head; whereupon his wife saw him and recognising him screamed a scream
which startled all in the palace, and said to him, “How camest thou
hither? From the sky hast thou dropped or through the earth hast thou
come up?” And her eyes brimmed with tears and Hasan also wept. Quoth
she, “O man, this be no time for tears or blame. Fate hath had its
course and the sight was blinded and the Pen hath run with what was
ordained of Allah when Time was begun: so, Allah upon thee, whencesoever
thou comest, go hide, lest any espy thee and tell my sister and she do
thee and me die!” Answered he, “O my lady and lady of all Queens, I have
adventured myself and come hither, and either I will die or I will
deliver thee from this strait and travel with thee and my children to my
country, despite the nose of this thy wickedest sister.” But as she
heard his words she smiled and for awhile fell to shaking her head and
said, “Far, O my life, far is it from the power of any except Allah
Almighty to deliver me from this my strait! Save thyself by flight and
wend thy ways and cast not thyself into destruction; for she hath
conquering hosts none may withstand. Given that thou tookest me and
wentest forth, how canst thou make thy country and escape from these
islands and the perils of these awesome places? Verily, thou hast seen
on thy way hither, the wonders, the marvels, the dangers and the terrors
of the road, such as none may escape, not even one of the rebel Jinns.
Depart, therefore, forthright and add not cark to my cark and care to my
care, neither do thou pretend to rescue me from this my plight; for who
shall carry me to thy country through all these vales and thirsty wolds
and fatal steads?” Rejoined Hasan, “By thy life, O light of mine eyes, I
will not depart this place nor fare but with thee!” Quoth she, “O man!
How canst thou avail unto this thing and what manner of man art thou?
Thou knowest not what thou sayest! None can escape from these realms,
even had he command over Jinns, Ifrits, magicians, chiefs of tribes and
Marids. Save thyself and leave me; perchance Allah will bring about good
after ill.” Answered Hasan, “O lady of fair ones, I came not save to
deliver thee with this rod and with this cap.” And he told her what had
befallen him with the two boys; but, whilst he was speaking, behold, up
came the Queen and heard their speech. Now when he was ware of her, he
donned the cap and was hidden from sight, and she entered and said to
the Princess, “O wanton, who is he with whom thou wast talking?”
Answered Manar al-Sanar, “Who is with me that should talk with me,
except these children?” Then the Queen took the whip and beat her,
whilst Hasan stood by and looked on, nor did she leave beating her till
she fainted; whereupon she bade transport her to another place. So they
loosed her and carried her to another chamber whilst Hasan followed
unseen. There they cast her down, senseless, and stood gazing upon her,
till she revived and recited these couplets:[169]—
I have sorrowed on account of our disunion with a sorrow that made the
tears to overflow from my eyelids;
And I vowed that if Fortune reunite us, I would never again mention our
separation;
And I would say to the envious, Die ye with regret; By Allah I have now
attained my desire!
Joy hath overwhelmed me to such a degree that by its excess it hath made
me weep.
O eye, how hath weeping become thy habit? Thou weepest in joy as well as
in sorrows.
When she ceased her verse the slave-girls went out from her and Hasan
took off the cap; whereupon his wife said to him, “See, O man, all this
befel me not save by reason of my having rebelled against thee and
transgressed thy commandment and gone forth without thy leave.[170] So,
Allah upon thee blame me not for my sins and know that women never wot a
man’s worth till they have lost him. Indeed, I have offended and done
evil; but I crave pardon of Allah Almighty for whatso I did, and if He
reunite us, I will never again gainsay thee in aught, no, never!”——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan’s wife
besought pardon of him saying, “Blame me not for my sin; and indeed I
crave mercy of Allah Almighty.” Quoth Hasan (and indeed his heart ached
for her), “’Twas not thou that wast in fault; nay, the fault was mine
and mine only, for I fared forth and left thee with one who knew not thy
rank, neither thy worth nor thy degree. But know, O beloved of my heart
and fruit of my vitals and light of mine eyes, that Allah (blessed be
He!) hath ordained to me power of releasing thee; so, say me, wouldst
thou have me carry thee to thy father’s home, there to accomplish what
Allah decreeth unto thee, or wilt thou forthright depart with me to mine
own country, now that relief is come to thee?” Quoth she, “Who can
deliver me save the Lord of the Heavens? Go to thy mother-land and put
away from thee false hope; for thou knowest not the perils of these
parts which, an thou obey me not, soon shalt thou sight.” And she
improvised these couplets:—
On me and with me bides thy volunty; ✿ Why then such anger such despite
to me?
