And when it was the fourth night[FN#18]

Dunyazad said to her sister, "O sister, an thou be not asleep,

finish us thy story." So Shehrzad began, "I have heard tell, O

august King, that, when he heard what the fisherman said, the

Afrit shook and became a smoke over the sea, which drew together

and entered the vessel little by little, till it was all inside.

Whereupon the fisherman made haste to take the leaden stopper and

clapping it on the mouth of the vessel, called out to the Afrit,

saying, 'Choose what death thou wilt die! By Allah, I will throw

thee back into the sea and build myself a house hard by, and all

who come hither I will warn against fishing here, and say to

them, "There is an Afrit in these waters, that gives those who

pull him out their choice of deaths and how he shall kill them."'

When the Afrit heard this and found himself shut up in the

vessel, he knew that the fisherman had outwitted him and strove

to get out, but could not, for Solomon's seal prevented him; so

he said to the fisherman, 'I did but jest with thee.' 'Thou

liest, O vilest and meanest and foulest of Afrits!' answered he,

and rolled the vessel to the brink of the sea; which when the

Afrit felt, he cried out, 'No! No!' And the fisherman said, 'Yes!

Yes!' Then the Afrit made his voice small and humbled himself and

said, 'What wilt thou do with me, O fisherman?' 'I mean to throw

thee back into the sea,' replied he; 'since thou hast lain there

already eighteen hundred years, thou shalt lie there now till the

hour of judgment. Did I not say to thee, "Spare me, so God may

spare thee; and do not kill me, lest God kill thee?" but thou

spurnedst my prayers and wouldst deal with me no otherwise than

perfidiously. So I used cunning with thee and now God has

delivered thee into my hand.' Said the Afrit, 'Let me out, that I

may confer benefits on thee.' The fisherman answered, 'Thou

liest, O accursed one! Thou and I are like King Younan's Vizier

and the physician Douban.' 'Who are they,' asked the Afrit, 'and

what is their story?' Then said the fisherman, 'Know, O Afrit,

that

Story of the Physician Douban.

There was once in a city of Persia a powerful and wealthy king,

named Younan, who had guards and troops and auxiliaries of every

kind: but he was afflicted with a leprosy, which defied the

efforts of his physicians and wise men. He took potions and

powders and used ointments, but all to no avail, and not one of

the doctors could cure him. At last, there came to the King's

capital city a great physician, stricken in years, whose name was

Douban: and he had studied many books, Greek, ancient and modern,

and Persian and Turkish and Arabic and Syriac and Hebrew, and was

skilled in medicine and astrology, both theoretical and

practical. Moreover he was familiar with all plants and herbs and

grasses, whether harmful or beneficial, and was versed in the

learning of the philosophers; in brief, he had made himself

master of all sciences, medical and other. He had not been long

in the town before he heard of the leprosy with which God had

afflicted the King, and of the failure of the physicians and men

of science to cure him; whereupon he passed the night in study;

and when the day broke and the morning appeared and shone, he

donned his richest apparel and went in to the King and kissing

the ground before him, wished him enduring honour and fair

fortune, in the choicest words at his command. Then he told him

who he was and said to him, "O King, I have learnt what has

befallen thee in thy person and how a multitude of physicians

have failed to find a means of ridding thee of it: but I will

cure thee, O King, and that without giving thee to drink of

medicine or anointing thee with ointment." When the King heard

this, he wondered and said to him, "How wilt thou do this? By

Allah, if thou cure me, I will enrich thee, even to thy

children's children, and I will heap favours on thee, and

whatever thou desirest shalt be shine, and thou shalt be my

companion and my friend." Then he gave him a dress of honour and

made much of him, saying, "Wilt thou indeed cure me without drugs

or ointment?" "Yes," answered Douban, "I will cure thee from

without." Whereat the King marvelled exceedingly and said, "O

physician, when wilt thou do as thou hast said? Make haste, O my

son!" Quoth Douban, "I hear and obey: it shall be done tomorrow."

And he went down into the city and hired a house, in which he

deposited his books and medicines. Then he took certain drugs and

simples and fashioned them into a mall, which he hollowed out and

made thereto a handle and a ball, adapted to it by his art. Next

morning he presented himself before the King and kissing the

ground before him, ordered him to repair to the tilting ground

and play at mall there. So the King mounted and repaired thither

with his amirs and chamberlains and viziers, and hardly had he

reached the appointed place when the physician Douban came up and

presented him with the mall and ball he had prepared, saying,

"Take this mall and grip the handle thus and drive into the plain

and stretch thyself well and strike this ball till thy hand and

thy body sweat, when the drugs will penetrate thy hand and

permeate thy body. When thou hast done and the medicine has

entered into thee, return to thy palace and enter the bath and

wash. Then sleep awhile and thou wilt awake cured, and peace be

on thee!" The King took the mall and mounting a swift horse,

threw the ball before him and drove after it with all his might

and smote it: and his hand gripped the mall firmly. And he ceased

not to drive after the bail and strike it, till his hand and all

his body sweated, and Douban knew that the drugs had taken effect

upon him and ordered him to return and enter the bath at once. So

the King returned immediately and ordered the bath to be emptied

for him. They turned the people out of the bath, and his servants

and attendants hastened thither and made him ready change of

linen and all that was necessary: and he went in and washed

himself well and put on his clothes. Then he came out of the bath

and went up to his palace and slept there. When he awoke, he

looked at his body and found it clean as virgin silver, having no

trace left of the leprosy: whereat he rejoiced exceedingly and his

breast expanded with gladness. Next morning, he repaired to the

Divan and sat down on his chair of estate, and the chamberlains

and grandees attended on him. Presently, the physician Douban

presented himself and kissed the earth before the king and

repeated the following verses:

The virtues all exalted are, when thou art styled their sire:

None else the title dares accept, of all that men admire.

Lord of the radiant brow, whose light dispels the mists of doubt

From every goal of high emprize whereunto folk aspire,

Ne'er may thy visage cease to shine with glory and with joy,

Although the face of Fate should gloom with unremitting ire!

Even as the clouds pour down their dews upon the thirsting hills,

Thy grace pours favour on my head, outrunning my desire.

With liberal hand thou casteth forth thy bounties far and nigh,

And so hast won those heights of fame thou soughtest to

acquire.

The King rose to him in haste and embraced him and made him sit

down and clad him in a splendid dress of honour. Then tables of

rich food were brought in, and Douban ate with the King and

ceased not to bear him company all that day. When it was night,

the King gave him two thousand diners, besides other presents,

and mounted him on his own horse; and the physician returned to

his lodging, leaving the King astonished at his skill and saying,

"This man cured me from without, without using ointments. By

Allah, this is none other than consummate skill! And it behoves

me to honour and reward him and make him my companion and bosom

friend to the end of time." The King passed the night in great

content, rejoicing in the soundness of his body and his

deliverance from his malady. On the morrow, he went out and sat

down on his throne; and the grandees stood before him, whilst the

amirs and viziers sat on his right hand and on his left. Then he

sent for the physician, who came and kissed the ground before

him, whereupon the King rose to him and made him sit by his side

and eat with him, and ceased not to converse with him and make

much of him till night; when he commanded five dresses of honour

and a thousand diners to be given to him, and he returned to his

house, well contented with the King. Next morning, the King

repaired as usual to his council-chamber, and the amirs and

viziers and chamberlains took their places round him. Now he had

among his viziers one who was forbidding of aspect, sordid,

avaricious and envious: a man of ill omen, naturally inclined to

malevolence: and when he saw the esteem in which the King held

Douban and the favours he bestowed on him, he envied him and

plotted evil against him; for, as says the byword, "Nobody is

free from envy"--and again--"Tyranny is latent in the soul:

weakness hides it and strength reveals it." So he came to the

King and kissed the earth before him and said to him "O King of

the age, thou in whose bounties I have grown up, I have a grave

warning to give thee, which did I conceal from thee, I were a son

of shame: wherefore, if thou command me to impart it to thee, I

will do so." Quoth the King (and indeed the Vizier's words

troubled him), "What is thy warning?" "O illustrious King,"

answered the Vizier, "the ancients have a saying, 'Whoso looks

not to the issue of events, fortune is no friend of his :' and

indeed I see the King in other than the right way, in that he

favours his enemy, who seeks the downfall of his kingdom, and

makes much of him and honours him exceedingly and is beyond

measure familiar with him: and of a truth I am fearful for the

King." Quoth King Younan (and indeed he was troubled and his

colour changed), "Of whom dost thou speak?" The Vizier answered,

"If thou sleepest, awake. I mean the physician Douban." "Out on

thee!" said the King. "He is my true friend and the dearest of

all men to me; seeing that he medicined me by means of a thing I

held in my hand and cured me of my leprosy, which the doctors

were unable to cure; and there is not his like to be found in

this time, no, not in the whole world, East nor West; and it is

of him that thou speakest thus! But from to-day I will assign him

stipends and allowances and appoint him a thousand diners a

month: and if I should share my kingdom with him, it were but a

little thing. Methinks thou sayest this out of pure envy and

wouldst have me kill him and after repent, as King Sindbad

repented the killing of his falcon." "Pardon me, O King of the

age," said the Vizier, "but how was that! Quoth the King, "It is

said that

King Sindbad and His Falcon.

There was once a King of Persia, who delighted in hunting; and he

had reared a falcon, that left him not day or night, but slept

all night long, perched upon his hand. Whenever he went out to

hunt, he took the falcon with him; and he let make for it a cup

of gold to hang round its neck, that he might give it to drink

therein. One day, his chief falconer came in to him and said, 'O

King, now is the time to go a-hunting.' So the King gave orders

accordingly and took the falcon on his wrist and set out,

accompanied by his officers and attendants. They rode on till

they reached a valley, where they formed the circle of the chase,

and behold, a gazelle entered the ring; whereupon quoth the King,

'Whoso lets the gazelle spring over his head, I will kill him.'

Then they drew the ring closelier round her, and behold, she came

to the King's station and standing still, put her forelegs to her

breast, as if to kill the earth before him. He bowed to her, but

she sprang over his head and was off into the desert. The King

saw his attendants nodding and winking to one another about him

and said to his Vizier, 'O Vizier, what say my men?' 'They say,'

answered the Vizier, that thou didst threaten to kill him over

whose head the gazelle should spring.' 'As my head liveth,'

rejoined the King, 'I will follow her up, till I bring her back!'

So he pricked on after her and followed her till he came to a

mountain and she made for her lair; but the King cast off the

falcon, which swooped down on her and pecked at her eyes, till he

blinded her and dazed her; whereupon the King threw his mace at

her and brought her down. Then he alighted and cut her throat and

skinned her and made her fast to his saddle-bow. Now it was the

hour of midday rest and the place, where he was, was desert, and

the King was athirst and so was his horse. So he searched till he

saw a tree, with water dripping slowly, like oil, from its

branches. Now the King's hands were gloved with leather;[FN#19]

so he took the cup from the falcon's neck and filled it with the

liquid and set it before himself, when behold, the falcon smote

the cup and overturned it. The King took it and refilled it with

the falling drops and set it before the bird, thinking that it

was athirst: but it smote it again and overturned it. At this,

the King was vexed with the falcon and rose and filled the cup a

third time and set it before the horse: but the falcon again

overturned it with its wing. Then said the King, 'God confound

thee, thou most mischievous of fowls, thou wilt neither drink

thyself nor let me nor the horse drink!' And he smote it with his

sword and cut off its wings: whereupon it erected its head and

made signs as who should say, 'Look what is at the top of the

tree.' The King raised his eyes and saw at the top of the tree a

brood of snakes, and this was their venom dripping, which he had

taken for water. So he repented him of having cut off the

falcon's wings and mounting, rode on till he reached his tents

and gave the gazelle to the cook to roast. Then he sat down on

his chair, with the falcon on his wrist: and presently the bird

gasped and died: whereupon the King cried out in sorrow and

lament for having slain the bird that had saved him from death,

and repented him when repentance availed him not. This, then, is

the story of King Sindbad; and as for thee, O Vizier, envy hath

entered into thee, and thou wouldst have me kill the physician

and after repent, even as King Sindbad repented." "O mighty

King," answered the Vizier, "what harm has this physician done me

that I should wish his death? Indeed I only do this thing in

compassion for thee and that thou mayst know the truth of the

matter: else may I perish as perished the Vizier who plotted to

destroy the king his master's son." "How was that? asked the

King, and the Vizier replied, "Know, O King, that

The King's Son and the Ogress.

