 Section 7, Volume 1 of the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, translated by Richard Burton. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, Section 7 When it was the tenth night, both her sister Dunya Zad finished for us thy story, and she answered, with joy and goodly greet, it hath reached me, O auspicious king, that the damsel stinted not saying to the porter, thy pickle, thy pintle, thy pizzle, and he ceased not kissing and biting and hugging until his heart was satisfied, and they laughed on till they could no more. At last one said, O our brother, what then is it called? Quoth he? No ye not? Quoth they? No! Its veritable name said he, his mule burst all, which browseth on the bozzle of the bridges, and muncheth the husked sesame, and nighteth in the con of Abu Mansur. Then they laughed till they fell on their backs, and returned to their carousel, and ceased not to be after this fashion till night began to fall. Thereupon said they to the porter, Bismillah, O our master, up and on with those sorry old shoes of thine, and turn thy face, and show us the breadth of thy shoulders. Said he, By Allah, to part with my soul would be easier for me than departing from you. Come, let us join night to day, and tomorrow morning we will wend our own way. My life on you, said the procuratrix, Suffer him to tarry with us, that we may laugh at him, we may live out our lives and never meet with his like, for surely he is a right merry rogue and witty. So they said, You must not remain with us this night, save on condition that thou submit to our commands, and that whatsoever thou seest, thou ask no questions, there anent nor inquire of its cause. All right, rejoined he, and they said, Go read the writing over the door. So he rose and went to the entrance, and there found written in letters of gold wash, whoso speaketh of what concerneth him not shall hear what pleaseth him not. The porter said, Be witnesses against me that I will not speak on what so concerneth me not. Then the caterers arose, and set food before them, and they ate. After which they changed their drinking place for another, and she lighted the lamps and candles, and burned amber gris and aloes wood, and set on fresh fruit and wine service, when they fell to carousing and talking of their lovers. And they ceased not to eat and drink and chat, nibbling dry fruits and laughing and playing tricks for the space of a full hour, when, lo, a knock was heard at the gate. The knocking and no eyes disturbed the seance, but one of them rose and went to see what it was, and presently returned, saying, Truly our pleasure for this night is to be perfect. How is that? asked they, and she answered, at the gate be three Persian colandars, with their beards and heads and eyebrows shaven, and all three blind of the left eye, which is surely a strange chance. They are foreigners from roomland, with the mark of travel plain upon them. They have just entered Baghdad, this being their first visit to our city, and the cause of their knocking at our door is simply because they cannot find a lodging. Indeed, one of them said to me, Happily the owner of this mansion will let us have the key of his stable or some old outhouse wherein we may pass this night, for evening had surprised them, and, being strangers in the land, they knew none who would give them shelter. And, oh my sisters, each of them is a figure of fun after his own fashion, and if we let them in we shall have matter to make sport of. She gave not over persuading them, till they said to her, Let them in, and make thou the usual condition with them, that they speak not of what concerneth them not, lest they hear what pleaseth them not. So she rejoiced and going to the door presently returned with the three monoculars, whose beards and moustachios were clean shaven. They solemned and stood afar off by way of respect, but the three ladies rose up to them and welcomed them, and wished them joy of their safe arrival, and made them sit down. The calendars looked at the room and saw that it was a pleasant place. Clean swept and garnished with cowers, and the lamps were burning, and the smoke of perfumes was spiring in air, and beside the dessert and fruits and wine there were three fair girls who might be maidens. So they exclaimed with one voice, By Allah tizgud! Then they turned to the porter and saw that he was a merry-faced white, albeit he was by no means sober, and was sore after his saplings. So they thought he was one of themselves and said, A mendicant like us, whether Arab or foreigner! But when the porter heard these words he rose up, and fixing his eyes fiercely upon them said, Sit ye here without exceeding in talk. Have you not read what is writ over the door? Surely it befiteth not fellows who come to us like paupers to wag your tongues at us. We crave thy pardon, O fakir! rejoined they, and our heads are between thy hands. The ladies laughed consumedly at the squabble, and making peace between the calendars and the porter seated the new guests before meat, and they ate. Then they sat together, and the porter served them with drink, and as the cup went round merrily, quote the porter to the askers, And you, O brother's mind, have ye no story or rare adventure to amuse us with all? Now the warmth of wine having mounted to their heads they called for musical instruments, and the porter brought them a tambourine of Mosul and a lute of Iraq and a Persian harp, and each mendicant took one and tuned it. This the tambourine and those the lute and the harp and struck up a maritune while the ladies sang so lustily that there was a great noise. And whilst they were carrying on, behold, someone knocked at the gate, and the porter went to see what was the matter there. Now the cause of that knocking, O king, quote Sheherazad, was this. The caliph Harun al-Rashid had gone forth from the palace, as was his want now and then, to solace himself in the city that night, and to see and hear what new thing was stirring. He was in merchant's gear, and he was attended by Jafar his wazir and by Masrur his sorter of vengeance. As they walked about the city, their way led them towards the house of the three ladies, where they heard the loud noise of musical instruments and singing and merriment. So, quote the caliph to Jafar, I long to enter this house and hear those songs and see who sing them. Quote Jafar, O prince of the faithful, these folk are surely drunken with wine, and I fear some mischief be tied us if we get amongst them. There is no help but that I go in there, replied the caliph, and I desire thee to contrive some pretext for our appearing among them. Jafar replied, I hear and I obey, and knocked at the door, whereupon the fortress came out and opened. Then Jafar came forward, and kissing the ground before her said, O my lady, we be merchants from Tiberius town. We arrived at Baghdad ten days ago, and alighting at the merchant's caravan sarai, we sold all our merchandise. Now a certain trader invited us to an entertainment this night, so we went to his house, and he set food before us, and we ate. Then we sat at wine and was sailed with him for an hour or so when he gave us leave to depart, and we went out from him in the shadow of the night, and being strangers, we could not find our way back to Arkan. So happily of your kindness and courtesy, you will suffer us to tarry with you this night, and heaven will reward you. The fortress looked upon them, and seeing them dressed like merchants and men of grave looks and solid, she returned to her sisters and repeated to them Jafar's story, and they took compassion upon the strangers and said to her, Let them enter. She opened the door to them, and when they said to her, Have we thy leave to come in? Come in," she said, and the caliph entered followed by Jafar and Mazrur, and when the girls saw them, they stood up to them in respect and made them sit down and look to their wants, saying, Welcome and welcome and good cheer to the guests, but with one condition. What is that? asked they. And one of the ladies answered, Speak not of what concerneth you not, lest ye hear what pleaseth you not. Even so, said they, and sat down to their wine and drank deep. Presently the caliph looked on the three calendars and seeing them each and every blind of the left eye wondered at the sight. Then he gazed upon the girls, and he was startled and he marveled with exceeding marvel at their beauty and loveliness. They continued to carouse and to converse and said to the caliph, Drink! But he replied, I am vowed to pilgrimage and drew back from the wine. Thereupon the fortress rose and spreading before him a tablecloth worked with gold, set thereon a porcelain bowl to which he poured willow-flower water with a lump of snow and a spoon full of sugar candy. The caliph thanked her and said in himself, By Allah I will recompense her tomorrow for the kind deed she hath done. The others again addressed themselves to conversing and carousing, and when the wine got the better of them, the eldest lady who ruled the house rose and making obeisance to them took the catress by the hand and said, Rise, O my sister, and let us do what is our divore. Both answered, Even so! Then the fortress stood up and proceeded to remove the table-service of the banquet and renewed the pastiles and cleared the middle of the saloon. Then she made the colander sit upon a sofa at the side of the astrod and seated the caliph and jafar on Masrura on the other side of the saloon. After which she called a porter and said, How scanty is thy courtesy! Now thou art no stranger, nay thou art one of the household. So he stood up and, seeing his waist-cloth, asked, What would ye I do? And she answered, Stand in thy place! Then the procura-tricks arose and set in the midst of the saloon a low chair, and opening a closet, cried to the porter, Come help me! So he went to help her and saw two black bitches with chains around their necks, and she said to him, Take hold of them! And he took them into the middle of the saloon. Then the lady of the house arose and tucked up her sleeves above her wrists, and, seizing a scourge, said to the porter, Bring forward one of the bitches! He brought her forward, dragging her by the chain while the bitch wept, and shook her head at the lady who, however, came down upon her with blows on the sconce, and the bitch howled, and the lady ceased not beating her till her forearm failed her. Then, casting the scourge from her hand, she pressed the bitch to her bosom and, wiping away her tears with her hands, kissed her head. Then she said to the porter, Take her away, and bring the second! And when he brought her, she did with her as she had done with the first. Now the heart of the caliph was touched at these cruel doings. His chest straightened and he lost all patience in his desire to know why the two bitches were so beaten. The wink at Jafar wishing him to ask, but the minister turning toward him, said by signs, Be silent. Then, quote the porter to the mistress of the house, O my lady, arise and go to thy place that I, in turn, may do thy duvar. She answered even so, and taking her seat upon the couch of juniper wood, pargetted with gold and silver, said to the porter and catress, Now, do ye what ye have to do? Thereupon the porter sat upon a low seat by the couch side. But the parakeretrix, entering a closet, brought out of it a bag of satin with green fringes and two tassels of gold. She stood up before the lady of