{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_5243/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_5243","id":"gutenberg_5243","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5243","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales -- Arab countries","Folklore -- Arab countries"],"text":"TALES FROM THE ARABIC\n\n       Of the Breslau and Calcutta (1814-18) editions of\n\n         The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night\n\n     not occurring in the other printed texts of the work,\n\n                  Now first done into English\n\n                         By John Payne\n\n                       In Three Volumes:\n\n\n\n                       VOLUME THE SECOND.\n\n\n\n                              1901\n\n                         Delhi Edition\n\n\n                 Contents of The Second Volume.\n\n\n\n                         Breslau Text.\n\n1.   King Shah Bekht and His Vizier Er Rehwan (Continued)\n     a.   Story of the Pious Woman Accused of Lewdness\n     b.   Story of the Journeyman and the Girl\n     c.   Story of the Weaver Who Became a Physician by His\n          Wife's Commandment\n     d.   Story of the Two Sharpers Who Cheated Each His Fellow\n     e.   Story of the Sharpers with the Money-Changer and the\n          Ass\n     f.   Story of the Sharper and the Merchants\n          i.   Story of the Hawk and the Locust\n     g.   Story Op the King and His Chamberlain Wife\n     h.   Story of the Old Woman and the Draper's Wife\n     i.   Story of the Foul-favoured Man and His Fair Wife\n     j.   Story of the King Who Lost Kingdom and Wife and Wealth\n          and God Restored Them To Him\n     k.   Story of Selim and Selma\n     l.   Story of the King of Hind and His Vizier\n2.   El Melik Ez Zahir Rukneddin Bibers El Bunducdari and the\n     Sixteen Officers Of Police\n     a.   The First Officer's Story\n     b.   The Second Officer's Story\n     c.   The Third Officer's Story\n     d.   The Fourth Officer's Story\n     e.   The Fifth Officer's Story\n     f.   The Sixth Officer's Story\n     g.   The Seventh Officer's Story\n     h.   The Eighth Officer's Story\n          i.   The Thief's Story\n     i.   The Ninth Officer's Story\n     j.   The Tenth Officer's Story\n     k.   The Eleventh Officer's Story\n     l.   The Twelfth Officer's Story\n     m.   The Thirteenth Officer's Story\n     n.   The Fourteenth Officer's Story\n          i.   A Merry Jest of a Thief\n          ii.  Story of the Old Sharper\n     o.   The Fifteenth Officer's Story\n     p.   The Sixteenth Officer's Story\n3.   Abdallah Ben Nafi and the King's Son of Cashghar\n     a.   Story of the Damsel Tuhfet El Culoub and the Khalif\n          Haroun Er Reshid\n\n                     Calcutta (1814-8) Text\n\n4.   Women's Craft\n\n\n\n                         Breslau Text.\n\n\n\n            King Shah Bekht and His Vizier Er Rehwan\n                          (continued).\n\n\n\n               The Eighteenth Night of the Month.\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and\nrequired of him the [promised] story; so he said, \"It is well.\nKnow, O king, that\n\n\n\n\n\n\n              STORY OF THE PIOUS WOMAN ACCUSED OF\n                           LEWDNESS.\n\n\n\nThere was once a man of Nishapour,[FN#1] who had a wife of the\nutmost loveliness and piety, and he was minded to set out on the\npilgrimage. So he commended his wife to the care of his brother\nand besought him to aid her in her affairs and further her to her\ndesires till he should return, so they both abode alive and well.\nThen he took ship and departed and his absence was prolonged.\nMeanwhile, the brother went in to his brother's wife, at all\ntimes and seasons, and questioned her of her circumstances and\nwent about her occasions; and when his visits to her were\nprolonged and he heard her speech and looked upon her face, the\nlove of her gat hold upon his heart and he became distraught with\npassion for her and his soul prompted him [to evil]. So he\nbesought her to lie with him, but she refused and chid him for\nhis foul deed, and he found him no way unto presumption;[FN#2]\nwherefore he importuned her with soft speech and gentleness.\n\nNow she was righteous in all her dealings and swerved not from\none word;[FN#3] so, when he saw that she consented not unto him,\nhe misdoubted that she would tell his brother, when he returned\nfrom his journey, and said to her, 'An thou consent not to this\nwhereof I require thee, I will cause thee fall into suspicion and\nthou wilt perish.' Quoth she, 'Be God (extolled be His perfection\nand exalted be He!) [judge] betwixt me and thee, and know that,\nshouldst thou tear me limb from limb, I would not consent to that\nwhereto thou biddest me.' His folly[FN#4] persuaded him that she\nwould tell her husband; so, of his exceeding despite, he betook\nhimself to a company of people in the mosque and told them that\nhe had witnessed a man commit adultery with his brother's wife.\nThey believed his saying and took act of his accusation and\nassembled to stone her. Then they dug her a pit without the city\nand seating her therein, stoned her, till they deemed her dead,\nwhen they left her.\n\nPresently a villager passed by [the pit and finding] her [alive,]\ncarried her to his house and tended her, [till she recovered].\nNow, he had a son, and when the young man saw her, he loved her\nand besought her of herself; but she refused and consented not to\nhim, whereupon he redoubled in love and longing and despite\nprompted him to suborn a youth of the people of his village and\nagree with him that he should come by night and take somewhat\nfrom his father's house and that, when he was discovered, he\nshould say that she was of accord with him in this and avouch\nthat she was his mistress and had been stoned on his account in\nthe city. So he did this and coming by night to the villager's\nhouse, stole therefrom goods and clothes; whereupon the old man\nawoke and seizing the thief, bound him fast and beat him, to make\nhim confess. So he confessed against the woman that she had\nprompted him to this and that he was her lover from the city. The\nnews was bruited abroad and the people of the city assembled to\nput her to death; but the old man, with whom she was, forbade\nthem and said, 'I brought this woman hither, coveting the\nrecompense [of God,] and I know not [the truth of] that which is\nsaid of her and will not suffer any to hurt her.' Then he gave\nher a thousand dirhems, by way of alms, and put her forth of the\nvillage. As for the thief, he was imprisoned for some days; after\nwhich the folk interceded for him with the old man, saying, 'This\nis a youth and indeed he erred;' and he released him.\n\nMeanwhile, the woman went out at hazard and donning devotee's\napparel, fared on without ceasing, till she came to a city and\nfound the king's deputies dunning the towns-folk for the tribute,\nout of season. Presently, she saw a man, whom they were pressing\nfor the tribute; so she enquired of his case and being acquainted\ntherewith, paid down the thousand dirhems for him and delivered\nhim from beating; whereupon he thanked her and those who were\npresent. When he was set free, he accosted her and besought her\nto go with him to his dwelling. So she accompanied him thither\nand supped with him and passed the night. When the night darkened\non him, his soul prompted him to evil, for that which he saw of\nher beauty and loveliness, and he lusted after her and required\nher [of love]; but she repelled him and bade him fear God the\nMost High and reminded him of that which she had done with him of\nkindness and how she had delivered him from beating and\nhumiliation.\n\nHowever, he would not be denied, and when he saw her [constant]\nrefusal of herself to him, he feared lest she should tell the\nfolk of him. So, when he arose in the morning, he took a scroll\nand wrote in it what he would of forgery and falsehood and going\nup to the Sultan's palace, said, '[I have] an advisement [for the\nking].' So he bade admit him and he delivered him the writ that\nhe had forged, saying, 'I found this letter with the woman, the\ndevotee, the ascetic, and indeed she is a spy, a secret informer\nagainst the king to his enemy; and I deem the king's due more\nincumbent on me than any other and his advisement the first\n[duty], for that he uniteth in himself all the people, and but\nfor the king's presence, the subjects would perish; wherefore I\nhave brought [thee] warning.' The king put faith in his words and\nsent with him those who should lay hands upon the woman and put\nher to death; but they found her not.\n\nAs for the woman, whenas the man went out from her, she resolved\nto depart; so she went forth, saying in herself, 'There is no\njourneying for me in woman's attire.' Then she donned men's\napparel, such as is worn of the pious, and set out and wandered\nover the earth; nor did she leave going till she entered a\ncertain city. Now the king of that city had an only daughter in\nwhom he gloried and whom he loved, and she saw the devotee and\ndeeming her a pilgrim youth, said to her father, 'I would fain\nhave this youth take up his abode with me, so I may learn of him\nwisdom and renunciation and religion.' Her father rejoiced in\nthis and commanded the [supposed] pilgrim to take up his sojourn\nwith his daughter in his palace. Now they were in one place and\nthe king's daughter was strenuous to the utterest in continence\nand chastity and nobility of mind and magnanimity and devotion to\nthe worship of God; but the ignorant slandered her[FN#5] and the\nfolk of the realm said, 'The king's daughter loveth the pilgrim\nyouth and he loveth her.'\n\nNow the king was a very old man and destiny decreed the ending of\nhis term of life; so he died and when he was buried, the folk\nassembled and many were the sayings of the people and of the\nking's kinsfolk and officers, and they took counsel together to\nslay the princess and the young pilgrim, saying, 'This fellow\ndishonoureth us with yonder strumpet and none accepteth dishonour\nbut the base.' So they fell upon them and slew the princess,\nwithout questioning her of aught; whereupon the pious woman (whom\nthey deemed a boy) said to them, 'Out on ye, O misbelievers I Ye\nhave slain the pious lady.' Quoth they, 'Lewd fellow that thou\nart, dost thou bespeak us thus? Thou lovedst her and she loved\nthee, and we will slay thee without mercy.' 'God forbid!'\nanswered she, 'Indeed, the affair is the contrary of this.' 'What\nproof hast thou of that?' asked they, and she said, 'Bring me\nwomen.' So they brought her women, and when they looked on her,\nthey found her a woman.\n\nWhen the townsfolk saw this, they repented of that which they had\ndone and the affair was grievous to them; so they sought pardon\n[of God] and said to her, ' By the virtue of Him whom thou\nservest, do thou seek pardon for us [of God!]' Quoth she, 'As for\nme, I may no longer abide with you and I am about to depart from\nyou.' Then they humbled themselves in supplication to her and\nwept and said to her, 'We conjure thee, by the virtue of God the\nMost High, that thou take upon thyself the governance of the\nkingdom and of the subjects.' But she refused; whereupon they\ncame up to her and wept and gave not over supplicating her, till\nshe consented and abode in the kingship. Her first commandment\nwas that they should bury the princess and build over her a\ndome[FN#6] and she abode in that palace, worshipping God the Most\nHigh and ruling the people with justice, and God (extolled be His\nperfection and exalted be He!) vouchsafed her, by reason of the\nexcellence of her piety and her patience and continence, the\nacceptance of her prayers, so that she sought not aught of Him to\nwhom belong might and majesty, but He granted her prayer; and her\nreport was noised abroad in all countries.\n\nSo the folk resorted to her from all parts and she used to pray\nGod (to whom belong might and majesty) for the oppressed and God\ngranted him relief, and against his oppressor, and He broke him\nin sunder. Moreover, she prayed for the sick and they were made\nwhole; and on this wise she abode a great space of time. As for\nher husband, when he returned from the pilgrimage, his brother\nand the neighbours acquainted him with his wife's affair, whereat\nhe was sore concerned and misdoubted of their story, for that\nwhich he knew of her chastity and prayerfulness; and he wept for\nher loss.\n\nMeanwhile, she prayed to God the Most High that He would\nestablish her innocence in the eyes of her husband and the folk.\nSo He sent down upon her husband's brother a sore disease and\nnone knew a remedy for him; wherefore he said to his brother, '\nIn such a city is a pious woman, a recluse, and her prayers are\nanswered; so do thou carry me to her, that she may pray for me\nand God (to whom belong might and majesty) may make me whole of\nthis sickness.' Accordingly, he took him up and fared on with\nhim, till they came to the village where dwelt the old man, who\nhad rescued the woman from the pit and carried her to his\ndwelling and tended her there, [till she recovered].\n\nHere they halted and took up their lodging with the old man, who\nquestioned the husband of his case and that of his brother and\nthe reason of their journey, and he said, 'I purpose to go with\nmy brother, this sick man, to the holy woman, her whose prayers\nare answered, so she may pray for him and God may make him whole\nby the blessing of her prayers.' Quoth the villager, 'By Allah,\nmy son is in a parlous plight for sickness and we have heard that\nthe holy woman prayeth for the sick and they are made whole.\nIndeed, the folk counsel me to carry him to her, and behold, I\nwill go in company with you. And they said, 'It is well.' So they\npassed the night in that intent and on the morrow they set out\nfor the dwelling of the holy woman, this one carrying his son and\nthat his brother.\n\nNow the man who had stolen the clothes and forged a lie against\nthe pious woman, pretending that he was her lover, sickened of a\nsore sickness, and his people took him up and set out with him to\nvisit the holy woman, and Destiny brought them all together by\nthe way. So they fared on, till they came to the city wherein the\nman dwelt for whom she had paid a thousand dirhems, to deliver\nhim from torment, and found him about to travel to her, by reason\nof a sickness that had betided him. So they all fared on\ntogether, unknowing that the holy woman was she whom they had so\nfoully wronged, and ceased not going till they came to her city\nand foregathered at the gates of her palace, to wit, that wherein\nwas the tomb of the king's daughter.\n\nNow the folk used to go in to her and salute her and crave her\nprayers; and it was her wont to pray for none till he had\nconfessed to her his sins, when she would seek pardon for him and\npray for him that he might be healed, and he was straightway made\nwhole of sickness, by permission of God the Most High. [So, when\nthe four sick men were brought in to her,] she knew them\nforthright, though they knew her not, and said to them, ' Let\neach of you confess his sins, so I may crave pardon for him and\npray for him.' And the brother said, 'As for me, I required my\nbrother's wife of herself and she refused; whereupon despite and\nfolly[FN#7] prompted me and I lied against her and accused her to\nthe townsfolk of adultery; so they stoned her and slew her\nunjustly and unrighteously; and this is the issue of unright and\nfalsehood and of the slaying of the [innocent] soul, whose\nslaughter God hath forbidden.'\n\nThen said the young man, the villager's son, 'And I, O holy\nwoman, my father brought us a woman who had been stoned, and my\npeople tended her till she recovered. Now she was surpassing of\nbeauty; so I required her of herself; but she refused and clave\nfast to God (to whom belong might and majesty), wherefore\nfolly[FN#8] prompted me, so that I agreed with one of the youths\nthat he should steal clothes and coin from my father's house.\nThen I laid hands on him [and carried him] to my father and made\nhim confess. So he avouched that the woman was his mistress from\nthe city and had been stoned on his account and that she was of\naccord with him concerning the theft and had opened the doors to\nhim, and this was a lie against her, for that she had not yielded\nto me in that which I sought of her. So there befell me what ye\nsee of punishment.\" And the young man, the thief, said, 'I am he\nwith whom thou agreedst concerning the theft and to whom thou\nopenedst the door, and I am he who avouched against her falsely\nand calumniously and God (extolled be His perfection and exalted\nbe He!) knoweth that I never did evil with her, no, nor knew her\nin any wise before then.'\n\nThen said he whom she had delivered from torture and for whom she\nhad paid a thousand dirhems and who had required her of herself\nin his house, for that her beauty pleased him, and [when she\nrefused to yield to him] had forged a letter against her and\ntreacherously denounced her to the Sultan and requited her bounty\nwith ingratitude, 'I am he who wronged her and lied against her,\nand this is the issue of the oppressor's affair.'\n\nWhen she heard their words, in the presence of the folk, she\nsaid, 'Praise be to God, the King who availeth unto all things,\nand blessing upon His prophets and apostles!' Then quoth she [to\nthe assembly], ' Bear witness, O ye who are present, to these\nmen's speech, and know that I am that woman whom they confess\nthat they wronged.' And she turned to her husband's brother and\nsaid to him, 'I am thy brother's wife and God (extolled be His\nperfection and exalted be He I) delivered me from that whereinto\nthou castedst me of false accusation and suspect and from the\nfrowardness whereof thou hast spoken, and [now] hath He shown\nforth my innocence, of His bounty and generosity. Go, for thou\nart absolved of the wrong thou didst me.' Then she prayed for him\nand he was made whole of his sickness.\n\nThen said she to the villager's son, 'Know that I am the woman\nwhom thy father delivered from harm and stress and whom there\nbetided from thee of false accusation and frowardness that which\nthou hast named.' And she craved pardon for him and he was made\nwhole of his sickness. [Then said she to the thief, 'I am she\nagainst whom thou liedst, avouching that I was thy mistress, who\nhad been stoned on thine account, and that I was of accord with\nthee concerning the robbing of the villager's house and had\nopened the doors to thee.' And she prayed for him and he was made\nwhole of his sickness.] Then said she to [the townsman], him of\nthe tribute, 'I am she who gave thee the [thousand] dirhems and\nthou didst with me what thou didst.' And she craved pardon for\nhim and prayed for him and he was made whole; whereupon the folk\nmarvelled at her oppressors, who had been afflicted alike, so God\n(extolled be His perfection and exalted be He!) might show forth\nher innocence before witnesses.\n\nThen she turned to the old man who had delivered her from the pit\nand prayed for him and gave him presents galore and among them a\nmyriad of money;[FN#9] and they all departed from her, except her\nhusband. When she was alone with him, she made him draw near unto\nher and rejoiced in his coming and gave him the choice of abiding\nwith her. Moreover, she assembled the people of the city and set\nout to them his virtue and worth and counselled them to invest\nhim with the charge of their governance and besought them to make\nhim king over them. They fell in with her of this and he became\nking and took up his abode amongst them, whilst she gave herself\nup to her religious exercises and abode with her husband on such\nwise as she was with him aforetime.[FN#10] Nor,\" added the\nvizier, \"is this story, O king of the time, more extraordinary or\nmore delightful than that of the journeyman and the girl whose\nbelly he slit and fled.\"\n\nWhen King Shah Bekht heard this, he said, \"Most like all they say\nof the vizier is leasing and his innocence will appear, even as\nthat of the pious woman appeared.\" Then he comforted the vizier's\nheart and bade him go to his house.\n\n               The Nineteenth Night of the Month.\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king bade fetch the vizier and\nrequired of him the story of the journeyman and the girl. So he\nsaid, \"Hearkening and obedience. Know, O august king, that\n\n\n\n\n\n             STORY OF THE JOURNEYMAN AND THE GIRL.\n\n\n\nThere was once, of old time, in one of the tribes of the Arabs, a\nwoman great with child by her husband, and they had a hired\nservant, a man of excellent understanding. When the woman came to\n[the time of her] delivery, she gave birth to a maid-child in the\nnight and they sought fire of the neighbours. So the journeyman\nwent in quest of fire.\n\nNow there was in the camp a wise woman,[FN#11] and she questioned\nhim of the new-born child, if it was male or female. Quoth he,\n'It is a girl;' and she said, 'She shall do whoredom with a\nhundred men and a journeyman shall marry her and a spider shall\nslay her.' When the journeyman heard this, he returned upon his\nsteps and going in to the woman, took the child from her by wile\nand slit its paunch. Then he fled forth into the desert at a\nventure and abode in strangerhood what [while] God willed.\n\nHe gained him wealth and returning to his native land, after\ntwenty years' absence, alighted in the neighbourhood of an old\nwoman, whom he bespoke fair and entreated with liberality,\nrequiring of her a wench whom he might lie withal. Quoth she, 'I\nknow none but a certain fair woman, who is renowned for this\nfashion.'[FN#12] Then she described her charms to him and made\nhim lust after her, and he said, 'Hasten to her forthright and\nlavish unto her that which she asketh, [in exchange for her\nfavours].' So the old woman betook herself to the damsel and\ndiscovered to her the man's wishes and bade her to him; but she\nanswered, saying, 'It is true that I was on this [fashion of]\nwhoredom [aforetime]; but now I have repented to God the Most\nHigh and hanker no more after this; nay, I desire lawful\nmarriage; so, if he be content with that which is lawful, I am at\nhis service.'\n\nThe old woman returned to the man and told him what the damsel\nsaid; and he lusted after her, by reason of her beauty and her\nrepentance; so he took her to wife, and when he went in to her,\nhe loved her and she also loved him. On this wise they abode a\ngreat while, till one day he questioned her of the cause of a\nmark[FN#13] he espied on her body, and she said, 'I know nought\nthereof save that my mother told me a marvellous thing concerning\nit.' 'What was that?' asked he, and she answered, 'She avouched\nthat she gave birth to me one night of the nights of the winter\nand despatched a hired man, who was with us, in quest of fire for\nher. He was absent a little while and presently returning, took\nme and slit my belly and fled. When my mother saw this,\naffliction overcame her and compassion possessed her; so she\nsewed up my belly and tended me till, by the ordinance of God (to\nwhom belong might and majesty), the wound healed up.\"\n\nWhen her husband heard this, he said to her, 'What is thy name\nand what are the names of thy father and mother?' She told him\ntheir names and her own, whereby he knew that it was she whose\nbelly he had slit and said to her, 'And where are thy father and\nmother?' 'They are both dead,' answered she, and he said, 'I am\nthat journeyman who slit thy belly.' Quoth she, 'Why didst thou\nthat?' And he replied, 'Because of a saying I heard from the wise\nwoman.' 'What was it?' asked his wife, and he said, 'She avouched\nthat thou wouldst play the harlot with a hundied men and that I\nshould after take thee to wife.' Quoth she, 'Ay, I have whored it\nwith a hundred men, no more and no less, and behold, thou hast\nmarried me.' 'Moreover,' continued her husband, 'the wise woman\nforesaid, also, that thou shouldst die, at the last of thy life,\nof the bite of a spider. Indeed, her saying hath been verified of\nthe harlotry and the marriage, and I fear lest her word come true\nno less in the matter of thy death.'\n\nThen they betook themselves to a place without the city, where he\nbuilded him a mansion of solid stone and white plaster and\nstopped its inner [walls] and stuccoed them; yea, he left not\ntherein cranny nor crevice and set in it two serving-women to\nsweep and wipe, for fear of spiders. Here he abode with his wife\na great while, till one day he espied a spider on the ceiling and\nbeat it down. When his wife saw it, she said, 'This is that which\nthe wise woman avouched would kill me; so, by thy life [I conjure\nthee], suffer me to slay it with mine own hand.' Her husband\nforbade her from this, but she conjured him to let her kill the\nspider; then, of her fear and her eagerness, she took a piece of\nwood and smote it. The wood broke in sunder, of the force of the\nblow, and a splinter from it entered her hand and wrought upon\nit, so that it swelled. Then her arm swelled also and the\nswelling spread to her side and thence grew till it reached her\nheart and she died. Nor,\" added the vizier, \"is this more\nextraordinary or more wonderful than the story of the weaver who\nbecame a physician by his wife's commandment.