There was once a King's son who was passionately fond of the

chase; and his father had charged one of his Viziers to attend

him wherever he went. One day, the prince went out to hunt,

accompanied by the Vizier, and as they were going along, they saw

a great wild beast, whereupon the Vizier said to the prince, 'Up

and after yonder beast!' So the prince rode after the beast and

followed it, till he was lost to sight. After awhile, the beast

disappeared in the desert, and the prince found himself alone,

not knowing which way to turn. Presently he came upon a damsel,

weeping, and said to her, 'Who art thou?' Quoth she, 'I am the

daughter of one of the Kings of India, and I was journeying

through this country, with a company of people, when sleep

overcame me and I fell from my horse, not knowing what I did. My

people did not note my fall and went on and left me; and now I am

alone and bewildered.' When the prince heard this, he had pity on

her case and took her up behind himself and they rode on, till

they came to some ruins; when she said to him, 'O my lord, I wish

to do an occasion here.' So he put her down, and she entered the

ruins and tarried there till he became impatient and went in

search of her; when he was ware that she was an ogress, and heard

her say to her children, 'O my children, I have brought you to

day a fat youth.' 'O mother,' answered they, 'bring him to us,

that we may browse on him our bellyful.' When the prince heard

this their talk, he trembled in every nerve and made sure of

destruction and turned back. The ogress came out after him and

finding him terrified and trembling, said to him, 'Why dost thou

fear?' Quoth he, 'I have an enemy, of whom I am in fear.' 'Didst

thou not say that thou wast a King's son?' asked she, and he

answered 'Yes.' 'Then,'said she, 'why dost thou not give thine

enemy money and so appease him?' He replied, 'Indeed he will not

be satisfied with money nor with aught but life; and I fear him

and am an oppressed man.' 'If thou be oppressed as thou sayst,'

rejoined she, 'ask help of God; surely He will protect thee from

thine enemy and from the mischief thou fearest from him.' So the

prince raised his eyes to heaven and said, 'O Thou that answerest

the prayer of the distressed, when they call on Thee, and

dispellest evil from them, O my God, succour me against mine

enemy and turn him back from me, for Thou indeed canst do

whatsoever Thou wilt.' When the ogress heard his prayer, she

departed from him and he resumed to the King his father and

informed him of the Vizier's conduct: whereupon the King sent for

the latter and put him to death. And thou, O King" (continued the

envious Vizier), "if thou put thy trust in this physician, he

will kill thee in the foulest fashion. He, verily, whom thou hast

favoured and admitted to thy friendship, plots thy destruction:

for know that he is a spy come from a far land with intent to

destroy thee. Seest thou not that he cured thee of thy distemper

from without, by means of a thing held in thy hand, and how canst

thou be sure that he will not kill thee by some like means?"

"Thou speakest sooth, O Vizier of good counsel!" said the King.

"It must indeed be as thou sayst; this physician doubtless comes

as a spy, seeking to destroy me; and indeed, if he could cure me

by means of a handle held in my hand, he can kill me by means of

something I shall smell. But what is to be done with him?" "Send

after him at once," answered the Vizier, "and when he comes,

strike off his head and play him false, ere he play thee false;

and so shalt thou ward off his mischief and be at peace from

him." "Thou art right, O Vizier," rejoined the King and sent for

the physician, who came, rejoicing, for he knew not what the

Compassionate had decreed unto him. As the saying runs:

Thou that fearest ill fortune, be of good heart and hope! Trust

thine affairs to Him who fashioned the earth and sea!

What is decreed of God surely shall come to pass; That which is

not decreed never shall trouble thee.

When Douban entered, he recited the following verses:

If all the thanks I speak come short of that which is your due,

Say for whom else my verse and prose I make except for you?

You have indeed prevented me with many an unasked boon, Blest me,

unhindered of excuse, with favours not a few.

How then should I omit to give your praise its full desert And

celebrate with heart and voice your goodness ever new?

I will indeed proclaim aloud the boons I owe to you, Favours,

that, heavy to the hack, are light the thought unto.

And also the following:

Avert thy face from trouble and from care And trust in God to

order thine affair.

Rejoice in happy fortune near at hand, In which thou shalt forget

the woes that were.

Full many a weary and a troublous thing Is, in its issue,

solaceful and fair.

God orders all according to His will: Oppose Him not in what He

doth prepare.

And these also:

Trust thine affairs to the Subtle, to God that knoweth all, And

rest at peace from the world, for nothing shall thee appal.

Know that the things of the world not, as thou wilt, befall, But

as the Great God orders, to whom all kings are thrall!

And lastly these:

Take heart and rejoice and forget thine every woe, For even the

wit of the wise is eaten away by care.

What shall thought-taking profit a helpless, powerless slave?

Leave it and be at peace in joy enduring fore'er!

When he had finished, the King said to him, "Dost thou know why I

have sent for thee?" And the physician answered, "None knoweth

the hidden things save God the Most High." Quoth the King, "I

have sent for thee to kill thee and put an end to thy life."

Douban wondered greatly at these words and said, "O King,

wherefore wilt thou kill me and what offence have I committed?"

"I am told," replied Younan, "that thou art a spy and comest to

kill me, but I will kill thee first." Then he cried out to his

swordbearer, saying, "Strike off the head of this traitor and rid

us of his mischief!" "Spare me," said Douban; "so may God spare

thee; and kill me not, lest God kill thee!" And he repeated these

words to him, even as I did to thee, O Afrit, and thou wouldst

not spare me, but persistedst in thine intent to put me to death.

Then the King said to Douban, "Verily I shall not be secure

except I kill thee: for thou curedst me by means of a handle I

held in my hand, and I have no assurance but thou wilt kill me by

means of perfumes or otherwise." "O King," said Douban, "is this

my reward from thee? Thou returnest evil for good?" The King

replied, "It boots not: thou must die and that without delay."

When the physician saw that the King was irrevocably resolved to

kill him, he wept and lamented the good he had done to the

undeserving, blaming himself for having sown in an ungrateful

soil and repeating the following verses:

Maimouneh has no wit to guide her by, Although her sire among the

wise ranks high.

The man, who has no sense to rule his steps, Slips, he the ground

he treads on wet or dry.

Then the swordbearer came forward and bandaged his eyes and

baring his sword, said to the King, "Have I thy leave to strike?"

Whereupon the physician wept and said, "Spare me, so God may

spare thee: and kill me not, lest God kill thee!" And he recited

the following verses:

I acted in good faith and they betrayed: I came to nought: They

prospered, whilst my loyalty brought me to evil case.

If that I live, I will to none good counsel give again: And if I

die, good counsellors be curst of every race!

And he said to the King, "Is this my reward from thee? Thou

givest me the crocodile's recompense." Quoth the King, "What is

the story of the crocodile?" "I cannot tell it," answered Douban,

"and I in this case; but, God on thee, spare me, so may He spare

thee!" And he wept sore. Then one of the King's chief officers

rose and said, "O King, grant me this man's life, for we see not

that he has committed any offence against thee nor that he has

done aught but cure thee of thy disorder, which baffled the

doctors and sages." "Ye know not why I put him to death,"

answered the King: "it is because I believe him to be a spy, who

hath been suborned to kill me and came hither with that intent:

and verily he who cured me by means of a handle held in my hand

can easily poison me in like manner. If I spare him, he will

infallibly destroy me: so needs must I kill him, and then I shall

feel myself safe." When the physician was convinced that there

was no hope for him, but that the King would indeed put him to

death, he said to the latter, "O King, if thou must indeed kill

me, grant me a respite, that I may go to my house and discharge

my last duties and dispose of my medical books and give my people

and friends directions for my burial. Among my books is one that

is a rarity of rarities, and I will make thee a present of it,

that thou mayst lay it up in thy treasury." "And what is in this

book?" asked the King. Quoth Douban, "It contains things without

number: the least of its secret virtues is that if, when thou

hast cut off my head, thou open the book, turn over six leaves

and read three lines of the left-hand page, my head will speak

and answer whatever questions thou shalt ask it." At this the

King marvelled greatly and shook with delight and said, "O

physician, will thy head indeed speak to me, after it is cut

off?" And he answered, "Yes, O King." Quoth the King, "This is

indeed wonderful!" And sent him under guard to his house, where

Douban spent the remainder of the day in setting his affairs in

order. Next day, the amirs and viziers and chamberlains and all

the great officers and notables of the kingdom came to the court,

and the presence chamber was like a flower garden. Presently the

physician entered, bearing an old book and a small pot full of

powder; and sitting down, called for a dish. So they brought him

a dish, and he poured the powder therein and levelled it. Then he

said, "O King, take this book, but do not open it till my head

has been cut off, placed on this dish and pressed down on the

powder, when the blood will cease to flow: then open the book and

do as I have enjoined thee." The King took the book and gave the

signal to the headsman, who rose and struck off the physician's

head and set it on the dish, pressing it down upon the powder,

when the blood immediately ceased to flow, and the head unclosed

its eyes and said, "Open the book, O King!" Younan opened the

book and found the leaves stuck together; so he put his finger to

his mouth and took of his spittle and loosened them therewith and

turned over the pages in this manner, one after another, for the

leaves would not come apart but with difficulty, till he came to

the seventh page, but found nothing written thereon and said to

the head, "O physician, there is nothing here." Quoth the head,

"Open more leaves." So the King turned over more leaves in the

same manner. Now the book was as poisoned, and before long the

poison began to work upon the King, and he fell back in

convulsions and cried out, "I am poisoned!" Whereupon the head

repeated the following verses:

Lo, these once were kings who governed with a harsh and haughty

sway! In a little, their dominion was as if it ne'er had

been.

Had they swayed the sceptre justly, they had been repaid the

like, But they were unjust, and Fortune guerdoned them with

dole and teen.

Now they're passed away, the moral of their case bespeaks them

thus, "This is what your sins have earnt you: Fate is not to

blame, I ween."

No sooner had it done speaking, than the King fell down dead and

the head also ceased to live. And know, O Afrit (continued the

fisherman), that if King Younan had spared the physician Douban,

God would have spared him; but he refused and sought his death;

so God killed him. And thou, O Afrit, if thou hadst spared me, I

would spare thee; but nothing would serve thee but thou must put

me to death; so now I will kill thee by shutting thee up in this

vessel and throwing thee into the sea.' At this the Marid roared

out and said, 'God on thee, O fisherman, do not do that! Spare me

and bear me not malice for what I did, for men's wit is still

better than that of Jinn. If I did evil, do thou good, in

accordance with the adage, "O thou that dost good to him that

does evil, the deed of the evil-doer suffices him." Do not thou

deal with me as did Umameh with Aatikeh.' 'And what did Umameh

with Aatikeh?' asked the fisherman. But the Afrit answered, 'This

is no time to tell stories, and I in this duresse: let me out,

and I will tell thee.' Quoth the fisherman, 'Leave this talk: I

must and will throw thee into the sea, and thou shalt never win

out again; for I besought thee and humbled myself to thee, but

nothing would serve thee but thou must kill me, who had committed

no offence against thee deserving this nor done thee any ill, but

only kindness, in that I delivered thee from duresse. When thou

didst thus by me, I knew thee for an incorrigible evil-doer; and

know that, when I have thrown thee back into the sea, I will tell

every one what happened between me and thee and warn him, to the

end that whoever fishes thee up may throw thee in again; and thou

shalt remain in the sea till the end of time and suffer all

manner of torments.' Quoth the Afrit, 'Let me out, for this is

the season of generosity; and I will make a compact with thee

never to do thee hurt and to help thee to what shall enrich

thee.' The fisherman accepted his proposal and unsealed the

vessel, after he had taken the Afrit's pledge and made him swear

by the Most High Name never to hurt him, but on the contrary to

do him service. Then the smoke ascended as before and gathered

itself together and became an Afrit, who gave the vessel a kick

and sent it into the sea. When the fisherman saw this, he let fly

in his clothes and gave himself up for lost, saying, 'This bodes

no good.' But he took courage and said to the Afrit, 'O Afrit,

quoth God the Most High, "Be ye faithful to your covenants, for

they shall be enquired of:" and verily thou madest a pact with me

and sworest to me that thou wouldst do me no hurt. So play me not

false, lest God do the like with thee: for indeed He is a jealous

God, who delayeth to punish, yet letteth not the evil-doer

escape. And I say to thee, as said the physician Douban to King

Younan, "Spare me, so God may spare thee!"' The Afrit laughed and

started off inland, saying to the fisherman, 'Follow me.' So he

followed him, trembling and not believing that he should escape,

and the Afrit led him to the backward of the town: then crossing

a hill, descended into a spacious plain, in the midst of which

was a lake of water surrounded by four little hills. He led the

fisherman into the midst of the lake, where he stood still and

bade him throw his net and fish. The fisherman looked into the

water and was astonished to see therein fish of four colours,

white and red and blue and yellow. Then he took out his net and

cast and drawing it in, found in it four fish, one of each

colour. At this he rejoiced, and the Afrit said to him, 'Carry

them to the Sultan and present them to him, and he will give thee

what shall enrich thee. And accept my excuse, for I know not any

other way to fulfil my pro mise to thee, having lain in yonder

sea eighteen hundred years and never seen the surface of the

earth till this time. But do not fish here more than once a day;

and I commend thee to God's care!' So saying, he struck the earth

with his foot, and it opened and swallowed him up, whilst the

fisherman returned, wondering at all that had befallen him, to

his house, where he took a bowl of water and laid therein the

fish, which began to frisk about. Then he set the bowl on his

head and going up to the palace, as the Afrit had bidden him,

presented the fish to the King, who wondered at them greatly, for

that he had never seen their like, in shape or kind, and said to

his Vizier, 'Give these fish to the cookmaid that the King of the

Greeks sent us, and tell her to fry them.' Now this was a damsel

that he had received as a present from the King of the Greeks

three days before and of whom he had not yet made trial in

cookery. So the Vizier carried the fish to the cookmaid and said

to her, 'These fish have been brought as a present to the Sultan

and he says to thee, "O my tear, I have reserved thee against my

stress!" So do thou show us to-day thy skill and the excellence

of thy cookery.' Then he returned to the Sultan, who bade him

give the fisherman four hundred diners. So he gave them to him

and he took the money in his lap and set off home, running and

stumbling and falling and rising again and thinking that he was

dreaming. And he bought what was needful for his family and

returned to his wife, glad and happy. Meanwhile the cookmaid took

the fish and cleaned them and set the frying-pan on the fire.

