There was once in the city of Shíráz a mighty King called Sayf
al-A’azam Shah, who had grown old, without being blessed with a son. So
he summoned the physicists and physicians and said to them, “I am now
in years and ye know my case and the state of the kingdom and its
ordinance; and I fear for my subjects after me; for that up to this
present I have not been vouchsafed a son.” Thereupon they replied, “We
will compound thee a somewhat of drugs wherein shall be efficacy, if it
please Almighty Allah!” So they mixed him drugs, which he used and knew
his wife carnally, and she conceived by leave of the Most High Lord,
who saith to a thing, “Be,” and it becometh. When her months were
accomplished, she gave birth to a male child like the moon, whom his
father named Ardashir,[FN#262] and he grew up and throve and applied
himself to the study of learning and letters, till he attained the age
of fifteen. Now there was in Al-Irak a King called Abd al-Kádir who had
a daughter, by name Hayát al-Nufús, and she was like the rising full
moon, but she had an hatred for men and the folk very hardly dared name
mankind in her presence. The Kings of the Chosroës had sought her in
marriage of her sire; but, when he spoke with her thereof, she said,
“Never will I do this; and if thou force me thereto, I will slay
myself.” Now Prince Ardashir heard of her fame and fell in love with
her and told his father who, seeing his case, took pity on him and
promised him day by day that he should marry her. So he despatched his
Wazir to demand her in wedlock, but King Abd al-Kadir refused, and when
the Minister returned to King Sayf al-A’azam and acquainted him with
what had befallen his mission and the failure thereof, he was wroth
with exceeding wrath and cried, “Shall the like of me send to one of
the Kings on a requisition and he accomplish it not?” Then he bade a
herald make proclamation to his troops, bidding them bring out the
tents and equip them for war with all diligence, though they should
borrow money for the necessary expenses; and he said, “I will on no
wise turn back, till I have laid waste King Abd al-Kadir’s dominions
and slain his men and plundered his treasures and blotted out his
traces!” When the report of this reached Ardashir he rose from his
carpet-bed, and going in to his father, kissed ground[FN#263] between
his hands and said, “O mighty King, trouble not thyself with aught of
this thing”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say
her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twentieth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when report
of this reached the Prince he went in to his sire the King and, kissing
ground between his hands, said, “O mighty King, trouble not thy soul
with aught of this thing and levy not thy champions and armies neither
spend thy monies. Thou art stronger than he, and if thou loose upon him
this thy host, thou wilt lay waste his cities and dominions and spoil
his good and slay his strong men and himself; but when his daughter
shall come to know what hath befallen her father and his people by
reason of her, she will slay herself, and I shall die on her account;
for I can never live after her; no, never.” Asked the King, “And what
then thinkest thou to do, O my son?” and the Prince answered, “I will
don a merchant’s habit and cast about how I may win to the Princess and
compass my desire of her.” Quoth Sayf al-A’azam, “Art thou determined
upon this?”; and quoth the Prince, “Yes, O my sire;” whereupon the King
called to his Wazir, and said to him, “Do thou journey with my son, the
core of my heart, and help him to win his will and watch over him and
guide him with thy sound judgment, for thou standest to him even in my
stead.” “I hear and obey,” answered the Minister; and the King gave his
son three hundred thousand dinars in gold and great store of jewels and
precious stones and goldsmiths’ ware and stuffs and other things of
price. Then Prince Ardashir went in to his mother and kissed her hands
and asked her blessing. She blessed him and, forthright opening her
treasures, brought out to him necklaces and trinkets and apparel and
all manner of other costly objects hoarded up from the time of the
bygone Kings, whose price might not be evened with coin. Moreover, he
took with him of his Mamelukes and negro-slaves and cattle all that he
needed for the road and clad himself and the Wazir and their company in
traders’ gear. Then he farewelled his parents and kinsfolk and friends;
and, setting out, fared on over wolds and wastes all hours of the day
and watches of the night; and whenas the way was longsome upon him he
improvised these couplets,
“My longing bred of love with mine unease for ever grows; *
Nor against all the wrongs of time one succourer arose:
When Pleiads and the Fishes show in sky the rise I watch, * As
worshipper within whose breast a pious burning glows:
For Star o’ Morn I speer until at last when it is seen, * I’m
madded with my passion and my fancy’s woes and throes:
I swear by you that never from your love have I been loosed; *
Naught am I save a watcher who of slumber nothing knows!
Though hard appear my hope to win, though languor aye
increase, * And after thee my patience fails and ne’er a
helper shows;
Yet will I wait till Allah shall be pleased to join our loves;
* I’ll mortify the jealous and I’ll mock me of my foes.”
When he ended his verse he swooned away and the Wazir sprinkled
rose-water on him, till the Prince came to himself, when the Minister
said to him, “O King’s son, possess thy soul in patience; for the
consequence of patience is consolation, and behold, thou art on the way
to whatso thou wishest.” And he ceased not to bespeak him fair and
comfort him till his trouble subsided; and they continued their journey
with all diligence. Presently, the Prince again became impatient of the
length of the way and bethought him of his beloved and recited these
couplets,
“Longsome is absence, restlessness increaseth and despite; *
And burn my vitals in the blaze my love and longings
light:
Grows my hair gray from pains and pangs which I am doomèd bear
* For pine, while tear-floods stream from eyes and sore
offend my sight:
I swear, O Hope of me, O End of every wish and will, * By Him
who made mankind and every branch with leafage dight,
A passion-load for thee, O my Desire, I must endure, * And
boast I that to bear such load no lover hath the might.
Question the Night of me and Night thy soul shall satisfy *
Mine eyelids never close in sleep throughout the livelong
night.”
Then he wept with sore weeping and ‘plained of that he suffered for
stress of love-longing; but the Wazir comforted him and spoke him fair,
promising him the winning of his wish; after which they fared on again
for a few days, when they drew near to the White City, the capital of
King Abd al-Kadir, soon after sunrise. Then said the Minister to the
Prince, “Rejoice, O King’s son, in all good; for see, yonder is the
White City, that which thou seekest.” Whereat the Prince rejoiced with
exceeding joy and recited these couplets,
“My friends, I yearn in heart distraught for him; * Longing
abides and with sore pains I brim:
I mourn like childless mother, nor can find * One to
console me when the light grows dim;
Yet when the breezes blow from off thy land, * I feel
their freshness shed on heart and limb;
And rail mine eyes like water-laden clouds, * While in a
tear-sea shed by heart I swim.”