the house and, shaking the bag, drew out of it a loot which she tuned by tightening its pegs. And when it was in perfect order she began to sing these quatrains. Ye are the wish, the aim of me, and when, O love, thy sight I see, the heavenly mansion openeth, but hell I see when lost thy sight. From thee comes madness, nor the less comes highest joy, comes ecstasy. Nor in my love for thee I fear, or shame and blame or hate and spite, when love was thrown within my heart, I rent the veil of modesty and stints not love to rend that veil, garing disgrace on grace to a light. The robe of sickness then I donned, but rent to rags was secrecy, therefore my love and longing heart proclaim your high supremus might, the teardrop railing down my cheek, telleth my tale of ignomy, and all the hid was seen by all, and all my riddle read aright. Heal then my malady for thou art malady and remedy, but she whose cure is in thy hand shall nare be free of bane and blight. Burn me those, I'n, that radiance rain, slay me the swords of fantasy. How many hath the sword of love laid low their high degree despite, yet will I never cease to pine, nor too oblivion will I flee. Love is my health, my faith my joy, public and private, wrong or right. O happy eyes that sight thy charms, that gaze upon thee at their gree, yea of thy purest wish and will, the slave of love I'll I be height. When the damsel heard this elegy in quatrains, she cried out, alas, alas, and rend her garment, and fell to the ground fainting, and the caliph saw scars of the palm-rod on her back, and welts of the whip, and marveled with exceeding wonder. Then the fortress arose and sprinkled water on her, and brought her a fresh and very fine dress, and put it on her. But when the company beheld these doings, their minds were troubled, for they had no inkling of the case, nor knew the story thereof. So the caliph said to Jafar, Didst thou not see the scars upon the damsel's body? I cannot keep silent, or be at rest till I learn the truth of her condition, and the story of this other maiden, and the secret of the two black bitches. But Jafar answered, O our Lord, they made it a condition with us that we speak not of what concerneth us not, lest we come to hear what pleaseth us not. Then said the fortress, My Allah, O my sister, come to me and complete this service for me. Replied the procuratrix with joy and goodly gree, so she took the loot and leaned it against her breasts, and swept the strings with her fingertips, and began singing. Give back mine eyes their sleep long ravished, and say me wither, be my reason fled. I learnt that lending to thy love a place sleep to mine eyelids mortal foe was made. They said, we held thee righteous who way laid thy soul, go ask his glorious eyes, I said. I pardon all my blood he pleased to spill, owning his troubles drove him blood to shed. On my mind's mirror, sun like sheen he cast, whose keen reflection fire in vitals bred. Waters of life let Allah waste at will, suffice my wage those lips of dewy red, and thou address my love thou'd find a cause, for plaint and tears or roof or lust ahead. In water pure his form shall greet your eye when fails the bowl, nor need ye drink of wine. Then she quoted from the same ode, I drank but the draught of his glance, not wine, and his swaying gait swayed to sleep these iron. Twas not grape juice grips me but grasp of past. Twas not bowl or bold me but gifts divine. His coiling curl lets my soul and netted, and his cruel will all my wits outwitted. After a pause she resumed, if we plain of absence what shall we say, or if pain afflict us where when our way. And I hire a truckman to tell my tale, the lover's plain is not told for pay. If I put on patience a lover's life after loss of love will not last a day. Not has left me now but regret, repined, and tears flooding cheeks for ever and I. O thou who the babies of these eyes hast fled, thou art holmed in heart that shall never stray. What heaven I want hast thou kept our pack, long a stream shall flow to have firmest fey, or hast forgotten the weeping slave, whom groans afflict and whom griefs waylay. When severance ends and we side by side couch, I'll blame thy rigors and chide thy pride. Now when the fortress heard her second ode, she shrieked aloud and said, By Allah, tis right good! And laying her hands on her garments, tore them as she did the first time, and fell to the ground fainting. Whereupon the procuratrix rose and brought her a second change of clothes after she had sprinkled water on her. She recovered and sat upright and said to her sister, the catress, onwards and help me in my duty, for there remains but this one song. So the provisionerous again brought out the loot and began to sing these verses. How long shall last, how long this rigor rife of woe, may not suffice the all these tears thou seest flow? Our parting thus with purpose fell thou dust prolong, is not enough to glad the heart of envious foe? Were but this lying world once true to lover heart, had not watched the weary night in tears of woe? O pity me whom overwhelm thy cruel will, my Lord, my King, tis time some Ruth to meet thou show. To whom reveal my wrongs, O thou who murdered me? Sad, who of broken troth the pangs must undergo? Increase, while love for thee and frenzy hour by hour, and days of exile minute by so long so slow. O Muslims, claim vendetta for this slave of love, whose sleep love ever wastes, whose patient love lays low. Doth law of love allow thee, O my wish, to lie lapped in another's arms and unto me cry go? Yet in thy presence say, what joy shall I enjoy, when he I love, but works my love to overflow? When the portraits heard the third song, she cried aloud, and laying hands on her garments, rent them down to the very skirt, and fell to the ground fainting a third time, again showing the scars of the scourge. Then said the three colanders, Would heaven we had never entered this house, but had rather righted on the mounds and heaps outside the city, for verily our visit hath been troubled by sights which cut to the heart? The caliph turned to them and asked, Why so? And they made answer, Our minds are so troubled by this matter. Quote the caliph, are ye not of the household? And quote they, No, nor indeed did we ever set eyes on the place till within this hour. Here at the caliph marveled and rejoined, This man who sitteth by you, Would he not know the secret of the matter? And so, saying, he winked and made signs at the porter. So they questioned the man, but he replied, By the all might of Allah in love all are alike, I am the growth of Baghdad, Yet never in my born days did I darken these doors till today, And my companying with them was a curious matter. By Allah they rejoined, We took thee for one of them, And now we see thou art one like ourselves. Then said the caliph, We be seven men, and they only three women, Without even a fourth to help them. So let us question them of their case, And if they answer us not, Fain we will be answered by force. All of them agreed to this except Jafar, And said, This is not my wrecking, let them be, For we are their guests, And as you know they made a compact and condition with us, Which we accepted and promised to keep, Wherefore it is better that we be silent concerning this matter, And as but little of the night remaineth, Let each and every of us gang his own gate. Then he winked at the caliph, And whispered to him, There is but one hour of darkness left, And I can bring them before thee tomorrow, When thou canst freely question them all concerning their story. But the caliph raised his head haughtily, And cried out at him and wrath, Saying, I have no patience left for my longings to hear of them, Let the calenders question them forthright. Quote Jafar, This is not my reed. Then words ran high and talk answered talk, And they disputed as to who should first put the question, But at last all fixed upon the porter. And as the jingle increased, The housemistress could not but notice it, And ask them, O ye folk, on what matter are ye talking so loudly? Then the porter stood up respectfully before her and said, Oh my lady, this company earnestly desire That thou acquaint them with the story of the two bitches, And what maketh thee punish them so cruelly? And then thou fallest to weeping over them and kissing them. And lastly they want to hear the tale of thy sister, And why she hath been bastonado'd with palm pricks like a man. These are the questions they charge me to put, And peace be with thee. Thereupon, quotes she who was the lady of the house to the guests, Is this true that he saith on your part? All replied, Yes, saith Jafar, who kept silence. When she heard these words she cried, By Allah ye have wronged us, O our guests, With grievous wronging, for when you came before us We made compact and conditioned with you That whoso should speak of what concerneth him not Should hear what pleaseth him not. Sufficeeth ye not that we took you into our house And fed you with our best food? But the fault is not so much yours as hers who let you in. Then she tucked up her sleeves from her wrists And struck the floor thriced with her hand, Saying, Come ye quickly, and lo a closet door opened, And out of it came seven negro slaves with drawn swords In hand to whom she said, Pinion me those praetor's elbows and bind them each to each. They did her bidding and asked her, O veiled and virtuous, is it thy high command That we strike off their heads? But she answered, Leave them awhile, That I question them of their condition Before their necks feel the sword. By Allah, O my lady, cried the porter, Slay me not for other sin. All these men offended and deserved The penalty of crime save myself. Now by Allah our night had been charming, Had we escaped the mortification Of those monocular calendars whose entrance into a populous city Would convert it into a howling wilderness. Then he repeated these verses, How fair is Ruth the strong man Dain's not smother, And fairest fair when shown to weakest brother By love's own holy tie between us twain Let one not suffer for the sin of other. When the porter ended his verse, the lady laughed, And Sheherazad perceived the dawn of day And ceased to say her permitted say. When it was the eleventh night she said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That the lady, after laughing at the porter, Despite her wrath, came up to the party And spake thus, Tell me who ye be, For ye have but an hour of life. And were ye not men of rank And perhaps notables of your tribes, You had not been so froward, And I had hastened your doom. Then said the caliph, woe to thee, O Jafar, Tell her who we are lest we be slain by mistake, And speak her fair before some horror befall us. "'Tis part of thy deserts,' replied he, Whereupon the caliph cried out at him, Saying, there is a time for witty words, And there is a time for serious work. Then the lady accosted the three calendars And asked them, Are ye brothers? And they answered, No, by Allah we be not, But fakers and foreigners. Then, quote she, to one among them, Was thou born blind of one eye? And, quote he, No, by Allah, Twas a marvelous matter and a wondrous mischance Which caused my eye to be torn out, And mine is a tale which, if it were written upon The eye-corners with needle-gravers, Were a warner to whoso would be warned. She questioned the second and third calendar, But all replied like the first. By Allah, O our mistress, Each one of us cometh from a