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this, his admiration redoubled and he said,\n\"Of a truth, destiny is forewritten to all creatures, and I will\nnot accept[FN#14] aught that is said against my vizier the loyal\ncounsellor.\" And he bade him go to his house.\n\n               The Twentieth Night of the Month.\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king let call his vizier and he\npresented himself before him, whereupon he required of him the\nhearing of the [promised] story. So he said, \"Hearkening and\nobedience. Know, O king. that\n\n\n\n\n\n                STORY OF THE WEAVER WHO BECAME A\n              PHYSICIAN BY HIS WIFE'S COMMANDMENT.\n\n\n\nThere was once, in the land of Fars,[FN#15] a man who took to\nwife a woman higher than himself in rank and nobler of lineage,\nbut she had no guardian to preserve her from want. It misliked\nher to marry one who was beneath her; nevertheless, she married\nhim, because of need, and took of him a bond in writing to the\neffect that he would still be under her commandment and\nforbiddance and would nowise gainsay her in word or deed. Now the\nman was a weaver and he bound himself in writing to pay his wife\nten thousand dirhems, [in case he should make default in the\ncondition aforesaid].\n\nOn this wise they abode a long while till one day the wife went\nout in quest of water, whereof she had need, and espied a\nphysician who had spread a carpet in the Thereon he had set out\ngreat store of drugs and implements of medicine and he was\nspeaking and muttering [charms], whilst the folk flocked to him\nand compassed him about on every side. The weaver's wife\nmarvelled at the largeness of the physician's fortune[FN#16] and\nsaid in herself, 'Were my husband thus, he would have an easy\nlife of it and that wherein we are of straitness and misery would\nbe enlarged unto him.'\n\nThen she returned home, troubled and careful; and when her\nhusband saw her on this wise, he questioned her of her case and\nshe said to him, 'Verily, my breast is straitened by reason of\nthee and of the simpleness of thine intent. Straitness liketh me\nnot and thou in thy [present] craft gaiuest nought; so either do\nthou seek out a craft other than this or pay me my due[FN#17] and\nlet me go my way.' Her husband chid her for this and admonished\nher;[FN#18] but she would not be turned from her intent and said\nto him, 'Go forth and watch yonder physician how he doth and leam\nfrom him what he saith.' Quoth he, 'Let not thy heart be\ntroubled: I will go every day to the physician's assembly.'\n\nSo he fell to resorting daily to the physician and committing to\nmemory his sayings and that which he spoke of jargon, till he had\ngotten a great matter by heart, and all this he studied throughly\nand digested it. Then he returned to his wife and said to her, 'I\nhave committed the physician's sayings to memory and have learned\nhis fashion of muttering and prescribing and applying\nremedies[FN#19] and have gotten by heart the names of the\nremedies and of all the diseases, and there abideth nought\n[unaccomplished] of thy commandment. What wilt thou have me do\nnow?' Quoth she, 'Leave weaving and open thyself a physician's\nshop.' But he answered, 'The people of my city know me and this\naffair will not profit me, save in a land of strangerhood; so\ncome, let us go out from this city and get us to a strange land\nand [there] live.' And she said, 'Do as thou wilt.'\n\nSo he arose and taking his weaving gear, sold it and bought with\nthe price drugs and simples and wrought himself a carpet, with\nwhich they set out and journeyed to a certain village, where they\ntook up their abode. Then the man donned a physician's habit and\nfell to going round about the hamlets and villages and country\nparts; and he began to earn his living and make gain. Their\naffairs prospered and their case was bettered; wherefore they\npraised God for their present ease and the village became to them\na home.\n\n[On this wise he abode a pretty while] and the days ceased not\nand the nights to transport him from country to country, till he\ncame to the land of the Greeks and lighted down in a city of the\ncities thereof, wherein was Galen the Sage; but the weaver knew\nhim not, nor was he ware who he was. So he went forth, according\nto his wont, in quest of a place where the folk might assemble\ntogether, and hired Galen's courtyard.[FN#20] There he spread his\ncarpet and setting out thereon his drugs and instruments of\nmedicine, praised himself and his skill and vaunted himself of\nunderstanding such as none but he might claim.\n\nGalen heard that which he avouched of his understanding and it\nwas certified unto him and established in his mind that the man\nwas a skilled physician of the physicians of the Persians and [he\nsaid in himself], 'Except he had confidence in his knowledge and\nwere minded to confront me and contend with me, he had not sought\nthe door of my house neither spoken that which he hath spoken.'\nAnd concern gat hold upon Galen and doubt. Then he looked out\nupon[FN#21] the weaver and addressed himself to see what he\nshould do, whilst the folk began to flock to him and set out to\nhim their ailments, and he would answer them thereof [and\nprescribe for them], hitting the mark one while and missing it\nanother, so that there appeared unto Galen of his fashion nothing\nwhereby his mind might be assured that he had formed a just\nopinion of his skill.\n\nPresently, up came a woman with a phial of urine, and when the\n[mock] physician saw the phial afar off, he said to her, 'This is\nthe urine of a man, a stranger.' 'Yes,' answered she; and he\ncontinued, 'Is he not a Jew and is not his ailment indigestion?'\n'Yes,' replied the woman, and the folk marvelled at this;\nwherefore the man was magnified in Galen's eyes, for that he\nheard speech such as was not of the usage of physicians, seeing\nthat they know not urine but by shaking it and looking into it\nanear neither know they a man's water from a woman's water, nor a\nstranger's [from a countryman's], nor a Jew's from a\nSherifs.[FN#22] Then said the woman, 'What is the remedy?' Quoth\nthe weaver, 'Pay down the fee.' So she paid him a dirhem and he\ngave her medicines contrary to that ailment and such as would\naggravate the patient's malady.\n\nWhen Galen saw what appeared to him of the [mock] physician's\nincapacity, he turned to his disciples and pupils and bade them\nfetch the other, with all his gear and drugs. So they brought him\ninto his presence on the speediest wise, and when Galen saw him\nbefore him, he said to him, 'Knowest thou me?' ' No,' answered\nthe other, 'nor did I ever set eyes on thee before this day.'\nQuoth the sage, 'Dost thou know Galen?' And the weaver said,\n'No.' Then said Galen, 'What prompted thee to that which thou\ndost?' So he related to him his story and gave him to know of the\ndowry and the obligation by which he was bound with regard to his\nwife, whereat Galen marvelled and certified himself of the matter\nof the dower.\n\nThen he bade lodge him near himself and was bountiful to him and\ntook him apart and said to him, 'Expound to me the story of the\nphial and whence then knewest that the water therein was that of\na man, and he a stranger and a Jew, and that his ailment was\nindigestion?' ' It is well,' answered the weaver. ' Thou must\nknow that we people of Persia are skilled in physiognomy[FN#23]\nand I saw the woman to be rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed and tall. Now\nthese attributes belong to women who are enamoured of a man and\nare distraught for love of him;[FN#24] moreover, I saw her\nconsumed [with anxiety]; wherefore I knew that the patient was\nher husband. As for his strangerhood, I observed that the woman's\nattire differed from that of the people of the city, wherefore I\nknew that she was a stranger; and in the mouth of the phial I\nespied a yellow rag,[FN#25] whereby I knew that the patient was a\nJew and she a Jewess. Moreover, she came to me on the first day\n[of the week];[FN#26] and it is the Jews' custom to take\npottages[FN#27] and meats that have been dressed overnight[FN#28]\nand eat them on the Sabbath day,[FN#29] hot and cold, and they\nexceed in eating; wherefore indigestion betideth them. On this\nwise I was directed and guessed that which thou hast heard.'\n\nWhen Galen heard this, he ordered the weaver the amount of his\nwife's dowry and bade him pay it to her and divorce her.\nMoreover, he forbade him from returning to the practice of physic\nand warned him never again to take to wife a woman of better\ncondition than himself; and he gave him his spending-money and\nbade him return to his [former] craft. Nor,\" added the vizier,\n\"is this more extraordinary or rarer than the story of the two\nsharpers who cozened each his fellow.\"\n\nWhen King Shah Bekht heard this, he said in himself, \"How like is\nthis story to my present case with this vizier, who hath not his\nlike!\" Then he bade him depart to his own house and come again at\neventide.\n\n              The Twenty-First Night of the Month.\n\nWhen came the night, the vizier presented himself before the\nking, who bade him relate the [promised] story. So he said,\n\"Hearkening and obedience. Know, Out\n\n\n\n\n\n             STORY OF THE TWO SHARPERS WHO CHEATED\n                        EACH HIS FELLOW.\n\n\n\nThere was once, in the city of Baghdad, a man, [by name El\nMerouzi,][FN#30] who was a sharper and plagued[FN#31] the folk\nwith his knavish tricks, and he was renowned in all quarters [for\nroguery]. [He went out one day], carrying a load of sheep's dung,\nand took an oath that he would not return to his lodging till he\nhad sold it at the price of raisins. Now there was in another\ncity a second sharper, [by name Er Razi,][FN#32] one of its\npeople, who [went out the same day], bearing a load of goat's\ndung, which he had sworn that he would not sell but at the price\nof dried figs.\n\nSo each of them fared on with that which was with him and gave\nnot over going till they met in one of the inns[FN#33] and each\ncomplained to the other of that which he had abidden of travel\n[in quest of custom] and of the lack of demand for his wares. Now\neach of them had it in mind to cheat his fellow; so El Merouzi\nsaid to Er Razi, 'Wilt thou sell me that?' 'Yes,' answered he,\nand the other continued, 'And wilt thou buy that which is with\nme?' Er Razi assented; so they agreed upon this and each of them\nsold his fellow that which was with him [in exchange for the\nother's ware]; after which they bade each other farewell and\nparted. As soon as they were out of each other's sight, they\nexamined their loads, to see what was therein, and one of them\nfound that he had a load of sheep's dung and the other that he\nhad a load of goat's dung; whereupon each of them turned back in\nquest of his fellow. They met in the inn aforesaid and laughed at\neach other and cancelling their bargain, agreed to enter into\npartnership and that all that they had of money and other good\nshould be in common between them, share and share alike.\n\nThen said Er Razi to El Merouzi, 'Come with me to my city, for\nthat it is nearer [than thine].' So he went with him, and when he\ncame to his lodging, he said to his wife and household and\nneighbours, 'This is my brother, who hath been absent in the land\nof Khorassan and is come back.' And he abode with him in all\nhonour and worship three days' space. On the fourth day, Er Razi\nsaid to him, 'Know, O my brother, that I purpose to do somewhat'\n'What is it?' asked El Merouzi. Quoth the other, 'I mean to feign\nmyself dead and do thou go to the market and hire two porters and\na bier. [Then come back and take me up and go round about the\nstreets and markets with me and collect alms on my\naccount.][FN#34]\n\nAccordingly El Merouzi repaired to the market and fetching that\nwhich he sought, returned to Er Razi's house, where he found the\nlatter cast down in the vestibule, with his beard tied and his\neyes shut; and indeed, his colour was paled and his belly blown\nout and his limbs relaxed. So he deemed him in truth dead and\nshook him; but he spoke not; and he took a knife and pricked him\nin the legs, but he stirred not. Then said Er Razi, 'What is\nthis, O fool?' And El Merouzi answered, 'Methought thou wast dead\nin very sooth.' Quoth Er Razi, 'Get thee to seriousness and leave\njesting.' So he took him up and went with him to the market and\ncollected [alms] for him that day till eventide, when he carried\nhim back to his lodging and waited till the morrow.\n\nNext morning, he again took up the bier and went round with it as\nbefore, in quest of alms. Presently, the master of police, who\nwas of those who had given alms on account of the supposed dead\nman on the previous day, met him; so he was angered and fell on\nthe porters and beat them and took the [supposed] dead body,\nsaying, 'I will bury him and earn the reward [of God].'[FN#35] So\nhis men took him up and carrying him to the prefecture, fetched\ngrave-diggers, who dug him a grave. Then they bought him a shroud\nand perfumes[FN#36] and fetched an old man of the quarter, to\nwash him. So he recited over him [the appointed prayers and\nportions of the Koran] and laying him on the bench, washed him\nand shrouded him. After he had shrouded him, he voided;[FN#37] so\nhe renewed the washing and went away to make his\nablutions,[FN#38] whilst all the folk departed, likewise, to make\nthe [obligatory] ablution, previously to the funeral.\n\nWhen the dead man found himself alone, he sprang up, as he were a\nSatan, and donning the washer's clothes,[FN#39] took the bowls\nand water-can and wrapped them up in the napkins. Then be took\nhis shroud under his arm and went out. The doorkeepers thought\nthat he was the washer and said to him, 'Hast thou made an end of\nthe washing, so we may tell the Amir?' 'Yes,' answered the\nsharper and made off to his lodging, where he found El Merouzi\nsoliciting his wife and saying to her, 'Nay, by thy life, thou\nwilt never again look upon his face; for that by this time he is\nburied. I myself escaped not from them but after travail and\ntrouble, and if he speak, they will put him to death.' Quoth she,\n'And what wilt thou have of me?' 'Accomplish my desire of thee,'\nanswered he, 'and heal my disorder, for I am better than thy\nhusband.' And he fell a-toying with her.\n\nWhen Er Razi heard this, he said, 'Yonder wittol lusteth after my\nwife; but I will do him a mischief.' Then he rushed in upon them,\nand when El Merouzi saw him, he marvelled at him and said to him,\n'How didst thou make thine escape?' So he told him the trick he\nhad played and they abode talking of that which they had\ncollected from the folk [by way of alms], and indeed they had\ngotten great store of money. Then said El Merouzi, 'Verily, mine\nabsence hath been prolonged and fain would I return to my own\ncountry.' Quoth Er Rasi,' As thou wilt;' and the other said, 'Let\nus divide the money we have gotten and do thou go with me to my\ncountry, so I may show thee my tricks and my fashions.' 'Come\nto-morrow,' replied Er Razi, 'and we will divide the money.'\n\nSo El Merouzi went away and the other turned to his wife and said\nto her, 'We have gotten us great plenty of money, and yonder dog\nwould fain take the half of it; but this shall never be, for that\nmy mind hath been changed against him, since I heard him solicit\nthee; wherefore I purpose to play him a trick and enjoy all the\nmoney; and do not thou cross me.' ' It is well,' answered she,\nand he said to her, '[To-morrow] at day-peep I will feign myself\ndead and do thou cry out and tear thy hair, whereupon the folk\nwill flock to me. Then lay me out and bury me, and when the folk\nare gone away [from the burial-place], do thou dig down to me and\ntake me; and have no fear for me, for I can abide two days in the\ntomb [without hurt].' And she answered, 'Do what thou wilt.'\n\nSo, when it was the foredawn hour, she tied his beard and\nspreading a veil over him, cried out, whereupon the people of the\nquarter flocked to her, men and women. Presently, up came El\nMerouzi, for the division of the money, and hearing the crying\n[of the mourners], said, 'What is to do?\" Quoth they, 'Thy\nbrother is dead;' and he said in himself, 'The accursed fellow\nputteth a cheat on me, so he may get all the money for himself,\nbut I will do with him what shall soon bring him to life again.'\nThen he rent the bosom of his gown and uncovered his head,\nweeping and saying, 'Alas, my brother! Alas, my chief! Alas, my\nlord!' And he went in to the men, who rose and condoled with him.\nThen he accosted Er Razi's wife and said to her, 'How came his\ndeath about?' 'I know not,' answered she, 'except that, when I\narose in the morning, I found him dead.' Moreover, he questioned\nher of the money and good that was with her, but she said, 'I\nhave no knowledge of this and no tidings.'\n\nSo he sat down at the sharper's head, and said to him, 'Know, O\nRazi, that I will not leave thee till after ten days and their\nnights, wherein I will wake and sleep by thy grave. So arise and\nbe not a fool.' But he answered him not and El Merouzi [drew his\nknife and] fell to sticking it into the other's hands and feet,\nthinking to make him move; but [he stirred not and] he presently\ngrew weary of this and concluded that the sharper was dead in\ngood earnest. [However, he still misdoubted of the case] and said\nin himself, 'This fellow is dissembling, so he may enjoy all the\nmoney.' Therewith he addressed himself to prepare him [for\nburial] and bought him perfumes and what [not else] was needed.\nThen they brought him to the washing-place and El Merouzi came to\nhim and heating water till it boiled and bubbled and a third of\nit was wasted,[FN#40] fell to pouring it on his skin, so that it\nturned red and blue and blistered; but he abode still on one case\n[and stirred not].\n\nSo they wrapped him in the shroud and set him on the bier. Then\nthey took up his bier and bearing him to the burial-place, laid\nhim in the grave[FN#41] and threw the earth over him; after which\nthe folk dispersed, but El Merouzi and the widow abode by the\ntomb, weeping, and gave not over sitting till sundown, when the\nwoman said to him, 'Come, let us go to the house, for this\nweeping will not profit us, nor will it restore the dead.' 'By\nAllah,' answered the sharper, 'I will not budge hence till I have\nslept and waked by this tomb ten days, with their nights!' When\nshe heard this his speech, she feared lest he should keep his\nword and his oath, and so her husband perish; but she said in\nherself, 'This fellow dissembleth: if I go away and return to my\nhouse, he will abide by him a little while and go away.' And El\nMerouzi said to her, 'Arise, thou, and go away.'\n\nSo she arose and returned to her house, whilst El Merouzi abode\nin his place till the night was half spent, when he said to\nhimself, 'How long [is this to last]? Yet how can I let this\nknavish dog die and lose the money? Methinks I were better open\nthe tomb on him and bring him forth and take my due of him by\ndint of grievous beating and torment.' Accordingly, he dug him up\nand pulled him forth of the tomb; after which he betook himself\nto an orchard hard by the burial-ground and cut thence staves and\npalm sticks. Then he tied the dead man's legs and came down on\nhim with the staff and beat him grievously; but he stirred not.\nWhen the time grew long on him, his shoulders became weary and he\nfeared lest some one of the watch should pass on his round and\nsurprise him. So he took up Er Razi and carrying him forth of the\ncemetery, stayed not till he came to the Magians' burying-place\nand casting him down in a sepulchre[FN#42] there, rained heavy\nblows upon him till his shoulders failed him, but the other\nstirred not Then he sat down by his side and rested; after which\nhe rose and renewed the beating upon him, [but to no better\neffect; and thus he did] till the end of the night\n\nNow, as destiny would have it, a band of thieves, whose use it\nwas, whenas they had stolen aught, to resort to that place and\ndivide [their booty], came thither [that night], as of their\nwont; and they were ten in number and had with them wealth\ngalore, which they were carrying. When they drew near the\nsepulchre, they heard a noise of blows within it and the captain\nsaid, 'This is a Magian whom the angels[FN#43] are tormenting.'\nSo they entered [the burial-ground] and when they came over\nagainst El Merouzi, he feared lest they should be the officers of\nthe watch come upon him, wherefore he [arose and] fled and stood\namong the tombs.[FN#44] The thieves came up to the place and\nfinding Er Razi bound by the feet and by him near seventy sticks,\nmarvelled at this with an exceeding wonderment and said, 'God\nconfound thee! This was sure an infidel, a man of many crimes;\nfor, behold, the earth hath rejected him from her womb, and by my\nlife, he is yet fresh! This is his first night [in the tomb] and\nthe angels were tormenting him but now; so whosoever of you hath\na sin upon his conscience, let him beat him, as a propitiatory\noffering to God the Most High.' And the thieves said, 'We all\nhave sins upon our consciences.'\n\nSo each of them went up to the [supposed] dead man and dealt him\nnigh upon a hundred blows, exclaiming the while, one, 'This is\nfor[FN#45] my father!' and another, 'This is for my grandfather!'\nwhilst a third said, 'This is for my brother!' and a fourth,\n'This is for my mother!' And they gave not over taking turns at\nhim and beating him, till they were weary, what while El Merouzi\nstood laughing and saying in himself, 'It is not I alone who have\nentered into sin against him. There is no power and no virtue\nsave in God the Most High, the Supreme!'\n\nThen the thieves addressed themselves to sharing their booty and\npresently fell out concerning a sword that was among the spoil,\nwho should take it. Quoth the captain, 'Methinks we were better\nprove it; so, if it be good, we shall know its worth, and if it\nbe ill, we shall know that.' And they said, 'Try it on this dead\nman, for he is fresh.' So the captain took the sword and drawing\nit, poised it and brandished it; but, when Er Razi saw this, he\nmade sure of death and said in himself, 'I have borne the washing\nand the boiling water and the pricking with the knife and the\ngrave and its straitness and all this [beating], trusting in God\nthat I might be delivered from death, and [hitherto] I have been\ndelivered; but, as for the sword, I may not brook that, for but\none stroke of it, and I am a dead man.'\n\nSo saying, he sprang to his feet and catching up the thigh-bone\nof one of the dead, cried out at the top of his voice, saying, 'O\nye dead, take them!' And he smote one of them, whilst his comrade\n[El Merouzi] smote another and they cried out at them and\nbuffeted them on the napes of their necks; whereupon the thieves\nleft that which was with them of plunder and fled; and indeed\ntheir wits forsook them [for terror] and they stayed not in their\nflight till they came forth of the Magians' burial-ground and\nleft it a parasang's length behind them, when they halted,\ntrembling and affrighted for the soreness of that which had\nbetided them of fear and amazement at the dead.\n\nAs for Er Razi and El Merouzi, they made peace with each other\nand sat down to share the booty. Quoth El Merouzi, 'I will not\ngive thee a dirhem of this money, till thou pay me my due of the\nmoney that is in thy house.' And Er Razi said 'I will not do it,\nnor will I subtract this from aught of my due.' So they fell out\nupon this and disputed with one another and each went saying to\nhis fellow, 'I will not give thee a dirhem!' And words ran high\nbetween them and contention was prolonged.\n\nMeanwhile, when the thieves halted, one of them said to the\nothers, 'Let us return and see;' and the captain said, 'This\nthing is impossible of the dead: never heard we that they came to\nlife on this wise. So let us return and take our good, for that\nthe dead have no occasion for good.' And they were divided in\nopinion as to returning: but [presently they came to a decision\nand] said, 'Indeed, our arms are gone and we cannot avail against\nthem and will not draw near the place where they are: only let\none of us [go thither and] look at it, and if he hear no sound of\nthem, let him advertise us what we shall do.' So they agreed that\nthey should send a man of them and assigned him [for this\nservice] two parts [of the booty].