THE BOOK OF THE
THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
A Plain and Literal Translation
of the Arabian Nights Entertainments
Translated and Annotated by
Richard F. Burton
VOLUME TEN
Privately Printed By The Burton Club
To
His Excellency Yacoub Artin Pasha,
Minister of Instruction, Etc. Etc. Etc. Cairo.
My Dear Pasha,
During the last dozen years, since we first met at Cairo,
you have done much for Egyptian folk-lore and you can do much
more. This volume is inscribed to you with a double purpose;
first it is intended as a public expression of gratitude for your
friendly assistance; and, secondly, as a memento that the samples
which you have given us imply a promise of further gift. With
this lively sense of favours to come I subscribe myself
Ever yours friend and fellow worker,
Richard F. Burton
London, July 12, 1886.
Contents of the Tenth Volume
169. Ma’aruf the Cobbler and His Wife Fatimah
Conclusion
Terminal Essay
Appendix I.
1. Index to the Tales and Proper Names
2. Alphabetical Table of the Notes (Anthropological, &c.)
3. Alphabetical Table of First lines
a. English
b. Arabic
4. Table of Contents of the Various Arabic Texts
a. The Unfinished Calcutta Edition (1814–1818)
b. The Breslau Text
c. The Macnaghten Text and the Bulak Edition
d. The same with Mr. Lane’s and my Version
Appendix II
Contributions to the Bibliography of the Thousand and
One Nights and their Imitations, By W. F. Kirby
The Book Of The
THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
MA’ARUF THE COBBLER AND HIS WIFE
There dwelt once upon a time in the God-guarded city of Cairo a
cobbler who lived by patching old shoes.[FN#1] His name was
Ma’aruf[FN#2] and he had a wife called Fatimah, whom the folk had
nicknamed “The Dung;”[FN#3] for that she was a whorish, worthless
wretch, scanty of shame and mickle of mischief. She ruled her
spouse and abused him; and he feared her malice and dreaded her
misdoings; for that he was a sensible man but poor-conditioned.
When he earned much, he spent it on her, and when he gained
little, she revenged herself on his body that night, leaving him
no peace and making his night black as her book;[FN#4] for she
was even as of one like her saith the poet:—
How manifold nights have I passed with my wife * In the saddest
plight with all misery rife:
Would Heaven when first I went in to her * With a cup of cold
poison I’d ta’en her life.
One day she said to him, “O Ma’aruf, I wish thee to bring me this
night a vermicelli-cake dressed with bees’ honey.”[FN#5] He
replied, “So Allah Almighty aid me to its price, I will bring it
thee. By Allah, I have no dirhams to-day, but our Lord will make
things easy.”[FN#6] Rejoined she,—And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Ninetieth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ma’aruf the
Cobbler said to his spouse, “By Allah, I have no dirhams to-day, but
our Lord will make things easy to me!” She rejoined, “I wot naught of
these words; look thou come not to me save with the vermicelli and
bees’ honey; else will I make thy night black as thy fortune whenas
thou fellest into my hand.” Quoth he, “Allah is bountiful!” and going
out with grief scattering itself from his body, prayed the dawn-prayer
and opened his shop. After which he sat till noon, but no work came
to him and his fear of his wife redoubled. Then he arose and went out
perplexed as to how he should do in the matter of the vermicelli-cake,
seeing he had not even the wherewithal to buy bread. Presently he came
to the shop of the Kunafah-seller and stood before it, whilst his
eyes brimmed with tears. The pastry-cook glanced at him and said, “O
Master Ma’aruf, why dost thou weep? Tell me what hath befallen thee.”
So he acquainted him with his case, saying, “My wife would have me
bring her a Kunafah; but I have sat in my shop till past mid-day and
have not gained even the price of bread; wherefore I am in fear of
her.” The cook laughed and said, “No harm shall come to thee. How many
pounds wilt thou have?” “Five pounds,” answered Ma’aruf. So the man
weighed him out five pounds of vermicelli-cake and said to him, “I
have clarified butter, but no bees’ honey. Here is drip-honey,[FN#7]
however, which is better than bees’ honey; and what harm will there
be, if it be with drip-honey?” Ma’aruf was ashamed to object, because
the pastry-cook was to have patience with him for the price, and said,
“Give it me with drip-honey.” So he fried a vermicelli-cake for him
with butter and drenched it with drip-honey, till it was fit to present
to Kings. Then he asked him, “Dost thou want bread[FN#8] and cheese?”;
and Ma’aruf answered, “Yes.” So he gave him four half dirhams worth
of bread and one of cheese, and the vermicelli was ten nusfs. Then
said he, “Know, O Ma’aruf, that thou owest me fifteen nusfs; so go to
thy wife and make merry and take this nusf for the Hammam;[FN#9] and
thou shalt have credit for a day or two or three till Allah provide
thee with thy daily bread. And straiten not thy wife, for I will have
patience with thee till such time as thou shalt have dirhams to spare.”
