There was once a king of the kings, who had a high palace,
overlooking his prison, and he used to hear in the night one
saying, "O Ever-present Deliverer, O Thou whose deliverance is
aye present, relieve Thou me!" One day the king waxed wroth and
said, "Yonder fool looketh for relief from the pains and
penalties of his crime." Then said he to his officers, "Who is in
yonder jail?" and said they, "Folk upon whom blood hath been
found."[FN#252] Hearing this the king bade bring that man before
him and said to him, "O fool, O little of wit, how shalt thou be
delivered from this prison, seeing that thy crime is mortal?"
Then he committed him to a company of his guards and said to
them, "Take this wight and crucify him within sight of the city."
Now it was the night season. So the soldiers carried him without
the city, thinking to crucify him, when behold, there came out
upon them robbers and fell upon them with swords and other
weapons. Thereat the guards left him whom they purposed to slay
and fled whilst the man who was going to slaughter also took to
flight and plunging deep into the desert, knew not whither he
went before he found himself in a copse and there came out upon
him a lion of terrible aspect, who snatched him up and cast him
under him. Then he went up to a tree and uprooting it, covered
the man therewithal and made off into the thicket, in quest of
the lioness.[FN#253] As for the man, he committed his affair to
Allah the Most High, relying upon Him for deliverance, and said
to himself, "What is this affair?" Then he removed the leaves
from himself and rising, saw great plenty of men's bones there,
of those whom the lion had devoured. He looked again and behold,
he saw a heap of gold lying alongside a purse-belt;[FN#254]
whereat he marvelled and gathering up the gold in the breast of
his gaberdine, went forth of the copse and fled at hap-hazard,
turning neither to the right nor to the left, in his fear of the
lion; nor did he cease flying till he came to a village and cast
himself down, as he were dead. He lay there till the day appeared
and he was rested from his travail, when he arose and burying the
gold, entered the village. Thus Allah gave him relief and he got
the gold. Then said the king, "How long wilt thou beguile us, O
youth, with thy prate? But now the hour of thy slaughter is
come." So he bade crucify him upon the gibbet. But as they were
about to hoist him up, lo and behold! the Captain of the thieves,
who had found him and reared him, came up at that moment and
asked, "What be this assembly and the cause of the crowds here
gathered together?" They informed him that a page of the king had
committed a mighty great crime and that he was about to do him
die; so the Captain of the thieves pressed forward and looking
upon the prisoner, knew him, whereupon he went up to him and
strained him to his bosom and threw his arms round his neck, and
fell to kissing him upon his mouth.[FN#255] Then said he, "This
is a boy I found under such a mountain, wrapped in a gown of
brocade, and I reared him and he fell to cutting the way with us.
One day, we set upon a caravan, but they put us to flight and
wounded some of us and took the lad and ganged their gait. From
that day to this I have gone round about the lands seeking him,
but have not found news of him till now; and this is he." When
the king heard this, he was assured that the youth was his very
son; so he cried out at the top of his voice and casting himself
upon him, embraced him and kissed him and shedding tears, said,
"Had I put thee to death, as was mine intent, I should have died
of regret for thee." Then he cut his pinion-bonds and taking his
crown from his head, set it on the head of his son, whereupon the
people raised cries of joy, whilst the trumpets blared and the
kettledrums beat and there befel a mighty great rejoicing. They
decorated the city and it was a glorious day; even the birds
stayed their flight in the welkin, for the greatness of the
greeting and the clamour of the crying. The army and the folk
carried the prince to the palace in splendid procession, and the
news came to his mother Bahrjaur, who fared forth and threw
herself upon him. Moreover, the king bade open the prison and
bring forth all who were therein, and they held high festival
seven days and seven nights and rejoiced with a mighty rejoicing.
Thus it betided the youth; but as regards the Ministers, terror
and silence, shame and affright fell upon them and they gave
themselves up for lost. After this the king sat, with his son by
his side and the Wazirs on their knees before him, and summoned
his chief officers and the subjects of the city. Then the prince
turned to the Ministers and said to them, "See, O villain Wazirs,
the work of Allah and his speedy relief." But they answered ne'er
a syllable and the king said, "It sufficeth me that there is
nothing alive but rejoiceth with me this day, even to the birds
in the sky, but ye, your breasts are straitened. Indeed, this is
the greatest of hostility in you me-wards, and had I hearkened to
you, my regret had been prolonged and I had died miserably of
sorrow." Quoth the prince, "O my father, but for the fairness of
thy thought and thy perspicacity and thy longanimity and
deliberation in affairs, there had not betided thee this great
joy. Hadst thou slain me in haste, repentance would have been
sore on thee and longsome annoy, and on this wise whoso
preferreth haste shall rue." Presently the king sent for the
Captain of the robbers and bade indue him with a robe of honour,
commanding that all who loved the king should doff their dresses
and cast them upon him.[FN#256] So there fell robes of honour on
him, till he was a-wearied with their weight, and Azadbakht
invested him with the mastership of the police of his city. Then
he bade set up other nine gibbets by the side of the first and
said to his son, "Thou art innocent, and yet these villain Wazirs
strave for thy slaughter." Replied the prince, "O my sire, I had
no fault in their eyes but that I was a loyal counsellor to thee
and still kept watch over thy wealth and withdrew their hands
from thy hoards and treasuries; wherefore they were jealous and
envied me and plotted against me and planned to slay me." Quoth
the king, "The time of retribution is at hand, O my son; but what
be thy rede we should do with them in requital of that they did
with thee? And indeed they have striven for thy slaughter and
exposed thee to disgrace and smirched mine honour among the
kings." Then he turned to the Wazirs and said to them, "Woe to
you! What liars ye are! And is aught of excuse left to you?" Said
they, "O king, there remaineth no excuse for us and we are
houghed[FN#257] by the deed we would have done to him. Indeed we
planned evil to this youth and it hath reverted upon us, and we
plotted mischief against him and it hath overtaken us; yea, we
digged for him a pit and we ourselves have fallen into it." So
the king bade hoist up the Wazirs upon the gibbets and crucify
them there, because Allah is just and decreeth that which is due.
