There was once a bath-keeper, to whom resorted the notables of the folk
and head men, and one day there came in to him a handsome youth of the
sons of Wazirs who was fat and bulky of body. So he stood to serve him
and when the young man put off his clothes[FN#187] he saw not his yard,
for that it was hidden between his thighs, by reason of the excess of
his fat, and there appeared thereof but what was like unto a
filbert.[FN#188] At this the bath-keeper fell a-lamenting and smiting
hand upon hand, which when the youth saw, he said to him, “What ails
thee, O bath-keeper, to lament thus?” And he answered, saying, “O my
lord, my lamentation is for thee, because thou art in sore straits, for
all thy fair fortune and goodliness and exceeding comeliness, seeing
thou hast naught wherewithal to do and receive delight, like unto other
men.” Quoth the youth, “Thou sayst sooth, but thou mindest me of
somewhat I had forgotten.” “What is that?” asked the bathkeeper, and
the youth answered, “Take this gold piece and fetch me a pretty woman,
that I may prove my nature on her.” So he took the money and betaking
himself to his wife, said to her, “O woman, there is come to me in the
bath a young man of the sons of the Wazirs, as he were the moon on the
fullest night; but he hath no prickle like other men, for that which he
hath is but some small matter like unto a filbert. I lamented over his
youth and he gave me this dinar and asked me to fetch him a woman on
whom he might approve himself. Now thou art worthier of the money than
another, and from this no harm shall betide us, for I will protect
thee. So do thou sit with him awhile and laugh at him and take this
dinar from him.” So the good wife took the dinar and rising, adorned
herself and donned the richest of her raiment. Now she was the fairest
woman of her time. Then she went out with her husband and he carried
her in to the Wazir’s son in a privy place. When she came in to him,
she looked at him and finding him a handsome youth, fair of favour as
he were the moon at full, was confounded at his beauty and loveliness;
and on like wise his heart and wit were amazed at the first sight of
her and the sweetness of her smile. So he rose forthright and locking
the door, took the damsel in his arms and pressed her to his bosom and
they embraced, whereupon the young man’s yard swelled and rose on end,
as it were that of a jackass, and he rode upon her breast and futtered
her, whilst she sobbed and sighed and writhed and wriggled under him.
Now the bathkeeper was standing behind the door, awaiting what should
betide between them, and he began to call her saying, “O Umm Abdillah,
enough! Come out, for the day is long upon thy sucking child.” Quoth
the youth, “Go forth to thy boy and come back;” but quoth she, “If I go
forth from thee, my soul will depart my body; as regards the child, so
I must either leave him to die of weeping or let him be reared an
orphan, without a mother.” So she ceased not to abide with him till he
had done his desire of her ten times running, while her husband stood
at the door, calling her and crying out and weeping and imploring
succour. But none came to aid him and he ceased not to do thus, saying,
“I will slay myself!”; till at last, finding no way of access to his
wife, and being distraught with rage and jealousy, to hear her sighing
and murmuring and breathing hard under the young man, he went up to the
top of the bath and, casting himself down therefrom, died. “Moreover, O
King” (continued the Wazir), “there hath reached me another story of
the malice of women.” “What is that?” asked the King, and the Wazir
said, “Know, O King, that it is anent
The Wife’s Device to Cheat her Husband.”
There was once a woman who had no equal in her day for beauty and
loveliness and grace and perfection; and a certain lewd youth and an
obscene setting eyes on her, fell in love with her and loved her with
exceeding passion, but she was chaste and inclined not to adultery. It
chanced one day that her husband went on a journey to a certain town,
whereupon the young man fell to sending to her many times a day; but
she made him no reply. At last, he resorted to an old woman, who dwelt
hard by, and after saluting her he sat down and complained to her of
his sufferings for love of the woman and his longing to enjoy her.
Quoth she, “I will warrant thee this; no harm shall befal thee, for I
will surely bring thee to thy desire, Inshallah, —an it please Allah
the Most High!” At these words he gave her a dinar and went his way.
