepted presents; and these ten trays, with what is on

them, are my present to thee.' The Khalif accepted his gift and

ordering him a robe of honour, made him Provost of the merchants

and gave him a seat in the Divan. Presently, his father-in-law

came in, and seeing Alaeddin seated in his place and clad in a

robe of honour, said to the Khalif, 'O King of the age, why is

this man sitting in my place and wearing this robe of honour?'

Quoth the Khalif, 'I have made him Provost of the merchants, and

thou art deposed; for offices are by investiture and not in

perpetuity.' 'Thou hast done well, O Commander of the Faithful,'

answered the merchant; 'for he is art and part of us. May God

make the best of us the orderers of our affairs! How many a

little one hath become great!' Then the Khalif wrote Alaeddin a

patent [of investiture] and gave it to the Master of Police, who

gave it to the crier and the latter made proclamation in the

Divan, saying, 'None is Provost of the merchants but Alaeddin

Abou esh Shamat, and it behoves all to give heed to his words and

pay him respect and honour and consideration!' Moreover, when the

Divan broke up, the Master of the Police took Alaeddin and

carried him through the thoroughfares of Baghdad, whilst the

crier went before him, making proclamation of his dignity. Next

day, Alaeddin opened a shop for his slave Selim and set him

therein, to buy and sell, whilst he himself rode to the palace

and took his place in the Khalif's Divan.

One day, as he sat in his place, one said to the Khalif, 'O

Commander of the Faithful, may thy head survive such an one the

boon-companion! He is gone to the mercy of God the Most High, but

may thy life be prolonged!' Quoth the Khalif, 'Where is Alaeddin

Abou esh Shamat?' So he went up to the Commander of the Faithful,

who clad him in a splendid dress of honour and made him his boon-

companion in the dead man's room, appointing him a monthly wage

of a thousand dinars. He continued to fill his new office till,

one day, as he sat in the Divan, according to his wont, an Amir

came up with a sword and shield in his hand and said, 'O

Commander of the Faithful, mayst thou outlive the Chief of the

Sixty, for he is this day dead;' whereupon the Khalif ordered

Alaeddin a dress of honour and made him Chief of the Sixty, in

place of the dead man, who had neither wife nor child. So

Alaeddin laid hands on his estate, and the Khalif said to him,

'Bury him in the earth and take all he hath left of wealth and

slaves, male and female.' Then he shook the handkerchief and

dismissed the Divan, whereupon Alaeddin went forth, attended by

Ahmed ed Denef, captain of the right hand, and Hassan Shouman,

captain of the left hand troop of the Khalif's guard, riding at

his either stirrup, each with his forty men. Presently, he turned

to Hassan Shouman and his men and said to them, 'Plead ye for me

with Captain Ahmed ed Denef, that he accept me as his son before

God.' And Ahmed ed Denef assented, saying, 'I and my forty men

will go before thee to the Divan every day.'

After this, Alaeddin abode in the Khalif's service many days;

till one day it chanced that he left the Divan and returning

home, dismissed Ahmed ed Denef and his men and sat down with his

wife, who lighted the candles and went out of the room upon an

occasion. Presently, he heard a great cry and running in haste to

see what was the matter, found that it was his wife who had cried

out. She was lying prone on the groudn and when he put his hand

to her breast, he found her dead. Now her father's house faced

that of Alaeddin, and he, hearing her cry out, came in and said,

'What is the matter, O my lord Alaeddin?' 'O my father,' answered

he, 'may thy head outlive thy daughter Zubeideh! But the honour

we owe the dead is to bury them.' So, on the morrow, they buried

her in the earth and her husband and father condoled with each

other. Moreover, Alaeddin put on mourning apparel and absented

himself from the Divan, abiding tearful-eyed and sorrowful-

hearted. After awhile, the Khalif said to Jaafer, 'O Vizier, what

is the cause of Alaeddin's absence from the Divan?' 'O Commander

of the Faithful,' answered Jaafer, 'he is in mourning for his

wife Zubeideh;' and the Khalif said, 'It behoves us to pay him a

visit of condolence.' 'I hear and obey,' replied Jaafer. So they

took horse and riding to Alaeddin's house, came in upon him with

their attendants, as he sat at home; whereupon he rose to receive

them and kissed the earth before the Khalif, who said to him,

'May God abundantly make good thy loss to thee!' 'May He preserve

thee to us, O Commander of the Faithful!' answered Alaeddin. Then

said the Khalif, 'O Alaeddin, why hast thou absented thyself from

the Divan?' And he replied, 'Because of my mourning for my wife

Zubeideh, O Commander of the Faithful.' 'Put away grief from

thee,' rejoined the prince. 'She is dead and gone to the mercy of

God the Most High, and mourning will avail thee nothing.' But

Alaeddin said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, I shall never leave

mourning for her till I die and they bury me by her side.' Quoth

Haroun, 'With God is compensation for every loss, and neither

wealth nor device can deliver from death. God bless him who said:

Every son of woman, how long soe'er his life be, Must one day be

carried upon the bulging bier.

How shall he have pleasure in life or hold it goodly, He unto

whose cheeks the dust must soon adhere?'

Then, when he had made an end of condoling with him, he charged

him not to absent himself from the Divan and returned to his

palace. On the morrow, Alaeddin mounted and riding to the court,

kissed the ground before the Khalif, who rose from the throne, to

greet and welcome him, and bade him take his appointed place in

the Divan saying, 'O Alaeddin, thou art my guest to-night.' So

presently he carried him into his seraglio and calling a slave-

girl named Cout el Culoub, said to her, 'Alaeddin had a wife

called Zubeideh, who used to sing to him and solace him of care

and trouble; but she is gone to the mercy of God the Most High,

and now I desire that thou play him an air of thy rarest fashion

on the lute, that he may be diverted from his grief and

mourning.' So she rose and made rare music; and the Khalif said

to Alaeddin, 'What sayst thou of this damsel's voice?' 'O

Commander of the Faithful', answered he, 'Zubeideh's voice was

the finer; but she is rarely skilled in touching the lute, and

her playing would make a rock dance.' 'Doth she please thee?'

asked the Khalif. 'Yes, O Commander of the Faithful,' answered

Alaeddin, and Haroun said, 'By the life of my head and the tombs

of my forefathers, she is a gift from me to thee, she and her

waiting-women!' Alaeddin thought that the Khalif was jesting with

him; but, on the morrow, he went in to Cout el Culoub and said to

her, 'I have given thee to Alaeddin;' whereat she rejoiced, for

she had seen and loved him. Then the Khalif returned to the Divan

and calling porters, said to them, 'Set Cout el Culoub and her

waiting-women in a litter and carry them, together with her

goods, to Alaeddin's house.' So they did as he bade them and left

her in the upper chamber of Alaeddin's house, whilst the Khalif

sat in the hall of audience till the close of the day, when the

Divan broke up and he retired to his harem.