Then she poured in oil of sesame and waited till it was hot, when

she put in the fish. As soon as one side was done, she fumed

them, when lo, the wall of the kitchen opened and out came a

handsome and well-shaped young lady, with smooth cheeks and

liquid black eyes.[FN#20] She was clad in a tunic of satin,

yarded with spangles of Egyptian gold, and on her head she had a

silken kerchief, fringed with blue. She wore rings in her ears

and bracelets on her wrists and rings on her fingers, with

beazels of precious stones, and held in her hand a rod of Indian

cane. She came up to the brazier and thrust the rod into the

frying-pan saying 'O fish, are you constant to your covenant?'

And when the cookmaid heard this she swooned away. Then the

damsel repeated her question a second and a third time; and the

fish lifted up their heads and cried out with one voice, 'Yes,

yes:

Return, and we return: keep faith, and so will we: Or, if thou

wilt, forsake, and we'll do like to thee!'

With this the damsel overturned the frying-pan and went out by

the way she had come, and the wall closed up again as before.

Presently the cookmaid came to herself and seeing the four fish

burnt black as coal, said, 'My arms are broken in my first

skirmish!' And fell down again in a swoon. Whilst she was in this

state, in came the Vizier, to seek the fish, and found her

insensible, not knowing Saturday from Thursday. So he stirred her

with his foot and she came to herself and wept and told him what

had passed. He marvelled and said, 'This is indeed a strange

thing !' Then he sent for the fisherman and said to him, 'O

fisherman, bring us four more fish of the same kind.' So the

fisherman repaired to the lake and cast his net and hauling it

in, found in it four fish like the first and carried them to the

Vizier, who took them to the cookmaid and said to her, 'Come, fry

them before me, that I may see what happens.' So she cleaned the

fish and setting the frying-pan on the fire, threw them into it:

and they had not lain long before the wall opened and the damsel

appeared, after the same fashion, and thrust the rod into the

pan, saying, 'O fish, O fish, are you constant to the old

covenant?' And behold the fish all lifted up their heads and

cried out as before, 'Yes, yes:

Return, and we return: keep faith, and so will we: Or, if thou

wilt, forsake, and we'll do like to thee!'

Then she overturned the pan and went out as she had come and the

wall closed up again. When the Vizier saw this, he said, 'This is

a thing that must not be kept from the King. So he went to him

and told him what he had witnessed; and the King said, 'I must

see this with my own eyes.' Then he sent for the fisherman and

commanded him to bring him other four fish like the first; and

the fisherman went down at once to the lake and casting his net,

caught other four fish and returned with them to the King, who

ordered him other four hundred diners and set a guard upon him

till he should see what happened. Then he turned to the Vizier

and said to him, 'Come thou and fry the fish before me.' Quoth

the Vizier, 'I hear and obey.' So he fetched the frying-pan and

setting it on the fire, cleaned the fish and threw them in: but

hardly had he turned them, when the wall opened, and out came a

black slave, as he were a mountain or one of the survivors of the

tribe of Aad,[FN#21] with a branch of a green tree in his hand:

and he said, in a terrible voice, 'O fish, O fish, are you

constant to the old covenant?' Whereupon they lifted up their

heads and cried out' 'Yes, yes; we are constant:

Return, and we return: keep faith, and so will we: Or, if thou

wilt, forsake, and we'll do like to thee!'

Then the slave went up to the pan and overturning it with the

branch, went out as he had come, and the wall closed up as

before. The King looked at the fish and found them black as coal;

whereat he was bewildered and said to the Vizier, 'This is a

thing about which it is impossible to keep silence; and indeed

there must be some strange circumstance connected with these

fish.' Then he sent for the fisherman and said to him, 'Hark ye,

sirrah, whence hadst thou those fish?' 'From a lake between four

hills,' answered he, 'on the thither side of the mountain behind

the city.' 'How many days' journey hence?' asked the King; and

the fisherman said, 'O my lord Sultan, half an hour's journey.'

At this the King was astonished and ordering the troops to mount,

set out at once, followed by his suite and preceded by the

fisherman, who began to curse the Afrit. They rode on over the

mountain and descended into a wide plain, that they had never

before set eyes on, whereat they were all amazed. Then they fared

on till they came to the lake lying between the four hills and

saw the fish therein of four colours, red and white and yellow

and blue. The King stood and wondered and said to his attendants,

'Has any one of you ever seen this lake before?' But they

answered, 'Never did we set eyes on it in all our lives, O King

of the age.' Then he questioned those stricken in years, and they

made him the same answer. Quoth he, 'By Allah, I will not return

to my capital nor sit down on my chair of estate till I know the

secret of this pond and its fish!' Then he ordered his people to

encamp at the foot of the hills and called his Vizier, who was a

man of learning and experience, sagacious and skilful in

business, and said to him, 'I mean to go forth alone to-night and

enquire into the matter of the lake and these fish: wherefore do

thou sit down at the door of my pavilion and tell the amirs and

viziers and chamberlains and officers and all who ask after me

that the Sultan is ailing and hath ordered thee to admit no one,

and do thou acquaint none with my purpose.' The Vizier dared not

oppose his design; so the King disguised himself and girt on his

sword and going forth privily, took a path that led over one of

the hills and fared on all that night and the next day, till the

heat overcame him and he paused to rest. Then he set out again

and fared on the rest of that day and all the next night, till on

the morning of the second day, he caught sight of some black

thing in the distance, whereat he rejoiced and said, 'Belike I

shall find some one who can tell me the secret of the lake and

the fish.' So he walked on, till he came to the black object,

when he found it a palace built of black stone, plated with iron;

and one leaf of its gate was open and the other shut. At this the

King rejoiced and went up to the gate and knocked lightly, but

heard no answer. So he knocked a second time and a third time,

with the same result. Then he knocked loudly, but still no one

answered; and he said to himself, 'It must be deserted.' So he

took courage and entering the vestibule, cried out, 'Ho, people

of the palace! I am a stranger and a wayfarer and hungry. Have ye

any victual?' He repeated these words a second and a third time,

but none answered. So he took heart and went on boldly into the

interior of the palace, which he found hung and furnished with

silken stuffs, embroidered with stars of gold, and curtains let

down before the doors. In the midst was a spacious courtyard,

with four estrades, one on each side, and a bench of stone.

Midmost the courtyard was a great basin of water, from which

sprang a fountain, and at the corners stood four lions of red

gold, spouting forth water as it were pearls and jewels; and the

place was full of birds, which were hindered from flying away by

a network of gold stretched overhead. The King looked right and

left, but there was no one to be seen; whereat he marvelled and

was vexed to find none of whom he might enquire concerning the

lake and the fish and the palace itself. So he returned to the

vestibule and sitting down between the doors, fell to musing upon

what he had seen, when lo, he heard a moaning that came from a

sorrowful heart, and a voice chanted the following verses:

I hid what I endured from thee: it came to light, And sleep was

changed to wake thenceforward to my sight.

O Fate, thou sparest not nor dost desist from me; Lo, for my

heart is racked with dolour and affright!

Have pity, lady mine, upon the great laid low, Upon the rich made

poor by love and its despite!

Once, jealous of the breeze that blew on thee, I was, Alas! on

whom Fate falls, his eyes are veiled with night.

What boots the archer's skill, if, when the foe draws near, His

bow-string snap and leave him helpless in the fight?

So when afflictions press upon the noble mind, Where shall a man

from Fate and Destiny take flight?

When the King heard this, he rose and followed the sound and

found that it came from behind a curtain let down before the

doorway of a sitting-chamber. So he raised the curtain and saw a

young man seated upon a couch raised a cubit from the ground. He

was a handsome well-shaped youth, with flower-white forehead and

rosy cheeks and a black mole, like a grain of ambergris, on the

table of his cheek, as says the poet:

The slender one! From his brow and the night of his jetty hair,

The world in alternate gloom and splendour of day doth fare.

Blame not the mole on his cheek. Is an anemone's cup Perfect,

except in its midst an eyelet of black it wear?

He was clad in a robe of silk, laced with Egyptian gold, and had

on his head a crown set with jewels, but his face bore traces of

affliction. The King rejoiced when he saw him and saluted him;

and the youth returned his salute in the most courteous wise,

though without rising, and said to him, 'O my lord, excuse me if

I do not rise to thee, as is thy due; indeed, I am unable to do

so.' 'I hold thee excused, O youth!' answered the King. 'I am thy

guest and come to thee on a pressing errand, beseeching thee to

expound to me the mystery of the lake and the fish and of this

palace, and why thou sittest here alone and weeping.' When the

young man heard this, the tears ran down his cheeks and he wept

sore, till his breast was drenched, and repeated the following

verses:

Say unto those that grieve, at whom doth Fate her arrows cast,

"How many an one hath she raised up but to lay low at last!

Lo, if ye sleep, the eye of God is never closed in sleep. For

whom indeed is life serene, for whom is Fortune fast?"

Then he gave a heavy sigh and repeated the following:

Trust thine affair to the Ruler of all that be

And put thought-taking and trouble away from thee:

Say not of aught that is past, "How came it so?"

All things depend upon the Divine decree.

The King marvelled and said to him, 'What makes thee weep, O

youth?' 'How should I not weep,' answered he 'being in such a

plight?' Then he put out his hand and lifted the skirt of his

robe, and behold, he was stone from the waist downward. When the

King saw this his condition, he grieved sore and lamented and

cried out, 'Alas! alas!' and said, 'Verily, O youth, thou addest

trouble to my trouble. I came to enquire concerning the fish; and

now I am concerned to know thy history also. But there is no

power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme!

Hasten therefore, O youth, and expound to me thy story.' Quoth

the youth, 'Give me thine ears and understanding:' and the King

replied, 'I am all attention.' Then said the youth, 'There hangs

a strange story by these fish and by myself, a story which, were

it graven with needles on the corners of the eye,[FN#22] would

serve as a warning to those who can profit by example. 'How so ?'

asked the King and the youth replied, 'Know, O my lord, that

Story of the Enchanted Youth.

My father was King of the city that stood in this place, and his

name was Mohammed, Lord of the Black Islands, which are no other

than the four hills of which thou wottest. He reigned seventy

years, at the end of which time God took him to Himself, and I

succeeded to his throne and took to wife the daughter of my

father's brother, who loved me with an exceeding love, so that,

whenever I was absent from her, she would neither eat nor drink

till she saw me again. With her I lived for five years, till one

day she went out to go to the bath, and I bade the cook hasten

supper for us against her return. Then I entered the palace and

lay down on the bed where we were wont to lie and ordered two

slave-girls to sit, one at my head and the other at my feet, and

fan me. Now I was disturbed at my wife's absence and could not

sleep, but remained awake, although my eyes were closed.

Presently I heard the damsel at my head say to the other one, "O

Mesoudeh, how unhappy is our lord and how wretched is his youth,

and oh, the pity of him with our accursed harlot of a mistress!"

"Yes, indeed," replied Mesoudeh; "may God curse all unfaithful

women and adulteresses! Indeed, it befits not that the like of

our lord should waste his youth with this harlot, who lies abroad

every night." Quoth the other, "Is our lord then a fool, that,

when he wakes in the night and finds her not by his side, he

makes no enquiry after her?" "Out on thee," rejoined Mesoudeh;

"has our lord any knowledge of this or does she leave him any

choice? Does she not drug him every night in the cup of drink she

gives him before he sleeps, in which she puts henbane? So he

sleeps like a dead man and knows nothing of what happens. Then

she dresses and scents herself and goes forth and is absent till

daybreak, when she returns and burns a perfume under his nose and

he awakes." When I heard the girls' talk, the light in my eyes

became darkness, and I thought the night would never come.