\n\nAccordingly, he returned to the burial-ground and gave not over\ngoing till he stood at the door of the sepulchre, when he heard\nEl Merouzi say to his fellow, 'I will not give thee a single\ndirhem of the money!' The other said the like and they were\noccupied with contention and mutual revilement and talk. So the\nthief returned in haste to his fellows, who said, 'What is behind\nthee?' Quoth he, 'Get you gone and flee for your lives and save\nyourselves, O fools; for that much people of the dead are come to\nlife and between them are words and contention.' So the thieves\nfled, whilst the two sharpers retained to Er Razi's house and\nmade peace with one another and laid the thieves' purchase to the\nmoney they had gotten aforetime and lived a while of time. Nor, O\nking of the age,\" added the vizier, \"is this rarer or more\nmarvellous than the story of the four sharpers with the\nmoney-changer and the ass.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this story, he smiled and it pleased him and\nhe bade the vizier go away to his own house.\n\n             The Twenty-Second Night of the Month.\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and\nrequired of him the hearing of the [promised] story. So he said,\n\"Hearkening and obedience. Know, O king, that\n\n\n\n\n\n                 STORY OF THE SHARPERS WITH THE\n                   MONEY-CHANGER AND THE ASS.\n\n\n\nFour sharpers once plotted against a money-changer, a man of\nabounding wealth, and agreed upon a device for the taking of\nsomewhat of his money. So one of them took an ass and laying on\nit a bag, wherein was money, lighted down at the money-changer's\nshop and sought of him change for the money. The money- changer\nbrought out to him the change and bartered it with him, whilst\nthe sharper was easy with him in the matter of the exchange, so\nhe might give him confidence in himself. [As they were thus\nengaged,] up came the [other three] sharpers and surrounded the\nass; and one of them said, '[It is] he,' and another said, 'Wait\ntill I look at him.' Then he fell to looking on the ass and\nstroking him from his mane to his crupper; whilst the third went\nup to him and handled him and felt him from head to tail, saying,\n' Yes, [it is] in him.' Quoth another, ['Nay,] it is not in him.'\nAnd they gave not over doing the like of this.\n\nThen they accosted the owner of the ass and chaffered with him\nand he said, 'I will not sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.'\nThey offered him a thousand dirhems; but he refused and swore\nthat he would not sell the ass but for that which he had said.\nThey ceased not to add to their bidding, till the price reached\nfive thousand dirhems, whilst their fellow still said, 'I will\nnot sell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' The money-changer\ncounselled him to sell, but he would not do this and said to him,\n'Harkye, gaffer! Thou hast no knowledge of this ass's case.\nConcern thyself with silver and gold and what pertaineth thereto\nof change and exchange; for indeed the virtue of this ass passeth\nthy comprehension. To every craft its craftsman and to every\nmeans of livelihood its folk.'\n\nWhen the affair was prolonged upon the three sharpers, they went\naway and sat down a little apart; then they came up to the\nmoney-changer privily and said to him, 'If thou canst buy him for\nus, do so, and we will give thee a score of dirhems.' Quoth he,\n'Go away and sit down afar from him.' So they did his bidding and\nthe money-changer went up to the owner of the ass and gave not\nover tempting him with money and cajoling him and saying, 'Leave\nyonder fellows and sell me the ass, and I will reckon him a gift\nfrom thee,' till he consented to sell him the ass for five\nthousand and five hundred dirhems. Accordingly the money-changer\ncounted down to him five thousand and five hundred dirhems of his\nown money, and the owner of the ass took the price and delivered\nthe ass to him, saying, 'Whatsoever betideth, though he abide a\ndeposit about thy neck,[FN#46] sell him not to yonder rogues for\nless than ten thousand dirhems, for that they would fain buy him\nbecause of a hidden treasure whereof they know, and nought can\nguide them thereto but this ass. So close thy hand on him and\ngainsay me not, or thou wilt repent.'\n\nSo saying, he left him and went away, whereupon up came the three\nother sharpers, the comrades of him of the ass, and said to the\nmoney-changer, 'God requite thee for us with good, for that thou\nhast bought him! How can we requite thee!' Quoth he, 'I will not\nsell him but for ten thousand dirhems.' When they heard this,\nthey returned to the ass and fell again to examining him and\nhandling him. Then said they to the money-changer, 'We were\nmistaken in him. This is not the ass we sought and he is not\nworth more than half a score paras to us.' Then they left him and\noffered to go away, whereat the money-changer was sore chagrined\nand cried out at their speech, saying, 'O folk, ye besought me to\nbuy him for you and now I have bought him, ye say, \"We were\ndeceived [in him], and he is not worth more than ten paras to\nus.\"' Quoth they, 'We supposed that in him was that which we\ndesired; but, behold, in him is the contrary of that which we\nwant; and indeed he hath a default, for that he is short of\nback.' And they scoffed at him and went away from him and\ndispersed.\n\nThe money-changer thought they did but finesse with him, that\nthey might get the ass at their own price; but, when they went\naway from him and he had long in vain awaited their return, he\ncried out, saying, 'Woe!' and 'Ruin!' and 'Alack, my sorry\nchance!' and shrieked aloud and tore his clothes. So the people\nof the market assembled to him and questioned him of his case;\nwhereupon he acquainted them with his plight and told them what\nthe sharpers had said and how they had beguiled him and how it\nwas they who had cajoled him into buying an ass worth half a\nhundred dirhems[FN#47] for five thousand and five hundred.[FN#48]\nHis friends blamed him and a company of the folk laughed at him\nand marvelled at his folly and his credulity in accepting the\nsharpers' talk, without suspicion, and meddling with that which\nhe understood not and thrusting himself into that whereof he was\nnot assured.\n\nOn this wise, O King Shah Bekht,\" continued the vizier, \"is the\nissue of eagerness for [the goods of] the world and covetise of\nthat which our knowledge embraceth not; indeed, [whoso doth thus]\nshall perish and repent Nor, O king of the age, (added he) is\nthis story more extraordinary than that of the sharper and the\nmerchants.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this story, he said in himself, \"Verily, had\nI given ear to the sayings of my courtiers and inclined to the\nidle prate [of those who counselled me] in the matter of [the\nslaying of] my vizier, I had repented to the utterest of\nrepentance, but praised be God, who hath disposed me to\nmansuetude and long-suffering and hath endowed me with patience!\"\nThen he turned to the vizier and bade him return to his dwelling\nand [dismissed] those who were present, as of wont.\n\n              The Twenty-Third Night of the Month.\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king sent after the vizier and when\nhe presented himself before him, he required of him the hearing\nof the [promised] story. So he said, \"Hearkening and obedience.\nKnow, O illustrious lord, that\n\n\n\n\n\n            STORY OF THE SHARPER AND THE MERCHANTS.\n\n\n\nThere was once aforetime a certain sharper, who [was so eloquent\nthat he] would turn the ear inside out, and he was a man of\nunderstanding and quick wit and skill and perfection. It was his\nwont to enter a town and [give himself out as a merchant and]\nmake a show of trafficking and insinuate himself into the\nintimacy of people of worth and consort with the merchants, for\nhe was [apparently] distinguished for virtue and piety. Then he\nwould put a cheat on them and take [of them] what he might spend\nand go away to another city; and he ceased not to do thus a great\nwhile.\n\nIt befell one day that he entered a certain city and sold\nsomewhat that was with him of merchandise and got him friends of\nthe merchants of the place and fell to sitting with them and\nentertaining them and inviting them to his lodging and his\nassembly, whilst they also invited him to their houses. On this\nwise he abode a long while, till he was minded to leave the city;\nand this was bruited abroad among his friends, who were concerned\nfor parting from him. Then he betook himself to him of them, who\nwas the richest of them in substance and the most apparent of\nthem in generosity, and sat with him and borrowed his goods; and\nwhen he was about to take leave, he desired him to give him the\ndeposit that he had left with him. 'And what is the deposit?'\nasked the merchant. Quoth the sharper, 'It is such a purse, with\nthe thousand dinars therein.' And the merchant said, 'When didst\nthou give it me?' 'Extolled be the perfection of God!' replied\nthe sharper. 'Was it not on such a day, by such a token, and thus\nand thus?' 'I know not of this,' rejoined the merchant, and words\nwere bandied about between them, whilst the folk [who were\npresent also] disputed together concerning their affair and their\nspeech, till their voices rose high and the neighbours had\nknowledge of that which passed between them.\n\nThen said the sharper, 'O folk, this is my friend and I deposited\nwith him a deposit, but he denieth it; so in whom shall the folk\nput trust after this?' And they said, 'This [FN#49] is a man of\nworth and we have found in him nought but trustiness and loyality\nand good breeding, and he is endowed with understanding and\ngenerosity. Indeed, he avoucheth no falsehood, for that we have\nconsorted with him and mixed with him and he with us and we know\nthe sincerity of his religion.' Then quoth one of them to the\nmerchant, 'Harkye, such an one! Bethink thee and consult thy\nmemory. It may not be but that thou hast forgotten.' But he said,\n'O folk, I know nothing of that which he saith, for indeed he\ndeposited nought with me.' And the affair was prolonged between\nthem. Then said the sharper to the merchant, 'I am about to make\na journey and have, praised be God the Most High, wealth galore,\nand this money shall not escape me; but do thou swear to me.' And\nthe folk said, 'Indeed, this man doth justice upon\nhimself.'[FN#50] Whereupon the merchant fell into that which he\nmisliked[FN#51] and came near upon [suffering] loss and ill\nrepute.\n\nNow he had a friend, who pretended to quickwittedness and\nunderstanding; so he came up to him privily and said to him, 'Let\nme do, so I may put the change on this trickster, for I know him\nto be a liar and thou art near upon having to pay the money; but\nI will turn suspicion from thee and say to him, \"The deposit is\nwith me and thou erredst in imagining that it was with other than\nmyself,\" and so divert him from thee.' 'Do so,' replied the\nmerchant, 'and rid the folk of their [false] debts.'\n\nSo the friend turned to the sharper and said to him, 'O my lord,\nO such an one, thou goest under a delusion. The purse is with me,\nfor it was with me that thou depositedst it, and this elder is\ninnocent of it.' But the sharper answered him with impatience and\nimpetuosity, saying, 'Extolled be the perfection of God! As for\nthe purse that is with thee, O noble and trusty man, I know that\nit is in the warrant of God and my heart is at ease concerning\nit, for that it is with thee as it were with me; but I began by\ndemanding that which I deposited with this man, of my knowledge\nthat he coveteth the folk's good.' At this the friend was\nconfounded and put to silence and returned not an answer; [and\nthe] only [result of his interference was that] each of them\n[FN#52] paid a thousand dinars.\n\nSo the sharper took the two thousand dinars and made off; and\nwhen he was gone, the merchant said to his friend, the\n[self-styled] man of wit and intelligence, 'Harkye, such an one!\nThou and I are like unto the hawk and the locust.' 'What was\ntheir case?' asked the other; and the merchant said,\n\n\n\n\n\n               STORY OF THE HAWK AND THE LOCUST.\n\n\n\n'There was once, of old time, a hawk who made himself a nest hard\nby that of a locust, and the latter gloried in his neighbourhood\nand betaking herself to him, saluted him and said, \"O my lord and\nchief of the birds, indeed the nearness unto thee delighteth me\nand thou honourest me with thy neighbourhood and my soul is\nfortified with thee.\" The hawk thanked her for this and there\nensued friendship between them. One day, the locust said to the\nhawk, \"O chief of the birds, how cometh it that I see thee alone,\nsolitary, having with thee no friend of thy kind of the birds, to\nwhom thou mayst incline in time of easance and of whom thou mayst\nseek succour in time of stress? Indeed, it is said, 'Man goeth\nabout seeking the ease of his body and the preservation of his\nstrength, and in this there is nought more necessary to him than\na friend who shall be the completion of his gladness and the\nmainstay of his life and on whom shall be his dependence in his\nstress and in his ease.' Now I, albeit I ardently desire thy weal\nin that which beseemeth thy condition, yet am I weak [and unable]\nunto that which the soul craveth; but, if thou wilt give me\nleave, I will seek out for thee one of the birds who shall be\nconformable unto thee in thy body and thy strength.\" And the hawk\nsaid, \"I commit this to thee and rely upon thee therein.\"\n\nTherewithal, O my brother, the locust fell to going round about\namong the company of the birds, but saw nought resembling the\nhawk in bulk and body save the kite and deemed well of her. So\nshe brought the hawk and the kite together and counselled the\nformer to make friends with the latter. Now it chanced that the\nhawk fell sick and the kite abode with him a long while [and\ntended him] till he recovered and became whole and strong;\nwherefore he thanked her [and she departed from him]. But after\nawhile the hawk's sickness returned to him and he needed the\nkite's succour. So the locust went out from him and was absent\nfrom him a day, after which she returned to him with a[nother]\nlocust, [FN#53] saying, \"I have brought thee this one.\" When the\nhawk saw her, he said, \"God requite thee with good! Indeed, thou\nhast done well in the quest and hast been subtle in the choice.\"\n\nAll this, O my brother,' continued the merchant, 'befell because\nthe locust had no knowledge of the secret essence that lieth hid\nin apparent bodies. As for thee, O my brother, (may God requite\nthee with good!) thou wast subtle in device and usedst\nprecaution; but precaution sufficeth not against fate, and\nfortune fore-ordained baffleth contrivance. How excellent is the\nsaying of the poet! And he recited the following verses:\n\nIt chances whiles that the blind man escapes a pit, Whilst he who\n     is clear of sight falls into it.\nThe ignorant man may speak with impunity A word that is death to\n     the wise and the ripe of wit.\nThe true believer is pinched for his daily bread, Whilst infidel\n     rogues enjoy all benefit.\nWhere is a man's resource and what can he do? It is the\n     Almighty's will; we most submit.\n\nNor,\" added the vizier, \"is this, O king of the age, more\nextraordinary or stranger than the story of the king and his\nchamberlain's wife; nay, the latter is rarer than this and more\ndelightsome.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this story, he was fortified in his resolve\nto spare the vizier and to leave haste in an affair whereof he\nwas not assured; so he comforted him and bade him withdraw to his\nlodging.\n\n             The Twenty-Fourth Night of the Month.\n\nWhen it was night, the king summoned the vizier and sought of him\nthe hearing of the [promised] story. \"Hearkening and obedience,\"\nreplied Er Rehwan, \"Know, O august king, that\n\n\n\n\n\n            STORY OF THE KING AND HIS CHAMBERLAIN'S\n                             WIFE.\n\n\n\nThere was once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, a king\nof the kings of the Persians, who was passionately addicted to\nthe love of women. His courtiers bespoke him of the wife of a\nchamberlain of his chamberlains, for that she was endowed with\nbeauty and loveliness and perfection, and this prompted him to go\nin to her. When she saw him, she knew him and said to him, 'What\nprompteth the king unto this that he doth?' And he answered,\nsaying, 'Verily, I yearn after thee with an exceeding yearning\nand needs must I enjoy thy favours.' And he gave her of wealth\nthat after the like whereof women hanker; but she said, 'I cannot\ndo that whereof the king speaketh, for fear of my husband.' And\nshe refused herself to him with the most rigorous of refusals and\nwould not do his desire. So the king went out, full of wrath, and\nforgot his girdle in the place.\n\nPresently, her husband entered and saw the girdle and knew it.\nNow he was ware of the king's love for women; so he said to his\nwife, ' What is this that I see with thee?' Quoth she, 'I will\ntell thee the truth,' and recounted to him the story; but he\nbelieved her not and doubt entered into his heart. As for the\nking, he passed that night in chagrin and concern, and when it\nmorrowed, he summoned the chamberlain and investing him with the\ngovernance of one of his provinces, bade him betake himself\nthither, purposing, after he should have departed and come to his\ndestination, to foregather with his wife. The chamberlain\nperceived [his intent] and knew his design; so he answered,\nsaying, 'Hearkening and obedience. I will go and set my affairs\nin order and give such charges as may be necessary for the\nwelfare of my estate; then will I go about the king's occasion.'\nAnd the king said, 'Do this and hasten.'\n\nSo the chamberlain went about that which he needed and assembling\nhis wife's kinsfolk, said to them, 'I am resolved to put away my\nwife.' They took this ill of him and complained of him and\nsummoning him before the king, sat pleading with him. Now the\nking had no knowledge of that which had passed; so he said to the\nchamberlain, 'Why wilt thou put her away and how can thy soul\nconsent unto this and why takest thou unto thyself a goodly piece\nof land and after forsakest it? 'May God amend the king!'\nanswered the husband. 'By Allah, O king, I saw therein the track\nof the lion and fear to enter the land, lest the lion devour me;\nand indeed the like of my affair with her is that which befell\nbetween the old woman and the draper's wife.' 'What is their\nstory?' asked the king; and the chamberlain said, 'Know, O king,\nthat\n\n\n\n\n\n            STORY OF THE OLD WOMAN AND THE DRAPER'S\n                             WIFE.\n\n\n\nThere was once a man of the drapers, who had a fair wife, and she\nwas curtained [FN#54] and chaste. A certain young man saw her\ncoming forth of the bath and loved her and his heart was occupied\nwith her. So he cast about [to get access to her] with all manner\nof devices, but availed not to win to her; and when he was weary\nof endeavour and his patience was exhausted for weariness and his\nfortitude failed him and he was at an end of his resources\nagainst her, he complained of this to an old woman of ill-omen,\n[FN#55] who promised him to bring about union between him and\nher. He thanked her for this and promised her all manner of good;\nand she said to him, \"Get thee to her husband and buy of him a\nturban-cloth of fine linen, and let it be of the goodliest of\nstuffs.\"\n\nSo he repaired to the draper and buying of him a turban-cloth of\nlawn, returned with it to the old woman, who took it and burned\nit in two places. Then she donned devotees' apparel and taking\nthe turban-cloth with her, went to the draper's house and knocked\nat the door. When the draper's wife saw her, she opened to her\nand received her kindly and made much of her and welcomed her. So\nthe old woman went in to her and conversed with her awhile. Then\nsaid she to her, \"[I desire to make] the ablution [preparatory]\nto prayer.\" So the wife brought her water and she made the\nablution and standing up to pray, prayed and did her occasion.\nWhen she had made an end of her prayers, she left the\nturban-cloth in the place of prayer and went away.\n\nPresently, in came the draper, at the hour of evening prayer, and\nsitting down in the place where the old woman had prayed, looked\nabout him and espied the turban. He knew it [for that which he\nhad that day sold to the young man] and misdoubted of the case,\nwherefore anger appeared in his face and he was wroth with his\nwife and reviled her and abode his day and his night, without\nspeaking to her, what while she knew not the cause of his anger.\nThen she looked and seeing the turban-cloth before him and noting\nthe traces of burning thereon, understood that his anger was on\naccount of this and concluded that he was wroth because it was\nburnt.\n\nWhen the morning morrowed, the draper went out, still angered\nagainst his wife, and the old woman returned to her and found her\nchanged of colour, pale of face, dejected and heart-broken. [So\nshe questioned her of the cause of her dejection and she told her\nhow her husband was angered against her (as she supposed) on\naccount of the burns in the turban-cloth.] \"O my daughter,\"\nrejoined the old woman, \"be not concerned; for I have a son, a\nfine-drawer, and he, by thy life, shall fine-draw [the holes] and\nrestore the turban-cloth as it was. \"The wife rejoiced in her\nsaying and said to her, \"And when shall this be?\" \"To-morrow, if\nit please God the Most High,\" answered the old woman, \"I will\nbring him to thee, at the time of thy husband's going forth from\nthee, and he shall mend it and depart forth-right.\" Then she\ncomforted her heart and going forth from her, returned to the\nyoung man and told him what had passed.\n\nNow, when the draper saw the turban-cloth, he resolved to put\naway his wife and waited but till he should get together that\nwhich was obligatory on him of the dowry and what not\nelse,[FN#56] for fear of her people. When the old woman arose in\nthe morning, she took the young man and carried him to the\ndraper's house. The wife opened the door to her and the\nill-omened old woman entered with him and said to the lady, \"Go,\nfetch that which thou wouldst have fine-drawn and give it to my\nson.\" So saying, she locked the door on her, whereupon the young\nman forced her and did his occasion of her and went forth. Then\nsaid the old woman to her, \"Know that this is my son and that he\nloved thee with an exceeding love and was like to lose his life\nfor longing after thee. So I practised on thee with this device\nand came to thee with this turban-cloth, which is not thy\nhusband's, but my son's. Now have I accomplished my desire; so do\nthou trust in me and I will put a trick on thy husband for the\nsetting thee right with him, and thou wilt be obedient to me and\nto him and to my son.\"[FN#57] And the wife answered, saying, \"It\nis well. Do so.\"\n\nSo the old woman returned to the lover and said to him, \"I have\nskilfully contrived the affair for thee with her; [and now it\nbehoveth us to amend that we have marred]. So go now and sit with\nthe draper and bespeak him of the turban-cloth, [saying, 'The\nturban-cloth I bought of thee I chanced to burn in two places; so\nI gave it to a certain old woman, to get mended, and she took it\nand went away, and I know not her dwelling-place.'] When thou\nseest me pass by, rise and lay hold of me [and demand of me the\nturban-cloth], to the intent that I may amend her case with her\nhusband and that thou mayst be even with her.\" So he repaired to\nthe draper's shop and sat down by him and said to him, \"Thou\nknowest the turban-cloth I bought of thee?\" \"Yes,\" answered the\ndraper, and the other said, \"Knowest thou what is come of it?\"\n\"No,\" replied the husband, and the youth said, \"After I bought it\nof thee, I fumigated myself[FN#58] and it befell that the\nturban-cloth was burnt in two places. So I gave it to a woman,\nwhose son, they said, was a fine-drawer, and she took it and went\naway with it; and I know not her abiding-place.\" When the draper\nheard this, he misdoubted him [of having wrongly suspected his\nwife] and marvelled at the story of the turban-cloth, and his\nmind was set at ease concerning her.\n\nPresently, up came the old woman, whereupon the young man sprang\nto his feet and laying hold of her, demanded of her the\nturban-cloth. Quoth she, \"Know that I entered one of the houses\nand made the ablution and prayed in the place of prayer; and I\nforgot the turban-cloth there and went out. Now I know not the\nhouse in which I prayed, nor have I been directed[FN#59] thereto,\nand I go round about every day till the night, so haply I may\nlight on it, for I know not its owner.\" When the draper heard\nthis, he said to the old woman, \"Verily, Allah restoreth unto\nthee vhat which thou hast lost. Rejoice, for the turban-cloth is\nwith me and in my house.\" And he arose forthright and gave her\nthe turban-cloth, as it was. She gave it to the young man, and\nthe draper made his peace with his wife and gave her raiment and\njewellery, [by way of peace-offering], till she was content and\nher heart was appeased. [FN#60]\n\nWhen the king heard his chamberlain's story, he was confounded\nand abashed and said to him, 'Abide on thy wonted service and\ntill thy land, for that the lion entered it, but marred it not,\nand he will never more return thither.'