Meanwhile, Cout el Culoub, having taken up her lodging in

Alaeddin's house, with her women, forty in all, besides eunuchs,

called two of the latter and said to them, 'Sit ye on stools, one

on the right and another on the left hand of the door; and when

Alaeddin comes home, kiss his hands and say to him, "Our mistress

Cout el Culoub bids thee to her in the upper chamber, for the

Khalif hath given her to thee, her and her women."' 'We hear and

obey,' answered they and did as she bade them. So, when Alaeddin

returned, he found two of the Khalif's eunuchs sitting at the

door and was amazed and said to himself, 'Surely, this is not my

own house; or else what can have happened?' When the eunuchs saw

him, they rose and kissing his hands, said to him, 'We are of the

Khalif's household and servants to Cout el Culoub, who salutes

thee, giving thee to know that the Khalif hath bestowed her on

thee, her and her women, and craves thy company.' Quoth Alaeddin,

'Say ye to her, "Thou art welcome; but so long as thou abidest

with me, I will not enter thy lodging, for it befits not that

what was the master's should become the servant's;" and ask her

also what was the sum of her day's expense in the Khalif's

palace.' So they went in to her and did his errand to her, and

she replied, 'A hundred dinars a day;' whereupon quoth he in

himself, 'There was no need for the Khalif to give me Cout el

Culoub, that I should be put to such an expense for her; but

there is no help for it.' So she abode with him awhile and he

assigned her daily a hundred dinars for her maintenance, till,

one day, he absented himself from the Divan and the Khalif said

to Jaafer, 'O Vizier, I gave Cout el Culoub unto Alaeddin, that

she might console him for his wife; but why doth he still hold

aloof from us?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered Jaafer,

'he spoke sooth who said, "Whoso findeth his beloved, forgetteth

his friends."' 'Belike he hath excuse for his absence,' rejoined

the Khalif; 'but we will pay him a visit.' (Now some days before

this, Alaeddin had said to Jaafer, 'I complained to the Khalif of

my grief for the loss of my wife Zubeideh, and he gave me Cout el

Culoub.' And Jaafer replied, 'Except he loved thee, he had not

given her to thee.' Hast thou gone in to her?' 'No, by Allah!

answered Alaeddin. 'I know not her length from her breadth.' 'And

why?' asked Jaafer. 'O Vizier,' replied Alaeddin, 'what befits

the master befits not the servant.') Then the Khalif and Jaafer

disguised themselves and went privily to visit Alaeddin; but he

knew them and rising to them, kissed the hands of the Khalif, who

looked at him and read trouble in his face. So he said to him, 'O

Alaeddin, whence cometh this trouble in which I see thee? Hast

thou gone in to Cout el Culoub?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,'

answered he, 'what befits the master befits not the servant. No,

I have not gone in to her nor do I know her length from her

breadth; so do thou quit me of her.' Quoth the Khalif, 'I would

fain see her and question her of her case.' And Alaeddin replied,

'I hear and obey, O Commander of the Faithful.' So the Khalif

went in to Cout el Culoub, who rose and kissed the ground before

him, and said to her, 'Hath Alaeddin gone in to thee?' 'No, O

Commander of the Faithful,' answered she; 'I sent to bid him to

me, but he would not come.' So he bade carry her back to the

harem and saying to Alaeddin, 'Do not absent thyself from us,'

returned to his palace. Accordingly, next morning, Alaeddin

mounted and rode to the Divan, where he took his seat as Chief of

the Sixty. Presently the Khalif bade his treasurer give the

Vizier Jaafer ten thousand dinars and said to the latter, 'I

charge thee to go down to the slave-market and buy Alaeddin a

slave-girl with this sum.' So Jaafer took Alaeddin and went down

with him to the bazaar. As change would have it, that very day,

the Amir Khalid, Chief of the Baghdad Police, had gone down to

the market to buy a slave-girl for his son Hebezlem Bezazeh. Now

this son he had by his wife Khatoun, and he was foul of favour

and had reached the age of twenty, without learning to ride,

albeit his father was a valiant cavalier and a doughty champion

and delighted in battle and adventure. One night, he had a dream

of dalliance in sleep and told his mother, who rejoiced and told

his father, saying, 'Fain would I find him a wife, for he is now

apt for marriage.' Quoth Khalid, 'He is so foul of favour and

withal so evil of odour, so sordid and churlish, that no woman

would accept of him.' And she answered, 'We will buy him a slave-

girl.' So it befell, for the accomplishment of that which God the

Most High had decreed, that the Amir and his son went down, on

the same day as Jaafer and Alaeddin, to the market, where they

saw a beautiful girl, full of grace and symmetry, in the hands of

a broker, and the Vizier said to the latter, 'O broker, ask her

owner if he will take a thousand dinars for her.' The broker

passed by the Amir and his son with the slave and Hebezlem took

one look of her, that cost him a thousand sighs; and he fell

passionately in love with her and said, 'O my father, buy me

yonder slave-girl.' So the Amir called the broker, who brought

the girl to him, and asked her her name. 'My name is Jessamine,'

replied she; and he said to Hebezlem, 'O my son, an she please

thee, bid for her.' Then he asked the broker what had been bidden

for her and he replied, 'A thousand dinars.' 'She is mine for a

thousand and one,' said Hebezlem, and the broker passed on to

Alaeddin, who bid two thousand dinars for her; and as often as

Hebezlem bid another dinar, Alaeddin bid a thousand. The Amir's

son was vexed at this and said to the broker, 'Who is it that

bids against me for the slave-girl?' 'It is the Vizier Jaafer,'

answered the broker, 'who is minded to buy her for Alaeddin Abou

esh Shamat.' Alaeddin continued to bid for her till he brought

her price up to ten thousand dinars, and her owner sold her to

him for that sum. So he took the girl and said to her, 'I give

thee thy freedom for the love of God the Most High.' Then he

married her and carried her to his house. When the broker

returned, after having delivered the girl and received his

brokerage, Hebezlem called him and said to him, 'Where is the

girl?' Quoth he, 'She was bought for ten thousand dinars by

Alaeddin, who hath set her free and married her.' At this the

young man was greatly cast down and heaving many a sigh, returned

home, sick for love of the damsel. He threw himself on his bed

and refused food, and passion and love-longing were sore upon

him. When his mother saw him in this plight, she said to him,

'God keep thee, O my son! What ails thee?' And he answered, 'Buy

me Jessamine, O my mother.' 'When the flower-seller passes,' said

she, 'I will buy thee a basketful of jessamine.' Quoth he, 'It is

not the jessamine one smells I want, but a slave girl named

Jessamine, whom my father would not buy for me.' So she said to

her husband, 'Why didst thou not buy him the girl?' And he

replied, 'What is fit for the master is not fit for the servant,

and I have no power to take her; for no less a man bought her

than Alaeddin, Chief of the Sixty.' Then the youth's weakness

redoubled upon him, till he could neither sleep nor eat, and his

mother bound her head with the fillets of mourning. Presently, as

she sat at home, lamenting over her son, there came in to her an

old woman, known as the mother of Ahmed Kemakim the arch-thief, a

knave who would bore through the stoutest wall and scale the

highest and steal the very kohl from the eye. From his earliest

years he had been given to these foul practices, till they made

him captain of the watch, when he committed a robbery and the

Chief of the Police, taking him in the act, carried him to the

Khalif, who bade put him to death. But he sought protection of

the Vizier, whose intercession the Khalif never rejected; so he

pleaded for him with the Commander of the Faithful, who said,

'How canst thou intercede for a wretch who is the pest of the

human race?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied Jaafer, 'do

thou imprison him; he who built the [first] prison was a sage,

seeing that a prison is the sepulchre of the live and a cause for

their enemies to exult.' So the Khalif bade lay him in chains and

write thereon, 'Appointed to remain until death and not to be

loosed but on the bench of the washer of the dead.' And they

fettered him and cast him into prison. Now his mother was a

frequent visitor to the house of the Master of the Police and

used to go in to her son in prison and say to him, 'Did I not

warn thee to turn from thy wicked ways?' 'God decreed this to

me,' would he answer; 'but, O my mother, when thou visitest the

Amir's wife, make her intercede for me with her husband.' So when

the old woman came in to the Lady Khatoun, she found her bound

with the fillets of mourning and said to her, 'Wherefore dost

thou mourn?' 'For my son Hebezlem Bezazeh,' answered she, and the

old woman exclaimed, 'God keep thy son! What hath befallen him?'

So Khatoun told her the whole story, and she said, 'What wouldst

thou say of him who should find means to save thy son?' 'And what

wilt thou do?' asked the lady. Quoth the old woman, 'I have a son

called Ahmed Kemakim the arch-thief, who lies chained in prison,

and on his fetters is written, "Appointed to remain till death."