So Ma’aruf took the vermicelli-cake and bread and cheese and went away,
with a heart at ease, blessing the pastry-cook and saying, “Extolled be
Thy perfection, O my Lord! How bountiful art Thou!” When he came home,
his wife enquired of him, “Hast thou brought the vermicelli-cake?”;
and, replying “Yes,” he set it before her. She looked at it and seeing
that it was dressed with cane-honey,[FN#10] said to him, “Did I not bid
thee bring it with bees’ honey? Wilt thou contrary my wish and have
it dressed with cane-honey?” He excused himself to her, saying, “I
bought it not save on credit;” but said she, “This talk is idle; I will
not eat Kunafah save with bees’ honey.” And she was wroth with it and
threw it in his face, saying, “Begone, thou pimp, and bring me other
than this!” Then she dealt him a buffet on the cheek and knocked out
one of his teeth. The blood ran down upon his breast and for stress of
anger he smote her on the head a single blow and a slight; whereupon
she clutched his beard and fell to shouting out and saying, “Help, O
Moslems!” So the neighbours came in and freed his beard from her grip;
then they reproved and reproached her, saying, “We are all content to
eat Kunafah with cane-honey. Why, then, wilt thou oppress this poor
man thus? Verily, this is disgraceful in thee!” And they went on to
soothe her till they made peace between her and him. But, when the
folk were gone, she sware that she would not eat of the vermicelli,
and Ma’aruf, burning with hunger, said in himself, “She sweareth that
she will not eat; so I will e’en eat.” Then he ate, and when she saw
him eating, she said, “Inshallah, may the eating of it be poison to
destroy the far one’s body.”[FN#11] Quoth he, “It shall not be at thy
bidding,” and went on eating, laughing and saying, “Thou swarest that
thou wouldst not eat of this; but Allah is bountiful, and to-morrow
night, an the Lord decree, I will bring thee Kunafah dressed with
bees’ honey, and thou shalt eat it alone.” And he applied himself to
appeasing her, whilst she called down curses upon him; and she ceased
not to rail at him and revile him with gross abuse till the morning,
when she bared her forearm to beat him. Quoth he, “Give me time and I
will bring thee other vermicelli-cake.” Then he went out to the mosque
and prayed, after which he betook himself to his shop and opening it,
sat down; but hardly had he done this when up came two runners from
the Kazi’s court and said to him, “Up with thee, speak with the Kazi,
for thy wife hath complained of thee to him and her favour is thus and
thus.” He recognised her by their description; and saying, “May Allah
Almighty torment her!” walked with them till he came to the Kazi’s
presence, where he found Fatimah standing with her arm bound up and her
face-veil besmeared with blood; and she was weeping and wiping away her
tears. Quoth the Kazi, “Ho man, hast thou no fear of Allah the Most
High? Why hast thou beaten this good woman and broken her forearm and
knocked out her tooth and entreated her thus?” And quoth Ma’aruf, “If
I beat her or put out her tooth, sentence me to what thou wilt; but in
truth the case was thus and thus and the neighbours made peace between
me and her.” And he told him the story from first to last. Now this
Kazi was a benevolent man; so he brought out to him a quarter dinar,
saying, “O man, take this and get her Kunafah with bees’ honey and do
ye make peace, thou and she.” Quoth Ma’aruf, “Give it to her.” So she
took it and the Kazi made peace between them, saying, “O wife, obey thy
husband; and thou, O man, deal kindly with her.[FN#12]” Then they left
the court, reconciled at the Kazi’s hands, and the woman went one way,
whilst her husband returned by another way to his shop and sat there,
when, behold, the runners came up to him and said, “Give us our fee.”
Quoth he, “The Kazi took not of me aught; on the contrary, he gave me
a quarter dinar.” But quoth they “’Tis no concern of ours whether the
Kazi took of thee or gave to thee, and if thou give us not our fee,
we will exact it in despite of thee.” And they fell to dragging him
about the market; so he sold his tools and gave them half a dinar,
whereupon they let him go and went away, whilst he put his hand to his
cheek and sat sorrowful, for that he had no tools wherewith to work.
Presently, up came two ill-favoured fellows and said to him, “Come, O
man, and speak with the Kazi; for thy wife hath complained of thee to
him.” Said he, “He made peace between us just now.” But said they, “We
come from another Kazi, and thy wife hath complained of thee to our
Kazi.” So he arose and went with them to their Kazi, calling on Allah
for aid against her; and when he saw her, he said to her, “Did we not
make peace, good woman?” Whereupon she cried, “There abideth no peace
between me and thee.” Accordingly he came forward and told the Kazi
his story, adding, “And indeed the Kazi Such-an-one made peace between
us this very hour.” Whereupon the Kazi said to her, “O strumpet,
since ye two have made peace with each other, why comest thou to me
complaining?” Quoth she, “He beat me after that;” but quoth the Kazi,
“Make peace each with other, and beat her not again, and she will cross
thee no more.” So they made peace and the Kazi said to Ma’aruf, “Give
the runners their fee.” So he gave them their fee and going back to
his shop, opened it and sat down, as he were a drunken man for excess
of the chagrin which befel him. Presently, while he was still sitting,
behold, a man came up to him and said, “O Ma’aruf, rise and hide
thyself, for thy wife hath complained of thee to the High Court[FN#13]
and Abú Tabak[FN#14] is after thee.” So he shut his shop and fled
towards the Gate of Victory.[FN#15] He had five nusfs of silver left
of the price of the lasts and gear; and therewith he bought four worth
of bread and one of cheese, as he fled from her. Now it was the winter
season and the hour of mid-afternoon prayer; so, when he came out among
the rubbish-mounds the rain descended upon him, like water from the
mouths of water-skins, and his clothes were drenched. He therefore
entered the ’Adiliyah,[FN#16] where he saw a ruined place and therein
a deserted cell without a door; and in it he took refuge and found
shelter from the rain. The tears streamed from his eyelids, and he fell
to complaining of what had betided him and saying, “Whither shall I
flee from this whore? I beseech Thee, O Lord, to vouchsafe me one who
shall conduct me to a far country, where she shall not know the way to
me!” Now while he sat weeping, behold, the wall clave and there came
forth to him therefrom one of tall stature, whose aspect caused his
body-pile to bristle and his flesh to creep, and said to him, “O man,
what aileth thee that thou disturbest me this night? These two hundred
years have I dwelt here and have never seen any enter this place and do
as thou dost. Tell me what thou wishest and I will accomplish thy need,
as ruth for thee hath got hold upon my heart.” Quoth Ma’aruf, “Who and
what art thou?”; and quoth he, “I am the Haunter[FN#17] of this place.”