[FN#61] Then he bestowed\non him a dress of honour and made him a sumptuous present; and\nthe man returned to his wife and people, rejoicing and glad, for\nthat his heart was set at rest concerning his wife. Nor,\" added\nthe vizier, \"O king of the age, is this rarer or more\nextraordinary than the story of the fair and lovely woman,\nendowed with amorous grace, with the foul-favoured man.\"\n\nWhen the king heard the vizier's speech, he deemed it goodly and\nit pleased him; so he bade him go away to his house, and there he\nabode his day long.\n\n              The Twenty-fifth Night of the Month.\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king summoned his vizier and bade\nhim tell the [promised] story. So he said, \"It is well. Know, O\nking, that\n\n\n\n\n\n             STORY OF THE FOUL-FAVOURED MAN AND HIS\n                           FAIR WIFE.\n\n\n\nThere was once a man of the Arabs who had a number of sons, and\namongst them a boy, never was seen a fairer than he of favour nor\na more accomplished in loveliness, no, nor a more perfect of wit.\nWhen he came to man's estate, his father married him to the\ndaughter of one of his uncles, and she excelled not in beauty,\nneither was she praiseworthy of attributes; wherefore she pleased\nnot the youth, but he bore with her, for kinship's sake.\n\nOne day, he went forth in quest of certain stray camels of his\nand fared on all his day and night till eventide, when he [came\nto an Arab encampment and] was fain to seek hospitality of one of\nthe inhabitants. So he alighted at one of the tents of the camp\nand there came forth to him a man of short stature and loathly\naspect, who saluted him and lodging him in a corner of the tent,\nsat entertaining him with talk, the goodliest that might be. When\nhis food was dressed, the Arab's wife brought it to the guest,\nand he looked at the mistress of the tent and saw a favour than\nwhich no goodlier might be. Indeed, her beauty and grace and\nsymmetry amazed him and he abode confounded, looking now at her\nand now at her husband. When his looking grew long, the man said\nto him, 'Harkye, O son of the worthy! Occupy thyself with thine\nown concerns, for by me and this woman hangeth a rare story, that\nis yet goodlier than that which thou seest of her beauty; and\nwhen we have made an end of our food, I will tell it thee.'\n\nSo, when they had made an end of eating and drinking, the young\nman asked his host for the story, and he said, 'Know that in my\nyouth I was even as thou seest me in the matter of loathliness\nand foul favour; and I had brethren of the comeliest of the folk;\nwherefore my father preferred them over me and used to show them\nkindness, to my exclusion, and employ me, in their room [in\nmenial service], like as one employeth slaves. One day, a\nshe-camel of his went astray and he said to me, \"Go thou forth in\nquest of her and return not but with her.\" Quoth I, \"Send other\nthan I of thy sons.\" But he would not consent to this and reviled\nme and insisted upon me, till the matter came to such a pass with\nhim that he took a whip and fell to beating me. So I arose and\ntaking a riding-camel, mounted her and sallied forth at a\nventure, purposing to go out into the deserts and return to him\nno more. I fared on all my night [and the next day] and coming at\neventide to [the encampment of] this my wife's people, alighted\ndown with her father, who was a very old man, and became his\nguest.\n\nWhen the night was half spent, I arose [and went forth the tent]\nto do an occasion of mine, and none knew of my case save this\nwoman. The dogs misdoubted of me and followed me and gave not\nover besetting me, till I fell on my back into a deep pit,\nwherein was water, and one of the dogs fell in with me. The\nwoman, who was then a girl in the first bloom of youth, full of\nstrength and spirit, was moved to pity on me, for that wherein I\nwas fallen, and coming to me with a rope, said to me, \"Lay hold\nof this rope.\" So I laid hold of the rope and clung to it and she\npulled me up; but, when I was halfway up, I pulled her [down] and\nshe fell with me into the pit; and there we abode three days, she\nand I and the dog.\n\nWhen her people arose in the morning and saw her not, they sought\nher in the camp, but, finding her not and missing me also,\ndoubted not but she had fled with me. Now she had four brothers,\nas they were falcons, and they mounted and dispersed in quest of\nus. When the day dawned [on the fourth morning], the dog began to\nbark and the other dogs answered him and coming to the mouth of\nthe pit, stood howling to him. My wife's father, hearing the\nhowling of the dogs, came up and standing at the brink of the\npit, [looked in and] beheld a marvel. Now he was a man of valour\nand understanding, an elder versed[FN#62] in affairs so he\nfetched a rope and bringing us both forth, questioned us of our\ncase. I told him all that had betided and he abode pondering the\naffair.\n\nPresently, her brothers returned, whereupon the old man\nacquainted them with the whole case and said to them, \"O my sons,\nknow that your sister purposed not aught but good, and if ye slay\nthis man, ye will earn abiding reproach and ye will wrong him,\nay, and wrong yourselves and your sister, to boot; for indeed\nthere appeareth no cause [of offence] such as calleth for\nslaughter, and it may not be denied that this incident is a thing\nthe like whereof may well betide and that he may well have been\nbaffled by the like of this chance.\" Then he turned to me and\nquestioned me of my lineage; so I set forth to him my genealogy\nand he said, \"A man of equal rank, honourable [and]\nunderstanding.\" And he offered me [his daughter in] marriage. I\nconsented to him of this and marrying her, took up my abode with\nhim and God the Most High hath opened on me the gates of weal and\nfortune, so that I am become the most abounding in substance of\nthe folk of the tribe; and He hath stablished me in that which He\nhath given me of His bounties.'\n\nThe young man marvelled at his story and lay the night with him;\nand when he arose in the morning, he found his strays. So he took\nthem and returning [to his family.], acquainted them with what he\nhad seen and that which had betided him. Nor,\" added the vizier,\n\"is this more marvellous or rarer than the story of the king who\nlost kingdom and wealth and wife and children and God restored\nthem unto him and requited him with a kingdom more magnificent\nthan that which he had lost and goodlier and rarer and greater of\nwealth and elevation.\"\n\nThe vizier's story pleased the king and he bade depart to his\ndwelling.\n\n              The Twenty-Sixth Night of the Month.\n\nWhen came the night, the king summoned his vizier and bade him\ntell the story of the king who lost kingdom and wife and wealth.\n\"Hearkening and obedience,\" replied Er Rehwan. \"Know, O king,\nthat\n\n\n\n\n\n             STORY OF THE KING WHO LOST KINGDOM AND\n            WIFE AND WEALTH AND GOD RESTORED THEM TO\n                              HIM.\n\n\n\nThere was once a king of the kings of Hind, who was goodly of\npolity, praiseworthy in administration, just to his subjects,\nbeneficent to men of learning and piety and asceticism and\ndevoutness and worship and shunning traitors and froward folk and\nthose of lewd life. On this wise of polity he abode in his\nkingship what God the Most High willed of days and hours and\nyears, and he married the daughter of his father's brother, a\nbeautiful and lovesome woman, endowed with brightness and\nperfection, who had been reared in the king's house in splendour\nand delight. She bore him two sons, the comeliest that might be\nof boys. Then came fore-ordained fate, which there is no warding\noff, and God the Most High raised up against the king another\nking, who came forth upon his realm, and all the folk of the\ncity, who had a mind unto evil and lewdness, joined themselves\nunto him. So he fortified himself against the king and made\nhimself master of his kingdom, putting his troops to the rout and\nslaying his guards.\n\nThe king took his wife, the mother of his sons, and what he might\n[of good] and saved himself and fled in the darkness of the\nnight, unknowing whither he should go. When travel grew sore upon\nthem, there met them robbers by the way, who took all that was\nwith them, [even to their clothes], so that there was left unto\neach of them but a shirt and trousers; yea, they left them\nwithout victual or camels or [other] riding-cattle, and they\nceased not to fare on afoot, till they came to a coppice, to wit,\na garden of trees, on the shore of the sea. Now the road which\nthey would have followed was crossed by an arm of the sea, but it\nwas scant of water. So, when they came to that place, the king\ntook up one of his children and fording the water with him, set\nhim down on the other bank and returned for his other son. Him\nalso he set by his brother and returning for their mother, took\nher up and passing the water with her, came to the place [where\nhe had left his children], but found them not. Then he looked at\nthe midst of the island and saw there an old man and an old\nwoman, engaged in making themselves a hut of reeds. So he put\ndown his wife over against them and set off in quest of his\nchildren, but none gave him news of them and he went round about\nright and left, but found not the place where they were.\n\nNow the children had entered the coppice, to make water, and\nthere was there a forest of trees, wherein, if a horseman\nentered, he might wander by the week, [before finding his way\nout], for none knew the first thereof from the last. So the boys\nentered therein and knew not how they should return and went\nastray in that wood, to an end that was willed of God the Most\nHigh, whilst their father sought them, but found them not. So he\nreturned to their mother and they abode weeping for their\nchildren. As for these latter, when they entered the wood, it\nswallowed them up and they went wandering in it many days,\nknowing not where they had entered, till they came forth, at\nanother side, upon the open country.\n\nMeanwhile, the king and queen abode in the island, over against\nthe old man and woman, and ate of the fruits that were in the\nisland and drank of its waters, till, one day, as they sat, there\ncame a ship and moored to the side of the island, to fill up with\nwater, whereupon they[FN#63] looked at each other and spoke. The\nmaster of the ship was a Magian and all that was therein, both\nmen and goods, belonged to him, for that he was a merchant and\nwent round about the world. Now covetise deluded the old man, the\nowner of the island, and he went up [into the ship] and gave the\nMagian news of the king's wife, setting out to him her charms,\ntill he made him yearn unto her and his soul prompted him to use\ntreachery and practise upon her and take her from her hnsband. So\nhe sent to her, saying, 'With us in the ship is a woman with\nchild, and we fear lest she be delivered this night. Hast thou\nskill in the delivering of women?' And she answered, 'Yes.' Now\nit was the last of the day; so he sent to her to come up into the\nship and deliver the woman, for that the pangs of labour were\ncome upon her; and he promised her clothes and spending-money.\nAccordingly, she embarked in all assurance, with a heart at ease\nfor herself, and transported her gear to the ship; but no sooner\nwas she come thither than the anchors were weighed and the canvas\nspread and the ship set sail.\n\nWhen the king saw this, he cried out and his wife wept in the\nship and offered to cast herself into the sea; but the Magian\nbade the sailors lay hands on her. So they seized her and it was\nbut a little while ere the night darkened and the ship\ndisappeared from the king's eyes; whereupon he swooned away for\nexcess of weeping and lamentation and passed his night bewailing\nhis wife and children.\n\nWhen the morning morrowed, he recited the following verses:\n\nHow long, O Fate, wilt thou oppress and baffle me?\nTell me, was ever yet a mortal spared of thee?\n     Behold, my loved ones all are ta'en from me away.\nThey left me and content forthright forsook my heart,\nUpon that day my loves my presence did depart;\n     My pleasant life for loss of friends is troubled aye.\nBy Allah, I knew not their worth nor yet how dear\nA good it is to have one's loved ones ever near,\n     Until they left my heart on fire without allay.\nNe'er shall I them forget, nay, nor the day they went\nAnd left me all forlorn, to pine for languishment,\n     My severance to bewail in torment and dismay.\nI make a vow to God, if ever day or night\nThe herald of good news my hearing shall delight,\n     Announcing the return o' th' absent ones,\nI'll lay Upon their threshold's dust my cheeks and to my soul,\n\"Take comfort, for the loved are come again,\"\nI'll say. If for my loved ones' loss I rent my heart for dole,\n     Before I rent my clothes, reproach me not, I pray.\n\nHe abode weeping for the loss of his wife and children till the\nmorning, when he went forth wandering at a venture, knowing not\nwhat he should do, and gave not over faring along the sea-shore\ndays and nights, unknowing whither he went and taking no food\ntherein other than the herbs of the earth and seeing neither man\nnor beast nor other living thing, till his travel brought him to\nthe top of a mountain. He took up his sojourn in the mountain and\nabode there [awhile] alone, eating of its fruits and drinking of\nits waters. Then he came down thence and fared on along the high\nroad three days, at the end of which time he came upon tilled\nfields and villages and gave not over going till he sighted a\ngreat city on the shore of the sea and came to the gate thereof\nat the last of the day. The gatekeepers suffered him not to\nenter; so he abode his night anhungred, and when he arose in the\nmorning, be sat down hard by the gate.\n\nNow the king of the city was dead and had left no son, and the\ntownsfolk fell out concerning who should be king over them: and\ntheir sayings differed and their counsels, so that turmoil was\nlike to betide between them by reason of this. At last, after\nlong dissension, they came to an accord and agreed to leave the\nchoice to the late king's elephant and that he unto whom he\nconsented should be king and that they would not contest the\ncommandment with him. So they made oath of this and on the\nmorrow, they brought out the elephant and came forth to the\nutterward of the city; nor was there man or woman left in the\nplace but was present at that time. Then they adorned the\nelephant and setting up the throne on his back, gave him the\ncrown in his trunk; and he went round about examining the faces\nof the folk, but stopped not with any of them till he came to the\nbanished king, the forlorn, the exile, him who had lost his\nchildren and his wife, when he prostrated himself to him and\nplacing the crown on his head, took him up and set him on his\nback.\n\nThereupon the folk all prostrated themselves and gave one another\njoy of this and the drums of good tidings beat before him, and he\nentered the city [and went on] till he came to the House of\nJustice and the audience-hall of the palace and sat down on the\nthrone of the kingdom, with the crown on his head; whereupon the\nfolk came in to him to give him joy and offer up prayers for him.\nThen he addressed himself, after his wont in the kingship, to\nordering the affairs of the folk and ranging the troops according\nto their ranks and looking into their affairs and those of all\nthe people. Moreover, he released those who were in the prisons\nand abolished the customs dues and gave dresses of honour and\nbestowed gifts and largesse and conferred favours on the amirs\nand viziers and dignitaries, and the chamberlains and deputies\npresented themselves before him and did him homage. So the people\nof the city rejoiced in him and said, 'Indeed this is none other\nthan a king of the greatest of the kings.'\n\nMoreover, he assembled the sages and the theologians and the sons\nof the kings and devised with them and asked them questions and\nproblems and examined with them into many things of all fashions\nthat might direct him to well-doing in the kingly office; and he\nquestioned them also of subtleties and religious obligations and\nof the laws of the kingdom and the fashions of administration and\nof that which it behoveth the king to do of looking into the\naffairs of the people and repelling the enemy [from the realm]\nand fending off his malice with war; wherefore the people's\ncontentment redoubled and their joy in that which God the Most\nHigh had vouchsafed them of his elevation to the kingship over\nthem. So he upheld the ordinance of the realm and the affairs\nthereof abode established upon the accepted customs.\n\nNow the late king had left a wife and a daughter, and the people\nwould fain have married the latter to the new king, to the intent\nthat the kingship might not pass out of the old royal family. So\nthey proposed to him that he should take her to wife, and he\npromised them this, but put them off from him,[FN#64] of his\nrespect for the covenant he had made with his former wife, to\nwit, that he would take none other to wife than herself. Then he\nbetook himself to fasting by day and standing up by night [to\npray], giving alms galore and beseeching God (extolled be His\nperfection and exalted be He!) to reunite him with his children\nand his wife, the daughter of his father's brother.\n\nWhen a year had elapsed, there came to the city a ship, wherein\nwere merchants and goods galore. Now it was of their usance, from\ntime immemorial, that, when there came a ship to the city, the\nking sent unto it such of his servants as he trusted in, who took\ncharge of the goods, so they might be [first of all] shown to the\nking, who bought such of them as befitted him and gave the\nmerchants leave to sell the rest. So he sent, as of wont, one who\nshould go up to the ship and seal up the goods and set over them\nwho should keep watch over them.\n\nTo return to the queen his wife. When the Magian fled with her,\nhe proffered himself to her and lavished unto her wealth galore,\nbut she rejected his suit and was like to slay herself for\nchagrin at that which had befallen and for grief for her\nseparation from her husband. Moreover, she refused meat and drink\nand offered to cast herself into the sea; but the Magian shackled\nher and straitened her and clad her in a gown of wool and said to\nher, 'I will continue thee in misery and abjection till thou obey\nme and consent to my wishes.' So she took patience and looked for\nGod to deliver her from the hand of that accursed one; and she\nceased not to travel with him from place to place till he came\nwith her to the city wherein her husband was king and his goods\nwere put under seal.\n\nNow the woman was in a chest and two youths of the pages of the\nlate king, who were now in the new king's service, were those who\nhad been charged with the guardianship of the vessel and the\ngoods. When the evening evened on them, the two youths fell\na-talking and recounted that which had befallen them in their\ndays of childhood and the manner of the going forth of their\nfather and mother from their country and royal estate, whenas the\nwicked overcame their land, and [called to mind] how they had\ngone astray in the forest and how fate had made severance between\nthem and their parents; brief, they recounted their story, from\nbeginning to end. When the woman heard their talk, she knew that\nthey were her very sons and cried out to them from the chest,\nsaying, 'I am your mother such an one, and the token between you\nand me is thus and thus.' The young men knew the token and\nfalling upon the chest, broke the lock and brought out their\nmother, who strained them to her breast, and they fell upon her\nand swooned away, all three.\n\nWhen they came to themselves, they wept awhile and the folk\nassembled about them, marvelling at that which they saw, and\nquestioned them of their case. So the young men vied with each\nother who should be the first to discover the story to the folk;\nand when the Magian saw this, he came up, crying out, 'Alas!' and\n'Woe worth the day!' and said to them, 'Why have ye broken open\nmy chest? I had in it jewels and ye have stolen them, and this\ndamsel is my slave-girl and she hath agreed with you upon a\ndevice to take the good.' Then he rent his clothes and called\naloud for succour, saying, 'I appeal to God and to the just king,\nso he may quit me of these wrong-doing youths!' Quoth they, 'This\nis our mother and thou stolest her.' Then words waxed many\nbetween them and the folk plunged into talk and prate and\ndiscussion concerning their affair and that of the [pretended]\nslave-girl, and the strife waxed amain between them, so that [at\nlast] they carried them up to the king.\n\nWhen the two young men presented themselves before him and set\nforth their case to him and to the folk and the king heard their\nspeech, he knew them and his heart was like to fly for joyance in\nthem: the tears poured from his eyes at their sight and that of\nhis wife, and he thanked God the Most High and praised Him for\nthat He had reunited [him with] them. Then he dismissed the folk\nwho were present about him and bade commit the Magian and the\nwoman and the two youths to his armoury[FN#65] [for the night],\ncommanding that they should keep guard over them till God caused\nthe morning morrow, so he might assemble the cadis and the judges\nand assessors and judge between them, according to the Holy Law,\nin the presence of the four cadis. So they did his bidding and\nthe king passed the night praying and praising God the Most High\nfor that which He had vouchsafed him of kingship and puissance\nand victory over[FN#66] him who had wronged him and thanking Him\nwho had reunited him with his family.\n\nWhen the morning morrowed, he assembled the cadis and judges and\nassessors and sending for the Magian and the two youths and their\nmother, questioned them of their case, whereupon the two young\nmen began and said, 'We are the sons of the king Such-an-one and\nenemies and wicked men got the mastery of out realm; so our\nfather fled forth with us and wandered at a venture, for fear of\nthe enemies.' [And they recounted to him all that had betided\nthem, from beginning to end.] Quoth he, 'Ye tell a marvellous\nstory; but what hath [Fate] done with your father?' 'We know not\nhow fortune dealt with him after our loss,' answered they; and he\nwas silent.\n\nThen he turned to the woman and said to her, 'And thou, what\nsayst thou?' So she expounded to him her case and recounted to\nhim all that had betided her and her husband, first and last, up\nto the time when they took up their abode with the old man and\nwoman who dwelt on the sea-shore. Then she set out that which the\nMagian had practised on her of knavery and how he had carried her\noff in the ship and all that had betided her of humiliation and\ntorment, what while the cadis and judges and deputies hearkened\nto her speech. When the king heard the last of his wife's story,\nhe said, 'Verily, there hath betided thee a grievous matter; but\nhast thou knowledge of what thy husband did and what came of his\naffair?' 'Nay, by Allah,' answered she; 'I have no knowledge of\nhim, save that I leave him no hour unremembered in fervent\nprayer, and never, whilst I live, will he cease to be to me the\nfather of my children and my father's brother's son and my flesh\nand my blood.' Then she wept and the king bowed his head, whilst\nhis eyes brimmed over with tears at her story.\n\nThen he raised his head to the Magian and said to him, 'Say thy\nsay, thou also.' So the Magian said, 'This is my slave-girl, whom\nI bought with my money from such a land and for so many dinars,\nand I made her my favourite[FN#67] and loved her with an\nexceeding love and gave her charge over my good; but she betrayed\nme in my substance and plotted with one of my servants to slay\nme, tempting him by promising him that she would be his wife.\nWhen I knew this of her and was certified that she purposed\ntreason against me, I awoke [from my heedlessness] and did with\nher that which I did, of fear for myself from her craft and\nperfidy; for indeed she is a beguiler with her tongue and she\nhath taught these two youths this pretence, by way of trickery\nand of her perfidy and malice: so be thou not deluded by her and\nby her talk.'\n\n'Thou liest, O accursed one,' cried the king and bade lay hands\non him and clap him in irons. Then he turned to the two youths,\nhis sons, and strained them to his breast, weeping sore and\nsaying, 'O all ye who are present of cadis and assessors and\nofficers of state, know that these twain are my sons and that\nthis is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother; for that\nI was king aforetime in such a region.' And he recounted to them\nhis history from beginning to end, nor is there aught of profit\nin repetition; whereupon the folk cried out with weeping and\nlamentation for the stress of that which they heard of marvellous\nchances and that rare story. As for the king's wife, he caused\ncarry her into his palace and lavished upon her and upon her sons\nall that behoved and beseemed them of bounties, whilst the folk\nflocked to offer up prayers for him and give him joy of [his\nreunion with] his wife and children.