Presently, my wife returned from the bath, and they served up

supper and we ate and sat awhile drinking and talking as usual.

Then she called for my sleeping-draught and gave me the cup: and

I feigned to drink it, but made shift to pour it into my bosom

and lay down at once and began to snore as if I slept. Then said

she, "Sleep out thy night and never rise again! By Allah, I hate

thee and I hate thy person; I am sick of thy company and I know

not when God will take away thy life!" Then she rose and donned

her richest clothes and perfumed herself and girt on my sword and

opened the palace gate and went out. I rose and followed her, and

she passed through the streets of the city, till she came to the

gate, when she muttered words I understood not: and straight-way

the locks fell off and the gate opened. She went forth and fared

on among the rubbish heaps, I still following her without her

knowledge, till she came to a reed fence, within which was a hut

of brick. She entered the hut and I climbed up on the roof and

looking down, saw my wife standing by a scurvy black slave, with

blubber lips, one of which overlapped the other, like a coverlet,

and swept up the sand from the gravel floor, lying upon a bed of

sugar-cane refuse and wrapped in an old cloak and a few rags. She

kissed the earth before him, and he raised his head to her and

said, "Out on thee! why hast thou tarried till now? There have

been some of my kinsmen the blacks here, drinking; and they have

gone away, each with his wench; but I refused to drink on account

of thine absence." "O my lord and my love and solace of my eyes,"

answered she, "dost thou not know that I am married to my cousin,

and that I hate to look upon him and abhor myself in his company.

Did I not fear for thy sake, I would not let the sun rise again

till his city was a heap of ruins wherein the owl and the raven

should hoot and wolves and foxes harbour; and I would transport

its stones behind the mountain Caf."[FN#23] "Thou liest, O

accursed one!" said the black, "and I swear by the valour of the

blacks (else may our manhood be as that of the whites!) that if

thou tarry again till this hour, I will no longer keep thee

company nor join my body to thine! O accursed one, wilt thou play

fast and loose with us at thy pleasure, O stinkard, O bitch, O

vilest of whites?" When I heard and saw what passed between them,

the world grew dark in my eyes and I knew not where I was; whilst

my wife stood weeping and humbling herself to him and saying, "O

my love and fruit of my heart, if thou be angry with me, who is

left me, and if thou reject me, who shall shelter me, O my

beloved and light of mine eyes?" And she ceased not to weep and

implore him till he forgave her. Then she was glad and rose and

putting off her clothes, said to the slave, "O my lord, hast thou

aught here for thy handmaid to eat?" "Take the cover off yonder

basin," answered he; "thou wilt find under it cooked rats' bones,

and there is a little millet beer left in this pot. Eat and

drink." So she ate and drank and washed her hands and mouth; then

lay down, naked, upon the rushes, beside the slave, and covered

herself with the rags. When I saw this, I became as one

distraught and coming down from the roof, went in by the door.

Then I took the sword she had brought and drew it, thinking to

kill them both. I struck first at the slave's neck and thought I

had made an end of him; but the blow only severed the flesh and

the gullet, without dividing the jugulars. He gave a loud

gurgling groan and roused my wife, whereupon I drew back, after I

had restored the sword to its place, and resuming to the palace,

lay down on my bed till morning, when my wife came and awoke me,

and I saw that she had cut off her hair and put on mourning

garments. "O my cousin," said she, "do not blame me for this I

have done; for I have news that my mother is dead, that my father

has fallen in battle and that both my brothers are dead also, one

of a snake-bite and the other of a fall from a precipice, so that

I have good reason to weep and lament." When I heard this, I did

not reproach her, but said to her, "Do what thou wilt: I will not

baulk thee." She ceased not to mourn and lament for a whole year,

at the end of which time she said to me, "I wish to build me in

thy palace a tomb with a cupola and set it apart for mourning and

call it House of Lamentations." Quoth I, "Do what seemeth good to

thee." So she built herself a house of mourning, roofed with a

dome, and a monument in the midst like the tomb of a saint.

Thither she transported the slave and lodged him in the tomb. He

was exceeding weak and from the day I wounded him he had remained

unable to do her any service or to speak or do aught but drink;

but he was still alive, because his hour was not yet come. She

used to visit him morning and evening in the mausoleum and carry

him wine and broths to drink and weep and make moan over him; and

thus she did for another year, whilst I ceased not to have

patience with her and pay no heed to her doings, till one day I

came upon her unawares and found her weeping and saying, "Why art

thou absent from my sight, O delight of my heart? Speak to me, O

my life! speak to me, O my love!" And she recited the following

verses:

My patience fails me for desire: if thou forgettest me, My heart

and all my soul can love none other after thee.

Carry me with thee, body and soul, wherever thou dost fare, And

where thou lightest down to rest, there let me buried be.

Speak but my name above my tomb; the groaning of my bones,

Turning towards thy voice's sound, shall answer drearily.

And she wept and recited the following:

My day of bliss is that whereon thou drawest near to me; And that

whereon thou turn'st away, my day of death and fear.

What though I tremble all the night and be in dread of death, Yet

thine embraces are to me than safety far more dear.

And again the following:

Though unto me were given all that can make life sweet, Though

the Chosroes empire, yea, and the world were mine,

All were to me in value less than a midge's wing, If that mine

eyes must never look on that face of thine!

When she had finished, I said to her, "O my cousin, let thy

mourning suffice thee: for weeping profiteth nothing." She

replied, "Thwart me not, or I will kill myself." So I held my

peace and let her go her way: and she ceased not to mourn and

weep for the space of another year. At the end of the third year,

I came into the mausoleum one day, vexed at something that had

crossed me and weary of this excessive affliction, and found her

by the tomb under the dome, saying, "O my lord, I never hear thee

speak to me, no, not one word. Why dost thou not answer me, O my

lord?" And she recited the following verses:

O tomb, O tomb, have his beauties ceased, or does thy light

indeed, The sheen of the radiant countenance, no more in

thee abound?

O tomb, O tomb, thou art neither earth nor heaven unto me: How

comes it then that sun and moon at once in thee are found?

When I heard this, it added wrath to my wrath, and I said, "Alas!

how much more of this mourning?" and I repeated the following

[parody of her] verses:

O tomb, O tomb, has his blackness ceased, or does thy light

indeed, The sheen of the filthy countenance, no more in thee

abound?

O tomb, thou art neither kitchen-stove nor sewer-pool for me! How

comes it then that mire and coal at once in thee are found?

When she heard this, she sprang to her feet and said, "Out on

thee, thou dog! it was thou that didst thus with me and woundedst

the beloved of my heart and hast afflicted me and wasted his

youth, so that these three years he hath lain, neither dead nor

alive!" "O foulest of harlots and filthiest of whorish doxies of

hired slaves," answered I, "it was indeed I who did this!" And I

drew my sword and made at her to kill her; but she laughed and

said, "Avaunt, thou dog! Thinkst thou that what is past can recur

or the dead come back to life? Verily, God has given into my hand

him who did this to me and against whom there was in my heart

fire that might not be quenched and insatiable rage." Then she

stood up and pronouncing some words I did not understand, said to

me, "Let one half of thee by my enchantments become stone and the

other half remain man." And immediately I became as thou seest me

and have remained ever since neither sitting nor standing and

neither dead nor alive. Then she enchanted the city with all its

streets and gardens and turned it into the lake thou wottest of,

and the inhabitants, who were of four religions, Muslims,

Christians, Magians and Jews, she changed to fish of various

colours, the Muslims white, the Christians blue, the Magians red

and the Jews yellow; and the four islands she turned into four

mountains encompassing the lake. Moreover, the condition to which

she has reduced me does not suffice her: but every day she strips

me and gives me a hundred lashes with a whip, so that the blood

runs down me and my shoulders are torn. Then she clothes my upper

half in a shirt of hair-cloth and over that she throws these rich

robes.' And he wept and repeated the following verses:

Lord, I submit myself to Thee and eke to Fate, Content, if so

Thou please, to suffer and to wait.

My enemies oppress and torture me full sore: But Paradise at

last, belike, shall compensate.

Though Fate press hard on me, I trust in the Elect,[FN#24] The

Accepted One of God, to be my advocate.

With this the King turned to him and said, 'O youth, after having

rid me of one trouble, thou addest another to me: but tell me,

where is thy wife and where is the wounded slave?' 'The slave

lies in the tomb under the dome,' answered the youth, 'and she is

in the chamber over against the gate. Every day at sunrise, she

comes out and repairs first to me and strips off my clothes and

gives me a hundred strokes with the whip; and I weep and cry out,

but cannot stir to keep her off. When she has done torturing me,

she goes down to the slave with the wine and broth on which she

feeds him; and to-morrow at sunrise she will come.' 'O youth,'

rejoined the King, 'by Allah, I will assuredly do thee a service

by which I shall be remembered and which men shall chronicle to

the end of time!' Then he sat down by the youth and talked with

him till nightfall, when they went to sleep. At peep of day, the

King rose and put off his clothes and drawing his sword, repaired

to the mausoleum, where, after noting the paintings of the place

and the candles and Lamps and perfumes burning there, he sought

for the slave till he came upon him and slew him with one blow of

the sword; after which he took the body on his back and threw it

into a well that was in the palace. Then he returned to the dome

and wrapping himself in the black's clothes, lay down in his

place, with his drawn sword by his side. After awhile, the

accursed enchantress came out and, going first to her husband,

stripped him and beat him with the whip, whilst he cried out,

'Alas! the state I am in suffices me. Have mercy on me, O my

cousin!' But she replied, 'Didst thou show me any mercy or spare

my beloved?' And beat him till she was tired and the blood ran

from his sides. Then she put the hair shirt on him and the royal

robes over it, and went down to the dome with a goblet of wine

and a bowl of broth in her hands. When she came to the tomb, she

fell a-weeping and wailing and said, 'O my lord, speak to me!'

And repeated the following verse:

How long ere this rigour pass sway and thou relent? Is it not yet

enough of the tears that I have spent?'

And she wept and said again, 'O my lord, speak to me!' The King

lowered his voice and knotting his tongue, spoke after the

fashion of the blacks and said, 'Alack! alack! there is no power

and no virtue but in God the Most High the Supreme!' When she

heard this, she screamed out for joy and swooned away; and when

she revived, she said, 'O my lord, can it be true and didst thou

indeed speak to me?' The King made his voice small and said, 'O

accursed woman, thou deservest not that I should speak to thee!'

'Why so?' asked she; and he replied, 'Because all day thou

tormentest thy husband and his cries disturb me, and all night

long he calls upon God for help and invokes curses on thee and me

and keeps me awake from nightfall to daybreak and disquiets me;

and but for this, I had been well long ago. This is what has

hindered me from answering thee.' Quoth she, 'With thy leave, I

will release him from his present condition.' 'Do so,' said the

King, 'and rid us of his noise.' 'I hear and obey,' answered she,

and going out into the palace, took a cup full of water and spoke

over it certain words, whereupon the water began to boil and

bubble as the cauldron bubbles over the fire. Then she went up to

the young King and sprinkled him with it, saying, 'By the virtue

of the words I have spoken, if thou art thus by my spells, quit

this shape for thy former one.' And immediately he shook and rose

to his feet, rejoicing in his deliverance, and said, 'I testify

that there is no god but God and that Mohammed is His apostle,

may God bless and preserve him!' Then she said to him, 'Depart

hence and do not return, or I will kill thee.' And she screamed

out in his face. So he went out from before her, and she returned

to the dome and going down into the tomb, said, 'O my lord, come

forth to me, that I may see thy goodly form!' The King replied in

a weak voice, 'What hast thou done? Thou hast rid me of the

branch, but not of the root.' 'O my beloved, O my little black,'

said she, 'what is the root?' 'Out on thee, O accursed one!'

answered he. 'Every night, at the middle hour, the people of the

city, whom thou by thine enchantments didst change into fish,

lift up their heads from the water and cry to God for help and

curse thee and me; and this is what hinders my recovery: so do

thou go quickly and set them free, and after return and take me

by the hand and raise me up; for indeed health returns to me.'

