There was once a King of the Kings, a potent man and a proud, who was
devoted to the love of women and one day being in the privacy of his
palace, he espied a beautiful woman on the terraceroof of her house and
could not contain himself from falling consumedly in love with
her.[FN#161] He asked his folk to whom the house and the damsel
belonged and they said, “This is the dwelling of the Wazir such an one
and she is his wife.” So he called the Minister in question and
despatched him on an errand to a distant part of the kingdom, where he
was to collect information and to return; but, as soon as he obeyed and
was gone, the King contrived by a trick to gain access to his house and
his spouse. When the Wazir’s wife saw him, she knew him and springing
up, kissed his hands and feet and welcomed him. Then she stood afar
off, busying herself in his service, and said to him, “O our lord, what
is the cause of thy gracious coming? Such an honour is not for the like
of me.” Quoth he, “The cause of it is that love of thee and desire
thee-wards have moved me to this.” Whereupon she kissed ground before
him a second time and said, “By Allah, O our lord, indeed I am not
worthy to be the handmaid of one of the King’s servants; whence then
have I the great good fortune to be in such high honour and favour with
thee?” Then the King put out his hand to her intending to enjoy her
person, when she said, “This thing shall not escape us; but take
patience, O my King, and abide with thy handmaid all this day, that she
may make ready for thee somewhat to eat and drink.” So the King sat
down on his Minister’s couch and she went in haste and brought him a
book wherein he might read, whilst she made ready the food. He took the
book and, beginning to read, found therein moral instances and
exhortations, such as restrained him from adultery and broke his
courage to commit sin and crime. After awhile, she returned and set
before him some ninety dishes of different kinds of colours, and he ate
a mouthful of each and found that, while the number was many, the taste
of them was one. At this, he marvelled with exceeding marvel and said
to her, “O damsel, I see these meats to be manifold and various, but
the taste of them is simple and the same.” “Allah prosper the King!”
replied she, “this is a parable I have set for thee, that thou mayst be
admonished thereby.” He asked, “And what is its meaning?”; and she
answered, “Allah amend the case of our lord the King!; in thy palace
are ninety concubines of various colours, but their taste is
one.”[FN#162] When the King heard this, he was ashamed and rising
hastily, went out, without offering her any affront and returned to his
palace; but, in his haste and confusion, he forgot his signet-ring and
left it under the cushion where he had been sitting and albeit he
remembered it he was ashamed to send for it. Now hardly had he reached
home when the Wazir returned and, presenting himself before the King,
kissed the ground and made his report to him of the state of the
province in question. Then he repaired to his own house and sat down on
his couch and chancing to put his hand under the cushion, behold, he
found the King’s seal-ring. So he knew it and taking the matter to
heart, held aloof in great grief from his wife for a whole year, not
going in unto her nor even speaking to her, whilst she knew not the
reason of his anger. —And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Seventy-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Wazir held
aloof from his wife, whilst she knew not the cause of his wrath. At
last, being weary of the longsome neglect, she sent for her sire and
told him the case; whereupon quoth he, “I will complain of him to the
King, at some time when he is in the presence.” So, one day, he went in
to the King and, finding the Wazir and the Kazi of the army before
him,[FN#163] complained thus saying, “Almighty Allah amend the King’s
case! I had a fair flower-garden, which I planted with mine own hand
and thereon spent my substance till it bare fruit; and its fruitage was
ripe for plucking, when I gave it to this thy Wazir, who ate of it what
seemed good to him, then deserted it and watered it not, so that its
bloom wilted and withered and its sheen departed and its state
changed.” Then said the Wazir, “O my King, this man saith sooth. I did
indeed care for and guard the garden and kept it in good condition and
ate thereof, till one day I went thither and I saw the trail of the
lion there, wherefore I feared for my life and withdrew from the
garden.” The King understood him that the trail of the lion meant his
own seal-ring, which he had forgotten in the woman’s house; so he said,
“Return, O Wazir, to thy flower-garden and fear nothing, for the lion
came not near it. It hath reached me that he went thither; but, by the
honour of my fathers and forefathers, he offered it no hurt.”
“Hearkening and obedience,” answered the Minister and, returning home
sent for his wife and made his peace with her and thenceforth put faith
in her chastity. “This I tell thee, O King (continued the Wazir), for
no other purpose save to let thee know how great is their craft and how
precipitancy bequeatheth repentance.[FN#164] And I have also heard the
following
Story of the Confectioner, his Wife, and the Parrot.