\n\nWhen they had made an end of pious wishes and congratulations,\nthey besought the king to hasten the punishment of the Magian and\nheal their hearts of him with torment and humiliation. So he\nappointed them for a day on which they should assemble to witness\nhis punishment and that which should betide him of torment, and\nshut himself up with his wife and sons and abode thus private\nwith them three days, during which time they were sequestered\nfrom the folk. On the fourth day the king entered the bath, and\ncoming forth, sat down on the throne of his kingship, with the\ncrown on his head, whereupon the folk came in to him, according\nto their wont and after the measure of their several ranks and\ndegrees, and the amirs and viziers entered, ay, and the\nchamberlains and deputies and captains and men of war and the\nfalconers and armbearers. Then he seated his two sons, one on his\nright and the other on his left hand, whilst all the folk stood\nbefore him and lifted up their voices in thanksgiving to God the\nMost High and glorification of Him and were strenuous in prayer\nfor the king and in setting forth his virtues and excellences.\n\nHe returned them the most gracious of answers and bade carry the\nMagian forth of the town and set him on a high scaffold that had\nbeen builded for him there; and he said to the folk, 'Behold, I\nwill torture him with all kinds of fashions of torment.' Then he\nfell to telling them that which he had wrought of knavery with\nthe daughter of his father's brother and what he had caused\nbetide her of severance between her and her husband and how he\nhad required her of herself, but she had sought refuge against\nhim with God (to whom belong might and majesty) and chose rather\nhumiliation than yield to his wishes, notwithstanding stress of\ntorment; neither recked she aught of that which he lavished to\nher of wealth and raiment and jewels.\n\nWhen the king had made an end of his story, he bade the\nbystanders spit in the Magian's face and curse him; and they did\nthis. Then he bade cut out his tongue and on the morrow he bade\ncut off his ears and nose and pluck out his eyes. On the third\nday he bade cut off his hands and on the fourth his feet; and\nthey ceased not to lop him limb from limb, and each member they\ncast into the fire, after its cutting-off, before his face, till\nhis soul departed, after he had endured torments of all kinds and\nfashions. The king bade crucify his trunk on the city-wall three\ndays' space; after which he let burn it and reduce its ashes to\npowder and scatter them abroad in the air.\n\nThen the king summoned the cadi and the witnesses and bade them\nmany the old king's daughter and sister to his own sons; so they\nmarried them, after the king had made a bride-feast three days\nand displayed their brides to them from eventide to peep of day.\nThen the two princes went in to their brides and did away their\nmaidenhead and loved them and were vouchsafed children by them.\n\nAs for the king their father, he abode with his wife, their\nmother, what while God (to whom belong might and majesty) willed,\nand they rejoiced in reunion with each other. The kingship\nendured unto them and glory and victory, and the king continued\nto rule with justice and equity, so that the people loved him and\nstill invoked on him and on his sons length of days and durance;\nand they lived the most delightsome of lives till there came to\nthem the Destroyer of Delights and Sunderer of Companies, He who\nlayeth waste the palaces and peopleth the tombs; and this is all\nthat hath come down to us of the story of the king and his wife\nand children. Nor,\" added the vizier, \"if this story be a solace\nand a diversion, is it pleasanter or more diverting than that of\nthe young man of Khorassan and his mother and sister.\"\n\nWhen King Shah Bekht heard this story, it pleased him and he bade\nthe vizier go away to his own house.\n\n             The Twenty-Seventh Night of the Month\n\nWhen the evening came, the king bade fetch the vizier; so he\npresented himself before him and the king bade him tell the\n[promised] story. So he said, \"Hearkening and obedience. Know, O\nking (but God alone knoweth His secret purpose and is versed in\nall that is past and was foredone among bygone peoples), that\n\n\n\n\n\n                   STORY OF SELIM AND SELMA.\n\n\n\nThere was once, in the parts of Khorassan, a man of the affluent\nof the country, who was a merchant of the chiefest of the\nmerchants and was blessed with two children, a son and a\ndaughter. He was assiduous in rearing them and making fair their\neducation, and they grew up and throve after the goodliest\nfashion. He used to teach the boy, who taught his sister all that\nhe learnt, so that the girl became perfect in the knowledge of\nthe Traditions of the Prophet and in polite letters, by means of\nher brother. Now the boy's name was Selim and that of the girl\nSelma. When they grew up and waxed, their father built them a\nmansion beside his own and lodged them apart therein and\nappointed them slave-girls and servants to tend them and assigned\nunto each of them pensions and allowances and all that they\nneeded of high and low, meat and bread and wine and raiment and\nvessels and what not else. So Selim and Selma abode in that\nmansion, as they were one soul in two bodies, and they used to\nsleep on one couch; and rooted in each one's heart was love and\naffection and familiar friendship [for the other of them].\n\nOne night, when the night was half spent, as Selim and Selma sat\ntalking and devising with each other, they heard a noise below\nthe house; so they looked out from a lattice that gave upon the\ngate of their father's mansion and saw a man of goodly presence,\nwhose clothes were hidden by a wide cloak, which covered him. He\ncame up to the gate and laying hold of the door-ring, gave a\nlight knock; whereupon the door opened and out came their sister,\nwith a lighted flambeau, and after her their mother, who saluted\nthe stranger and embraced him, saying, 'O beloved of my heart and\nlight of mine eyes and fruit of mine entrails, enter.' So he\nentered and shut the door, whilst Selim and Selma abode amazed.\n\nThen Selim turned to Selma and said to her, 'O sister mine, how\ndeemest thou of this calamity and what counsellest thou\nthereanent?' 'O my brother,' answered she, 'indeed I know not\nwhat I shall say concerning the like of this; but he is not\ndisappointed who seeketh direction [of God], nor doth he repent\nwho taketh counsel. One getteth not the better of the traces of\nburning by[FN#68] haste, and know that this is an affliction that\nhath descended on us; and we have need of management to do it\naway, yea, and contrivance to wash withal our shame from our\nfaces.' And they gave not over watching the gate till break of\nday, when the young man opened the door and their mother took\nleave of him; after which he went his way and she entered, she\nand her handmaid.\n\nThen said Selim to his sister, 'Know that I am resolved to slay\nyonder man, if he return this next night, and I will say to the\nfolk, \"He was a thief,\" and none shall know that which hath\nbefallen. Moreover, I will address myself to the slaughter of\nwhosoever knoweth that which is between yonder fellow and my\nmother.' But Selma said, ' I fear lest, if thou slay him in our\ndwelling-place and he savour not of robberhood,[FN#69] suspicion\nwill revert upon ourselves, and we cannot be assured but that he\nbelongeth unto folk whose mischief is to be feared and their\nhostility dreaded,[FN#70] and thus wilt thou have fled from privy\nshame to open shame and abiding public dishonour.' 'How then\ndeemest thou we should do?' asked Selim and she said, 'Is there\nnothing for it but to slay him? Let us not hasten unto slaughter,\nfor that the slaughter of a soul without just cause is a grave\n[matter].'\n\n(When Shehriyar heard this, he said in himself, 'By Allah, I have\nindeed been reckless in the slaying of women and girls, and\npraised be God who hath occupied me with this damsel from the\nslaughter of souls, for that the slaughter of souls is a grave\n[matter!] By Allah, if Shah Bekht spare the vizier, I will\nassuredly spare Shehrzad!' Then he gave ear to the story and\nheard her say to her sister:)\n\nQuoth Selma to Selim, 'Hasten not to slay him, but ponder the\nmatter and consider the issue to which it may lead; for whoso\nconsidereth not the issues [of his actions], fortune is no friend\nto him.' Then they arose on the morrow and occupied themselves\nwith devising how they should turn away their mother from that\nman, and she forebode mischief from them, by reason of that which\nshe saw in their eyes of alteration, for that she was keen of wit\nand crafty. So she took precaution for herself against her\nchildren and Selma said to Selim, 'Thou seest that whereinto we\nhave fallen through this woman, and indeed she hath gotten wind\nof our purpose and knoweth that we have discovered her secret.\nSo, doubtless, she will plot against us the like of that which we\nplot for her; for indeed up to now she had concealed her affair,\nand now she will forge lies against us; wherefore, methinks,\nthere is a thing [fore-]written to us, whereof God (extolled be\nHis perfection and exalted be He!) knew in His foreknowledge and\nwherein He executeth His ordinances.' 'What is that?' asked he,\nand she said, 'It is that we arise, I and thou, and go forth this\nnight from this land and seek us a land wherein we may live and\nwitness nought of the doings of yonder traitress; for whoso is\nabsent from the eye is absent from the heart, and quoth one of\nthe poets in the following verse:\n\nTwere better and meeter thy presence to leave, For, if the eye\n     see not, the heart doth not grieve.'\n\nQuoth Selim to her, 'It is for thee to decide and excellent is\nthat which thou counsellest; so let us do this, in the name of\nGod the Most High, trusting in Him for grace and guidance.' So\nthey arose and took the richest of their clothes and the lightest\nof that which was in their treasuries of jewels and things of\nprice and gathered together a great matter. Then they equipped\nthem ten mules and hired them servants of other than the people\nof the country; and Selim bade his sister Selma don man's\napparel. Now she was the likest of all creatures to him, so that,\n[when she was clad in man's attire,] the folk knew no difference\nbetween them, extolled be the perfection of Him who hath no like,\nthere is no God but He! Then he bade her mount a horse, whilst he\nhimself bestrode another, and they set out, under cover of the\nnight. None of their family nor of the people of their house knew\nof them; so they fared on into the wide world of God and gave not\nover going night and day two months' space, at the end of which\ntime they came to a city on the sea-shore of the land of Mekran,\nby name Es Sherr, and it is the first city in Sind.\n\nThey lighted down without the place and when they arose in the\nmorning, they saw a populous and goodly city, fair of seeming and\ngreat, abounding in trees and streams and fruits and wide of\nsuburbs. So the young man said to his sister Selma, 'Abide thou\nhere in thy place, till I enter the city and examine it and make\nassay of its people and seek out a place which we may buy and\nwhither we may remove. If it befit us, we will take up our abode\ntherein, else will we take counsel of departing elsewhither.'\nQuoth she, 'Do this, trusting in the bounty of God (to whom\nbelong might and majesty) and in His blessing.'\n\nSo he took a belt, wherein were a thousand dinars, and binding it\nabout his middle, entered the city and gave not over going round\nabout its streets and markets and gazing upon its houses and\nsitting with those of its folk whose aspect bespoke them men of\nworth, till the day was half spent, when he resolved to return to\nhis sister and said in himself, 'Needs must I buy what we may eat\nof ready-[dressed] food] I and my sister.' Accordingly, he\naccosted a man who sold roast meat and who was clean [of person],\nthough odious in his [means of getting a] living, and said to\nhim, 'Take the price of this dish [of meat] and add thereto of\nfowls and chickens and what not else is in your market of meats\nand sweetmeats and bread and arrange it in dishes.' So the cook\nset apart for him what he desired and calling a porter, laid it\nin his basket, and Selim paid the cook the price of his wares,\nafter the fullest fashion.\n\nAs he was about to go away, the cook said to him, 'O youth,\ndoubtless thou art a stranger?' And he answered, 'Yes.' Quoth the\ncook, 'It is reported in one of the Traditions [of the Prophet\nthat he said,] \"Loyal admonition is [a part] of religion;\" and\nthe understanding say, \"Admonition is of the characteristics of\nthe true believers.\" And indeed that which I have seen of thy\nfashions pleaseth me and I would fain give thee a warning.'\n'Speak out thy warning,' rejoined Selim, 'and may God strengthen\nthine affair!' Then said the cook, 'Know, O my son, that in this\nour country, whenas a stranger entereth therein and eateth of\nflesh-meat and drinketh not old wine thereon, this is harmful\nunto him and engendereth in him dangerous disorders. Wherefore,\nif thou have provided thee somewhat thereof,[FN#71] [it is well;]\nbut, if not, look thou procure it, ere thou take the meat and\ncarry it away.' 'May God requite thee with good!' rejoined Selim.\n'Canst thou direct me where it is sold?' And the cook said, 'With\nme is all that thou seekest thereof.' 'Is there a way for me to\nsee it?' asked the young man; and the cook sprang up and said,\n'Pass on.' So he entered and the cook showed him somewhat of\nwine; but he said, 'I desire better than this.' Whereupon he\nopened a door and entering, said to Selim, 'Enter and follow me.'\n\nSelim followed him till he brought him to an underground chamber\nand showed him somewhat of wine that was to his mind. So he\noccupied him with looking upon it and taking him at unawares,\nsprang upon him from behind and cast him to the earth and sat\nupon his breast. Then he drew a knife and set it to his jugular;\nwhereupon there betided Selim [that wherewithal] God made him\nforget all that He had decreed [unto him],[FN#72] and he said to\nthe cook, 'Why dost thou this thing, O man? Be mindful of God the\nMost High and fear Him. Seest thou not that I am a stranger? And\nindeed [I have left] behind me a defenceless woman. Why wilt thou\nslay me?' Quoth the cook, 'Needs must I slay thee, so I may take\nthy good.' And Selim said, 'Take my good, but slay me not,\nneither enter into sin against me; and do with me kindness, for\nthat the taking of my money is lighter[FN#73] than the taking of\nmy life.'\n\n'This is idle talk,' answered the cook. 'Thou canst not deliver\nthyself with this, O youth, for that in thy deliverance is my\ndestruction.' Quoth Selim, 'I swear to thee and give thee the\ncovenant of God (to whom belong might and majesty) and His bond,\nthat He took of His prophets, that I will not discover thy secret\never.' But the cook answered, saying, 'Away! Away! This may no\nwise be.' However, Selim ceased not to conjure him and make\nsupplication to him and weep, while the cook persisted in his\nintent to slaughter him. Then he wept and recited the following\nverses:\n\nHaste not to that thou dost desire, for haste is still unblest;\n     Be merciful to men, as thou on mercy reckonest;\nFor no hand is there but the hand of God is over it And no\n     oppressor but shall be with worse than he opprest.\n\nQuoth the cook, 'Nothing will serve but I must slay thee, O\nfellow; for, if I spare thee, I shall myself be slain.' But Selim\nsaid, 'O my brother, I will counsel thee somewhat[FN#74] other\nthan this.' 'What is it?' asked the cook. 'Say and be brief, ere\nI cut thy throat' And Selim said, '[Do thou suffer me to live\nand] keep me, that I may be a servant unto thee, and I will work\nat a craft, of the crafts of the skilled workmen, wherefrom there\nshall return to thee every day two dinars.' Quoth the cook, 'What\nis the craft?' and Selim said, 'The cutting [and polishing] of\njewels.'\n\nWhen the cook heard this, he said in himself, 'It will do me no\nhurt if I imprison him and shackle him and bring him what he may\nwork at. If he tell truth, I will let him live, and if he prove a\nliar, I will slay him.' So he took a pair of stout shackles and\nclapping them on Selim's legs, imprisoned him within his house\nand set over him one who should guard him. Then he questioned him\nof what tools he needed to work withal. Selim set forth to him\nthat which he required, and the cook went out from him and\npresently returning, brought him all he needed. So Selim sat and\nwrought at his craft; and he used every day to earn two dinars;\nand this was his wont and usance with the cook, whilst the latter\nfed him not but half his fill.\n\nTo return to his sister Selma. She awaited him till the last of\nthe day, but he came not; and she awaited him a second day and a\nthird and a fourth, yet there came no news of him, wherefore she\nwept and beat with her hands on her breast and bethought her of\nher affair and her strangerhood and her brother's absence; and\nshe recited the following verses:\n\nPeace on thee! Would our gaze might light on thee once more! So\n     should our hearts be eased and eyes no longer sore.\nThou only art the whole of our desire; indeed Thy love is hid\n     within our hearts' most secret core.\n\nShe abode awaiting him thus till the end of the month, but\ndiscovered no tidings of him neither happened upon aught of his\ntrace; wherefore she was troubled with an exceeding perturbation\nand despatching her servants hither and thither in quest of him,\nabode in the sorest that might be of grief and concern. When it\nwas the beginning of the new month, she arose in the morning and\nbidding cry him throughout the city, sat to receive visits of\ncondolence, nor was there any in the city but betook himself to\nher, to condole with her; and they were all concerned for her,\nnothing doubting but she was a man.\n\nWhen three nights had passed over her with their days of the\nsecond month, she despaired of him and her tears dried not up.\nThen she resolved to take up her abode in the city and making\nchoice of a dwelling, removed thither. The folk resorted to her\nfrom all parts, to sit with her and hearken to her speech and\nwitness her good breeding; nor was it but a little while ere the\nking of the city died and the folk fell out concerning whom they\nshould invest with the kingship after him, so that strife was\nlike to betide between them. However, the men of judgment and\nunderstanding and the folk of experience counselled them to make\nthe youth king who had lost his brother, for that they doubted\nnot but Selma was a man. They all consented unto this and\nbetaking themselves to Selma, proffered her the kingship. She\nrefused, but they were instant with her, till she consented,\nsaying in herself, 'My sole desire in [accepting] the kingship is\n[to find] my brother.' Then they seated her on the throne of the\nkingdom and set the crown on her head, whereupon she addressed\nherself to the business of administration and to the ordinance of\nthe affairs of the people; and they rejoiced in her with the\nutmost joy.\n\nMeanwhile, Selim abode with the cook a whole year's space,\nearning him two dinars every day; and when his affair was\nprolonged, the cook inclined unto him and took compassion on him,\non condition that, if he let him go, he should not discover his\nfashion to the Sultan, for that it was his wont every little\nwhile to entrap a man and carry him to his house and slay him and\ntake his money and cook his flesh and give it to the folk to eat.\nSo he said to him, 'O youth, wilt thou that I release thee from\nthis thy plight, on condition that thou be reasonable and\ndiscover not aught of thine affair ever?' And Selim answered, 'I\nwill swear to thee by whatsoever oath thou choosest that I will\nkeep thy secret and will not speak one syllable against thy due,\nwhat while I abide on life.' Quoth the cook, 'I purpose to send\nthee forth with my brother and cause thee travel with him on the\nsea, on condition that thou be unto him a boughten slave; and\nwhen he cometh to the land of Hind, he shall sell thee and thus\nwilt thou be delivered from prison and slaughter.' And Selim\nsaid, 'It is well: be it as thou sayst, may God the Most High\nrequite thee with good!'\n\nTherewithal the cook equipped his brother and freighting him a\nship, embarked therein merchandise. Then he committed Selim unto\nhim and they set out and departed with the ship. God decreed them\nsafety, so that they arrived [in due course] at the first city\n[of the land of Hind], the which is known as El Mensoureh, and\ncast anchor there. Now the king of that city had died, leaving a\ndaughter and a widow, who was the quickest-witted of women and\ngave out that the girl was a boy, so that the kingship might be\nstablished unto them. The troops and the amirs doubted not but\nthat the case was as she avouched and that the princess was a\nmale child; so they obeyed her and the queen mother took order\nfor the matter and used to dress the girl in man's apparel and\nseat her on the throne of the kingship, so that the folk might\nsee her. Accordingly, the grandees of the kingdom and the chief\nofficers of the realm used to go in to her and salute her and do\nher service and go away, nothing doubting but she was a boy.\n\nOn this wise they abode months and years and the queen-mother\nceased not to do thus till the cook's brother came to the town in\nhis ship, and with him Selim. So he landed with the youth and\nshowed him to the queen, [that she might buy him]. When she saw\nhim, she augured well of him; so she bought him from the cook's\nbrother and was kind to him and entreated him with honour. Then\nshe fell to proving him in his parts and making assay of him in\nhis affairs and found in him all that is in kings' sons of\nunderstanding and breeding and goodly manners and qualities.\n\nSo she sent for him in private and said to him, 'I purpose to do\nthee a service, so thou canst but keep a secret.' He promised her\nall that she desired and she discovered to him her secret in the\nmatter of her daughter, saying, 'I will marry thee to her and\ncommit to thee the governance of her affair and make thee king\nand ruler over this city.' He thanked her and promised to uphold\nall that she should order him, and she said to him, 'Go forth to\nsuch an one of the neighbouring provinces privily.' So he went\nforth and on the morrow she made ready bales and gear and\npresents and bestowed on him a great matter, all of which they\nloaded on the backs of camels.\n\nThen she gave out among the folk that the king's father's\nbrother's son was come and bade the grandees and troops go forth\nto meet him. Moreover, she decorated the city in his honour and\nthe drums of good tidings beat for him, whilst all the king's\nhousehold [went out to meet him and] dismounting before him,\n[escorted him to the city and] lodged him with the queen-mother\nin her palace. Then she bade the chiefs of the state attend his\nassembly; so they presented themselves before him and saw of his\nbreeding and accomplishments that which amazed them and made them\nforget the breeding of those who had foregone him of the kings.\n\nWhen they were grown familiar with him, the queen-mother fell to\nsending [privily] for the amirs, one by one, and swearing them to\nsecrecy; and when she was assured of their trustworthiness, she\ndiscovered to them that the king had left but a daughter and that\nshe had done this but that she might continue the kingship in his\nfamily and that the governance should not go forth from them;\nafter which she told them that she was minded to marry her\ndaughter with the new-comer, her father's brother's son, and that\nhe should be the holder of the kingship. They approved of her\nproposal and when she had discovered the secret to the last of\nthem [and assured herself of their support], she published the\nnews abroad and sent for the cadis and assessors, who drew up the\ncontract of marriage between Selim and the princess, and they\nlavished gifts upon the troops and overwhelmed them with\nbounties. Then was the bride carried in procession to the young\nman and the kingship was stablished unto him and the governance\nof the realm.