"O thou who seekest severance, draw the rein * Of thy swift steed nor
seek o'ermuch t' advance;
Ah stay! for treachery is the rule of life, * And sweets of meeting end
in severance."
I heard her verse but paid no heed to her words, nay, I raised my foot
and administered to the alcove a mighty kick. And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Thirteenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the second
Kalandar thus continued his tale to the lady:—But when, O my mistress,
I kicked that alcove with a mighty kick, behold, the air starkened and
darkened and thundered and lightened; the earth trembled and quaked and
the world became invisible. At once the fumes of wine left my head: I
cried to her, "What is the matter?" and she replied, "The Ifrit is upon
us! did I not warn thee of this? By Allah, thou hast brought ruin upon
me; but fly for thy life and go up by the way thou camest down!" So I
fled up the staircase; but, in the excess of my fear, I forgot sandals
and hatchet. And when I had mounted two steps I turned to look for
them, and lo! I saw the earth cleave asunder, and there arose from it
an Ifrit, a monster of hideousness, who said to the damsel "What
trouble and pother be this wherewith thou disturbest me? What mishap
hath betided thee?" "No mishap hath befallen me" she answered, "save
that my breast was straitened[FN#210] and my heart heavy with sadness!
so I drank a little wine to broaden it and to hearten myself; then I
rose to obey a call of Nature, but the wine had gotten into my head and
I fell against the alcove." "Thou liest, like the whore thou art!"
shrieked the Ifrit; and he looked around the hall right and left till
he caught sight of my axe and sandals and said to her, "What be these
but the belongings of some mortal who hath been in thy society?" She
answered, "I never set eyes upon them till this moment: they must have
been brought by thee hither cleaving to thy garments." Quoth the Ifrit,
"These words are absurd; thou harlot! thou strumpet!" Then he stripped
her stark naked and, stretching her upon the floor, bound her hands and
feet to four stakes, like one crucified;[FN#211] and set about
torturing and trying to make her confess. I could not bear to stand
listening to her cries and groans; so I climbed the stair on the quake
with fear; and when I reached the top I replaced the trap door and
covered it with earth. Then repented I of what I had done with
penitence exceeding; and thought of the lady and her beauty and
loveliness, and the tortures she was suffering at the hands of the
accursed Ifrit, after her quiet life of five and twenty years; and how
all that had happened to her was for the cause of me. I bethought me of
my father and his kingly estate and how I had become a woodcutter; and
how, after my time had been awhile serene, the world had again waxed
turbid and troubled to me. So I wept bitterly and repeated this
couplet:—
What time Fate's tyranny shall most oppress thee * Perpend! one day
shall joy thee, one distress thee!
Then I walked till I reached the home of my friend, the Tailor, whom I
found most anxiously expecting me; indeed he was, as the saying goes,
on coals of fire for my account. And when he saw me he said, "All night
long my heart hath been heavy, fearing for thee from wild beasts or
other mischances. Now praise be to Allah for thy safety!" I thanked him
for his friendly solicitude and, retiring to my corner, sat pondering
and musing on what had befallen me; and I blamed and chided myself for
my meddlesome folly and my frowardness in kicking the alcove. I was
calling myself to account when behold, my friend, the Tailor, came to
me and said, "O youth, in the shop there is an old man, a
Persian,[FN#212] who seeketh thee: he hath thy hatchet and thy sandals
which he had taken to the woodcutters,[FN#213] saying, "I was going out
at what time the Mu'azzin began the call to dawn prayer, when I chanced
upon these things and know not whose they are; so direct me to their
owner." The woodcutters recognised thy hatchet and directed him to
thee: he is sitting in my shop, so fare forth to him and thank him and
take thine axe and sandals." When I heard these words I turned yellow
with fear and felt stunned as by a blow; and, before I could recover
myself, lo! the floor of my private room clove asunder, and out of it
rose the Persian who was the Ifrit. He had tortured the lady with
exceeding tortures, natheless she would not confess to him aught; so he
took the hatchet and sandals and said to her, "As surely as I am Jirjis
of the seed of Iblis, I will bring thee back the owner of this and
these!"[FN#214] Then he went to the woodcutters with the pretence
aforesaid and, being directed to me, after waiting a while in the shop
till the fact was confirmed, he suddenly snatched me up as a hawk
snatcheth a mouse and flew high in air; but presently descended and
plunged with me under the earth (I being aswoon the while), and lastly
set me down in the subterranean palace wherein I had passed that
blissful night. And there I saw the lady stripped to the skin, her
limbs bound to four stakes and blood welling from her sides. At the
sight my eyes ran over with tears; but the Ifrit covered her person and
said, "O wanton, is not this man thy lover?" She looked upon me and
replied, "I wot him not nor have I ever seen him before this hour!"