When she heard this speech of the King, whom she supposed to be

the slave, she rejoiced and said, 'O my lord, on my head and eyes

be it, in the name of God!' Then she went out, full of joy, and

ran to the lake and taking a little of the water in her hand,

spoke over it words that might not be understood, whereupon there

was a great stir among the fish; and they raised their heads to

the surface and stood upright and became men as before. Thus was

the spell dissolved from the people of the city and the lake

became again a populous city, with its streets and bazaars, in

which the merchants bought and sold, and every one returned to

his employment; whilst the four hills were restored to their

original form of islands. Then the enchantress returned to the

King and said to him, 'O my lord, give me thy noble hand and

arise.' 'Come nearer to me,' answered he, in a faint voice. So

she came close to him, and he took his sword and smote her in the

breast, that the steel came forth, gleaming, from her back. He

smote her again and cut her in twain, and she fell to the ground

in two halves. Then he went out and found the young King standing

awaiting him and gave him joy of his deliverance, whereupon the

youth rejoiced and thanked him and kissed his hand. Quoth the

Sultan, 'Wilt thou abide in this thy city or come with me to

mine?' 'O King of the age,' rejoined he, 'dost thou know how far

it is from here to thy capital?' And the Sultan replied, 'Two

and a half days' journey.' 'O King,' said the other, 'if thou

sleepest, awake! Between thee and thy capital is a full year's

journey to a diligent traveller; and thou hadst not come hither

in two days and a half, save that the city was enchanted. But, O

King, I will never leave thee, no, not for the twinkling of an

eye!' The Sultan rejoiced at his words and said, 'Praised be God,

who hath bestowed thee upon me! Thou shalt be my son, for in all

my life I have never been blessed with a son.' And they embraced

each other and rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Then they

returned to the palace, and the young King bade his officers make

ready for a journey and prepare his baggage and all that he

required. The preparations occupied ten days, at the end of which

time the young King set out in company of the Sultan, whose heart

burned within him at the thought of his long absence from his

capital, attended by fifty white slaves and provided with

magnificent presents. They journeyed day and night for a whole

year, and God ordained them safety, till they drew near the

Sultan's capital and sent messengers in advance to acquaint the

Vizier with his safe arrival. Then came out the Vizier and the

troops, who had given up all hope of the Sultan's return, and

kissed the ground before him and gave him joy of his safety. So

he entered his palace and sat down on his throne and the Vizier

came in to him, to whom he related all that had befallen him with

the young King: and the Vizier gave the latter joy of his

deliverance. Then all things being set in order, the Sultan gave

largesse to many of his people and sending for the fisherman who

had brought him the enchanted fish and had thus been the first

cause of the delivery of the people of the Black Islands,

bestowed on him a dress of honour and enquired of his condition

and whether he had any children, to which he replied that he had

three children, two daughters and one son. So the King sent for

them and taking one daughter to wife, married the other to the

young King and made the son his treasurer. Moreover, he invested

his Vizier with the sovereignty of the Black Islands and

despatched him thither with the fifty officers, who had

accompanied the young King thence, giving him robes of honour for

all the amirs. So the Vizier kissed hands and set out for the

Black Islands. The fisherman became the richest man of his time,

and he and his daughters and the two Kings their husbands abode

in peace till death came to them.

THE PORTER AND THE THREE LADIES OF

BAGHDAD.

There was once a porter of Baghdad who was a bachelor. One day,

as he stood in the market, leant upon his basket, there came to

him a lady, swathed in a wrapper of gold embroidered muslin,

fringed with gold lace, and wearing embroidered boots and

floating tresses plaited with silk and gold. She stopped before

him and raising her kerchief, showed a pair of languishing black

eyes of perfect beauty, bordered with long drooping lashes. Then

she turned to the porter and said, in a clear sweet voice, 'Take

thy basket and follow me.' No sooner had she spoken than he took

up his basket in haste, saying, 'O day of good luck! O day of

God's grace!' and followed her till she stopped and knocked at

the door of a house, when there came out a Nazarene, to whom she

gave a dinar, and he gave her in return an olive-green bottle,

full of wine, which she put into the basket, saying to the

porter, 'Hoist up and follow me.' Said he, 'By Allah, this is

indeed a happy and fortunate day!' And shouldering the basket,

followed her till she came to a fruiterer's, where she bought

Syrian apples and Turkish quinces and Arabian peaches and autumn

cucumbers and Sultani oranges and citrons, beside jessamine of

Aleppo and Damascus water-lilies and myrtle and basil and

henna-blossoms and blood-red anemones and violets and sweet-briar

and narcissus and camomile and pomegranate flowers, all of which

she put into the porter's basket, saying, 'Hoist up!' So he

shouldered the basket and followed her, till she stopped at a

butcher's shop and said to him, 'Cut me off ten pounds of meat.'

He gave her the meat, wrapped in a banana leaf, and she put it in

the basket, saying, 'Hoist up, O porter!' and went on to a

grocer's, of whom she took pistachio kernels and shelled almonds

and hazel-nuts and walnuts and sugar cane and parched peas and

Mecca raisins and all else that pertains to dessert. Thence to a

pastry-cook's, where she bought a covered dish and put therein

open-work tarts and honey-fritters and tri-coloured jelly and

march-pane, flavoured with lemon and melon, and Zeyneb's combs

and ladies' fingers and Cadi's mouthfuls and widow's bread and

meat-and-drink[FN#25] and some of every kind of sweetmeat in the

shop and laid the dish in the basket of the porter, who said to

her, 'Thou shouldst have told me, that I might have brought a

mule or a camel to carry all these good things.' She smiled and

gave him a tap on the nape, saying, 'Make haste and leave

chattering and God willing, thou shalt have a good wage.' She

stopped next at the shop of a druggist, where she bought

rose-water and water-lily water and orange-flower water and

willow-flower water and six other kinds of sweet waters and a

casting bottle of rose-water mingled with musk, besides two

loaves of sugar and frankincense and aloes-wood and ambergris and

musk and saffron and candles of Alexandrian wax, all of which she

put into the basket. Then she went on to a greengrocer's, of whom

she bought pickled safflower and olives, in brine and fresh, and

tarragon and juncates and Syrian cheese and put them all into the

basket and said to the porter, 'Take up thy basket and follow

me.' So he shouldered his load and followed her till she came to

a tall handsome house, with a spacious court before it and a

two-leaved door of ebony, inlaid with plates of glittering gold.

The lady went up to the door and throwing back her kerchief,

knocked softly, whilst the porter stood behind her, musing upon

her beauty and grace. After awhile the door opened and both the

leaves swung back; whereupon he looked to see who opened it, and

behold, it was a damsel of dazzling beauty and symmetry,

high-bosomed, with flower-white forehead and rosy cheeks, eyes

like those of gazelles or wild oxen and eyebrows like the

crescent of the new moon of Ramazan[FN#26], cheeks like blood-red

anemones, mouth like Solomon's seal, lips red as coral and teeth

like clustered pearls or camomile-petals, neck like an antelope's

and bosom like a fountain, breasts like double pomegranates,

belly like brocade and navel holding an ounce of benzoin

ointment, even as says of her the poet:

Look at her, with her slender shape and radiant beauty! this Is

she who is at once the sun and moon of palaces!

Thine eyes shall ne'er see grace combine so featly black and

white As in her visage and the locks that o'er her forehead

kiss.

She in whose cheeks the red flag waves, her beauty testifies Unto

her name, if that to paint her sweet seductions miss.

With swimming gait she walks: I laugh for wonder at her hips, But

weep to see her waist, that all too slight to bear them is.

When the porter saw her, his mind and heart were taken by storm,

so that he well-nigh let fall the basket and exclaimed, 'Never in

all my life saw I a more blessed day than this!' Then said the

portress to the cateress, 'O my Sister, why tarriest thou? Come

in from the gate and ease this poor man of his burden.' So the

cateress entered, followed by the portress and the porter, and

went on before them to a spacious saloon, elegantly built and

handsomely decorated with all manner of colours and carvings and

geometrical figures, with balconies and galleries and cupboards

and benches and closets with curtains drawn before them. In the

midst was a great basin of water, from which rose a fountain, and

at the upper end stood a couch of juniper wood, inlaid with

precious stones and surmounted by a canopy of red satin, looped

up with pearls as big as hazel-nuts or bigger. Thereon sat a lady

of radiant countenance and gentle and demure aspect, moonlike in

face, with eyes of Babylonian witchcraft and arched eyebrows,

sugared lips like cornelian and a shape like the letter I. The

radiance of her countenance would have shamed the rising sun, and

she resembled one of the chief stars of heaven or a pavilion of

gold or a high-born Arabian bride on the night of her unveiling,

even as says of her the poet:

Her teeth, when she smiles, like pearls in a cluster show, Or

shredded camomile-petals or flakes of snow:

Her ringlets seem, as it were, the fallen night, And her beauty

shames the dawn and its ruddy glow.

Then she rose and coming with a stately gait to meet her sisters

in the middle of the saloon, said to them, 'Why stand ye still?

Relieve this poor porter of his burden.' So the cateress came and

stood before and the portress behind him and with the help of the

third damsel, lifted the basket from his head and emptying it,

laid everything in its place. Then they gave him two dinars,

saying, 'Go, O porter!' But he stood, looking at the ladies and

admiring, their beauty and pleasant manners, never had he seen

goodlier, and wondering greatly at the profusion of wine and meat

and fruits and flowers and so forth that they had provided and to

see no man with them, and made no movement to go. So the eldest

lady said to him, 'What ails thee that thou dost not go away?

Belike, thou grudgest at thy pay?' And she turned to the cateress

and said to her, 'Give him another dinar.' 'No, by Allah, O

lady!' answered the porter. 'I do not indeed grudge at my pay,

for my right hire is scarce two dirhems; but of a truth my heart

and soul are taken up with you and how it is that ye are alone

and have no man with you and no one to divert you, although ye

know that women's sport is little worth without men, nor is an

entertainment complete without four at the table, and ye have no

fourth. What says the poet?

Dost thou not see that for pleasure four several things combine,

Instruments four, harp, hautboy and gittern and psaltery?

And unto these, four perfumes answer and correspond, Violets,

roses and myrtle and blood-red anemone.

Nor is our pleasure perfect, unless four things have we, Money

and wine and gardens and mistress fair and free.

And ye are three and need a fourth, who should be a man, witty,

sensible and discreet, one who can keep counsel.' When they heard

what he said, it amused them and they laughed at him and replied,

'What have we to do with that, we who are girls and fear to

entrust our secrets to those who will not keep them? For we have

read, in such and such a history, what says Ibn eth Thumam:

Tell not thy secrets: keep them with all thy might. A secret

revealed is a secret lost outright.

If thine own bosom cannot thy secrets hold, Why expect more

reserve from another wight?

Or, as well says Abou Nuwas on the same subject:

The fool, that to men doth his secrets avow, Deserves to be

marked with a brand on the brow.'

'By your lives,' rejoined the porter, 'I am a man of sense and

discretion, well read in books and chronicles. I make known what

is fair and conceal what is foul, and as says the poet:

None keeps a secret but the man who's trusty and discreet. A

secret's ever safely placed with honest folk and leal;

And secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house Whose keys

are lost and on whose door is set the Cadi's seal.

When the girls heard this, the eldest one said to him, 'Thou

knowest that we have laid out much money in preparing this

entertainment: hast thou aught to offer us in return? For we will

not let thee sit with us and be our boon companion and gaze on

our bright fair faces, except thou pay down thy share of the

cost. Dost thou not know the saying:

Love without money

Is not worth a penny?'

'If thou have aught, my friend,' added the portress, 'then art

thou something: but if thou have nothing, be off without

anything.' Here the cateress interposed, saying, 'O sisters, let

him be: for by Allah, he has not failed us to-day: another had

not been so patient with us. I will pay his share for him.'

Whereupon the porter, overjoyed, kissed the earth and thanked

her, saying, 'By Allah, it was thou didst handsel me this day!

Here are the two dinars I had of you: take them and admit me to

your company, not as a guest, but as a servant.' 'Sit down,'

answered they; 'thou art welcome.' But the eldest lady said,

'By Allah, we will not admit thee to our society but on one

condition; and it is that thou enquire not of what does not

concern thee; and if thou meddle, thou shalt be beaten.' Said the

porter, 'I agree to this, O my lady, on my head and eyes!

Henceforth I am dumb.' Then arose the cateress and girding her

middle, laid the table by the fountain and set out the cups and

flagons, with flowers and sweet herbs and all the requisites for

drinking. Moreover, she strained the wine and set it on; and they

sat down, she and her sisters, with the porter, who fancied

himself in a dream. The cateress took the flagon of wine and

filled a cup and drank it off. Then she filled again and gave it

to one of her sisters, who drank and filled another cup and gave

it to her other sister: then she filled a fourth time and gave it

to the porter, saying:

Drink and fare well and health attend thee still. This drink

indeed's a cure for every ill.

He took the cup in his hand and bowed and returned thanks,

reciting the following verses:

Quaff not the cup except with one who is of trusty stuff, One who

is true of thought and deed and eke of good descent.

Wine's like the wind, that, if it breathe on perfume, smells as

sweet, But, if o'er carrion it pass, imbibes its evil scent.

And again:

Drink not of wine except at the hands of a maiden fair, Who, like

unto thee and it, is joyous and debonair.

Then he kissed their hands and drank and was merry with wine and

swayed from side to side and recited the following verses:

Hither, by Allah, I conjure thee! Goblets that full of the grape

juice be!

And brim up, I prithee, a cup for me, For this is the water of

life, perdie!