So Ma’aruf told him all that had befallen him with his wife and he
said, “Wilt thou have me convey thee to a country, where thy wife shall
know no way to thee?” “Yes,” said Ma’aruf; and the other, “Then mount
my back.” So he mounted on his back and he flew with him from after
supper-tide till daybreak, when he set him down on the top of a high
mountain—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Ninety-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Marid
having taken up Ma’aruf the Cobbler, flew off with him and set
him down upon a high mountain and said to him, “O mortal, descend
this mountain and thou wilt see the gate of a city. Enter it, for
therein thy wife cannot come at thee.” He then left him and went
his way, whilst Ma’aruf abode in amazement and perplexity till
the sun rose, when he said to himself, “I will up with me and go
down into the city: indeed there is no profit in my abiding upon
this highland.” So he descended to the mountain-foot and saw a
city girt by towering walls, full of lofty palaces and
gold-adorned buildings which was a delight to beholders. He
entered in at the gate and found it a place such as lightened the
grieving heart; but, as he walked through the streets the
townsfolk stared at him as a curiosity and gathered about him,
marvelling at his dress, for it was unlike theirs. Presently, one
of them said to him, “O man, art thou a stranger?” “Yes.” “What
countryman art thou?” “I am from the city of Cairo the
Auspicious.” “And when didst thou leave Cairo?” “I left it
yesterday, at the hour of afternoon-prayer.” Whereupon the man
laughed at him and cried out, saying, “Come look, O folk, at this
man and hear what he saith!” Quoth they, “What doeth he say?”;
and quoth the townsman, “He pretendeth that he cometh from Cairo
and left it yesterday at the hour of afternoon-prayer!” At this
they all laughed and gathering round Ma’aruf, said to him, “O
man, art thou mad to talk thus? How canst thou pretend that thou
leftest Cairo at mid-afternoon yesterday and foundedst thyself
this morning here, when the truth is that between our city and
Cairo lieth a full year’s journey?” Quoth he, “None is mad but
you. As for me, I speak sooth, for here is bread which I brought
with me from Cairo, and see, ’tis yet new.” Then he showed them
the bread and they stared at it, for it was unlike their country
bread. So the crowd increased about him and they said to one
another, “This is Cairo bread: look at it;” and he became a
gazing-stock in the city and some believed him, whilst others
gave him the lie and made mock of him. Whilst this was going on,
behold, up came a merchant riding on a she-mule and followed by
two black slaves, and brake a way through the people, saying, “O
folk, are ye not ashamed to mob this stranger and make mock of
him and scoff at him?” And he went on to rate them, till he drave
them away from Ma’aruf, and none could make him any answer. Then
he said to the stranger, “Come, O my brother, no harm shall
betide thee from these folk. Verily they have no shame.”[FN#18]
So he took him and carrying him to a spacious and richly-adorned
house, seated him in a speak-room fit for a King, whilst he gave
an order to his slaves, who opened a chest and brought out to him
a dress such as might be worn by a merchant worth a
thousand.[FN#19] He clad him therewith and Ma’aruf, being a
seemly man, became as he were consul of the merchants. Then his
host called for food and they set before them a tray of all
manner exquisite viands. The twain ate and drank and the merchant
said to Ma’aruf, “O my brother, what is thy name?” “My name is
Ma’aruf and I am a cobbler by trade and patch old shoes.” “What
countryman art thou?” “I am from Cairo.” “What quarter?” “Dost
thou know Cairo?” “I am of its children.[FN#20] I come from the
Red Street.[FN#21]” “And whom dost thou know in the Red Street?”
“I know such an one and such an one,” answered Ma’aruf and named
several people to him. Quoth the other, “Knowest thou Shaykh
Ahmad the druggist?[FN#22]” “He was my next neighbour, wall to
wall.” “Is he well?” “Yes.” “How many sons hath he?” “Three,
Mustafà, Mohammed and Ali.” “And what hath Allah done with them?”
“As for Mustafà, he is well and he is a learned man, a
professor[FN#23]: Mohammed is a druggist and opened him a shop
beside that of his father, after he had married, and his wife
hath borne him a son named Hasan.” “Allah gladden thee with good
news!” said the merchant; and Ma’aruf continued, “As for Ali, he
was my friend, when we were boys, and we always played together,
I and he. We used to go in the guise of the children of the
Nazarenes and enter the church and steal the books of the
Christians and sell them and buy food with the price. It chanced
once that the Nazarenes caught us with a book; whereupon they
complained of us to our folk and said to Ali’s father:—An thou
hinder not thy son from troubling us, we will complain of thee to
the King. So he appeased them and gave Ali a thrashing; wherefore
he ran away none knew whither and he hath now been absent twenty
years and no man hath brought news of him.” Quoth the host, “I am
that very Ali, son of Shaykh Ahmad the druggist, and thou art my
playmate Ma’aruf.”[FN#24] So they saluted each other and after
the salam Ali said, “Tell me why, O Ma’aruf, thou camest from
Cairo to this city.” Then he told him all that had befallen him
of ill-doing with his wife Fatimah the Dung and said, “So, when
her annoy waxed on me, I fled from her towards the Gate of
Victory and went forth the city. Presently, the rain fell heavy
on me; so I entered a ruined cell in the Adiliyah and sat there,
weeping; whereupon there came forth to me the Haunter of the
place, which was an Ifrit of the Jinn, and questioned me. I
acquainted him with my case and he took me on his back and flew
with me all night between heaven and earth, till he set me down
on yonder mountain and gave me to know of this city. So I came
down from the mountain and entered the city, when people crowded
about me and questioned me. I told them that I had left Cairo
yesterday, but they believed me not, and presently thou camest up
and driving the folk away from me, carriedst me this house. Such,
then, is the cause of my quitting Cairo; and thou, what object
brought thee hither?” Quoth Ali, “The giddiness[FN#25] of folly
turned my head when I was seven years old, from which time I
wandered from land to land and city to city, till I came to this
city, the name whereof is Ikhtiyán al-Khatan.[FN#26] I found its
people an hospitable folk and a kindly, compassionate for the
poor man and selling to him on credit and believing all he said.
