Beauty’s mould and mate:
Rose blushes reddest when she sees those cheeks ✿ And fruits the bough
those marvel charms amate:
Moon is her favour, Musk the scent of her ✿ Branch is her shape:—she
passeth man’s estate:
’Tis e’en as were she cast in freshest pearl ✿ And every limblet shows a
moon innate.
Presently the Persian lighted down from his she-mule and making the
damsel also dismount loudly summoned the broker and said to him as soon
as he came, “Take this damsel and cry her for sale in the market.” So he
took her and leading her to the middlemost of the bazar disappeared for
a while and presently he returned with a stool of ebony, inlaid with
ivory, and setting it upon the ground, seated her thereon. Then he
raised her veil and discovered a face as it were a Median targe[449] or
a cluster of pearls[450]: and indeed she was like the full moon, when it
filleth on its fourteenth night, accomplished in brilliant beauty. As
saith the poet:—
Vied the full moon for folly with her face, ✿ But was eclipsed[451] and
split for rage full sore;
And if the spiring Bán with her contend ✿ Perish her hands who load of
fuel bore[452]!
And how well saith another:—
Say to the fair in the wroughten veil ✿ How hast made that monk-like
worshipper ail?
Light of veil and light of face under it ✿ Made the hosts of darkness to
fly from bale;
And, when came my glance to steal look at cheek, ✿ With a meteor-shaft
the Guard made me quail.[453]
Then said the broker to the merchants,[454] “How much do ye bid for the
union-pearl of the diver and prize-quarry of the fowler?” Quoth one,
“She is mine for an hundred dinars.” And another said, “Two hundred,”
and a third, “Three hundred”; and they ceased not to bid, one against
other, till they made her price nine hundred and fifty dinars, and there
the biddings stopped awaiting acceptance and consent.[455]——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the merchants bid
one against other till they made the price of the girl nine hundred and
fifty dinars. Then the broker went up to her Persian master and said to
him, “The biddings for this thy slave-girl have reached nine hundred and
fifty dinars: so say me, wilt thou sell her at that price and take the
money?” Asked the Persian, “Doth she consent to this? I desire to fall
in with her wishes, for I sickened on my journey hither and this
handmaid tended me with all possible tenderness, wherefore I sware not
to sell her but to him whom she should like and approve, and I have put
her sale in her own hand. So do thou consult her and if she say, I
consent, sell her to whom thou wilt: but an she say, No, sell her not.”
So the broker went up to her and asked her, “O Princess of fair ones,
know that thy master putteth thy sale in thine own hands, and thy price
hath reached nine hundred and fifty dinars; dost thou give me leave to
sell thee?” She answered, “Show me him who is minded to buy me before
clinching the bargain.” So he brought her up to one of the merchants a
man stricken with years and decrepit; and she looked at him a long
while, then turned to the broker and said to him, “O broker, art thou
Jinn-mad or afflicted in thy wit?” Replied he, “Why dost thou ask me
this, O Princess of fair ones?”; and said she, “Is it permitted thee of
Allah to sell the like of me to yonder decrepit old man, who saith of
his wife’s case these couplets:—
Quoth she to me,—and sore enraged for wounded pride was she, ✿ For she
in sooth had bidden me to that which might not be,—
“An if thou swive me not forthright, as one should swive his wife, ✿
Thou be made a cuckold straight, reproach it not to me.
Meseems thy yard is made of wax, for very flaccidness; ✿ For when I rub
it with my hand, it softens instantly.”[456]
And said he likewise of his yard:—
I have a yard that sleeps in base and shameful way ✿ When grants my
lover boon for which I sue and pray:
But when I wake o’ mornings[457] all alone in bed, ✿ ’Tis fain o’ foin
and fence and fierce for futter-play.
And again quoth he thereof of his yard:—
I have a froward yard of temper ill ✿ Dishonouring him who shows it most
regard:
It stands when sleep I, when I stand it sleeps ✿ Heaven pity not who
pitieth that yard!
When the old merchant heard this ill flouting from the damsel, he was
wroth with wrath exceeding beyond which was no proceeding and said to
the broker, “O most ill-omened of brokers, thou hast not brought into
the market this ill-conditioned wench but to gibe me and make mock of me
before the merchants.” Then the broker took her aside and said to her,
“O my lady, be not wanting in self-respect. The Shaykh at whom thou
didst mock is the Syndic of the bazar and Inspector[458] thereof and a
committee-man of the council of the merchants.” But she laughed and
improvised these two couplets:—
It behoveth folk who rule in our time, ✿ And ’tis one of the duties of
magistrateship,
To hang up the Wali above his door ✿ And beat with a whip the Mohtasib!
