There was once a king of the kings, whose name was Bakhtzaman, and
he was a great eater and drinker and carouser. Now enemies of his
made their appearance in certain parts of his realm, which they
coveted; and one of his friends said to him, "O king, the foe
intendeth for thee: be on thy guard against him." Quoth
Bakhtzaman, "I reck not of him, for that I have weapons and wealth
and warmen and am not afraid of aught." Then said his friends to
him, "Ask aid of Allah, O king, for He will help thee more than
thy wealth and thy weapons and thy warriors." But he turned a
deaf ear to the speech of his loyal counsellors, and presently
the enemy came upon him and waged war upon him and got the
victory over him and profited him naught his trust in other than
Allah the Most High. So he fled from him and seeking one of the
sovrans, said to him, "I come to thee and lay hold upon thy
skirts and take refuge with thee, so thou mayst help me against
my foe." The king gave him money and men and a mighty many and
Bakhtzaman said in himself, "Now am I fortified with this force
and needs must I conquer my foe with such combatants and overcome
him;" but he said not, "With the aid of Allah Almighty." So his
enemy met him and overcame him again and he was defeated and put
to the rout and fled at random: his troops were dispersed from
him and his money lost and the enemy pursued him. Thereupon he
sought the sea and passing over to the other side, saw a great
city and therein a mighty citadel. He asked its name and that of
its owner, and they said to him, "It belongeth to
Khadídán[FN#202] the king." So he fared on till he came to the
royal palace and concealing his condition, passed himself off for
a horseman[FN#203] and sought service with King Khadidan, who
attached him to his attendance and entreated him with honour; but
his heart still clung to his mother-land and his home. Presently,
it chanced that an enemy came out against King Khadidan; so he
sent his troops to meet him and made Bakhtzaman head of the host.
Then they went forth to the field and Khadidan also came forth
and ranged his troops and levelled lance and sallied out in
person and fought a sore fight and overcame his foe, who with his
troops ignominiously fled. When the king and his army returned in
triumph, Bakhtzaman said to him, "Harkye, O king! This be a
strange thing I see in thee that thou art compassed about with
this mighty great army, yet dost thou apply thyself in person to
battle and adventurest thy life." Quoth the king, "Dost thou call
thyself a knight and a learned wight and deemest that victory is
in the many of men?" Quoth Bakhtzaman, "Such is indeed my
belief." And Khadidan the king cried, "By Allah, then, thou
errest in this thy belief!" presently adding, "woe and again woe
to him whose trust is in other than Allah! Indeed, this army is
appointed only for phantasy and majesty, and victory is from
Allah alone. I too, O Bakhtzaman, whilome believed that victory
was in the number of men,[FN#204] and an enemy came out against
me with eight hundred head, whilst I had eight hundred thousand.
I trusted in the tale of my troops, whilst my foe trusted in
Allah, so he defeated me and routed me and I was put to a
shameful flight and hid myself in one of the mountains, where I
met with a Religious who had withdrawn himself from the world. So
I joined myself to him and complained to him of my case and
acquainted him with all that had befallen me. Quoth the Recluse,
'Wottest thou why this befel thee and thou wast defeated?' Quoth
I, 'I know not;' and he said, 'Because thou didst put thy trust
in the multitude of thy warmen and reliedst not upon Allah the
Most High. Hadst thou put thy trust in the Almighty and believed
of Him that it is He alone who advantageth and endamageth thee,
never had thy foe availed to cope with thee. Return unto Allah.'
