Though a morn I may awake with all happiness in hand * Though the world
all be mine and like Kisra-kings[FN#128] I reign;
To me they had the worth of the winglet of the gnat * When I fail to
see thy form, when I look for thee in vain
When she had ended for a time her words and her weeping I said to her—O
my cousin, let this thy mourning suffice, for in pouring forth tears
there is little profit! Thwart me not, answered she, in aught I do, or
I will lay violent hands on myself! So I held my peace and left her to
go her own way; and she ceased not to cry and keen and indulge her
affliction for yet another year. At the end of the third year I waxed
aweary of this longsome mourning, and one day I happened to enter the
cenotaph when vexed and angry with some matter which had thwarted me,
and suddenly I heard her say:—O my lord, I never hear thee vouch safe a
single word to me! Why dost thou not answer me, O my master? and she
began reciting:—
O thou tomb! O, thou tomb! be his beauty set in shade? * Hast thou
darkened that countenance all sheeny as the noon?
O thou tomb! neither earth nor yet heaven art to me * Then how cometh
it in thee are conjoined my sun and moon?
When I heard such verses as these rage was heaped upon my rage I cried
out:—Well away! how long is this sorrow to last? and I began
repeating:—
O thou tomb! O thou tomb! be his horrors set in blight? * Hast thou
darkenèd his countenance that sickeneth the soul?
O thou tomb! neither cess pool nor pipkin art to me * Then how cometh
it in thee are conjoined soil and coal?
When she heard my words she sprang to her feet crying.—Fie upon thee,
thou cur! all this is of thy doings; thou hast wounded my heart s
darling and thereby worked me sore woe and thou hast wasted his youth
so that these three years he hath lain abed more dead than alive! In my
wrath I cried:—O thou foulest of harlots and filthiest of whores ever
futtered by negro slaves who are hired to have at thee![FN#129] Yes
indeed it was I who did this good deed; and snatching up my sword I
drew it and made at her to cut her down. But she laughed my words and
mine intent to scorn crying: To heel, hound that thou art! Alas[FN#130]
for the past which shall no more come to pass nor shall any one avail
the dead to raise. Allah hath indeed now given into my hand him who did
to me this thing, a deed that hath burned my heart with a fire which
died not and a flame which might not be quenched! Then she stood up;
and, pronouncing some words to me unintelligible, she said:— By virtue
of my egromancy become thou half stone and half man; whereupon I became
what thou seest, unable to rise or to sit, and neither dead nor alive.
Moreover she ensorcelled the city with all its streets and garths, and
she turned by her gramarye the four islands into four mountains around
the tarn whereof thou questionest me; and the citizens, who were of
four different faiths, Moslem, Nazarene, Jew and Magian, she
transformed by her enchantments into fishes; the Moslems are the white,
the Magians red, the Christians blue and the Jews yellow.[FN#131] And
every day she tortureth me and scourgeth me with an hundred stripes,
each of which draweth floods of blood and cutteth the skin of my
shoulders to strips; and lastly she clotheth my upper half with a hair
cloth and then throweth over them these robes." Hereupon the young man
again shed tears and began reciting:—
In patience, O my God, I endure my lot and fate; * I will bear at will
of Thee whatsoever be my state:
They oppress me; they torture me; they make my life a woe * Yet haply
Heaven's happiness shall compensate my strait:
Yea, straitened is my life by the bane and hate o' foes * But Mustafa
and Murtaza[FN#132] shall ope me Heaven's gate.