So quoth I to them:—I am a merchant and have preceded my packs
and I need a place wherein to bestow my baggage. And they
believed me and assigned me a lodging. Then quoth I to them:—Is
there any of you will lend me a thousand dinars, till my loads
arrive, when I will repay it to him; for I am in want of certain
things before my goods come? They gave me what I asked and I went
to the merchants’ bazar, where, seeing goods, I bought them and
sold them next day at a profit of fifty gold pieces and bought
others.[FN#27] And I consorted with the folk and entreated them
liberally, so that they loved me, and I continued to sell and
buy, till I grew rich. Know, O my brother, that the proverb
saith, The world is show and trickery: and the land where none
wotteth thee, there do whatso liketh thee. Thou too, an thou say
to all who ask thee, I’m a cobbler by trade and poor withal, and
I fled from my wife and left Cairo yesterday, they will not
believe thee and thou wilt be a laughing-stock among them as long
as thou abidest in the city; whilst, an thou tell them, An Ifrit
brought me hither, they will take fright at thee and none will
come near thee; for they will say, This man is possessed of an
Ifrit and harm will betide whoso approacheth him. And such public
report will be dishonouring both to thee and to me, because they
ken I come from Cairo.” Ma’aruf asked:—“How then shall I do?”;
and Ali answered, “I will tell thee how thou shalt do, Inshallah!
To-morrow I will give thee a thousand dinars and a she-mule to
ride and a black slave, who shall walk before thee and guide thee
to the gate of the merchants’ bazar; and do thou go into them. I
will be there sitting amongst them, and when I see thee, I will
rise to thee and salute thee with the salam and kiss thy hand and
make a great man of thee. Whenever I ask thee of any kind of
stuff, saying, Hast thou brought with thee aught of such a kind?
do thou answer, “Plenty.[FN#28]” And if they question me of thee,
I will praise thee and magnify thee in their eyes and say to
them, Get him a store-house and a shop. I also will give thee out
for a man of great wealth and generosity; and if a beggar come to
thee, bestow upon him what thou mayst; so will they put faith in
what I say and believe in thy greatness and generosity and love
thee. Then will I invite thee to my house and invite all the
merchants on thy account and bring together thee and them, so
that all may know thee and thou know them,”—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Ninety-second Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
merchant Ali said to Ma’aruf, “I will invite thee to my house and
invite all the merchants on thy account and bring together thee
and them, so that all may know thee and thou know them, whereby
thou shalt sell and buy and take and give with them; nor will it
be long ere thou become a man of money.” Accordingly, on the
morrow he gave him a thousand dinars and a suit of clothes and a
black slave and mounting him on a she-mule, said to him, “Allah
give thee quittance of responsibility for all this,[FN#29]
inasmuch as thou art my friend and it behoveth me to deal
generously with thee. Have no care; but put away from thee the
thought of thy wife’s misways and name her not to any.” “Allah
requite thee with good!” replied Ma’aruf and rode on, preceded by
his blackamoor till the slave brought him to the gate of the
merchants’ bazar, where they were all seated, and amongst them
Ali, who when he saw him, rose and threw himself upon him,
crying, “A blessed day, O Merchant Ma’aruf, O man of good works
and kindness[FN#30]!” And he kissed his hand before the merchants
and said to them, “Our brothers, ye are honoured by
knowing[FN#31] the merchant Ma’aruf.” So they saluted him, and
Ali signed to them to make much of him, wherefore he was
magnified in their eyes. Then Ali helped him to dismount from his
she-mule and saluted him with the salam; after which he took the
merchants apart, one after other, and vaunted Ma’aruf to them.