Adding, “By Allah, O my lord, I will not be sold to yonder old man; so
sell me to other than him, for haply he will be abashed at me and vend
me again and I shall become a mere servant[459] and it beseemeth not
that I sully myself with menial service; and indeed thou knowest that
the matter of my sale is committed to myself.” He replied, “I hear and I
obey,” and carried her to a man which was one of the chief merchants.
And when standing hard by him the broker asked, “How sayst thou, O my
lady? Shall I sell thee to my lord Sharíf al-Dín here for nine hundred
and fifty gold pieces?” She looked at him and, seeing him to be an old
man with a dyed beard, said to the broker, “Art thou silly, that thou
wouldst sell me to this worn out Father Antic? Am I cotton refuse or
threadbare rags that thou marchest me about from greybeard to greybeard,
each like a wall ready to fall or an Ifrit smitten down of a fire-ball?”
As for the first, the poet had him in mind when he said[460]:—
“I sought of a fair maid to kiss her lips of coral red, But, “No, by Him
who fashioned things from nothingness!” she said.
Unto the white of hoary hairs I never had a mind, And shall my mouth be
stuffed, forsooth, with cotton, ere I’m dead?”
And how goodly is the saying of the poet:—
The wise have said that white of hair is light that shines and robes ✿
The face of man with majesty and light that awes the sight;
Yet until hoary seal shall stamp my parting-place of hair ✿ I hope and
pray that same may be black as the blackest night.
Albe Time-whitened beard of man be like the book he bears[461] ✿ When to
his Lord he must return, I’d rather ’twere not white.
And yet goodlier is the saying of another:—
A guest hath stolen on my head and honour may he lack! ✿ The sword a
milder deed hath done that dared these locks to hack.
Avaunt, O Whiteness,[462] wherein naught of brightness gladdens sight ✿
Thou ’rt blacker in the eyes of me than very blackest black!
As for the other, he is a model of wantonness and scurrilousness and a
blackener of the face of hoariness; his dye acteth the foulest of lies:
and the tongue of his case reciteth these lines[463]:—
Quoth she to me, “I see thou dy’st thy hoariness;” and I, “I do but hide
it from thy sight, O thou mine ear and eye!”
She laughed out mockingly and said, “A wonder ’tis indeed! Thou so
aboundest in deceit that even thy hair’s a lie.”
And how excellent is the saying of the poet:—
O thou who dyest hoariness with black, ✿ That youth wi’ thee abide, at
least in show;
Look ye, my lot was dyèd black whilome ✿ And (take my word!) none other
hue ’twill grow.
When the old man with dyed beard heard such words from the slave-girl,
he raged with exceeding rage in fury’s last stage and said to the
broker, “O most ill-omened of brokers, this day thou hast brought to our
market naught save this gibing baggage to flout at all who are therein,
one after other, and fleer at them with flyting verse and idle jest?”
And he came down from his shop and smote on the face the broker who took
her an angered and carried her away saying to her, “By Allah, never in
my life saw I a more shameless wench than thyself[464]! Thou hast cut
off my daily bread and thine own this day and all the merchants will
bear me a grudge on thine account.” Then they saw on the way a merchant
called Shihab al-Dín who bid ten dinars more for her, and the broker
asked her leave to sell her to him. Quoth she, “Trot him out that I may
see him and question him of a certain thing, which if he have in his
house, I will be sold to him; and if not, then not.” So the broker left
her standing there and going up to Shihab al-Din, said to him, “O my
lord, know that yonder damsel tells me she hath a mind to ask thee
somewhat, which an thou have, she will be sold to thee. Now thou hast
heard what she said to thy fellows, the merchants,”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the broker
said to the merchant, “Thou hast heard what this handmaid said to thy
fellows, the traders, and by Allah, I fear to bring her to thee, lest
she do with thee like as she did with thy neighbours and so I fall into
disgrace with thee: but, an thou bid me bring her to thee, I will bring
her.” Quoth the merchant, “Hither with her to me.” “Hearing and
obeying,” answered the broker and fetched for the purchaser the damsel,
who looked at him and said, “O my lord, Shihab al-Din hast thou in thy
house round cushions stuffed with ermine strips?” Replied Shihab al-Din,
“Yes, O Princess of fair ones, I have at home half a score such
cushions; but I conjure thee by Allah, tell me, what will thou do with
them?” Quoth she, “I will bear with thee till thou be asleep, when I
will lay them on thy mouth and nose and press them down till thou die.”