So do thou don thy richest clothes and trinkets and present

thyself to thy husband with an open and smiling favour; and when

he seeks of thee what men use to seek of women, put him off and

say, "By Allah, it is a strange thing! When a man desires aught

of his wife, he importunes her till she satisfies him; but if a

wife desire aught of her husband, he will not grant it to her."

Then he will say, "What dost thou want?" And do thou answer,

"First swear to grant my request." If he swear to thee by his

head or by Allah, say to him, "Swear to me the oath of divorce,"

and so not yield to him, except he do this. Then, if he swear to

thee the oath of divorce, say to him, "Thou hast in prison a man

called Ahmed Kemakim, and he has a poor mother, who is instant

with me to urge thee to intercede for him with the Khalif, that

he may relent towards him and thou earn a reward from God."' 'I

hear and obey,' answered Khatoun. So when her husband came in to

her, she did as the old woman had taught her and extorted the

required oath from him, before she would yield to his wishes. He

lay with her that night and on the morrow, after he had made his

ablutions and prayed the morning prayers, he repaired to the

prison and said to Ahmed Kemakim, 'Harkye, O arch-thief, dost

thou repent of thy ill deeds?' 'I do indeed repent and turn to

God,' answered he, 'and say with heart and tongue, "I ask pardon

of Allah."' So he carried him, still chained, to the Divan and

kissed the earth before the Khalif, who said to him, 'O Amir

Khalid, what seekest thou?' Then he brought forward Ahmed

Kemakim, shuffling in his fetters, and the Khalif said to him, 'O

Kemakim, art thou yet alive?' 'O Commander of the Faithful,'

answered he, 'the wretched are long-lived.' Then said the Khalif

to the Amir, 'Why have thou brought him hither?' And he replied,

'O Commander of the Faithful, he hath a poor, desolate mother,

who hath none but him, and she hath had recourse to thy slave,

imploring him to intercede with thee to set him free and make him

Captain of the Watch as before; for he repenteth of his evil

courses.' Quoth the Khalif to Ahmed, 'Dost thou repent of thy

sins?' 'I do indeed repent to God, O Commander of the Faithful,'

answered he; whereupon the Khalif called for the blacksmith and

made him strike off his irons on the bench of the washer of the

dead. Moreover, he restored him to his former office and charged

him to walk in the way of good and righteousness. So he kissed

the Khalif's hands and donning the captain's habit, went forth,

whilst they made proclamation of his appointment.

He abode awhile in the exercise of his office, till, one day, his

mother went in to the wife of the Chief of the Police, who said

to her, 'Praised be God who hath delivered thy son from prison

and restored him to health and safety! But why dost thou not bid

him cast about to get the girl Jessamine for my son Hebezlem

Bezazeh?' 'That will I,' answered she and going out from her,

repaired to her son. She found him drunken and said to him, 'O my

son, none was the cause of thy release from prison but the wife

of the Master of Police, and she would have thee go about to kill

Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat and get his slave-girl Jessamine for her

son Hebezlem Bezazeh.' 'That will be the easiest of things,'

answered he, 'and I will set about it this very night.' Now this

was the first night of the new month, and it was the Khalif's

wont to pass that night with the Princess Zubeideh, for the

setting free of a male or female slave or what not else of the

like. On this occasion, he used to doff his royal habit and lay

it upon a chair in the sitting-chamber, together with his rosary

and dagger and royal signet and a golden lantern, adorned with

three jewels strung on a wire of gold, by which he set great

store, committing all these things to the charge of the eunuchs,

whilst he sent into the Lady Zubeideh's apartment. So Ahmed

Kemakim waited till midnight, when Canopus shone and all

creatures slept, whilst the Creator covered them with the curtain

[of the dark]. Then he took his naked sword in one hand and his

grappling iron in the other, and repairing to the Khalif's

pavilion, cast his grapnel on to the roof. It caught there and he

fixed his rope-ladder and climbed up to the roof; then, raising

the trap-door, let himself down into the saloon, where he found

the eunuchs asleep. So he drugged them with henbane and taking

the Khalif's dress and dagger and rosary and handkerchief and

signet-ring and lantern, returned whence he came and betook

himself to the house of Alaeddin, who had that night celebrated

his wedding festivities with Jessamine and had gone in to her and

gotten her with child. Ahmed climbed over into his saloon and

raising one of the marble slabs of the floor, dug a hole under it

and laid the stolen things therein, all save the lantern, which

he kept, saying in himself, 'I will set it before me, when I sit

at wine, and drink by its light.' Then he plastered down the

marble slab, as it was, and returning whence he came, went back

to his own house. As soon as it was day, the Khalif went out into

the sitting-chamber, and finding the eunuchs drugged with

henbane, aroused them. Then he put his hand to the chair and

found neither dress nor signet nor rosary nor dagger nor lantern;

whereat he was exceeding wroth and donning the habit of anger,

which was red, sat down in the Divan. So the Vizier Jaafer came

forward and kissing the earth before him, said, 'May God avert

the wrath of the Commander of the Faithful!' 'O Vizier,' answered

the Khalif, 'I am exceeding wroth!'[FN#106] 'What has happened?'

asked Jaafer; so he told him what had happened and when the Chief

of the Police appeared, with Ahmed Kemakim at his stirrup, he

said to him, 'O Amir Khalid, how goes Baghdad?' And he answered,

'It is safe and quiet.' 'Thou liest!' rejoined the Khalif. 'How

so, O Commander of the Faithful?' asked the Amir. So he told him

the case and added, 'I charge thee to bring me back all the

stolen things.' 'O Commander of the Faithful', replied the Amir,

'the vinegar-worm is of and in the vinegar, and no stranger can

get at this place.'[FN#107] But the Khalif said, 'Except thou

bring me these things, I will put thee to death.' Quoth Khalid,

'Ere thou slay me, slay Ahmed Kemakim, for none should know the

robber and the traitor but the captain of the watch.' Then came

forward Ahmed Kemakim and said to the Khalif, 'Accept my

intercession for the Master of Police, and I will be responsible

to thee for the thief and will follow his track till I find him;

but give me two Cadis and two Assessors, for he who did this

thing feareth thee not, nor doth he fear the Chief of the Police

nor any other.' 'Thou shalt have what thou seekest,' answered the

Khalif; 'but let search be made first in my palace and then in

those of the Vizier and the Chief of the Sixty.' 'Thou sayst

well, O Commander of the Faithful,' rejoined Ahmed; 'most like

the thief is one who had been reared in thy household or that of

one of thy chief officers.' 'As my head liveth,' said Haroun,

'whosoever shall appear to have done the deed, I will put him to

death, be it my very own son!' Then Ahmed Kemakim received a

written warrant to enter and search the houses and taking in his

hand a [divining] rod made of equal parts of bronze, copper, iron

and steel, went forth, attended by the Cadis and Assessors and

the Chief of the Police. He first searched the palace of the

Khalif, then that of the Vizier Jaafer; after which he went the

round of the houses of the chamberlains and officers, till he

came to that of Alaeddin. When the latter heard the clamour

before his house, he left his wife and opening the door, found

the Master of Police without, with a crowd of people. So he said,

'What is the matter, O Amir Khalid?' The Chief of the Police told

him the case and Alaeddin said, 'Enter my house and search it.'