different country, And we are all three the sons of kings, Sovereign princes ruling over suzerains And capital cities. Thereupon she turned towards them and said, Let each and every one of you tell me his tale in due order And explain the cause of his coming to our place. And if his story please us, Let him stroke his head and wend his way. The first to come forward was Hamal, The porter, who said, Oh my lady, I am a man and a porter. This dame, the caterers, Hired me to carry a load And took me first to the shop of a vintner, Then to the booth of a butcher, Thence to the stall of a fruiterer, Thence to a grocer who also sold dry fruits, Thence to a confectioner, And a perfumer whom drugged, And from him to this place Where there happened to me with you what happened. Such is my story, And peace be on us all. At this the lady laughed and said, Rub thy head and wend thy ways. But he cried, By Allah, I will not stump it till I hear the stories of my companions. Then came forward one of the monoculars And began to tell her. The first calendar's tale. No, oh my lady, What the cause of my beard being shorn And my eye being torn was as follows. My father was a king, And he had a brother who was a king over another city. And it came to pass that I and my cousin, The son of my paternal uncle, Were both born on one and the same day. And the years and days rolled on. And as we grew up I used to visit my uncle Every now and then, And to spend a certain number of months with him. Now my cousin and I were sworn friends, For he ever treated me with exceeding kindness. He killed for me the fattest sheep, And strained the best of his wines, And we enjoyed long conversing and carousing. One day when the wine had gotten the better of us, The son of my uncle said to me, Oh my cousin, I have a great service to ask of thee, And I desire that thou stay me not In what so I desire to do. And I replied, with joy and goodly will, Then he made me swear the most Binding oaths and left me. But after a little while he returned, Leading a lady veiled and richly appareled With ornaments worth a large sum of money. Presently he turned to me, The woman being still behind him, And said, Take this lady with thee, And go before me to such a burial ground, Describing it so that I knew the place, And enter with her into such a sepulcher, And there await my coming. The old's eyes swore to him, Made me keep silence and suffered me not to oppose him. So I led the woman to the cemetery, And both I and she took our seats in the sepulcher, And hardly had we sat down, When in came my uncle's son with a bowl of water, A bag of mortar and an adze, Somewhat like a hole. Then straight to the tomb in the midst of the sepulcher, And breaking it open with the ads, Set the stones on one side. Then he fell to digging into the earth of the tomb, Till he came upon a large iron plate, The size of a wicket door. And on raising it there appeared below it A staircase vaulted and winding. Then he turned to the lady and said to her, Come now and take thy final choice. She at once went down by the staircase and disappeared. Then, quote he to me, O son of my uncle, By way of completing thy kindness, When I shall have descended into this place, Restore the trapdoor to where it was, And heap back the earth upon it as it lay before, And then of thy goodness mix this unslaked lime Which is in the bag with this water which is in the bowl, And after building up the stones plaster the outside So that none looking upon it shall say, This is a new opening in an old tomb. For a whole year have I worked at this place Whereof none knoweth but Allah. And this is the need I have of thee. Presently adding, May Allah never bereave thy friends of thee, Nor make them desolate by thine absence. O son of my uncle, o my dear cousin, And he went down the stairs and disappeared for ever. When he was lost to sight, I replaced the iron plate and did all his bidding Till the tomb became as it was before, And I worked almost unconsciously, For my head was heated with wine. Returning to the palace of my uncle, I told that he had gone forth a sporting and hunting, So I slept that night without seeing him. And when the morning dawned, I remembered the scenes of the past evening And what happened between me and my cousin. And I repented of having obeyed him When penitence was of no avail. I still thought, however, that it was a dream. So I fell to asking for the son of my uncle, But there was none to answer me concerning him. I went out to the graveyard and the sepulchres And sought for the tomb under which he was, But could not find it. And I ceased not wandering about from sepulcher to sepulcher And tomb to tomb, all without success, Till night set in. October 2008 drzeyle.net Section 8, Volume 1 of the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night Translated by Richard Burton. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night, Section 8 So I returned to the city, Yet I could neither eat nor drink My thoughts being engrossed with my cousin, For that I knew not what was become of him, And I grieved with exceeding grief And passed another sorrowful night, Watching until morning. Then I went a second time to the cemetery, Pondering over what the son of my uncle had done, And sorely repenting my hearkening to him, Went round among all the tombs, But could not find the tomb I sought. I mourned over the past And remained in my mourning seven days, Seeking the place and ever missing the path. Then my torture of scruples grew upon me, Till I well nigh went mad, And I found no way to dispel my grief, Save travel and return to my father. So I set out and journeyed homeward, But as I was entering my father's capital, A crowd of rioters sprang upon me and pinioned me. I wondered there at, with all wonderment, Seeing that I am the son of the sultan, And these men were my father's subjects, And among them were some of my own slaves. A great fear fell upon me, And I said to my soul, Would heaven I knew what had happened to my father. I questioned those that bound me Of the cause of their doing, But they returned me no answer. However, after a while one of them said to me, And he had been a hired servant in our house, Fortune has been false to thy father. His troops betrayed him, And the wazir who slew him now reigneth in his stead, And we lay in wait to seize thee by the bidding of him. I was well nigh distraught, And felt ready to faint on hearing of my father's death, When they carried me off and placed me in the presence of the usurper. Now between me and him there was an olden grudge, The cause of which is this. I was fond of shooting with a stone bow, And it befell one day as I was standing on the terrace roof of the palace, That a bird lighted on the top of the wazir's house, When he happened to be there. I shot at the bird and missed the mark, But I hit the wazir's eye and knocked it out as fate and fortune decreed. Even so saith the poet, We tread the path where fate hath led, The path fate writ we faint must tread, And man in one land doomed to die, Death nowhere else shall do him dead. And on the likewise saith another, Let fortune have her wanton way, Take heart and all her words obey, Nor joy nor mourn at any thing, For all things pass and no things stay. Now when I knocked out the wazir's eye, He could not say a single word, For that my father was king of the city. But he hated me ever after, And dire was the grudge thus caused between us twain. So when I was set before him, Hand bound and pinioned, He straight away gave orders for me to be beheaded. I asked, For what crime wilt thou put me to death? Whereupon he answered, What crime is greater than this? Pointing the while to the place where his eye had been. Quoth I, this I did by accident, Not of malice pre-pence. And, quoth he, if thou didst it by accident, I will do the like to thee with intention. Then he cried, Bring him forward, And they brought me up to him, When he thrust his finger into my left eye And gouged it out, Whereupon I became one eye, As ye see me. Then he bade, Bind me hand and foot, And put me into a chest, And said to the sorter, Take charge of this fellow, And go off with him to the wastelands about the city, Then draw thy scimitar and slay him, And leave him to feed the beasts and birds. So the headsman fared forth with me, And when he was in the midst of the desert, He took me out of the chest, And I, with both hands pinioned, And both feet fettered, And was about to bandage my eyes Before striking off my head. But I wept with exceeding weeping, Until I had made him weep with me, And looking at him, I began to recite these couplets. I deemed you coat-a-male, That should withstand the foeman's shafts, And you proved foeman's brand. I hoped your adents in mine every chance, Though fail my left to aid my dexter hand. A louf you stand, And hear the railers jibe, While rain their shafts on me the gibber band. But any will not guard me from my foes, Stand clear and succour neither these nor those. And I also quoted, I deemed my brother and male of strongest steel, And so they were from foes I fend my dart. I deemed their arrows surest of their aim, And so they were when aiming at my heart. When the headsman heard my lines, He had been sordid to my sire, And he owed me a debt of gratitude. He cried, O my lord, what can I do, Being but a slave under orders? Presently adding, Fly for thy life, And never more return to this land, Or they will slay thee, And slay me with thee. Even as a poet said, Take thy life and fly when as evils threat, Let the ruined house tell its owner's fate. New land for the old thou shalt seek and find, But to find new life thou must not await. Strange that men should sit in a stead of shame, When all his world is so wide and great. And trust no other in matters grave, Life itself must act for a life beset. Nair would prowl the lion with maned neck, Did he reckon on aid or of others' wreck. Hardly believing my escape, I kissed his hand and thought the loss of my eye A light matter in consideration of my escaping From being slain. I arrived at my uncle's capital, And, going into him, Told him of what had befallen my father and myself, Whereat he wept with sore weeping and said, Verily thou addest grief to my grief, And woe to my woe, My cousin hath been missing these many days. I want not what hath happened to him, And none can give me news of him. And he wept till he fainted. I sorrowed and condoled with him, And he would have applied certain medicaments to my eye, But he saw that it was become as a walnut with the shell empty. Then he said, O my son, better to lose eye and keep life. After that I could no longer remain silent about my cousin, Who was his only son and one dearly loved. So I told him all that had happened. He rejoiced with extreme joyance to hear the news of his son And said, Come now and show me the tomb. But I replied, By Allah, O my uncle, I know not its place, Though I sought it carefully full many times, Yet could not find the sight. However, I and my uncle went to the graveyard And looked right and left, Till at last I recognized the tomb, And we both rejoiced with exceeding joy. We entered the sepulcher, and loosened the earth about the grave. Then, up raising the trapdoor, descended some fifty steps Till we came to the foot of the staircase, When, lo, we were stopped by a blinding smoke. Thereupon my uncle said that saying, Whose sayer shall never come to shame. There is no majesty, and there is no