Whate’er befel us Heaven forbid that love ✿ Fade for long time or e’er
forgotten be!
Ceased not the spy to haunt our sides, till seen ✿ Our love estranged
and then estranged was he:
In truth I trusted to fair thoughts of thine ✿ Though spake the wicked
spy maliciously.
We’ll keep the secret ’twixt us twain and hold ✿ Although the brand of
blame unsheathed we see.
The livelong day in longing love I spend ✿ Hoping acceptance-message
from my friend.
Then wept she and her children, and the handmaidens heard them: so they
came in to them and found them weeping, but saw not Hasan with them;
wherefore they wept for ruth of them and damned Queen Nur al-Huda. Then
Hasan took patience till night came on and her guards had gone to their
sleeping-places, when he arose and girded his waist; then went up to her
and loosing her kissed her on the head and between the eyes and pressed
her to his bosom, saying, “How long have we wearied for our mother-land
and for reunion there! Is this our meeting in sleep, or on wake?” Then
he took up the elder boy and she took up the younger and they went forth
the palace; and Allah veiled them with the veil of His protection, so
that they came safe to the outer gate which closed the entrance to the
Queen’s Serraglio. But finding it locked from without, Hasan said,
“There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious,
the Great! Verily we are Allah’s and unto Him shall we return!” With
this they despaired of escape and Hasan beat hand upon hand, saying, “O
Dispeller of dolours! Indeed, I had bethought me of every thing and
considered its conclusion but this; and now, when it is daybreak, they
will take us, and what device have we in this case?” And he recited the
following two couplets:[171]—
Thou madest fair thy thought of Fate, whenas the days were fair, And
fearedst not the unknown ills that they to thee might bring.
The nights were fair and calm to thee; thou wast deceived by them, For
in the peace of night is born full many a troublous thing.
Then Hasan wept and his wife wept for his weeping and for the abasement
she had suffered and the cruelties of Time and Fortune:—
Baulks me my Fate as tho’ she were my foe; ✿ Each day she showeth me new
cark and care:
Fate, when I aim at good, brings clear reverse, ✿ And lets foul morrow
wait on day that’s fair.
And also these:—
Irks me my Fate and clean unknows that I ✿ Of my high worth her shifts
and shafts despise.
She nights parading what ill-will she works: ✿ I night parading Patience
to her eyes.
Then his wife said to him, “By Allah, there is no relief for us but to
kill ourselves and be at rest from this great and weary travail; else we
shall suffer grievous torment on the morrow.” At this moment, behold,
they heard a voice from without the door say, “By Allah, O my lady Manar
al-Sana, I will not open to thee and thy husband Hasan, except ye obey
me in whatso I shall say to you!” When they heard these words they were
silent for excess of fright and would have returned whence they came;
when lo! the voice spake again saying, “What aileth you both to be
silent and answer me not?” Therewith they knew the speaker for the old
woman Shawahi, Lady of Calamities, and said to her, “Whatsoever thou
biddest us, that will we do; but first open the door to us; this being
no time for talk.” Replied she, “By Allah, I will not open to you until
ye both swear to me that you will take me with you and not leave me with
yonder whore: so, whatever befalleth you shall befal me and if ye
escape, I shall escape, and if ye perish, I shall perish: for yonder
abominable woman, tribade[172] that she is! entreateth me with indignity
and still tormenteth me on your account; and thou, O my daughter,
knowest my worth.” Now recognising her they trusted in her and sware to
her an oath such as contented her, whereupon she opened the door to them
and they fared forth and found her riding on a Greek jar of red
earthenware with a rope of palm-fibres about its neck,[173] which rolled
under her and ran faster than a Najdi colt, and she came up to them, and
said, “Follow me and fear naught, for I know forty modes of magic by the
least of which I could make this city a dashing sea, swollen with
clashing billows, and ensorcel each damsel therein to a fish, and all
before dawn. But I was not able to work aught of my mischief, for fear
of the King her father and of regard to her sisters, for that they are
formidable, by reason of their many guards and tribesmen and servants.