Once upon a time there dwelt in Egypt a confectioner who had a wife
famed for beauty and loveliness; and a parrot which, as occasion
required, did the office of watchman and guard, bell and spy, and
flapped her wings did she but hear a fly buzzing about the sugar. This
parrot caused abundant trouble to the wife, always telling her husband
what took place in his absence. Now one evening, before going out to
visit certain friends, the confectioner gave the bird strict
injunctions to watch all night and bade his wife make all fast, as he
should not return until morning. Hardly had he left the door than the
woman went for her old lover, who returned with her and they passed the
night together in mirth and merriment, while the parrot observed all.
Betimes in the morning the lover fared forth and the husband,
returning, was informed by the parrot of what had taken place;
whereupon he hastened to his wife’s room and beat her with a painful
beating. She thought in herself, “Who could have informed against me?”
and she asked a woman that was in her confidence whether it was she.
The woman protested by the worlds visible and invisible that she had
not betrayed her mistress; but informed her that on the morning of his
return home, the husband had stood some time before the cage listening
to the parrot’s talk. When the wife heard this, she resolved to
contrive the destruction of the bird. Some days after, the husband was
again invited to the house of a friend where he was to pass the night;
and, before departing, he enjoined the parrot with the same injunctions
as before; wherefore his heart was free from care, for he had his spy
at home. The wife and her confidante then planned how they might
destroy the credit of the parrot with the master. For this purpose they
resolved to counterfeit a storm; and this they did by placing over the
parrot’s head a hand-mill (which the lover worked by pouring water upon
a piece of hide), by waving a fan and by suddenly uncovering a candle
hid under a dish. Thus did they raise such a tempest of rain and
lightning, that the parrot was drenched and half-drowned in a deluge.
Now rolled the thunder, then flashed the lightning; that from the noise
of the hand-mill, this from the reflection of the candle; when thought
the parrot to herself, “In very sooth the flood hath come on, such an
one as belike Noah himself never witnessed.” So saying she buried her
head under her wing, a prey to terror. The husband, on his return,
hastened to the parrot to ask what had happened during his absence; and
the bird answered that she found it impossible to describe the deluge
and tempest of the last night; and that years would be required to
explain the uproar of the hurricane and storm. When the shopkeeper
heard the parrot talk of last night’s deluge, he said: “Surely O bird,
thou art gone clean daft! Where was there, even in a dream, rain or
lightning last night? Thou hast utterly ruined my house and ancient
family. My wife is the most virtuous woman of the age and all thine
accusations of her are lies.” So in his wrath he dashed the cage upon
the ground, tore off the parrot’s head, and threw it from the window.
Presently his friend, coming to call upon him, saw the parrot in this
condition with head torn off, and without wings or plumage. Being
informed of the circumstances he suspected some trick on the part of
the woman, and said to the husband, “When your wife leaves home to go
to the Hammam-bath, compel her confidante to disclose the secret.” So
as soon as his wife went out, the husband entered his Harim and
insisted on the woman telling him the truth. She recounted the whole
story and the husband now bitterly repented having killed the parrot,
of whose innocence he had proof. “This I tell thee, O King (continued
the Wazir), that thou mayst know how great are the craft and malice of
women and that to act in haste leadeth to repent at leisure.” So the
King turned from slaying his son: but, next day, the favourite came in
to him and, kissing the ground before him, said, “O King, why dost thou
delay to do me justice? Indeed, the Kings have heard that thou
commandest a thing and thy Wazir countermandeth it. Now the obedience
of Kings is in the fulfilment of their commandments, and every one
knows thy justice and equity: so do thou justice for me on the Prince.
I also have heard tell a tale concerning
The Fuller and his Son.
There was once a man which was a fuller, and he used every day to go
forth to the Tigris-bank a-cleaning clothes; and his son was wont to go
with him that he might swim whilst his father was fulling, nor was he
forbidden from this. One day, as the boy was swimming,[FN#165] he was
taken with cramp in the forearms and sank, whereupon the fuller plunged
into the water and caught hold of him; but the boy clung about him and
pulled him down and so father and son were both drowned. “Thus it is
with thee, O King. Except thou prevent thy son and do me justice on
him, I fear lest both of you sink together, thou and he.”—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it Was the Five Hundred and Eightieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
favourite had told her tale of the Fuller and his son, she ended with,
“I fear lest both of you sink together, thou and he. Moreover,”
continued she, “for an instance of the malice of men, I have heard tell
a tale concerning
The Rake’s Trick against the Chaste Wife.