After this the Sultan turned towards the young Prince and said, "O
youth, thou hast removed one grief only to add another grief; but now,
O my friend, where is she; and where is the mausoleum wherein lieth the
wounded slave?" "The slave lieth under yon dome," quoth the young man,
"and she sitteth in the chamber fronting yonder door. And every day at
sunrise she cometh forth, and first strippeth me, and whippeth me with
an hundred strokes of the leathern scourge, and I weep and shriek; but
there is no power of motion in my lower limbs to keep her off me. After
ending her tormenting me she visiteth the slave, bringing him wine and
boiled meats. And to morrow at an early hour she will be here." Quoth
the King, "By Allah, O youth, I will assuredly do thee a good deed
which the world shall not willingly let die, and an act of derring do
which shall be chronicled long after I am dead and gone by." Then the
King sat him by the side of the young Prince and talked till nightfall,
when he lay down and slept; but, as soon as the false dawn[FN#133]
showed, he arose and doffing his outer garments[FN#134] bared his blade
and hastened to the place wherein lay the slave. Then was he ware of
lighted candles and lamps, and the perfume of incenses and unguents,
and directed by these, he made for the slave and struck him one stroke
killing him on the spot: after which he lifted him on his back and
threw him into a well that was in the palace. Presentry he returned
and, donning the slave's gear, lay down at length within the mausoleum
with the drawn sword laid close to and along his side. After an hour or
so the accursed witch came; and, first going to her husband, she
stripped off his clothes and, taking a whip, flogged him cruelly while
he cried out, "Ah! enough for me the case I am in! take pity on me, O
my cousin!' But she replied, "Didst thou take pity on me and spare the
life of my true love on whom I coated?" Then she drew the cilice over
his raw and bleeding skin and threw the robe upon all and went down to
the slave with a goblet of wine and a bowl of meat broth in her hands.
She entered under the dome weeping and wailing, "Well-away!" and
crying, "O my lord! speak a word to me! O my master! talk awhile with
me!" and began to recite these couplets.—
How long this harshness, this unlove, shall bide? * Suffice thee not
tear floods thou hast espied?
Thou dost prolong our parting purposely * And if wouldst please my foe,
thou'rt satisfied!
Then she wept again and said, "O my lord! speak to me, talk with me!"
The King lowered his voice and, twisting his tongue, spoke after the
fashion of the blackamoors and said "'lack! 'lack! there be no Ma'esty
and there be no Might save in Allauh, the Gloriose, the Great!" Now
when she heard these words she shouted for joy, and fell to the ground
fainting; and when her senses returned she asked, "O my lord, can it be
true that thou hast power of speech?" and the King making his voice
small and faint answered, "O my cuss! dost thou deserve that I talk to
thee and speak with thee?" "Why and wherefore?" rejoined she; and he
replied "The why is that all the livelong day thou tormentest thy
hubby; and he keeps calling on 'eaven for aid until sleep is strange to
me even from evenin' till mawnin', and he prays and damns, cussing us
two, me and thee, causing me disquiet and much bother: were this not
so, I should long ago have got my health; and it is this which prevents
my answering thee." Quoth she, "With thy leave I will release him from
what spell is on him;"and quoth the King, "Release him and let's have
some rest!" She cried, "To hear is to obey;" and, going from the
cenotaph to the palace, she took a metal bowl and filled it with water
and spake over it certain words which made the contents bubble and boil
as a cauldron seetheth over the fire. With this she sprinkled her
husband saying, "By virtue of the dread words I have spoken, if thou
becamest thus by my spells, come forth out of that form into thine own
former form." And lo and behold! the young man shook and trembled; then
he rose to his feet and, rejoicing at his deliverance, cried aloud, "I
testify that there is no god but the God, and in very truth Mohammed is
His Apostle, whom Allah bless and keep!" Then she said to him, "Go
forth and return not hither, for if thou do I will surely slay thee;"
screaming these words in his face. So he went from between her hands;
and she returned to the dome and, going down to the sepulchre, she
said, "O my lord, come forth to me that I may look upon thee and thy
goodliness!" The King replied in faint low words, "What[FN#135] thing
hast thou done? Thou hast rid me of the branch but not of the root."