Quoth the Ifrit, "What! this torture and yet no confessing;" and quoth
she,"I never saw this man in my born days, and it is not lawful in
Allah's sight to tell lies on him." "If thou know him not," said the
Ifrit to her, “take this sword and strike off his head.”[FN#215] She
hent the sword in hand and came close up to me; and I signalled to her
with my eyebrows, my tears the while flowing adown my cheeks. She
understood me and made answer, also by signs, "How couldest thou bring
all this evil upon me?" and I rejoined after the same fashion, "This is
the time for mercy and forgiveness." And the mute tongue of my
case[FN#216] spake aloud saying:—
Mine eyes were dragomans for my tongue betied * And told full clear the
love I fain would hide:
When last we met and tears in torrents railed * For tongue struck dumb
my glances testified:
She signed with eye glance while her lips were mute * I signed with
fingers and she kenned th' implied:
Our eyebrows did all duty 'twixt us twain; * And we being speechless
Love spake loud and plain.
Then, O my mistress, the lady threw away the sword and said, "How shall
I strike the neck of one I wot not, and who hath done me no evil? Such
deed were not lawful in my law!" and she held her hand. Said the Ifrit,
"'Tis grievous to thee to slay thy lover; and, because he hath lain
with thee, thou endurest these torments and obstinately refusest to
confess. After this it is clear to me that only like loveth and pitieth
like." Then he turned to me and asked me, "O man, haply thou also dost
not know this woman;" whereto I answered, "And pray who may she be?
assuredly I never saw her till this instant." "Then take the sword,"
said he "and strike off her head and I will believe that thou wottest
her not and will leave thee free to go, and will not deaf 'hardly with
thee." I replied, "That will I do;" and, taking the sword went forward
sharply and raised my hand to smite. But she signed to me with her
eyebrows, "Have I failed thee in aught of love; and is it thus that
thou requitest me?" I understood what her looks implied and answered
her with an eye-glance, "I will sacrifice my soul for thee." And the
tongue of the case wrote in our hearts these lines:—
How many a lover with his eyebrows speaketh * To his beloved, as his
passion pleadeth:
With flashing eyne his passion he inspireth * And well she seeth what
kits pleading needeth.
How sweet the look when each on other gazeth; * And with what swiftness
and how sure it speedeth:
And this with eyebrows all his passion writeth; * And that with
eyeballs all his passion readeth.
Then my eyes filled with tears to overflowing and I cast the sword from
my hand saying, "O mighty Ifrit and hero, if a woman lacking wits and
faith deem it unlawful to strike off my head, how can it be lawful for
me, a man, to smite her neck whom I never saw in my whole life. I
cannot do such misdeed though thou cause me drink the cup of death and
perdition." Then said the Ifrit, "Ye twain show the good understanding
between you; but I will let you see how such doings end." He took the
sword, and struck off the lady's hands first, with four strokes, and
then her feet; whilst I looked on and made sure of death and she
farewelled me with her dying eyes. So the Ifrit cried at her, "Thou
whorest and makest me a wittol with thine eyes;" and struck her so that
her head went flying. Then he turned to me and said, "O mortal, we have
it in our law that, when the wife committeth advowtry it is lawful for
us to slay her. As for this damsel I snatched her away on her
bride-night when she was a girl of twelve and she knew no one but
myself. I used to come to her once every ten days and lie with her the
night, under the semblance of a man, a Persian; and when I was well
assured that she had cuckolded me, I slew her. But as for thee I am not
well satisfied that thou hast wronged me in her; nevertheless I must
not let thee go unharmed; so ask a boon of me and I will grant it."
Then I rejoiced, O my lady, with exceeding joy and said, "What boon
shall I crave of thee?" He replied, "Ask me this boon; into what shape
I shall bewitch thee; wilt thou be a dog, or an ass or an ape?" I
rejoined (and indeed I had hoped that mercy might be shown me), "By
Allah, spare me, that Allah spare thee for sparing a Moslem and a man
who never wronged thee." And I humbled myself before him with exceeding
humility, and remained standing in his presence, saying, "I am sore
oppressed by circumstance." He replied "Talk me no long talk, it is in
my power to slay thee; but I give thee instead thy choice." Quoth I, "O
thou Ifrit, it would besit thee to pardon me even as the Envied
pardoned the Envier." Quoth he, "And how was that?" and I began to tell
him
The Tale of the Envier and the Envied.