A certain man loved a beautiful and lovely woman, a model of charms and
grace, married to a man whom she loved and who loved her. Moreover, she
was virtuous and chaste, like unto me, and her rake of a lover found no
way to her; so when his patience was at an end, he devised a device to
win his will. Now the husband had a young man, whom he had brought up
in his house and who was in high trust with him as his steward. So the
rake addressed himself to the youth and ceased not insinuating himself
into his favour by presents and fair words and deeds, till he became
more obedient to him than the hand to the mouth and did whatever he
ordered him. One day, he said to him, “Harkye, such an one; wilt thou
not bring me into the family dwelling-place some time when the lady is
gone out?” “Yes,” answered the young steward so, when his master was at
the shop and his mistress gone forth to the Hammam, he took his friend
by the hand and, bringing him into the house, showed him the
sitting-rooms and all that was therein. Now the lover was determined to
play a trick upon the woman; so he took the white of an egg which he
had brought with him in a vessel, and spilt it on the merchant’s
bedding, unseen by the young man; after which he returned thanks and
leaving the house went his way. In an hour or so the merchant came
home; and, going to the bed to rest himself, found thereon something
wet. So he took it up in his hand and looked at it and deemed it man’s
seed; whereat he stared at the young man with eyes of wrath, and asked
him, “Where is thy mistress?”; and he answered, “She is gone forth to
the Hammam and will return forthright after she has made her
ablutions.”[FN#166] When the man heard this, his suspicion concerning
the semen was confirmed; and he waxed furious and said, “Go at once and
bring her back.” The steward accordingly fetched her and when she came
before her husband, the jealous man sprang upon her and beat her a
grievous beating; then, binding her arms behind her, offered to cut her
throat with a knife; but she cried out to the neighbours, who came to
her, and she said to them, “This my man hath beaten me unjustly and
without cause and is minded to kill me, though I know not what is mine
offence.” So they rose up and asked him, “Why hast thou dealt thus by
her?” And he answered, “She is divorced.” Quoth they, “Thou hast no
right to maltreat her; either divorce her or use her kindly, for we
know her prudence and purity and chastity. Indeed, she hath been our
neighbour this long time and we wot no evil of her.” Quoth he, “When I
came home, I found on my bed seed like human sperm, and I know not the
meaning of this.” Upon this a little boy, one of those present, came
forward and said, “Show it to me, nuncle mine!” When he saw it, he
smelt it and, calling for fire and a frying-pan, he took the white of
egg and cooked it so that it became solid. Then he ate of it and made
the husband and the others taste if it, and they were certified that it
was white of egg. So the husband was convinced that he had sinned
against his wife’s innocence, she being clear of all offence, and the
neighbours made peace between them after the divorce, and he prayed her
pardon and presented her with an hundred gold pieces. And so the wicked
lover’s cunning trick came to naught. “And know, O King, that this is
an instance of the malice of men and their perfidy.” When the King
heard this, he bade his son be slain; but on the next day the second
Wazir came forward for intercession and kissed ground in prostration.
Whereupon the King said, “Raise thy head: prostration must be made to
Allah only.”[FN#167] So the Minister rose from before him and said, “O
King, hasten not to slay thy son, for he was not granted to his mother
by the Almighty but after despair, nor didst thou expect such good
luck; and we hope that he will live to become a guerdon to thy reign
and a guardian of thy good. Wherefore, have patience, O King; belike he
will offer a fit excuse; and, if thou make haste to slay him, thou wilt
surely repent, even as the merchant-wight repented.” Asked the King,
“And how was it with the merchant, O Wazir?”; and the Wazir answered,
“O King, I have heard a tale of
The Miser and the Loaves of Bread.