When the morning morrowed she appeared before the woman and, renewing
an old acquaintance with her, fell to visiting her daily, eating the
undertime with her and the evening meal and carrying away food for her
children. Moreover, she used to sport and jest with her, till the wife
became corrupted[FN#189] and could not endure an hour without her
company. Now she was wont, when she left the lady’s house, to take
bread and fat wherewith she mixed a little pepper and to feed a bitch,
that was in that quarter; and thus she did day by day, till the bitch
became fond of her and followed her wherever she went. One day she took
a cake of dough and, putting therein an overdose of pepper, gave it to
the bitch to eat, whereupon the beast’s eyes began to shed tears, for
the heat of the pepper, and she followed the old woman, weeping. When
the lady saw this she was amazed and asked the ancient, “O my mother,
what ails this bitch to weep?” Answered she, “Learn, O my heart’s love,
that hers is a strange story. Know that she was once a close friend of
mine, a lovely and accomplished young lady, a model of comeliness and
perfect grace. A young Nazarene of the quarter fell in love with her
and his passion and pining increased on him, till he took to his
pillow, and he sent to her times manifold, begging her to have
compassion on him and show him mercy, but she refused, albeit I gave
her good counsel, saying,—O my daughter, have pity on him and be kind
and consent to all he wisheth. She gave no heed to my advice, until,
the young man’s patience failing him, he complained at last to one of
his friends, who cast an enchantment on her and changed her human shape
into canine form. When she saw what transformation had befallen her and
that there was none to pity her case save myself, she came to my house
and began to fawn on me and buss my hands and feet and whine and shed
tears, till I recognised her and said to her, ‘How often did I not warn
thee?; but my advice profited thee naught.’”—And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old trot
related to the young lady the tale of the bitch and recounted the case
in her cunning and deceit, with the view to gain her consent and said
to her, “When the enchanted beast came to me and wept I reminded her,
‘How often did I not warn thee?; but my advice profited thee naught.’
However, O my daughter, seeing her misery, I had compassion on her case
and kept her by me; and as often as she bethinketh herself of her
former estate, she weepeth thus, in pity for herself.” When the lady
heard this, she was taken with great alarm and said, “O my mother, by
Allah, thou affrightest me with this thy story.” “Why so?” asked the
old woman. Answered the lady, “Because a certain handsome young man
fell in love with me and hath sent many times to me, but hitherto I
have repelled him; and now I fear lest there befal me the like of what
befel this bitch.” “O my daughter,” rejoined the old woman, “look thou
to what I counsel thee and beware of crossing me, for I am in great
fear for thee. If thou know not his abiding-place, describe his
semblance to me, that I may fetch him to thee, and let not any one’s
heart be angered against thee.” So the lady described him to her, and
she showed not to know him and said, “When I go out, I will ask after
him.” But when she left the lady, she went straight to the young man
and said to him, “Be of good cheer, for I have played with the girl’s
wits; so to-morrow at noon wait thou at the head of the street, till I
come and carry thee to her house, where thou shalt take thine ease with
her the rest of the day and all night long.” At this the young man
rejoiced with exceeding joy and gave her two dinars, saying, “When I
have won my wish of her, I will give thee ten gold pieces.” Then she
returned to the lady and said to her, “I have seen him and spoken with
him on this matter. I found him exceeding wroth with thee and minded to
do thee a harm, but I plied him with fair words till he agreed to come
to-morrow at the time of the call to noon-prayer.” When the lady heard
this she rejoiced exceedingly and said, “O my mother, if he keep his
promise, I will give thee ten dinars.” Quoth the old woman, “Look to
his coming from none but from me.” When the next morn morrowed she said
to the lady, “Make ready the early meal and forget not the wine and
adorn thyself and don thy richest dress and decoration, whilst I go and
fetch him to thee.” So she clad herself in her finest finery and
prepared food, whilst the old woman went out to look for the young man,
who came not. So she went around searching for him, but could come by
no news of him, and she said to herself, “What is to be done? Shall the
food and drink she hath gotten ready be wasted and I lose the gold
pieces she promised me? Indeed, I will not allow my cunning contrivance
to come to naught, but will look her out another man and carry him to
her.” So she walked about the highways till her eyes fell on a pretty
fellow, young and distinguished-looking, to whom the folk bowed and who
bore in his face the traces of travel. She went up to him and saluting
him, asked, “Hast thou a mind to meat and drink and a girl adorned and
ready?” Answered he, “Where is this to be had?” “At home, in my house,”
rejoined she and carrying him to his own house, knocked at the door.
The lady opened to them and ran in again, to make an end of her
dressing and perfuming; whilst the wicked old woman brought the man,
who was the husband and house-master, into the saloon and made him sit
down congratulating herself on her cunning contrivance. Presently in
walked the lady, who no sooner set eyes on her husband sitting by the
old trot than she knew him and guessed how the case stood;
nevertheless, she was not taken aback and without stay or delay
bethought her of a device to hoodwink him. So she pulled off her outer
boot and cried at her husband, “Is this how thou keepest the contract
between us? How canst thou betray me and deal thus with me? Know that,
when I heard of thy coming, I sent this old woman to try thee and she
hath made thee fall into that against which I warned thee: so now I am
certified of thine affair and that thou hast broken faith with me. I
thought thee chaste and pure till I saw thee, with my own eyes, in this
old woman’s company and knew that thou didst frequent loose baggages.”