Then Azadbakht and his wife and son abode in joyance and
gladness, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and
they died all; and extolled be the Living One, who dieth not, to
whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever and ever! Amen.
JA'AFAR BIN YAHYA AND ABD AL-MALIK BIN
SALITH THE ABBASIDE[FN#258]
It is told of Ja'afar bin Yahyà the Barmecide that he sat down
one day to wine and, being minded to be private, sent for his
boon-companions, with whom he was most familiar, and charged the
chamberlain that he suffer none of the creatures of Almighty
Allah to enter, save a man of his cup-mates, by name Abd al-Malik
bin Sálih, who was behindhand with them. Then they donned
brightly-dyed dresses.[FN#259] for it was their wont, as often as
they sat in the wine-séance, to endue raiment of red and yellow
and green silk, and they sat down to drink, and the cups went
round the lutes thrilled and shrilled. Now there was a man of
the kinsfolk of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, by name Abd al-Malik
bin Salih[FN#260] bin Ali bin Abdallah bin al-Abbas,[FN#261] who
was great of gravity and sedateness, piety and propriety, and Al-
Rashid used instantly to require that he should company him in
converse and carouse and drink with him and had offered him to
such end abounding wealth, but he never would. It fortuned that
this Abd al-Malik bin Salih came to the door of Ja'afar bin
Yahya, so he might bespeak him of certain requisitions of his,
and the chamberlain, doubting not but he was the Abd al-Malik bin
Salih aforesaid (whom Ja'afar had permitted him admit and that he
should suffer none but him to enter), allowed him to go in to his
master. Accordingly Abd al-Malik went in, garbed in black, with
his Rusáfiyah[FN#262] on his head. When Ja'afar saw him, his
reason was like to depart for shame and he understood the case,
to wit, that the chamberlain had been deceived by the likeness of
the name; and Abd al-Malik also perceived how the matter stood
and perplexity was manifest to him in Ja'afar's face. So he put
on a cheery countenance and said, "No harm be upon you![FN#263]
Bring us of these dyed clothes." Thereupon they brought him a
dyed robe[FN#264] and he donned it and sat discoursing gaily with
Ja'afar and jesting with him. Then said he, "Allow us to be a
partaker in your pleasures, and give us to drink of your
Nabíz."[FN#265] So they brought him a silken robe and poured him
out a pint, when he said, "We crave your indulgence, for we have
no wont of this." Accordingly Ja'afar ordered a flagon of Nabíz
be set before him, that he might drink whatso he pleased. Then,
having anointed himself with perfumes, he chatted and jested with
them till Ja'afar's bosom broadened and his constraint ceased
from him and his shame, and he rejoiced in this with joy
exceeding and asked Abd al-Malik, "What is thine errand? Inform
me thereof, for I cannot sufficiently acknowledge thy courtesy."
Answered the other, "I come (amend thee Allah!) on three
requirements, of which I would have thee bespeak the Caliph; to
wit, firstly, I have on me a debt to the amount of a thousand
thousand dirhams,[FN#266] which I would have paid: secondly, I
desire for my son the office of Wali or governor of a
province,[FN#267] whereby his rank may be raised: and thirdly, I
would fain have thee marry him to Al-'Áliyah, the daughter of the
Commander of the Faithful, for that she is his cousin and he is a
match for her." Ja'afar said, "Allah accomplisheth unto thee
these three occasions. As for the money, it shall be carried to
thy house this very hour: as for the government, I make thy son
Viceroy of Egypt; and as for the marriage, I give him to mate
Such-an-one, the daughter of our lord the Prince of True
Believers, at a dowry of such and such a sum. So depart in the
assurance of Allah Almighty." Accordingly Abd al-Malik went away
much astonished at Ja'afar's boldness in undertaking such
engagements. He fared straight for his house, whither he found
that the money had preceded him, and in the morrow Ja'afar
presented himself before Al-Rashid and acquainted him with what
had passed, and that he had appointed Abd al-Malik's son Wali of
Egypt[FN#268] and had promised him his daughter, Al-'Aliyah to
wife. The Caliph was pleased to approve of this and he confirmed
the appointment and the marriage. Then he sent for the young man
and he went not forth of the palace of the Caliphate till Al-
Rashid wrote him the patent of investiture with the government of
Egypt; and he let bring the Kazis and the witnesses and drew up
the contract of marriage.