She asked, "O my darling! O my negroling! what is the root?" And he
answered, "Fie on thee, O my cuss! The people of this city and of the
four islands every night when it's half passed lift their heads from
the tank in which thou hast turned them to fishes and cry to Heaven and
call down its anger on me and thee; and this is the reason why my
body's baulked from health. Go at once and set them free then come to
me and take my hand, and raise me up, for a little strength is already
back in me." When she heard the King's words (and she still supposed
him to be the slave) she cried joyously, “O my master, on my head and
on my eyes be thy command, Bismillah[FN#136]!” So she sprang to her
feet and, full of joy and gladness, ran down to the tarn and took a
little of its water in the palm of her hand—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it Was the Ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the young
woman, the sorceress, took in hand some of the tarn water and spake
over it words not to be understood, the fishes lifted their heads and
stood up on the instant like men, the spell on the people of the city
having been removed. What was the lake again became a crowded capital;
the bazars were thronged with folk who bought and sold; each citizen
was occupied with his own calling and the four hills became islands as
they were whilome. Then the young woman, that wicked sorceress,
returned to the King and (still thinking he was the negro) said to him,
O my love! stretch forth thy honoured hand that I may assist thee to
rise." "Nearer to me," quoth the King in a faint and feigned tone. She
came close as to embrace him when he took up the sword lying hid by his
side and smote her across the breast, so that the point showed gleaming
behind her back. Then he smote her a second time and cut her in twain
and cast her to the ground in two halves. After which he fared forth
and found the young man, now freed from the spell, awaiting him and
gave him joy of his happy release while the Prince kissed his hand with
abundant thanks. Quoth the King, "Wilt thou abide in this city or go
with me to my capital?" Quoth the youth, "O King of the age, wottest
thou not what journey is between thee and thy city?" "Two days and a
half," answered he, whereupon said the other, "An thou be sleeping, O
King, awake! Between thee and thy city is a year's march for a well
girt walker, and thou haddest not come hither in two days and a half
save that the city was under enchantment. And I, O King, will never
part from thee; no, not even for the twinkling of an eye." The King
rejoiced at his words and said, "Thanks be to Allah who hath bestowed
thee upon me! From this hour thou art my son and my only son, for that
in all my life I have never been blessed with issue." Thereupon they
embraced and joyed with exceeding great joy; and, reaching the palace,
the Prince who had been spell bound informed his lords and his grandees
that he was about to visit the Holy Places as a pilgrim, and bade them
get ready all things necessary for the occasion. The preparations
lasted ten days, after which he set out with the Sultan, whose heart
burned in yearning for his city whence he had been absent a whole
twelvemonth. They journeyed with an escort of Mamelukes[FN#137]
carrying all manners of precious gifts and rarities, nor stinted they
wayfaring day and night for a full year until they approached the
Sultan's capital, and sent on messengers to announce their coming. Then
the Wazir and the whole army came out to meet him in joy and gladness,
for they had given up all hope of ever seeing their King; and the
troops kissed the ground before him and wished him joy of his safety.
He entered and took seat upon his throne and the Minister came before
him and, when acquainted with all that had befallen the young Prince,
he congratulated him on his narrow escape. When order was restored
throughout the land the King gave largesse to many of his people, and
said to the Wazir, "Hither the Fisherman who brought us the fishes!" So
he sent for the man who had been the first cause of the city and the
citizens being delivered from enchantment and, when he came into the
presence, the Sultan bestowed upon him a dress of honour, and
questioned him of his condition and whether he had children. The
Fisherman gave him to know that he had two daughters and a son, so the
King sent for them and, taking one daughter to wife, gave the other to
the young Prince and made the son his head treasurer. Furthermore he
invested his Wazir with the Sultanate of the City in the Black Islands
whilome belonging to the young Prince, and dispatched with him the
escort of fifty armed slaves together with dresses of honour for all
the Emirs and Grandees. The Wazir kissed hands and fared forth on his
way; while the Sultan and the Prince abode at home in all the solace
and the delight of life; and the Fisherman became the richest man of
his age, and his daughters wived with the Kings, until death came to
them. And yet, O King! this is not more wondrous than the story of
The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad.
Once upon a time there was a Porter in Baghdad, who was a bachelor and
who would remain unmarried. It came to pass on a certain day, as he
stood about the street leaning idly upon his crate, behold, there stood
before him an honourable woman in a mantilla of Mosul[FN#138] silk,
broidered with gold and bordered with brocade; her walking shoes were
also purfled with gold and her hair floated in long plaits. She raised
her face veil[FN#139] and, showing two black eyes fringed with jetty
lashes, whose glances were soft and languishing and whose perfect
beauty was ever blandishing, she accosted the Porter and said in the
suavest tones and choicest language, "Take up thy crate and follow me."