So saying, she fell to beating him with her slipper about the head, and
crying out, “Divorce me! Divorce me!”; whilst he excused himself and
swore to her, by Allah the Most High, that he had never in his life
been untrue to her nor had done aught of that whereof she suspected
him. But she stinted not to weep and scream and bash him, crying out
and saying, “Come to my help, O Moslems!”; till he laid hold of her
mouth with his hand and she bit it. Moreover, he humbled himself to her
and kissed her hands and feet, whilst she would not be appeased and
continued to cuff him. At last, she winked at the old woman to come and
hold her hand from him. So she came up to her and kissed her hands and
feet, till she made peace between them and they sat down together;
whereupon the husband began to kiss her hands, saying, “Allah Almighty
requite thee with all good, for that thou hast delivered me from her!”
And the old woman marvelled at the wife’s cunning and ready wit. “This,
then, O King” (said the Wazir) “is one of many instances of the craft
and malice and perfidy of women.” When the King heard this story, he
was persuaded by it and turned from his purpose to slay his son;— And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted
say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the fourth
Wazir had told his tale, the King turned from his purpose to slay his
son; but, on the fifth day, the damsel came in to him hending a bowl of
poison in hand, calling on Heaven for help and buffeting her cheeks and
face, and said to him, “O King, either thou shalt do me justice and
avenge me on thy son, or I will drink up this poison-cup and die, and
the sin of my blood shall be on thy head at the Day of Doom. These thy
Ministers accuse me of malice and perfidy, but there be none in the
world more perfidious than men. Hast thou not heard the story of the
Goldsmith and the Cashmere[FN#190] singing-girl?” “What befel the
twain, O damsel?” asked the King; and she answered, saying, “There hath
come to my knowledge, O august King, a tale of the
Goldsmith and the Cashmere Singing-Girl.
There lived once, in a city of Persia a goldsmith who delighted in
women and in drinking wine. One day, being in the house of one of his
intimates, he saw painted on the wall the figure of a lutanist, a
beautiful damsel, beholder never beheld a fairer or a more pleasant. He
looked at the picture again and again, marvelling at its beauty, and
fell so desperately in love with it, that he sickened for passion and
came near to die. It chanced that one of his friends came to visit him
and sitting down by his side, asked how he did and what ailed him,
whereto the goldsmith answered, “O my brother, that which ails me is
love, and it befel on this wise. I saw a figure of a woman painted on
the house-wall of my brother such an one and became enamoured of it.”
Hereupon the other fell to blaming him and said, “This was of thy lack
of wit; how couldst thou fall in love with a painted figure on a wall,
that can neither harm nor profit, that seeth not neither heareth, that
neither taketh nor withholdeth.” Said the sick man, “He who painted
yonder picture never could have limned it save after the likeness of
some beautiful woman.” “Haply,” rejoined his friend, “he painted it
from imagination.” “In any case,” replied the goldsmith, “here am I
dying for love of the picture, and if there live the original thereof
in the world, I pray Allah Most High to protect my life till I see
her.” When those who were present went out, they asked for the painter
of the picture and, finding that he had travelled to another town,
wrote him a letter, complaining of their comrade’s case and enquiring
whether he had drawn the figure of his own inventive talents or copied
it from a living model; to which he replied, “I painted it after a
certain singing-girl belonging to one of the Wazirs in the city of
Cashmere in the land of Hind.” When the goldsmith heard this, he left
Persia for Cashmere-city, where he arrived after much travail. He
tarried awhile there till one day he went and clapped up an
acquaintance with a certain of the citizens who was a druggist, a
fellow of a sharp wit, keen, crafty; and, being one even-tide in
company with him, asked him of their King and his polity; to which the
other answered, saying, “Well, our King is just and righteous in his
governance, equitable to his lieges and beneficent to his commons and
abhorreth nothing in the world save sorcerers; but, whenever a sorcerer
or sorceress falls into his hands, he casteth them into a pit without
the city and there leaveth them in hunger to die.” Then he questioned
him of the King’s Wazirs, and the druggist told him of each Minister,
his fashion and condition, till the talk came round to the singing-girl
and he told him, “She belongeth to such a Wazir.” The goldsmith took
note of the Minister’s abiding place and waited some days, till he had
devised a device to his desire; and one night of rain and thunder and
