"There was once, of old time, a king and he had a son [named
Bihzad], there was not in his day a goodlier than he and he loved
to consort with the folk and to sit with the merchants and
converse with them. One day, as he sat in an assembly, amongst a
number of folk, he heard them talking of his own goodliness and
grace and saying, 'There is not in his time a goodlier than he.'
But one of the company said, 'Indeed, the daughter of King
Such-an-one is handsomer than he.' When Bihzad heard this saying,
his reason fled and his heart fluttered and he called the last
speaker and said to him, 'Repeat to me that which thou saidst and
tell me the truth concerning her whom thou avouchest to be
handsomer than I and whose daughter she is.' Quoth the man, 'She
is the daughter of King Such-an-one;' whereupon Bihzad's heart
clave to her and his colour changed.
The news reached his father, who said to him, 'O my son, this
damsel to whom thy heart cleaveth is at thy commandment and we
have power over her; so wait till I demand her [in marriage] for
thee.' But the prince said, 'I will not wait.' So his father
hastened in the matter and sent to demand her of her father, who
required of him a hundred thousand dinars to his daughter's
dowry. Quoth Bihzad's father, 'So be it,' and paid down what was
in his treasuries, and there remained to his charge but a little
of the dower. So he said to his son, 'Have patience, O my son,
till we gather together the rest of the money and send to fetch
her to thee, for that she is become thine.' Therewith the prince
waxed exceeding wroth and said, 'I will not have patience;' so he
took his sword and his spear and mounting his horse, went forth
and fell to stopping the way, [so haply that he might win what
lacked of the dowry].
It chanced one day that he fell in upon a company of folk and
they overcame him by dint of numbers and taking him prisoner,
pinioned him and carried him to the lord of that country. The
latter saw his fashion and grace and misdoubting of him, said,
'This is no robber's favour. Tell me truly, O youth, who thou
art.' Bihzad thought shame to acquaint him with his condition and
chose rather death for himself; so he answered, 'I am nought but
a thief and a bandit.' Quoth the king, 'It behoveth us not to act
hastily in the matter of this youth, but that we look into his
affair, for that haste still engendereth repentance.' So he
imprisoned him in his palace and assigned him one who should
serve him.
Meanwhile, the news spread abroad that Bihzad, son of the king,
was lost, whereupon his father sent letters in quest of him [to
all the kings and amongst others to him with whom he was
imprisoned]. When the letter reached the latter, he praised God
the Most High for that he had not anydele hastened in Bihzad's
affair and letting bring him before himself, said to him, 'Art
thou minded to destroy thyself?' Quoth Bihzad, '[I did this] for
fear of reproach;' and the king said, 'An thou fear reproach,
thou shouldst not practise haste [in that thou dost]; knowest
thou not that the fruit of haste is repentance? If we had hasted,
we also, like unto thee, we had repented.'
Then he conferred on him a dress of honour and engaged to him for
the completion of the dowry and sent to his father, giving him
the glad news and comforting his heart with [the tidings of] his
son's safety; after which he said to Bihzad, Arise, O my son, and
go to thy father.' 'O king,' rejoined the prince, 'complete thy
kindness to me by [hastening] my going-in to my wife; for, if I
go back to my father, till he send a messenger and he return,
promising me, the time will be long.' The king laughed and
marvelled at him and said to him, 'I fear for thee from this
haste, lest thou come to shame and attain not thy desire.' Then
he gave him wealth galore and wrote him letters, commending him
to the father of the princess, and despatched him to them. When
he drew near their country, the king came forth to meet him with
the people of his realm and assigned him a handsome lodging and
bade hasten the going-in of his daughter to him, in compliance
with the other king's letter. Moreover, he advised the prince's
father [of his son's coming] and they busied themselves with the
affair of the damsel.
When it was the day of the going-in,[FN#110] Bihzad, of his haste
and lack of patience, betook himself to the wall, which was
between himself and the princess's lodging and in which there was
a hole pierced, and looked, so he might see his bride, of his
haste. But the bride's mother saw him and this was grievous to
her; so she took from one of the servants two red-hot iron spits
and thrust them into the hole through which the prince was
looking. The spits ran into his eyes and put them out and he fell
down aswoon and joyance was changed and became mourning and sore
concern. See, then, O king," continued the youth, "the issue of
the prince's haste and lack of deliberation, for indeed his haste
bequeathed him long repentance and his joy was changed to
mourning; and on like wise was it with the woman who hastened to
put out his eyes and deliberated not. All this was the doing of
haste; wherefore it behoveth the king not to be hasty in putting
me to death, for that I am under the grasp of his hand, and what
time soever thou desirest my slaughter, it shall not escape
[thee]."
When the king heard this, his anger subsided and he said, "Carry
him back to prison till to-morrow, to we may look into his
affair."