might, Save in Allah, the glorious, the great. And we advanced till we suddenly came upon a saloon Whose floor was strewn with flour and grain And provisions in all manner of necessities. And in the midst of it stood a canopy sheltering a couch. Thereupon my uncle went up to the couch, And inspecting it found his son and the lady Who had gone down with him into the tomb, Lying in each other's embrace. But the twain had become black as charred soot. It was as if they had been cast into a pit of fire. When my uncle saw this spectacle, He spat in his son's face, and said, Thou hast thy deserts, O thou hog. This is thy judgment in the transitory world, And yet remaineth the judgment in the world To come a dourer and a more enduring. And Scheherazade perceived the dawn of day And ceased saying her permitted say. When it was the twelfth night, she continued, It has reached me, O auspicious king, That the colandar thus went on with his story Before the lady in the caliph of Jafar. My uncle struck his son with his slipper As he lay there in a black heap of coal. I marveled at his hardness of heart, And grieving for my cousin and the lady said, By Allah, O my uncle, calm down thy wrath! Dost thou not see that all my thoughts Are occupied with this misfortune? And how sorrowful I am for what hath befalling thy son? And how horrible it is that not of him remaineth But a black heap of charcoal? And is that not enough, but thou must smite him With thy slipper? Answered he, O son of my brother, This youth from his boyhood was madly in love With his own sister. And often and often I forbade him to her, Saying to myself they are but little ones. However, when they grew up, sin befell between them. And although I could hardly believe it, I confined him, and chided him, And threatened him with the severest threats. And the eunuchs and servants said to him, Beware of so foul a thing which none before thee ever did, And have a careless thou be dishonored And disgraced among the kings of the day, Even to the end of time. And I added, such a report as this Will be spread abroad by caravans, And take heed not to give them cause to talk, Or I will assuredly curse thee and do thee to death. After that I lodged them apart and shut her up, But the accursed girl loved him with passionate love, For Satan had got the mastery of her as well as of him, And made their foul sin seem fair in their sight. Now, when my son saw that I separated them, He secretly built his souterrain and furnished it, And transported to it victuals, Even as thou seest, and when I had gone out of sporting, Came here with his sister and hid from me. Then his righteous judgment fell upon the twain, And consumed them with fire from heaven, And verily the last judgment will deal them Durer pains and more enduring. Then he wept, and I wept, Then he wept, and I wept with him, And he looked at me and said, Thou art my son and his dead, And I bethought me a while of the world and of its chances, And how the Wazir had slain my father and had taken his place, And had put out my eye, And how my cousin had come to his death by the strangest chance, And I wept again, and my uncle wept with me. Then we mounted the steps and let down the iron plate, And heaped up the earth over it, And after restoring the tomb to its former condition, We returned to the palace. But hardly had we sat down, And we heard the tome toming of the kettle drum, And the tantara of trumpets, And the clash of cymbals, And the rattling of warmen's lances, And the clamors of assailants, And the clanking of bits and the neighing of steeds, While the world was canopied in dense dust And sand clouds raised by the horse's hooves. We were amazed at the sight and sound, Knowing not what could be the matter, So we asked, and were told us, That the Wazir who usurped My father's kingdom had marched his men, And that after levying his soldiery And taking a host of wild Arabs into his service, He had come down upon us with armies Like the sands of the sea, Their number none could tell, And against them none could prevail. They attacked the city unawares, And the citizens, being powerless to oppose them, Surrendered the place. My uncle was slain, And I made for the suburbs, saying to myself, If thou fall into this villain's hands He will assuredly kill thee. On this wise all my troubles were renewed. And I pondered all that had betided My father and my uncle, And I knew not what to do, For if the city people, Or my father's troops had recognized me, They would have done their best to win favor By destroying me, And I could think of no way to escape Saved by shaving off my beard and my eyebrows. So I shore them off, And changing my fine clothes For a calendar's rags, I fared forth from my uncle's capital, And made for this city, Hoping that per adventure Someone would assist me To the presence of the Prince of the Faithful And the Caliph, And the Caliph who is of his serigent Of Allah upon earth. Thus I come hither That I might tell him my tale And lay my case before him. I arrived here this very night And was standing in doubt Whether I should go When suddenly I saw this second calendar. So I soloamed to him, Saying, I am a stranger. And he answered, I too am a stranger. And as we were conversing, Up came our third companion, This third calendar, Who saluted us, saying, I am a stranger. And we answered, We too be strangers. Then we three walked on, And together, Till darkness overtook us And destiny craved us to your house. Such then is the cause Of the shaving of my beard And moustachios and eyebrows, And the manner of my losing My right eye. They marveled much at this tale, And the caliph said to Jafar, By Allah I have not seen Nor have I heard the like Of what hath happened to this calendar. With the lady of the house, Rub thy head and wind thy ways. But he replied, I will not go till I hear The history of the two others. Thereupon the second calendar came forward, And kissing the ground began to tell. The second calendar's tale. The second calendar's tale. No, oh my lady, That I was not born one-eyed, And mine is a strange story, And it were graven with needle-graver On the eye-corner's. It were a warner to whoso would be warned. I am a king, son of a king, And was brought up like a prince. I learned in toning of the Quran, According to the seven schools. And I read all manner books, And held disputation on their contents With the doctors and men of science. Moreover, I studied Star Lore And the fair sayings of the poets, And I exercised myself in all branches Of learning until I surpassed The people of my time. My skill and calligraphy exceeded That of all the scribes, And my fame was brooded abroad Over all climes and cities, And all the kings learned to know my name. Amongst others, the king of Hind Heard of me, and sent to my father To invite me to his court, With offerings and presents and rarities Such as befit royalties. So my father fitted out six ships For me and my people, And we put to sea and sailed For the space of a full month, Till we made the land. Then we brought out the horses That were with us in the ships, For the prince, set forth inland. But we had marched only a little way, When, behold, a dust cloud flew up And grew until it walled the horizon from view. After an hour or so, the veil lifted, And discovered beneath it fifty horsemen, Ravening lions to the site, And steel armor-dite. We observed them straightly and low, They were cutters off of the highway, Wild as wild Arabs. When they saw that we were only four With us but the ten camels carrying the presents, They dashed down upon us with lances at rest. We signed to them with our fingers, As it were saying, We be messengers of the great King of Hind, So harm us not. But they answered on likewise, We are not in his dominions to obey, Nor are we subject to his sway. Then they set upon us and slew some of my slaves, And put the lave to flight. And I also fled after I had gotten a wound, A grievous hurt, Thus the Arabs were taken up with the money And the presents which were with us. I went forth unknowing wither I went, Having become mean as I was mighty, And fared on until I came to the crest of a mountain, Where I took shelter for the night in a cave. When day arose I set out again, Nor ceased after this fashion till I arrived At a fair city and a well-filled. Now it was a season when winter was turning away With his rhyme, And to greet the world with his flowers came prime, And the young blooms were springing, And the streams flowed ringing, And the birds were sweetly singing, As saith the poet concerning a certain city When describing it. A place secure from every thought of fear, Safety and peace forever lorded here, Its beauties seemed to beautify its sons, As in heaven its happy folk appear. I was glad of my arrival, For I was wearied with the way, And yellow of face for weakness and want. My plight was pitiable, And I knew not whether to but take me. So I accosted a tailor sitting in his little shop, And saluted him, And he returned my salome, And bade me kindly welcome, And wished me well, And entreated me gently, And asked me of the cause of my strangerhood. I told him all my past from first to last, And he was concerned on my account, And said, O youth, disclose not thy secret to any, The king of this city is the greatest enemy Of thy father hath, And there is blood with between them, And thou hast caused a fear for thy life. Then he said to me to drink before me, And I ate and drank, And he with me, And we conversed freely till nightfall, When he cleared me a place in a corner of his shop, And brought me a carpet and a coverlet. I carried with him three days, At the end of which time he said to me, Noest thou no calling Whereby to win thy living, o my son? I unlearned in the law, I replied, And a doctor of doctrine, And adept in art and science, A mathematician and a notable penman. He rejoined, Thy calling is of no account in our city, Where not a soul understandeth science, Or even writing or ought save money-making. Then said I, By Allah I know nothing but what I have mentioned. And he answered, Gird thy middle, And take thee a hatchet and a cord, And go and hue wood in the world For thy daily bread, Till Allah send thee relief, And tell none who thou art lest they slay thee. Then he bought me an axe and a rope, And gave me in charge to certain wood-cutters. And with these guardians I went forth Into the forest where I cut fuel-wood The whole of my day and came back in the evening Bearing my bundle on my head. I sold it for half a dinar, With part of which I bought provision And laid by the rest. In such work I spent a whole year, And when this was ended I went out one day, As was my want, into the wilderness. And wandering away from my companions I chanced upon a thickly-grown lowland In which there was an abundance of wood. So I entered and found the gnarled stump Of a great tree, And loosened the ground around it And shoveled away the earth. Presently my hatchet rang upon a copper ring, So I cleared away the soil, And, behold, the ring was attached To a wooden-trapped door. This I raised, and there appeared Beneath it a staircase. I descended the steps to the bottom, And came to a door which I opened And found myself in a noble hall, Strong of structure and beautifully built, Where was a damsel like a pearl of great price, Whose favor banished from my heart All grief and carc and care, And whose soft speech healed the soul In despair and captivated the wise