Then the cateress filled the cup and gave it to the portress, who

took it from her hand and thanked her and drank. Then she filled

again and gave it to the eldest, who filled another cup and

handed it to the porter. He gave thanks and drank and recited the

following verses:

It is forbidden us to drink of any blood Except it be of that

which gushes from the vine.

So pour it out to me, an offering to thine eyes, To ransom from

thy hands my soul and all that's mine.

Then he turned to the eldest lady, who was the mistress of the

house, and said to her, 'O my lady, I am thy slave and thy

servant and thy bondman!' And repeated the following verses:

There is a slave of all thy caves now standing at thy gate Who

ceases not thy bounties all to sing and celebrate.

May he come in, O lady fair, to gaze upon thy charms? Desire and

I from thee indeed may never separate.

And she said to him, 'Drink, and health and prosperity attend

thee!' So he took the cup and kissed her hand and sang the

following verses:

I brought my love old wine and pure, the likeness of her cheeks,

Whose glowing brightness called to mind a brazier's heart of

red.

She touched the wine-cup with her lips, and laughing roguishly,

"How canst thou proffer me to drink of my own cheeks?" she

said.

"Drink!" answered I, "it is my tears; its hue is of my blood; And

it was heated at a fire that by my sighs was fed."

And she answered him with the following verse:

If, O my friend, thou hast indeed wept tears of blood for me, I

prithee, give them me to drink, upon thine eyes and head!

Then she took the cup and drank it off to her sisters' health;

and they continued to drink and make merry, dancing and laughing

and singing and reciting verses and ballads. The porter fell to

toying and kissing and biting and handling and groping and

dallying and taking liberties with them: whilst one put a morsel

into his mouth and another thumped him, and this one gave him a

cuff and that pelted him with flowers; and he led the most

delightful life with them, as if he sat in paradise among the

houris. They ceased not to drink and carouse thus, till the wine

sported in their heads and got the better of their senses, when

the portress, arose, and putting off her clothes, let down her

hair over her naked body, for a veil. Then she threw herself into

the basin and sported in the water and swam about and dived like

a duck and took water in her mouth and spurted it at the porter

and washed her limbs and the inside of her thighs. Then she came

up out of the water and throwing herself into the porter's lap,

pointed to her commodity and said to him, 'O my lord O my friend,

what is the name of this?' 'Thy kaze,' answered he; but she said,

'Fie! art thou not ashamed!' And cuffed him on the nape of the

neck. Quoth he, 'Thy catso.' And she dealt him a second cuff,

saying, 'Fie! what an ugly word! Art thou not ashamed?' 'Thy

commodity,' said he; and she, 'Fie! is there no shame in thee?'

And thumped him and beat him. Then said he, 'Thy coney.'

Whereupon the eldest fell on him and beat him, saying, 'Thou

shalt not say that.' And whatever he said, they beat him more and

more, till his neck ached again; and they made a laughing-stock

of him amongst them, till he said at last, 'Well, what is its

name amongst you women?' 'The sweet basil of the dykes,' answered

they. 'Praised be God for safety!' cried he. 'Good, O sweet basil

of the dikes!' Then they passed round the cup and presently the

cateress rose and throwing herself into the porter's lap, pointed

to her kaze and said to him, 'O light of mine eyes, what is the

name of this?' 'Thy commodity,' answered he. 'Art thou not

ashamed?' said she, and dealt him a buffet that made the place

ring again, repeating, 'Fie! Fie! art thou not ashamed?' Quoth

he, 'The sweet basil of the dykes.' 'No! No!' answered she, and

beat him and cuffed him on the nape. Then said he, 'Thy kaze, thy

tout, thy catso, thy coney.' But they replied, 'No! No!' And he

said again, 'The sweet basil of the dykes.' Whereupon they

laughed till they fell backward and cuffed him on the neck,

saying, 'No; that is not its name.' At last he said, 'O my

sisters, what is its name?' And they answered, 'What sayest thou

to the peeled barleycorn?' Then the cateress put on her clothes

and they sat down again to carouse, whilst the porter lamented

over his neck and shoulders. The cup passed round among them

awhile, and presently the eldest and handsomest of the ladies

rose and put off her clothes; whereupon the porter took his neck

in his hand and said, 'My neck and shoulders are in the way of

God!' Then she threw herself into the basin and plunged and

sported and washed; whilst the porter looked at her, naked, as

she were a piece of the moon or the full moon when she waxes or

the dawn at its brightest, and noted her shape and breasts and

her heavy quivering buttocks, for she was naked as God created

her. And he said, 'Alack!' Alack!' and repeated the following

verses:

If to the newly-budded branch thy figure I compare, I lay upon my

heart a load of wrong too great to bear;

For that the branch most lovely is, when clad upon with green,

But thou, when free of every veil, art then by far most

fair.

When she heard this, she came up out of the water and sitting

down on his knees, pointed to her kaze and said, 'O my little

lord, what is the name of this?' 'The sweet basil of the dykes,'

answered he; but she said, 'No! No!' Quoth he, 'The peeled

barleycorn.' And she said, 'Pshaw!' Then said he, 'Thy kaze.'

Fie! Fie!' cried she. 'Art thou not ashamed?' And cuffed him on

the nape of the neck. And whatever name he said, they beat him,

saying, 'No! No!' till at last he said, 'O my sisters, what is

its name?' 'The khan[FN#27] of Abou Mensour,' answered they. And

he said, 'Praised be God for safety! Bravo! Bravo! O khan of Abou

Mensour!' Then the damsel rose and put on her clothes and they

returned to their carousing and the cup passed round awhile.

Presently, the porter rose and putting off his clothes, plunged

into the pool and swam about and washed under his chin and

armpits, even as they had done. Then he came out and threw

himself into the eldest lady's lap and putting his arms into the

portress's lap and his feet into that of the cateress pointed to

his codpiece and said, 'O my mistresses, what is the name of

this?' They laughed till they fell backward and one of them

answered, 'Thy yard.' 'Art thou not ashamed?' said he. 'A

forfeit!' and took of each a kiss. Quoth another, 'Thy pintle.'

But he replied, 'No,' and gave each of them a bite in play. Then

said they, 'Thy pizzle.' 'No,' answered he, and gave each of them

a hug; and they kept saying, 'Thy yard, thy pintle, thy pizzle,

thy codpiece!' whilst he kissed and hugged and fondled them to

his heart's content, and they laughed till they were well nigh

dead. At last they said, 'O our brother, and what is its name?'

'Don't you know?' asked he; and they said, 'No.' Quoth he, 'This

is the mule Break-all, that browses on the basil of the dykes and

gobbles up the peeled barleycorn and lies by night in the khan of

Abou Mensour.' And they laughed till they fell backward. Then

they fell again to drinking and continued after this fashion till

the night came upon them, when they said to the porter, 'In the

name of God, put on thy sandals and be off and let us see the

breadth of thy shoulders!' Quoth he, 'By Allah, the leaving life

were easier to me than the leaving you! Let us join the night to

the day, and to-morrow we will each go our own way.' 'My life on

you!' said the cateress, 'let him pass the night with us, that we

may laugh at him, for he is a pleasant rogue; and we may never

again chance upon the like of him.' So the mistress of the house

said to the porter, 'Thou shalt pass the night with us on

condition that thou submit to our authority and that, whatever

thou seest, thou ask no questions about it nor enquire the reason

of it.' 'It is well,' answered he; and they said, 'Go and read

what is written over the door.' So he went to the door and found

the following words written thereon in letters of gold, 'He who

speaks of what concerns him not, shall hear what will not please

him.' And he said, 'Be ye witness against me that I will not

speak of what concerns me not.' Then rose the cateress and

prepared food, and they ate: after which they lighted the lamps

and candles and strewed on the latter ambergris and aloes-wood;

then changed the service and set on fresh fruits and flowers and

wine and so forth and sat down again to drink. They ceased not to

eat and drink and make merry, hobnobbing and laughing and talking

and frolicking, till there came a knocking at the door: whereupon

one of them rose and went to the door, without disturbing the

party, and presently returned, saying, 'Verily, our pleasure is

to be complete to-night.' 'How so?' asked the others, and she

replied, 'There are three foreign Calenders[FN#28] at the door,

with shaven heads and chins and eyebrows and every one blind of

the right eye, which is a most extraordinary coincidence.

Apparently they are fresh from a journey and indeed the traces of

travel are evident on them; and the reason of their knocking at

the door is this. They are strangers to Baghdad and this is their

first coming to our city: the night surprised them and they could

not find a lodging in the city and know no one with whom to take

shelter: so they said to each other, "Perhaps the owner of this

house will give us the key of a stable or outhouse and let us

sleep there." And, O my sisters, each of them is a laughing-stock

after his own fashion; and if we let them in, they will make us

sport this night, and on the morrow each shall go his own way.'

And she ceased not to persuade them, till they said, 'Let them

come in, on condition that they ask no questions of what does not

concern them, on pain of hearing what will not please them.' So

she rejoiced and going to the door, returned with the three

Calenders, who saluted and bowed low and held back; but the

ladies rose to them and welcomed them and gave them joy of their

safety and made them sit down. The Calenders looked about them

and seeing a pleasant place and a table elegantly spread with

flowers and fruits and green herbs and dessert and wine, with

candles burning and perfumes smoking, and the three maidens, with

their faces unveiled, said with one voice ''Fore Allah, it is

good!' Then they turned to the porter and saw that he was tipsy

and jaded with drinking and dalliance. So they took him for one

of themselves and said, 'He is a Calender like ourselves, either

an Arab or a foreigner.' When the porter heard this, he rose and

fixing his eyes on them, said, 'Sit still and do not meddle. Have

you not read what is written on the door? It befits not folk,

like yourselves, who come to us as mendicants, to loose your

tongues on us.' 'We ask pardon of God, O fakir!' answered they.

'Our heads are before thee.' The ladies laughed and making peace

between them, set food before the Calenders. When they had eaten,

they all sat down again to carouse, the portress serving the new

comers, and the cup passed round awhile, till the porter said to

the Calenders, 'O brothers, have ye no story or rare trait to

divert us withal?' The Calenders, being warm with wine, called

for musical instruments; so the portress brought them a

tambourine and a lute and a Persian harp; and each Calender took

one and tuned it and played and sang; and the girls joined in

lustily and made a great noise. Whilst they were thus engaged,

some one knocked at the gate and the portress rose and went to

see who it was. Now the cause of this knocking was that, that

very night, the Khalif Haroun er Reshid had gone down into the

City, as was his wont, every now and then, to walk about for his

diversion and hear what news was stirring, attended by his Vizier

Jaafer and Mesrour his headsman, all three, as usual, disguised

as merchants. Their way brought them to the house of the three

ladies, where they heard the noise of musical instruments and of

singing and merriment, and the Khalif said to Jaafer, 'I have a

mind to enter this house and listen to this music and see the

singers.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' answered Jaafer, 'these

people are certainly drunk, and I fear lest some mischief betide

us at their hands.' 'It matters not,' rejoined the Khalif; 'I

must and will go in and I desire that thou contrive some pretext

to that end.' 'I hear and obey,' replied the Vizier and going up

to the gate, knocked, whereupon the portress came down and

opened. Jaafer came forward and kissing the earth before her,

said, 'O lady, we are merchants from Tiberias: we reached Baghdad

ten days ago and sold our merchandise and took up our lodging at

the khan of the merchants. Now we were bidden to-night to an

entertainment at the house of a certain merchant, who set food

before us and we ate and caroused with him awhile, till he gave

us leave to depart and we went out, intending for our lodging;

but being strangers in Baghdad, we lost ourselves and could not

find our way back to our khan: so we hope, of your courtesy, that

you will admit us to pass the night with you, and God will

requite you.' The portress looked at them and saw that they were

dressed like merchants and appeared respectable; so she returned

to her sisters and repeated to them Jaafer's story, and they took

compassion on the supposed strangers and bade her admit them. So

she resumed and opened the gate to them, and they said, 'Have we

thy leave to enter?' 'Enter,' answered she; whereupon the Khalif

and Jaafer and Mesrour entered; and when the girls saw them, they

rose and welcomed them and made them sit down and served them,

saying, 'Ye are welcome as our guests, but on one condition.'

'What is that?' asked they; and the mistress of the house

answered, 'It is that you be eyes without tongues and that,

whatever you see, you enquire not thereof nor speak of that which

concerns you not, lest you hear what will not please you.'