stormy winds, he provided himself with thieves’ tackle and repaired to
the house of the Wazir who owned the damsel. Here he hanged a
rope-ladder with grappling-irons to the battlements and climbed up to
the terrace-roof of the palace. Thence he descended to the inner court
and, making his way into the Harim, found all the slave-girls lying
asleep, each on her own couch; and amongst them reclining on a couch of
alabaster and covered with a coverlet of cloth of gold a damsel, as she
were the moon rising on a fourteenth night. At her head stood a candle
of ambergris, and at her feet another, each in a candlestick of
glittering gold, her brilliancy dimming them both; and under her pillow
lay a casket of silver, wherein were her Jewels. He raised the coverlet
and drawing near her, considered her straitly, and behold, it was the
lutanist whom he desired and of whom he was come in quest. So he took
out a knife and wounded her in the back parts, a palpable outer wound,
whereupon she awoke in terror; but, when she saw him, she was afraid to
cry out, thinking he came to steal her goods. So she said to him, “Take
the box and what is therein, but slay me not, for I am in thy
protection and under thy safe-guard[FN#191] and my death will profit
thee nothing.” Accordingly, he took the box and went away.—And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When is was the Five Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
goldsmith had entered the Wazir’s palace he wounded the damsel slightly
in the back parts and, taking the box which contained her jewels,
wended his way. And when morning morrowed he donned clothes after the
fashion of men of learning and doctors of the law and, taking the
jewel-case went in therewith to the King of the city, before whom he
kissed the ground and said to him, “O King, I am a devout man; withal a
loyal well-wisher to thee and come hither a pilgrim to thy court from
the land of Khorasan, attracted by the report of thy just governance
and righteous dealing with thy subjects and minded to be under thy
standard. I reached this city at the last of the day and finding the
gate locked and barred, threw me down to sleep without the walls; but,
as I lay betwixt sleep and wake, behold, I saw four women come up; one
riding on a broom-stick, another on a wine-jar, a third on an oven-peel
and a fourth on a black bitch,[FN#192] and I knew that they were
witches making for thy city. One of them came up to me and kicked me
with her foot and beat me with a fox’s tail she had in her hand,
hurting me grievously, whereat I was wroth and smote her with a knife I
had with me, wounding her in the back parts, as she turned to flee from
me. When she felt the wound, she fled before me and in her flight let
drop this casket, which I picked up and opening, found these costly
jewels therein. So do thou take it, for I have no need thereof, being a
wanderer in the mountains[FN#193] who hath rejected the world from my
heart and renounced it and all that is in it, seeking only the face of
Allah the Most High.” Then he set the casket before the King and fared
forth. The King opened the box and emptying out all the trinkets it
contained, fell to turning them over with his hand, till he chanced
upon a necklace whereof he had made gift to the Wazir to whom the girl
belonged. Seeing this, he called the Minister in question and said to
him, “This is the necklace I gave thee?” He knew it at first sight and
answered, “It is; and I gave it to a singing girl of mine.” Quoth the
King, “Fetch that girl to me forthwith.” So he fetched her to him, and
he said, “Uncover her back parts and see if there be a wound therein or
no.” The Wazir accordingly bared her backside and finding a knife-wound
there, said, “Yes, O my lord, there is a wound.” Then said the King,
“This is the witch of whom the devotee told me, and there can be no
doubt of it,” and bade cast her into the witches’ well. So they carried
her thither at once. As soon as it was night and the goldsmith knew
that his plot had succeeded, he repaired to the pit, taking with him a
purse of a thousand dinars, and, entering into converse with the
warder, sat talking with him till a third part of the night was passed,
when he broached the matter to him, saying, “Know, O my brother, that
this girl is innocent of that they lay to her charge and that it was I
brought this calamity upon her.” Then he told him the whole story,
first and last, adding, “Take, O my brother, this purse of a thousand
dinars and give me the damsel, that I may carry her to my own land, for
these gold pieces will profit thee more than keeping her in prison;
moreover Allah will requite thee for us, and we too will both offer up
prayers for thy prosperity and safety.” When the warder heard this
story, he marvelled with exceeding marvel at that device and its
success; then taking the money, he delivered the girl to the goldsmith,
conditioning that he should not abide one hour with her in the city.
