There was erewhile in the land of Al-Yaman a man which was a
Sultan and under him were three Kinglets whom he overruled. He
had four children; to wit, three sons and a daughter: he also
owned wealth and treasures greater than reed can pen or page may
contain; as well as animals such as horses and camels, sheep and
black cattle; and he was held in awe by all the sovrans. But when
his reign had lasted for a length of time, Age[FN#2] brought with
it ailments and infirmities and he became incapable of faring
forth his Palace to the Divan, the hall of audience; whereupon he
summoned his three sons to the presence and said to them, "As for
me, 'tis my wish to divide among you all my substance ere I die,
that ye may be equal in circumstance and live in accordance with
whatso I shall command." And they said, "Hearkening and
obedience." Then quoth the Sultan, "Let the eldest of you become
sovereign after me: let the cadet succeed to my moneys and
treasures[FN#3] and as for the youngest let him inherit my
animals of every kind. Suffer none to transgress against other;
but each aid each and assist his co-partner." He then caused them
to sign a bond and agreement to abide by his bequeathal; and,
after delaying a while, he departed to the mercy of Allah.
Thereupon his three sons got ready the funeral gear and whatever
was suited to his estate for the mortuary obsequies such as
cerements and other matters: they washed the corpse and
enshrouded it and prayed over it: then, having committed it to
the earth they returned to their palaces where the Wazirs and the
Lords of the Land and the city-folk in their multitudes, high and
low, rich and poor, flocked to condole with them on the loss of
their father. And the news of his decease was soon bruited abroad
in all the provinces; and deputations from each and every city
came to offer condolence to the King's sons. These ceremonies
duly ended, the eldest Prince demanded that he should be seated
as Sultan on the stead of his sire in accordance with the
paternal will and testament; but he could not obtain it from his
two brothers as both and each said, "I will become ruler in room
of my father." So enmity and disputes for the government now
arose amongst them and it was not to be won by any; but at last
quoth the eldest Prince, "Wend we and submit ourselves to the
arbitration of a Sultan of the tributary sultans; and let him to
whom he shall adjudge the realm take it and reign over it." Quoth
they "'Tis well!" and thereto agreed, as did also the Wazirs; and
the three set out without suite seeking the capital of one of the
subject Sovrans.??And Shahrázád[FN#4] was surprised by the dawn
of day[FN#5] and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.
Then quoth her sister Dunyázád, "How sweet is thy story, O sister
mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is
this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming
night, an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the
next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
Dunyázád said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deed fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the three
Princes fared seeking a Sultan of the sultans who had been under
the hands of their sire, in order that they might take him to
arbitrator. And they stinted not faring till the middle way, when
behold, they came upon a mead abounding in herbage and in
rain-water lying sheeted.[FN#6] So they sat them down to rest and
to eat of their victual, when one of the brothers, casting his
eye upon the herbage, cried, "Verily a camel hath lately passed
this way laden half with Halwá-sweetmeats and half with
Hámiz-pickles."[FN#7] "True," cried the second, "and he was blind
of an eye." Exclaimed the third, "'Tis sooth; and indeed he hath
lost his tail." Hardly, however, had they ended their words when
lo! the owner of the camel came upon them (for he had overheard
their speech and had said to himself, "By Allah, these three
fellows have driven off my property, inasmuch as they have
described the burthen and eke the beast as tail-less and
one-eyed"), and cried out, "Ye three have carried away my
camel!"[FN#8] "By Allah we have not seen him," quoth the Princes,
"much less have we touched him;" but quoth the man, "By the
Almighty, who can have taken him except you? and if you will not
deliver him to me, off with us, I and you three, to the Sultan."
They replied, "By all manner of means; let us wend to the
Sovran." So the four hied forth, the three Princes and the
Cameleer, and ceased not faring till they reached the capital of
the King. There they took seat without the wall to rest for an
hour's time and presently they arose and pushed into the city and
came to the royal Palace. Then they craved leave of the
Chamberlains, and one of the Eunuchs caused them enter and
signified to the sovereign that the three sons of Such-and-such a
Sultan had made act of presence. So he bade them be set before
him and the four went in and saluted him, and prayed for him and
he returned their salams. He then asked them, "What is it hath
brought you hither and what may ye want in the way of enquiry?"