'Good,' answered they: 'we are no meddlers.' Then they sat down

to carouse; whilst the Khalif looked at the three Calenders and

marvelled for that they were all blind of the right eye, and

gazed upon the ladies and was amazed at their beauty and

goodliness. They fell to drinking and talking and said to the

Khalif, 'Drink.' But he answered, 'Excuse me, for I am vowed to

the pilgrimage.'[FN#29] Whereupon the portress rose and spreading

a gold-embroidered cloth before him, set thereon a china bowl,

into which she poured willow-flower water, with a spoonful of

snow and some pounded sugar-candy. The Khalif thanked her and

said to himself, 'By Allah, I will reward her to-morrow for her

kind office!' Then they addressed themselves to carousel, till

the wine began to work upon them, when the eldest lady rose and

making an obeisance to her guests, took the cateress by the hand

and said, 'Come, sisters, let us do our duty.' And they answered,

'It is well.' So the portress rose and cleared the middle of the

saloon, after she had removed the table service and thrown away

the remains of the banquet. Then she renewed the perfumes in the

censers and made the Calenders sit down on a sofa by the dais and

the Khalif and his companions on a sofa at the other end; after

which she called to the porter, saying, 'How dull and slothful

thou art! Come and help us: thou art no stranger, but one of the

household!' So he rose and girt his middle and said, 'What would

you have me do?' And she answered, 'Stay where thou art.' Then

the cateress rose and setting a chair in the middle of the room,

went to a closet, which she opened, saying to the porter, 'Come

and help me.' So he went to her and she brought out two black

bitches, with chains round their necks, and gave them to him,

saying, 'Take them.' So he took them and carried them to the

middle of the saloon; whereupon the mistress of the house tucked

up her sleeves and taking a whip, said to the porter, 'Bring me

one of the bitches.' So he brought it to her by the chain; and

the bitch wept and shook its head at the damsel, who brought the

whip down on it, whilst the porter held it by the chain. The

bitch howled and whined, but the lady ceased not to beat it till

her arm was tired; when she threw away the whip and pressing the

bitch to her bosom, kissed it on the head and wiped away its

tears. Then she said to the porter, 'Take it back and bring the

other.' He did as she bade him, and she did with the second bitch

as she had done with the first. The Khalif's mind was troubled at

her doings and his breast contracted and he could not restrain

his impatience to know the meaning of all this. So he winked to

Jaafer to ask, but the latter turned and signed to him as who

should say, 'Be silent: this is no time for impertinent

curiosity.' Then said the portress to the mistress of the house,

'O my lady, rise and go up to thy place, that I in turn may do my

part.' 'It is well,' answered she and went up and sat down on the

couch of juniper-wood, at the upper end of the dais; whilst the

portress sat down on a chair and said to the cateress, 'Do what

thou hast to do.' So the latter rose and going to a closet,

brought out a bag of yellow satin, with cords of green silk and

tassels of gold, and came and sat down before the portress. Then

she opened the bag and took out a lute, which she tuned, and sang

the following verses, accompanying herself on the lute:

Thou art my wish, thou art my end; And in thy presence, O my

friend,

There is for me abiding joy: Thine absence sets my heart a-flame

For thee distraught, with thee possest, Thou reignest ever in my

breast,

Nor in the love I bear to thee Is there for me reproach or shame.

Life's veil for me was torn apart, When Love gat hold upon my

heart

For Love still rends the veils in twain And brings dishonour on

fair fame.

The cloak of sickness I did on; And straight my fault appeared

and shone.

Since that my heart made choice of thee And love and longing on

me came,

My eyes are ever wet with tears, And all my secret thought

appears,

When with my tears' tumultuous flow Exhales the secret of thy

name.

Heal thou my pains, for thou to me Art both disease and remedy.

Yet him, whose cure is in thy hand, Affliction shall for ever

claim,

Thy glances set my heart on fire, Slay me with swords of my

desire:

How many, truly, of the best Have fallen beneath Love's sword of

flame?

Yet may I not from passion cease Nor in forgetting seek release;

For love's my comfort, pride and law, Public and private, aye the

same.

Blest eyes that have of thee their fill And look upon thee at

their will!

Ay, of my own unforced intent, The slave of passion I became.

When the portress heard this foursome song, she cried out, 'Alas!

Alas! Alas!' and tore her clothes and fell down in a swoon; and

the Khalif saw on her body the marks of beating with rods and

whips, and wondered greatly. Then the cateress rose and sprinkled

water upon her and brought her a fresh dress and put it on her.

When the company saw this, their minds were troubled, for they

understood not the reason of these things. And the Khalif said to

Jaafer, 'Didst thou not see the marks of beating with rods upon

the girl's body! I cannot keep silence nor be at rest, except I

come at the truth of all this and know the story of this damsel

and the two bitches.' 'O my lord,' answered Jaafer, 'they made it

a condition with us that we should not speak of what concerns us

not, under pain of hearing what should not please us.' Then said

the portress 'By Allah! O my sister, come and complete thy

service to me.' 'With all my heart!' answered the cateress and

took the lute and leant it against her breasts. Then she swept

the strings with her finger-tips and sang the following verses:

If we complain of absence, what alas! shall we say? Or if longing

assail us, where shall we take our way?

If, to interpret for us, we trust to a messenger, How can a

message rightly a lover's plaint convey?

Or if we put on patience, short is a lover's life, After his

heart's beloved is torn from him away.

Nothing, alas! is left me but sorrow and despair And tears that

adown my cheeks without cessation stray.

Thou that art ever absent from my desireful sight, Thou that art

yet a dweller within my heart alway,

Hast thou kept troth, I wonder, with one who loves thee dear,

Whose faith, whilst time endureth, never shall know decay?

Or hast thou e'en forgotten her who for love of thee, In tears

and sickness and passion, hath wasted many a day?

Alas! though Love unite us again in one embrace, Reproach for thy

past rigour with me full long shall stay.

When the portress heard this second song, she gave a loud scream

and exclaimed, 'By Allah! it is good!' and putting her hand to

her clothes, tore them as before and fell down in a swoon.

Whereupon the cateress rose and brought her another dress, after

she had sprinkled water on her. Then she sat up again and said to

the cateress 'To it again and help me to do the rest of my duty;

for there remains but one more song.' So the cateress took the

lute and sang the following verses:

How long, ah me! shall this rigour last and this inhumanity? Are

not the tears that I have shed enough to soften thee?

If thou, of thy relentless will, estrangement do prolong,

Intending my despite, at last, I pray, contented be!

If treacherous fortune were but just to lovers and their woe,

They would not watch the weary night in sleepless agony.

Have ruth on me, for thy disdain is heavy on my heart; Is it not

time that thou relent at last, my king, to me?

To whom but thee that slayest me should I reveal my pain? What

grief is theirs who love and prove the loved one's perfidy!

Love and affliction hour by hour redouble in my breast: The days

of exile are prolonged; no end to them I see.

Muslims, avenge a slave of love, the host of wakefulness, Whose

patience hath been trampled out by passion's tyranny!

Can it be lawful, O my wish, that thou another bless With thine

embraces, whilst I die, in spite of Love's decree?

Yet in thy presence, by my side, what peace should I enjoy, Since

he I love doth ever strive to heap despite on me?

When the portress heard this third song, she screamed out and

putting forth her hand, tore her clothes even to the skirt and

fell down in a swoon for the third time, and there appeared once

more on her body the marks of beat ing with rods. Then said the

three Calenders, 'Would God we had never entered this house, but

had slept on the rubbish-heaps! for verily our entertainment hath

been troubled by things that rend the heart.' The Khalif turned

to them and said, 'How so?' And they answered, 'Indeed, our minds

are troubled about this matter.' Quoth he, 'Are you not then of

the household?' 'No,' replied they; 'nor did we ever see the

place till now.' Said the Khalif, 'There is the man by you: he

will surely know the meaning of all this.' And he winked at the

porter. So they questioned the latter and he replied, 'By the

Almighty, we are all in one boat! I was brought up at Baghdad,

but never in my life did I enter this house till to-day, and the

manner of my coming in company with them was curious.' 'By

Allah,' said they, 'we thought thee one of them, and now we see

thou art but as one of ourselves.' Then said the Khalif, 'We are

here seven men, and they are but three women: so let us question

them of their case, and if they do not answer willingly, they

shall do so by force.' They all agreed to this, except Jaafer,

who said, 'This is not well-advised: let them be, for we are

their guests, and as ye know, they imposed on us a condition, to

which we all agreed. Wherefore it is better that we keep silence

concerning this affair, for but a little remains of the night,

and each go about his business.' And he winked to the Khalif and

whispered to him, 'There is but a little longer to wait, and

to-morrow I will bring them before thee and thou canst then

question them of their story.' But the Khalif lifted his head

and cried out angrily, 'I have not patience to wait till then:

let the Calenders ask them.' And Jaafer said, 'This is not

well-advised.' Then they consulted together, and there was much

talk and dispute between them, who should put the question,

before they fixed upon the porter. The noise drew the notice of

the lady of the house, who said to them, 'O guests, what is the

matter and what are you talking about?' Then the porter came

forward and said to her, 'O lady, the company desire that thou

acquaint them with the history of the two bitches and why thou

didst beat them and after fellest to kissing and weeping over

them and also concerning thy sister and why she has been beaten

with rods, like a man. This is what they charge me to ask thee,

and peace be on thee.' When she heard this, she turned to the

others and said to them 'Is this true that he says of you?' And

they all replied 'Yes;' except Jaafer, who held his peace. Then

said she, 'By Allah! O guests, ye have done us a grievous wrong,

for we made it a previous condition with you that whoso spoke of

what concerned him not, should hear what should not please him.

Is it not enough that we have taken you into our house and fed

you with our victual! But the fault is not so much yours as that

of her who brought you in to us.' Then she tucked up her sleeves

and smote three times on the floor, saying, 'Come quickly!'

Whereupon the door of a closet opened and out came seven black

slaves, with drawn swords in their hands, to whom said the lady,

'Bind these babblers' hands behind them and tie them one with

another.' The slaves did as she bade, and said, 'O noble lady, is

it thy will that we strike off their heads?' 'Hold your hands

awhile,' answered she, 'till I question them of their condition,

before ye strike off their heads.' 'By Allah, O my lady,'

exclaimed the porter 'do not slay me for another's fault, for all

have erred and offended save myself. And by Allah, our night

would have been a pleasant one, had we not been afflicted with

these Calenders, whose presence is enough to lay a flourishing

city in ruins.' And he repeated the following verses:

How fair a thing is mercy to the great! And how much more to

those of low estate!

By all the love that has between us been, Doom not the guiltless

to the guilty's fate!

When the lady heard this, she laughed, in spite of her anger, and

coming up to the guests, said to them, 'Tell me who you are, for

ye have but a little while to live, and were you not men of rank

and consideration, you had never dared to act thus.' Then the

Khalif said to Jaafer, 'Out on thee! Tell her who we are, or we

shall be slain in a mistake, and speak her fair, ere an

abomination befall us.' 'It were only a part of thy deserts,'

replied Jaafer. Whereupon the Khalif cried out at him in anger

and said, 'There is a time to jest and a time to be serious.'

Then the lady said to the Calenders, 'Are ye brothers?' 'Not so,'

answered they; 'we are only poor men and strangers.' And she said

to one of them, 'Wast thou born blind of one eye?' 'No, by

Allah!' replied he; 'but there hangs a rare story by the loss of

my eye, a story which, were it graven with needles on the corners

of the eye, would serve as a lesson to those that can profit by

example.' She questioned the two other Calenders, and they made a

like reply, saying, 'By Allah! O our mistress, each one of us

comes from a different country and is the son of a king and a

sovereign prince ruling over lands and subjects.' Then she turned

to the others and said to them, 'Let each of you come forward in

turn and tell us his history and the manner of his coming hither

and after go about his business; but whoso refuses, I will cut

off his head.' The first to come forward was the porter, who

said, 'O my lady, I am a porter. This lady, the cateress, hired

me and took me first to the vintner's, then to the butcher's,

from the butcher's to the fruiterer's, from the fruiterer's to

the grocer's, from the grocer's to the greengrocer's, from the

greengrocer's to the confectioner's and the druggist's, and

thence to this place, where there happened to me with you what

happened. This is my story; and peace be on thee!' At this the

lady laughed and said to him, 'Begone about thy business.' But he

said, 'By Allah, I will not budge 'till I hear the others'

stories.' Then came forward the first Calender and said, 'Know, O

lady, that

The First Calender's Story.

My father was a king, and he had a brother, who was also a king

over another city. The latter had a son and a daughter, and it

chanced that I and the son of my uncle were both born on the same

day. In due time we grew up to man's estate and there was a great

affection between us. Now it was my wont every now and then to

visit my uncle and abide with him several months at a time.