They relate, O Ifrit, that in a certain city were two men who dwelt in
adjoining houses, having a common party wall; and one of them envied
the other and looked on him with an evil eye,[FN#217] and did his
utmost endeavour to injure him; and, albeit at all times he was jealous
of his neighbour, his malice at last grew on him till he could hardly
eat or enjoy the sweet pleasures of sleep. But the Envied did nothing
save prosper; and the more the other strove to injure him, the more he
got and gained and throve. At last the malice of his neighbour and the
man's constant endeavour to work him a harm came to his knowledge; so
he said, "By Allah! God's earth is wide enough for its people;" and,
leaving the neighbourhood, he repaired to another city where he bought
himself a piece of land in which was a dried up draw well,[FN#218] old
and in ruinous condition. Here he built him an oratory and, furnishing
it with a few necessaries, took up his abode therein, and devoted
himself to prayer and worshipping Allah Almighty; and Fakirs and holy
mendicants flocked to him from all quarters; and his fame went abroad
through the city and that country side. Presently the news reached his
envious neighbour, of what good fortune had befallen him and how the
city notables had become his disciples; so he travelled to the place
and presented himself at the holy man's hermitage, and was met by the
Envied with welcome and greeting and all honour. Then quoth the Envier,
"I have a word to say to thee; and this is the cause of my faring
hither, and I wish to give thee a piece of good news; so come with me
to thy cell." Thereupon the Envied arose and took the Envier by the
hand, and they went in to the inmost part of the hermitage; but the
Envier said, "Bid thy Fakirs retire to their cells, for I will not tell
thee what I have to say, save in secret where none may hear us."
Accordingly the Envied said to his Fakirs, "Retire to your private
cells;" and, when all had done as he bade them, he set out with his
visitor and walked a little way until the twain reached the ruinous old
well. And as they stood upon the brink the Envier gave the Envied a
push which tumbled him headlong into it, unseen of any; whereupon he
fared forth, and went his ways, thinking to have had slain him. Now
this well happened to be haunted by the Jann who, seeing the case, bore
him up and let him down little by little, till he reached the bottom,
when they seated him upon a large stone. Then one of them asked his
fellows, "Wot ye who be this man?" and they answered, "Nay." "This
man," continued the speaker, "is the Envied hight who, flying from the
Envier, came to dwell in our city, and here founded this holy house,
and he hath edified us by his litanies[FN#219] and his lections of the
Koran; but the Envier set out and journeyed till he rejoined him, and
cunningly contrived to deceive him and cast him into the well where we
now are. But the fame of this good man hath this very night come to the
Sultan of our city who designeth to visit him on the morrow on account
of his daughter." "What aileth his daughter?" asked one, and another
answered "She is possessed of a spirit; for Maymun, son of Damdam, is
madly in love with her; but, if this pious man knew the remedy, her
cure would be as easy as could be." Hereupon one of them inquired, "And
what is the medicine?" and he replied, "The black tom cat which is with
him in the oratory hath, on the end of his tail, a white spot, the size
of a dirham; let him pluck seven white hairs from the spot, then let
him fumigate her therewith and the Marid will flee from her and not
return; so she shall be sane for the rest of her life." All this took
place, O Ifrit, within earshot of the Envied who listened readily. When
dawn broke and morn arose in sheen and shone, the Fakirs went to seek
the Shaykh and found him climbing up the wall of the well; whereby he
was magnified in their eyes.[FN#220] Then, knowing that naught save the
black tomcat could supply him with the remedy required, he plucked the
seven tail hairs from the white spot and laid them by him; and hardly
had the sun risen ere the Sultan entered the hermitage, with the great
lords of his estate, bidding the rest of his retinue to remain standing
outside. The Envied gave him a hearty welcome, and seating him by his
side asked him, "Shall I tell thee the cause of thy coming?" The King
answered, "Yes." He continued, "Thou hast come upon pretext of a
visitation;[FN#221] but it is in thy heart to question me of thy
daughter." Replied the King, " 'Tis even so, O thou holy Shaykh;" and
the Envied continued, "Send and fetch her, and I trust to heal her
forthright (an such it be the will of Allah!)" The King in great joy
sent for his daughter, and they brought her pinioned and fettered. The
Envied made her sit down behind a curtain and taking out the hairs
fumigated her therewith; whereupon that which was in her head cried out
and departed from her. The girl was at once restored to her right mind
and veiling her face, said, "What hath happened and who brought me
hither?" The Sultan rejoiced with a joy that nothing could exceed, and
kissed his daughter's eyes,[FN#222] and the holy man's hand; then,
turning to his great lords, he asked, "How say ye! What fee deserveth
he who hath made my daughter whole?" and all answered, "He deserveth
her to wife;" and the King said, "Ye speak sooth!" So he married him to
her and the Envied thus became son in law to the King. And after a
little the Wazir died and the King said, "Whom can I make Minister in
his stead?" "Thy son in law," replied the courtiers. So the Envied
became a Wazir; and after a while the Sultan also died and the lieges
said, "Whom shall we make King?" and all cried, "The Wazir." So the
Wazir was forthright made Sultan, and he became King regnant, a true
ruler of men. One day as he had mounted his horse; and, in the eminence
of his kinglihood, was riding amidst his Emirs and Wazirs and the
Grandees of his realm his eye fell upon his old neighbour, the Envier,
who stood afoot on his path; so he turned to one of his Ministers, and
said, "Bring hither that man and cause him no affright." The Wazir
brought him and the King said, "Give him a thousand miskals[FN#223] of
gold from the treasury, and load him ten camels with goods for trade,
and send him under escort to his own town." Then he bade his enemy
farewell and sent him away and forbore to punish him for the many and
great evils he had done. See, O Ifrit, the mercy of the Envied to the
Envier, who had hated him from the beginning and had borne him such
bitter malice and never met him without causing him trouble; and had
driven him from house and home, and then had journeyed for the sole
purpose of taking his life by throwing him into the well. Yet he did
not requite his injurious dealing, but forgave him and was bountiful to
him.[FN#224] Then I wept before him, O my lady, with sore weeping,
never was there sorer, and I recited:—
"Pardon my fault, for 'tis the wise man's wont * All faults to pardon
and revenge forgo:
In sooth all manner faults in me contain * Then deign of goodness mercy
grace to show:
Whoso imploreth pardon from on High * Should hold his hand from sinners
here below."