Now when they entered the White City they asked for the Merchants’
Khan, a place of moneyed men; and when shown the hostelry they hired
three magazines and on receiving the keys[FN#264] they laid up therein
all their goods and gear. They abode in the Khan till they were rested,
when the Wazir applied himself to devise a device for the Prince,——And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted
say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-first Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Prince and
the Minister alighted at the Khan and lodged their goods in the
ground-floor magazines and there settled their servants. Then they
tarried awhile till they had rested, when the Wazir arose and applied
himself to devise a device for the Prince, and said to him, “I have
bethought me of somewhat wherein, methinks, will be success for thee,
so it please Almighty Allah.” Quoth Ardashir, “O thou Wazir of good
counsel, do what cometh to thy mind, and may the Lord direct thy rede
aright!” Quoth the Minister, “I purpose to hire thee a shop in the
market-street of the stuff-sellers and set thee therein; for that all,
great and small, have recourse to the bazar and, meseems, when the folk
see thee with their own eyes sitting in the shop their hearts will
incline to thee and thou wilt thus be enabled to attain thy desire, for
thou art fair of favour and souls incline to thee and sight rejoiceth
in thee.” The other replied, “Do what seemeth good to thee.” So the
Wazir forthright began to robe the Prince and himself in their richest
raiment and, putting a purse of a thousand dinars in his breast-pocket,
went forth and walked about the city, whilst all who looked upon them
marvelled at the beauty of the King’s son, saying, “Glory be to Him who
created this youth ‘of vile water[FN#265]‘! Blessed be Allah
excellentest of Creators!” Great was the talk anent him and some said,
“This is no mortal, ‘this is naught save a noble angel’”;[FN#266] and
others, “Hath Rizwan, the door-keeper of the Eden-garden, left the gate
of Paradise unguarded, that this youth hath come forth?” The people
followed them to the stuff-market, where they entered and stood, till
there came up to them an old man of dignified presence and venerable
appearance, who saluted them, and they returned his salam. Then the
Shaykh said to them, “O my lords, have ye any need, that we may have
the honour of accomplishing?”; and the Wazir asked him, “Who art thou,
O elder?” He answered, “I am the Overseer of the market.” Quoth the
Wazir, “Know then, O Shaykh, that this youth is my son and I wish to
hire him a shop in the bazar, that he may sit therein and learn to sell
and buy and take and give, and come to ken merchants’ ways and habits.”
“I hear and I obey,” replied the Overseer and brought them without stay
or delay the key of a shop, which he caused the brokers sweep and
clean. And they did his bidding. Then the Wazir sent for a high
mattress, stuffed with ostrich-down, and set it up in the shop,
spreading upon it a small prayer-carpet, and a cushion fringed with
broidery of red gold. Moreover he brought pillows and transported
thither so much of the goods and stuffs that he had brought with him as
filled the shop. Next morning the young Prince came and opening the
shop, seated himself on the divan, and stationed two Mamelukes, clad in
the richest of raiment before him and two black slaves of the goodliest
of the Abyssinians in the lower part of the shop. The Wazir enjoined
him to keep his secret from the folk, so thereby he might find aid in
the winning of his wishes; then he left him and charging him to
acquaint him with what befel him in the shop, day by day returned to
the Khan. The Prince sat in the shop till night as he were the moon at
its fullest, whilst the folk, hearing tell of his comeliness, flocked
to the place, without errand, to gaze on his beauty and loveliness and
symmetry and perfect grace and glorify the Almighty who created and
shaped him, till none could pass through that bazar for the excessive
crowding of the folk about him. The King’s son turned right and left,
abashed at the throng of people that stared at him, hoping to make
acquaintance with some one about the court, of whom he might get news
of the Princess; but he found no way to this, wherefore his breast was
straitened. Meanwhile, the Wazir daily promised him the attainment of
his desire and the case so continued for a time till, one morning, as
the youth sat in the shop, there came up an old woman of respectable
semblance and dignified presence clad in raiment of devotees[FN#267]
and followed by two slave-girls like moons. She stopped before the shop
and, having considered the Prince awhile, cried, “Glory be to God who
fashioned that face and perfected that figure!” Then she saluted him
and he returned her salam and seated her by his side. Quoth she,
“Whence cometh thou, O fair of favour?”; and quoth he, “From the parts
of Hind, O my mother; and I have come to this city to see the world and
look about me.” “Honour to thee for a visitor! What goods and stuffs
hast thou? Show me something handsome, fit for Kings.” “If thou wish
for handsome stuffs, I will show them to thee; for I have wares that
beseem persons of every condition.” “O my son, I want somewhat costly
of price and seemly to sight; brief, the best thou hast.” “Thou must
needs tell me for whom thou seekest it, that I may show thee goods
according to the rank of the requiter.” “Thou speakest sooth, O my
son,” said she. “I want somewhat for my mistress, Hayat al-Nufus,
daughter of Abd al-Kadir, lord of this land and King of this country.”
Now when Ardashir heard his mistress’s name, his reason flew for joy
and his heart fluttered and he gave no order to slave or servant, but,
putting his hand behind him, pulled out a purse of an hundred dinars
and offered it to the old woman, saying, “This is for the washing of
thy clothes.” Then he again put forth his hand and brought out of a
wrapper a dress worth ten thousand dinars or more and said to her,
“This is of that which I have brought to your country.” When the old
woman saw it, it pleased her and she asked, “What is the price of this
dress, O perfect in qualities?” Answered he, “I will take no price for
it!” whereupon she thanked him and repeated her question; but he said,
“By Allah, I will take no price for it. I make thee a present of it, an
the Princess will not accept it and ’tis a guest-gift from me to thee.