Then she turned to the broker and said to him, “O thou refuse of
brokers, meseemeth thou art mad, in that thou showest me this hour past,
first to a pair of grey-beards, in each of whom are two faults, and then
thou proferrest me to my lord Shihab al-Din wherein be three defects;
firstly, he is dwarfish, secondly, he hath a nose which is big, and
thirdly, he hath a beard which is long.” Of him quoth one of the poets:—
We never heard of wight nor yet espied ✿ Who amid men three gifts hath
unified:
To wit, a beard one cubit long, a snout ✿ Span-long and figure tall a
finger wide.
And quoth another poet:—
From the plain of his face springs a minaret ✿ Like a bezel of ring on
his finger set:
Did creation enter that vasty nose ✿ No created thing would elsewhere be
met.
When Shihab al-Din heard this, he came down from his shop and seized the
broker by the collar, saying, “O scurviest of brokers, what aileth thee
to bring us a damsel to flout and make mock of us, one after other, with
her verses and talk that a curse is?” So the broker took her and carried
her away from before him and fared, saying, “By Allah, all my life long,
since I have plied this profession never set I eyes on the like of thee
for unmannerliness nor aught more curst to me than thy star, for thou
hast cut off my livelihood this day and I have gained no profit by thee
save cuffs on the neck-nape and catching by the collar!” Then he brought
her to the shop of another merchant, owner of negro slaves and white
servants, and stationing her before him, said to her, “Wilt thou be sold
to this my lord ’Alá al-Dín?” She looked at him and seeing him
hump-backed, said, “This is a Gobbo,” and quoth the poet of him:—
Drawn in thy shoulders are and spine thrust out, ✿ As seeking star which
Satan gave the lout[465];
Or as he tasted had first smack of scourge ✿ And looked in marvel for a
second bout.
And saith another on the same theme:—
As one of you who mounted mule, ✿ A sight for men to ridicule:
Is’t not a farce? Who feels surprise ✿ An start and bolt with him the
mule?
And another on a similar subject:—
Oft hunchback addeth to his bunchy back ✿ Faults which gar folk upon his
front look black:
Like branch distort and dried by length of days ✿ With citrons hanging
from it loose and slack.
With this the broker hurried up to her and, carrying her to another
merchant, said to her, “Wilt thou be sold to this one?” She looked at
him and said, “In very sooth this man is blue-eyed[466]; how wilt thou
sell me to him?” Quoth one of the poets:—
His eyelids sore and bleared ✿ Weakness of frame denote:
Arise, ye folk and see ✿ Within his eyes the mote!
Then the broker carried her to another and she looked at him and seeing
that he had a long beard, said to the broker, “Fie upon thee! This is a
ram, whose tail hath sprouted from his gullet. Wilt thou sell me to him,
O unluckiest of brokers? Hast thou not heard say:—All long of beard are
little of wits? Indeed, after the measure of the length of the beard is
the lack of sense; and this is a well-known thing among men of
understanding.” As saith one of the poets:—
Ne’er was a man with beard grown overlong, ✿ Tho’ be he therefor
reverenced and fear’d,
But who the shortness noted in his wits ✿ Added to longness noted in his
beard.
And quoth another[467]:—
I have a friend with a beard which God hath made to grow to a useless
length,
It is like unto one of the nights of winter long and dark and cold.
With this the broker took her and turned away with her, and she asked,
“Whither goest thou with me?” He answered, “Back to thy master the
Persian; it sufficeth me what hath befallen me because of thee this day;
for thou hast been the means of spoiling both my trade and his by thine
ill manners.” Then she looked about the market right and left, front and
rear till, by the decree of the Decreer her eyes fell on Ali Nur al-Din
the Cairene. So she gazed at him and saw him[468] to be a comely youth
of straight slim form and smooth of face, fourteen years old, rare in
beauty and loveliness and elegance and amorous grace like the full moon
on the fourteenth night with forehead flower-white, and cheeks rosy red,
neck like alabaster and teeth than jewels finer and dews of lips sweeter
than sugar, even as saith of him one of his describers:—
Came to match him in beauty and loveliness rare ✿ Full moons and
gazelles, but quoth I, “Soft fare!
Fare softly, gazelles, nor yourselves compare ✿ With him and, O Moons,
all your pains forbear!”
And how well saith another bard:—
Slim-waisted loveling, from his hair and brow ✿ Men wake a-morn in night
and light renewed.
Blame not the mole that dwelleth on his cheek ✿ For Nu’uman’s bloom aye
shows spot negro-hued.