Thereupon the goldsmith took the girl and fared on with her, without
ceasing, till he reached his own country and so he won his wish. “See,
then, O King” (said the damsel), “the malice of men and their wiles.
Now thy Wazirs hinder thee from doing me justice on thy son; but
to-morrow we shall stand, both thou and I, before the Just Judge, and
He shall do me justice on thee, O King.” When the King heard this, he
commanded to put his son to death; but the fifth Wazir came in to him
and kissing the ground before him, said, “O mighty King, delay and
hasten not to slay thy son: speed will oftentimes repentance breed; and
I fear for thee lest thou repent, even as did the man who never laughed
for the rest of his days.” “And how was that, O Wazir?” asked the King.
Quoth he, “I have heard tell, O King, this tale concerning
The Man who never Laughed during the Rest of his Days.
There was once a man who was rich in lands and houses and monies and
goods, eunuchs and slaves, and he died and went to the mercy of Allah
the Most High; leaving a young son, who, when he grew up, gave himself
to feasting and carousing and hearing music and singing and the loud
laughter of parasites; and he wasted his substance in gifts and
prodigality till he had squandered all the money his father left him,
—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man,
when he had squandered all the money his father had left him and naught
thereof remained to him, betook himself to selling his slaves and
handmaids, lands and houses and spent the proceeds on like wise, till
he was reduced to beggary and must needs labour for his living. He
abode thus a year’s space, at the end of which time he was sitting one
day under a wall, awaiting who should hire him when behold, there came
up to him an old man of comely aspect and apparel and saluted him. The
young man asked, “O uncle, hast thou known me aforetime?” and the other
answered, “Not so, O my son, I know thee not at all, at all; but I see
the trace of gentle breeding on thee despite thy present case.” “O
uncle,” rejoined the poor man, “needs must Fate and Fortune be
accomplished; but, O uncle, O bright of blee, hast thou any occasion
wherein thou wouldst employ me?” Said the other, “I wish, O my son, to
employ thee in a slight matter.” “What is it?” quoth the young man, and
quoth the stranger, “We are eleven old men in one house, but we have
none to serve us; so an thou wilt stay and take service with us, thou
shalt have food and clothing to thy heart’s content, besides what
cometh to thee of coin and other good; and haply Allah will restore
thee thy fortune by our means.” Replied the youth, “Hearkening and
obedience!” “But I have a condition to impose on thee.” “What is that?”
“O my son, it is that thou keep our secret in what thou seest us do,
and if thou see us weep, that thou question us not of the cause of our
weeping.” “It is well, O uncle;” “Come with me, O my son, with the
blessing of Allah Almighty.” So he followed him to the bath, where the
old man caused cleanse his body of the crusted dirt, after which he
sent one to fetch a handsome garment of linen and clad him therein.
Then he carried him to his company which was in his domicile and the
youth found a house lofty and spacious and strongly builded, wherein
were sitting-chambers facing one another; and saloons, in each one a
fountain of water, with the birds warbling over it, and windows on
every side, giving upon a fair garden within the house. The old man
brought him into one of the parlours, which was variegated with
many-coloured marbles, the ceiling thereof being decorated with
ultramarine and glowing gold; and the floor bespread with silken
carpets. Here he found ten Shaykhs in mourning apparel, seated one
opposite other, weeping and wailing. He marvelled at their case and
purposed to ask the reason, when he remembered the condition and held
his peace. Then he who had brought him delivered to him a chest
containing thirty thousand dinars and said to him, “O my son, spend
freely from this chest what is fitting for our entertainment and thine
own; and be thou faithful and remember that wherewith I charged thee.”