Alhamdolillah—Glory be to God—who hath brought us together, so that,
if one day I have a want, I shall find in thee a helper to me in
winning it!” She marvelled at the goodliness of his speech and the
excess of his generosity and the perfection of his courtesy and said to
him, “What is thy name, O my lord?” He replied, “My name is Ardashir;”
and she cried, “By Allah this is a rare name! Therewith are Kings’ sons
named, and thou art in a guise of the sons of the merchants!” Quoth he,
“Of the love my father bore me, he gave me this name, but a name
signifieth naught;” and quoth she in wonder, “O my son, take the price
of thy goods.” But he swore that he would not take aught. Then the old
lady said to him, “O my dear one, Truth (I would have thee know) is the
greatest of all things and thou hadst not dealt thus generously by me
but for a special reason: so tell me thy case and thy secret thought;
belike thou hast some wish to whose winning I may help thee.” Thereupon
he laid his hand in hers and, after exacting an oath of secrecy, told
her the whole story of his passion for the Princess and his condition
by reason thereof. The old woman shook her head and said, “True; but O
my son, the wise say, in the current adage, ‘An thou wouldest be
obeyed, abstain from ordering what may not be made’; and thou, my son,
thy name is Merchant, and though thou hadst the keys of the Hidden
Hoards, yet wouldst thou be called naught but Merchant. An thou wouldst
rise to high rank, according to thy station, then seek the hand of a
Kazi’s daughter or even an Emir’s; but why, O my son, aspirest thou to
none but the daughter of the King of the age and the time, and she a
clean maid, who knoweth nothing of the things of the world and hath
never in her life seen anything but her palace wherein she dwelleth?
Yet, for all her tender age, she is intelligent, shrewd, vivacious,
penetrating, quick of wit, sharp of act and rare of rede: her father
hath no other child and she is dearer to him than his life and soul.
Every morning he cometh to her and giveth her good-morrow, and all who
dwell in the palace stand in dread of her. Think not, O my son, that
any dare bespeak her with aught of these words; nor is there any way
for me thereto. By Allah, O my son, my heart and vitals love thee and
were it in my power to give thee access to her, I would assuredly do
it; but I will tell thee somewhat, wherein Allah may haply appoint the
healing of thy heart, and will risk life and goods for thee, till I win
thy will for thee.” He asked, “And what is that, O my mother?” and she
answered, “Seek of me the daughter of a Wazir or an Emir, and I will
grant thy request; but it may not be that one should mount from earth
to heaven at one bound.” When the Prince heard this, he replied to her
with courtesy and sense, “O my mother, thou art a woman of wit and
knowest how things go. Say me doth a man, when his head irketh him,
bind up his hand?” Quoth she, “No, by Allah, O my son”; and quoth he,
“Even so my heart seeketh none but her and naught slayeth me but love
of her. By Allah, I am a dead man, and I find not one to counsel me
aright and succour me! Allah upon thee, O my mother, take pity on my
strangerhood and the streaming of my tears!”——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-second Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ardashir, the
King’s son said to the old woman, “Allah upon thee, O my mother, take
pity on my strangerhood and the streaming of my tears.” Replied she,
“By Allah, O my son, thy words rend my heart, but my hand hath no
cunning wherewith to help thee.” Quoth he, “I beseech thee of thy
favour, carry her a letter and kiss her hands for me.” So she had
compassion on him and said, “Write what thou wilt and I will bear it to
her.” When he heard this, he was ready to fly for joy and calling for
ink-case and paper, wrote these couplets,
“O Hayát al-Nufús, be gen’rous, and incline * To one who
loving thee for parting’s doomed to pine.
I was in all delight, in gladsomest of life, * But now I am
distraught with sufferings condign.
To wakefulness I cling through longsomeness of night * And
with me sorrow chats[FN#268] through each sad eve of
mine;
Pity a lover sad, a sore afflicted wretch * Whose eyelids
ever ulcered are with tearful brine;
And when the morning comes at last, the real morn * He finds
him drunken and distraught with passion’s wine.”
Then he folded the scroll and kissing it, gave it to the old woman;
after which he put his hand to a chest and took out a second purse
containing an hundred dinars, which he presented to her, saying,
“Divide this among the slave-girls.” She refused it and cried, “By
Allah, O my son, I am not with thee for aught of this!”; however, he
thanked her and answered, “There is no help but that thou accept of
it.” So she took it and kissing his hands, returned home; and going in
to the Princess, cried, “O my lady, I have brought thee somewhat the
like whereof is not with the people of our city, and it cometh from a
handsome young man, than whom there is not a goodlier on earth’s face!”
She asked “O my nurse, and whence cometh the youth?” and the old woman
answered, “From the parts of Hind; and he hath given me this dress of
gold brocade, embroidered with pearls and gems and worth the Kingdom of
Chosroës and Cæsar.” Thereupon she opened the dress and the whole
palace was illuminated by its brightness, because of the beauty of its
fashion and the wealth of unions and jewels wherewith it was broidered,
and all who were present marvelled at it. The Princess examined it and,
judging it to be worth no less than a whole year’s revenue of her
father’s kingdom, said to the old woman, “O my nurse, cometh this dress
from him or from another?”[FN#269] Replied she, “From him;” and Hayat
al-Nufus asked, “Is this trader of our town or a stranger?” The old
woman answered, “He is a foreigner, O my lady, newly come hither; and
by Allah he hath servants and slaves; and he is fair of face,
symmetrical of form, well mannered, open-handed and open-hearted, never
saw I a goodlier than he, save thyself.” The King’s daughter rejoined,
“Indeed this is an extraordinary thing, that a dress like this, which
money cannot buy, should be in the hands of a merchant! What price did
he set on it, O my nurse?” Quoth she, “By Allah, he would set no price
on it, but gave me back the money thou sentest by me and swore that he
would take naught thereof, saying:—’Tis a gift from me to the King’s
daughter; for it beseemeth none but her; and if she will not accept it,
I make thee a present of it.” Cried the Princess, “By Allah, this is
indeed marvellous generosity and wondrous munificence! But I fear the
issue of his affair, lest haply[FN#270] he be brought to necessity. Why
didst thou not ask him, O my nurse, if he had any desire, that we might
fulfil it for him?” The nurse replied, “O my lady, I did ask him, and
he said to me, ‘I have indeed a desire’; but he would not tell me what
it was. However, he gave me this letter and said, ‘Carry it to the
Princess.’” So Hayat al-Nufus took the letter and opened and read it to
the end; whereupon she was sore chafed; and lost temper and changing
colour for anger she cried out to the old woman, saying, “Woe to thee,
O nurse! What is the name of this dog who durst write this language to
a King’s daughter? What affinity is there between me and this hound
that he should address me thus? By Almighty Allah, Lord of the well
Zemzem and of the Hatim Wall,[FN#271] but that I fear the Omnipotent,
the Most High, I would send and bind the cur’s hands behind him and
slit his nostrils, and shear off his nose and ears and after, by way of
example, crucify him on the gate of the bazar wherein is his booth!”