and were. Her figure measured five feet in height, Her breasts were firm and upright, Her cheek a very garden of delight, Her color lively bright, Her eyes were bright, Her color lively bright, Her face gleamed like dawn through curly tresses, Which gloomed like night, And above the snows of her bosom Glittered teeth of pearly white, As a poet said of one like her, Slim wasted, Loveling jetty hair and crowned, A wand of willow on a sandy mound, And a sayeth another, Four things that meet not Save they hear unite, To shed my heart blood and to rape my sprite, Brilliantest forehead, Tresses jetty bright, Cheeks rosy red, And stature beauty diet. When I looked upon her, I prostrated myself before him who had created her, For the beauty and loveliness he had shaped in her, And she looked at me, And said, Art thou man or jenni? I am man," answered I, And she, now who brought thee to this place Where I have abided five and twenty years Without even yet seeing man in it, Quote I, And her words wonder sweet, And my heart was melted to the core by them. O my lady, My good fortune led me hither For the dispelling of my carc and care. Then I related to her all my mishap From first to last, And my case appeared to her exceeding grievous. So she wept, And said, I will tell thee my story in my turn. I am the daughter of the king Iphetamus, Lord of the islands of Abnus, Who married me to my cousin, And on my wedding night came an Iphreet Named Jurgis bin Rajmas, First cousin, that is, mother's sister's son, Of Iblis, the foul fiend, Snatched me up, And flying away with me like a bird Set me down in this place, Whither he conveyed all I needed of fine stuffs, Rayament and jewels and furniture, And meat and drink and other else. Once in every ten years he comes here, And lies a single night with me, And then wends his way, For he took me without the consent of his family, And he hath agreed with me that if ever I need him by night or by day I have only to pass my hand over yawned Two lines engraved upon the alcove, And he will appear to me before my finger Sees touching. Four days have now passed since he was here, And, as there remain six days more Before he come again, say me, Wilt thou abide with me five days And go hence the day before his coming? I replied, Yes, and yes again! Oh, rare if all this be not a dream! Hereat she was glad, And springing to her feet seized my hand And carried me through an arched doorway To a hammam bath, A fair hall and richly decorate. I doffed my clothes, And she doffed hers, and we bathed, And she washed me. And when this was done we left the bath, And she seated me by her side upon a high divan, And brought me sherbet scented with musk. When we felt cool after the bath, She set food before me, And we ate, and felt a talking, She said to me, Lay thee down and take thy rest, For surely thou must be weary. So I thanked her, my lady, And lay down and slept soundly, Forgetting all that had happened to me. When I awoke I found her rubbing, And shampooing my feet. So I again thanked her, And blessed her, And we sat for a while talking. Said she, By Allah I was sad at heart, For I have dwelt alone underground And she asked, O youth, what sayest thou to wine? And I answered, Do as thou wilt. Whereupon she went to a cupboard And took out a sealed flask of right old wine, And set off the table with flowers and scented herbs, And began to sing these lines. Had we known of thy coming We feign had to spread The cores of our hearts and the balls of our eyes. Our cheeks as a carpet To greet thee had thrown And our eyelids had strone Now when she had finished her verse I thanked her, For indeed, love of her Had gotten hold of my heart, And my grief and anguish were gone. We sat at converse and carousel till nightfall, And with her I spent the night. Such night never spent I in all my life. On the morrow Delight followed delight till midday By which time I had drunk and whined so freely That I had lost my wits And stood up, Staggering to the right and to the left, And said, Be up from this underground vault And deliver thee from the spell of thy jinnie. She laughed and replied, Content thee and hold thy peace Of every ten days one is for the effete And the other nine are thine. Quote I, And in good soothe drink had gotten the better of me. This very instant I will break down The alcove wherein is grave in the talisman And summon the effete that I may slay him, For it is a practice of mine to slay effetes. When she heard my words her color waxed Won, and she said, By all I do not. And she began repeating, This is a thing wherein destruction lies I read thee shunnet and thy wits be wise. And these also, O thou who seekest severance Draw the reign of thy swift steed Nor seek o'er much to advance. Ah, stay for treachery is the rule of life And sweets of meeting end in severance. I heard her verse, But paid no heed to her words. Nay, I raised my foot And administered to the alcove A mighty kick. And Scheherazade perceived the dawn of day And ceased to say her permitted say. When it was the thirteenth night She said, It had reached me, O auspicious king, That the second calendar thus continued His tale to the lady. But when, O my mistress, I kicked that alcove with a mighty kick, Behold, the air starkened and darkened And thundered and lightened, The earth trembled and quaked, And the world became invisible. At once the fumes of wine left my head And I cried to her, What is the matter? And she replied, The effreet is upon us. Did I not warn thee of this? By all of thou hast brought ruin upon me. But fly for thy life and go up by the way Thou camest down. So I fled up the staircase. But in the excess of my fear I forgot sandals and hatchet. And when I mounted two steps I turned to look for them and lo, I rose from it and effreet. A monster of hideousness who said to the damsel, What trouble and posture be this Wherewith thou disturbest me? What mishap hath betided thee? No mishap hath befallen me, she answered. Save that my breast was straightened And my heart heavy with sadness. So I drank a little wine to broaden it And to hearten myself. Then I rose to obey a call of nature But the wine had gotten into my head And I fell against the alcove. Thou liest like the whore, thou art! And he looked around the hall Right and left till he caught sight Of my axe and sandals and said to her What be these but the belongings Of some mortal who hath been in thy society? She answered, I never set eyes upon them till this moment. They must have been brought by thee Thither cleaving to thy garments. Quoth thee, effreet. These words are absurd, thou harlot! Thou strumpet! Then he stripped her stark naked And, stretching her upon the floor With hands and feet to force stakes Like one crucified and set about Torturing and trying to make her confess I could not bear to stand listening To her cries and groans so I climbed The stair on the quake with fear And when I reached the top I replaced The trap door and covered it with earth Then I repented of what I had done With penitence exceeding and thought Of the lady and her beauty and loveliness And the torture she was suffering At the hands of the accursed effreet After her quiet life of five and twenty years For the cause of me. I bethought me of my father and his kingly estate And how I had become a woodcutter And how, after my time, had been a while Serene the world had again Waxed turban and troubled to me. So I wept bitterly and repeated This couplet. What time fate's tyranny shall most oppress thee? Prepend, one day shall joy thee One distress thee. Then I walked till I reached The home of my friend, the tailor Whom I found most anxiously expecting me. Indeed he was, as the saying goes, On coals of fire for my account. And when he saw me, he said, All night long my heart hath been heavy Fearing for thee from wild beasts Or other mischances. Now praise me to Allah for thy safety. I thanked him for his friendly solicitude And retiring to my corner Set pondering and musing on what had befallen me. And I blamed and chided myself For my meddlesome folly And my forwardness in kicking the alcove. I was calm as I was, Calling myself to account when behold My friend, the tailor, came to me And said, O youth, in the shop There is an old man, a Persian Who seeketh thee. He hath thy hatchet and thy sandals Which he had taken to the woodcutter, saying, I was going out at what time The muazzin began to call the dawn prayer When I chanced upon these things And know not whose they are. So direct me to their owner. The woodcutters recognized thy hatchet And directed him to thee. I was in the shop. So fare forth to him and thank him And take thine ax and sandals. When I heard these words I turned yellow with fear and felt stunned As by a blow. And before I could recover myself low The floor of my private room clove asunder And out of it rose the Persian Who was the Afrit. He had tortured the lady with exceeding tortures. Needless she would not confess to him ought. So he took the hatchet and sandals And said to her, We'll bring thee back the owner of this and these. Then he went to the woodcutters With the presence of Forsed And, being directed to me After waiting a while in the shop Till the fact was confirmed, He suddenly snatched me up As a hawk snatched at the mouse And drew high in air. But presently descended and plunged with me under the earth I being a swoon the while And lastly set me down in the subterranean palace Wherein I had passed that blissful night. And there I saw the lady, And her limbs bound to four steaks And blood welling from her sides. At the sight my eyes ran over with tears But the Afrit covered her person and said, O wanton is this man not thy lover? She looked upon me and replied, I want him not, Nor have I ever seen him before this hour. Quote the Afrit, What? This torture and yet no confessing? And, quote she, I never saw this man in my born days. It is not lawful in all his sight to tell lies on him. If thou know him not, Said the Afrit to her, Take this sword and strike off his head. She hinted the sword in hand And came close up to me. And I signaled to her with my eyebrows, My tears the while flowing down my cheeks. She understood me and made answer, Also by signs, How couldst thou bring all this evil upon me? And I rejoined after the same fashion. This is a time for mercy and forgiveness. And the mute tongue of my case Spake aloud, saying, My eyes were dragomans of my tongue betted And told full clear the love I feign would hide When last we met the tears and torrents railed For tongue struck dumb my glances testified She signed with eye-glance while her lips were mute I signed with fingers, And she kindly implied, Our eyebrows did all duty twist us twain And, being speechless, love spake loud and plain. Then, oh my mistress, The lady threw away the sword and said, How shall I strike the neck of one I want not? How shall I strike the neck of one I want not? And she said, How shall I strike the neck of one I want not? And who hath done me no evil? Such deed were not lawful in my law. And she held her hand. Said the effreet, To his grievous to thee to slay thy lover And because he hath lain with thee Thou endurest these torments And obstinately refuseeth to confess After this it is clear to me That only like loveth and pitieth like. And he turned to me and asked me, O man, Happily thou also dost not know this woman. Where to I answered, And pray, who may she be? Assuredly I never saw her till