“I hear and I obey,” answered he and served them days and nights, till
one of them died, whereupon his fellows washed him and shrouded him and
buried him in a garden behind the house,[FN#194] nor did death cease to
take them, one after other, till there remained but the Shaykh who had
hired the youth for service. Then the two men, old and young, dwelt
together in that house alone for years and years, nor was there with
them a third save Allah the Most High, till the elder fell sick; and
when the younger despaired of his life, he went up to him and condoling
with him, said, “O nuncle mine, I have waited upon you twelve years and
have not failed of my duties a single hour, but have been loyal and
faithful to you and served you with my might and main.” “Yes, O my
son,” answered the old man, “thou hast served us well until all my
comrades are gone to the mercy of Allah (to whom belong honour and
glory!) and needs must I die also.” “O my lord,” said the other, “thou
art in danger of death and I would fain have thee acquaint me with the
cause of your weeping and wailing and of your unceasing mourning and
lamentation and regrets.” “O my son,” answered the old man, “it
concerns thee not to know this, so importune me not of what I may not
do: for I have vowed to Almighty Allah that I would acquaint none of
His creatures with this, lest he be afflicted with what befel me and my
comrades. If, then, thou desire to be delivered from that into which we
fell, look thou open not yonder door,”[FN#195] and pointed to a
certain part of the house; “but, if thou have a mind to suffer what we
have suffered, then open it and thou shalt learn the cause of that thou
hast seen us do; and whenas thou knowest it, thou shalt repent what
time repentance will avail thee not.”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the surviving
Shaykh of the ten said to the youth, “Beware how thou open yonder door
or thou shalt repent what time repentance will avail thee not.” Then
his sickness grew on him and he accomplished his term and departed life
to the presence of his Lord; and the young man washed him with his own
hands and shrouded him and buried him by the side of his comrades;
after which he abode alone in the place and took possession of
whatsoever was therein. Withal he was uneasy and troubled concerning
the case of the old men, till, one day, as he sat pondering the words
of his dead master and his injunction not to open the door, he suddenly
bethought himself to go and look for it. So he rose up and repaired to
the part whither the dead man had pointed and sought till, in a dark
unfrequented corner, he found a little door, over which the spider had
spun her webs and which was fastened with four padlocks of steel.
Seeing this he recalled the old man’s warning and restrained himself
and went away; and he held aloof from it seven days, whilst all the
time his heart prompted him to open it. On the eighth day his curiosity
got the better of him and he said, “Come what will, needs must I open
the door and see what will happen to me therefrom. Nothing can avert
what is fated and fore-ordained of Allah the Most High; nor doth aught
befal but by His will.” So saying, he rose and broke the padlocks and
opening the door saw a narrow passage, which he followed for some three
hours when lo! he came out on the shore of a vast ocean[FN#196] and
fared on along the beach, marvelling at this main, whereof he had no
knowledge and turning right and left. Presently, a great eagle swooped
down upon him from the lift and seizing him in its talons, flew away
with him betwixt heaven and earth, till it came to an island in the
midst of the sea, where it cast him down and flew away. The youth was
dazed and knew not whither he should wend, but after a few days as he
sat pondering his case, he caught sight of the sails of a ship in the
middlemost of the main, as it were a star in the sky; and his heart
clave to it, so haply his deliverance might be therein. He continued
gazing at the ship, until it drew nigh, when he saw that it was a foyst
builded all of ivory and ebony, inlaid with glistening gold made fast
by nails of steel, with oars of sandal and lign-aloes. In it were ten
damsels, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons; and when they saw him,
they came ashore to him and kissed his hands, saying, “Thou art the
King, the Bridegroom!” Then there accosted him a young lady, as she
were the sun shining in sky serene bearing in hand a silken napkin,
wherein were a royal robe and a crown of gold set with all manner
rubies and pearls. She threw the robe over him and set the crown upon
his head, after which the damsels bore him on their arms to the foyst,
where he found all kinds of silken carpets and hangings of various
colours. Then they spread the sails and stretched out into mid-ocean.
Quoth the young man, “Indeed, when they put to sea with me, meseemed it
was a dream and I knew not whither they were wending with me.
Presently, we drew near to land, and I saw the shore full of troops
none knoweth their number save Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and
all were magnificently arrayed and clad in complete steel. As soon as
the vessel had made fast to the land, they brought me five
marked[FN#197] horses of noble breeds, housed and saddled with gold,
inlaid with all manner pearls and high-priced bezel stones. I chose out
one of them and mounted it, whilst they led the four others before me.
Then they raised the banners and the standards over my head, whilst the
troops ranged themselves right and left, and we set out, with drums
beating and cymbals clashing, and rode on; whilst I debated in myself
whether I were in sleep or on wake; and we never ceased faring, I
believing not in that my estate, but taking all this for the imbroglio
of a dream, till we drew near to the green mead, full of palaces and
gardens and trees and streams and blooms and birds chanting the praises
of Allah the One, the Victorious. Hereupon, behold, an army sallied out
from amid the palaces and gardens, as it were the torrent when it
poureth down,[FN#198] and the host overflowed the mead. These troops
halted at a little distance from me and presently there rode forth from
amongst them a King, preceded by some of his chief officers on foot.”