When the old woman heard these words, she waxed yellow; her
side-muscles[FN#272] quivered and her tongue clave to her mouth; but
she heartened her heart and said, “Softly, O my lady! What is there in
his letter to trouble thee thus? Is it aught but a memorial containing
his complaint to thee of poverty or oppression, from which he hopeth to
be relieved by thy favour?” Replied she, “No, by Allah, O my nurse,
’tis naught of this; but verses and shameful words! However, O my
nurse, this dog must be in one of three cases: either he is Jinn-mad,
and hath no wit, or he seeketh his own slaughter, or else he is
assisted to his wish of me by some one of exceeding puissance and a
mighty Sultan. Or hath he heard that I am one of the baggages of the
city, who lie a night or two with whosoever seeketh them, that he
writeth me immodest verses to debauch my reason by talking of such
matters?” Rejoined the old woman, “By Allah, O my lady, thou sayst
sooth! But reck not thou of yonder ignorant hound, for thou art seated
in thy lofty, firm-builded and unapproachable palace, to which the very
birds cannot soar neither the wind pass over it, and as for him, he is
clean distraught. Wherefore do thou write him a letter and chide him
angrily and spare him no manner of reproof, but threaten him with
dreadful threats and menace him with death and say to him, ‘Whence hast
thou knowledge of me, that thou durst write me, O dog of a merchant, O
thou who trudgest far and wide all thy days in wilds and wolds for the
sake of gaining a dirham or a dinar? By Allah, except thou awake from
thy sleep and put off thine intoxication, I will assuredly crucify thee
on the gate of the market-street wherein is thy shop!’” Quoth the
Princess, “I fear lest he presume, if I write to him”; and quoth the
nurse, “And pray what is he and what is his rank that he should presume
to us? Indeed, we write him but to the intent that his presumption may
be cut off and his fear magnified.” And she ceased not craftily to
persuade her, till she called for ink-case and paper and wrote him
these couplets,
“O thou who claimest to be prey of love and ecstasy; * Thou,
who for passion spendest nights in grief and saddest
gree:
Say, dost thou (haughty one!) desire enjoyment of the moon? *
Did man e’er sue the moon for grace whate’er his lunacy?
I verily will counsel thee with rede the best to hear: * Cut
short this course ere come thou nigh sore risk, nay
death, to dree!
If thou to this request return, surely on thee shall fall *
Sore punishment, for vile offence a grievous penalty.
Be reasonable then, be wise, hark back unto thy wits; *
Behold, in very truth I speak with best advice to thee:
By Him who did all things that be create from nothingness; *
Who dressed the face of heaven with stars in brightest
radiancy:
If in the like of this thy speech thou dare to sin again! *
I’ll surely have thee crucified upon a trunk of tree.”
Then she rolled up the letter and gave it to the old woman who took it
and, repairing to Ardashir’s shop, delivered it to him,——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-third Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the old
woman took that letter from Hayat al-Nufus she fared forth till she
found the youth who was sitting in his shop and gave it to him, saying,
“Read thine answer and know that when she perused thy paper she was
wroth with exceeding wrath; but I soothed her and spake her fair, till
she consented to write thee a reply.” He took the letter joyfully but,
when he had read it and understood its drift, he wept sore, whereat the
old woman’s heart ached and she cried, “O my son, Allah never cause
thine eyes to weep nor thy heart to mourn! What can be more gracious
than that she should answer thy letter when thou hast done what thou
diddest?” He replied, “O my mother what shall I do for a subtle device?
Behold, she writeth to me, threatening me with death and crucifixion
and forbidding me from writing to her; and I, by Allah, see my death to
be better than my life; but I beg thee of thy grace[FN#273] to carry
her another letter from me.” She said, “Write and I warrant I’ll bring
thee an answer. By Allah, I will assuredly venture my life to win for
thee thy wish, though I die to pleasure thee!” He thanked her and
kissing her hands, wrote these verses,
“Do you threaten me wi’ death for my loving you so well? *
When Death to me were rest and all dying is by Fate?
And man’s death is but a boon, when so longsome to him grows *
His life, and rejected he lives in lonest state:
Then visit ye a lover who hath ne’er a soul to aid; * For on
pious works of men Heaven’s blessing shall await.
But an ye be resolved on this deed then up and on; * I’m in
bonds to you, a bondsman confined within your gate:
What path have I whose patience without you is no more? * How
is this, when a lover’s heart in stress of love is
strait?
O my lady show me ruth, who by passion am misused; * For all
who love the noble stand for evermore excused.”
He then folded the scroll and gave it to the old woman, together with
two purses of two hundred dinars, which she would have refused, but he
conjured her by oath to accept of them. So she took them both and said,
“Needs must I bring thee to thy desire, despite the noses of thy foes.”
Then she repaired to the palace and gave the letter to Hayat al-Nufus
who said, “What is this, O my nurse? Here are we in a correspondence
and thou coming and going! Indeed, I fear lest the matter get wind and
we be disgraced.” Rejoined the old woman, “How so, O my lady? Who dare
speak such word?” So she took the letter and after reading and
understanding it she smote hand on hand, saying “Verily, this is a
calamity which is fallen upon us, and I know not whence this young man
came to us!” Quoth the old woman, “O my lady, Allah upon thee, write
him another letter; but be rough with him this time and say to him, ‘An
thou write me another word after this, I will have thy head struck
off.’” Quoth the Princess, “O my nurse, I am assured that the matter
will not end on such wise; ’twere better to break off this exchange of
letters; and, except the puppy take warning by my previous threats, I
will strike off his head.” The old woman said, “Then write him a letter
and give him to know this condition.” So Hayat al-Nufus called for
pen-case and paper and wrote these couplets:—
Ho, thou heedless of Time and his sore despight! * Ho, thou
heart whom hopes of my favours excite!
Think O pride-full! would’st win for thyself the skies? *
Would’st attain to the moon shining clear and bright?
I will burn thee with fire that shall ne’er be quenched, * Or
will slay thee with scymitar’s sharpest bite!
Leave it, friend, and ’scape the tormenting pains, * Such as
turn hair-partings[FN#274] from black to white.
Take my warning and fly from the road of love; * Draw thee
back from a course nor seemly nor right!