They asked, “Is this man a merchant?;” and he answered, “Yes; and
indeed he is the chiefest of merchants, there liveth not a
wealthier than he; for his wealth and the riches of his father
and forefathers are famous among the merchants of Cairo. He hath
partners in Hind and Sind and Al-Yaman and is high in repute for
generosity. So know ye his rank and exalt ye his degree and do
him service, and wot also that his coming to your city is not for
the sake of traffic, and none other save to divert himself with
the sight of folk’s countries: indeed, he hath no need of
strangerhood for the sake of gain and profit, having wealth that
fires cannot consume, and I am one of his servants.” And he
ceased not to extol him, till they set him above their heads and
began to tell one another of his qualities. Then they gathered
round him and offered him junkets[FN#32] and sherbets, and even
the Consul of the Merchants came to him and saluted him; whilst
Ali proceeded to ask him, in the presence of the traders, “O my
lord, haply thou hast brought with thee somewhat of such and such
a stuff?”; and Ma’aruf answered, “Plenty.” Now Ali had that day
shown him various kinds of costly clothes and had taught him the
names of the different stuffs, dear and cheap. Then said one of
the merchants, “O my lord, hast thou brought with thee yellow
broad cloth?”: and Ma’aruf said, “Plenty”! Quoth another, “And
gazelles’ blood red[FN#33]?”; and quoth the Cobbler, “Plenty”;
and as often as he asked him of aught, he made him the same
answer. So the other said, “O Merchant Ali had thy countryman a
mind to transport a thousand loads of costly stuffs, he could do
so”; and Ali said, “He would take them from a single one of his
store-houses, and miss naught thereof.” Now whilst they were
sitting, behold, up came a beggar and went the round of the
merchants. One gave him a half dirham and another a
copper,[FN#34] but most of them gave him nothing, till he came to
Ma’aruf who pulled out a handful of gold and gave it to him,
whereupon he blessed him and went his ways. The merchants
marvelled at this and said, “Verily, this is a King’s bestowal
for he gave the beggar gold without count, and were he not a man
of vast wealth and money without end, he had not given a beggar a
handful of gold.” After a while, there came to him a poor woman
and he gave her a handful of gold; whereupon she went away,
blessing him, and told the other beggars, who came to him, one
after other, and he gave them each a handful of gold, till he
disbursed the thousand dinars. Then he struck hand upon hand and
said, “Allah is our sufficient aid and excellent is the Agent!”
Quoth the Consul, “What aileth thee, O Merchant Ma’aruf?”; and
quoth he, “It seemeth that the most part of the people of this
city are poor and needy; had I known their misery I would have
brought with me a large sum of money in my saddle-bags and given
largesse thereof to the poor. I fear me I may be long
abroad[FN#35] and ’tis not in my nature to baulk a beggar; and I
have no gold left: so, if a pauper come to me, what shall I say
to him?” Quoth the Consul, “Say, Allah will send thee thy daily
bread[FN#36]!”; but Ma’aruf replied, “That is not my practice and
I am care-ridden because of this. Would I had other thousand
dinars, wherewith to give alms till my baggage come!” “Have no
care for that,” quoth the Consul and sending one of his
dependents for a thousand dinars, handed them to Ma’aruf, who
went on giving them to every beggar who passed till the call to
noon-prayer. Then they entered the Cathedral-mosque and prayed
the noon-prayers, and what was left him of the thousand gold
pieces he scattered on the heads of the worshippers. This drew
the people’s attention to him and they blessed him, whilst the
merchants marvelled at the abundance of his generosity and
openhandedness. Then he turned to another trader and borrowing of
him other thousand ducats, gave these also away, whilst Merchant
Ali looked on at what he did, but could not speak. He ceased not
to do thus till the call to mid-afternoon prayer, when he entered
the mosque and prayed and distributed the rest of the money. On
this wise, by the time they locked the doors of the bazar,[FN#37]
he had borrowed five thousand sequins and given them away, saying
to every one of whom he took aught, “Wait till my baggage come
when, if thou desire gold I will give thee gold, and if thou
desire stuffs, thou shalt have stuffs; for I have no end of
them.” At eventide Merchant Ali invited Ma’aruf and the rest of
the traders to an entertainment and seated him in the upper end,
the place of honour, where he talked of nothing but cloths and
jewels, and whenever they made mention to him of aught, he said,
“I have plenty of it.” Next day, he again repaired to the
market-street where he showed a friendly bias towards the
merchants and borrowed of them more money, which he distributed
to the poor: nor did he leave doing thus twenty days, till he had
borrowed threescore thousand dinars, and still there came no
baggage, no, nor a burning plague.[FN#38] At last folk began to
clamour for their money and say, “The merchant Ma’aruf’s baggage
cometh not. How long will he take people’s monies and give them
to the poor?” And quoth one of them, “My rede is that we speak to
Merchant Ali.” So they went to him and said, “O Merchant Ali,
Merchant Ma’aruf’s baggage cometh not.” Said he, “Have patience,
it cannot fail to come soon.” Then he took Ma’aruf aside and said
to him, “O Ma’aruf, what fashion is this? Did I bid thee
brown[FN#39] the bread or burn it? The merchants clamour for
their coin and tell me that thou owest them sixty thousand
dinars, which thou hast borrowed and given away to the poor. How
wilt thou satisfy the folk, seeing that thou neither sellest nor
buyest?” Said Ma’aruf, “What matters it[FN#40]; and what are
threescore thousand dinars? When my baggage shall come, I will
pay them in stuffs or in gold and silver, as they will.” Quoth
Merchant Ali, “Allah is Most Great! Hast thou then any baggage?”;
and he said, “Plenty.” Cried the other, “Allah and the
Hallows[FN#41] requite thee thine impudence! Did I teach thee
this saying, that thou shouldst repeat it to me? But I will
acquaint the folk with thee.” Ma’aruf rejoined, “Begone and prate
no more! Am I a poor man? I have endless wealth in my baggage and
as soon as it cometh, they shall have their money’s worth two for
one. I have no need of them.” At this Merchant Ali waxed wroth