When he came up to the young man (saith the tale-teller) he dismounted
also, and the two saluted each other after the goodliest fashion. Then
said the King, “Come with us, for thou art my guest.” So they took
horse again and rode on stirrup touching stirrup in great and stately
procession, conversing as they went, till they came to the royal
palace, where they alighted together.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn
of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two rode
together in stately procession till they entered the palace, when the
King taking the young man by the hand, led him into a domed room
followed by his suite, and making him sit down on a throne of gold,
seated himself beside him. Then he unbound the swathe from his lower
face; and behold, the King was a young lady, like the splendid sun
shining in the sheeny sky, perfect in beauty and loveliness, brilliancy
and grace, arrogance[FN#199] and all perfection. The youth looked upon
this singular blessing and embodied boon and was lost in wonder at her
charms and comeliness and seemlihead and at the splendour and affluence
he saw about him, when she said “Know, O King, that I am the Queen of
this land and that all the troops thou hast seen, whether horse or
foot, are women, there is no man amongst them; for in this our state
the men delve and sow and ear and occupy themselves with the tillage of
the earth and the building of towns and other mechanical crafts and
useful arts, whilst the women govern and fill the great offices of
state and bear arms.” At this the youth marvelled with exceeding marvel
and, as they were in discourse, behold, in came the Wazir who was a
tall gray-haired old woman of venerable semblance and majestic aspect,
and it was told him that this was the Minister. Quoth the Queen to her,
“Bring us the Kazi and witnesses.” So she went out to do this, and the
Queen, turning to him, conversed with him in friendly fashion, and
enforced herself to reassure his awe of her and do away his shame with
speech blander than the zephyr, saying, “Art thou content to be to me
baron and I to thee feme?” Thereupon he arose and would have kissed
ground between her hands, but she forbade him and he replied, saying,
“O my lady, I am the least of thy slaves who serve thee.” “Seest thou
all these servants and soldiers and riches and hoards and treasures?”
asked she, and he answered, “Yes!” Quoth she, “All these are at thy
commandment to dispose of them and give and bestow as seemeth good to
thee.” Then she pointed to a closed door and said, “All these things
are at thy disposal, save yonder door; that shalt thou not open, and if
thou open it thou shalt repent when repentance will avail thee naught.
So beware! and again I say, beware!” Hardly had she made an end of
speaking when the Waziress entered followed by the Kazii and witnesses,
all old women, with their hair streaming over their shoulders and of
reverend and majestic presence; and the Queen bade them draw up the
contract of marriage between herself and the young man. Accordingly,
they performed the marriage-ceremony and the Queen made a great
bride-feast, to which she bade all the troops; and after they had eaten
and drunken, he went in unto his bride and found her a maid virginal.
So he did away her hymen and abode with her seven years in all joyance
and solace and delight of life, till, one day of the days, he bethought
himself of the forbidden door and said in himself, “Except there were
therein treasures greater and grander than any I have seen, she had not
forbidden me therefrom.” So he rose and opened the door, when, lo!
behind it was the very bird which had brought him from the sea-shore to
the island, and it said to him, “No welcome to a face that shall never
prosper!” When he saw it and heard what it said, he fled from it; but
it followed him and seizing him in its talons, flew with him an hour’s
journey betwixt heaven and earth, till it set him down in the place
whence it had first carried him off and flew away. When he came to his
senses, he remembered his late estate, great, grand and glorious, and
the troops which rode before him and his lordly rule and all the honour
and fair fortune he had lost and fell to weeping and wailing.[FN#200]
He abode two months on the sea-shore, where the bird had set him down,
hoping yet to return to his wife, till, as he sat one night wakeful,
mourning and musing, behold, he heard one speaking, albeit he saw no
one, and saying, “How great were the delights! Alas, far from thee is
the return of that which is past!” When he heard this, he redoubled in
his regrets and despaired of recovering his wife and his fair estate
that was; so he returned, weary and broken-hearted, to the house where
he had dwelt with the old men and knew that they had fared even as he
and that this was the cause of their shedding tears and lamenting their
lot; wherefore he ever after held them excused. Then, being overcome
with chagrin and concern, he took to his chamber and gave himself up to
mourning and lamentation; and he ceased not crying and complaining and
left eating and drinking and pleasant scents and merriment; nor did he
laugh once till the day of his death, when they buried him beside the
Shaykhs. “See, then, O King,” continued the Wazir “what cometh of
precipitance; verily, it is unpraiseworthy and bequeatheth repentance;
and in this I give thee true advice and loyal counsel.” When the King
heard this story, he turned from slaying his son;—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the King
heard this story he turned from slaying his son; but, on the sixth day,
the favourite came in to him hending a naked knife in hand, and said to
him, “Know, O my lord, that except thou hearken to my complaint and
protect thy right and thine honour against these thy Ministers, who are
banded together against me, to do me wrong, I will kill myself with
this knife, and my blood will testify against thee on the Day of Doom.