'Pardon, O my lord,' replied the Amir; 'thou art a man in

authority,[FN#108] and God forbid that such should be guilty of

treason!' Quoth Alaeddin, 'Needs must my house be searched. So

they entered, and Ahmed Kemakim went straight to the saloon and

let the rod fall upon the slab, under which he had buried the

stolen goods, with such force that the marble broke in sunder and

discovered something that glistened underneath. Then said he, 'In

the name of God! what He willeth! Thanks to our coming, we have

lit upon a treasure. Let us go down into this hiding-place and

see what is therein.' So the Cadis and Assessors looked down into

the hole and finding there the stolen goods, drew up a statement

of how they had discovered them in Alaeddin's house, to which

they set their seals. Then they bade seize upon Alaeddin and took

his turban from his head, and making an inventory of all his

property and effects, [sealed them up]. Meanwhile, Ahmed Kemakim

laid hands on Jessamine, who was with child by Alaeddin, and

committed her to his mother, saying, 'Deliver her to the Lady

Khatoun.' So the old woman took her and carried her to the wife

of the Master of Police. As soon as Hebezlem saw her, health and

strength returned to him and he arose forthright, rejoicing

greatly, and would have drawn near her: but she pulled a dagger

from her girdle and said, 'Keep off from me, or I will kill thee

and myself after.' 'O strumpet,' exclaimed his mother, 'let my

son have his will of thee!' But Jessamine answered, 'O bitch, by

what code is it lawful for a woman to marry two husbands, and how

shall the dog take the lion's place?' With this Hebezlem's

passion redoubled and he sickened for unfulfilled desire and

refusing food, took to his bed again. Then said his mother to

her, 'O harlot, how canst thou make me thus to sorrow for my son?

Needs must I punish thee, and as for Alaeddin, he will assuredly

be hanged.' 'And I will die for love of him,' answered Jessamine.

Then Khatoun stripped her of her jewels and silken raiment and

clothing her in sackcloth drawers and a shift of hair-cloth, sent

her down into the kitchen and made her a scullery-wench, saying,

'Thy punishment shall be to split wood and peel onions and set

fire under the cooking pots.' Quoth she, 'I am willing to brook

all manner of hardship and servitude, but not thy son's sight.'

But God inclined the hearts of the slave-girls to her and they

used to do her service in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, they carried Alaeddin to the Divan and brought him,

together with the stolen goods, before the Khalif, who said,

'Where did ye find them?' 'Amiddleward Alaeddin's house,'

answered they; whereat the Khalif was filled with wrath and took

the things, but found not the lantern among them, and said to

Alaeddin, 'Where is the lantern?' 'I know nought of it,' answered

he; 'it was not I that stole it.' 'O traitor,' said the Khalif,

'how comes it that I brought thee near unto me and thou hast cast

me out, and I trusted in thee and thou hast betrayed me?' And he

commanded to hang him. So the Chief of the Police took him and

went down with him into the city, whilst the crier forewent them,

proclaiming aloud and saying, 'This is the reward and the least

of the reward of him who doth treason against the orthodox

Khalifs!' And the folk flocked to the gallows.

Meanwhile, Ahmed ed Denef, Alaeddin's adopted father, was

sitting, making merry with his followers in a garden, when in

came one of the water-carriers of the Divan and kissing Ahmed's

hand, said to him, 'O Captain, thou sittest at thine ease, with

water running at thy feet, and knowest not what has happened.'

'What is to do?' asked Ahmed, and the other answered, 'They have

gone down with thine adopted son, Alaeddin, to the gallows.'

'O Hassan Shouman,' said Ahmed, 'What sayst thou of this?'

'Assuredly, Alaeddin is innocent' replied his lieutenant; 'and

this is some enemy's practice against him.' Quoth Ahmed, 'What

counsellest thou?' And Hassan said, 'God willing, we must rescue

him.' Then he went to the prison and said to the gaoler, 'Give us

some one deserving of death.' So he gave him one that was likest

to Alaeddin and they covered his head and carried him to the

place of execution between Ahmed ed Denef and Ali ez Zibec of

Cairo. Now they had brought Alaeddin to the gibbet, to hang him,

but Ahmed ed Denef came forward and set his foot on that of the

hangman, who said, 'Give me room to do my office.' 'O accursed

one,' replied Ahmed, 'take this man and hang him in Alaeddin's

stead; for he is innocent and we will ransom him with this

fellow, even as Abraham ransomed Ishmael[FN#109] with the ram.'

So the hangman took the man and hanged him in Alaeddin's room.

Then Ahmed and Ali took Alaeddin and carried him to the house of

the former, to whom said he, 'O my father, may God abundantly

requite thee!' 'O Alaeddin,' said Ahmed, 'what is this thou hast

done? God's mercy on him who said, "Whoso trusteth in thee,

betray him not, though thou be a traitor." Now the Khalif set

thee in high place about him and styled thee "Trusty" and

"Faithful;" how then couldst thou deal thus with him and steal

his goods?' 'By the Most Great Name, O my father,' replied

Alaeddin, 'I had no hand in this, nor do I know who did it.'

Quoth Ahmed, 'Of a surety none did this but a manifest enemy and

whoso doth aught shall be requited for his deed; but, O Alaeddin,

thou canst tarry no longer in Baghdad, for kings, O my son, may

not be bought off and longsome is his travail whom they pursue.'

'Whither shall I go, O my father?' asked Alaeddin. 'O my son,'

answered Ahmed, 'I will bring thee to Alexandria, for it is a

blessed place; its environs are green and its sojourn pleasant.'

And Alaeddin said, 'I hear and obey, O my father.' So Ahmed said

to Hassan Shouman, 'Be mindful and when the Khalif asks for me,

say I am gone on a circuit of the provinces.' Then, taking

Alaeddin, he went forth of Baghdad and stayed not till they came

to the vineyards and gardens, where they met two Jews of the

Khalif's tax-gatherers, riding on mules, and Ahmed said to them,

'Give me the guard-money.'[FN#110] 'Why should we give thee

guard-money?' asked they. 'Because,' answered he, 'I am the

patrol of this valley.' So they gave him each a hundred dinars,

after which he slew them and took their mules, one of which he

mounted, whilst Alaeddin bestrode the other. Then they rode on,

till they came to the city of Ayas[FN#111] and put up for the

night at an inn. Next morning, Alaeddin sold his own mule and

committed that of Ahmed to the charge of the doorkeeper of the

inn, after which they took ship from the port of Ayas and sailed

to Alexandria. Here they landed and proceeded to the Bazaar,

where they found a broker crying a shop and a chamber behind it

for sale. The last bidding for the premises (which belonged to

the Treasury) was nine hundred and fifty dirhems;[FN#112] so

Alaeddin bid a thousand and his offer being accepted, took the

keys and opened the shop and room, which latter he found

furnished with carpets and cushions. Moreover, he found there a

storehouse full of sails and masts and ropes and chests and bags

of beads and shells and stirrups and axes and maces and knives

and scissors and what not else, for the last owner of the shop

had been a dealer in second-hand goods. So he took his seat in

the shop and Ahmed ed Denef said to him, 'O my son, the shop and

room and that which is therein are become thine; so abide thou

here and buy and sell and grudge not, neither repine; for God the

Most High blesseth trade.' After this he abode with him three

days and on the fourth he took leave of him, saying, 'O my son,

abide here till I bring thee the Khalif's pardon and learn who

hath played thee this trick.' Then he took ship for Ayas,

where he took the mule from the inn and returning to Baghdad,

foregathered with Hassan Shouman, to whom said he, 'Has the

Khalif asked for me?' 'No,' answered Hassan, 'nor hath thou come

to his thought.' So he resumed his service about the Khalif's

person and set himself to seek news of Alaeddin's case, till one

day he heard the Khalif say to the Vizier, 'See, O Jaafer, how

Alaeddin dealt with me!' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' replied

Jaafer, 'thou hast requited him with hanging, and it was what he

deserved.' Quoth Haroun, 'I have a mind to go down and see him

hanging.' And the Vizier answered, 'As thou wilt, O Commander of

the Faithful.' So the Khalif and Jaafer went down to the place of

execution, and the former, raising his eyes, saw the hanged man

to be other than Alaeddin and said to the Vizier, 'This is not

Alaeddin.' 'How knowest thou that it is not he?' asked the

Vizier, and the Khalif answered, 'Alaeddin was short and this

fellow is tall.' Quoth Jaafer, 'Hanging stretches a man.' 'But,'

rejoined the Khalif, 'Alaeddin was fair and this man's face is

black.' 'Knowest thou not, O Commander of the Faithful,' replied

Jaafer, 'that death (by hanging) causes blackness?' Then the

Khalif bade take down the body and they found the names of he

first two Khalifs, Abou Bekr and Omar, written on his heels;

whereupon quoth the Khalif, 'O Vizier, Alaeddin was a Sunnite,

and this fellow is a Shiyaite.'[FN#113] 'Glory be to God who

knowest the hidden things!' answered Jaafer. 'We know not whether

this was he or another.' Then the Khalif bade bury the body and

Alaeddin became altogether forgotten.