Then she folded the scroll and gave it to the old woman, who was
puzzled and perplexed by the matter. She carried it to Ardashir, and
the Prince read the letter and bowed his head to the earth, making as
if he wrote with his finger and speaking not a word. Quoth the old
woman, “How is it I see thee silent stay and not say thy say?”; and
quoth he, “O my mother, what shall I say, seeing that she doth but
threaten me and redoubleth in hard-heartedness and aversion?” Rejoined
the nurse, “Write her a letter of what thou wilt: I will protect thee;
nor let thy heart be cast down, for needs must I bring you twain
together.” He thanked her for her kindness and kissing her hand, wrote
these couplets,
“A heart, by Allah! never soft to lover-wight, * Who sighs for
union only with his friends, his sprite!
Who with tear-ulcered eyelids evermore must bide, * When
falleth upon earth first darkness of the night:
Be just, be gen’rous, lend thy ruth and deign give alms * To
love-molested lover, parted, forced to flight!
He spends the length of longsome night without a doze; *
Fire-brent and drent in tear-flood flowing infinite:
Ah; cut not off the longing of my fondest heart * Now
disappointed, wasted, flutt’ring for its blight.”
Then he folded the scroll and gave it to the old woman, together with
three hundred dinars, saying, “This is for the washing of thy hands.”
She thanked him and kissed his hands, after which she returned to the
palace and gave the letter to the Princess, who took it and read it and
throwing it from her fingers, sprang to her feet. Then she walked, shod
as she was with pattens of gold, set with pearls and jewels, till she
came to her sire’s palace, whilst the vein of anger started out between
her eyes, and none dared ask her of her case. When she reached the
palace, she enquired for the King, and the slave-girls and concubines
replied to her, “O my lady, he is gone forth a-hunting and sporting.”
So she returned, as she were a rending lioness, and bespake none for
the space of three hours, when her brow cleared and her wrath cooled.
As soon as the old woman saw that her irk and anger were past, she went
up to her and, kissing ground between her hands, asked her, “O my lady,
whither went those noble steps?” The Princess answered, “To the palace
of the King my sire.” “And could no one do thine errand?” enquired the
nurse. Replied the Princess, “No, for I went to acquaint him of that
which hath befallen me with yonder cur of a merchant, so he might lay
hands on him and on all the merchants of his bazar and crucify them
over their shops nor suffer a single foreign merchant to tarry in our
town.” Quoth the old woman, “And was this thine only reason, O my lady,
for going to thy sire?”; and quoth Hayat al-Nufus, “Yes, but I found
him absent a-hunting and sporting and now I await his return.” Cried
the old nurse, “I take refuge with Allah, the All-hearing, the
All-knowing! Praised be He! O my lady, thou art the most sensible of
women and how couldst thou think of telling the King these fond words,
which it behoveth none to publish?” Asked the Princess, “And why so?”
and the nurse answered, “Suppose thou had found the King in his palace
and told him all this tale and he had sent after the merchants and
commanded to hang them over their shops, the folk would have seen them
hanging and asked the reason and it would have been answered them,
‘They sought to seduce the King’s daughter.’”——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old
woman said to the Princess, “Suppose thou had told this to the King and
he had ordered the merchants to be hanged, would not folk have seen
them and have asked the cause of the execution when the answer would
have been, ‘They sought to seduce the King’s daughter?’ Then would they
have dispread divers reports concerning thee, some saying, ‘She abode
with them ten days, away from her palace, till they had taken their
fill of her’; and other some in otherguise: for woman’s honour, O my
lady, is like curded milk, the least dust fouleth it; and like glass,
which, if it be cracked, may not be mended. So beware of telling thy
sire or any other of this matter, lest thy fair fame be smirched, O
mistress mine, for ’twill never profit thee to tell folk aught; no,
never! Weigh what I say with thy keen wit, and if thou find it not
just, do whatso thou wilt.” The Princess pondered her words, and seeing
them to be altogether profitable and right, said, “Thou speaketh sooth,
O my nurse; but anger had blinded my judgment.” Quoth the old woman,
“Thy resolve to tell no one is pleasing to the Almighty; but something
remaineth to be done: we must not let the shamelessness of yonder vile
dog of a merchant pass without notice. Write him a letter and say to
him ‘O vilest of traders, but that I found the King my father absent, I
had straightway commanded to hang thee and all thy neighbours. But thou
shalt gain nothing by this; for I swear to thee, by Allah the Most
High, that an thou return to the like of this talk, I will blot out the
trace of thee from the face of earth!’ And deal thou roughly with him
in words, so shalt thou discourage him in this attempt and arouse him
from his heedlessness.” “And will these words cause him to abstain from
his offending?” asked the Princess; and the old woman answered, “How
should he not abstain? Besides, I will talk with him and tell him what
hath passed.” So the Princess called for ink-case and paper and wrote
these couplets,
“To win our favours still thy hopes are bent; * And still
to win thy will art confident!
Naught save his pride-full aim shall slay a man; * And he by
us shall die of his intent.
Thou art no lord of might, no chief of men, * Nabob or
Prince or Soldan Heaven-sent;
And were this deed of one who is our peer, * He had
returned with hair for fear white-sprent:
Yet will I deign once more excuse thy sin * So from
this time thou prove thee penitent.”
Then she gave the missive to the old woman, saying, “O my nurse, do
thou admonish this puppy lest I be forced to cut off his head and
sin on his account.” Replied the old woman, “By Allah, O my lady, I
will not leave him a side to turn on!” Then she returned to the youth
and, when salams had been exchanged, she gave him the letter. He read
it and shook his head, saying, “Verily, we are Allah’s and unto him
shall we return!” adding, “O my mother, what shall I do? My fortitude
faileth me and my patience palleth upon me!” She replied, “O my son, be
long-suffering: peradventure, after this Allah shall bring somewhat to
pass. Write that which is in thy mind and I will fetch thee an answer,
and be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear; for needs must
I bring about union between thee and her,— Inshallah!” He blessed her
and wrote to the Princess a note containing these couplets,
“Since none will lend my love a helping hand, * And I by
passion’s bale in death low-lain,
I bear a flaming fire within my heart * By day and night nor
place of rest attain,
How cease to hope in thee, my wishes’ term? * Or with my
longings to be glad and fain?
The Lord of highmost Heaven to grant my prayer * Pray I, whom
love of lady fair hath slain;
And as I’m clean o’erthrown by love and fear, * To grant me
speedy union deign, oh deign!”