and said, “Unmannerly wight that thou art, I will teach thee to
lie to me and be not ashamed!” Said Ma’aruf, “E’en work the worst
thy hand can do! They must wait till my baggage come, when they
shall have their due and more.” So Ali left him and went away,
saying in himself, “I praised him whilome and if I blame him now,
I make myself out a liar and become of those of whom it is said:—Whoso
praiseth and then blameth lieth twice.”[FN#42] And he knew
not what to do. Presently, the traders came to him and said, “O
Merchant Ali, hast thou spoken to him?” Said he, “O folk, I am
ashamed and, though he owe me a thousand dinars, I cannot speak
to him. When ye lent him your money ye consulted me not; so ye
have no claim on me. Dun him yourselves, and if he pay you not,
complain of him to the King of the city, saying:—He is an
impostor who hath imposed upon us. And he will deliver you from
the plague of him.” Accordingly, they repaired to the King and
told him what had passed, saying, “O King of the age, we are
perplexed anent this merchant, whose generosity is excessive; for
he doeth thus and thus, and all he borroweth, he giveth away to
the poor by handsful. Were he a man of naught, his sense would
not suffer him to lavish gold on this wise; and were he a man of
wealth, his good faith had been made manifest to us by the coming
of his baggage; but we see none of his luggage, although he
avoucheth that he hath baggage-train and hath preceded it. Now
some time hath past, but there appeareth no sign of his
baggage-train, and he oweth us sixty thousand gold pieces, all of
which he hath given away in alms.” And they went on to praise him
and extol his generosity. Now this King was a very covetous man,
a more covetous than Ash’ab[FN#43]; and when he heard tell of
Ma’aruf’s generosity and openhandedness, greed of gain got the
better of him and he said to his Wazir, “Were not this merchant a
man of immense wealth, he had not shown all this munificence. His
baggage-train will assuredly come, whereupon these merchants will
flock to him and he will scatter amongst them riches galore. Now
I have more right to this money than they; wherefore I have a
mind to make friends with him and profess affection for him, so
that, when his baggage cometh whatso the merchants would have had
I shall get of him; and I will give him my daughter to wife and
join his wealth to my wealth.” Replied the Wazir, “O King of the
age, methinks he is naught but an impostor, and ’tis the impostor
who ruineth the house of the covetous;”—And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Nine Hundred and Ninety-third Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
Wazir said to the King, “Methinks he is naught but an impostor,
and ’tis the impostor who ruineth the house of the covetous;” the
King said, “O Wazir, I will prove him and soon know if he be an
impostor or a true man and whether he be a rearling of Fortune or
not.” The Wazir asked, “And how wilt thou prove him?”; and the
King answered, “I will send for him to the presence and entreat
him with honour and give him a jewel which I have. An he know it
and wot its price, he is a man of worth and wealth; but an he
know it not, he is an impostor and an upstart and I will do him
die by the foulest fashion of deaths.” So he sent for Ma’aruf,
who came and saluted him. The King returned his salam and seating
him beside himself, said to him, “Art thou the merchant Ma’aruf?”
and said he, “Yes.” Quoth the King, “The merchants declare that
thou owest them sixty thousand ducats. Is this true?” “Yes,”
quoth he. Asked the King, “Then why dost thou not give them their
money?”; and he answered, “Let them wait till my baggage come and
I will repay them twofold. An they wish for gold, they shall have
gold; and should they wish for silver, they shall have silver; or
an they prefer for merchandise, I will give them merchandise; and
to whom I owe a thousand I will give two thousand in requital of
that wherewith he hath veiled my face before the poor; for I have
plenty.” Then said the King, “O merchant, take this and look what
is its kind and value.” And he gave him a jewel the bigness of a
hazel-nut, which he had bought for a thousand sequins and not
having its fellow, prized it highly. Ma’aruf took it and pressing
it between his thumb and forefinger brake it, for it was brittle
and would not brook the squeeze. Quoth the King, “Why hast thou
broken the jewel?”; and Ma’aruf laughed and said, “O King of the
age, this is no jewel. This is but a bittock of mineral worth a
thousand dinars; why dost thou style it a jewel? A jewel I call
such as is worth threescore and ten thousand gold pieces and this
is called but a piece of stone. A jewel that is not of the
bigness of a walnut hath no worth in my eyes and I take no
account thereof. How cometh it, then, that thou, who art King,
stylest this thing a jewel, when ’tis but a bit of mineral worth
a thousand dinars? But ye are excusable, for that ye are poor
folk and have not in your possession things of price.” The King
asked, “O merchant, hast thou jewels such as those whereof thou
speakest?”; and he answered, “Plenty.” Whereupon avarice overcame
the King and he said, “Wilt thou give me real jewels?” Said
Ma’aruf, “When my baggage-train shall come, I will give thee no
end of jewels; and all that thou canst desire I have in plenty
and will give thee, without price.” At this the King rejoiced and
said to the traders, “Wend your ways and have patience with him,
till his baggage arrive, when do ye come to me and receive your
monies from me.” So they fared forth and the King turned to his
to his Wazir and said to him, “Pay court to Merchant Ma’aruf and
take and give with him in talk and bespeak him of my daughter,
Princess Dunyá, that he may wed her and so we gain these riches
he hath.” Said the Wazir, “O King of the age, this man’s fashion
misliketh me and methinks he is an impostor and a liar: so leave
this whereof thou speakest lest thou lose thy daughter for
naught.” Now this Minister had sued the King aforetime to give
him his daughter to wife and he was willing to do so, but when
she heard of it she consented not to marry him. Accordingly, the
King said to him, “O traitor, thou desirest no good for me,
because in past time thou soughtest my daughter in wedlock, but
she would none of thee; so now thou wouldst cut off the way of
her marriage and wouldst have the Princess lie fallow, that thou
mayst take her; but hear from me one word. Thou hast no concern