this instant. Then take the sword, said he, And strike off her head, And I will believe that thou wattest her not And I will leave thee free to go And will not deaf hardly with thee. I replied, That I will do. And, taking the sword, Went sharply forward and raised my hand to smite. But she signed to me with her eyebrows. And is it thus that thou requirest me? I understood what her looks implied And answered her with an eye-glance. I will sacrifice my soul for thee. And the tongue of the case Wrote in our hearts these lines. How many a lover with his eyebrows speaketh To his beloved as his passion pleadeth. With flashing eyes his passion he inspireeth. And well she seeeth what kits pleading needeth. How sweet the look When on each other gazeth. And with what swiftness And how sure it speedeth. And this with eyebrows All his passion writeeth. And that with eyeballs All his passion readeth. Then my eyes filled with tears To overflowing, and I cast the sword From my hand, saying, O mighty of Freight and Hero, If a woman lacking wits and faith Deem it unlawful to strike off my head, How can it be lawful for me, A man to smite her neck, Whom I never saw in my whole life? I cannot do such misdeed, Though thou cause me drink And perdition. Then said the Euphrite, Ye twain show the good understanding between you, But I will let you see how such doings end. Then he took the sword And struck off the lady's hands first With four strokes. And then her feet, While I looked on and made sure of death, And she farewelled me with her dying eyes. So the Euphrite cried at her, Thou warest and makest me a wittaw With thine eyes, And struck her so that her head went flying. She came to me and said, O mortal, we have it in our law, That when the wife committed adultery It is lawful for us to slay her. As for this damsel, I snatched her away on her bright night When she was a girl of twelve, And she knew no one but myself. I used to come to her once every ten days And lie with her the night, Under the semblance of a man, a Persian, And when I was well assured That she had cuckled in me, I slew her. And I defied that thou hast wronged me in her. Nevertheless, I must not let They go unharmed. So ask a boon of me, and I will grant it. Then I rejoiced on my lady With exceeding joy, and said, What boon shall I crave of thee? He replied, ask me this boon, Into what shape I shall be witch thee? Wilt thou be a dog, or an ass, Or an ape? I rejoined, and indeed I had hoped That mercy might be shown me. By Allah spare me, that Allah spare thee By sparing a Muslim and a man who never wronged thee. And I humbled myself before him With exceeding humility, and remained standing In his presence, saying, I am sore oppressed by circumstance. He replied, talk me no long, talk. It is in my power to slay thee. But I give thee instead thy choice. Quote I, O thou wefreet, It would befit thee to pardon me Even as the envied pardoned the envier. Quote he, and how was that? And I began to tell him The tale of the envier And the envied End of Section 8 Of the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night Section 9 of Volume 1 Of the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night Translated by Richard Burton 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 Anna Simon The book goes on The tale of the envier and the envied They relate, O ifrit, That in a certain city Were two men who dwelled in adjoining houses Having a common party wall And one of them envied the other And looked on him with an evil eye And did his utmost endeavour To injure him And all bide at all times He was jealous of his neighbour And all bide at all times He was jealous of his neighbour And all bide at all times He was jealous of his neighbour His menace at last grew on him Till he could hardly eat Or enjoy the sweet pleasures of sleep But the envied did nothing save prosper And the more the other strove To injure him The more he got and gained and throve At last the menace of his neighbour And the man's constant endeavour To work him a harm came to his knowledge So he said By Allah God's earth is wide enough for its people And, leaving the neighbourhood He repaired to another city Where he bought himself a piece of land In which was a dried up draw well Old and in ruinous condition Here he built him an oratory And, furnishing it with a few necessaries Took up his abode therein And devoted himself to prayer And worshipping Allah Almighty And Fakirs and holy mendicans Flocked to him from all quarters And his fame went abroad Through the city and that countryside Presently the news reached His envious neighbour Of what good fortune had befallen him And how the city notables Had become his disciples So he travelled to the place And presented himself at the holy Menace Hermitage And was met by the envied With welcome and greeting And all honour Then quothed the enviar I have a word to say to thee This is the cause of my faring hither And I wish to give thee a piece of good news So come with me to thy cell Thereupon the envied arose And took the enviar by the hand And they went in to the inmost part Of the Hermitage But the enviar said Bit thy Fakirs, retire to their cells Or I will not tell thee what I have to say Save in secret when none may hear us Accordingly The envied said to his Fakirs Retire to your private cells And when all had done as he bade them He set out with his visitor And walked a little way until the twain Reached the ruinous old well And as they stood upon the brink The enviar gave the envied a push Which tumbled him headlong into it Unseen of any Whereupon he fared forth And went his ways Thinking to have had slain him Now this well happened To be haunted by the John Seeing the case Bore him up and let him down little by little Till he reached the bottom When they seated him upon a large stone Then one of them asked his fellows What year who be this man And they answered Nay This man, continued the speaker Is the envied height who, flying from the enviar Came to dwell in our city And here found this holy house And he hath edified us by his litonies And his lectures of the Quran But the enviar set out and journeyed Till he rejoined him And cunningly contrived to deceive him And cast him into the well Where we now are But the fame of this good man Had this very night come to the Sultan of our city Who designed it to visit him on the morrow On account of his daughter What Elith, his daughter, asked one And another answered She's possessed of a spirit For Maimon, son of Damdam Is madly in love with her But if this pious man Knew the remedy Her cure would be as easy as could be Hereupon one of them inquired And what is the medicine And he replied The black tomcat Which is with him in the oratory half On the end of his tail A white spot, the size of a dirham Let him pluck seven white hairs From the spot Then let him fumigate her therewith And the married will flee from her And not return So she shall be sane for the rest of her life All this took place, o ifrit, With an earshot of the envid Who listened readily When dawn broke And mourner rose in sheen and shone The fakirs went to seek the shake And found him climbing up The wall of the well Whereby he was magnified in their eyes Then, knowing that Norse saved the black tomcat Who could supply him with the remedy required, He plucked the seven tail hairs From the white spot And laid them by him And hardly had the sun risen ere the sultan entered the hermitage With the great lords of his estate Bidding the rest of his retinue To remain standing outside The envid gave him a hearty welcome And seating him by his side asked him Shall I tell thee The cause of thy coming? The king answered He continued Thou hast come upon pretext of a visitation But it is in thy heart To question me of thy daughter Replied the king Tis even so, o thou holy shake And the envid continued Send and fetch her And I trust to heal her forthright And such be the will of Allah The king, in great joy Sent for his daughter And they brought her opinioned And fettered The envid made her sit down behind a curtain And taking out the hairs Fumigated her therewith Whereupon that which was in her head Cried out and departed from her The girl was at once restored to her right mind And veiling her face said What hath happened And who brought me hither The sultan rejoiced With the joy that nothing could exceed And kissed his daughter's eyes And the holy man's hand Then, turning to his great lords He asked, How say ye What fee deserved he Who hath made my daughter whole And all answered He deserved her to wife And the king said Ye speak sooth So he married him to her And the envid thus became Son-in-law to the king And after a little The wazir died and the king said Whom can I make minister in his stead Thy son-in-law Replied the courtiers So the envid became a wazir And after a while The sultan also died And the lijas said Whom shall we make king And all cried the wazir So the wazir was forthright Made sultan And he became king-recknant A true ruler of man One day as he had mounted his horse And in the eminence of his kinglyhood And riding amidst his emirs and wazirs And the grandees of his realm His eye fell upon his old neighbour The envier Who stood afoot on his path So he turned to one of his ministers And said Bring hither that man and cause him no affrite The wazir brought him And the king said Give him a thousand miscals of gold From the treasury And load him ten camels with goods for trade And send him under escort to his own town Then he bade his enemy farewell And sent him away And forbore to punish him For the many and great evils he had done See, or ifrit The mercy of the envied to the envier Who had hated him from the beginning And had borne him such bitter malice And never met him without causing him trouble And had driven him from house and home And then had journeyed For the sole purpose of taking his life By throwing him into the well Yet he did not require His injurious dealing But forgave him and was bountiful to him Then I wept before him O my lady With sore weeping Never was there sore, and I recited Pardon my fault What is the wiseman's want All faults to pardon and revenge for go In sooth all manner Faults in me contain Then dain of goodness Mercy grace to show Whoso imploreth pardon from on high Should hold his hand From sinners here below Said the ifrit Lengthen not thy words As to my slaying thee, fear it not And as to my pardoning thee, hope it not But from I bewitching thee There is no escape Then he tore me from the ground Which closed under my feet And hewed me into the firmament Till I saw the earth As a large white cloud Or a saucer in the midst of the waters Presently he set me down on a mountain And taking a little dust Over which he muttered some magical words Sprinkled me therewith Saying, quit that shape And take thou the shape of an ape And on the instant I became an ape A tailless baboon The son of a century Now when it left me And I saw myself in this ugly And hateful shape I wept for myself But resigned my soul to the tyranny Of time and circumstance While weeding that fortune Is fair and constant to no man I descended the mountain And found at the foot A desert plain Long and broad Over which I travelled for the space of a month Till my cause brought me to the brink Of the briny sea After standing there awhile I was aware of a ship in the offing Which ran before a fair wind Making for the shore I found myself behind a rock on the beach