The Porter was so dazzled he could hardly believe that he heard her
aright, but he shouldered his basket in hot haste saying in himself, "O
day of good luck! O day of Allah's grace!" and walked after her till
she stopped at the door of a house. There she rapped, and presently
came out to her an old man, a Nazarene, to whom she gave a gold piece,
receiving from him in return what she required of strained wine clear
as olive oil; and she set it safely in the hamper, saying "Lift and
follow." Quoth the Porter, "This, by Allah, is indeed an auspicious
day, a day propitious for the granting of all a man wisheth." He again
hoisted up the crate and followed her; till she stopped at a
fruiterer's shop and bought from him Shami[FN#140] apples and Osmani
quinces and Omani[FN#141] peaches, and cucumbers of Nile growth, and
Egyptian limes and Sultani oranges and citrons; besides Aleppine
jasmine, scented myrtle berries, Damascene nenuphars, flower of
privet[FN#142] and camomile, blood red anemones, violets, and
pomegranate bloom, eglantine and narcissus, and set the whole in the
Porter's crate, saying, "Up with it." So he lifted and followed her
till she stopped at a butcher's booth and said, "Cut me off ten pounds
of mutton." She paid him his price and he wrapped it in a banana leaf,
whereupon she laid it in the crate and said "Hoist, O Porter." He
hoisted accordingly, and followed her as she walked on till she stopped
at a grocer's, where she bought dry fruits and pistachio kernels,
Tihamah raisins, shelled almonds and all wanted for dessert, and said
to the Porter, "Lift and follow me." So he up with his hamper and after
her till she stayed at the confectioner's, and she bought an earthen
platter, and piled it with all kinds of sweetmeats in his shop, open
worked tarts and fritters scented with musk and "soap cakes," and lemon
loaves and melon preserves,[FN#143] and "Zaynab's combs," and "ladies'
fingers," and "Kazi's tit-bits" and goodies of every description; and
placed the platter in the Porter's crate. Thereupon quoth he (being a
merry man), "Thou shouldest have told me, and I would have brought with
me a pony or a she camel to carry all this market stuff." She smiled
and gave him a little cuff on the nape saying, "Step out and exceed not
in words for (Allah willing!) thy wage will not be wanting." Then she
stopped at a perfumer's and took from him ten sorts of waters, rose
scented with musk, orange-flower, water-lily, willow-flower, violet and
five others; and she also bought two loaves of sugar, a bottle for
perfume spraying, a lump of male incense, aloe-wood, ambergris and
musk, with candles of Alexandria wax; and she put the whole into the
basket, saying, "Up with thy crate and after me." He did so and
followed until she stood before the greengrocer's, of whom she bought
pickled safflower and olives, in brine and in oil; with tarragon and
cream cheese and hard Syrian cheese; and she stowed them away in the
crate saying to the Porter, "Take up thy basket and follow me." He did
so and went after her till she came to a fair mansion fronted by a
spacious court, a tall, fine place to which columns gave strength and
grace: and the gate thereof had two leaves of ebony inlaid with plates
of red gold. The lady stopped at the door and, turning her face veil
sideways, knocked softly with her knuckles whilst the Porter stood
behind her, thinking of naught save her beauty and loveliness.
Presently the door swung back and both leaves were opened, whereupon he
looked to see who had opened it; and behold, it was a lady of tall
figure, some five feet high; a model of beauty and loveliness,
brilliance and symmetry and perfect grace. Her forehead was flower
white; her cheeks like the anemone ruddy bright; her eyes were those of
the wild heifer or the gazelle, with eyebrows like the crescent moon
which ends Sha'aban and begins Ramazan;[FN#144] her mouth was the ring
of Sulayman,[FN#145] her lips coral red, and her teeth like a line of
strung pearls or of camomile petals. Her throat recalled the
antelope's, and her breasts, like two pomegranates of even size, stood
at bay as it were,[FN#146] her body rose and fell in waves below her
dress like the rolls of a piece of brocade, and her navel[FN#147] would
hold an ounce of benzoin ointment. In fine she was like her of whom the
poet said:—
On Sun and Moon of palace cast thy sight * Enjoy her flower like face,
her fragrant light:
Thine eyes shall never see in hair so black * Beauty encase a brow so
purely white:
The ruddy rosy cheek proclaims her claim * Though fail her name whose
beauties we indite:
As sways her gait I smile at hips so big * And weep to see the waist
they bear so slight.