\n\nOn this wise they abode a whole year, at the end of which time\nSelim said to the queen-mother, 'Know that my life is not\npleasing to me nor can I abide with you in contentment till I get\nme tidings of my sister and learn in what issue her affair hath\nresulted and how she hath fared after me. Wherefore I will go and\nbe absent from you a year's space; then will I return to you, so\nit please God the Most High and I accomplish of this that which I\nhope.' Quoth she, 'I will not trust to thy word, but will go with\nthee and help thee to that which thou desirest of this and\nfurther thee myself therein.' So she took a ship and loaded it\nwith all manner things of price, goods and treasures and what not\nelse. Moreover, she appointed one of the viziers, a man in whom\nshe trusted and in his fashion and ordinance, to rule the realm\nin their absence, saying to him, 'Abide [in the kingship] a\nfull-told year and ordain all that whereof thou hast need.\n\nThen the old queen and her daughter and son-in-law embarked in\nthe ship and setting sail, fared on till they came to the land of\nMekran. Their arrival there befell at the last of the day; so\nthey passed the night in the ship, and when the day was near to\nbreak, the young king went down from the ship, that he might go\nto the bath, and made for the market. As he drew near the bath,\nthe cook met him by the way and knew him; so he laid hands on him\nand binding his arms fast behind him, carried him to his house,\nwhere he clapped the old shackles on his feet and straightway\ncast him back into his whilom place of duresse.\n\nWhen Selim found himself in that sorry plight and considered that\nwherewith he was afflicted of tribulation and the contrariness of\nhis fortune, in that he had been a king and was now returned to\nshackles and prison and hunger, he wept and groaned and lamented\nand recited the following verses:\n\nMy fortitude fails, my endeavour is vain; My bosom is straitened.\n     To Thee, I complain,\nO my God! Who is stronger than Thou in resource? The Subtle, Thou\n     knowest my plight and my pain.\n\nTo return to his wife and her mother. When the former arose in\nthe morning and her husband returned not to her with break of\nday, she forebode all manner of calamity and straightway\ndespatched her servants and all who were with her in quest of\nhim; but they happened not on any trace of him neither fell in\nwith aught of his news. So she bethought herself concerning her\naffair and complained and wept and groaned and sighed and blamed\nperfidious fortune, bewailing that sorry chance and reciting\nthese verses:\n\nGod keep the days of love-delight! How passing sweet they were!\n     How joyous and how solaceful was life in them whilere!\nWould he were not, who sundered us upon the parting-day! How many\n     a body hath he slain, how many a bone laid bare!\nSans fault of mine, my blood and tears he shed and beggared me Of\n     him I love, yet for himself gained nought thereby whate'er.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verses, she considered her affair\nand said in herself, 'By Allah, all these things have betided by\nthe ordinance of God the Most High and His providence and this\nwas written and charactered upon the forehead.' Then she landed\nand fared on till she came to a spacious place, where she\nenquired of the folk and hired a house. Thither she straightway\ntransported all that was in the ship of goods and sending for\nbrokers, sold all that was with her. Then she took part of the\nprice and fell to enquiring of the folk, so haply she might scent\nout tidings [of her lost husband]. Moreover, she addressed\nherself to lavishing alms and tending the sick, clothing the\nnaked and pouring water upon the dry ground of the forlorn. On\nthis wise she abode a whole year, and every little while she sold\nof her goods and gave alms to the sick and the needy; wherefore\nher report was bruited abroad in the city and the folk were\nlavish in her praise.\n\nAll this while, Selim lay in shackles and strait prison, and\nmelancholy possessed him by reason of that whereinto he had\nfallen of that tribulation. Then, when troubles waxed on him and\naffliction was prolonged, he fell sick of a sore sickness. When\nthe cook saw his plight (and indeed he was like to perish for\nmuch suffering), he loosed him from the shackles and bringing him\nforth of the prison, committed him to an old woman, who had a\nnose the bigness of a jug, and bade her tend him and medicine him\nand serve him and entreat him kindly, so haply he might be made\nwhole of that his sickness. So the old woman took him and\ncarrying him to her lodging, fell to tending him and giving him\nto eat and drink; and when he was quit of that torment, he\nrecovered from his malady.\n\nNow the old woman had heard from the folk of the lady who gave\nalms to the sick, and indeed [the news of] her bounties reached\nboth poor and rich; so she arose and bringing out Selim to the\ndoor of her house, laid him on a mat and wrapped him in a mantle\nand sat over against him. Presently, it befell that the\ncharitable lady passed by them, which when the old woman saw, she\nrose to her and offered up prayers for her, saying, 'O my\ndaughter, O thou to whom pertain goodness and beneficence and\ncharity and almsdoing, know that this young man is a stranger,\nand indeed want and vermin and hunger and nakedness and cold slay\nhim.' When the lady heard this, she gave her alms of that which\nwas with her; and indeed her heart inclined unto Selim, [but she\nknew him not for her husband].\n\nThe old woman received the alms from her and carrying it to\nSelim, took part thereof herself and with the rest bought him an\nold shirt, in which she clad him, after she had stripped him of\nthat he had on. Then she threw away the gown she had taken from\noff him and arising forthright, washed his body of that which was\nthereon of filth and scented him with somewhat of perfume.\nMoreover, she bought him chickens and made him broth; so he ate\nand his life returned to him and he abode with her on the most\nsolaceful of life till the morrow.\n\nNext morning, the old woman said to him, 'When the lady cometh to\nthee, do thou arise and kiss her hand and say to her, \"I am a\nstrange man and indeed cold and hunger slay me;\" so haply she may\ngive thee somewhat that thou mayst expend upon thy case.' And he\nanswered, 'Hearkening and obedience.' Then she took him by the\nhand and carrying him without her house, seated him at the door.\nAs he sat, behold, the lady came up to him, whereupon the old\nwoman rose to her and Selim kissed her hand and offered up\nprayers for her. Then he looked on her and when he saw her, he\nknew her for his wife; so he cried out and wept and groaned and\nlamented; whereupon she came up to him and cast herself upon him;\nfor indeed she knew him with all knowledge, even as he knew her.\nSo she laid hold of him and embraced him and called to her\nserving-men and attendants and those who were about her; and they\ntook him up and carried him forth of that place.\n\nWhen the old woman saw this, she cried out to the cook from\nwithin the house, and he said to her, 'Go before me.' So she\nforewent him and he ran after her till he [overtook the party\nand] catching hold of Selim, said [to the latter's wife,] 'What\naileth thee to take my servant?' Whereupon she cried out at him,\nsaying, 'Know that this is my husband, whom I had lost.' And\nSelim also cried out, saying, 'Mercy! Mercy! I appeal to God and\nto the Sultan against this Satan!' Therewith the folk gathered\ntogether to them forthright and loud rose the clamours and the\ncries between them; but the most part of them said, 'Refer their\naffair to the Sultan.' So they referred the case to the Sultan,\nwho was none other than Selim's sister Selma.\n\n[Then they went up to the palace and] the interpreter went in to\nSelma and said to her, 'O king of the age, here is an Indian\nwoman, who cometh from the land of Hind, and she hath laid hands\non a young man, a servant, avouching that he is her husband, who\nhath been missing these two years, and she came not hither but on\nhis account, and indeed these many days she hath done almsdeeds\n[in the city]. And here is a man, a cook, who avoucheth that the\nyoung man is his slave.' When the queen heard these words, her\nentrails quivered and she groaned from an aching heart and called\nto mind her brother and that which had betided him. Then she bade\nthose who were about her bring them before her, and when she saw\nthem, she knew her brother and was like to cry aloud; but her\nreason restrained her; yet could she not contain herself, but she\nmust needs rise up and sit down. However, she enforced herself\nunto patience and said to them, 'Let each of you acquaint me with\nhis case.'\n\nSo Selim came forward and kissing the earth before the [supposed]\nking, praised him and related to him his story from beginning to\nend, till the time of their coming to that city, he and his\nsister, telling him how he had entered the place and fallen into\nthe hands of the cook and that which had betided him [with him]\nand what he had suffered from him of beating and bonds and\nshackles and pinioning. Moreover, he told him how the cook had\nmade him his brother's slave and how the latter had sold him in\nHind and he had married the princess and become king and how life\nwas not pleasant to him till he should foregather with his sister\nand how the cook had fallen in with him a second time and\nacquainted her with that which had betided him of sickness and\ndisease for the space of a full-told year.\n\nWhen he had made an end of his speech, his wife came forward\nforthright and told her story, from first to last, how her mother\nbought him from the cook's partner and the people of the kingdom\ncame under his rule; nor did she leave telling till she came, in\nher story, to that city [and acquainted the queen with the manner\nof her falling in with her lost husband]. When she had made an\nend of her story, the cook exclaimed, 'Alack, what impudent liars\nthere be! By Allah, O king, this woman lieth against me, for this\nyouth is my rearling[FN#75] and he was born of one of my\nslave-girls. He fled from me and I found him again.\n\nWhen the queen heard the last of the talk, she said to the cook,\n'The judgment between you shall not be but in accordance with\njustice.' Then she dismissed all those who were present and\nturning to her brother, said to him, 'Indeed thy soothfastness is\nestablished with me and the truth of thy speech, and praised be\nGod who hath brought about union between thee and thy wife! So\nnow begone with her to thy country and leave [seeking] thy sister\nSelma and depart in peace.' But Selim answered, saying, 'By\nAllah, by the virtue of the All-knowing King, I will not turn\nback from seeking my sister till I die or find her, if it please\nGod the Most High!' Then he called his sister to mind and broke\nout with the following verses from a heart endolored, afflicted,\ndisappointed, saying:\n\nO thou that blamest me for my heart and railest at my ill, Hadst\n     them but tasted my spirit's grief, thou wouldst excuse me\n     still.\nBy Allah, O thou that chid'st my heart concerning my sister's\n     love, Leave chiding and rather bemoan my case and help me to\n     my will.\nFor indeed I am mated with longing love in public and privily,\n     Nor ever my heart, alas I will cease from mourning, will I\n     or nill.\nA fire in mine entrails burns, than which the fire of the hells\n     denounced For sinners' torment less scathing is: it seeketh\n     me to slay.\n\nWhen his sister Selma heard what he said, she could no longer\ncontain herself, but cast herself upon him and discovered to him\nher case. When he knew her, he threw himself upon her [and lay\nwithout life] awhile; after which he came to himself and said,\n'Praised be God, the Bountiful, the Beneficent!' Then they\ncomplained to each other of that which they had suffered for the\nanguish of separation, whilst Selim's wife abode wondered at this\nand Selma's patience and constancy pleased her. So she saluted\nher and thanked her for her fashion, saying, 'By Allah, O my\nlady, all that we are in of gladness is of thy blessing alone; so\npraised be God who hath vouchsafed us thy sight!' Then they abode\nall three in joy and happiness and delight three days,\nsequestered from the folk; and it was bruited abroad in the city\nthat the king had found his brother, who was lost years agone.\n\nOn the fourth day, all the troops and the people of the realm\nassembled together to the [supposed] king and standing at his\ngate, craved leave to enter. Selma bade admit them; so they\nentered and paid her the service of the kingship and gave her joy\nof her brother's safe return. She bade them do suit and service\nto Selim, and they consented and paid him homage; after which\nthey kept silence awhile, so they might hear what the king should\ncommand. Then said Selma, 'Harkye, all ye soldiers and subjects,\nye know that ye enforced me to [accept] the kingship and besought\nme thereof and I consented unto your wishes concerning my\ninvestment [with the royal dignity]; and I did this [against my\nwill]; for know that I am a woman and that I disguised myself and\ndonned man's apparel, so haply my case might be hidden, whenas I\nlost my brother. But now, behold, God hath reunited me with my\nbrother, and it is no longer lawful to me that I be king and bear\nrule over the people, and I a woman; for that there is no\ngovernance for women, whenas men are present. Wherefore, if it\nlike you, do ye set my brother on the throne of the kingdom, for\nthis is he; and I will busy myself with the worship of God the\nMost High and thanksgiving [to Him] for my reunion with my\nbrother. Or, if it like you, take your kingship and invest\ntherewith whom ye will.'\n\nThereupon the folk all cried out, saying, 'We accept him to king\nover us!' And they did him suit and service and gave him joy of\nthe kingship. So the preachers preached in his name[FN#76] and\nthe poets praised him; and he lavished gifts upon the troops and\nthe officers of his household and overwhelmed them with favours\nand bounties and was prodigal to the people of justice and\nequitable dealings and goodly usance and polity. When he had\naccomplished this much of his desire, he caused bring forth the\ncook and his household to the divan, but spared the old woman who\nhad tended him, for that she had been the cause of his\ndeliverance. Then they assembled them all without the town and he\ntormented the cook and those who were with him with all manner of\ntorments, after which he put him to death on the sorriest wise\nand burning him with fire, scattered his ashes abroad in the air.\n\nSelim abode in the governance, invested with the sultanate, and\nruled the people a whole year, after which he returned to El\nMensoureh and sojourned there another year. And he [and his wife]\nceased not to go from city to city and abide in this a year and\nthat a year, till he was vouchsafed children and they grew up,\nwhereupon he appointed him of his sons, who was found fitting, to\nbe his deputy in [one] kingdom [and abode himself in the other];\nand he lived, he and his wife and children, what while God the\nMost High willed. Nor,\" added the vizier, \"O king of the age, is\nthis story rarer or more extraordinary than that of the king of\nHind and his wronged and envied vizier.\"\n\nWhen the king heard this, his mind was occupied [with the story\nhe had heard and that which the vizier promised him], and he bade\nthe latter depart to his own house.\n\n         The Twenty-Eighth and Last Night of the Month\n\nWhen the evening evened, the king summoned the vizier and bade\nhim tell the story of the King of Hind and his vizier. So he\nsaid, \"Hearkening and obedience. Know, O king of august lineage,\nthat\n\n\n\n\n\n           STORY OF THE KING OF HIND AND HIS VIZIER.\n\n\n\nThere was once in the land of Hind a king of illustrious station,\nendowed with understanding and good sense, and his name was Shah\nBekht. He had a vizier, a man of worth and intelligence, prudent\nin counsel, conformable to him in his governance and just in his\njudgment; wherefore his enviers were many and many were the\nhypocrites, who sought in him faults and set snares for him, so\nthat they insinuated into King Shah Bekht's eye hatred and\nrancour against him and sowed despite against him in his heart;\nand plot followed after plot, till [at last] the king was brought\nto arrest him and lay him in prison and confiscate his good and\navoid his estate.[FN#77]\n\nWhen they knew that there was left him no estate that the king\nmight covet, they feared lest he be brought to release him, by\nthe incidence of the vizier's [good] counsel upon the king's\nheart, and he return to his former case, so should their plots be\nmarred and their ranks degraded, for that they knew that the king\nwould have need of that which he had known from that man nor\nwould forget that wherewith he was familiar in him. Now it befell\nthat a certain man of corrupt purpose[FN#78] found a way to the\nperversion of the truth and a means of glozing over falsehood and\nadorning it with a semblance of fair-seeming and there proceeded\nfrom him that wherewith the hearts of the folk were occupied, and\ntheir minds were corrupted by his lying tales; for that he made\nuse of Indian subtleties and forged them into a proof for the\ndenial of the Maker, the Creator, extolled be His might and\nexalted be He! Indeed, God is exalted and magnified above the\nspeech of the deniers. He avouched that it is the planets[FN#79]\nthat order the affairs of all creatures and he set down twelve\nmansions to twelve signs [of the Zodiac] and made each sign\nthirty degrees, after the number of the days of the month, so\nthat in twelve mansions there are three hundred and threescore\n[degrees], after the number of the days of the year; and he\nwrought a scheme, wherein he lied and was an infidel and denied\n[God]. Then he got possession of the king's mind and the enviers\nand haters aided him against the vizier and insinuated themselves\ninto his favour and corrupted his counsel against the vizier, so\nthat he suffered of him that which he suffered and he banished\nhim and put him away.\n\nSo the wicked man attained that which he sought of the vizier and\nthe case was prolonged till the affairs of the kingdom became\ndisordered, by dint of ill governance, and the most part of the\nking's empery fell away from him and he came nigh unto ruin.\nTherewithal he was certified of the loyalty of his [late] skilful\nvizier and the excellence of his governance and the justness of\nhis judgment. So he sent after him and brought him and the wicked\nman before him and summoning the grandees of his realm and the\nchiefs of his state to his presence, gave them leave to talk and\ndispute and forbade the wicked man from that his lewd\nopinion.[FN#80] Then arose that wise and skilful vizier and\npraised God the Most High and lauded Him and glorified Him and\nhallowed Him and attested His unity and disputed with the wicked\nman and overcame him and put him to silence; nor did he cease\nfrom him till he enforced him to make confession of repentance\n[and turning away] from that which he had believed.\n\nTherewith King Shah Bekht rejoiced with an exceeding great joy\nand said, 'Praise be to God who hath delivered me from yonder man\nand hath preserved me from the loss of the kingship and the\ncessation of prosperity from me!' So the affair of the vizier\nreturned to order and well-being and the king restored him to his\nplace and advanced him in rank. Moreover, he assembled the folk\nwho had missaid of him and destroyed them all, to the last man.\nAnd how like,\" continued the vizier, \"is this story unto that of\nmyself and King Shah Bekht, with regard to that whereinto I am\nfallen of the changing of the king's heart and his giving\ncredence to others against me; but now is the righteousness of my\ndealing established in thine eyes, for that God the Most High\nhath inspired me with wisdom and endowed thee with longanimity\nand patience [to hearken] from me unto that which He allotted\nunto those who had foregone us, till He hath shown forth my\ninnocence and made manifest unto thee the truth. For now the days\nare past, wherein it was avouched to the king that I should\nendeavour for the destruction of my soul,[FN#81] [to wit,] the\nmonth; and behold, the probation time is over and gone, and past\nis the season of evil and ceased, by the king's good fortune.\"\nThen he bowed his head and was silent.[FN#82]\n\nWhen King Shah Bekht heard his vizier's speech, he was confounded\nbefore him and abashed and marvelled at the gravity of his\nunderstanding and his patience. So he sprang up to him and\nembraced him and the vizier kissed his feet. Then the king called\nfor a sumptuous dress of honour and cast it over Er Rehwan and\nentreated him with the utmost honour and showed him special\nfavour and restored him to his rank and vizierate. Moreover he\nimprisoned those who had sought his destruction with leasing and\ncommitted unto himself to pass judgment upon the interpreter who\nhad expounded to him the dream. So the vizier abode in the\ngovernance of the realm till there came to them the Destroyer of\nDelights; and this (added Shehrzad) is all, O king of the age,\nthat hath come down to us of King Shah Bekht and his vizier.\n\n\n\n\n\n                    SHEHRZAD AND SHEHRIYAR.\n\n\n\nAs for King Shehriyar, he marvelled at Shehrzad with the utmost\nwonder and drew her near to his heart, of his much love for her;\nand she was magnified in his eyes and he said in himself, \"By\nAllah, the like of this woman is not deserving of slaughter, for\nindeed the time affordeth not her like. By Allah, I have been\nheedless of mine affair, and had not God overcome me with His\nmercy and put this woman at my service, so she might adduce to me\nmanifest instances and truthful cases and goodly admonitions and\nedifying traits, such as should restore me to the [right] road,\n[I had come to perdition!]. Wherefore to God be the praise for\nthis and I beseech Him to make my end with her like unto that of\nthe vizier and Shah Bekht.\" Then sleep overcame the king and\nglory be unto Him who sleepeth not!\n\nWhen it was the Nine hundred and thirtieth Night, Shehrzad said,\n\"O king, there is present in my thought a story which treateth of\nwomen's craft and wherein is a warning to whoso will be warned\nand an admonishment to whoso will be admonished and whoso hath\ndiscernment; but I fear lest the hearing of this lessen me with\nthe king and lower my rank in his esteem; yet I hope that this\nwill not be, for that it is a rare story. Women are indeed\ncorruptresses; their craft and their cunning may not be set out\nnor their wiles known. Men enjoy their company and are not\ncareful to uphold them [in the right way], neither do they watch\nover them with all vigilance, but enjoy their company and take\nthat which is agreeable and pay no heed to that which is other\nthan this. Indeed, they are like unto the crooked rib, which if\nthou go about to straighten, thou distortest it, and which if\nthou persist in seeking to redress, thou breakest it; wherefore\nit behoveth the man of understanding to be silent concerning\nthem.\"\n\n\"O sister mine,\" answered Dinarzad, \"bring forth that which is\nwith thee and that which is present to thy mind of the story\nconcerning the craft of women and their wiles, and have no fear\nlest this endamage thee with the king; for that women are like\nunto jewels, which are of all kinds and colours. When a [true]\njewel falleth into the hand of him who is knowing therein, he\nkeepeth it for himself and leaveth that which is other than it.\nMoreover, he preferreth some of them over others, and in this he\nis like unto the potter, who filleth his oven with all the\nvessels [he hath moulded] and kindleth fire thereunder. When the\nbaking is at an end and he goeth about to take forth that which\nis in the oven, he findeth no help for it but that he must break\nsome thereof, whilst other some are what the folk need and\nwhereof they make use, and yet other some there be that return to\ntheir whilom case. Wherefore fear thou not to adduce that which\nthou knowest of the craft of women, for that in this is profit\nfor all folk.\"\n\nThen said Shehrzad, \"They avouch, O king, (but God [alone]\nknowest the secret things,) that\n\n\n\n\n\n             EL MELIK EZ ZAHIR RUKNEDDIN BIBERS EL\n             BUNDUCDARI AND THE SIXTEEN OFFICERS OF\n                         POLICE.[FN#83]\n\n\n\nThere was once in the land [of Egypt and] the city of Cairo,\n[under the dynasty] of the Turks,[FN#84] a king of the valiant\nkings and the exceeding mighty Sultans, by name El Melik ez Zahir\nRukneddin Bibers el Bunducdari.[FN#85] He was used to storm the\nIslamite strongholds and the fortresses of the Coast[FN#86] and\nthe Nazarene citadels, and the governor of his [capital] city was\njust to the folk, all of them. Now El Melik ez Zahir was\npassionately fond of stories of the common folk and of that which\nmen purposed and loved to see this with his eyes and hear their\nsayings with his ears, and it befell that he heard one night from\none of his story-tellers[FN#87] that among women are those who\nare doughtier than men of valour and greater of excellence and\nthat among them are those who will do battle with the sword and\nothers who cozen the quickest-witted of magistrates and baffle\nthem and bring down on them all manner of calamity; whereupon\nquoth the Sultan, 'I would fain hear this of their craft from one\nof those who have had to do theiewith, so I may hearken unto him\nand cause him tell.' And one of the story-tellers said, 'O king,\nsend for the chief of the police of the town.'