Now the first to speak was the Cameleer and he said, "O my lord
the Sultan; verily these three men have carried off my camel by
proof of their own speech."?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where
is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming
night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the
next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Cameleer came forward between the Sultan's hands and said, "O my
lord, verily these men have carried away the camel which
belongeth to me,[FN#9] for they have indeed described him and the
burthen he bore! And I require of our lord the Sultan that he
take from these wights and deliver to me the camel which is mine
as proved by their own words." Presently asked the Sultan, "What
say ye to the claims of this man and the camel belonging to him?"
Hereto the Princes made answer, "By Allah, O King of the Age, we
have not seen the camel, much less have we stolen him." Thereupon
the Cameleer exclaimed, "O my lord, I heard yonder one say that
the beast was blind of an eye; and the second said that he was
tail-less, and the third said that half his load was of sour
stuff and the other half was of sweet stuff." They replied,
"True, we spake these words;" and the Sultan cried to them, "Ye
have purloined the beast by this proof." They rejoined, "No, by
Allah, O my lord. We sat us in such a place for repose and
refreshment and we remarked that some of the pasture had been
grazed down, so we said, 'This is the grazing of a camel; and he
must have been blind of one eye as the grass was eaten only on
one side.' But as for our saying that he was tail-less, we noted
the droppings lying heaped[FN#10] upon the ground which made us
agree that the tail must have been cut off, it being the custom
of camels at such times to whisk their tails and scatter the dung
abroad. So 'twas evident to us that the camel had lost his tail.
But as for our saying that the load was half Halwá and half
Hámiz, we saw on the place where the camel had knelt the flies
gathering in great numbers while on the other were none: so the
case was clear to us (as flies settle on naught save the sugared)
that one of the panniers must have contained sweets and the other
sours." Hearing this the Sultan said to the Cameleer, "O man,
fare thee forth and look after thy camel; for these signs and
tokens prove not the theft of these men, but only the power of
their intellect and their penetration."[FN#11] And when the
Cameleer heard this, he went his ways. Presently the Sultan
cleared a place in the Palace and allotted to it the Princes for
their entertainment: he also directed they be supplied with a
banquet and the eunuchs did his bidding. But when it was eventide
and supper was served up, the trio sat down to it purposing to
eat; the eldest, however, having hent in hand a bannock of bread
exclaimed, "By Allah, verily this cake was baked by a woman in
blood, to wit, one with the menses." The cadet tasting a bit of
kid exclaimed, "This kid was suckled by a bitch"; and the
youngest exclaimed, "Assuredly this Sultan must be a son of
shame, a bastard." All this was said by the youths what while the
Sultan had hidden himself in order to hear and to profit by the
Princes' words. So he waxed wroth and entered hastily crying, "What
be these speeches ye have spoken?" They replied, "Concerning all
thou hast heard enquire within and thou wilt find it wholly
true." The Sultan then entered his women's apartments and after
inquisition found that the woman who had kneaded the bread was
sick with her monthly courses. He then went forth and summoned
the head-shepherd and asked him concerning the kid he had
butchered. He replied, "By Allah, O my lord, the nanny-goat that
bare the kid died and we found none other in milk to suckle him;
but I had a bitch that had just pupped and her have I made
nourish him." The Sultan lastly hent his sword in hand and
proceeded to the apartments of the Sultánah-mother and cried, "By
Allah, unless thou avert my shame[FN#12] we will cut thee down
with this scymitar! Say me whose son am I?" She replied, "By
Allah, O my child, indeed falsehood is an excuse, but fact and
truth are more saving and superior. Verily thou art the son of a
cook!"?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister
Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night, an the King
suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that
was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-second Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
Sultan's mother said to him, "Verily thou art a cook's son. Thy
sire could not beget boy-children and I bare him only a single
daughter. But it so fortuned that the kitchener's wife lay in of
a boy (to wit, thyself); so we gave my girl-babe to the cook and
took thee as the son of the Sultan, dreading for the realm after
thy sire's death." The King went forth from his mother in
astonishment at the penetration of the three youths and, when he
had taken seat in his Palace, he summoned the trio and as soon as
they appeared he asked them; "Which of you was it that said, 'She
who kneaded the bread was in blood'?" Quoth the eldest, "That was
I;" and quoth the King, "What led thee to suspect that she was
menstruous?" He replied, "O my lord, when I took the bannock and
broke off a bittock, the flour fell out in lumps.[FN#13] Now had
the kneader been well, her strength of hand would have remained
and the bread would have been wrought by all the veins; but, when
the blood came, her powers were minished for women's force is in
their hands; and as soon as the monthly period cometh upon them
their strength is lost. Their bodies contain three hundred and
sixty veins all lying hard by one another and the blood of the
catamenia floweth from them all; hence their force becometh
feebleness. And this was my proof of the woman which was
menstruous." Quoth the Sultan, "'Tis well. We accept as certain
thy saying upon this evidence, for it is agreeable to man's
understanding nor can any challenge it; this being from the power
of insight into the condition of womankind. And we are assured of
its soothfastness, for 'tis evident to us without concealment.