And waited till the ship drew near When I leapt on board I found her full of merchants and passengers And one of them cried Oh captain, this ill omen Bruth will bring us ill luck And another said Turn this ill omen beast out from among us The captain said Let us kill it Another said Slay it with the sword A third, drown it Fourth, shoot it with an arrow But I sprang up And laid hold of the razor's skirt And shed tears which poured down my chops The captain took pity on me And said Oh merchants, this ape hath appealed to me for protection And I will protect him Henceforth he is under my charge So let none do him Ought hurt or arm Otherwise there will be bad blood Between us Then he entreated me kindly And whatsoever he said I understood And ministered to his every want And served him as a servant Albeit my tongue would not obey my wishes So that he came to love me The vessel sailed on The wind being fair For the space of fifty days At the end of which we cast anchor Under the walls of a great city Wherein was a world of people Especially learned men None could tell their number save Allah No sooner had we arrived No sooner had we arrived Than we were visited by certain mamalook Officials from the king of that city Who, after boarding us Greeted the merchants And giving them joy of savor rival said Our king welcometh you And sendeth you this roll of paper Whereupon each and every of you Must write a line For ye shall know that the king's minister A calligrapher of renown Is dead And the king hath sworn a solemn oath And none was here in a stead Who cannot write as well as he could He then gave us the scroll Which measured ten cubits long By a breath of one And each of the merchants who knew how to write Wrote a line thereon Even to the last of them After which I stood up Still in the shape of an ape And snatched the roll out of their hands They feared lest I should tear it Or throw it overboard So they tried to stay me and scare me But I signed to them that I could write Or at all marveled, saying We never yet saw an ape write And the captain cried Let him write And if he scribble and scrabble We will kick him out and kill him But if he write fair and scholarly I will adopt him as my son For surely I never yet saw a more intelligent And well-mannered monkey than he Would heaven my real son Where his match in morals and manners I took the reed And stretching out my pole Dipped it in ink and wrote In the hand used for letters These two couplets Time had recorded gifts She gave the great But none recorded thine which be far higher Allah Narrow orphaned men By loss of thee who be of goodness mother Bounty sire And I wrote in Rehanay Or larger letters Elegantly curved Thou hast a reed of reed to every land Whose driving caused All the world to thrive Nill is the Nile of Miserain By thy boons who make His miseries smile with fingers five Then I wrote In the soul's character There be no writer who from death Shall flee, but what His hand hath rid man shall repeat Write therefore Nor save what shall serve thee When thou sees on judgment day And so thou sees Then I wrote in the character Nusk When to sore parting fate Our love shall doom To distant life by destiny decreed We cause the incorn's lips To plain our pains And tongue our utterance with the talking reed And I wrote in the tumour character Kingdom with none endures If thou deny this truth Where be the kings of earlier earth Set trees of goodliness While rural endures And when thou art fallen They shall tell thy worth And I wrote in the character Muhakkak When ope the incorn of thy wealth And fame take ink of generous Heart and gracious hand Write brave and noble deeds While write thou can And win thee praise from point Of pen and brand Then I gave the scroll to the officials And, after we all had written Our line, they carried it before the king. When he saw the paper No writer pleased him save My writing, and he said To the assembled courters Go seek the writer of these lines And dress him in a splendid robe of honour Then mount him on a she-mule Let a band of music proceed him And bring him to the presence. At these words they smiled And the king was wroth with them And cried, Oh, a cursed, I give you An order, and you laugh at me? Oh, king, replied they, If we laugh, it is not at thee And not without a cause And what is it? asked he. And they answered, Oh, king, thou orderst us To bring to thy presence the man Who wrote these lines. Now the truth is that he who wrote them Is not of the sons of Adam, But an ape, a tailless baboon Belonging to the ship captain. Quoth he, is this true that you say? Quoth they, yea, By the rites of thy munificence The king marveled at their words And shook with mirth And said, I am minded to buy This ape of the captain. Then he sent messengers To the ship with the mule, The dress, the guard, and the state drums Saying, not the less Do you cloth him in the robe of honour And mount him on the mule And let him be surrounded by the guards And proceeded by the band of music. They came to the ship And took me from the captain And roped me in the robe of honour And, mounting me on the she-mule Carried me in the state procession Through the streets, whilst the people Were amazed and amused. And folk said to one another, Hello, is our sultan About to make an ape his minister? And came all agar Crowding to gaze at me, and the town Was a stir and turned topsy-turvy On my account. When they brought me up to the king And set me in his presence I kissed the ground before him three times And once before the high chamberlain And great officers. And he bade me be seated, And I said respectfully on shins and knees And all who were present marveled At my fine menace, and the king most of all. Thereupon he ordered the leeches To retire. And, when none remained Save the king's majesty, The eunuch on duty, and a little white slave He bade them set before me the table of food Containing all manner of birds Whatever hobbit them flight And tread it in nest such as quail And sand-grouse. Then he signed me to eat with him So I rose and kissed ground before him Then set me down and ate with him And when the table was removed I washed my hands in seven waters And took the reed-case and reed And rode instead of speaking These couplets. Will for the little partridge As a pornger and plate. Cry for the ruin of the fries and stews Well-marinate. Keen as I keen for a loved lost Daughters of the cat-a-grouse And omelette round the fair And browned fowls agglomerate. O, fire in heart of me for fish, Those deux poisons I saw Bedded on new-maid scones And cakes in piles to laniate. For thee, O, Fermicelli, Akes my very mall, I hold without thee Every taste and joy Are clean anilahate. Those eggs have rolled Their yellow eyes in torturing Pains of fire, Ears served with hash and fritters Hot that delicatest cate. Praised be Allah for his baked And roast and ah-how good This pulse, these pot-herbs Steeped in oil with Isle-combinate. When hunger sated was, I elbow-prop fell back upon My neat pudding wherein gleamed The bangles that my wits are made. Then woke I sleeping Appetite to eat as though in sport Sweets from burs-seeded trays And kick-shore's most elaborate. Be patient, soul of me, Time is a haughty, jealous white. Today he seems dark, Lowering, and tomorrow Fair to sight. Then I rose and seated myself At a respectful distance while the king Read what I'd written, a marveled Exclaiming, oh, the miracle That an ape should be gifted With this graceful style and this power Of penmanship. By Allah There's a wonder of wonders. Presently they said before the king Choice, wines, and flagons of glass, And he drank. Then he passed on the cup to me, And I kissed the ground And drank, and rode on it. With fire they boiled me To lose my tongue, And pain and patience gave for fellowship. Hence comes it, hands of men, A bear me high and honeydew From lips of may die sip. And these also Morn set to-night Withdraw and let me shine. So drain we draught That dull all pain and pine. I doubt so find the glass The wine so clear If this the wine in glass Or glass in twine. The king read my verse And set with a sigh. Were these gifts in a man He would excel all the folk Of his time and age. Then he called for the chess board And said, Say, wilt thou play with me? And I signed with my head, yes. Then I came forward And ordered the pieces And played with him two games Both of which I won. He was speechless with surprise. So I took the pen case And, drawing forth a read, Rode on the board these two couplets. Two hosts fair fighting Through the life long day Nor is their battling every finished Until when darkness gird them about The twain goes sleeping In a single bed. The king read these lines With wonder and delight And said to his eunuch, O Muckbill, go to thy mistress Sit al-Husun and say her, Come, speak the king who bid At thee hither to take thy solace In seeing this right wondrous ape. So the eunuch went out And presently returned with the lady Who, when she saw me, veiled her face And said, O my father, Has thou lost all sense of honour? How cometh it thou art pleased to send For me and show me to strange man? O sit al-Husun, said he, No man is here save this little foot-page And the eunuch who reared thee And I thy father, From whom, then, cost thou Veiled thy face? She answered, Tis whom thou deemst An ape with a young man, a clever And polite, a wise and learned, And the son of a king. But he is ensorcelled, And the ifrit Jer Jaris, Who is of the seed of Iblis, Cast a spell upon him, After putting to death his own wife The daughter of king Iphitamus, Lord of the islands of Apness. The king marveled at his daughter's words, And, turning to me, said, Is this true that she said of thee? And I signed by a knot of my head The answer, yea, verily, And wept so. Then he asked his daughter, Whence news thou that he is ensorcelled? And she answered, O my dear papa, there was with me In my childhood an old woman, A wily one and a wise and a witch To boot, and she taught me The theory of magic and its practice And I took notes in writing And therein waxed perfect, And have committed to memory In hundred and seventy chapters Of magic formulas, By the least of which I could Transport the stones of thy city Behind the mountain cuff And the circumambient mane, Or make its sight an abyss Of the sea and its people fishes Swimming in the midst of it. O my daughter, said her father, I conjured thee by my life This enchanted this young man That I may make him my wazir And marry thee to him, For indeed he is an ingenious Boy and goodly gree, she replied, And, handing in hand, An iron knife, whereon was inscribed The name of Allah in Hebrew characters, She described a white circle, And Charizard perceived the dawn of day And seized, saying her permitted say. When it was the fourteenth night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, That the colander continued his till thus. O my lady, the king's daughter, Hand in hand, a knife, Whereon were inscribed Hebrew characters, And described a white circle In the midst of the palace hall, And therein rode in Cufik letters Mysterious names and talismans, And she uttered words and muttered charms, Some of which we understood, And others we understood not. Presently the world waxed dark Before our sight, till we thought That the sky was falling upon our heads And glow, the ifrit presented himself In his own shape and aspect. His hands were like many pronged pitchforks, His