There was once a merchant, who was a niggard and miserly in his eating
and drinking. One day, he went on a journey to a certain town and as he
walked in the market-streets, behold, he met an old trot with two
scones of bread which looked sound and fair, He asked her, “Are these
for sale?”; and she answered, “Yes!” So he beat her down and bought
them at the lowest price and took them home to his lodging, where he
ate them that day. When morning morrowed, he returned to the same place
and, finding the old woman there with other two scones, bought these
also; and thus he ceased not during twenty-five days’ space when the
old wife disappeared. He made enquiry for her, but could hear no
tidings of her, till, one day as he was walking about the high streets,
he chanced upon her: so he accosted her and, after the usual salutation
and with much praise and politeness, asked why she had disappeared from
the market and ceased to supply the two cakes of bread? Hearing this,
at first she evaded giving him a reply; but he conjured her to tell him
her case; so she said, “Hear my excuse, O my lord, which is that I was
attending upon a man who had a corroding ulcer on his spine, and his
doctor bade us knead flour with butter into a plaster and lay it on the
place of pain, where it abode all night. In the morning, I used to take
that flour and turn it into dough and make it into two scones, which I
cooked and sold to thee or to another; but presently the man died and I
was cut off from making cakes.”[FN#168] When the merchant heard this,
he repented whenas repentance availed him naught, saying, “Verily, we
are Allah’s and verily unto Him we are returning! There is no Majesty
and there is no Might save in Him, the Glorious, the Great!” —And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old trot
told the merchant the provenance of the scones, he cried, “There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!”
And he repeated the saying of the Most High, “Whatever evil falleth to
thee it is from thyself;”[FN#169] and vomited till he fell sick and
repented whenas repentance availed him naught. “Moreover, O King”
(continued the second Wazir), “I have heard tell, of the malice of
women, a tale of
The Lady and her Two Lovers.
Once upon a time there was a man, who was sword-bearer to one of the
Kings, and he loved a damsel of the common sort. One day, he sent his
page to her with a message, as of wont between them, and the lad sat
down with her and toyed with her. She inclined to him and pressed him
to her breast and groped him and kissed him whereupon he sought carnal
connection of her and she consented; but, as the two were thus, lo! the
youth’s master knocked at the door. So she pushed the page through a
trapdoor into an underground chamber there and opened the door to his
lord, who entered hending sword in hand and sat down upon her bed. Then
she came up to him and sported and toyed with him, kissing him and
pressing him to her bosom, and he took her and lay with her. Presently,
her husband knocked at the door and the gallant asked her, “Who is
that?”; whereto she answered, “My husband.” Quoth he, “How shall I do?”
Quoth she, “Draw thy sword and stand in the vestibule and abuse me and
revile me; and when my husband comes in to thee, do thou go forth and
wend thy ways.” He did as she bade him; and, when the husband entered,
he saw the King’s sword-bearer standing with naked brand in hand,
abusing and threatening his wife; but, when the lover saw him, he was
ashamed and sheathing his scymitar, went forth the house. Said the man
to his wife, “What means this?”; and she replied, “O man, how blessed
is the hour of thy coming! Thou hast saved a True Believer from
slaughter, and it happed after this fashion. I was on the
house-terrace, spinning,[FN#170] when behold, there came up to me a
youth, distracted and panting for fear of death, fleeing from yonder
man, who followed upon him as hard as he could with his drawn sword.
The young man fell down before me, and kissed my hands and feet,
saying, “O Protector, of thy mercy, save me from him who would slay me
wrongously!” So I hid him in that underground chamber of ours and
presently in came yonder man to me, naked brand in hand, demanding the
youth. But I denied him to him, whereupon he fell to abusing and
threatening me as thou sawest. And praised be Allah who sent thee to
me, for I was distraught and had none to deliver me!” “Well hast thou
done, O woman!” answered the husband. “Thy reward is with Allah the
Almighty, and may He abundantly requite thy good deed!” Then he went to
the trap door and called to the page, saying, “Come forth and fear not;
no harm shall befal thee.” So he came out, trembling for fear, and the
husband said, “Be of good cheer: none shall I hurt thee;” condoling
with him on what had befallen him; whilst the page called down
blessings on his head. Then they both went forth, nor was that Cornuto
nor was the page aware of that which the woman had contrived. “This,
then, O King,” said the Wazir, “is one of the tricks of women; so
beware lest thou rely upon their words.” The King was persuaded and
turned from putting his son to death; but, on the third day, the
favourite came in to him and, kissing the ground before him, cried, “O
King, do me justice on thy son and be not turned from thy purpose by
thy Ministers’ prate, for there is no good in wicked Wazirs, and be not
as the King of Baghdad, who relied on the word of a certain wicked
counsellor of his.” Quoth he, “And how was that?” Quoth she, “There
hath been told me, O auspicious and well-advised King, a tale of