\n\nNow Ilmeddin Senjer was at that time Master of Police and he was\na man of experience, well versed in affairs: so the king sent for\nhim and when he came before him, he discovered to him that which\nwas in his mind. Quoth Ilmeddin Senjer, 'I will do my endeavour\nfor that which our lord the Sultan seeketh.' Then he arose and\nreturning to his house, summoned the captains of the watch and\nthe lieutenants of police and said to them, 'Know that I purpose\nto marry my son and make him a bride-feast, and it is my wish\nthat ye assemble, all of you, in one place. I also will be\npresent, I and my company, and do ye relate that which ye have\nheard of extraordinary occurrences and that which hath betided\nyou of experiences.' And the captains and sergeants and agents of\npolice made answer to him, saying, 'It is well: in the name of\nGod! We will cause thee see all this with thine eyes and hear it\nwith thine ears.' Then the master of police arose and going up to\nEl Melik ez Zahir, informed him that the assembly would take\nplace on such a day at his house; and the Sultan said, 'It is\nwell,' and gave him somewhat of money for his expenses.\n\nWhen the appointed day arrived, the chief of the police set apart\nfor his officers a saloon, that had windows ranged in order and\ngiving upon the garden, and El Melik ez Zahir came to him, and he\nseated himself, he and the Sultan, in the alcove. Then the tables\nwere spread unto them for eating and they ate; and when the cup\nwent round amongst them and their hearts were gladdened with meat\nand drink, they related that which was with them and discovered\ntheir secrets from concealment. The first to relate was a man, a\ncaptain of the watch, by name Muineddin, whose heart was\nengrossed with the love of women; and he said, 'Harkye, all ye\npeople of [various] degree, I will acquaint you with an\nextraordinary affair which befell me aforetime. Know that\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE FIRST OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nWhen I entered the service of this Amir,[FN#88] I had a great\nrepute and every lewd fellow feared me of all mankind, and whenas\nI rode through the city, all the folk would point at me with\ntheir fingers and eyes. It befell one day, as I sat in the house\nof the prefecture, with my back against a wall, considering in\nmyself, there fell somewhat in my lap, and behold, it was a purse\nsealed and tied. So I took it in my hand and behold, it had in it\na hundred dirhems,[FN#89] but I found not who threw it and I\nsaid, \"Extolled be the perfection of God, the King of the\nKingdoms!\"[FN#90] Another day, [as I sat on like wise,] somewhat\nfell on me and startled me, and behold, it was a purse like the\nfirst. So I took it and concealing its affair, made as if I\nslept, albeit sleep was not with me.\n\nOne day, as I was thus feigning sleep, I felt a hand in my lap,\nand in it a magnificent purse. So I seized the hand and behold,\nit was that of a fair woman. Quoth I to her, \"O my lady, who art\nthou?\" And she said, \"Rise [and come away] from here, that I may\nmake myself known to thee.\" So I arose and following her, fared\non, without tarrying, till she stopped at the door of a lofty\nhouse, whereupon quoth I to her,\"O my lady, who art thou? Indeed,\nthou hast done me kindness, and what is the reason of this?\" \"By\nAllah,\" answered she, \"O Captain Mum, I am a woman on whom desire\nand longing are sore for the love of the daughter of the Cadi\nAmin el Hukm. Now there was between us what was and the love of\nher fell upon my heart and I agreed with her upon meeting,\naccording to possibility and convenience. But her father Amin el\nHukm took her and went away, and my heart cleaveth to her and\nlove-longing and distraction are sore upon me on her account.\"\n\nI marvelled at her words and said to her, \"What wouldst thou have\nme do?\" And she answered, \"O Captain Muin, I would have thee give\nme a helping hand.\" Quoth I, \"What have I to do with the daughter\nof the Cadi Amin el Hukm?\" And she said, \"Know that I would not\nhave thee intrude upon the Cadi's daughter, but I would fain\ncontrive for the attainment of my wishes.' This is my intent and\nmy desire, and my design will not be accomplished but by thine\naid.\" Then said she, \"I mean this night to go with a stout heart\nand hire me trinkets of price; then will I go and sit in the\nstreet wherein is the house of Amin el Hukm; and when it is the\nseason of the round and the folk are asleep, do thou pass, thou\nand those who are with thee of the police, and thou wilt see me\nsitting and on me fine raiment and ornaments and wilt smell on me\nthe odour of perfumes; whereupon do thou question me of my case\nand I will say, 'I come from the Citadel and am of the daughters\nof the deputies[FN#91] and I came down [into the town,] to do an\noccasion; but the night overtook me at unawares and the Zuweyleh\ngate was shut against me and all the gates and I knew not whither\nI should go this night Presently I saw this street and noting the\ngoodliness of its ordinance and its cleanness, took shelter\ntherein against break of day.' When I say this to thee with all\nassurance[FN#92] the chief of the watch will have no suspicion of\nme, but will say, 'Needs must we leave her with one who will take\ncare of her till morning.' And do thou rejoin, 'It were most\nfitting that she pass the night with Amin el Hukm and lie with\nhis family and children till the morning.' Then do thou\nstraightway knock at the Cadi's door, and thus shall I have\ngained admission into his house, without inconvenience, and\ngotten my desire; and peace be on thee!\" And I said to her, \"By\nAllah, this is an easy matter.\"\n\nSo, when the night darkened, we sallied forth to make our round,\nattended by men with sharp swords, and went round about the\nstreets and compassed the city, till we came to the by-street\nwhere was the woman, and it was the middle of the night Here we\nsmelt rich scents and heard the clink of earrings; so I said to\nmy comrades, \"Methinks I spy an apparition,\" And the captain of\nthe watch said, \"See what it is.\" So I came forward and entering\nthe lane, came presently out again and said, \"I have found a fair\nwoman and she tells me that she is from the Citadel and that the\nnight surprised her and she espied this street and seeing its\ncleanness and the goodliness of its ordinance, knew that it\nappertained to a man of rank and that needs must there be in it a\nguardian to keep watch over it, wherefore she took shelter\ntherein.\" Quoth the captain of the watch to me, \"Take her and\ncarry her to thy house.\" But I answered, \"I seek refuge with\nAllah![FN#93] My house is no place of deposit[FN#94] and on this\nwoman are trinkets and apparel [of price]. By Allah, we will not\ndeposit her save with Amin el Hukrn, in whose street she hath\nbeen since the first of the darkness; wherefore do thou leave her\nwith him till the break of day.\" And he said, \"As thou wilt.\"\nAccordingly, I knocked at the Cadi's door and out came a black\nslave of his slaves, to whom said I, \"O my lord, take this woman\nand let her be with you till break of day, for that the\nlieutenant of the Amir Ilmeddin hath found her standing at the\ndoor of your house, with trinkets and apparel [of price] on her,\nand we feared lest her responsibility be upon you;[FN#95]\nwherefore it is most fit that she pass the night with you.\" So\nthe slave opened and took her in with him.\n\nWhen the morning morrowed, the first who presented himself before\nthe Amir was the Cadi Amin el Hukm, leaning on two of his black\nslaves; and he was crying out and calling [on God] for aid and\nsaying, \"O crafty and perfidious Amir, thou depositedst with me a\nwoman [yesternight] and broughtest her into my house and my\ndwelling-place, and she arose [in the night] and took from me the\ngood of the little orphans,[FN#96] six great bags, [containing\neach a thousand dinars,[FN#97] and made off;] but as for me, I\nwill say no more to thee except in the Sultan's presence.\"[FN#98]\nWhen the Master of the Police heard these words, he was troubled\nand rose and sat down; then he took the Cadi and seating him by\nhis side, soothed him and exhorted him to patience, till he had\nmade an end of talk, when he turned to the officers and\nquestioned them. They fixed the affair on me and said, \"We know\nnothing of this affair but from Captain Muineddin.\" So the Cadi\nturned to me and said, \"Thou wast of accord with this woman, for\nshe said she came from the Citadel.\"\n\nAs for me, I stood, with my head bowed to the earth, forgetting\nboth Institutes and Canons,[FN#99] and abode sunk in thought,\nsaying, \"How came I to be the dupe of yonder worthless baggage?\"\nThen said the Amir to me, \"What aileth thee that thou answerest\nnot?\" And I answered, saying, \"O my lord, it is a custom among\nthe folk that he who hath a payment to make at a certain date is\nallowed three days' grace; [so do thou have patience with me so\nlong,] and if, [by the end of that time,] the culprit be not\nfound, I will be answerable for that which is lost.\" When the\nfolk heard my speech, they all deemed it reasonable and the\nMaster of Police turned to the Cadi and swore to him that he\nwould do his utmost endeavour to recover the stolen money and\nthat it should be restored to him. So he went away, whilst I\nmounted forthright and fell to going round about the world\nwithout purpose, and indeed I was become under the dominion of a\nwoman without worth or honour; and I went round about on this\nwise all that my day and night, but happened not upon tidings of\nher; and thus I did on the morrow.\n\nOn the third day I said to myself, \"Thou art mad or witless!\" For\nI was going about in quest of a woman who knew me and I knew her\nnot, seeing that indeed she was veiled, [whenas I saw her]. Then\nI went round about the third day till the hour of afternoon\nprayer, and sore was my concern and my chagrin, for I knew that\nthere abode to me of my life but [till] the morrow, when the\nchief of the police would seek me. When it was the time of\nsundown, I passed through one of the streets, and beheld a woman\nat a window. Her door was ajar and she was clapping her hands and\ncasting furtive glances at me, as who should say, \"Come up by the\ndoor.\" So I went up, without suspicion, and when I entered, she\nrose and clasped me to her breast 1 marvelled at her affair and\nshe said to me, \"I am she whom thou depositedst with Amin el\nHukm.\" Quoth I to her, \"O my sister, I have been going round and\nround in quest of thee, for indeed thou hast done a deed that\nwill be chronicled in history and hast cast me into\nslaughter[FN#100] on thine account.\" \"Sayst thou this to me,\"\nasked she, \"and thou captain of men?\" And I answered, \"How should\nI not be troubled, seeing that I am in concern [for an affair]\nthat I turn over and over [in my mind], more by token that I\nabide my day long going about [searching for thee] and in the\nnight I watch its stars [for wakefulness]?\" Quoth she, \"Nought\nshall betide but good, and thou shalt get the better of him.\"\n\nSo saying, she rose [and going] to a chest, took out therefrom\nsix bags full of gold and said to me, \"This is what I took from\nAmin el Hukm's house. So, if thou wilt, restore it; else the\nwhole is lawfully thine; and if thou desire other than this,\n[thou shalt have it;] for I have wealth in plenty and I had no\ndesign in this but to marry thee.\" Then she arose and opening\n[other] chests, brought out therefrom wealth galore and I said to\nher, \"O my sister, I have no desire for all this, nor do I covet\naught but to be quit of that wherein I am.\" Quoth she, \"I came\nnot forth of the [Cadi's] house without [making provision for]\nthine acquittance.\"\n\nThen said she to me, \"To-morrow morning, when Amin el Hukm\ncometh, have patience with him till he have made an end of his\nspeech, and when he is silent, return him no answer; and if the\nprefect say to thee, 'What ailest thee that thou answereth him\nnot?' do thou reply, 'O lord, know that the two words are not\nalike, but there is no [helper] for him who is undermost[FN#101],\nsave God the Most High.'[FN#102] The Cadi will say, 'What is the\nmeaning of thy saying,\" The two words are not alike\"?' And do\nthou make answer, saying, 'I deposited with thee a damsel from\nthe palace of the Sultan, and most like some losel of thy\nhousehold hath transgressed against her or she hath been privily\nmurdered. Indeed, there were on her jewels and raiment worth a\nthousand dinars, and hadst thou put those who are with thee of\nslaves and slave-girls to the question, thou hadst assuredly lit\non some traces [of the crime].' When he heareth this from thee,\nhis agitation will redouble and he will be confounded and will\nswear that needs must thou go with him to his house; but do thou\nsay, 'That will I not do, for that I am the party aggrieved, more\nby token that I am under suspicion with thee.' If he redouble in\ncalling [on God for aid] and conjure thee by the oath of divorce,\nsaying, 'Needs must thou come,' do thou say, 'By Allah, I will\nnot go, except the prefect come also.'\n\nWhen thou comest to the house, begin by searching the roofs; then\nsearch the closets and cabinets; and if thou find nought, humble\nthyself unto the Cadi and make a show of abjection and feign\nthyself defeated, and after stand at the door and look as if thou\nsoughtest a place wherein to make water, for that there is a dark\ncorner there. Then come forward, with a heart stouter than\ngranite, and lay hold upon a jar of the jars and raise it from\nits place. Thou wilt find under it the skirt of a veil; bring it\nout publicly and call the prefect in a loud voice, before those\nwho are present. Then open it and thou wilt find it full of\nblood, exceeding of redness,[FN#103] and in it [thou wilt find\nalso] a woman's shoes and a pair of trousers and somewhat of\nlinen.\" When I heard this from her, I rose to go out and she said\nto me, \"Take these hundred dinars, so they may advantage thee;\nand this is my guest-gift to thee.\" So I took them and bidding\nher farewell, returned to my lodging.\n\nNext morning, up came the Cadi, with his face like the\nox-eye,[FN#104] and said, \"In the name of God, where is my debtor\nand where is my money?\" Then he wept and cried out and said to\nthe prefect, \"Where is that ill-omened fellow, who aboundeth in\nthievery and villainy?\" Therewith the prefect turned to me and\nsaid, \"Why dost thou not answer the Cadi?\" And I replied, \"O\nAmir, the two heads[FN#105] are not equal, and I, I have no\nhelper but God; but, if the right be on my side, it will appear.\"\nAt this the Cadi cried out and said, \"Out on thee, O ill-omened\nfellow! How wilt thou make out that the right is on thy side?\" \"O\nour lord the Cadi,\" answered I, \"I deposited with thee a trust,\nto wit, a woman whom we found at thy door, and on her raiment and\ntrinkets of price. Now she is gone, even as yesterday is gone;\nand after this thou turnest upon us and makest claim upon me for\nsix thousand dinars. By Allah, this is none other than gross\nunright, and assuredly some losel of thy household hath\ntransgressed against her!\"\n\nWith this the Cadi's wrath redoubled and he swore by the most\nsolemn of oaths that I should go with him and search his house.\n\"By Allah,\" replied I, \"I will not go, except the prefect be with\nus; for, if he be present, he and the officers, thou wilt not\ndare to presume upon me.\" And the Cadi rose and swore an oath,\nsaying, \"By Him who created mankind, we will not go but with the\nAmir!\" So we repaired to the Cadi's house, accompanied by the\nprefect, and going up, searched high and low, but found nothing;\nwhereupon fear gat hold upon me and the prefect turned to me and\nsaid, \"Out on thee, O ill-omened fellow! Thou puttest us to shame\nbefore the men.\" And I wept and went round about right and left,\nwith the tears running down my face, till we were about to go\nforth and drew near the door of the house. I looked at the place\n[behind the door] and said, \"What is yonder dark place that I\nsee?\" And I said to the sergeants, \"Lift up this jar with me.\"\nThey did as I bade them and I saw somewhat appearing under the\njar and said, \"Rummage and see what is under it.\" So they\nsearched and found a woman's veil and trousers full of blood,\nwhich when I beheld, I fell down in a swoon.\n\nWhen the prefect saw this, he said, \"By Allah, the captain is\nexcused!\" Then my comrades came round about me and sprinkled\nwater on my face, [till I came to myself,] when I arose and\naccosting the Cadi, who was covered with confusion, said to him,\n\"Thou seest that suspicion is fallen on thee, and indeed this\naffair is no light matter, for that this woman's family will\nassuredly not sit down under her loss.\" Therewith the Cadi's\nheart quaked and he knew that the suspicion had reverted upon\nhim, wherefore his colour paled and his limbs smote together; and\nhe paid of his own money, after the measure of that which he had\nlost, so we would hush up the matter for him.[FN#106] Then we\ndeparted from him in peace, whilst I said in myself, \"Indeed, the\nwoman deceived me not.\"\n\nAfter that I tarried till three days had elapsed, when 1 went to\nthe bath and changing my clothes, betook myself to her house, but\nfound the door locked and covered with dust. So I questioned the\nneighbours of her and they said, \"This house hath been empty\nthese many days; but three days agone there came a woman with an\nass, and yesternight, at eventide, she took her gear and went\naway.\" So I turned back, confounded in my wit, and every day\n[after this, for many a day,] I inquired of the inhabitants [of\nthe street] concerning her, but could light on no tidings of her.\nAnd indeed I marvelled at the eloquence of her tongue and [the\nreadiness of] her speech; and this is the most extraordinary of\nthat which hath betided me.'\n\nWhen El Melik ez Zahir heard Muineddin's story, he marvelled\nthereat Then rose another officer and said, 'O lord, bear what\nbefell me in bygone days.\n\n\n\n\n\n                  THE SECOND OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nI was once an officer in the household of the Amir Jemaleddin El\nAtwesh El Mujhidi, who was invested with the governance of the\nEastern and Western districts,[FN#107] and I was dear to his\nheart and he concealed from me nought of that which he purposed\nto do; and withal he was master of his reason.[FN#108] It chanced\none day that it was reported to him that the daughter of such an\none had wealth galore and raiment and jewels and she loved a Jew,\nwhom every day she invited to be private with her, and they\npassed the day eating and drinking in company and he lay the\nnight with her. The prefect feigned to give no credence to this\nstory, but one night he summoned the watchmen of the quarter and\nquestioned them of this. Quoth one of them, \"O my lord, I saw a\nJew enter the street in question one night; but know not for\ncertain to whom he went in.\" And the prefect said, \"Keep thine\neye on him henceforth and note what place he entereth.\" So the\nwatchman went out and kept his eye on the Jew.\n\nOne day, as the prefect sat [in his house], the watchman came in\nto him and said, \"O my lord, the Jew goeth to the house of such\nan one.\" Whereupon El Atwesh arose and went forth alone, taking\nwith him none but myself. As he went along, he said to me,\n\"Indeed, this [woman] is a fat piece of meat.\"[FN#109] And we\ngave not over going till we came to the door of the house and\nstood there till a slave-girl came out, as if to buy them\nsomewhat. We waited till she opened the door, whereupon, without\nfurther parley, we forced our way into the house and rushed in\nupon the girl, whom we found seated with the Jew in a saloon with\nfour estrades, and cooking-pots and candles therein. When her\neyes fell on the prefect, she knew him and rising to her feet,\nsaid, \"Welcome and fair welcome! Great honour hath betided me by\nmy lord's visit and indeed thou honourest my dwelling.\"\n\nThen she carried him up [to the estrade] and seating him on the\ncouch, brought him meat and wine and gave him to drink; after\nwhich she put off all that was upon her of raiment and jewels and\ntying them up in a handkerchief, said to him, \"O my lord, this is\nthy portion, all of it.\" Moreover she turned to the Jew and said\nto him, \"Arise, thou also, and do even as I.\" So he arose in\nhaste and went out, scarce crediting his deliverance. When the\ngirl was assured of his escape, she put out her hand to her\nclothes [and jewels] and taking them, said to the prefect, \"Is\nthe requital of kindness other than kindness? Thou hast deigned\n[to visit me and eat of my victual]; so now arise and depart from\nus without ill-[doing]; or I will give one cry and all who are in\nthe street will come forth.\" So the Amir went out from her,\nwithout having gotten a single dirhem; and on this wise she\ndelivered the Jew by the excellence of her contrivance.'\n\nThe folk marvelled at this story and as for the prefect and El\nMelik ez Zahir, they said, 'Wrought ever any the like of this\ndevice?' And they marvelled with the utterest of wonderment Then\narose a third officer and said, 'Hear what betided me, for it is\nyet stranger and more extraordinary.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE THIRD OFFICER'S STORY\n\n\n\nI was one day abroad on an occasion with certain of my comrades,\nand as we went along, we fell in with a company of women, as they\nwere moons, and among them one, the tallest and handsomest of\nthem. When I saw her and she saw me, she tarried behind her\ncompanions and waited for me, till I came up to her and bespoke\nher. Quoth she, \"O my lord, (God favour thee!) I saw thee prolong\nthy looking on me and imagined that thou knewest me. If it be\nthus, vouchsafe me more knowledge of thee.\" \"By Allah,\" answered\nI, \"I know thee not, save that God the Most High hath cast the\nlove of thee into my heart and the goodliness of thine attributes\nhath confounded me and that wherewith God hath gifted thee of\nthose eyes that shoot with arrows; for thou hast captivated me.\"\nAnd she rejoined, \"By Allah, I feel the like of that which thou\nfeelest; so that meseemeth I have known thee from childhood.\"\n\nThen said I, \"A man cannot well accomplish all whereof he hath\nneed in the market-places.\" \"Hast thou a house?\" asked she. \"No,\nby Allah,\" answered I; \"nor is this town my dwelling-place.\" \"By\nAllah,\" rejoined she, \"nor have I a place; but I will contrive\nfor thee.\" Then she went on before me and I followed her till she\ncame to a lodging-house and said to the housekeeper, \"Hast thou\nan empty chamber?\" \"Yes,\" answered she; and my mistress said,\n\"Give us the key.\" So we took the key and going up to see the\nroom, entered it; after which she went out to the housekeeper and\n[giving her a dirhem], said to her, \"Take the key-money,[FN#110]\nfor the room pleaseth us, and here is another dirhem for thy\ntrouble. Go, fetch us a pitcher of water, so we may [refresh\nourselves] and rest till the time of the noonday siesta pass and\nthe heat decline, when the man will go and fetch the [household]\nstuff.\" Therewith the housekeeper rejoiced and brought us a mat\nand two pitchers of water on a tray and a leather rug.\n\nWe abode thus till the setting-in of the time of mid-afternoon,\nwhen she said, \"Needs must I wash before I go.\" Quoth I, \"Get\nwater wherewithal we may wash,\" and pulled out from my pocket\nabout a score of dirhems, thinking to give them to her; but she\nsaid, \"I seek refuge with God!\" and brought out of her pocket a\nhandful of silver, saying, \"But for destiny and that God hath\ncaused the love of thee fall into my heart, there had not\nhappened that which hath happened.\" Quoth I, \"Take this in\nrequital of that which thou hast spent;\" and she said, \"O my\nlord, by and by, whenas companionship is prolonged between us,\nthou wilt see if the like of me looketh unto money and gain or\nno.\" Then she took a pitcher of water and going into the\nlavatory, washed[FN#111] and presently coming forth, prayed and\ncraved pardon of God the Most High for that which she had done.\n\nNow I had questioned her of her name and she answered, \"My name\nis Rihaneh,\" and described to me her dwelling-place. When I saw\nher make the ablution, I said in myself, \"This woman doth on this\nwise, and shall I not do the like of her?\" Then said I to her,\n\"Belike thou wilt seek us another pitcher of water?\" So she went\nout to the housekeeper and said to her, \"Take this para and fetch\nus water therewith, so we may wash the flags withal.