When the slave-girl beheld Nur al-Din he interposed between her and her
wits; she fell in love to him with a great and sudden fall and her heart
was taken with affection for him;——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-third Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
slave-girl beheld Nur al-Din, her heart was taken with affection for
him; so she turned to the broker and said to him, “Will not yonder young
merchant who is sitting among the traders in the gown of striped
broadcloth bid somewhat more for me?” The broker replied, “O lady of
fair ones, yonder young man is a stranger from Cairo, where his father
is chief of the trader-guild and surpasseth all the merchants and
notables of the place. He is but lately come to this our city and
lodgeth with one of his father’s friends; but he hath made no bid for
thee nor more nor less.” When the girl heard the broker’s words, she
drew from her finger a costly signet-ring of ruby and said to the man,
“Carry me to yonder youth, and if he buy me, this ring shall be thine,
in requital of thy travail with me this day.” The broker rejoiced at
this and brought her up to Nur al-Din, and she considered him straitly
and found him like the full moon, perfect in loveliness and a model of
fine stature and symmetric grace, even as saith of him one of his
describers:—
Waters of beauty o’er his cheeks flow bright. ✿ And rain his glances
shafts that sorely smite:
Choked are his lovers an he deal disdain’s ✿ Bitterest draught denaying
love-delight.
His forehead and his stature and my love ✿ Are perfect perfected
perfection-dight;
His raiment folds enfold a lovely neck ✿ As crescent moon in collar
buttoned tight:
His eyne and twinnèd moles and tears of me ✿ Are night that nighteth to
the nightliest night.
His eyebrows and his features and my frame[469] ✿ Crescents on crescents
are as crescents slight:
His pupils pass the wine-cup to his friends ✿ Which, albe sweet, tastes
bitter to my sprite;
And to my thirsty throat pure drink he dealt ✿ From smiling lips what
day we were unite:
Then is my blood to him, my death to him ✿ His right and rightful and
most righteous right.
The girl gazed at Nur al-Din and said, “O my lord, Allah upon thee, am I
not beautiful?”; and he replied, “O Princess of fair ones, is there in
the world a comelier than thou?” She rejoined, “Then why seest thou all
the other merchants bid high for me and art silent nor sayest a word
neither addest one dinar to my price? ’Twould seem I please thee not, O
my lord!” Quoth he, “O my lady, were I in my own land, I had bought thee
with all that my hand possesseth of monies;” and quoth she, “O my lord,
I said not, Buy me against thy will yet, didst thou but add somewhat to
my price, it would hearten my heart, though thou buy me not, so the
merchants may say:—Were not this girl handsome, yonder merchant of Cairo
had not bidden for her, for the Cairenes are connoisseurs in
slave-girls.” These words abashed Nur al-Din and he blushed and said to
the broker, “How high are the biddings for her?” He replied, “Her price
hath reached nine hundred and sixty dinars,[470] besides brokerage, as
for the Sultan’s dues, they fall on the seller.” Quoth Nur al-Din, “Let
me have her for a thousand dinars, brokerage and price.” And the damsel
hastening to the fore and leaving the broker, said, “I sell myself to
this handsome young man for a thousand dinars.” But Nur al-Din held his
peace. Quoth one, “We sell to him;” and another, “He deserveth her;” and
a third, “Accursed, son of accursed, is he who biddeth and doth not
buy!”; and a fourth, “By Allah, they befit each other!” Then, before Nur
al-Din could think, the broker fetched Kazis and witnesses, who wrote
out a contract of sale and purchase; and the broker handed the paper to
Nur al-Din, saying, “Take thy slave-girl and Allah bless thee in her for
she beseemeth none but thee and none but thou beseemeth her.” And he
recited these two couplets:—
Boon Fortune sought him in humblest way[471] ✿ And came to him
draggle-tailed, all a-stir:
And none is fittest for him but she ✿ And none is fittest but he for
her.