But which is he who said of the kid's meat that the beast was
suckled by a bitch? What proof had he of this? How did he learn
it and whence did his intelligence discover it to him?" Now when
the deceased Sultan's second son heard these words, he made
answer. "I, O King of the Age, am he who said that say!" The King
replied, "'Tis well;" and the Prince resumed, "O my lord, that
which showed me the matter of the meat which was to us brought is
as follows. I found the fat of the kid all hard by the bone, and
I knew that the beast had sucked bitch's milk; for the flesh of
dogs lieth outside and their fat is on their bones, whereas in
sheep and goats the fat lieth upon the meat. Such, then, was my
proof wherein there is nor doubt nor hesitation; and when thou
shalt have made question and inquiry thou wilt find this to be
fact." Quoth the Sultan, "'Tis well; thou hast spoken truth and
whatso thou sayest is soothfast. But which is he who declared
that I am a bastard and what was his proof and what sign in me
exposed it to him?" Quoth the youngest Prince, "I am he who said
it;" and the Sultan rejoined, "There is no help but that thou
provide me with a proof." The Prince rejoined, "'Tis well!"?And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased
saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How
sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and
delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I
would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me
to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-third Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the
youngest Prince said to the Sultan, "O my lord, I have evidence
that thou art the son of a cook and a base-born, in that thou
didst not sit at meat with us and this was mine all-sufficient
evidence. Every man hath three properties which he inheriteth at
times from his father, at times from his maternal uncle and at
times from his mother.[FN#14] From his sire cometh generosity or
niggardness; from his uncle courage or cowardice; from his mother
modesty or immodesty; and such is the proof of every man." Then
quoth to him the Sultan, "Sooth thou speakest; but say me, men
who like you know all things thoroughly by evidence and by your
powers of penetration, what cause have they to come seeking
arbitration at my hand? Beyond yours there be no increase of
intelligence. So fare ye forth from me and manage the matter
amongst yourselves, for 'tis made palpable to me by your own
words that naught remaineth to you save to speak of mysterious
subjects;[FN#15] nor have I the capacity to adjudge between you
after that which I have heard from you. In fine an ye possess any
document drawn up by your sire before his decease, act according
to it and contrary it not." Upon this the Princes went forth from
him and made for their own country and city and did as their
father had bidden them do on his death-bed. The eldest enthroned
himself as Sultan; the cadet assumed possession and management of
the moneys and treasures and the youngest took to himself the
camels and the horses and the beeves and the muttons. Then each
and every was indeed equal with his co-partner in the gathering
of good. But when the new year came, there befel a drought among
the beasts and all belonging to the youngest brother died nor had
he aught of property left: yet his spirit brooked not to take
anything from his brethren or even to ask of them aught. This
then is the Tale of the King of Al-Yaman in its entirety; yet is
the Story of the Three Sharpers[FN#16] more wondrous and
marvellous than that just recounted.?And Shahrazad was surprised
by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her
permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy
story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth
she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate to you
on the coming night, an the King suffer me to survive." Now when
it was the next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,
Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will! It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating;" and she began
to recount