So I returned to my right senses, and repented at the hands of
that Religious, who said to me, 'Turn back with what remaineth to
thee of troops and confront thy foes, for, if their intents be
changed and turned away from Allah, thou wilt overcome them, e'en
wert thou alone.' When I heard the Solitary's words, I put my
trust in Allah of All-Might; and, gathering together those who
remained with me, fell upon mine enemies at unawares in the
night. They deemed us many and fled with the shamefullest flight,
whereupon I entered my city and repossessed myself of my place by
the might of Almighty Allah, and now I fight not but trusting in
His aid." When Bakhtzaman heard these words he awoke from his
heedlessness and cried, "Extolled be the perfection of God the
Great! O king, this is my case and my story, nothing added and
naught subtracted, for I am King Bakhtzaman and all this happened
to me: wherefore I will seek the gate of Allah's mercy and repent
unto Him." So he went forth to one of the mountains and
worshipped Allah there awhile, till one night, as he slept, a
personage appeared to him in a dream and said to him, "O
Bakhtzaman, Allah accepteth thy repentance and openeth on thee
the door of succour and will aid thee against thy foe." When he
was assured of this in the dream, he arose and turned back,
intending for his own city; and when he drew near thereunto, he
saw a company of the king's retainers, who said to him, "Whence
art thou? We see that thou art a foreigner and fear for thee from
this king, for that every stranger who entereth this city, he
destroyeth him, of his dread of King Bakhtzaman." Said
Bakhtzaman, "None shall prejudice him nor profit him save Allah
the Most High." And they replied. "Indeed, he hath a vast army
and his heart is fortified in the multitude of his many." When
King Bakhtzaman heard this, his mind was comforted and he said to
himself, "I place my trust in Allah. An He will, I shall overcome
mine enemy by the might of the Lord of Omnipotence." So he said
to the folk, "Wot ye not who I am?" and they said, "No, by
Allah." Cried he, "I am King Bakhtzaman." When they heard this
and knew that it was indeed he, they dismounted from their horses
and kissed his stirrup, to do him honour, and said to him, "O
king, why thus risk thy life?" Quoth he, "Indeed, my life is a
light matter to me and I set my trust in Almighty Allah, looking
to Him for protection." And quoth they, "May that suffice thee!"
presently adding, "We will do with thee that which is in our
power and whereof thou art worthy: hearten thy heart, for we will
succour thee with our substance and our existence, and we are his
chief officers and the most in favour with him of all folk. So we
will take thee with us and cause the lieges follow after thee,
because the inclination of the people, all of them, is
theewards." Said he, "Do whatso Allah Almighty enableth you to
do." So they carried him into the city and hid him with them.
Then they agreed with a company of the king's chief officers, who
had aforetime been those of Bakhtzaman, and acquainted them with
this; whereat they rejoiced with joy exceeding. Then they
assembled together to Bakhtzaman, and made a covenant and
handfast of fealty with him and fell upon the foe and slew him
and seated King Bakhtzaman again on the throne of his kingship.
And his affairs prospered and Allah amended his estate and
restored to him His bounty, and he ruled his subjects justly and
abode in the obedience of the Almighty. "On this wise, O king"
(continued the young treasurer), "he with whom Allah is and whose
intent is pure, meeteth naught save good. As for me, I have no
helper other than the Almighty, and I am content to submit myself
to His ordinance, for that He knoweth the purity of my intent."
With this the king's wrath subsided and he said, "Return him to
the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his case."
The Seventh Day.
Of Clemency.
When it was the seventh day, the seventh Wazir, whose name was
Bihkamál,[FN#205] came in to the king and prostrating himself to
him, said, "O king, what doth thy long-suffering with this youth
profit thee? Indeed the folk talk of thee and of him. Why, then,
dost thou postpone the putting him to death?" The Minister's
words aroused the anger of the king, and he bade bring the youth.
So they fetched him before him in fetters and Azadbakht said to
him, "Ho, woe to thee! By Allah, after this day there abideth no
deliverance for thee from my hand, by reason that thou hast
outraged mine honour, and there can be no forgiveness for thee."
The youth replied, "O king, there is no great forgiveness save in
case of a great default, for according as the offence is great in
so much magnified is mercy; and it is no grace to the like of
thee if he spare the like of me. Verily, Allah knoweth that there
is no crime in me, and indeed He commandeth to clemency, and no
clemency is greater than that which spareth from slaughter, for
that thy pardon of him whom thou purposest to put to death is as
the quickening of a dead man; and whoso doth evil shall find it
before him, even as it was with King Bihkard." Asked the king,
"And what is the story of King Bihkard?" And the youth answered,
"Hear, O king,