legs like the masts of great ships, And his eyes like crescents of gleaming fire. We were in terrible fear of him, But the king's daughter cried at him, No welcome to thee and no greeting, O dog, whereupon he changed To the form of a lion and said, O traitorous, how is it thou has broken the oath We swear that neither should contraire other? O accursed one answered she, How could there be a compact between me And the like of thee? Then said he, Take what thou has brought on thyself, And the lion opened his jaws And rushed upon her. But she was too quick for him, And, plucking a hair from her head, Waved it in the air, muttering over it the while, And the hair straightway became a trench and sword-blade, Wherewith she smote the lion and cut him in twain. Then the two halves flew away in air, And the head changed to a scorpion, And the princess became a huge serpent, And set upon the accursed scorpion, And the two fought, coiling and uncoiling, A stiff fight for an hour at least. Then the scorpion changed to a vulture, And the serpent became an eagle Which set upon the vulture, And hunted him for an hour's time, Till he became a black tomcat, Which mulled and grinned and spat. Thereupon the eagle changed into a piebald wolf, And these two battled in the palace for a long time, When the cat, seeing himself overcome, Changed into a worm, And crept into a huge red pomegranate, Which lay beside the jetting fountain In the midst of the palace hall. Whereupon the pomegranate swelled To the size of a watermelon in air, And, falling upon the marble pavement of the palace, Broke to pieces, And all the grains fell out And were scattered about Till they covered the whole floor. And the wolf shook himself And became a snow-white cock Which fell to picking up the grains, Proposing not to leave one. By doom of destiny one seed rolled To the fountain-edge and there lay hid. The cock fell to crowing Clapping his wings and signing to us With his beak as if to ask, Are any grains left? But we understood not what he meant And he cried to us with so loud cry That we thought the palace would fall upon us. Then he ran over all the floor Till he saw the grain which had rolled To the fountain-edge and rushed eagerly To pick it up when, behold, It sprang into the midst of the water And became a fish and dived To the bottom of the basin. Thereupon the cock changed to a big fish And plunged in after the other And the two disappeared for a while. And lo! we heard loud shrieks And cries of pain which made us tremble. After this the ifrit rose out of the water And he was as a burning flame, Casting fire and smoke from his mouth And eyes and nostrils. And immediately the princess likewise Came forth from the basin And she was one life-coal Flaming low. And these two, she and he, Battled for the space of an hour Until their fires entirely Compassed them about And their thick smoke filled the palace. As for us, we panted for breath, Being well nigh suffocated And we longed to plunge into the water Fearing less we be burned up And utterly destroyed. And the king said, There is no majesty And there is no might save in Allah The glorious, the great. Fairly we are Allahs And unto him are we returning. With heaven I had not urged my daughter To attempt the disenchantment of this ape-fellow Whereby I have imposed upon her The terrible task of fighting Yon accursed ifrit Against whom all the ifrit in the world Could not prevail. And with heaven we had never seen this ape Allah never a sane nor blessed The day of his coming. We thought to do a good deed by him Before the face of Allah And to release him from enchantment And now we have brought this trouble And to avail upon our heart. But I, oh my lady, Was tongue-tied and powerless To say a word to him. Suddenly, ere we were aware of ought, The ifrit yelled out from under the flames And, coming up to us As we stood on the astray Blew fire in our faces. The damsel overtook him And breathed blasts of fire at his face And the sparks from her and from him Reigned down upon us. And her sparks did us no harm But one of his sparks Alighted upon my eye and destroyed it Making me a monocular ape. And another fell on the king's face Scorching the lower half Burning off his beard and mistachos And causing his under-teeth to fall out. While a third Alighted on the castrato's breast Killing him on the spot. So we despaired of life And made sure of death When low, a voice repeated the saying Allah is most highest Allah is most highest Aden's and victory To all who the truth believe And disappointment and disgrace To all who the religion of marmot The moon of faith unbelieve. The speaker was the princess Who had burned the ifrit And he was become a heap of ashes. Then she came up to us And said Reach me a cup of water They brought it to her And she spoke over words we understood not And sprinkling me with it cried By virtue of the truth And by the most great name of Allah I charged thee return to thy former shape And behold I shook And became a man as before Saved that I had utterly lost an eye And she cried out The fire, the fire Oh my dear papa An arrow from the accursed Had wounded me to the death For I am not used to fight with a jahn Had he been a man I had slain him in the beginning I had no trouble to the time When the pomegranate burst and the grain scattered But I overlooked the seed Wherein was the very life of the jinnie Had I picked it up he had died on the spot But as fate and fortune decreed I saw it not So he came upon me all unaware And there we fell between him And me a sore struggle under the earth And high in air and in the water And as often as I opened on him a gate He opened on me another gate And a stronger till at last He opened on me the gate of fire And few are saved upon whom The door of fire opened But destiny willed That my cunning prevail over his cunning And I burned him to death After I vainly exhorted him To embrace the religion of Allah's Lamb As for me I am a dead woman Allah supply my place to you Then she called upon heaven For help and seized not To implore relief from the fire When though a black spark Shot up from her roped feet to her thighs Then it flew to her bosom And then to her face When it reached her face She wept and said I testify that there is no God But the God and that Muhammad Is the apostle of God And we looked at her and saw not But a heap of ashes by the side Of the heap that had been the ifrit We mourned for her And I wished I had been in her place So had I not seen her lovely face Who had worked me such wheel Become ashes But there is no gain saying the will of Allah When the king saw his daughter's Terrible death He plucked out what was left of his beard And beat his face and Rent his raiment As he did and we both wept over her Then came in the chamberlains And grandees And were amazed to find Two heaps of ashes and the sultan In a fainting fit So they stood around him till he revived And told them what had befallen His daughter from the ifrit Where at their grief was right grievous And the women and the slave girls Shrieked and keened And they continued their lamentations For the space of seven days Over the king bay Billed over his daughter's ashes A vast, vaulted tomb And burned their in wax tapers In sepulchral lamps But as for the ifrit's ashes They scattered them on the winds Speeding them to the curse of Allah Then the sultan fell sick Of a sickness that well now Brought him to his death for a month's space And when health returned to him And his beard grew again And he had been converted by the mercy Of all Islam He sent for me and said O youth, fate had decreed For us the happiest of lives Save from all the chances And changes of time Till thou camest to us When troubles fell upon us Would to heaven we had never seen The in the foul face of thee For we took pity on thee And thereby we have lost our all I have on thy account First lost my daughter Secondly I have suffered that Which befell me by reason of the fire And the loss of my teeth And my eunuch also was slain I blame thee not For it was out of thy power to prevent this The doom of Allah was on thee As well as on us And thanks be to the Almighty For that my daughter delivered thee Albeit thereby she lost her own life Go forth now, O my son From this my city And suffice thee what had befallen us through thee Although it was decreed for us Go forth in peace And if I ever see thee again I will surely slay thee And he cried out at me So I went forth from his presence O my lady, weeping bitterly And heartily believing in my escape And knowing not whether I should wend And I recalled all that had befallen me My meeting the tailor My love for the damsoon The palace beneath the earth And my narrow escape from the ifrit Even after it determined to doom me die And how I had entered The city as an ape And was now leaving it a man once more Then I gave thanks to Allah And said My eye and not my life And before leaving the place I entered the bath And shaved my pole and beard And moustachios and eyebrows And cast ashes on my head And donned the coarse black Woollen rope of a colander O my lady And every day I pondered all the calamities Which had be-tied at me And I wept and repeated these couplets I am distraught Yet verily his roof abides with me Though round me gather hosts of ills Wends come I cannot see Patient I'll be Till patience self with me In patient wex Patient forever till the lord Fulfill my destiny Patient I'll bide without complaint A wronged and vanquished man Patient as sun-potched white That spans the desert sandy sea Patient I'll be Till Eloise self unwittingly allow I'm patient under bitterer things Than bitterest Eloé No bitterer things than Eloé's Or than patience for mankind Yet bitterer than the twain To me were patience treachery My seer and seamed And seared brow would dragoman My sore if soul could surge My sprite and their unsecret secrecy Were hills to bear the load I bear they'd crumble need to wait Twit still the roaring wind Twit quenched the flametongue's flagrancy And whoso saith the world is sweet Sert us a day he'll see With more than Eloé's bitterness And Eloé's pungency Then I journeyed through many regions And saw many a city intending for Baghdad That I might seek audience in the house of peace With the commander of the faithful And tell him all that had befallen me I arrived here this very night And found my brother in Allah, his first kalander Standing about as one perplexed So I saluted him with Peace be upon thee And entered into discourse with him Presently up came our brother, this third kalander And said to us, Peace be with you, I am a stranger Where to we replied And we too be strangers Who have come hither this blessed night So we all three walked on together None of us knowing the other's history Till destiny craved us to this door And we came into you Such then is my story And my reason for shaving my beard and moustaches And this is what caused the loss of my eye Said the house mistress Thy tale is indeed a rare So rub thy head and went thy ways But he replied, I will not budge till I hear my companion's stories Then came forward the third kalander And said, Oh illustrious lady, my history is not like that Of these my comrades, but more wondrous And far more marvellous In their case fate and fortune came down But I drew down destiny upon my own head And brought sorrow on my own soul And shaved my own beard And lost my own eye Here then the third kalander's tale End of section nine