When the Porter looked upon her his wits were waylaid, and his senses
were stormed so that his crate went nigh to fall from his head, and he
said to himself, "Never have I in my life seen a day more blessed than
this day!" Then quoth the lady portress to the lady cateress, "Come in
from the gate and relieve this poor man of his load." So the
provisioner went in followed by the portress and the Porter and went on
till they reached a spacious ground floor hall,[FN#148] built with
admirable skill and beautified with all manner colours and carvings;
with upper balconies and groined arches and galleries and cupboards and
recesses whose curtains hung before them. In the midst stood a great
basin full of water surrounding a fine fountain, and at the upper end
on the raised dais was a couch of juniper wood set with gems and
pearls, with a canopy like mosquito curtains of red satin silk looped
up with pearls as big as filberts and bigger. Thereupon sat a lady
bright of blee, with brow beaming brilliancy, the dream of philosophy,
whose eyes were fraught with Babel's gramarye[FN#149] and her eye brows
were arched as for archery; her breath breathed ambergris and perfumery
and her lips were sugar to taste and carnelian to see. Her stature was
straight as the letter I[FN#150] and her face shamed the noon sun's
radiancy; and she was even as a galaxy, or a dome with golden marquetry
or a bride displayed in choicest finery or a noble maid of
Araby.[FN#151] Right well of her sang the bard when he said:—
Her smiles twin rows of pearls display * Chamomile-buds or rimey spray
Her tresses stray as night let down * And shames her light the dawn o'
day.
[FN#152]The third lady rising from the couch stepped forward with grace
ful swaying gait till she reached the middle of the saloon, when she
said to her sisters, "Why stand ye here? take it down from this poor
man's head!" Then the cateress went and stood before him, and the
portress behind him while the third helped them, and they lifted the
load from the Porter's head; and, emptying it of all that was therein,
set everything in its place. Lastly they gave him two gold pieces,
saying, "Wend thy ways, O Porter." But he went not, for he stood
looking at the ladies and admiring what uncommon beauty was theirs, and
their pleasant manners and kindly dispositions (never had he seen
goodlier); and he gazed wistfully at that good store of wines and sweet
scented flowers and fruits and other matters. Also he marvelled with
exceeding marvel, especially to see no man in the place and delayed his
going; whereupon quoth the eldest lady, "What aileth thee that goest
not; haply thy wage be too little?" And, turning to her sister the
cateress, she said, "Give him another diner!" But the Porter answered,
"By Allah, my lady, it is not for the wage; my hire is never more than
two dirhams; but in very sooth my heart and my soul are taken up with
you and your condition. I wonder to see you single with ne'er a man
about you and not a soul to bear you company; and well you wot that the
minaret toppleth o'er unless it stand upon four, and you want this same
fourth; and women's pleasure without man is short of measure, even as
the poet said:—
Seest not we want for joy four things all told * The harp and lute, the
flute and flageolet;
And be they companied with scents four fold * Rose, myrtle, anemone and
violet
Nor please all eight an four thou wouldst withhold * Good wine and
youth and gold and pretty pet.
You be three and want a fourth who shall be a person of good sense and
prudence; smart witted, and one apt to keep careful counsel." His words
pleased and amused them much; and they laughed at him and said, "And
who is to assure us of that? We are maidens and we fear to entrust our
secret where it may not be kept, for we have read in a certain
chronicle the lines of one Ibn al-Sumam:—
Hold fast thy secret and to none unfold * Lost is a secret when that
secret's told
An fail thy breast thy secret to conceal * How canst thou hope
another's breast shall hold?