Said the Ifrit, "Lengthen not thy words! As to my slaying thee fear it
not, and as to my pardoning thee hope it not; but from my bewitching
thee there is no escape." Then he tore me from the ground which closed
under my feet and flew with me into the firmament till I saw the earth
as a large white cloud or a saucer[FN#225] in the midst of the waters.
Presently he set me down on a mountain, and taking a little dust, over
which he muttered some magical words, sprinkled me therewith, saying,
"Quit that shape and take thou the shape of an ape!" And on the instant
I became an ape, a tailless baboon, the son of a century[FN#226]. Now
when he had left me and I saw myself in this ugly and hateful shape, I
wept for myself, but resigned my soul to the tyranny of Time and
Circumstance, well weeting that Fortune is fair and constant to no man.
I descended the mountain and found at the foot a desert plain, long and
broad, over which I travelled for the space of a month till my course
brought me to the brink of the briny sea.[FN#227] After standing there
awhile, I was ware of a ship in the offing which ran before a fair wind
making for the shore. I hid myself behind a rock on the beach and
waited till the ship drew near, when I leaped on board. I found her
full of merchants and passengers and one of them cried, "O Captain,
this ill omened brute will bring us ill luck!" and another said, "Turn
this ill omened beast out from among us;" the Captain said, "Let us
kill it!" another said, "Slay it with the sword;" a third, "Drown it;"
and a fourth, "Shoot it with an arrow." But I sprang up and laid hold
of the Rais's[FN#228] skirt, and shed tears which poured down my chops.
The Captain took pity on me, and said, "O merchants! this ape hath
appealed to me for protection and I will protect him; henceforth he is
under my charge: so let none do him aught hurt or harm, otherwise there
will be bad blood between us." Then he entreated me kindly and
whatsoever he said I understood and ministered to his every want and
served him as a servant, albeit my tongue would not obey my wishes; so
that he came to love me. The vessel sailed on, the wind being fair, for
the space of fifty days; at the end of which we cast anchor under the
walls of a great city wherein was a world of people, especially learned
men, none could tell their number save Allah. No sooner had we arrived
than we were visited by certain Mameluke officials from the King of
that city; who, after boarding us, greeted the merchants and giving
them joy of safe arrival said, "Our King welcometh you, and sendeth you
this roll of paper, whereupon each and every of you must write a line.
For ye shall know that the King's Minister, a calligrapher of renown,
is dead, and the King hath sworn a solemn oath that he will make none
Wazir in his stead who cannot write as well as he could." He then gave
us the scroll which measured ten cubits long by a breadth of one, and
each of the merchants who knew how to write wrote a line thereon, even
to the last of them; after which I stood up (still in the shape of an
ape) and snatched the roll out of their hands. They feared lest I
should tear it or throw it overboard; so they tried to stay me and
scare me, but I signed to them that i could write, whereat all
marvelled, saying, "We never yet saw an, ape write." And the Captain
cried, "Let him write; and if he scribble and scrabble we will kick him
out and kill him; but if he; write fair and scholarly I will adopt him
as my son; for surely I never yet saw a more intelligent and well
mannered monkey than he. Would Heaven my real son were his match in
morals and manners." I took the reed, and stretching out my paw, dipped
it in ink and wrote, in the hand used for letters,[FN#229] these two
couplets:—
Time hath recorded gifts she gave the great; * But none recorded thine
which be far higher
Allah ne'er orphan men by loss of thee * Who be of Goodness mother.
Bounty's sire.