in this matter. How can he be an impostor and a liar, seeing that
he knew the price of the jewel, even that for which I bought it,
and brake it because it pleased him not? He hath jewels in
plenty, and when he goeth in to my daughter and seeth her to be
beautiful she will captivate his reason and he will love her and
give her jewels and things of price: but, as for thee, thou
wouldst forbid my daughter and myself these good things.” So the
Minister was silent, for fear of the King’s anger, and said to
himself, “Set the curs on the cattle[FN#44]!” Then with show of
friendly bias he betook himself to Ma’aruf and said to him, “His
Highness the King loveth thee and hath a daughter, a winsome lady
and a lovesome, to whom he is minded to marry thee. What sayst
thou?” Said he, “No harm in that; but let him wait till my
baggage come, for marriage-settlements on Kings’ daughters are
large and their rank demandeth that they be not endowed save with
a dowry befitting their degree. At this present I have no money
with me till the coming of my baggage, for I have wealth in
plenty and needs must I make her marriage-portion five thousand
purses. Then I shall need a thousand purses to distribute amongst
the poor and needy on my wedding-night, and other thousand to
give to those who walk in the bridal procession and yet other
thousand wherewith to provide provaunt for the troops and
others[FN#45]; and I shall want an hundred jewels to give to the
Princess on the wedding-morning[FN#46] and other hundred gems to
distribute among the slavegirls and eunuchs, for I must give each
of them a jewel in honour of the bride; and I need wherewithal to
clothe a thousand naked paupers, and alms too needs must be
given. All this cannot be done till my baggage come; but I have
plenty and, once it is here, I shall make no account of all this
outlay.” The Wazir returned to the King and told him what Ma’aruf
said, whereupon quoth he, “Since this is his wish, how canst thou
style him impostor and liar?” Replied the Minister, “And I cease
not to say this.” But the King chid him angrily and threatened
him, saying, “By the life of my head, an thou cease not this
talk, I will slay thee! Go back to him and fetch him to me and I
will manage matters with him myself.” So the Wazir returned to
Ma’aruf and said to him, “Come and speak with the King.” “I hear
and I obey,” said Ma’aruf and went in to the King, who said to
him, “Thou shalt not put me off with these excuses, for my
treasury is full; so take the keys and spend all thou needest and
give what thou wilt and clothe the poor and do thy desire and
have no care for the girl and the handmaids. When the baggage
shall come, do what thou wilt with thy wife, by way of
generosity, and we will have patience with thee anent the
marriage-portion till then, for there is no manner of difference
betwixt me and thee; none at all.” Then he sent for the Shaykh
Al-Islam[FN#47] and bade him write out the marriage-contract
between his daughter and Merchant Ma’aruf, and he did so; after
which the King gave the signal for beginning the wedding
festivities and bade decorate the city. The kettle drums beat and
the tables were spread with meats of all kinds and there came
performers who paraded their tricks. Merchant Ma’aruf sat upon a
throne in a parlour and the players and gymnasts and
effeminates[FN#48] and dancing-men of wondrous movements and
posture-makers of marvellous cunning came before him, whilst he
called out to the treasurer and said to him, “Bring gold and
silver.” So he brought gold and silver and Ma’aruf went round
among the spectators and largessed each performer by the handful;
and he gave alms to the poor and needy and clothes to the naked
and it was a clamorous festival and a right merry. The treasurer
could not bring money fast enough from the treasury, and the
Wazir’s heart was like to burst for rage; but he dared not say a
word, whilst Merchant Ali marvelled at this waste of wealth and
said to Merchant Ma’aruf, “Allah and the Hallows visit this upon
on thy head-sides[FN#49]! Doth it not suffice thee to squander
the traders’ money, but thou must squander that of the King to
boot?” Replied Ma’aruf, “’Tis none of thy concern: whenas my
baggage shall come, I will requite the King manifold.” And he
went on lavishing money and saying in himself, “A burning plague!
What will happen will happen and there is no flying from that
which is fore-ordained.” The festivities ceased not for the space
of forty days, and on the one-and-fortieth day, they made the
bride’s cortège and all the Emirs and troops walked before her.
When they brought her in before Ma’aruf, he began scattering gold
on the people’s heads, and they made her a mighty fine
procession, whilst Ma’aruf expended in her honour vast sums of
money. Then they brought him in to Princess Dunya and he sat down
on the high divan; after which they let fall the curtains and
shut the doors and withdrew, leaving him alone with his bride;
whereupon he smote hand upon hand and sat awhile sorrowful and
saying, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah,
the Glorious, the Great!” Quoth the Princess, “O my lord, Allah
preserve thee! What aileth thee that thou art troubled?” Quoth
he, “And how should I be other than troubled, seeing that thy
father hath embarrassed me and done with me a deed which is like
the burning of green corn?” She asked, “And what hath my father
done with thee? Tell me!”; and he answered, “He hath brought me
in to thee before the coming of my baggage, and I want at very
least an hundred jewels to distribute among thy handmaids, to
each a jewel, so she might rejoice therein and say, My lord gave
me a jewel on the night of his going in to my lady. This good
deed would I have done in honour of thy station and for the
increase of thy dignity; and I have no need to stint myself in
lavishing jewels, for I have of them great plenty.” Rejoined she,
“Be not concerned for that. As for me, trouble not thyself about
me, for I will have patience with thee till thy baggage shall
come, and as for my women have no care for them. Rise, doff thy
clothes and take thy pleasure; and when the baggage cometh we
shall get the jewels and the rest.” So he arose and putting off
his clothes sat down on the bed and sought love-liesse and they
fell to toying with each other. He laid his hand on her knee and
she sat down in his lap and thrust her lip like a tit-bit of meat
into his mouth, and that hour was such as maketh a man to forget
his father and his mother. So he clasped her in his arms and