As for Hebezlem Bezazeh, the Amir Khalid's son, he ceased not to

languish for passion and desire, till he died and they buried

him; whilst Jessamine accomplished the months of her pregnancy

and being taken with the pains of labour, gave birth to a male

child like the moon. The serving-women said to her, 'What wilt

thou name him?' And she answered, 'Were his father alive, he had

named him; but now I will name him Aslan.' She gave him suck two

years, then weaned him, and he crawled and walked. One day,

whilst his mother was busied with the service of the kitchen, the

child went out and seeing the stairs, mounted to the guest-

chamber,[FN#114] where the Amir Khalid was sitting. When the

latter saw him, he took him in his lap and glorified his Lord for

that which He had created and fashioned forth; then eyeing him

straitly, he saw that he was the likest of all creatures to

Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat; and God informed his heart with love of

the boy. Presently, his mother Jessamine sought for him and

finding him not, mounted to the guest-chamber, where she saw the

Amir seated, with the child playing in his lap. The latter,

spying his mother, would have thrown himself upon her: but the

Amir held him back and said to Jessamine, 'Come hither, O

damsel.' So she came to him, and he said to her, 'Whose son is

this?' Quoth she, 'He is my son and the darling of my heart.'

'Who is his father?' asked the Amir; and she answered, 'His

father was Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, but now he is become thy

son.' Quoth Khalid, 'Alaeddin was a traitor.' 'God deliver him

from treason!' replied she. 'God forbid that the Faithful should

be a traitor!' Then said he, 'When the boy grows up and says to

thee, "Who is my father?" say thou to him, "Thou art the son of

the Amir Khalid, Chief of the Police."' And she answered, 'I hear

and obey.' Then he circumcised the boy and reared him after the

goodliest fashion, bringing him a tutor, who taught him to read

and write; so he read (and commented) the Koran twice and learnt

it by heart and grew up, calling the Amir father. Moreover, the

latter used to go down with him to the tilting-ground and

assemble horsemen and teach the lad warlike exercises and the use

of arms, so that, by the time he was fourteen years old, he

became a valiant and accomplished cavalier and gained the rank of

Amir.[FN#115]

It chanced one day that he fell in with Ahmed Kemakim and

clapping up an acquaintance with him, accompanied him to the

tavern, where Ahmed took out the lantern he had stolen from the

Khalif and fell to plying the wine-cup by its light, till he

became drunken. Presently Aslan said to him, 'O Captain, give me

yonder lantern;' but he replied, 'I cannot give it thee.' 'Why

not?' asked Aslan. 'Because,' answered Ahmed, 'lives have been

lost for it.' 'Whose life?' asked Aslan; and Ahmed said, 'There

came hither a man named Alaeddin Abou est Shamat, who was made

Captain of the Sixty and lost his life through this lantern.'

Quoth Aslan, 'And how was that?' 'Know,' replied Ahmed Kemakim,

'that thou hadst an elder brother by name Hebezlem Bezazeh, for

whom, when he became apt for marriage, thy father would have

bought a slave-girl named Jessamine.' And he went on to tell him

the whole story of Hebezlem's illness and what befell Alaeddin,

undeserved. When Aslan heard this, he said in himself, 'Most like

this slave-girl was my mother Jessamine and my father was no

other than Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat.' So he went out from him,

sorrowful, and met Ahmed ed Denef, who exclaimed at sight of him,

'Glory be to Him to whom none is like!' 'At what dost thou

marvel, O my chief?' asked Hassan Shouman. 'At the make of yonder

boy Aslan,' replied Ed Denef; 'for he is the likest of all

creatures to Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat.' Then he called Aslan and

said to him, 'What is thy mother's name?' 'She is called the

damsel Jessamine,' answered Aslan; and Ed Denef said, 'Harkye,

Aslan, take heart and be of good cheer, for thy father was none

other than Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat: but, O my son, go thou in to

thy mother and question her of thy father.' 'I hear and obey,'

answered he, and going in to his mother, said to her, 'Who is my

father?' Quoth she, 'The Amir Khalid is thy father.' 'Not so,'

rejoined he, 'my father was none other than Alaeddin Abou esh

Shamat.' At this, she wept and said, 'Who told thee this?' 'Ahmed

ed Denef, the Captain of the Guard,' answered he; so she told him

the whole story, saying, 'O my son, the truth can no longer be

hidden: know that Alaeddin was indeed thy father, but it was the

Amir Khalid who reared thee and adopted thee as his son. And now,

O my son, when thou seest Ahmed ed Denef, so thou say to him, "I

conjure thee, by Allah, O my chief, avenge me on the murderer of

my father Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat!"' So he went out from her and

betaking himself to Ahmed ed Denef, kissed his hand. Quoth Ed

Denef, 'What ails thee, O Aslan?' And he answered, 'I know now

for certain that I am the son of Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat and I

would have thee avenge me of my father's murderer.' 'And who was

thy father's murderer?' asked Ed Denef. 'Ahmed Kemakim the arch-

thief,' replied Aslan. 'Who told thee this?' said Ed Denef, and

Aslan answered, 'I saw in his hand the lantern hung with jewels,

that was lost with the rest of the Khalif's gear, and asked him

to give it me; but he refused, saying, "Lives have been lost on

account of this," and told me how it was he who had broken into

the palace and stolen the goods and hidden them in my father's

house.' Then said Ed Denef, 'When thou seest the Amir Khalid don

his harness of war, beg him to equip thee like himself and take

thee with him. Then do thou some feat of prowess before the

Khalif and he will say to thee, "Ask a boon of me, O Aslan." And

do thou answer, "I ask of thee that thou avenge me of my father's

murderer." If he say, "Thy father is alive and is the Amir

Khalid, the Chief of the Police," answer thou, "My father was

Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, and the Amir Khalid is only my father

by right of fosterage and adoption." Then tell him all that

passed between thee and Ahmed Kemakim and say, "O Commander of

the Faithful, order him to be searched and I will bring the

lantern forth of his bosom."' 'I hear and obey,' answered Aslan

and returning to the Amir Khalid, found him making ready to

repair to the Divan and said to him, 'I would fain have thee arm

and harness me like thyself and carry me to the Divan.' So he

equipped him and carried him to the Divan, with Ahmed Kemakim at

his stirrup. Then the Khalif sallied forth of Baghdad with his

retinue and let pitch tents and pavilions without the city;

whereupon the troops divided into two parties and fell to playing

at ball and striking it with the mall from one to the other. Now

there was among the troops a spy, who had been hired to kill the

Khalif; so he took the ball and smiting it with the mall, drove

it straight at the Khalif's face; but Aslan interposed and

catching it in mid-volley, drove it back at him who smote it, so

that it struck him between the shoulders and he fell to the

ground. The Khalif exclaimed, 'God bless thee, O Aslan!' and they

all dismounted and sat on chairs. Then the Khalif bade bring the

smiter of the ball before him and said to him, 'Who moved thee to

do this thing and art thou friend or foe?' Quoth he, 'I am a foe

and it was my purpose to kill thee.' 'And wherefore?' asked the

Khalif. 'Art thou not an (orthodox) Muslim?' 'No,' replied the

spy; 'I am a Shiyaite.' So the Khalif bade put him to death and

said to Aslan, 'Ask a boon of me.' Quoth he, 'I ask of thee that

thou avenge me of my father's murderer.' 'Thy father is alive,'

answered the Khalif; 'and there he stands.' 'And who is he?'

asked Aslan. The Khalif replied, 'He is the Amir Khalid, Chief of

the Police.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' rejoined Aslan, 'he

is no father of mine, save by right of fosterage; my father was

none other than Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat.' 'Then thy father was a

traitor,' said the Khalif. 'God forbid, O Commander of the

Faithful,' replied Aslan, 'that the Faithful should be a traitor!