Then he folded the scroll and gave it to the old woman, bringing out at
the same time a purse of four hundred dinars. She took the whole and
returning to the palace sought the Princess to whom she gave the
letter; but the King’s daughter refused to take it and cried, “What is
this?” Replied the old woman, “O my lady, this is only the answer to
the letter thou sentest to that merchant dog.” Quoth Hayat al-Nufus,
“Didst thou forbid him as I told thee?”; and quoth she, “Yes, and this
is his reply.” So the Princess took the letter and read it to the end;
then she turned to the old woman and exclaimed, “Where is the result of
thy promise?” “O my lady, saith he not in his letter that he repenteth
and will not again offend, excusing himself for the past?” “Not so, by
Allah!: on the contrary, he increaseth.” “O my lady, write him a letter
and thou shalt presently see what I will do with him.” “There needeth
nor letter nor answer.” “I must have a letter that I may rebuke him
roughly and cut off his hopes.” “Thou canst do that without a letter.”
“I cannot do it without the letter.” So Hayat al-Nufus called for
pen-case and paper and wrote these verses,
“Long have I chid thee but my chiding hindereth thee not * How
often would my verse with writ o’ hand ensnare thee, ah!
Then keep thy passion hidden deep and ever unrevealed, * And
if thou dare gainsay me Earth shall no more bear thee,
ah!
And if, despite my warning, thou dost to such words return, *
Death’s Messenger[FN#275] shall go his rounds and dead
declare thee, ah!
Soon shall the wold’s fierce chilling blast o’erblow that
corse o’ thine; * And birds o’ the wild with ravening
bills and beaks shall tear thee, ah!
Return to righteous course; perchance that same will profit
thee; * If bent on wilful aims and lewd I fain forswear
thee, ah!”
When she had made an end of her writing this, she cast the writ from
her hand in wrath, and the old woman picked it up and went with it to
Ardashir. When he read it to the last he knew that she had not softened
to him, but only redoubled in rage against him and that he would never
win to meet her, so he bethought himself to write her an answer
invoking Allah’s help against her. Thereupon he indited these couplets,
“O Lord, by the Five Shaykhs, I pray deliver me * From love,
which gars me bear such grief and misery.
Thou knowest what I bear for passion’s fiery flame; * What
stress of sickness for that merciless maid I dree.
She hath no pity on the pangs to me decreed; * How long on
weakly wight shall last her tyranny?
I am distraught for her with passing agonies * And find no
friend, O folk! to hear my plaint and plea.
How long, when Night hath drooped her pinions o’er the world,
* Shall I lament in public as in privacy?
For love of you I cannot find forgetfulness; * And how forget
when Patience taketh wings to flee?
O thou wild parting-bird[FN#276] say is she safe and sure *
From shift and change of time and the world’s cruelty?”
Then he folded the scroll and gave it to the old woman, adding a purse
of five hundred dinars; and she took it and carried it to the Princess,
who read it to the end and learned its purport. Then, casting it from
her hand, she cried, “Tell me O wicked old woman, the cause of all that
hath befallen me from thee and from thy cunning and thine advocacy of
him, so that thou hast made me write letter after letter and thou
ceasest not to carry messages, going and coming between us twain, till
thou hast brought about a correspondence and a connection. Thou leavest
not to say, ‘I will ensure thee against his mischief and cut off from
thee his speech’; but thou speakest not thus save only to the intent
that I may continue to write thee letters and thou to fetch and carry
between us, evening and morning, till thou ruin my repute. Woe to thee!
Ho, eunuchs, seize her!” Then Hayat al-Nufus commanded them to beat
her, and they lashed her till her whole body flowed with blood and she
fainted away, whereupon the King’s daughter caused her slave-women to
drag her forth by the feet and cast her without the palace and bade one
of them stand by her head till she recovered, and say to her, “The
Princess hath sworn an oath that thou shalt never return to and
re-enter this palace; and she hath commanded to slay thee without mercy
an thou dare return hither.” So, when she came to herself, the damsel
told her what the King’s daughter said and she answered, “Hearkening
and obedience.” Presently the slave-girls fetched a basket and a porter
whom they caused carry her to her own house; and they sent after her a
physician, bidding him tend her assiduously till she recovered. He did
what he was told to do and as soon as she was whole she mounted and
rode to the shop of Ardashir who was concerned with sore concern for
her absence and was longing for news of her. As soon as he saw her, he
sprang up and coming to meet her, saluted her; then he noticed that she
was weak and ailing; so he questioned her of her case and she told him
all that had befallen her from her nursling. When he heard this, he
found it grievous and smote hand upon hand, saying, “By Allah, O my
mother, this that hath betided thee straiteneth my heart! But, what, O
my mother, is the reason of the Princess’s hatred to men?” Replied the
old woman, “Thou must know O my son, that she hath a beautiful garden,
than which there is naught goodlier on earth’s face and it chanced that
she lay there one night. In the joyance of sleep, she dreamt a dream
and ’twas this, that she went down into the garden, where she saw a
fowler set up his net and strew corn thereabout, after which he
withdrew and sat down afar off to await what game should fall into it.