Hereat Nur al-Din was abashed before the merchants; so he arose without
stay or delay and weighed out the thousand dinars which he had left as a
deposit with his father’s friend the druggist, and taking the girl,
carried her to the house wherein the Shaykh had lodged him. When she
entered and saw nothing but ragged patched carpets and worn out rugs,
she said to him, “O my lord, have I no value to thee and am I not worthy
that thou shouldst bear me to thine own house and home wherein are thy
goods, that thou bringest me into thy servant’s lodging? Why dost thou
not carry me to thy father’s dwelling?” He replied, “By Allah, O
Princess of fair ones, this is my house wherein I dwell; but it
belongeth to an old man, a druggist of this city, who hath set it apart
for me and lodged me therein. I told thee that I was a stranger and that
I am of the sons of Cairo city.” She rejoined, “O my lord, the least of
houses sufficeth till thy return to thy native place; but, Allah upon
thee, O my lord, go now and fetch us somewhat of roast meat and wine and
dried fruit and dessert.” Quoth Nur al-Din, “By Allah, O Princess of
fair ones, I had no money with me but the thousand dinars I paid down to
thy price nor possess I any other good. The few dirhams I owned were
spent by me yesterday.” Quoth she, “Hast thou no friend in the town, of
whom thou mayst borrow fifty dirhams and bring them to me, that I may
tell thee what thou shalt do therewith?” And he said, “I have no
intimate but the druggist.” Then he betook himself forthright to the
druggist and said to him, “Peace be with thee, O uncle!” He returned his
salam and said to him, “O my son, what hast thou bought for a thousand
dinars this day?” Nur al-Din replied, “I have bought a slave-girl;” and
the oldster rejoined, “O my son, art thou mad that thou givest a
thousand dinars for one slave-girl? Would I knew what kind of slave-girl
she is?” Said Nur al-Din, “She is a damsel of the children of the
Franks;”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Seventy-fourth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Nur al-Din said
to the ancient druggist, “The damsel is of the children of the Franks;”
and the Shaykh said, “O my son, the best of the girls of the Franks are
to be had in this our town for an hundred dinars, and by Allah, O my
son, they have cheated thee in the matter of this damsel! However, an
thou have taken a fancy to her, lie with her this night and do thy will
of her and to-morrow morning go down with her to the market and sell
her, though thou lose by her two hundred dinars, and reckon that thou
hast lost them by shipwreck or hast been robbed of them on the road.”
Nur al-Din replied, “Right is thy rede, O uncle, but thou knowest that I
had but the thousand dinars wherewith I purchased the damsel, and now I
have not a single dirham left to spend; so I desire of thy favour and
bounty that thou lend me fifty dirhams, to provide me withal, till
to-morrow, when I will sell her and repay thee out of her price.” Said
the old man, “Willingly, O my son,” and counted out to him the fifty
dirhams. Then he said to him, “O my son, thou art but young in years and
the damsel is fair, so belike thy heart will be taken with her and it
will be grievous to thee to vend her. Now thou hast nothing to live on
and these fifty dirhams will readily be spent and thou wilt come to me
and I shall lend thee once and twice and thrice, and so on up to ten
times; but, an thou come to me after this, I will not return thy
salam[472] and our friendship with thy father will end ill.” Nur al-Din
took the fifty dirhams and returned with them to the damsel, who said to
him, “O my lord, wend thee at once to the market and fetch me twenty
dirhams’ worth of stained silk of five colours and with the other thirty
buy meat and bread and fruit and wine and flowers.” So he went to the
market and purchasing for her all she sought, brought it to her,
whereupon she rose and tucking up her sleeves, cooked food after the
most skilful fashion, and set it before him. He ate and she ate with
him, till they had enough, after which she set on the wine, and she
drank and he drank, and she ceased not to ply him with drink and
entertain him with discourse, till he became drunken and fell asleep.
Thereupon she arose without stay or delay and taking out of her bundle a
budget of Táifí leather[473] opened it and drew forth a pair of knitting
needles, wherewith she fell to work and stinted not till she had made a
beautiful zone, which she folded up in a wrapper after cleaning it and
ironing it and laid it under her pillow. Then she doffed her dress till
she was mother-naked and lying down beside Nur al-Din shampoo’d him till
he awoke from his heavy sleep. He found by his side a maiden like virgin
silver, softer than silk and delicater than a tail of fatted sheep than
standard more conspicuous and goodlier than the red camel,[474] in
height five feet tall with breasts firm and full, brows like bended
bows, eyes like gazelles’ eyes and cheeks like blood-red anemones, a
slender waist with dimples laced and a navel holding an ounce of the
unguent benzoin, thighs like bolsters stuffed with ostrich-down, and
between them what the tongue fails to set forth and at mention whereof
the tears jet forth. Brief it was as it were she to whom the poet
alluded in these two couplets:—
From her hair is Night, from her forehead Noon ✿ From her side-face
Rose; from her lip wine boon:
From her Union Heaven, her Severance Hell: ✿ Pearls from her teeth; from
her front full Moon.
And how excellent is the saying of another bard[475]:—
A Moon she rises, Willow-wand she waves ✿ Breathes ambergris and gazeth
a gazelle.
Meseems that sorrow wooes my heart and wins ✿ And when she wends makes
haste therein to dwell.
Her face is fairer than the Stars of Wealth[476] ✿ And sheeny brows the
crescent Moon excel.
And quoth a third also:—