But how did he wrong thee?' Quoth the Khalif, 'He stole my royal

habit and what was therewith.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,'

rejoined Aslan, 'God forfend that my father should be a traitor!

But, O my lord, didst thou ever recover the lantern that was

stolen from thee?' 'No,' answered the Khalif, 'we never got it

back.' And Aslan said, 'I saw it in the hands of Ahmed Kemakim

and begged it of him; but he refused to give it me, saying,

"Lives have been lost on account of this." Then he told me of the

sickness of Hebezlem Bezazeh, son of the Amir Khalid, by reason

of his passion for the damsel Jessamine, and how he himself was

released from prison and that it was he who stole the lamp and

robe and so forth. Do thou then, O Commander of the Faithful,

avenge me of my father on him who murdered him.' So the Khalif

caused Ahmed Kemakim to be brought before him and sending for

Ahmed ed Denef, bade him search him; whereupon he put his hand

into the thief's bosom and pulled out the lamp. 'Harkye,

traitor,' said the Khalif, 'whence hadst thou this lantern?' And

Kemakim replied, 'I bought it, O Commander of the Faithful!'

'Where didst thou buy it?' said the Khalif, 'and who could come

by its like to sell it to thee?' Then they beat him, till he

confessed that he had stolen the lantern and the rest, and the

Khalif said, 'O traitor, what moved thee to do this thing and

ruin Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, the Trusty and Well-beloved?' Then

he bade lay hands on him and on the Chief of the Police, but the

latter said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I am unjustly

entreated; thou badest me hang him, and I had no knowledge of

this plot, for the thing was contrived between Ahmed Kemakim and

his mother and my wife. I crave thine intercession, O Aslan.' So

Aslan interceded for him with the Khalif, who said, 'What hath

God done with this lad's mother?' 'She is with me,' answered

Khalid, and the Khalif said, 'I command thee to bid thy wife

dress her in her own clothes and ornaments and restore her to her

former rank; and do thou remove the seals from Alaeddin's house

and give his son possession of his estate.' 'I hear and obey,'

answered Khalid, and going forth, carried the Khalif's order to

his wife, who clad Jessamine in her own apparel; whilst he

himself removed the seals from Alaeddin's house and gave Aslan

the keys. Then said the Khalif to Aslan, 'Ask a boon of me;' and

he replied, 'I beseech thee to unite me with my father.' Whereat

the Khalif wept and said, 'Most like it was thy father that was

hanged and is dead; but by the life of my forefathers, whoso

bringeth me the glad news that he is yet in the bonds of life, I

will give him all he seeketh!' Then came forward Ahmed ed Denef

and kissing the earth before the Khalif, said, 'Grant me

indemnity, O Commander of the Faithful!' 'Thou hast it,' answered

the Khalif; and Ed Denef said, 'I give thee the good news that

Alaeddin is alive and well.' Quo the Khalif, 'What is this thou

sayest?' 'As thy head liveth,' answered Ed Denef, 'I speak sooth;

for I ransomed him with another, of those who deserved death, and

carried him to Alexandria, where I set him up as a dealer in

second-hand goods.' Then said Er Reshid, 'I charge thee fetch him

to me;' and Ed Denef replied, 'I hear and obey;' whereupon the

Khalif bade give him ten thousand dinars and he set out for

Alexandria.

Meanwhile Alaeddin sold all that was in his shop, till he had but

a few things let and amongst the rest a bag. So he shook the bag

and there fell out a jewel, big enough to fill the palm of the

hand, hanging to a chain of gold and having five faces, whereon

were names and talismanic characters, as they were ant-tracks.

'God is All-knowing!' quoth he. 'Belike this is a talisman.' So

he rubbed each face; but nothing came of it and he said to

himself, 'Doubtless it is a piece of [naturally] variegated

onyx,' and hung it up in the shop. Presently, a Frank passed

along the street and seeing the jewel hanging up, seated himself

before the shop and said to Alaeddin, 'O my lord, is yonder jewel

for sale?' 'All I have is for sale,' answered Alaeddin; and the

Frank said, 'Wilt thou sell it me for fourscore thousand dinars?'

'May God open!'[FN#116] replied Alaeddin. 'Wilt thou sell it for

a hundred thousand dinars?' asked the Frank, and he answered, 'I

sell it to thee for a hundred thousand dinars; pay me down the

money.' Quoth the Frank, 'I cannot carry such a sum about me, for

there are thieves and sharpers in Alexandria; but come with me to

my ship and I will pay thee the money and give thee to boot a

bale of Angora wool, a bale of satin, a bale of velvet and a

bale of broadcloth.' So Alaeddin rose and giving the jewel to

the Frank, locked up his shop and committed the keys to his

neighbour, saying, 'Keep these keys for me, whilst I go with this

Frank to his ship and take the price of my jewel. If I be long

absent and there come to thee Captain Ahmed ed Denef,--he who set

me up in this shop,--give him the keys and tell him where I am.'

Then he went with the Frank to his ship, where the latter set him

a stool and making him sit down, said [to his men], 'Bring the

money.' So [they brought it and] he paid him the price of the

jewel and gave him the four bales he had promised him; after

which he said to him, 'O my lord, honour me by taking a morsel or

a draught of water.' And Alaeddin answered, 'If thou have any

water, give me to drink.' So the Frank called for drink, and they

brought sherbets, drugged with henbane, of which no sooner had

Alaeddin drunk, than he fell over on his back; whereupon they

weighed anchor and shoving off, shipped the poles and made sail.

The wind blew fair and they sailed till they lost sight of land,

when the Frank bade bring Alaeddin up out of the hold and made

him smell to the counter-drug, whereupon he opened his eyes and

said, 'Where am I?' 'Thou art bound and in my power,' answered

the Frank; 'and if thou hadst refused to take a hundred thousand

dinars for the jewel, I would have bidden thee more.' 'What art

thou?' asked Alaeddin, and the other replied, 'I am a sea-

captain and mean to carry thee to my mistress.' As they were

talking, a ship hove in sight, with forty Muslim merchants on

board; so the Frank captain gave chase and coming up with the

vessel, made fast to it with grappling-irons. Then he boarded it

with his men and took it and plundered it; after which he sailed

on with his prize, till he reached the city of Genoa, where he

repaired to the gate of a palace, that gave upon the sea, and

there came forth to him a veiled damsel, who said, 'Hast thou

brought the jewel and its owner?' 'I have brought them both,'

answered he; and she said, 'Then give me the jewel.' So he gave

it to her and returning to the port, fired guns to announce his

safe return; whereupon the King of the city, being notified of

his arrival, came down to receive him and said to him, 'What

manner of voyage hast thou had?' 'A right prosperous one,'

answered the captain, 'and I have made prize of a ship with one-

and-forty Muslim merchants.' Being them ashore,' said the King.