Ere an hour had passed the birds flocked to pick up the corn and a male
pigeon[FN#277] fell into the net and struggled in it, whereat all the
others took fright and fled from him. His mate was amongst them, but
she returned to him after the shortest delay; and, coming up to the
net, sought out the mesh wherein his foot was entangled and ceased not
to peck at it with her bill, till she severed it and released her
husband, with whom she flew away. All this while, the fowler sat
dozing, and when he awoke, he looked at the net and found it spoilt. So
he mended it and strewed fresh grain, then withdrew to a distance and
sat down to watch it again. The birds soon returned and began to pick
up the corn, and among the rest the pair of pigeons. Presently, the
she-pigeon fell into the net and struggled to get free; whereupon all
the other birds flew away, and her mate, whom she had saved, fled with
the rest and did not return to her. Meantime, sleep had again overcome
the fowler; and, when he awoke after long slumbering, he saw the
she-pigeon caught in the net; so he went up to her and freeing her feet
from the meshes, cut her throat. The Princess startled by the dream
awoke troubled, and said, ‘Thus do men with women, for women have pity
on men and throw away their lives for them, when they are in
difficulties; but if the Lord decree against a woman and she fall into
calamity, her mate deserteth her and rescueth her not, and wasted is
that which she did with him of kindness. Allah curse her who putteth
her trust in men, for they ill requite the fair offices which women do
them!’ And from that day she conceived an hatred to men.” Said the
King’s son, “O my mother, doth she never go out into the highways?”;
and the old woman replied, “Nay, O my son; but I will tell thee
somewhat wherein, Allah willing, there shall be profit for thee. She
hath a garden which is of the goodliest pleasaunces of the age; and
every year, at the time of the ripening of the fruits, she goeth
thither and taketh her pleasure therein only one day, nor layeth the
night but in her pavilion. She entereth the garden by the private
wicket of the palace which leadeth thereto; and thou must know that it
wanteth now but a month to the time of her going forth. So take my
advice and hie thee this very day to the keeper of that garden and make
acquaintance with him and gain his good graces, for he admitteth not
one of Allah’s creatures into the garth, because of its communication
with the Princess’s palace. I will let thee know two days beforehand of
the day fixed for her coming forth, when do thou repair to the garden,
as of thy wont, and make shift to night there. When the King’s daughter
cometh be thou hidden in some place or other”;——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-fifth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman
charged the King’s son, saying, “I will let thee know two days
beforehand of the King’s daughter going down to the garden: do thou
hide thee in some place or other; and, when thou espiest her, come
forth and show thyself to her. When she seeth thee, she will fall in
love with thee; for thou art fair to look upon and love covereth all
things. So keep thine eyes cool and clear[FN#278] and be of good cheer,
O my son, for needs must I bring about union between thee and her.” The
young Prince kissed her hand and thanked her and gave her three pieces
of Alexandrian silk and three of satin of various colours, and with
each piece, linen for shifts and stuff for trousers and a kerchief for
the turband and fine white cotton cloth of Ba’albak for the linings, so
as to make her six complete suits, each handsomer than its sister.
Moreover, he gave her a purse containing six hundred gold pieces and
said to her, “This is for the tailoring.” She took the whole and said
to him, “O my son, art thou not pleased to acquaint me with thine
abiding-place and I also will show thee the way to my lodging?” “Yes,”
answered he and sent a Mameluke with her to note her home and show her
his own house. Then he rose and bidding his slaves shut the shop, went
back to the Wazir, to whom he related all that had passed between him
and the old woman, from first to last. Quoth the Minister, “O my son,
should the Princess Hayat al-Nufus come out and look upon thee and thou
find no favour with her what wilt thou do?” Quoth Ardashir, “There will
be nothing left but to pass from words to deeds and risk my life with
her; for I will snatch her up from amongst her attendants and set her
behind me on a swift horse and make for the wildest of the wold. If I
escape, I shall have won my wish and if I perish, I shall be at rest
from this hateful life.” Rejoined the Minister, “O my son, dost thou
think to do this thing and live? How shall we make our escape, seeing
that our country is far distant, and how wilt thou deal thus with a
King of the Kings of the Age, who hath under his hand an hundred
thousand horse, nor can we be sure but that he will despatch some of
his troops to cut off our way? Verily, there is no good in this project
which no wise man would attempt.” Asked Ardashir, “And how then shall
we do, O Wazir of good counsel? For unless I win her I am a dead man
without a chance.” The Minister answered, “Wait till to-morrow when we
will visit this garden and note its condition and see what betideth us
with the care-taker.” So when the morning morrowed they took a thousand
dinars in a poke and, repairing to the garden, found it compassed about
with high walls and strong, rich in trees and rill-full leas and goodly
fruiteries. And indeed its flowers breathed perfume and its birds
warbled amid the bloom as it were a garden of the gardens of Paradise.
Within the door sat a Shaykh, an old man on a stone bench and they
saluted him. When he saw them and noted the fairness of their favour,
he rose to his feet after returning their salute, and said, “O my
lords, perchance ye have a wish which we may have the honour of
satisfying?” Replied the Wazir, “Know, O elder, that we are strangers
and the heat hath overcome us: our lodging is afar off at the other end
of the city; so we desire of thy courtesy that thou take these two
dinars and buy us somewhat of provaunt and open us meanwhile the door
of this flower-garden and seat us in some shaded place, where there is
cold water, that we may cool ourselves there, against thy return with
the provision, when we will eat, and thou with us, and then, rested and
refreshed, we shall wend our ways.” So saying, he pulled out of his
pouch a couple of dinars and put them into the keeper’s hand. Now this
care-taker was a man aged three-score and ten, who had never in all his
life possessed so much money: so, when he saw the two dinars in his
hand, he was like to fly for joy and rising forthwith opened the garden
gate to the Prince and the Wazir, and made them enter and sit down
under a wide-spreading, fruit-laden, shade-affording tree, saying, “Sit
ye here and go no further into the garden, for it hath a privy door
communicating with the palace of the Princess Hayat al-Nufus.” They
replied, “We will not stir hence.” Whereupon he went out to buy what
they had ordered and returned after awhile, with a porter bearing on
his head a roasted lamb and bread. They ate and drank together and
talked awhile, till, presently, the Wazir, looking about him in all
corners right and left, caught sight of a lofty pavilion at the farther
end of the garden; but it was old and the plaster was peeled from its
walls and its buttresses were broken down. So he said to the Gardener,
“O Shaykh, is this garden thine own or dost thou hire it?”; and he
replied, “I am neither owner nor tenant of the garden, only its
care-taker.” Asked the Minister, “And what is thy wage?” whereto the
old man answered, “A dinar a month,” and quoth the Wazir, “Verily they
wrong thee, especially an thou have a family.” Quoth the elder, “By
Allah, O my lord, I have eight children and I”— The Wazir broke in,
“There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious,
the Great! Thou makest me bear thy grief my poor fellow! What wouldst
thou say of him who should do thee a good turn, on account of this
family of thine?” Replied the old man, “O my lord, whatsoever good thou
dost shall be garnered up for thee with God the Most High!” Thereupon
said the Wazir, “O Shaykh, thou knowest this garden of thine to be a
goodly place; but the pavilion yonder is old and ruinous. Now I mean to
repair it and stucco it anew and paint it handsomely, so that it will
be the finest thing in the garth; and when the owner comes and finds
the pavilion restored and beautified, he will not fail to question thee
concerning it. Then do thou say, ‘O my lord, at great expense I set it
in repair, for that I saw it in ruins and none could make use of it nor
could anyone sit therein.’ If he says, ‘Whence hadst thou the money for
this?’ reply, ‘I spent of my own money upon the stucco, thereby
thinking to whiten my face with thee and hoping for thy bounties.’ And
needs must he recompense thee fairly over the extent of thine expenses.