strained her fast to his breast and sucked her lip, till the
honey-dew ran out into his mouth; and he laid his hand under her
left-armpit, whereupon his vitals and her vitals yearned for
coition. Then he clapped her between the breasts and his hand
slipped down between her thighs and she girded him with her legs,
whereupon he made of the two parts proof amain and crying out, “O
sire of the chin-veils twain[FN#50]!” applied the priming and
kindled the match and set it to the touch-hole and gave fire and
breached the citadel in its four corners; so there befel the
mystery[FN#51] concerning which there is no enquiry: and she
cried the cry that needs must be cried.[FN#52]—And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it Was the Nine Hundred and Ninety-fourth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that while
the Princess Dunyá cried the cry which must be cried, Merchant
Ma’aruf abated her maidenhead and that night was one not to be
counted among lives for that which it comprised of the enjoyment
of the fair, clipping and dallying _langue fourrée_ and futtering
till the dawn of day, when he arose and entered the Hammam
whence, after donning a suit for sovrans suitable he betook
himself to the King’s Divan. All who were there rose to him and
received him with honour and worship, giving him joy and invoking
blessings upon him; and he sat down by the King’s side and asked,
“Where is the treasurer?” They answered, “Here he is, before
thee,” and he said to him, “Bring robes of honour for all the
Wazirs and Emirs and dignitaries and clothe them therewith.” The
treasurer brought him all he sought and he sat giving to all who
came to him and lavishing largesse upon every man according to
his station. On this wise he abode twenty days, whilst no baggage
appeared for him nor aught else, till the treasurer was
straitened by him to the uttermost and going in to the King, as
he sat alone with the Wazir in Ma’aruf’s absence, kissed ground
between his hands and said, “O King of the age, I must tell thee
somewhat, lest haply thou blame me for not acquainting thee
therewith. Know that the treasury is being exhausted; there is
none but a little money left in it and in ten days more we shall
shut it upon emptiness.” Quoth the King, “O Wazir, verily my
son-in-law’s baggage-train tarrieth long and there appeareth no
news thereof.” The Minister laughed and said, “Allah be gracious
to thee, O King of the age! Thou art none other but heedless with
respect to this impostor, this liar. As thy head liveth, there is
no baggage for him, no, nor a burning plague to rid us of him!
Nay, he hath but imposed on thee without surcease, so that he
hath wasted thy treasures and married thy daughter for naught.
How long therefore wilt thou be heedless of this liar?” Then
quoth the King, “O Wazir, how shall we do to learn the truth of
his case?”; and quoth the Wazir, “O King of the age, none may
come at a man’s secret but his wife; so send for thy daughter and
let her come behind the curtain, that I may question her of the
truth of his estate, to the intent that she may make question of
him and acquaint us with his case.” Cried the King, “There is no
harm in that; and as my head liveth, if it be proved that he is a
liar and an impostor, I will verily do him die by the foulest of
deaths!” Then he carried the Wazir into the sitting-chamber and
sent for his daughter, who came behind the curtain, her husband
being absent, and said, “What wouldst thou, O my father?” Said he
“Speak with the Wazir.” So she asked, “Ho thou, the Wazir, what
is thy will?”; and he answered, “O my lady, thou must know that
thy husband hath squandered thy father’s substance and married
thee without a dower; and he ceaseth not to promise us and break
his promises, nor cometh there any tidings of his baggage; in
short we would have thee inform us concerning him.” Quoth she,
“Indeed his words be many, and he still cometh and promiseth me
jewels and treasures and costly stuffs; but I see nothing.” Quoth
the Wazir, “O my lady, canst thou this night take and give with
him in talk and whisper to him:—Say me sooth and fear from me
naught, for thou art become my husband and I will not transgress
against thee. So tell me the truth of the matter and I will
devise thee a device whereby thou shalt be set at rest. And do
thou play near and far[FN#53] with him in words and profess love
to him and win him to confess and after tell us the facts of his
case.” And she answered, “O my papa, I know how I will make proof
of him.” Then she went away and after supper her husband came in
to her, according to his wont, whereupon Princess Dunya rose to
him and took him under the armpit and wheedled him with winsomest
wheedling (and all-sufficient[FN#54] are woman’s wiles whenas she
would aught of men); and she ceased not to caress him and beguile
him with speech sweeter than the honey till she stole his reason;
and when she saw that he altogether inclined to her, she said to
him, “O my beloved, O coolth of my eyes and fruit of my vitals,
Allah never desolate me by less of thee nor Time sunder us twain
me and thee! Indeed, the love of thee hath homed in my heart and
the fire of passion hath consumed my liver, nor will I ever
forsake thee or transgress against thee. But I would have thee
tell me the truth, for that the sleights of falsehood profit not,
nor do they secure credit at all seasons. How long wilt thou
impose upon my father and lie to him? I fear lest thine affair be
discovered to him, ere we can devise some device and he lay
violent hands upon thee? So acquaint me with the facts of the
case for naught shall befal thee save that which shall begladden
thee; and, when thou shalt have spoken sooth, fear not harm shall
betide thee. How often wilt thou declare that thou art a merchant
and a man of money and hast a luggage-train? This long while past
thou sayest, My baggage! my baggage! but there appeareth no sign
of thy baggage, and visible in thy face is anxiety on this
account. So an there be no worth in thy words, tell me and I will
contrive thee a contrivance whereby by thou shalt come off safe,
Inshallah!” He replied, “I will tell thee the truth, and then do
thou whatso thou wilt.” Rejoined she, “Speak and look thou speak
soothly; for sooth is the ark of safety, and beware of lying, for
it dishonoureth the liar and God-gifted is he who said:—
’Ware that truth thou speak, albe sooth when said * Shall cause
thee in threatenèd fire to fall: