 Section 1 of the Book of the Thousand Nights in a Night, Volume 10. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Josh Kibbe. The Book of the Thousand Nights in a Night, Volume 10, by Anonymous. Translated by Richard Francis Burton. Night, 990. When it was the 990th night, she resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, that ma-roof the cobbler said to his spouse, By Allah I have no dirhams today, But our Lord will make things easy to me. She rejoined, I walk not of these words, Look thou come not to me, Save with the vermicelli and bees, honey, Else I will make thy night black as thy fortune, When as thou fellest into my hand. Quote 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 rose, and went out perplexed As to how he should do in the manner Of the vermicelli cake, seeing he had not yet even the wherewithal To buy bread. Presently he came to the shop of the Kunafa seller, And stood before it, and almost his eyes brimped with tears. The pastry cook glanced at him and said, Oh Master Ma'aruf, why dost thou weep? Tell me what hath befallen thee. So he acquainted him with this case, saying, My wife would have me bring her a Kunafa, But I have sat on my shop till past midday, 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 would 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, 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, Just thou want bread and cheese? And Ma'aruf answered, Yes. So he gave him four half-derhams worth of bread and one of cheese, And the vermicelli was ten nufs. Then he said, No, O Ma'aruf, that thou o'est me fifteen nufs. So go to thy wife and make merry, And take this nuf for the hamam. And thou shalt have credit for a day or two or three, Till Allah provide thee with thy daily bread. And straighten 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 the heart at ease, Blessing the pastry cook and saying, Extold be thy perfection, O my lord, How beautiful art thou. When he came home his wife inquired of him, As thou brought the vermicelli cake, And, replying, Yes, he said it before her. She looked at it and, seeing that it was dressed with cane honey, Said to him, Did I not bid thee bring it with bees, honey? Will 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 knafa 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 felt the shouting out and saying, Help, o Muslims! So the neighbors came in and freed his beard from her grip. Then they reproved and reproached her, Saying, We are all content to eat knafa with cane honey. Why, then, will thou press 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 swore that she would not eat of the vermicelli, And ma'a-roof burning with hunger, said in himself, She swore that she will not eat, so I will Ian 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. Quote he, It shall not be at thy bidding, And went on eating, laughing, and saying, Thou sworest that thou wouldst not eat of this, But Allah is bountiful, And tomorrow night, in the Lord decree, I will bring thee knafa 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. Quote he, Give me time, And I will bring thee other vermicelli cake. Then he went out to the mosque and prayed, After which he but took himself to his shop, And, opening it, sat down. But hardly had he done this, When up came two runners from the Qazi's court, And said to him, Up with thee, Speak with the Qazi, For thy wife hath complained of thee to him, And her favor is less than less. He recognized her by their description, And saying, May Allah Almighty torment her, Walked with him till he came to the Qazi's presence, Where he found Fatima standing with her arm bound up, And her face veiled besmeared with blood, And she was weeping and wiping away her tears. Quote the Qazi, O 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 neighbors made peace between me and her, And he told him the story from first to last. Now this Qazi was a benevolent man, So he brought out to him a qurter dinar, Saying, O man, take this and get her qunafa With peace, honey, and do ye make peace, thou and she. Quoth Ma'aruf, Give it to her, So she took it and the Qazi made peace between them, Saying, O wife, obey thy husband, And thou, O man, deal kindly with her. Then they left the court, reconciled at the Qazi's hands, And the woman went one way, Wilster 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. Quothee, the Qazi took not of meat. On the contrary, he gave me a qurter dinar. But quothee, it is no concern of ours Whether the Qazi 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 felt the 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 Qazi, 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 Qazi, And thy wife hath complained of thee to our Qazi. So he arose and went with them to their Qazi, 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 Qazi his story, Adding, And indeed the Qazi such as one Made peace between us this very hour. Whereupon the Qazi said to her, O strumpet, since ye two have made peace with each other, Why comeest thou to me complaining? Quote she, he beat me after that, But, quote the Qazi, make peace with each other, And beat her not again, and she will cross thee no more. So they made peace, and the Qazi 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 Shagrin which befell 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, And Abu Tabaq is after thee. So he shut his shop and fled towards the gate to victory. He had five noops of silver left, Of the price of the last Sengir, 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 waterskins, And his clothes were drenched. He therefore entered the Adiliya, 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 insane, Whither shall I flee from this whore? I beseech thee, O Lord, Devouch save 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, There from 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 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 Sepertide till daybreak, When he set him down on the top of a high mountain, And Shah Razaad perceived the dawn of day, And ceased saying her permitted say. End of Section 1. Section 2 of The Book of the Thousand Night and the Night, Volume 10. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Ernest. The Book of the Thousand Nights and the Night, Volume 10 by Anonymous. Translated by Richard Francis Burton. Night 991. When it was the 991st 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 moral, 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 lighten of the grieving heart. But as he walked through the streets, The townsfolk stared at him as a curiosity, And gathered about him, marveling 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 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. Quote they, what doth he say? And quote the townsmen, 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 Maherov said to him, O man, art thou mad to talk thus? How canst thou pretend that thou leftest Cairo At mid-afternoon yesterday, And foundest thyself this morning here, When the truth is that between our city and Cairo Lies a full year's journey? Quote 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 writing on a she-mule, And followed by two black slaves, And break away through the people, saying, O folk, are ye not ashamed to mob the stranger And make mock of him and scoff at him? And he went on to rake them, Till he draved them away from Maoroth, And none can 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. So he took him and carrying him To a spacious and richly adorned house, Seeded 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. He clad him therewith, And Maoroth, being a seamly 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 viens. The twain ate and drank, And the merchant said to Maoroth, O my brother, what is thy name? My name is Maoroth, And I am a cobbler by trade And patch old shoes. What countrymen art thou? I am from Cairo. What quarter? Dost thou know Cairo? I am of its children. I come from the Red Street. And whom dost thou know in the Red Street? I know such and one and such and one, Answered Maoroth, And named several people to him. Quote the other, Knowest thou Sheikh Ahmad the drugist? He was my next neighbor wall to wall. Is he well? Yes. How many sons hath he? Three, Mustafa, Mohamed, and Ali. And what hath Allah done with him? As for Mustafa he is well, And he is a learned man, a professor. Mohamed is a drugist, And opened him a shop beside that of his father After he had married, And his wife hath borne him a son named Hassan. Allah gladden thee with good news, Said the merchant, and Maoroth 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, And 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 Sheikh Ahmad the drugist, And thou art my playmate Maoroth. So they saluted each other, And after the salam Ali said, Tell me why, O Maoroth, Thou camest from Cairo to this city? Then he told him all that had befallen him Of ill-doing with his wife Fatima 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 Adelia, 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 me all night between heaven and earth, Till he sent 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, Carriedest me this house. Such then is the cause of my quitting Cairo, And thou, what object brought thee hither? Quoth Ali, The giddiness of Fali 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 Iktian al-Katan. I found its people and hospitable folk, And the 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 merchant's bazaar, Where, seeing goods, I bought them, And sold them next day at a profit of fifty gold pieces, And bought others. 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. No, O my brother, That the proverb sayeth, The world is show and trickery, And the land where none wadeth thee, There do what so likeeth thee. Thou too, and thou say to all who ask thee, I am a cobbler by trade and poor with all, 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, and 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 dishonoring both to thee And to me, because they can, I come from Cairo. Ma'aruf asked, How then shall I do? And Ali answered, I will tell thee, How thou shall do in shallah? Tomorrow I will give thee a thousand denars And a she-mule to ride, And a black slave, Who shall walk before thee And guide thee to the gate of the merchant's bazaar, 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 ought of such a kind? Do thou answer plenty? And if they question me of thee, I will praise thee, And magnify thee in their eyes, And say to them, Get him a storehouse 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 Charizard perceived the dawn of day, And ceased to say her permitted say. End of Section 2. Recording by Mark Ernest. Section 3 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and the Night, Volume 10. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Ernest. When it was the 992nd night, she continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That the merchant Ali said to Ma'arov, 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 the equidance of responsibility for all this, And as much 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'arov and rode on, Proceeded by his black amour till the slave Brought him to the gate of the merchant's bazaar, 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'arov, O man of good works and kindness. And he kissed his hand before the merchants, And said to them, Our brothers ye are honored by knowing the merchant Ma'arov. 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'arov 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 sign 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 walt 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 and sherbet, And even the consul of the merchants Came to him and saluted him, Whilst al-Y proceeded to ask him In the presence of the traders, O my lord, happily thou hast brought With thee somewhat of such and such a stuff, And Ma'arov 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'arov said, Plenty. Quote another, and Gazelle's blood red, And quote the cobbler, Plenty. And as often as he asked him of ought, He made him the same answer. So the other said, O merchant Ali, Had thy countrymen a mine 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 storehouses And miss not 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, But most of them gave him nothing, Till he came to Ma'arov, Who pulled out a handful of gold, And gave it to him, Whereupon he blessed him, And went his ways. The merchants marveled 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. Quote the consul, What aileth thee, O merchant Ma'arov? And quote 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 saddlebags, And given largesse thereof to the poor. I fear me I may be long abroad, And is not in my nature to balk a beggar. I have no gold left, So if a pauper come to me, What shall I say to him? Quote the consul, Say, Allah will send thee thy daily bread. But Ma'arov 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, Quote the consul, And sending one of his dependents For a thousand dinars, Handed them to Ma'arov, 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 marveled At the abundance of his generosity And open-handedness. 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 bazaar He had borrowed five thousand sequins And given them away, Saying to every one of whom he took ought 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'arov And the rest of the traders to an entertainment And seated him in the upper end, The place of honor, Where he talked of nothing but cloths and jewels And whenever they made mention to him of ought 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 three score thousand dinars And still there came no baggage, No, nor a burning plague. At last folk began to clamor for their money And say, The merchant Ma'arov's baggage cometh not. How long will he take people's monies And give them to the poor? And quote one of them, My read is that we speak to Merchant Ali. So they went to him and said, O Merchant Ali, Merchant Ma'arov's baggage cometh not. Said he, Have patience, It cannot fail to come soon. Then he took Ma'arov aside and said to him, O Ma'arov, what fashion is this? Did I bid thee brown the bread or burn it? The merchants clamor for their coin And tell me that thou o'est them sixty thousand dinars Which thou hast borrowed and given away to the poor. How will thou satisfy the folk Seeing that thou neither cellist nor biased? Said Ma'arov, What matters it and what are three score thousand dinars? When my baggage shall come, I will pay them in stuffs or in gold and silver as they will. Quote Merchant Ali, Allah is most great, Hast thou then any baggage? And he said, Plenty! Cried the other, Allah and the hollows 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'arov rejoined, Be gone and prat no more. Am I a poor man? I have endless wealth in my baggage, And as soon as it cometh, They shall have their monies worth two for one. I have no need of them. At this Merchant Ali waxed wroth, And said, Unmannerly wit that thou art, I will teach thee to lie to me and be not ashamed. Said Ma'arov, In work thee 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 praise him will'em, And if I blame him now, I make myself out a liar, And become of those whom it is said, Whoso praiseth and then blameth lieth twice. And he knew not what to do. Presently the traitors 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. Done him yourselves, And if ye 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 one had passed, Saying, O king of the age, We are perplexed anint this merchant, Whose generosity is excessive, For he doeth thus and thus, And all he borroweth, He giveth away to the poor by hands full. 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 to 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 passed, But there appeareth no sign Of his baggage-train, And he oeth 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 Ashab. And when he heard tell Of Ma'aruf's generosity and open-handedness, 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, What so 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, Me thinks he is not but an imposter, And tis the imposter who ruineth the house of the covetous. And Charizard perceived the dawn of day, And ceased saying her permitted say. End of Section 3 Recording by Mark Ernest Section 4 of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 10 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Ernest The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 10 by Anonymous Translated by Richard Francis Burton Night 993 When it was the 993rd night she pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That when the wazir said to the king, Me thinks he is not but an imposter, And tis the imposter who ruineth the house of the covetous. The king said, O wazir, I will prove him and soon know if he be an imposter 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 honor, And give him a jewel which I have. And he know it, and what its price, He is a man of worth and wealth, But and he know it not, he is an imposter, 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 oest them sixty thousand ducats. Is this true? Yes, quoth he. Ask 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, And they wish for gold, they shall have gold, And should they wish for silver, they shall have silver, Or and they prefer for merchandise, I will give them merchandise, And to whom I owe a thousand, I will give two thousand, And 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 hazelnut, Which he had bought for a thousand sequins, And not having its fellow prized it highly. Ma'arruf took it, and pressing it between his thumb and forefinger, Break it, for it was brittle, and would not brook the squeeze. Quoth the king, Why hast thou broken the jewel? And Ma'arruf laughed and said, O king of the age, This is no jewel, this is but a bit of mineral worth a thousand dinars. Why dost thou style it a jewel? A jewel I call such as is worth three score 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, Stylist 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 hath 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'arruf. 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, When do 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 wazir and said to him, Pay court to merchant Ma'arruf, and take and give with him in talk, And bespeak him of my daughter, Princess Dunya, 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 bethinks 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 a foretime 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 trader, 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 break it because it pleased him not? He hath jewels in plenty, And when he goeth into my daughter, And seeth her to be beautiful, She will captivate his reason, And he will love her, And give her jewels in 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 curse on the cattle. Then with a show of friendly bias, He betook himself to Ma Ruff, 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 sayest thou? Said he, No harm in that, But let him wait till my baggage come, For marriage settlements on king's 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 to wear with To provide provot for the troops and others, And I shall want an hundred jewels To give to the princess on the wedding morning, And other hundred gems to distribute Among the slave girls and eunuchs, For I must give each of them a jewel In honor of the bride, And I need weareth all to clothe A thousand naked paupers, And alms to 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, quote he, Since this is his wish, How can't thou style him imposter and liar? Reply to 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 And 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 into 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 And knit the marriage portion till then, For there is no manner of difference Betwixt me and thee, none at all. Then he sent for the sheikh al-Islam, And bade him right 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 set upon a throne and a parlor, And the players and gymnasts and effeminants, And dancing men of wondrous movements, And posture makers of marvelous 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 largesced each performer by the handful, And he gave alms to the poor and needy, And clothed 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 marveled at this waste of wealth, And said to merchant Ma'aruf, Allah and the Hallows visit this upon thy headsides. Doth it not suffice thee to squander the trader's money, But thou must squander that of the king to boot? Replied Ma'aruf, Tis none of thy concern. When as 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 foreordained. The festivities ceased not for the space of forty days, And on the one and fortieth day, They made the brides cortege, 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 honor 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 along with his bride, Whereupon he smote hand upon hand, And set awhile sorrowful, and saying, There is no majesty, and there is no might, Save in Allah the glorious the great. Quote the Princess, O my Lord, Allah preserve thee, What aileth thee that thou art troubled. Quote 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 honor 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, Set down on the bed and sought lovelies, And they fell to toying with each other. He laid his hand on her knee, And she set down in his lap, And thrust her lip like a tit bit 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 honeydew 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 a mane, And crying out, Osire of the chin veils twain, Applied the priming and kindled the match, And set it to the touch-hole, And gave fire and breeched the citadel In its four corners. So there befell the mystery concerning Which there is no inquiry, And she cried the cry that needs Must be cried, And Charizard perceived the dawn of day And ceased to say her permitted say. End of section four. Recording by Mark Ernest. Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume 10 by Anonymous Translated by Richard Francis Burton Section 5 When it was the 994th night, She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That while the Princess Dunya Cried the cry which must be cried, Merchant Maruf abated her maiden head, 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 Langou Fouret And futtering till the dawn of day, When he arose and entered the Hamam Huents, After dawning a suit for sovereigns Suitable, He betook himself to the king's Divan. All who were there rose to him, And received him with honor 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 honor For all the viziers and amirs And dignitaries And clothe them therewith. The treasurer brought him all he sought, And he sat giving all who came to him, Enlabishing largesse upon every man According to his station. On this wise he abode twenty days, Whilst no baggage appeared for him, Nor ought else, Till the treasurer was straightened By him to the uttermost And going into the king, As he sat alone with the vizier In Maruf's absence, Kissed ground between his hands, And said, Oh king of the age, I must tell thee somewhat, Lest happily thou blame me For not acquainting thee therewith. Know that the treasurer 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 vizier, verily my son-in-law's baggage-train Terieth long, and there appeareth no news thereof. The minister laughed and said, Ha-ha, Allah be gracious to thee, O king of the age. Thou art none other but heedless With respect to this imposter, 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 vizier, What shall we do to learn the truth of this case? And, quoth the vizier, 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 inquaint us with his case. Cried the king, There is no harm in that, And as my head liveth, If it can 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 vizier into the sitting chamber, And sent for his daughter, Who came behind the curtain. Her husband being absent and said, What wouldest thou, O my father? Said he, Speak to the vizier. So she asked, O thou, the vizier, What is thy will? And he answered, O my lady, Thou must know that thy husband have squandered thy father's substance, And married thee without a dour, And he ceaseth not to promise us and break his promises, Nor cometh any tidings of his baggage. In short, we would have thee inform us concerning him. Quote she, Indeed his words be many, And he still cometh and promiseeth me jewels, And treasures and costly stuffs, But I see nothing. Quote the vizier, O my lady, Canst thou this night take and give with him, And talk and whisper to him, Say me, soothe and fear from me not, 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 shall be set at rest, And do thou play near and far 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. And then she went away, And after supper her husband came into her, According to his want, Whereupon Princess Dunya rose to him, And took him under the armpit, And weedled him with winds cement weedling, And all sufficient are women's wiles, When as she would ought 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 all together inclined to her, She said to him, O my beloved, O cooth of my eyes and fruit of my vitals, Allah never desolate me by less of thee, Or timesunderest twain me and thee. Indeed the love of thee hath homed in my heart, 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 slights 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, Here we can devise some device, And he lay violent hands upon thee. So acquaint me with the facts of the case, For not shall be fall thee, Save that which shall be gladden thee. And when thou shalt have spoken sooth, Fear not harm shall be tidely. How often wilt thou declare that thou art emergent, 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, and there be no worth in thy words, Tell me, and I will contrive via contrivance, Whereby thou shalt come off safe, inshallah. He replied, I will tell thee the truth, And then do thou what so thou wilt. Rejoin she, speak, and look thou speak soothly, For sooth is the ark of safety, And beware of lying, for it dishonoreth the liar, And God gifted is he who said, Where that truth thou speak, I'll be sooth when said, Shall cause thee in threatened fire to fall, And seek Allah's proof, for most foolish he, Who shall anger his Lord to make friends with Thrall. He said, No, then, O my lady, That I am no merchant, and have no baggage, No, nor a burning plague. Nay, I was but a cobbler in my own country, And had a wife called Fatima the Dung, With whom there befell me this and that. And he told her his story from beginning to end, Where at she laughed and said, Verily thou art clever in the practice of lying and imposture. Where, too, he answered, O my lady, May Allah Almighty preserve thee To veil sins and countervail chagrins. Rejoin she, know that thou imposetist upon my sire And deceivetist him by dint of thy deluding vants, So that of his greed for gain he married me to thee. Then thou squandered his wealth, And the vizier beareth via grudge for this. How many a time hath he spoken against thee to my father, Saying, Indeed, he is an imposter, a liar, But my sire hearkened not to his say, For that he had sought me in wedlock, And I consented not that he be barren in ifem. However, the time grew longsome upon my sire, And he became straightened and said to me, Make him confess. So I have made thee confess, And that which was covered is discovered. Now my father proposes thee a mischief because of this, But thou art become my husband, And I will never transgress against thee. And I told my father what I have learnt from thee. He would be certified of thy falsehood and imposture, And that thou imposest upon kings, daughters, And squanderest royal wealth. So would thine offence find with him no pardon, And he would slay thee, sans a doubt, Wherefore it would be brooted among the folk That I married a man who was a liar and imposture, And this would smirch mine honour. Furthermore, and he kill thee, Most like he will require me to wed another, And to such thing I will never consent. No, not though I die. So rise now, and don a memelux dress, And take these fifty thousand dinars of my money, And mount a swift steed and get thee to a land, Wither the rule of my father doth not reach, Then make thee a merchant, And send me a letter by a courier, Who shall bring it privily to me, That I may know in what land thou art. So I may send thee, all my hand can attain. Thus shall thy wealth wax great, And if my father die I will send for thee, And thou shall return in respect and honour. And if we die, thou or I, And go to the mercy of God the most great, The resurrection shall unite us. This then is the read that is right. And while we both abide alive and well, I will not cease to send thee letters and monies. Arise, ere the day was bright, And thou be in perplexed plight And perdition upon thy head alight. Quote he, Oh, my lady, I beseech thee of thy favour, To bid me farewell with thine embracement. And, quote she, no harm in that. So he embraced her and knew her carnally, After which he made the gusul ablution, Then donning the dress of a white slave, He bade the psyches saddle him a thoroughbred steed. Accordingly they saddled him a coarser, And he mounted, and farewelling his wife, Rode forth from the city at the last of the night, Whilst all who saw him deemed him one of the Mamluks Of the sultan going abroad on some business. Next morning the king and his vizier Repaired to the sitting chamber, And sent for Princess Dunya, Who came behind the curtain, And her father said to her, Oh, my daughter, what sayest thou? Said she, I say, Allah, blacken thy vizier's face, Because he would have blackened my face In my husband's eyes. Asked the king, How so? And she answered, He came into me yesterday, But before I could name the matter to him, Behold, in walked Faraj, the chief eunuch, Letter in hand and said, Ten white slaves stand out of the palace window, And have this letter saying, Kiss for us the hands of our lord, Merchant my roof, and give him this letter, For we are of his Mamluks with the baggage, And it hath reached us that he hath wedded the king's daughter. So we are come to acquaint him With that which befell us by the way. Accordingly, I took the letter in red as follows. From the five hundred Mamluks to his highness, Our lord, merchant my roof. But further, we give thee to know that, After thou quittedest us, The Arabs came out upon us and attacked us. They were two thousand horse, And we five hundred mounted slaves, And there befell a mighty sore fight Between us and them. They hindered us from the road, Thirty days doing battle with them, And this is the cause of our tarrying from thee. And Sheharazad perceived the dawn of day, And ceased saying her permitted say. End of Section 5. When it was the nine hundred and ninety-fifth night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That Princess Dunya said to her sire, My husband received a letter from his dependents, Ending with, The Arabs hindered us from the road, Thirty days which is the cause of our being behind time. They also took from us of the luggage Two hundred loads of cloth, And slew of us fifty Mamluks. When the news reached my husband, He cried, Allah disappoint them, What ailed them to wage war with the Arabs For the sake of two hundred loads of merchandise. What are two hundred loads? It behoove them not to tarry on that account, For verily the value of the two hundred loads Is only some seven thousand dinars. But needs must I go to them and hasten them, As for that which the Arabs have taken, To not be missed from the baggage, Nor doth it weigh with me a wit, For I reckon it as if I had given it to them By way of an alms. And then he went down from me, Laughing and taking no concern For the wastage of his wealth, Nor the slaughter of his slaves. As soon as he was gone, I looked out from the lattice And saw the ten Mamluks Who had brought him the letter, As they were moons, Each clad in a suit of clothes Worth two thousand dinars. There is not with my father A chattel to match one of them. He went forth with them to bring up his baggage And hallowed be Allah who hindered me From saying to him, Aught of that thou bedest me, For he would have made mock of me and thee, And happily he would have eyed me With the eye of disparagement and hated me. But the fault is all with thy vazir Who speaketh against my husband Words that besit him not. Reply to the king, O my daughter, Thy husband's wealth is indeed endless And he wrecketh not of it. For from the day he entered our city He hath done not but give alms to the poor. Inshallah, He will speedily return with the baggage And good in plenty shall be tied us from him. And he went on to appease her And menace the vazir Being duped by her device. So fared it with the king. But as regards merchant Maruf, He rode on into wastelands, Perplexed and knowing not to what quarter He should be take him, And for the anguish of parting He lamented, And in the pangs of passion and love longing He recited these couplets. Time false our union And divided who were one in tway And the sore tyranny of time Doth melt my heart away. Mine eyes ne'er ceased to drop the tear For parting with my dear. When shall disunion come to end The dawn and union day? O favour like the full moon's face of sheen Indeed, I am he Whom thou didst leave with vitals torn When faring on thy way. Would I had never seen thy sight Or met thee for an hour Since after sweetest taste of thee To bidders I'm a prey? Maruf will never cease to be enthralled By Dunya's charms And long live she, Albee he die Whom love and longing slay. O brilliance, Like resplendent sun of noontine Deed them heal, His heart for kindness And the fire of longing love allay. Would heaven I wot And ere the days shall Dane Conjoin our lots. Join us in pleasant talk of nights. In union glad and gay. Shall my love's palace hold two hearts That savor joy and I Strain to my breast the branch I saw upon the sand hill sway. O favour of full moon and sheen Never may the sun of thee Succeeds to rise from eastern rim With all enlightening ray. I'm well content with passion pine In all its bane and bait. For luck and love is ever more. The butt of jealous fate. And when he ended his verses, He wept with sore weeping, For indeed the ways were walled up Before his face, And death seemed to him better Than dreying life. And he walked on like a drunken man For stress of distraction, And stayed not till noontide, When he came to a little town And saw a plower hard by, Plowing with a yoke of bulls. Now hunger was sore upon him, And he went up to the plowman And said to him, Peace be with thee. And he returned his salam And said to him, Welcome, oh my lord, Aren't thou one of the Sultan's Mamluks? Quoth Maruf, yes. And the other said, Alight with me for a guest meal. Whereupon Maruf knew him to be of the liberal And said to him, Oh, my brother, I see with thee not with which thou mayest feed me. How was it then that thou inviteest me? Answered the husbandman, Oh, my lord, Wheel is well nigh. Dismount thee here. The town is near hand, And I will go to fetch thee dinner And fodder for thy stallion. Rejoined Maruf. Since the town is near at hand, I can go thither as quickly as thou canst, And buy me what I have a mind to In the bazaar and eat. The peasant replied, Oh, my lord, The place is but a little village, And there is no bazaar there, Neither selling nor buying. So I conjure thee by Allah, Alight here with me, And heart in my heart, And I will run thither And return to thee in haste. Accordingly he dismounted, And the fellow left him, And went off to the village To fetch dinner for him Whilst Maruf sat awaiting him. Presently he said to himself, I have taken this poor man away from his work. But I will arise and plow in his steed Till he come back To make up for having hindered him from his work. And then he took the plow And starting the bulls plowed a little Till the share struck against something And the beast stopped. He goaded them on, But they could not move the plow. So he looked at the share, And finding it caught in a ring of gold, Cleared away the soil, And saw that it was set Centermost a slab of alabaster, The size of another millstone. He straved at the stone Till he pulled it from its place When they appeared beneath it A suturain with a stair. Presently he descended the flight of steps And came to a place like a hamam With four deities, The first full of gold from floor to roof, The second full of emeralds and pearls And coral also from ground to ceiling, The third of jacinths and rubies And turquoises and the fourth of diamonds And all manner of other precious stones. At the upper end of the place Stood a coffer of clearest crystal, Full of union gems each The size of a walnut, And upon the coffer lay a casket of gold The bigness of a lemon. When he saw this, He marveled and rejoiced with joy Exceeding and said to himself, I wonder, what is in this casket? So he opened it And found therein a seal ring of gold Whereon were graven names and talismans As they were the tracks of creeping ants. He rubbed the ring, And behold, the voice said, Od zoom, here am I at thy service. O my lord, ask and it shall be given unto thee. Wilt thou raise a city, Or ruin a capital, Or kill a king, Or dig a river channel, Or art of the kind? What so thou seekest, It shall come to pass By leave of the king of all might, Creator of day and night. Maroof asked, Oh, creature of my lord, Who and what art thou? And the other answered, I am the slave of this seal ring, Standing in the service of him who possesseth it. Whatsoever he seeketh, That I accomplish for him, And I have no excuse In neglecting that he bideth me do, Because I am sultan Over two and seventy tribes of the jinn, And each two and seventy thousand In number every one of which Thousand ruleth over a thousand merits, Each merit over a thousand ifrits, Each ifrit over a thousand satans, And each satan over a thousand jinn, And they are all under command of me, And may not gain, say me. As for me, I am spelled to this seal ring, And may not thwart whose soul holdeth it. Lo, thou hast gotten the hold of it, And I am become thy slave, So ask what thou wilt, For I hearken to thy word, And obey thy bidding, And if thou have need of me At any time, by land or by sea, Rub the signet ring, And thou wilt find me with thee. But beware of rubbing it twice in succession, Or thou wilt consume me With the fire of the names graven thereon, And thus wouldest thou lose me, And after regret me. Now I have acquainted thee with my case, And the peace. And Shaharizad perceived the dawn of day, And ceased to say her permitted say. End of Section 6 This was recorded by Mr. Mike 79, Lowell, Michigan, United States of America, Mike's Voice for Hire.com Section 7 of The Thousand Nights and a Night This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This is recorded by Mr. Mike 79, from Lowell, Michigan, United States of America, Mike's Voice for Hire.com The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night by Anonymous, translated by Richard Francis Burton, Night 900 and 96. When it was the 996th night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That when the slave of the signet ring Acquainted Maruf with his case, The merchant asked him, What is thy name? And the genie answered, My name is Abu al-Sadat. Quoth Maruf, O Abu al-Sadat, What is this place, And who enchanted thee in this casket? And quoth he, O my lord, This is a treasure called the horde of Shadad, Son of Ad, Him who the base of many-columned Iran laid, The like of which in the lands was never made. I was his slave in his lifetime, And this is his seal ring, Which he laid up in his treasure, But it hath fallen to thy lot. Maruf inquired, Canst thou transport that which is in this horde To the surface of the earth? And the genie replied, Yes, Nothing were easier, Said Maruf, Bring it forth, And leave not. So the genie signed with his hand to the ground, Which clave asunder, And he sank and was absent a little while. Presently there came forth young boys full of grace, And fair of face bearing golden baskets, Filled with gold which they emptied out, And going away returned with more. Nor did they cease to transport the golden jewels, Till ear and hour had sped, they said, Not is left in the horde. Thereupon out came Abu al-Sadat, And said to Maruf, O my lord, Thou seeest that we have brought forth All that was in the horde. Maruf asked, Who be these beautiful boys? And the genie answered, They are my sons. This matter merited not that I should muster for it the merits, Wherefore my sons have done thy desire And are honored by such service. So ask what thou wilt besides this. Quote Maruf, Canst thou bring me he mules And chests, And fill the chests with the treasure, And load them on the mules? Quote Abu al-Sadat, Nothing easier. And cried a great cry, Whereupon his sons presented themselves before him To the number of eight hundred, And he said to them, Let some of you take the semblance Of he mules, And others of mule tears And handsome Mamluks, The like of the least Of whom is not found with any of the kings, And others of you be transmuted to mule tears, And the rest to menials. So seven hundred of them changed themselves Into bat mules, And the other hundred Took the shape of slaves. Then Abu al-Sadat called upon his merits, Who presented themselves between his hands, And he commanded some of them to assume the aspect of horses, Saddled with saddles of gold, Crusted with jewels. And when Maruf saw them do as he bade, He cried, Where be the chests? They brought them before him, And he said, Pack the gold and the stones, Each sort by itself. So they packed them, And loaded three hundred he mules with them. Then asked Maruf, Oh, Abu al-Sadat, Canst thou bring me some loads of costly stuff? And the jini answered, Will thou have Egyptian stuff? Or Syrian? Or Persian? Or Indian? Or Greek? Maruf said, Bring me a hundred loads of each kind, On five hundred mules. And Abu al-Sadat, Oh my lord, Accord me delay that I may dispose my merits for this, And send a company of them to each country To fetch a hundred loads of its stuff, And then take the form of he mules and return, Carrying the stuff. Maruf inquired, What time does thou want? And Abu al-Sadat replied, The time of the blackness of the night, The day shall not dawn ere thou have all thou desirest. Said Maruf, I grant thee this time, And bade them pitch him a pavilion, So they pitched it, And he sat down therein, And they brought him a table of food. Then said Abu al-Sadat to him, Oh my lord, Terry thou in this tent, And these my sons shelled guard thee, So fear thou nothing, For I go to muster my merits, And dispatch them to do thy desire. So, saying, he departed, Leaving Maruf seated in the pavilion, With the table before him, And the jinnies' sons attending upon him, And the guys of slaves, and servants, and sweet. And while he sat in this state behold, Up came the husbandmen, With a great pouringer of lentils, And a nosebag full of barley, And seeing the pavilion pitched In the Mamalukes standing, Hands upon breasts, Thought that the sultan was come, And had halted on that stead. So he stood open-mouthed, And said in himself, Would I had killed a couple of chickens, And fried them red with clarified cow butter For the sultan? And he would have turned back To kill the chickens as a regale for the sultan. But Maruf saw him, And cried out to him, And said to the Mamalukes, Bring him hither. So they brought him, And his pouringer of lentils before Maruf, Who said to him, What is this? Said the peasant, This is thy dinner, And thy horse's fodder. Excuse me, for I thought not That the sultan would come hither, And had I known this, I would have killed a couple of chickens And entertained him in good legais. Quote Maruf, The sultan is not come. I am his son-in-law, And I was vexed with him. However, he hath sent his officers To make his peace with me, And now I am minded to return to city. But thou hast made me this guest me Without knowing me, And I accept it from thee, Lentils though it be, And will not eat save of thy cheer. Accordingly he bade him set The pouringer middlemost to the table, And ate of it his sufficiency, Whilst the fellow filled his belly With those rich meats. Then Maruf washed his hands, And gave the mamalooks leave to eat, So they fell upon the remains Of the meal and ate. And when the pouringer was empty, He filled it with gold, And gave it to the peasant, Saying, Carry this to thy dwelling, And come to me in the city, And I will entreat thee with honour. Thereupon the peasant Took the pouringer full of gold, And returned to the village, Driving the bulls before him, And deeming himself a kin to the king. Meanwhile, They brought Maruf girls Of the brides of the treasure, Who smote on instruments of music And danced before him, And he passed that night in joyance And delight, A night not to be reckoned among lives. Hardly had dawned the day When there arose a great cloud of dust, Which presently lifting Discovered seven hundred mules, Laid in with stuffs, And attended by mule tears, And baggage-tenders, And crescent-bearers, And with them came Abu al-Sadat, Riding on a she-mule In the guise of a caravan leader, And before him was a travelling litter, With four-corner terminals Of glittering red gold with gems. When Abu al-Sadat came up to the tent, He dismounted and kissing the earth, Said to Maruf, O my lord, Thy desire have been done to the uttermost, And in the litter there is a treasure-suit Which hath not its match among kings' raiment. So don it, And mount the litter, And bid us do what thou wilt. Quote Maruf. O Abu al-Sadat, I wish thee to go to the city Of Ikvian al-Katan, And present thyself to my father-in-law the king, And go thou not into him, But in the guise of a mortal courier, And, quoth he, To hear is to obey. So Maruf wrote a letter to the sultan, And sealed it, And Abu al-Sadat took it and set out with it, And when he arrived he found the king, Saying, O Vazir, Indeed my heart is concerned for my son-in-law, And I fear lest the Arabs slay him. Would heaven I what wither he was bound, That I might have followed him with the troops? Would he had told me his destination? Said the Vazir, Allah be merciful to thee for this thy heedlessness, As thy head liveth, The white saw that we were awake to him, And feared dishonor and fled, For he is nothing but an impostor, A liar. And behold, at this moment in came the courier, And kissing the ground before the king, Wished him permanent glory And prosperity and length of life. Asked the king, Who art thou? And what is thy business? I am a courier, Answered the jinnie, And thy son-in-law who has come with the baggage, Sendeth me to thee with a letter, And here it is. And so he took the letter, And read therein these words. After salutations galore to our uncle, The glorious king, Know that I am at hand with the baggage train, So come now forth to meet me with the troops. Cried the king, Allah blacken thy brow, O Vazir. How often wilt thou defame my son-in-law's name, And call him liar and impostor. Behold, he has come with the baggage train, And thou art not but a traitor. The minister hung his head-ground words in shame and confusion, And replied, Oh, king of the age, I said not this because of the long delay of the baggage, And because I feared the loss of the wealth, He hath wasted. The king exclaimed, Oh, traitor, what are my riches? Now that his baggage has come, He will give me great plenty in their stead. Then he bade decorate the city, And going into his daughter said to her, Good news for thee. Thy husband will be here anon with his baggages, For he hath sent me a letter to that effect, And here I am now going forth to meet him. The princess Dunya marveled at this, And said in herself, This is a wondrous thing. Was he laughing at me, And making mock of me? Or had he in mind to try me, When he told me that he was a pauper? But Allah amdolillah, Glory to God, For that I failed not of my duty to him. On this wise fared it in the palace. But as regards merchant Ali, The kaireen, When he saw the decoration of the city, And asked the cause thereof, They said to him, The baggage-train of merchant Maruf, The king's son-in-law has come, Said he, Allah is almighty. What a calamity is this man. He came to me, Fling from his wife, And he was a poor man. Once then should he get a baggage-train. But happily this is a device Which the king's daughter Hath contrived for him, Fearing his dishonor. And kings are not unable to do anything. May Allah the Most High Veil his fame, And not bring him to public shame. And Shahar-e-Zad perceived the dawn of day, And ceased saying her permitted say. End of Section 7 This is recorded by Mr. Mike 79, Lowell, Michigan, United States of America. Mike's voice for hire.com Section 8 of the Book Of the Thousand Nights In a Night Volume 10. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, go to LibriVox.org. Recording by Enlis River. The Book of the Thousand Nights In a Night Volume 10 by Anonymous. Translated by Richard Francis Burton. Night 997 When it was the 997th night, She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That when merchant Ali asked the cause of the decorations, They told him the truth of the case, So he blessed merchant Ma'aruf and cried, May Allah Almighty veil his fame, And not bring him to public shame. And all the merchants rejoiced and were glad, For that they would get their monies. Then the king assembled his troops and rode forth, Whilst Abu al-Sa'adat returned to Ma'aruf, And acquainted him with the delivering of the letter. Quote Ma'aruf, Bind on the loads, And when they had done so, He donned the treasure suit, And mounting the litter became A thousand times greater and more majestic than the king. Then he set forward, But when he had gone halfway, Behold, the king met him with the troops, And seeing him riding in the taq-truwan, And clad in the dress of force said, Threw himself upon him and saluted him, And giving him joy of his safety, Greeted him with the greeting of peace. Then all the lords of the land saluted him, And it was made manifest that he had spoken the truth, And that in him there was no lie. Presently he entered the city in such state procession, As would have caused the gallbladder of the lion To burst for envy, And the traitors pressed up to him And kissed his hands, While Smerchant Ali said to him, Thou hast played off this trick, And it hath prospered to thy hand, O shake of imposters, But thou deservedst it, And may Allah the Most High Increase thee of his bounty. Whereupon Ma'aruf laughed. Then he entered the palace, And sitting down on the throne said, Carry the loads of gold Into the treasury of my uncle the king, And bring me the bales of cloth. So they brought them to him, And opened them before him, Bale after Bale, Till they had unpacked the seven hundred loads, Where if he chose out the best and said, Bear these to Princess Dunya, That she may distribute them among her slave girls, And carry her also this coffer of jewels, That she may divide them among her handmaids in eunuchs. Then he proceeded to make over to the merchants, In whose debt he was, Stuffs by way of payment for their arrears. Giving him whose due was a thousand, Stuffs worth two thousand or more, After which he fell to distributing to the poor and needy, Whilst the king looked on with greedy eyes, And could not hinder him. Nor did he cease largesse, Till he had made an end of the seven hundred loads, When he turned to the troops And proceeded to a portion amongst them, Emeralds and rubies and pearls and coral, And other jewels by hands full, Without count, till the king said to him, Enough of this giving, oh my son, There is but little left of the baggage. But he said, I have plenty. Then indeed his good faith was become manifest, And none could give him the lie, And he had come to wreck not of giving, For that the slave of the seal ring Brought him whatsoever he saw it. Presently the treasurer came into the king and said, Oh king of the age, the treasurer is full indeed, And will not hold the rest of the loads, Where shall we lay that which is left with gold and jewels? And he assigned to him another place. As for the princess Dunya, When she saw this, Her joy redoubled, and she marveled, And said in herself, Would I what how came he by all this wealth? In like manner the traitors rejoiced in that Which he had given them, and blessed him. Whilst merchant Ali marveled and said to himself, I wonder how he hath lied and swindled, That he hath gotten him all these treasures. Had they come from the king's daughter, He had not wasted them on this wise. But how excellent is his saying who said, When the king's king giveth in reverence pause, And venture not to inquire the cause, Allah gives his gifts unto whom he will, So respect and abide by his holy laws. So far concerning him. But as regards the king, He also marveled with passing marvel at that Which he saw of Ma'arruf's generosity And open-handedness in the largeess of wealth. Then the merchant went into his wife, Who met him, smiling and laughing lipped, And kissed his hands saying, Didst thou mock me, or hadst thou a mind To prove me with thy saying, I am a poor man and a fugitive from my wife. Praised be Allah that I failed not of my duty to thee, For thou art my beloved, And there is none dearer to me than thou, Whether thou be rich or poor. But I would have thee tell me, What didst thou design by these words? Said Ma'arruf, I wish to prove thee, And see whether thy love were sincere, Or for the sake of wealth and the greed of worldly good. But now it has become manifest to me That thine affection is sincere, And as thou art a true woman, So welcome to thee, I know thy worth. Then he went apart into a place by himself, And rubbed the seal ring, Whereupon Abu al-Sa'adah presented himself, And said to him, Add sum at thy service. Ask what thou wilt. Quote Ma'arruf, I want a treasure suit And treasure trinkets for my wife, Including a necklace of forty unique jewels. Quote the genie, to hear us to obey, And brought him what he sought, Whereupon Ma'arruf dismissed him, And carrying the dress and ornaments into his wife, Laid them before her and said, Take these and put them on, and welcome. When she saw this, her wits fled for joy, And she found among the ornaments A pair of anklets of gold set with jewels Of the handiwork of the magicians, And bracelets and earrings in a belt Such as no money could buy. So she donned the dress and ornaments, And said to Ma'arruf, Oh, my Lord, I will treasure these up for holidays and festivals. But he answered, Wear them always, For I have others in plenty. And when she put them on, And her women beheld her, They rejoiced and bust his hands. Then he left them, and going apart by himself, Rubbed the seal ring, whereupon its slave appeared, And he said to him, Bring me an hundred suits of apparel, With their ornaments of gold. Hearing and obeying, answered Abu al-Sada, And brought him the hundred suits, Each with its ornaments wrapped up within it. Ma'arruf took them, and called aloud To the slave girls, who came to him, And he gave them each a suit, So they donned them, and became Like the black-eyed girls of paradise, Whilst the Princess Dunya Shown amongst them as the moon among the stars. One of the handmaids told the king of this, And he came into his daughter, And saw her in a whim, and dazzling all who beheld them. Whereot he wondered with passing wonderment. Then he went out, and calling his wazir, said to him, O wazir, such and such things have happened. What sayst thou now of this affair? Said he, O king of the age, This be no merchant's fashion, For a merchant keepeth a piece of linen by him for years, And selleth it not but at a profit. How should a merchant have generosity Such as this generosity? And once should he get the like of these monies and jewels, Of which but a slight matter is found with the kings? So how should loads thereof be found with the merchants? Needs must there be a cause for this, But, and thou wilt hearken to me, I will make the truth of the case manifest to thee. Answered the king, O wazir, I will do thy bidding. Rejoin the minister, Do thou forgather with thy son-in-law, And make a show of effect to him, And talk with him, and say, O my son-in-law, I have a mind to go. I and thou and the wazir, but no more, To a flower-garden that we may take our pleasure there. When we come to the garden, we will set on the table wine, And I will ply him therewith, and compel him to drink. For when he shall have drunken, he will lose his reason, And his judgment will forsake him. Then we will question him of the truth of his case, And he will discover to us his secrets, For wine is a trader, and all luck if did is he, Who said, When we drank the wine, and it crept its way To the place of secrets, I cried, O stay, And my fear lest its influence stit my wits, And my friends spy matters that hidden lay. When he hath told us the truth, we shall ken his case, And may deal with him as we will. Because I fear for thee the consequences of this his present fashion. Happily he will covet the kingship, And win over the troops by generosity and lavishing money, And so to pose thee and take the kingdom from thee. True, answered the king. And Chávezade perceived the dawn of day, And ceased to say her permitted say. And section 8 When it was the 998th night, she resumed, It hath reached me, auspicious king, That when the Wazir devised this device, The king said to him, Thou hast spoken sooth, And they passed the night on this agreement. And when morning morrowed, the king went forth And sat in the guest chamber, when, lo and behold, The grooms and serving men came into him in dismay. Quote he, what hath befall on you? And, quote they, O king of the age, The Sicees curried the horses and foddered them, And the he-mules which brought the baggage. But when we arose in the morning, We found that thy son-in-law's maimloogs Had stolen the horses and mules. We searched the stables, but found neither horse nor mule, So we entered the lodging of the maimloogs, And found none there, nor know we how they fled. The king marveled at this, Unknowing that the horses and maimloogs Were all he freeds, the subjects of the slave of the spell. And asked the grooms, O cursed how could a thousand Beasts and five hundred slaves and servants Flee without your knowledge? Answered they, we know not how it happened. And he cried, Go, and when your Lord cometh forth From the harem, tell him the case. So they went out from before the king, And sat down bewildered, till ma'aroof came out, And seeing them chagrind inquired of them. What may be the matter? They told him all that had happened, And he said, What is there worth, That ye should be concerned for them? Wend your ways. And he sat laughing, and was neither angry, Nor grieved concerning the case, Whereupon the king looked in the wazir's face, And said to him, What manner of man is this, With whom wealth is of no worth? Needs must there be a reason for this? Then they talked with him awhile, And the king said to him, O my son-in-law, I have a mind to go, I, thou, and the wazir, To a garden, where we may divert ourselves. No harm in that, said ma'aroof. So they went forth to a flower garden, Wherein every sort of fruit was of kind's twain, And its waters were flowing, And its trees towering, and its birds caroling. There they entered a pavilion, Whose sight did away sorrow from the soul, And sat talking, whilst the minister entertained them With rare tales and quoted merry quips In mirth-provoking sayings, And ma'aroof attentively listened, Till the time of dinner came, When they set on a tray of meats, And a flag and a wine. When they had eaten and washed hands, The wazir filled the cup and gave it to the king, Who drank it off, and then he filled a second, And handed it to ma'aroof, saying, Take the cup of the drink to which reason boweth Neck in reverence. Quoth ma'aroof. What is this, o wazir? And quoth he. This is the grizzled virgin, And the old maid long kept at home. The giver of joy to hearts, Whereof saith the poet, The feet of sturdy miscreants, When trampling heavy tread, And she hath taken a vegans' dire, On every Arab's head. Kafir youth like fullest moon In darkness hands her round, Whose eye in our strongest cause of sin By him and spirited, And a'la gifted is he who said, "'Tis SF wine, and he who bears the bowl, Rising to show her charms for man to see, Were dancing under in sun, Whose face the moon, Of night adorn with stars of Gemini. So subtle is her essence it would seem, Through every limb, like cores of solerance she. And how excellent is the saying of the poet, Slept in mine arms full moon of brightest blee, Nor did that sun eclipse in goblet sea, I knighted spying fire where to bow down, Magians which bowed from your slip to me. And that of another, It runs through every joint of them as runs The surge of health returning to the sick. And yet another, I marvel at its pressers how they died, And left us aquavite, Lymph of life. And yet goodlier is the saying of Abu Nawas, Cease then to blame me, For thy blame doth anger bring, And with the draught that madden me, Come medsening. A yellow girl whose court cures every carcain care, Did a stone touch it with joy and glee up spring. She rises in her yure during darkest night, The house with brightest genius light illumining, And going round abused to whom the world inclines, Nair save in what so way they please, Their hearts shall ring. From hand of cointed last begarb, Like yarded lad, Went her in tribe of lot alike enamoring. She comes and say to him who dares claim lore of love, Something has to learn, But there's still many another thing. But best of all is the saying of Ibn al-Mutaz, On the shady woody island, His shower's aladain shed, On convent high abdoon drop and drip of railing rain. Off the breezes of mourning have awakened me therein, When the dawn shows her blaze, Ear the bird of flight was faint, And the voices of the monks that with chance awoke the walls, Black frocked shavlings ever want the cup and mourn to drain. Mid the throng how many fare with linger cold eyes, And lids enfolding lovely orbs where black on white was lain, And secret came to see me by shirt of night disguised, In terror and in caution a hurrying amane. Then I rose and spread my cheek like a carpet on his path, In homage and with skirts wiped his trail from off the plane, But threatening disgrace rose the crescent in the sky, Like the pairing of a nail, yet the light would never wane. Then happened what so happened, I disdained a kiss and tell, So deem of us thy best and with queries never mel. And gifted of God is he who saith, In the mourn I am richest of men, And enjoy at good news I start up, For I look on the liquid gold, And I measure it out by the cup, And how goodly is the saying of the poet, By Allah this is the only alchemy. All set of other science false we see, Carrot of wine on hundred weight of woe, Transmuted gloomiest grief to joy and glee, And that of another. The glasses are heavy when empty brought, Till we charge them with unmixed wine, Then so light are they that to fly their fame, As bodies lightened by soul divine. And yet another. Wine cup and ruby wine high worship claim, Dishonored were to see their honor waste, Burry me when I'm dead by side of vine, Whose veins shall moisten bones and clay misplaced, Nor bury me in the woe and wild, For I dread only after death no wine to taste. And he ceased not to egg him on to the drink, Naming to him such of the virtues of the wine As he thought well, And reciting to him what occurred to him Of poetry and pleasantries on the subject, Till Mount Roof addressed himself to sucking the couplets, And cared no longer for odd else. The wazir ceased not to fill for him, And he to drink and enjoy himself and make merry, Till his wits wandered and he could not distinguish right from wrong. When the minister saw that drunkenness had attained in him to utterest, And the balance transgressed, he said to him, By Allah, O Merchant Ma Roof, I admire once Thou goddess these jewels, Whose like the kings of the cost rows possess not. In all our lives never saw we a merchant That had heaped up riches like unto Thine, Or more generous than Thou, For thy doings are the doings of kings, And not merchants doings. Wherefore, Allah upon thee, Do Thou acquaint me with this, That I may know thy rank and condition. And he went on to test him with questions and conjure him, Till Ma Roof, being roughed of reason, said to him, I'm neither merchant nor king, And told him his whole story from first to last. Then said the wazir, I conjure thee, By Allah, O my Lord Ma Roof, Show us the ring that we may see its make. So in his drunkenness he pulled off the ring, And said, Take it and look upon it. And the minister took it, and turning it over said, If I rub it, will its slave appear? Replied Ma Roof, yes, rub it, and he will appear to thee, And do Thou divert thyself with the sight of him. Thereupon the wazir rubbed the ring, And behold, forthright appeared the genie, And said, Addsum, at thy service, O my Lord. Ask it, and it shall be given to thee. Will Thou ruin a city, or raise a capital, Or kill a king? What so Thou seekest, I will do for thee. Sands fail. The wazir pointed to Ma Roof, and said, Take up yonder wretch, and cast him down In the most desolate of desert lands, Where he shall find nothing to eat or drink, So he may die of hunger and perish miserably, And none know of him. Accordingly, the genie snatched him up, And flew with him betwixt heaven and earth, Which when Ma Roof saw he made sure of destruction, And wept and said, O Abu al-Sa'adat, Wither go stow with me. Replied the genie, I go to cast thee down In the desert quarter, O ill-bred white of gross wits. Shall one have the like of this talisman, And give it to the folk to gaze at? Fairly, Thou deservedest that which hath befallen thee. And but that I fear Allah, I would let thee fall From a height of a thousand fathoms, Nor shouldst Thou reach the earth, Till the winds had torn thee to shreds. Ma Roof was silent, and did not again bespeak him Till he reached the desert quarter, And cast him down there, went away, And left him in that horrible place. And Sha'urazad perceived the dawn of day, And ceased saying her permitted say. And Section 9 When it was the 999th night, she said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That the slave of the seal-ring took up Ma'a Roof And cast him down in the desert quarter, Where he left him and went his ways. So much concerning him, but returning to the wazir Who is now in possession of the talisman, He said to the king, How do you miss Thou now? Did I not tell thee that this fellow was a liar, An imposter, but Thou wits not credit me? Replied the king, Thou wasst in the right, O my wazir, Allah grant thee will, But give me the ring that I may solace myself with the sight. The minister looked at him angrily, and spat in his face, Saying, O lackwitz, how shall I give it to thee, And abide thy servant after I am become thy master? But I will spare thee no more on life. Then he rubbed the seal-ring, and said to the slave, Take up this ill-mannered churl, And cast him down by his son-in-law, the swindler man. So the genie took him up and flew off with him, Whereupon quoth the king to him, O creature of my lord, what is my crime? Abu al-sa'adat replied, That what I not, But my master hath commanded me, And I cannot cross whoso hath compassed the enchanted ring. Then he flew on with him till he came to the desert quarter, And cast him down where he had cast Ma'aruf, Left him and returned. The king, hearing Ma'aruf weeping, went up to him, And acquainted him with his case, And they sat weeping over that which had befallen them, And found neither meat nor drink. Meanwhile the minister, after driving father-in-law and son-in-law from the country, Went forth from the garden, and summoning all the troops held a divan, And told them what he had done with the king and Ma'aruf, And acquainted them with the affair of the talisman, adding, Unless ye make me sultan over you, I will bid the slave of the seal-ring take you up one and all, And cast you down in the desert quarter, Where you shall die of hunger and thirst. They replied, Do us no damage, For we accept thee as sultan over us, And will not any wise gain say thy bidding. So they agreed in their own despite, To his being sultan over them, And he bestowed on them robes of honor, Seeking all he had a mind to of Abu Alsadat, Who brought it to him forthwith. Then he sat down on the throne, And the troops did homage to him, And he sent to Princess Dunya, the king's daughter, Saying, Make thee ready, For I mean to come in unto thee this night, Because I long for thee with love. When she heard this, she wept, For the case of her husband and father was grievous to her, And sent to him, saying, Have patience with me till my period of widowhood be ended, Then drop thy contract of marriage with me, And go into me according to law. But he sent back to say to her, I know neither period of widowhood, Nor to delay have I amude, And I need not a contract, Nor know I lawful from unlawful, But needs must I go in unto thee this night. She answered him, saying, So be it then, and welcome to thee. But this was a trick on her part. When the answer reached the wazir, He rejoiced, and his breast was broadened, For that he was passionately in love with her. He bade set food before all the folk, Saying, Eat, this is my bride-feast, For I purpose to go into the Princess Dunya this night. Quote the sheikh al-Islam, It is not lawful for thee to go in unto her, Till her days of widowhood be ended, And thou have drawn up thy contract of marriage with her. But he answered, I know neither days of widowhood, Nor other period, So multiply not words on me. The sheikh al-Islam was silent, Fearing his mischief and said to the troops, Verily, this man is a kefir, A miscreant, and hath neither creed nor religious conduct. As soon as it was evenfall, He went in to her, And found her robed in her richest raiment, And decked with her goodliest anornments. When she saw him, She came to meet him, Laughing, and said, A blessed night, But hadst thou slain my father and my husband, It had been more to my mind, And he said, There is no help but I slay them. Then she made him sit down, And began to jest with him, And make sure of love caressing him, And smiling in his face, So that his reason fled, But she could jolt him with her coaxing and cunning, Only that she might get possession of the ring, And change his joy into calamity, On the mother of his forehead. Nor did she deal thus with him, But after the reed of him who said, I attained by my wits, What no sword had obtained, And returned with the spoils, Whose sweet pluckings I gained. When he saw her caress him, And smile upon him, Desire surged up in him, And he besought her of carnal knowledge. But, when he approached her, She drew away from him, And burst into tears, Saying, O my lord, Seeest thou not the man looking at us? I conjured thee by Allah, Scream me from his eyes. How canst thou know me, What while he looketh on us? When he heard this, He was angry and asked, Where is the man? And answered, She, there he is, In the bezel of the ring, Putting out his head and staring at us. He thought that the genie Was looking at them and said, Laughing, Fear not, This is the slave of the seal ring, And he is subject to me. Quote, She, I am afraid of you freeds, Pull it off and throw it afar from me. So he plucked it off, And laying it on the cushion, Drew near to her. But she dealt him a kick, Her foot striking him full in the stomach, And he fell over on his back senseless, Whereupon she cried out to her attendants, Who came to her in haste, And said to them, Seize him. So forty slave girls laid hold on him, Whilst she hurriedly snatched up the ring From the cushion and rubbed it, Whereupon Abu al-Saudat presented himself saying, Ad-Zoom, at thy service, O my mistress. Cried she, Take up yonor infidel, And clap him in jail, And shackle him heavily. So he took him, And throwing him into the prison of wrath, Returned and reported, I have laid him in limbo. Quote she, Whither wentest thou with my father and my husband? And, quote he, I cast them down in the desert quarter. Then cried she, I command thee to fetch them to me forthwith. He replied, I hear and I obey, And taking flight at once, Stayed not till he reached the desert quarter, Where he laid it down upon them, And found them sitting, Weeping and complaining to each other. Quote he, Fear not, for relief has come to you. And he told them what the wazir had done, Adding, Indeed, I imprisoned him with my own hands In obedience to her, And she hath bidden me bear you back, And they rejoiced in his news. Then he took them both up, And flew home with them, Nor was it more than an hour before He brought them into Princess Dania, Who rose and saluted sire and spouse. Then she made them sit down, And brought them food and sweetmeats, And they passed the rest of the night with her. On the next day she clad them in rich clothing, And said to the king, O my papa, Sit thou upon thy throne, And be king as before, And make my husband, Thy wazir of the right, And tell thy troops that which hath happened. Then sent forth the minister out of prison, And do him die, And after burn him, For that he is a miscreant, And would have gone in unto me In the way of lewdness, Without the rites of wedlock, And he hath testified against himself, That he is an infidel, And believeth in no religion. And do tenderly by thy son-in-law, Whom thou makest Thy wazir of the right. He replied, Hearing and obeying, O my daughter, But do thou give me the ring, Or give it to thy husband. Quote she, It behoveth not that either thou or he have the ring, I will keep the ring myself, And be like, I shall be more careful of it than you. What so ye wish, Seek it of me, And I will demand it for you Of the slave of the seal ring. So fear no harm so long as I live, And after my death, Do what ye twain will with the ring. Quote the king, This is the right reed, O my daughter, And taking his son-in-law, Went forth to the divan. Now the troops had passed the night And saw her grand for Princess Danyah, And that which the wazir had done with her, And going into her after the way of lewdness, And without marriage rights, And for his ill-usage of the king and ma'aroof. And they feared lest the law of al-Islam be dishonored, Because it was manifest to them that he was a kafir. So they assembled in the divan, And felt her approaching the sheikh al-Islam, Saying, Why didst thou not forbid him from going into the princess in the way of lewdness? Said he, O folk, The man is a miscreant, And hath gotten possession of the ring, And I and you may not prevail against him, But almighty Allah will requite him as deed, And be silent, lest he slay you. And as the host was thus engaged in talk, Behold the king and ma'aroof entered the divan, And Shah Razaad perceived the dawn of day, And ceased to say her permitted say. And section 10 Section 11 of the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 10. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, go to LibriVox.org. Recording by Endless River. The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 10. By Anonymous. Translated by Richard Francis Burton. Night 1000. When it was the Thousandth Night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That when the troops, sorely chagrined, Sat in the divan talking over the ill deeds Done by the Wazir to their sovereign, His son-in-law, and his daughter, Behold, the king and ma'aroof entered. Then the king bade decorate the city, And sent to fetch the Wazir from the place of Duras. So they brought him, And as he passed by the troops, They cursed him, and abused him, and menaced him, Till he came to the king, Who commanded to do him dead by the vilest of deaths. Accordingly, they slew him, And after burned his body, And he went to hell after the foulest of plights, And right well quoth one of him, The compassionate Shono-Ruth to the tomb, Where his bones shall lie, And Munkar and Iknakir, Never ceased to abide thereby. The king made ma'aroof his Wazir of the raid, And the times were pleasant to them, And their joys were untroubled. They abode thus five years, Till, in the Sixth year, The king died, and Princess Dunya made ma'aroof The Sultan and her father stead, But she gave him not the seal ring. During this time she had conceived by him, And borne him a boy of passing loveliness, Excelling in beauty and perfection, Who ceased not to be reared in the laps of nurses Till he reached the age of five, When his mother fell sick of a deadly sickness, And calling her husband to her, said to him, I am ill. Quoth he, Alla preserve thee, O dearling of my heart. But quoth she, Happily I shall die, And thou needest not That I commend to thy care thy son, Wherefore I charge thee, But be careful of the ring, For thine own sake, and for the sake of this thy boy. And he answered, No harm shall befall him whom Alla preserves. Then she pulled off the ring and gave it to him, And on the morrow she was admitted to the mercy Of Alla the Most High, While ma'aroof abode in possession of the kingship, And applied himself to the business of governing. Now it chanced that one day, As he shook the handkerchief, And the troops withdrew to their places, That he betook himself to the sitting chamber, Where he sat till the day departed, And the night advanced with merc's bedight. Then came into him his cup companions of the Notables, According to their custom, And sat with him by way of solace and aversion, Till midnight, When they craved permission to withdraw. He gave them leave, And they retired to their houses, After which there came into him a slave girl Affected to the service of his bed, Who spread him in the mattress, And doffing his apparel, Clad him in his sleeping gown. Then he lay down, And she kneaded his feet, Till sleep overpowered him, Whereupon she withdrew to her own chamber and slept. But suddenly he felt something beside him in the bed, And awakening started up in alarm and cried, I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the stone. Then he opened his eyes, And seeing by his side a woman foul of favor, He said to her, Who art thou? Said she, Fear not, I am thy wife, Fatima al-Ara. Whereupon he looked in her face, And knew her by her loathly form, And the length of her dog teeth. So he asked her, Whence cameth thou into me, And who brought thee to this country? In what country art thou at this present? In the city of Iktiyan al-Katan, But thou, when didst thou leave Cairo? But now, how can that be? No, said she, That when I fell out with thee, And Satan prompted me to do thee a damage, I complained of thee to the magistrates, Who sought for thee and the Kazis inquired of thee, But found they not. When two days were passed, Repentance gathold upon me, And I knew that the fault was with me. But penitence availed me not, And I abode for some days weeping for thy loss, To what was in my hand failed, And I was obliged to beg my bread. So I felt a begging of all, From the courted rich to the contempt poor, And since thou leftest me, I have eaten of the bitterness of beggary, And have been in the sariest of conditions. Every night I sat be weeping our separation, And that which I suffered, Since thy departure, Of humiliation and ignominy, Of abjection and misery. And she went on to tell him what had fallen her, Whilst he stared at her in amazement till she said, Yesterday I went about begging all day, But none gave me odd, And as often as I accosted any one, And craved of him a crust of bread, He reviled me and gave me not. When night came, I went to bed supperless, And hunger burned on me, And sore on me was that which I suffered, And I sat weeping when, Behold, one appeared to me and said, A woman, why weepest thou? I said, First I had a husband, Who used to provide for me, And fulfill my wishes, But he has lost to me, And I know not whither he went, And have been in sore straits since he left me. Asked he, What is thy husband's name? And I answered, His name is Ma Aruf, Quote he, I ken him, Know that thy husband is now sultan in a certain city, And if thou wilt, I will carry thee to him. Cried I, I am under thy protection, Of thy bounty bring me to him. So he took me up, And flew with me between heaven and earth, Till he brought me to this pavilion, And said to me, Enter yonder chamber, And thou shalt see thy husband, To sleep on the couch. Accordingly, I entered, And I found thee in the state of lordship. Indeed, I had not thought thou wouldst forsake me, Who am thy mate, And praised be Allah, Who hath united thee with me. Quote Ma Aruf, Dye forsake thee, Or thou me. Thou complainedest of me From kazi to kazi, And endest by denouncing me to the high court, And bringing down on me Abu Tabak, From the citadel. So I fled in mine own despite, And he went on to tell her all that had befallen him, And how he was become sultan, And had married the king's daughter, And how his beloved Dunya had died, Leaving him a son who was then seven years old. She rejoined, That which happened was foreordained of Allah, But I repent me, And I place myself under thy protection, Beseeching thee not to abandon me, But suffer me eat bread, With thee by way of an alms. And she ceased not to humble herself to him, And to supplicate him till his heart relented towards her, And he said, Repent from mischief and abide with me, And not shall betide thee, Save what shall pleasure thee, But and thou work any wickedness, I will slay thee, nor fear any one. And fancy not that thou canst complain of me to the high court, And that Abu Tabak will come down on me from the citadel, For I am become sultan, And the folk dread me, But I fear none save Allah Almighty, Because I have a talismanic ring, Which when I rub, The slave of the signet appeareth to me. His name is Abu Alsad Adad, And whatsoever I demand of him, he bringeth to me. So, And thou desire to return to thine own country, I will give thee what shall suffice thee all thy life long, And will send thee that there speedily, But and thou desire to abide with me, I will clear for thee a palace, And furnish it with the choices of silks, And appoint thee twenty slave girls to serve thee, And provide thee with dainty dishes, And sumptuous suits, And thou shall be a queen, And live in all delight till thou die or I die. What sayest thou of this? I wish to abide with thee, she answered, And kissed his hand, And vowed repentance from frowardness. Accordingly, he set apart a palace for her soul used, And gave her slave girls in eunuchs, And she became a queen. The young prince used to visit her as he visited his sire, But she hated him for that he was not her son, And when the boy saw that she looked on him With the eye of aversion and anger, He shunned her, And took a dislike to her. As for Ma'aruf, He occupied himself with the love of fair handmaidens, And bethought him not of his wife Fatima the Dung, For that she was grown a grizzled old fright, Foul favored to the side, A bald-headed blight, Loathlier than the snake speckled black and white, The more that she had beyond measure evil, And treated him a foretime, And as saith the adage, Ill usage, the root of desire, Disparts, and sows hate in the soil of hearts. And God gifted is he who saith, Beware of losing hearts of men by thine injurious deed, For when aversion takes his place, None may dear love restore. Hearts, when affection flies from them, Are likeest unto glass, Which broken cannot whole be made, Tis breached forevermore. And indeed Ma'aruf had not given her shelter By reason of any praiseworthy quality in her, But he dealt with her thus generously, Only of desire for the approval of Allah Almighty. Here Danyazad interrupted her sister Sharazad, Saying, How winsome are these words of thine, Which when hold of the heart more forcibly than enchanters' eye, And how beautiful are these wondrous books thou hast cited, And the marvelous and singular tales thou hast recited. Quote Sharazad, And where is all this, Compared with what I shall relate to thee on the coming night, And I live and the king dain to spare my days? So when the morning morrowed, And the day break in its sheen and shone, The king arose from his couch with breast broadened, And in high expectation for the rest of the tale, And saying, By Allah I will not slay her till I hear the last of her story, Repaired to his derbar, While the wazir, as was his wad, Presented himself at the palace, Shroud under arm. Sharia are tarried abroad all that day, Bidding and forbidding between man and man, After which he returned to his harem, And according to his custom, Went into his wife Sharazad. End of section 11 Section 12 of the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 10 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by phone. The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 10 by Anonymous. Translated by Richard Francis Burton. Night 1001 When it was a Thousand and First Night, Dunya Zad said to her sister, Do thou finish for us the history of my roof? She replied, With love and good legree, And my lord dain't permit me recount it. Quote the king, I permit thee, For that I am feign of hearing it. So she said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That my roof would have not to do with his wife, By way of conjugal duty. Now when she saw that he held aloof from her bed, And occupied himself with other women, She hated him, And jealousy got the mastery of her, And Iblis prompted her to take the seal ring from him, And slay him, And make herself queen in his stead. So she went forth one night from her pavilion, Intending for that in which was her husband King Ma'aroof, And it chanced by decree of the decreere, And his written destiny, That Ma'aroof lay that night with one of his concubines, A damsel endowed with beauty and loveliness, Symmetry and a stature all grace, And it was his wand of the excellence of his piety, That when he was minded to have to lie with a woman, He would doft the enchanted seal ring from his finger, In reverence to the holy name's graven thereon, And lay it on the pillow, Nor would he don it again till he had purified himself By the guzzo ablution. Moreover, when he had lain with a woman, He was used to order her go forth from him before daybreak Of his fear for the seal ring, And when he went to the Hamam, He locked the door of the pavilion till his return, When he put on the ring, And after this all were free to enter according to custom. His wife, Fatimah the Dung, knew of all this, And went not forth from her place till she had certified herself of the case. So she sallied out when the night was dark, Proposing to go into him, Whilst he was drowned in sleep, And steeled a ring unseen of him. Now it chanced at this time that the king's son had gone out, Without light to the chapel of ease for an occasion, And sat down over the marble slab of the jakes in the dark, Leaving the door open. Presently he saw Fatimah come forth of her pavilion, And make stealthily for that of his father, And said in himself, What alas this witch to leave her lodging in the dead of the night, And make for my father's pavilion? Needs must there be some reason for this. So he went out after her, And followed in her steps unseen of her. Now he had a short sword of watered steel, Which he held so dear that he went not to his father's divan, Except he were girth therewith. And his father used to laugh at him, And exclaimed, Mahala, This is a mighty fine sword of dine, O my son, But thou hast not gone down with it to battle, Nor cut off ahead therewith. Whereupon the boy would reply, I will not fail to cut off with it some head, Which deserveeth cutting. And Mahara-woof would laugh at his words. Now, when treating in her track, He drew the sword from its sheath, And he followed her till she came to his father's pavilion, And entered, whilst he stood and watched her from the door. He saw her searching about, And heard her say to herself, Where hath he laid the seal ring? Burby he knew that she was looking for the ring, And he waited till she found it, and said, Here it is. Then she picked it up, and turned to go out, But he hid behind the door. As she came forth, she looked at the ring, And turned it about in her grasp. But when she was about to rub it, He raised his hand with the sword, And smote her on the neck, And she cried a single cry, And fell down dead. With this Mahara-woof awoke, And seeing his wife strone on the ground, With her blood flowing, And his son standing with the drawn sword in his hand, Said to him, What is this, O my son? He replied, O my father, How often hast thou said to me, Thou hast a mighty fine sword, But thou hast not gone down with it to battle, Nor cut off a head? And I have answered thee, Saying, I will not fail to cut off with it a head, Which deserves cutting. And now, behold, I have darewith cut off for thee A head well worth the cutting. And he told him what had passed. Mahara-woof sought for the seal ring, But found it not. So he searched the dead woman's body, Till he saw her hand closed upon it, Whereupon he took it from her grasp, And said to the boy, Thou art indeed my very son, Without doubt or dispute. Allah is thee in this world and the next, Even as thou hast eased me of this vile woman. Her attempt led only to her own destruction, And Allah gifted is he who said. When forwards Allah's aid amends intent, His wish in every case shall find consent. But and at aid of Allah be refused, His first attempt shall do him damagement. Then King Mahara-woof called aloud to some of his attendants, Who came in haste, And he told them what his wife Fatima Redung had done, And bade them to shake her, And lay her in a place till the morning. They did his bidding, And next day he gave her in charge to a number of eunuchs, Who washed her and shrouded her, And made her a tomb and buried her. Thus her coming from Cairo was but to her grave, And Allah gifted is he who said. We trod the steps appointed for us, And he whose steps are appointed must tread them. He whose death is decreed to take place in our land, Shall not die in any land but that. And how excellent is the saying of the poet, I what not when asked to a land thy fair, Good luck pursuing what my lot shall be, Whether the fortune I perforce pursue, Or the misfortune which presuit me. After this King Mahara-woof sent for the husbandman, Whose guest he had been when he was a fugitive, And made him his wazir of the right and his chief councillor. Then learning that he had a daughter of passing beauty and loveliness, Of qualities nature ennobled at birth and exalted of worth, He took her to wife, and in due time he married his son. So they abode awhile in all solace of life, And it's the light, and their days were serene, And their joys untroubled, till there came to them The destroyer of the lights and the sunderer of societies, The depopulator of populous places, And the orphaner of sons and daughters, And glory be to the living who died not, And in whose hand are the keys of the seen and the unseen.