So he landed the merchants in irons, and Alaeddin among the rest;

and the King and the captain mounted and made the captives walk

before them, till they reached the palace, where the King sat

down in the audience-chamber and making the prisoners pass before

him, one by one, said to the first, 'O Muslim, whence comest

thou?' 'From Alexandria,' answered he; whereupon the King said,

'O headsman, put him to death.' So the headsman smote him with

the sword and cut off his head: and thus it fared with the second

and the third, till forty were dead and there remained but

Alaeddin, who drank the cup of his comrades' anguish and said to

himself, 'God have mercy on thee, O Alaeddin! Thou art a dead

man.' Then said the King to him, 'And thou, what countryman art

thou?' 'I am of Alexandria,' answered Alaeddin, and the King

said, 'O headsman, strike off his head.' So the headsman raised

his arm and was about to strike, when an old woman of venerable

aspect presented herself before the King, who rose to do her

honour, and said to him, 'O King, did I not bid thee remember,

when the captain came back with captives, to keep one or two for

the convent, to serve in the church?' 'O my mother, answered the

King, 'would thou hadst come a while earlier! But take this one

that is left.' So she turned to Alaeddin and said to him, 'Wilt

thou serve in the church, or shall I let the King kill thee?'

Quoth he, 'I will serve in the church.' So she took him and

carried him forth of the palace to the church, where he said to

her, 'What service must I do?' And she answered, 'Thou must arise

in the morning and take five mules and go with them into the

forest and there cut dry firewood and split it and bring it to

the convent-kitchen. Then must thou take up the carpets and sweep

and wipe the stone and marble pavements and lay the carpets down

again, as they were; after which thou must take two bushels and a

half of wheat and sift it and grind it and knead it and make it

into cracknels for the convent; and thou must take also a bushel

of lentils and sift and crush and cook them. Then must thou fetch

water in barrels and fill the four fountains; after which thou

must take three hundred and threescore and six wooden platters

and crumble the cracknels therein and pour of the lentil pottage

over each and carry every monk and patriarch his platter.' 'Take

me back to the King and let him kill me,' said Alaeddin; 'it were

easier to me than this service.' 'If thou do the service that is

due from thee,' replied the old woman, 'thou shalt escape death;

but, if thou do it not, I will let the King kill thee.' Then she

went away, leaving Alaeddin heavy at heart. Now there were in the

church ten blind cripples, and one of them said to him, 'Bring me

a pot.' So he brought it him and he did his occasion therein and

said, 'Throw away the ordure.' He did do, and the blind man said,

'The Messiah's blessing be upon thee, O servant of the church!'

Presently, the old woman came in and said to him, 'Why hast thou

not done thy service?' 'How many hands have I,' answered he,

'that I should suffice for all this work?' 'Thou fool!' rejoined

she.' 'I brought thee not hither but to work. But,' added she,

giving him a wand of brass with a cross at the top, 'take this

rod and go forth into the highway, and whomsoever thou meetest,

were he governor of the ciy, say to him, "I summon thee to the

service of the church, in the name of the Messiah." And he will

not refuse thee. Then make him sift the wheat and grind it and

bolt it and knead it and bake it into cracknels; and if any

gainsay thee, beat him and fear none.' 'I hear and obey,'

answered he and did as she said, pressing great and small into

his service; nor did he leave to do thus for the space of

seventeen years, till, one day, the old woman came to him, as he

sat in the church, and said to him, 'Go forth of the convent.'

'Whither shall I go?' asked he, and she said, 'Thou canst pass

the night in a tavern or with one of thy friends.' Quoth he, 'Why

dost thou send me forth of the church?' and she replied, 'The

princess Husn Meryem, daughter of Youhenna, King of the city,

purposes this night to pay a visit to the church, and it befits

not that any abide in her way.' So he rose and made a show of

obeying her and of leaving the church; but he said in himself, 'I

wonder whether the princess is like our women or fairer than

they! Algates, I will not go till I have had a sight of her.' So

he hid himself in a closet[FN#117] with a window looking into the

church, and as he watched, in came the King's daughter. He cast

one glance at her, that cost him a thousand sighs, for she was

like the full moon, when it emerges from the clouds; and with her

was a damsel, to whom he heard her say, 'O Zubeideh, thy company

is grateful to me.' So he looked straitly at the damsel and found

her to be none other than his wife, Zubeideh the Lutanist, whom

he thought dead. Then the princess said to Zubeideh, 'Play us an

air on the lute.' But she answered, 'I will make no music for

thee, till thou grant my wish and fulfil thy promise to me.' 'And

what did I promise thee?' asked the princess. 'That thou wouldst

reunite me with my husband Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat,' said

Zubeideh. 'O Zubeideh,' rejoined the princess, 'be of good cheer

and play us an air, as a thank-offering for reunion with thy

husband.' 'Where is he?' asked Zubeideh, and Meryem replied, 'He

is in yonder closet, listening to us.' So Zubeideh played a

measure on the lute, that would have made a rock dance; which

when Alaeddin heard, his entrails were troubled and he came forth

and throwing himself upon his wife, strained her to his bosom.

She also knew him and they embraced and fell down in a swoon.

Then came the princess and sprinkled rose-water on them, till

they revived, when she said to them, 'God hath reunited you.' 'By

thy kind offices, O my lady,' replied Alaeddin and turning to his

wife, said to her, 'O Zubeideh, thou didst surely die and we

buried thee: how then camest thou to life and to this place?' 'O

my lord,' answered she, 'I did not die; but a Marid of the Jinn

snatched me up and flew with me hither. She whom thou buriedst

was a Jinniyeh, who took my shape and feigned herself dead, but

presently broke open the tomb and returned to the service of this

her mistress, the princess Husn Meryem. As for me, I was in a

trance, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself with the

princess; so I said to her, "Why hast thou bought me hither?" "O

Zubeideh," answered she, "know that I am predestined to marry thy

husband Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat: wilt thou then accept of me to

fellow-wife, a night for me and a night for thee?" "I hear and

obey, O my lady," rejoined I; "but where is my husband?" Quoth

she, "Upon his forehead is written what God hath decreed to him;

as soon as what is there written is fulfilled to him he must

needs come hither, and we will beguile the time of our separation

from him with songs and smiting upon instruments of music, till

it please God to unite us with him." So I abode with her till God

brought us together in this church.' Then the princess turned to

him and said, 'O my lord Alaeddin, wilt thou accept of me to

wife?' 'O my lady,' replied he, 'I am a Muslim and thou art a

Nazarene; so how can I marry thee?' 'God forbid,' rejoined she,

'that I should be an infidel! Nay, I am a Muslim; these eighteen

years have I held fast the Faith of Submission and I am pure of

any faith other than that of Islam.' Then said he, 'O my lady, I

would fain return to my native land.' And she answered, 'Know

that I see written on thy forehead things that thou must needs

fulfil and thou shalt come to thy desire. Moreover, I give thee

the glad tidings, O Alaeddin, that there hath been born to thee a

son named Aslan, who is now eighteen years old and sitteth in thy

place with the Khalif. Know also that God hath shown forth the

truth and done away the false by withdrawing the curtain of

secrecy from him who stole the Khalif's goods, that is, Ahmed

Kemakim the arch-thief and traitor; and he now lies bound and in

prison. It was I who caused the jewel to be put in the bag where

thou foundest it and who sent the captain to thee; for thou must

know that he is enamoured of me and seeketh my favours, but I

refused to yield to his wishes, till he should being me the jewel

and its owner. So I gave him a hundred purses[FN#118] and

despatched him to thee, in the habit of a merchant; and it was I

also who sent the old woman to save thee from being put to death

with the other captives.' 'May God requite thee for us with all

good!' said he. 'Indeed, thou hast done well.' Then she renewed

her profession of the Mohammedan faith at his hands, and when he

was assured of the truth of her speech, he said to her, 'O my

lady, tell me what are the virtues of the jewel and whence cometh

it?' 'It came from an enchanted treasure,' answered she, 'and has

five virtues, that will profit us in time of need. The princess

my grandmother, my father's mother, was an enchantress and

skilled in solving mysteries and winning at hidden treasures, and

from one of the latter came the jewel into her hands. When I grew

up and reached the age of fourteen, I read the Evangel and other

books and found the name of Mohammed (whom God bless and

preserve) in four books, the Evangel, the Pentateuch, the

Psalms[FN#119] and the Koran; so I believed in Mohammed and

became a Muslim, being assured that none is worship-worth save

God the Most High and that to the Lord of all creatures no faith

is acceptable save that of Submission. When my grandmother fell

sick, she gave me the jewel and taught me its virtues. Moreover,

before she died, my father said to her, 'Draw me a geomantic

figure and see the issue of my affair and what will befall me.'