However, soon will I show you wonders of my skill in witchcraft; and now
let us on, relying upon the blessing of Allah and His good aid.” Now
Hasan and his wife rejoiced in this, making sure of escape,——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan and
his wife, accompanied by the ancient dame Shawahi, fared forth from the
palace, they made sure of deliverance and they walked on till they came
without the city, when he fortified his heart and, smiting the earth
with the rod, cried, “Ho, ye servants of these names, appear to me and
acquaint me with your conditions!” Thereupon the earth clave asunder and
out came ten[174] Ifrits, with their feet in the bowels of the earth and
their heads in the clouds. They kissed the earth three times before
Hasan and said as with one voice, “Adsumus! Here are we at thy service,
O our lord and ruler over us! What dost thou bid us do? For we hear and
obey thy commandment. An thou wilt, we will dry thee up seas and remove
mountains from their places.” So Hasan rejoiced in their words and at
their speedy answer to his evocation; then taking courage and bracing up
his resolution, he said to them, “Who are ye and what be your names and
your races, and to what tribes and clans and companies appertain ye?”
They kissed the earth once more and answered as with one voice, saying,
“We are seven Kings, each ruling over seven tribes of the Jinn of all
conditions, and Satans and Marids, flyers and divers, dwellers in
mountains and wastes and wolds and haunters of the seas: so bid us do
whatso thou wilt; for we are thy servants and thy slaves, and whoso
possesseth this rod hath dominion over all our necks and we owe him
obedience.” Now when Hasan heard this, he rejoiced with joy exceeding,
as did his wife and the old woman, and presently he said to the Kings of
the Jinn, “I desire of you that ye show me your tribes and hosts and
guards.” “O our lord,” answered they, “if we show thee our tribes, we
fear for thee and these who are with thee, for their name is legion and
they are various in form and fashion, figure and favour. Some of us are
heads sans bodies and others bodies sans heads, and others again are in
the likeness of wild beasts and ravening lions. However, if this be thy
will, there is no help but we first show thee those of us who are like
unto wild beasts. But, O our lord, what wouldst thou of us at this
present?” Quoth Hasan, “I would have you carry me forthwith to the city
of Baghdad, me and my wife and this honest woman.” But, hearing his
words they hung down their heads and were silent, whereupon Hasan asked
them, “Why do ye not reply?” And they answered as with one voice, “O our
lord and ruler over us, we are of the covenant of Solomon son of David
(on the twain be Peace!) and he sware us in that we would bear none of
the sons of Adam on our backs; since which time we have borne no mortal
on back or shoulder: but we will straightway harness thee horses of the
Jinn, that shall carry thee and thy company to thy country.” Hasan
enquired, “How far are we from Baghdad?” and they, “Seven years’ journey
for a diligent horseman.” Hasan marvelled at this and said to them,
“Then how came I hither in less than a year?”; and they said “Allah
softened to thee the hearts of His pious servants else hadst thou never
come to this country nor hadst thou set eyes on these regions; no,
never! For the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, who mounted thee on the elephant
and the magical horse, traversed with thee, in ten days, three years’
journey for a well-girt rider, and the Ifrit Dahnash, to whom the Shaykh
committed thee, carried thee a three years’ march in a day and a night;
all which was of the blessing of Allah Almighty, for that the Shaykh Abu
al-Ruwaysh is of the seed of Ásaf bin Barkhiyá[175] and knoweth the Most
Great name of Allah.[176] Moreover, from Baghdad to the palace of the
damsels is a year’s journey, and this maketh up the seven years.” When
Hasan heard this, he marvelled with exceeding marvel and cried, “Glory
be to God, Facilitator of the hard, Fortifier of the weak heart,
Approximator of the far and Humbler of every froward tyrant, Who hath
eased us of every accident and carried me to these countries and
subjected to me these creatures and reunited me with my wife and
children! I know not whether I am asleep or awake or if I be sober or
drunken!” Then he turned to the Jinn and asked, “When ye have mounted me
upon your steeds, in how many days will they bring us to Baghdad?”; and
they answered, “They will carry you thither under the year, but not till
after ye have endured terrible perils and hardships and horrors and ye
have traversed thirsty Wadys and frightful wastes and horrible steads
without number; and we cannot promise thee safety, O our lord, from the
people of these islands,”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Jann said to
Hasan, “We cannot promise thee safety, O our lord, from this Islandry,
nor from the mischief of the Supreme King and his enchanters and
warlocks. It may be they will overcome us and take you from us and we
fall into affliction with them, and all to whom the tidings shall come
after this will say to us:—Ye are wrong-doers! How could ye go against
the Supreme King and carry a mortal out of his dominions, and eke the
King’s daughter with him?” adding, “Wert thou alone with us the thing
were light; but He who conveyed thee hither is capable to carry thee
back to thy country and reunite thee with thine own people forthright
and in readiest plight. So take heart and put thy trust in Allah and
fear not; for we are at thy service, to convey thee to thy country.”