One day, I went to visit him as usual and found him absent

a-hunting; but my cousin received me with the utmost courtesy and

slaughtered sheep and strained wine for me and we sat down to

drink. When the wine had got the mastery of us, my cousin said to

me, "O son of my uncle I have a great service to ask of thee, and

I beg of thee not to baulk me in what I mean to do." "With all my

heart," answered I; and he made me swear by the most solemn oaths

to do his will. Then he went away and returning in a little, with

a lady veiled and perfumed and very richly clad, said to me,

"Take this lady and go before me to the burial-ground and enter

such and such a sepulchre," and he described it to me and I knew

it, "and wait till I come." I could not gainsay him, by reason of

the oath I had sworn to him; so I took the lady and carried her

to the cemetery, and entering the tomb sat down to await my

cousin, who soon rejoined us, carrying a vessel of water, a bag

containing plaster and an adze. He went up to the tomb in the

midst of the sepulchre and loosening its stones with the adze,

laid them on one side after which he fell to digging with the

adze in the earth till he uncovered a trap of iron, as big as a

small door, and raised it, when there appeared beneath it a

winding stair. Then he turned to the lady and said to her, "Up

and make thy choice." So she descended the stair and was lost to

sight; and he said to me, "O my cousin, when I have descended,

complete thy kindness to me by replacing the trap-door and

throwing back the earth on it: then mix the plaster in the bag

with the water in this vessel and build up the tomb again with

the stones and plaster it over as before, lest any see it and

say, 'This tomb has been newly opened, albeit it is an old one;'

for I have been at work here a whole year, unknown to any save

God. This then is the service I had to ask of thee, and may God

never bereave thy friends of thee, O my cousin!" Then he

descended the stair; and when he was out of sight, I replaced the

trap-door and did as he had bidden me, till the tomb was restored

to its original condition, and I the while in a state of

intoxication; after which I returned to the palace, and found my

uncle still absent. Next morning I called to mind what had

happened and repented of having obeyed my cousin, when repentance

was of no avail, but thought that it must have been a dream. So I

fell to enquiring after my cousin; but none could give me any

news of him; and I went out to the burial-ground and sought for

the tomb where I had left him, but could not find it, and ceased

not to go from sepulchre to sepulchre and from tomb to tomb,

without success, till nightfall. Then I returned to the palace

and could neither eat nor drink, for my heart was troubled about

my cousin, seeing I knew not what was come of him; and I was

extremely chagrined and slept not that night, but lay awake for

anxiety till morning. As soon as it was day, I repaired again to

the cemetery, pondering what my cousin had done and repenting me

of having hearkened to him, and vent round among all the tombs,

but could not find the one I sought. Thus I did for the space of

seven days, but with no better success, and my trouble and

anxiety increased till I was well-nigh mad and could find nothing

for it but to return to my father. So I set out and journeyed

till I reached his capital; but as I entered the gate of the

city, a number of men sprang out on me and tied my hands behind

me. At this I was beyond measure amazed, seeing that I was the

son of the Sultan and that they were his servants and my own; and

great fear fell on me, and I said to myself, "I wonder what has

befallen my father!" Then I questioned my captors; but they

returned me no answer. However, after awhile, one of them, who

had been my servant, said to me, "Fortune has played thy father

false; and the troops deserted him. So the Vizier slew him and

seized on his throne; and we laid wait for thee by his command."

Then they took me and carried me before the Vizier, well-nigh

distraught for this news of my father. Now between me and this

Vizier was an old feud, the cause of which was as follows. I was

fond of shooting with a pellet-bow, and one day, as I was

standing on the terrace of my palace, a bird lighted on the

terrace of the Vizier's house, where the latter chanced to be

standing at the time. I let fly at the bird, but, as fate and

destiny would have it, the pellet swerved and striking the Vizier

on the eye, put it out. As says the poet:

Our footsteps follow on in their predestined way, Nor from the

ordered track can any mortal stray:

And he whom Fate appoints in any land to die, No other place on

earth shall see his dying day.

The Vizier dared say nothing, at the time, because I was the

Sultan's son of the city, but thenceforward he nourished a deadly

hatred against me. So when they brought me bound before him, he

commanded my head to be smitten off; and I said, "For what crime

wilt thou put me to death?" "What crime could be greater than

this?" answered he, and pointed to his ruined eye. Quoth I, "That

I did by misadventure." And he replied, "If thou didst it by

misadventure, I will do the like with intent." Then said he,

"Bring him to me." So they brought me up to him, and he put his

finger into my right eye and pulled it out; and thenceforward I

became one-eyed as ye see me. Then he caused me to be bound hand

and foot and put in a chest and said to the headsman, "Take this

fellow and carry him forth of the city and slay him and leave him

for the beasts and birds to eat." So the headsman carried me

without the city to the midst of the desert, where he took me out

of the chest, bound hand and foot as I was, and would have

bandaged my eyes, that he might slay me. But I wept sore till I

made him weep, and looking at him, repeated the following verses:

I counted on you as a coat of dart-proof mail toward The foeman's

arrows from my breast. Alas! ye are his sword!

I hoped in you to succour me in every evil chance, Although my

right hand to my left no more should help afford.

Yet stand aloof nor cast your lot with those who do me hate, And

let my foemen shoot their shafts against your whilom lord!

If you refuse to succour me against my enemies, At least be

neutral, nor to me nor them your aid accord.

And these also:

How many of my friends, methought, were coats of mail! And so

they were, indeed, but on my foeman's part.

Unerring shafts and true I deemed them; and they were Unerring

shafts, indeed, alas, but in my heart!

When the headsman heard this (now he had been my father's

headsman and I had done him kindness) he said, "O my lord what

can I do, being but a slave commanded?" Then he said, "Fly for

thy life and never return to this country, or thou art lost and I

with thee." As says one of the poets:

Escape with thy life, if oppression betide thee, And let the

house tell of its builder's fate!

Country for country thou'lt find, if thou seek it; Life for life

never, early or late.

It is strange men should dwell in the house of abjection, When

the plain of God's world is so wide and so great!

I kissed his hands, hardly crediting my escape; and recked little

of the loss of my eye, in consideration of my deliverance from

death. Then I repaired to my uncle's capital and going in to him,

told him what had befallen my father and myself; whereat he wept

sore and said, "Verily, thou addest affliction to my affliction

and sorrow to my sorrow; for thy cousin has been missing these

many days; I know not what is become of him, and none can give me

any news of him." Then he wept till he swooned away, and my heart

was sore for him. When he revived, he would have medicined my

eye, but found there was but the socket left and said, "O my son,

it is well that it was thine eye and not thy life!" I could not

keep silence about my cousin; so I told him all that had passed,

and he rejoiced greatly at hearing news of his son and said,

"Come, show me the tomb." "By Allah, O my uncle," answered I, "I

know it not, for I went after many times to seek for it, but

could not find it." However, we went out to the burial-ground and

looked right and left, till at last I discovered the tomb. At

this we both rejoiced greatly and entering, removed the earth,

raised the trapdoor and descended fifty steps, till we came to

the foot of the stair, where we were met by a great smoke that

blinded our eyes: and my uncle pronounced the words, which whoso

says shall never be confounded, that is to say, "There is no

power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!" Then

we went on and found ourselves in a saloon, raised upon columns,

drawing air and light from openings communicating with the

surface of the ground and having a cistern in its midst. The

place was full of crates and sacks of flour and grain and other

victual; and at the upper end stood a couch with a canopy over

it. My uncle went up to the bed and drawing the curtains, found

his son and the lady in each other's arms; but they were become

black coal, as they had been cast into a well of fire. When he

saw this, he spat in his son's face and taking off his shoe,

smote him with it, exclaiming, "Swine that thou art, thou hast

thy deserts! This is thy punishment in this world, but there

awaits thee a far sorer and more terrible punishment in the world

to come!" His behaviour amazed me, and I mourned for my cousin,

for that he was become a black coal, and said to the king, "O my

uncle, is not that which hath befallen him enough, but thou must

beat him with thy shoe?" "O son of my brother," answered my

uncle, "this my son was from his earliest youth madly enamoured

of his sister, and I forbade him from her, saying in myself,

'They are but children.' But, when they grew up, sin befell

between them, notwithstanding that his attendants warned him to

abstain from so foul a thing, which none had done before nor

would do after him, lest the news of it should be carried abroad

by the caravans and he become dishonoured and unvalued among

kings to the end of time. I heard of this and believed it not,

but took him and upbraided him severely, saying, 'Have a care

lest this thing happen to thee; for I will surely curse thee and

put thee to death.' Then I shut her up and kept them apart, but

this accursed girl loved him passionately, and Satan got the

upper hand of them and made their deeds to seem good in their

eyes. So when my son saw that I had separated them, he made this

place under ground and transported victual hither, as thou seest,

and taking advantage of my absence a-hunting, came here with his

sister, thinking to enjoy her a long while. But the wrath of God

descended on them and consumed them; and there awaits them in the

world to come a still sorer and more terrible punishment." Then

he wept and I with him, and he looked at me and said, "Henceforth

thou art my son in his stead." Then I bethought me awhile of the

world and its chances and how the Vizier had slain my father and

usurped his throne and put out my eye and of the strange events

that had befallen my cousin and wept again, and my uncle wept

with me. Presently we ascended, and replacing the trap-door,

restored the tomb to its former condition. Then we resumed to the

palace, but hardly had we sat down when we heard a noise of drums

and trumpets and cymbals and galloping of cavalry and clamour of

men and clash of arms and clank of bridles and neighing of

horses, and the world was filled with clouds of dust raised by

the horses' hoofs. At this we were amazed and knew not what could

be the matter so we enquired and were told that the Vizier, who

had usurped my father's throne, had levied troops and hired the

wild Arabs and was come with an army like the sands of the sea,

none could tell their number nor could any avail against them.

They assaulted the city unawares, and the people, being unable to

withstand them, surrendered the place to them. My uncle was slain

and I took refuge in the suburbs, knowing that, if I fell into

the Vizier's hands, he would put me to death. Wherefore trouble

was sore upon me and I bethought me of all that had befallen me

and my father and uncle and knew not what to do, for if I showed

myself, the people of the city and my father's troops would know

me and hasten to win the usurpers favour by putting me to death;

and I could find no means of escape but by shaving my face. So I

shaved off my beard and eyebrows and donning a Calender's habit,

left the town, without being known of any, and made for this

city, in the hope that perhaps some one would bring me to the

presence of the Commander of the Faithful and Vicar of the Lord

of the Two Worlds, that I might relate to him my story and lay my

case before him. I arrived here today and was standing, perplexed

where I should go, when I saw this second Calender; so I saluted

him, saying "I am a stranger," and he replied, "And I also am a

stranger." Presently up came our comrade, this other Calender,

and saluted us, saying, "I am a stranger." "We also are

strangers," answered we; and we walked on together, till darkness

overtook us, and destiny led us to your house. This, then, is my

history and the manner of the loss of my right eye and the

shaving of my beard and eyebrows.' They all marvelled at his

story, and the Khalif said to Jaafer, 'By Allah, I never heard or

saw the like of what happened to this Calender.' Then the

mistress of the house said to the Calender, 'Begone about thy

business.' But he answered, 'I will not budge till I hear the

others' stories.' Then came forth the second Calender and kissing

the earth, said, 'O my lady, I was not born blind of one eye, and

my story is a marvellous one; were it graven with needles on the

corners of the eye, it would serve as a warning to those that can

profit by example.

The Second Calender's Story.

I am a king, son of a king. My father taught me to read and

write, and I got the Koran by heart, according to the seven

readings, and read all manner of books under the guidance of

learned professors; I studied the science of the stars and the

sayings of poets and applied myself to all branches of knowledge,

till I surpassed all the folk of my time. In particular, my skill

in handwriting excelled that of all the scribes, and my fame was

noised abroad in all countries and at the courts of all the

kings. Amongst others, the King of Ind heard of me and sent to my

father to seek me, with gifts and presents such as befit kings.

So my father fitted out six ships for me, and we put to sea and

sailed for a whole month, till we reached the land. Then we

brought out the horses that were with us in the ships, together

with ten camels laden with presents for the King of Ind. and set

out inland, but had not gone far, before there arose a great

dust, that grew till it covered the whole country. After awhile

it lifted and discovered fifty steel-clad horsemen, as they were

fierce lions, whom we soon found to be Arab highwaymen. When they

saw that we were but a small company and had with us ten laden

camels, they drove at us with levelled spears. We signed to them

with our fingers to do us no hindrance, for that we were

ambassadors to the mighty King of Ind; but they replied (in the

same manner) that they were not in his dominions nor under his

rule. Then they set on us and slew some of my attendants and put

the rest to flight; and I also fled, after I had gotten a sore

wound whilst the Arabs were taken up with the baggage. I knew not

whither to turn, being reduced from high to low estate; so I fled

forth at a venture till I came to the top of a mountain, where I

took shelter for the night in a cavern. On the morrow, I

continued my journey and fared on thus for a whole month, till I

reached a safe and pleasant city. The winter had passed away from

it with its cold and the spring was come with its roses; its

flowers were blowing and its streams welling and its birds

warbling. As says the poet, describing the city in question:

A town, wherein who dwells is free from all affray; Security and

peace are masters there alway.

Like Paradise itself, it seemeth, for its folk, With all its

beauties rare decked out in bright array.