And she foretold him that he should die by the hand of a captive

from Alexandria. So he swore to kill every captive from that

place and told the captain of this, saying, "Do thou fall on the

ships of the Muslims and seize them and whomsoever thou findest

of Alexandria, kill him or bring him to me." The captain did his

bidding and he slew as many in number as the hairs of his head.

Then my grandmother died and I took a geomantic tablet, being

minded to now who I should marry, and drawing a figure, found

that none should be my husband save one called Alaeddin Abou esh

Shamat, the Trusty and Well-beloved. At this I marvelled and

waited till the times were accomplished and I foregathered with

thee.' So Alaeddin took her to wife and said to her, 'I desire to

return to my own country.' 'If it be so,' replied she, 'come with

me.' Then she carried him into the palace and hiding him in a

closet there, went in to her father, who said to her, 'O my

daughter, my heart is exceeding heavy to-day; let us sit down and

make merry with wine, thou and I.' So he called for a table of

wine, and she sat down with him and plied him with wine, till he

lost his wits, when she drugged a cup with henbane, and he drank

it off and fell backward. Then she brought Alaeddin out of the

closet and said to him, 'Come; thine enemy is laid prostrate, for

I made him drunk and drugged him; so do thou with him as thou

wilt.' Accordingly Alaeddin went to the King and finding him

lying drugged and helpless, bound him fast, hand and foot. Then

he gave him the counter-drug and he came to himself and finding

his daughter and Alaeddin sitting on his breast, said to her, 'O

my daughter, dost thou deal thus with me?' 'If I be indeed thy

daughter,' answered she, 'become a Muslim, even as I have done;

for the truth was shown to me, and I embraced it, and the false,

and I renounced it. I have submitted myself unto God, the Lord of

all creatures, and am pure of all faiths contrary to that of

Islam in this world and the next. Wherefore, if thou wilt become

a Muslim, well and good; if not, thy death were better than thy

life.' Alaeddin also exhorted him to embrace the true faith; but

he refused and was obstinate: so Alaeddin took a dagger and cut

his throat from ear to ear. Then he wrote a scroll, setting forth

what had happened and laid it on the dead man's forehead, after

which they took what was light of weight and heavy of worth and

returned to the church. Here the princess took out the jewel and

rubbed the face whereon was figured a couch, whereupon a couch

appeared before her and she mounted upon it with Alaeddin and

Zubeideh, saying, 'O couch, I conjure thee by the virtue of the

names and talismans and characters of art engraven on this jewel,

rise up with us!' And it rose with them into the air and flew,

till I came to a desert valley, when the princess turned the face

on which the couch was figured towards the earth, and it sank

with them to the ground. Then she turned up the face whereon was

figured a pavilion and tapping it, said, 'Let a pavilion be

pitched in this valley.' And immediately there appeared a

pavilion, in which they seated themselves. Now this valley was a

desert waste, without grass or water; so she turned a third face

of the jewel towards the sky and said, 'By the virtue of the

names of God, let trees spring up here and a river run beside

them!' And immediately trees sprang up and a river ran rippling

and splashing beside them. They made their ablutions and prayed

and drank of the stream; after which the princess turned up a

fourth face of the jewel, on which was figured a table of food,

and said, 'By the virtue of the names of God, let the table be

spread!' And immediately there appeared before them a table,

spread with all manner rich meats, and they ate and drank and

made merry.

Meanwhile, the King's son went in to waken his father, but found

him slain and seeing the scroll, took it and read. Then he sought

his sister and finding her not, betook himself to the old woman

in the church, of whom he enquired of her, but she said, 'I have

not seen her since yesterday.' So he returned to the troops and

cried out, saying, 'To horse, cavaliers!' Then he told them what

had happened, and they mounted and rode after the fugitives, till

they drew near the pavilion. Presently, Husn Meryem looked up and

saw a cloud of dust, which spread till it covered the prospect,

then lifted and discovered her brother and his troops, crying

aloud and saying, 'Whither will ye fly, and we on your track!'

Then said she to Alaeddin, 'Art thou steadfast in battle?' 'Even

as the stake in bran,' answered he; 'I know not war nor battle,

neither swords nor spears.' So she pulled out the jewel and

rubbed the fifth face, that on which were depictured a horse and

his rider, and straightway a horseman appear out of the desert

and driving at the pursuing host, ceased not to do battle with

them and smite them with the sword, till he routed them and put

them to flight. Then said the princess to Alaeddin, 'Wilt thou go

to Cairo or to Alexandria?' And he answered, 'To Alexandria.'

So they mounted the couch and she pronounced over it the

conjuration, whereupon it set off with them and brought them to

Alexandria in the twinkling of an eye. They alighted without the

city and Alaeddin hid the women in a cavern, whilst he went into

Alexandria and fetched them veils and outer clothing, wherewith

he covered them. Then he carried them to his ship and leaving

them in the room behind it, went forth to fetch them the morning

meal, when he met Ahmed ed Denef coming from Baghdad. He saw him

in the street and received him with open arms, embracing him and

welcoming him. Ed Denef gave him the good news of his son Aslan

and how he was now come to the age of twenty; and Alaeddin, in

his turn, told the captain of the guard all that had befallen

him, whereat he marvelled exceedingly. Then he brought him to his

lodging, where they passed the night; and next day he sold his

shop and laid its price with his other monies. Now Ed Denef had

told him that the Khalif sought him; but he said, 'I am bound

first for Cairo, to salute my father and mother and the people of

my house.' So they all mounted the couch and it carried them to

Cairo the Happy, where they alighted in the street called Yellow,

where stood Shemseddin's house. Alaeddin knocked at the door, and

his mother said, 'Who is at the door, now that we have lost our

beloved?' 'It is I, Alaeddin,' replied he; whereupon they came

down and embraced him. Then he sent his wives and baggage into

the house and entering himself with Ahmed ed Denef, rested there

three days, after which he was minded to set out for Baghdad and

his father said, 'O my son, abide with me.' But he answered, 'I

cannot brook to be parted from my son Aslan.' So he took his

father and mother and set out for Baghdad. When they came

thither, Ahmed ed Denef went in to the Khalif and gave him the

glad tidings of Alaeddin's arrival and told him his story;

whereupon the Prince went forth to meet him, accompanied by his

son Aslan, and they met and embraced each other. Then the Khalif

sent for Ahmed Kemakim and said to Alaeddin, 'Up and avenge thee

of thine enemy!' So he drew his sword and smote off Ahmed's head.

Then the Khalif held festival for Alaeddin and summoning the

Cadis and the witnesses, married him to the princess Husn Meryem;

and he went in to her and found her an unpierced pearl. Moreover,

the Khalif made Aslan Chief of the Sixty and bestowed upon him

and his father sumptuous dresses of honour; and they abode in the

enjoyment of all the comforts and pleasures of life, till there

came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of

Companies.