Indeed, they pretend that women are full of tricks and malice and
perfidy; and they design thereby to defeat me of my due and hinder the
King from doing me justice; but, behold, I will prove to thee that men
are more perfidious than women by the story of a King among the Kings
and how he gained access to the wife of a certain merchant.” “And what
passed between them?” asked the King, and she answered, “I have heard
tell, O august King, a tale of
The King’s Son and the Merchant’s Wife.
A certain merchant, who was addicted to jealousy, had a wife that was a
model of beauty and loveliness; and of the excess of his fear and
jealousy of her, he would not abide with her in any town, but built her
a pavilion without the city, apart from all other buildings. And he
raised its height and strengthened its doors and provided them with
curious locks; and when he had occasion to go into the city, he locked
the doors and hung the keys about his neck.[FN#201] One day, when the
merchant was abroad, the King’s son of that city came forth, to take
his pleasure and solace in the open country without the walls, and
seeing the solitary pavilion, stood still to examine it for a long
while. At last he caught sight of a charming lady looking and leaning
out of one of the windows,[FN#202] and being smitten with amazement at
her grace and charms, cast about for a means of getting to her, but
could find none. So he called up one of his pages, who brought him
ink-case[FN#203] and paper and wrote her a letter, setting forth his
condition for love of her. Then he set it on the pile-point of an arrow
and shot it at the pavilion, and it fell in the garden, where the lady
was then walking with her maidens. She said to one of the girls,
“Hasten and bring me yon letter,” for she could read writing;[FN#204]
and, when she had read it and understood what he said in it of his love
and passion, yearning and longing, she wrote him a merciful reply, to
the effect that she was smitten with a yet fiercer desire for him; and
then threw the letter down to him from one of the windows of the
pavilion. When he saw her, he picked up the reply and after reading it,
came under the window and said to her, “Let me down a thread, that I
may send thee this key; which do thou take and keep by thee.” So she
let down a thread and he tied the key to it.[FN#205] Then he went away
and repairing to one of his father’s Wazirs, complained to him of his
passion for the lady and that he could not live without her; and the
Minister said, “And how dost thou bid me contrive?” Quoth the Prince,
“I would have thee set me in a chest[FN#206] and commit it to the
merchant, feigning to him that it is thine and desiring him to keep it
for thee in his country-house some days, that I may have my will of
her; then do thou demand it back from him.” The Wazir answered, “With
love and gladness.” So the Prince returned to his palace and fixing the
padlock, the key whereof he had given the lady, on a chest he had by
him, entered therein. Then the Wazir locked it upon him and setting it
on a mule, carried it to the pavilion of the merchant, who, seeing the
Minister, came forth to him and kissed his hands, saying, “Belike our
lord the Wazir hath some need or business which we may have the
pleasure and honour of accomplishing for him?” Quoth the Minister, “I
would have thee set this chest in the safest and best place within thy
house and keep it till I seek it of thee.” So the merchant made the
porters carry it inside and set it down in one of his store-closets,
after which he went out on business. As soon as he was gone, his wife
arose and went up to the chest and unlocked it with the key the King’s
son had given her, whereupon there came forth a youth like the moon.
When she saw him, she donned her richest raiment and carried him to her
sitting-saloon, where they abode seven days, eating and drinking and
making merry: and as often as her husband came home, she put the Prince
back into the chest and locked it upon him. One day the King asked for
his son and the Wazir hurried off to the merchant’s place of business
and sought of him the chest.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Five Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir
reached the merchant’s counting-house he asked for the box. The man
accordingly repaired in haste to his pavilion, contrary to his custom
and knocked at the door. When his wife was ware of him, she hurried the
Prince back into the chest, but, in her confusion, forgot to lock it.
The merchant bade the porters take it up and carry it to his house in
the town. So they took up the box by the lid, whereupon it flew open
and lo! the Prince was lying within. When the merchant saw him and knew
him for the King’s son, he went out to the Wazir and said to him, “Go
in, thou, and take the King’s son; for none of us may lay hands on
him.” So the Minister went in and taking the Prince, went away with
him. As soon as they were gone, the merchant put away his wife and
swore that he would never marry again. “And,” continued the damsel, “I
have heard tell, also, O King, a tale of