Hasan thanked them therefor and said, “Allah requite you with good! but
now make haste with the horses;” they replied, “We hear and we obey,”
and struck the ground with their feet, whereupon it opened and they
disappeared within it and were absent awhile, after which they suddenly
reappeared with three horses, saddled and bridled, and on each
saddle-bow a pair of saddle-bags, with a leathern bottle of water in one
pocket and the other full of provaunt. So Hasan mounted one steed and
took a child before him, whilst his wife mounted a second and took the
other child before her. Then the old woman alighted from the jar and
bestrode the third horse and they rode on, without ceasing, all night.
At break of day, they turned aside from the road and made for the
mountain, whilst their tongues ceased not to name Allah. Then they fared
on under the highland all that day, till Hasan caught sight of a black
object afar as it were a tall column of smoke a-twisting skywards; so he
recited somewhat of the Koran and Holy Writ, and sought refuge with
Allah from Satan the Stoned. The black thing grew plainer as they drew
near, and when hard by it, they saw that it was an Ifrit, with a head
like a huge dome and tusks like grapnels and jaws like a lane and
nostrils like ewers and ears like leathern targes and mouth like a cave
and teeth like pillars of stone and hands like winnowing forks and legs
like masts: his head was in the cloud and his feet in the bowels of the
earth had plowed. Whenas Hasan gazed upon him he bowed himself and
kissed the ground before him, saying, “O Hasan, have no fear of me; for
I am the chief of the dwellers in this land, which is the first of the
Isles of Wak, and I am a Moslem and an adorer of the One God. I have
heard of you and your coming and when I knew of your case, I desired to
depart from the land of the magicians to another land, void of
inhabitants and far from men and Jinn, that I might dwell there alone
and worship Allah till my fated end came upon me. So I wish to accompany
you and be your guide, till ye fare forth of the Wak Islands; and I will
not appear save at night; and do ye hearten your hearts on my account;
for I am a Moslem, even as ye are Moslems.” When Hasan heard the Ifrit’s
words, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and made sure of deliverance; and
he said to him, “Allah requite thee weal! Go with us relying upon the
blessing of Allah!” So the Ifrit forewent them and they followed,
talking and making merry, for their hearts were pleased and their
breasts were eased and Hasan fell to telling his wife all that had
befallen him and all the hardships he had undergone, whilst she excused
herself to him and told him, in turn, all she had seen and suffered.
They ceased not faring all that night——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that they ceased not
faring all that night and the horses bore them like the blinding leven,
and when the day rose all put their hands to the saddle-bags and took
forth provaunt which they ate and water which they drank. Then they sped
diligently on their way, preceded by the Ifrit, who turned aside with
them from the beaten track into another road, till then untrodden, along
the sea-shore, and they ceased not faring on, without stopping, across
Wadys and wolds a whole month, till on the thirty-first day there arose
before them a dust-cloud, that walled the world and darkened the day;
and when Hasan saw this, he was confused and turned pale; and more so
when a frightful crying and clamour struck their ears. Thereupon the old
woman said to him, “O my son, this is the army of the Wak Islands, that
hath overtaken us; and presently they will lay violent hands on us.”
Hasan asked, “What shall I do, O my mother?”; and she answered, “Strike
the earth with the rod.” He did so whereupon the Seven Kings presented
themselves and saluted him with the salam, kissing ground before him and
saying, “Fear not neither grieve.” Hasan rejoiced at these words and
answered them, saying, “Well said, O Princes of the Jinn and the Ifrits!
This is your time!” Quoth they, “Get ye up to the mountain-top, thou and
thy wife and children and she who is with thee and leave us to deal with
them, for we know that you all are in the right and they in the wrong
and Allah will aid us against them.” So Hasan and his wife and children
and the old woman dismounted and dismissing the horses, ascended the
flank of the mountain.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-eighth Night,
[Illustration]