To-morrow I will bring builders and plasterers and painters to repair
this pavilion and will give thee what I promised thee.” Then he pulled
out of his poke a purse of five hundred dinars and gave it to the
Gardener, saying, “Take these gold pieces and expend them upon thy
family and let them pray for me and for this my son.” Thereupon the
Prince asked the Wazir, “What is the meaning of all this?” and he
answered, “Thou shalt presently see the issue thereof.”——And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-sixth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Wazir
gave five hundred ducats to the old Gardener, saying, “Take these gold
pieces and expend them upon thy family and let them pray for this my
son,” the old man looked at the gold and his wits fled; so he fell down
at the Wazir’s feet, kissing them and invoking blessings on him and his
son; and when they went away, he said to them, “I shall expect you
to-morrow: for by Allah Almighty, there must be no parting between us,
night or day.” Next morning the Wazir went to the Prince’s shop and
sent for the syndic of the builders; then he carried him and his men to
the garth, where the Gardener rejoiced in their sight. He gave them the
price of rations[FN#279] and what was needful to the work-men for the
restoration of the pavilion, and they repaired it and stucco’d it and
decorated it. Then said the Minister to the painters, “Harkye, my
masters, listen to my words and apprehend my wish and my aim. Know that
I have a garden like this, where I was sleeping one night among the
nights and saw in a dream a fowler set up nets and sprinkle corn
thereabout. The birds flocked to pick up the grain, and a cock-bird
fell into the net, whereupon the others took fright and flew away, and
amongst the rest his mate; but, after awhile, she returned alone and
picked at the mesh that held his feet, till she set him free and they
flew away together. Now the fowler had fallen asleep and, when he
awoke, he found the net empty; so he mended it and strewing fresh grain
sat down afar off, waiting for game to fall into that snare. Presently
the birds assembled again to pick up the grains, and amongst the rest
the two pigeons. By-and-by, the hen-bird fell into the net, when all
the other birds took fright at her and flew away, and her husband flew
with them and did not return; whereupon the fowler came up and taking
the quarry, cut her throat. Now, when her mate flew away with the
others, a bird of raven seized him and slew him and ate his flesh and
drank his blood, and I would have you pourtray me the presentment of
this my dream, even as I have related it to you, in the liveliest
colours, laying the fair scene in this rare garden, with its walls and
trees and rills, and dwell especially on the fowler and the falcon. If
ye do this I have set forth to you and the work please me, I will give
you what shall gladden your hearts, over and above your wage.” The
painters, hearing these words, applied themselves with all diligence to
do what he required of them and wrought it out in masterly style; and
when they had made an end of the work, they showed it to the Wazir who,
seeing his so-called dream set forth as it was[FN#280] was pleased and
thanked them and rewarded them munificently. Presently, the Prince came
in, according to his custom, and entered the pavilion, unweeting what
the Wazir had done. So when he saw the portraiture of the fowler and
the birds and the net and beheld the male pigeon in the clutches of the
hawk, which had slain him and was drinking his blood and eating his
flesh, his understanding was confounded and he returned to the Minister
and said, “O Wazir of good counsel, I have seen this day a marvel
which, were it graven with needle-gravers on the eye-corners would be a
warner to whoso will be warned.” Asked the Minister, “And what is that,
O my lord?”; and the Prince answered, “Did I not tell thee of the dream
the Princess had and how it was the cause of her hatred for men?”
“Yes,” replied the Wazir; and Ardashir rejoined, “By Allah, O Minister,
I have seen the whole dream pourtrayed in painting, as I had eyed it
with mine own eyes; but I found therein a circumstance which was hidden
from the Princess, so that she saw it not, and ’tis upon this that I
rely for the winning of my wish.” Quoth the Wazir, “And what is that, O
my son?”; and quoth the Prince, “I saw that, when the male bird flew
away; and, leaving his mate entangled in the net, failed to return and
save her, a falcon pounced on him and slaying him, ate his flesh and
drank his blood. Would to Heaven the Princess had seen the whole of the
dream and had beheld the cause of his failure to return and rescue
her!” Replied the Wazir, “By Allah, O auspicious King, this is indeed a
rare thing and a wonderful!” And the King’s son ceased not to marvel at
the picture and lament that the King’s daughter had not beheld the
dream to its end, saying in himself, “Would she had seen it to the last
or might see the whole over again, though but in the imbroglio of
sleep!” Then quoth the Wazir to him, “Thou saidst to me, ‘Why wilt thou
repair the pavilion?’; and I replied, ‘Thou shalt presently see the
issue thereof.’ And behold, now its issue thou seest; for it was I did
this deed and bade the painters pourtray the Princess’s dream thus and
paint the male bird in the pounces of the falcon which eateth his flesh
and drinketh his blood; so that when she cometh to the pavilion, she
will behold her dream depicted and see how the cock-pigeon was slain
and excuse him and turn from her hate for men.” When the Prince heard
the Wazir’s words, he kissed his hands and thanked him, saying,
“Verily, the like of thee is fit to be Minister to the most mighty
King, and, by Allah, an I win my wish and return to my sire, rejoicing,
I will assuredly acquaint him with this, that he may redouble in
honouring thee and advance thee in dignity and hearken to thine every
word.” So the Wazir kissed his hand and they both went to the old
Gardener and said, “Look at yonder pavilion and see how fine it is!”
And he replied, “This is all of your happy thought.” Then said they, “O
elder, when the owners of the place question thee concerning the
restoration of the pavilion, say thou, ’Twas I did it of my own
monies; to the intent that there may betide thee fair favour and good
fortune.” He said, “I hear and I obey”; and the Prince continued to pay
him frequent visits. Such was the case with the Prince and the Wazir;
but as regards Hayat al-Nufus, when she ceased to receive the Prince’s
letters and messages and when the old woman was absent from her, she
rejoiced with joy exceeding and concluded that the young man had
returned to his own country. One day, there came to her a covered tray
from her father; so she uncovered it and finding therein fine fruits,
asked her waiting-women, “Is the season of these fruits come?” Answered
they, “Yes.” Thereupon she cried, “Would we might make ready to take
our pleasure in the flower-garden!”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Twenty-seventh Night,