\"\nAccordingly, the housekeeper brought two pitchers of water and I\ntook one of them and giving her my clothes, entered the lavatory\nand washed.\n\nWhen I had made an end of washing, I cried out, saying, \"Harkye,\nmy lady Rihaneh!\" But none answered me. So I went out and found\nher not; and indeed she had taken my clothes and that which was\ntherein of money, to wit, four hundred dirhems. Moreover, she had\ntaken my turban and my handkerchief and I found not wherewithal\nto cover my nakedness; wherefore I suffered somewhat than which\ndeath is less grievous and abode looking about the place, so\nhaply I might espy wherewithal to hide my shame. Then I sat a\nlittle and presently going up to the door, smote upon it;\nwhereupon up came the housekeeper and I said to her, \"O my\nsister, what hath God done with the woman who was here?\" Quoth\nshe, \"She came down but now and said, 'I am going to cover the\nboys with the clothes and I have left him sleeping. If he awake,\ntell him not to stir till the clothes come to him.'\" Then said I,\n\"O my sister, secrets are [safe] with the worthy and the\nfreeborn. By Allah, this woman is not my wife, nor ever in my\nlife have I seen her before this day!\" And I recounted to her the\nwhole affair and begged her to cover me, informing her that I was\ndiscovered of the privities.\n\nShe laughed and cried out to the women of the house, saying, \"Ho,\nFatimeh! Ho, Khedijeh! Ho, Herifeh! Ho, Senineh!\" Whereupon all\nthose who were in the place of women and neighbours flocked to me\nand fell a-laughing at me and saying, \"O blockhead, what ailed\nthee to meddle with gallantry?\" Then one of them came and looked\nin my face and laughed, and another said, \"By Allah, thou\nmightest have known that she lied, from the time she said she\nloved thee and was enamoured of thee? What is there in thee to\nlove?\" And a third said, \"This is an old man without\nunderstanding.\" And they vied with each other in making mock of\nme, what while I suffered sore chagrin.\n\nHowever, after awhile, one of the women took pity on me and\nbrought me a rag of thin stuff and cast it on me. With this I\ncovered my privities, and no more, and abode awhile thus. Then\nsaid I in myself, \"The husbands of these women will presently\ngather together on me and I shall be disgraced.\" So I went out by\nanother door of the house, and young and old crowded about me,\nrunning after me and saying, \"A madman! A madman!\" till I came to\nmy house and knocked at the door; whereupon out came my wife and\nseeing me naked, tall, bareheaded, cried out and ran in again,\nsaying,\"This is a madman, a Satan!\" But, when she and my family\nknew me, they rejoiced and said to me, \"What aileth thee?\" I told\nthem that thieves had taken my clothes and stripped me and had\nbeen like to kill me; and when I told them that they would have\nkilled me, they praised God the Most High and gave me joy of my\nsafety. So consider the craft of this woman and this device that\nshe practised upon me, for all my pretensions to sleight and\nquickwittedness.'\n\nThe company marvelled at this story and at the doings of women.\nThen came forward a fourth officer and said, 'Verily, that which\nhath betided me of strange adventures is yet more extraordinary\nthan this; and it was on this wise.\n\n\n\n\n\n                  THE FOURTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nWe were sleeping one night on the roof, when a woman made her way\ninto the house and gathering into a bundle all that was therein,\ntook it up, that she might go away with it. Now she was great\nwith child and near upon her term and the hour of her\ndeliverance; so, when she made up the bundle and offered to\nshoulder it and make off with it, she hastened the coming of the\npangs of labour and gave birth to a child in the dark. Then she\nsought for the flint and steel and striking a light, kindled the\nlamp and went round about the house with the little one, and it\nwas weeping. [The noise awoke us,] as we lay on the roof, and we\nmarvelled. So we arose, to see what was to do, and looking down\nthrough the opening of the saloon,[FN#112] saw a woman, who had\nkindled the lamp, and heard the little one weeping. She heard our\nvoices and raising her eyes to us, said, \"Are ye not ashamed to\ndeal with us thus and discover our nakedness? Know ye not that\nthe day belongeth to you and the night to us? Begone from us! By\nAllah, were it not that ye have been my neighbours these [many]\nyears, I would bring down the house upon you!\" We doubted not but\nthat she was of the Jinn and drew back our heads; but, when we\narose on the morrow, we found that she had taken all that was\nwith us and made off with it; wherefore we knew that she was a\nthief and had practised [on us] a device, such as was never\nbefore practised; and we repented, whenas repentance advantaged\nus not.'\n\nWhen the company heard this story, they marvelled thereat with\nthe utmost wonderment. Then the fifth officer, who was the\nlieutenant of the bench,[FN#113] came forward and said, '[This\nis] no wonder and there befell me that which is rarer and more\nextraordinary than this.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE FIFTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nAs I sat one day at the door of the prefecture, a woman entered\nand said to me privily, \"O my lord, I am the wife of such an one\nthe physician, and with him is a company of the notables[FN#114]\nof the city, drinking wine in such a place.\" When I heard this, I\nmisliked to make a scandal; so I rebuffed her and sent her away.\nThen I arose and went alone to the place in question and sat\nwithout till the door opened, when I rushed in and entering,\nfound the company engaged as the woman had set out, and she\nherself with them. I saluted them and they returned my greeting\nand rising, entreated me with honour and seated me and brought me\nto eat. Then I informed them how one had denounced them to me,\nbut I had driven him[FN#115] away and come to them by myself;\nwherefore they thanked me and praised me for my goodness. Then\nthey brought out to me from among them two thousand\ndirhems[FN#116] and I took them and went away.\n\nTwo months after this occurrence, there came to me one of the\nCadi's officers, with a scroll, wherein was the magistrate's\nwrit, summoning me to him. So I accompanied the officer and went\nin to the Cadi, whereupon the plaintiff, to wit, he who had taken\nout the summons, sued me for two thousand dirhems, avouching that\nI had borrowed them of him as the woman's agent.[FN#117] I denied\nthe debt, but he produced against me a bond for the amount,\nattested by four of those who were in company [on the occasion];\nand they were present and bore witness to the loan. So I reminded\nthem of my kindness and paid the amount, swearing that I would\nnever again follow a woman's counsel. Is not this marvellous?'\n\nThe company marvelled at the goodliness of his story and it\npleased El Melik ez Zahir; and the prefect said, 'By Allah, this\nstory is extraordinary!' Then came forward the sixth officer and\nsaid to the company, 'Hear my story and that which befell me, to\nwit, that which befell such an one the assessor, for it is rarer\nthan this and stranger.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE SIXTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nA certain assessor was one day taken with a woman and much people\nassembled before his house and the lieutenant of police and his\nmen came to him and knocked at the door. The assessor looked out\nof window and seeing the folk, said, \"What aileth you?\" Quoth\nthey, \"[Come,] speak with the lieutenant of police such an one.\"\nSo he came down and they said to him, \"Bring forth the woman that\nis with thee.\" Quoth he, \"Are ye not ashamed? How shall I bring\nforth my wife?\" And they said, \"Is she thy wife by\ncontract[FN#118] or without contract?\" [\"By contract,\"] answered\nhe, \"according to the Book of God and the Institutes of His\nApostle.\" \"Where is the contract?\" asked they; and he replied,\n\"Her contract is in her mother's house.\" Quoth they, \"Arise and\ncome down and show us the contract.\" And he said to them, \"Go\nfrom her way, so she may come forth.\" Now, as soon as he got wind\nof the matter, he had written the contract and fashioned it after\nher fashion, to suit with the case, and written therein the names\nof certain of his friends as witnesses and forged the signatures\nof the drawer and the wife's next friend and made it a contract\nof marriage with his wife and appointed it for an excuse.[FN#119]\nSo, when the woman was about to go out from him, he gave her the\ncontract that be had forged, and the Amir sent with her a servant\nof his, to bring her to her father. So the servant went with her\nand when she came to her door, she said to him, \"I will not\nreturn to the citation of the Amir; but let the witnesses[FN#120]\npresent themselves and take my contract.\"\n\nAccordingly, the servant carried this message to the lieutenant\nof police, who was standing at the assessor's door, and he said,\n\"This is reasonable.\" Then said [the assessor] to the servant,\n\"Harkye, O eunuch! Go and fetch us such an one the notary;\" for\nthat he was his friend [and it was he whose name he had forged as\nthe drawer-up of the contract]. So the lieutenant of police sent\nafter him and fetched him to the assessor, who, when he saw him,\nsaid to him, \"Get thee to such an one, her with whom thou\nmarriedst me, and cry out upon her, and when she cometh to thee,\ndemand of her the contract and take it from her and bring it to\nus.\" And he signed to him, as who should say, \"Bear me out in the\nlie and screen me, for that she is a strange woman and I am in\nfear of the lieutenant of police who standeth at the door; and we\nbeseech God the Most High to screen us and you from the trouble\nof this world. Amen.\"\n\nSo the notary went up to the lieutenant, who was among the\nwitnesses, and said \"It is well. Is she not such an one whose\nmarriage contract we drew up in such a place?\" Then he betook\nhimself to the woman's house and cried out upon her; whereupon\nshe brought him the [forged] contract and he took it and returned\nwith it to the lieutenant of police. When the latter had taken\ncognizance [of the document and professed himself satisfied, the\nassessor] said [to the notary,] \"Go to our lord and master, the\nCadi of the Cadis, and acquaint him with that which befalleth his\nassessors.\" The notary rose to go, but the lieutenant of police\nfeared [for himself] and was profuse in beseeching the assessor\nand kissing his hands, till he forgave him; whereupon the\nlieutenant went away in the utterest of concern and affright. On\nthis wise the assessor ordered the case and carried out the\nforgery and feigned marriage with the woman; [and thus was\ncalamity warded off from him] by the excellence of his\ncontrivance.\"[FN#121]\n\nThe folk marvelled at this story with the utmost wonderment and\nthe seventh officer said, 'There befell me in Alexandria the\n[God-]guarded a marvellous thing, [and it was that one told me\nthe following story].\n\n\n\n\n\n                  THE SEVENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nThere came one day an old woman [to the stuff-market], with a\ncasket of precious workmanship, containing trinkets, and she was\naccompanied by a damsel great with child. The old woman sat down\nat the shop of a draper and giving him to know that the damsel\nwas with child by the prefect of police of the city, took of him,\non credit, stuffs to the value of a thousand dinars and deposited\nwith him the casket as security. [She opened the casket and]\nshowed him that which was therein; and he found it full of\ntrinkets [apparently] of price; [so he trusted her with the\ngoods] and she took leave of him and carrying the stuffs to the\ndamsel, who was with her, [went her way]. Then the old woman was\nabsent from him a great while, and when her absence was\nprolonged, the draper despaired of her; so he went up to the\nprefect's house and enquired of the woman of his household, [who\nhad taken his stuffs on credit;] but could get no tidings of her\nnor lit on aught of her trace.\n\nThen he brought out the casket of jewellery [and showed it to an\nexpert,] who told him that the trinkets were gilt and that their\nworth was but an hundred dirhems. When he heard this, he was sore\nconcerned thereat and presenting himself before the Sultan's\ndeputy, made his complaint to him; whereupon the latter knew that\na trick had been put off upon him and that the folk had cozened\nhim and gotten the better of him and taken his stuffs. Now the\nmagistrate in question was a man of good counsel and judgment,\nwell versed in affairs; so he said to the draper, \"Remove\nsomewhat from thy shop, [and amongst the rest the casket,] and on\nthe morrow break the lock and cry out and come to me and complain\nthat they have plundered all thy shop. Moreover, do thou call\n[upon God for succour] and cry aloud and acquaint the folk, so\nthat all the people may resort to thee and see the breach of the\nlock and that which is missing from thy shop; and do thou show it\nto every one who presenteth himself, so the news may be noised\nabroad, and tell them that thy chief concern is for a casket of\ngreat value, deposited with thee by a great man of the town and\nthat thou standest in fear of him. But be thou not afraid and\nstill say in thy converse, 'My casket belonged to such an one,\nand I fear him and dare not bespeak him; but you, O company and\nall ye who are present, I call you to witness of this for me.'\nAnd if there be with thee more than this talk, [say it;] and the\nold woman will come to thee.\"\n\nThe draper answered with \"Hearkening and obedience\" and going\nforth from the deputy's presence, betook himself to his shop and\nbrought out thence [the casket and] somewhat considerable, which\nhe removed to his house. At break of day he arose and going to\nhis shop, broke the lock and cried out and shrieked and called\n[on God for help,] till the folk assembled about him and all who\nwere in the city were present, whereupon he cried out to them,\nsaying even as the prefect had bidden him; and this was bruited\nabroad. Then he made for the prefecture and presenting himself\nbefore the chief of the police, cried out and complained and made\na show of distraction.\n\nAfter three days, the old woman came to him and bringing him the\n[thousand dinars, the] price of the stuffs, demanded the\ncasket.[FN#122] When he saw her, he laid hold of her and carried\nher to the prefect of the city; and when she came before the\nCadi, he said to her, \"O Sataness, did not thy first deed suffice\nthee, but thou must come a second time?\" Quoth she, \"I am of\nthose who seek their salvation[FN#123] in the cities, and we\nforegather every month; and yesterday we foregathered.\" \"Canst\nthou [bring me to] lay hold of them?\" asked the prefect; and she\nanswered, \"Yes; but, if thou wait till to-morrow, they will have\ndispersed. So I will deliver them to thee to-night.\" Quoth he to\nher, \"Go;\" and she said, \"Send with me one who shall go with me\nto them and obey me in that which I shall say to him, and all\nthat I bid him he shall give ear unto and obey me therein.\" So he\ngave her a company of men and she took them and bringing them to\na certain door, said to them, \"Stand at this door, and whoso\ncometh out to you, lay hands on him; and I will come out to you\nlast of all.\" \"Hearkening and obedience,\" answered they and stood\nat the door, whilst the old woman went in. They waited a long\nwhile, even as the Sultan's deputy had bidden them, but none came\nout to them and their standing was prolonged. When they were\nweary of waiting, they went up to the door and smote upon it\nheavily and violently, so that they came nigh to break the lock.\nThen one of them entered and was absent a long while, but found\nnought; so he returned to his comrades and said to them,\"This is\nthe door of a passage, leading to such a street; and indeed she\nlaughed at you and left you and went away.\"When they heard his\nwords, they returned to the Amir and acquainted him with the\ncase, whereby he knew that the old woman was a crafty trickstress\nand that she had laughed at them and cozened them and put a cheat\non them, to save herself. Consider, then, the cunning of this\nwoman and that which she contrived of wiles, for all her lack of\nforesight in presenting herself [a second time] to the draper and\nnot apprehending that his conduct was but a trick; yet, when she\nfound herself in danger, she straightway devised a shift for her\ndeliverance.'\n\nWhen the company heard the seventh officer's story, they were\nmoved to exceeding mirth, and El Melik ez Zahir Bibers rejoiced\nin that which he heard and said, 'By Allah, there betide things\nin this world, from which kings are shut out, by reason of their\nexalted station!\" Then came forward another man from amongst the\ncompany and said, 'There hath reached me from one of my friends\nanother story bearing on the malice of women and their craft, and\nit is rarer and more extraordinary and more diverting than all\nthat hath been told to you.\"\n\nQuoth the company, 'Tell us thy story and expound it unto us, so\nwe may see that which it hath of extraordinary.' And he said\n'Know, then, that\n\n\n\n\n\n                  THE EIGHTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nA friend of mine once invited me to an entertainment; so I went\nwith him, and when we came into his house and sat down on his\ncouch, he said to me, \"This is a blessed day and a day of\ngladness, and [blessed is] he who liveth to [see] the like of\nthis day. I desire that thou practise with us and deny[FN#124] us\nnot, for that thou hast been used to hearken unto those who\noccupy themselves with this.\"[FN#125] I fell in with this and\ntheir talk happened upon the like of this subject.[FN#126]\nPresently, my friend, who had invited me, arose from among them\nand said to them, \"Hearken to me and I will tell you of an\nadventure that happened to me. There was a certain man who used\nto visit me in my shop, and I knew him not nor he me, nor ever in\nhis life had he seen me; but he was wont, whenever he had need of\na dirhem or two, by way of loan, to come to me and ask me,\nwithout acquaintance or intermediary between me and him, [and I\nwould give him what he sought]. I told none of him, and matters\nabode thus between us a long while, till he fell to borrowing ten\nat twenty dirhems [at a time], more or less.\n\nOne day, as I stood in my shop, there came up to me a woman and\nstopped before me; and she as she were the full moon rising from\namong the stars, and the place was illumined by her light. When I\nsaw her, I fixed my eyes on her and stared in her face; and she\nbespoke me with soft speech. When I heard her words and the\nsweetness of her speech, I lusted after her; and when she saw\nthat I lusted after her, she did her occasion and promising me\n[to come again], went away, leaving my mind occupied with her and\nfire kindled in my heart. Then I abode, perplexed and pondering\nmy affair, whilst fire flamed in my heart, till the third day,\nwhen she came again and I scarce credited her coming. When I saw\nher, I talked with her and cajoled her and courted her and strove\nto win her favour with speech and invited her [to my house]; but\nshe answered, saying, 'I will not go up into any one's house.'\nQuoth I, 'I will go with thee;' and she said, 'Arise and come\nwith me.'\n\nSo I arose and putting in my sleeve a handkerchief, wherein was a\ngood sum of money, followed the woman, who went on before me and\ngave not over walking till she brought me to a by-street and to a\ndoor, which she bade me open. I refused and she opened it and\nbrought me into the vestibule. As soon as I had entered, she\nlocked the door of entrance from within and said to me, 'Sit\n[here] till I go in to the slave-girls and cause them enter a\nplace where they shall not see me.' 'It is well,' answered I and\nsat down; whereupon she entered and was absent from me a moment,\nafter which she returned to me, without a veil, and said, 'Arise,\n[enter,] in the name of God.'[FN#127] So I arose and went in\nafter her and we gave not over going till we entered a saloon.\nWhen I examined the place, I found it neither handsome nor\nagreeable, but unseemly and desolate, without symmetry or\ncleanliness; nay, it was loathly to look upon and there was a\nfoul smell in it.\n\nI seated myself amiddleward the saloon, misdoubting, and as I\nsat, there came down on me from the estrade seven naked men,\nwithout other clothing than leather girdles about their waists.\nOne of them came up to me and took my turban, whilst another took\nmy handkerchief, that was in my sleeve, with my money, and a\nthird stripped me of my clothes; after which a fourth came and\nbound my hands behind me with his girdle. Then they all took me\nup, pinioned as I was, and casting me down, fell a-dragging me\ntowards a sink-hole that was there and were about to cut my\nthroat, when, behold, there came a violent knocking at the door.\nWhen they heard this, they were afraid and their minds were\ndiverted from me by fear; so the woman went out and presently\nreturning, said to them, 'Fear not; no harm shall betide you this\nday. It is only your comrade who hath brought you your\nnoon-meal.' With this the new-comer entered, bringing with him a\nroasted lamb; and when he came in to them, he said to them, 'What\nis to do with you, that ye have tucked up [your sleeves and\ntrousers]?' Quoth they, '[This is] a piece of game we have\ncaught.'\n\nWhen he heard this, he came up to me and looking in my face,\ncried out and said, 'By Allah, this is my brother, the son of my\nmother and father! Allah! Allah!' Then he loosed me from my bonds\nand kissed my head, and behold it was my friend who used to\nborrow money of me. When I kissed his head, he kissed mine and\nsaid, 'O my brother, be not affrighted.' Then he called for my\nclothes [and money and restored to me all that had been taken\nfrom me] nor was aught missing to me. Moreover, he brought me a\nbowl full of [sherbet of] sugar, with lemons therein, and gave me\nto drink thereof; and the company came and seated me at a table.\nSo I ate with them and he said to me, 'O my lord and my brother,\nnow have bread and salt passed between us and thou hast\ndiscovered our secret and [become acquainted with] our case; but\nsecrets [are safe] with the noble.' Quoth I, 'As I am a\nlawfully-begotten child, I will not name aught [of this] neither\ndenounce [you!*]' And they assured themselves of me by an oath.\nThen they brought me out and I went my way, scarce crediting but\nthat I was of the dead.\n\nI abode in my house, ill, a whole month; after which I went to\nthe bath and coming out, opened my shop [and sat selling and\nbuying as usual], but saw no more of the man or the woman, till,\none day, there stopped before my shop a young man, [a Turcoman],\nas he were the full moon; and he was a sheep-merchant and had\nwith him a bag, wherein was money, the price of sheep that he had\nsold. He was followed by the woman, and when he stopped at my\nshop, she stood by his side and cajoled him, and indeed he\ninclined to her with a great inclination. As for me, I was\nconsumed with solicitude for him and fell to casting furtive\nglances at him and winked at him, till he chanced to look round\nand saw me winking at him; whereupon the woman looked at me and\nmade a sign with her hand and went away. The Turcoman followed\nher and I counted him dead, without recourse; wherefore I feared\nwith an exceeding fear and shut my shop. Then I journeyed for a\nyear's space and returning, opened my shop; whereupon, behold,\nthe woman came up to me and said, 'This is none other than a\ngreat absence.' Quoth I, 'I have been on a journey;' and she\nsaid, 'Why didst thou wink at the Turcoman?' 'God forbid!'\nanswered I. 'I did not wink at him.' Quoth she, 'Beware lest thou\ncross me;' and went away.\n\n\nAwhile after this a friend of mine invited me to his house and\nwhen I came to him, we ate and drank and talked. Then said he to\nme, 'O my friend, hath there befallen thee in thy life aught of\ncalamity?' 'Nay,' answered I; 'but tell me [first], hath there\nbefallen thee aught?' ['Yes,'] answered he. 'Know that one day I\nespied a fair woman; so I followed her and invited her [to come\nhome with me]. Quoth she, \"I will not enter any one's house; but\ncome thou to my house, if thou wilt, and be it on such a day.\"\nAccordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger came to me,\npurposing to carry me to her; so I arose and went with him, till\nwe came to a handsome house and a great door. He opened the door\nand I entered, whereupon he locked the door [behind me] and would\nhave gone in, but I feared with an exceeding fear and foregoing\nhim to the second door, whereby he would have had me enter,\nlocked it and cried out at him, saying, \"By Allah, an thou open\nnot to me, I will kill thee; for I am none of those whom thou\ncanst cozen!\" Quoth he, \"What deemest thou of cozenage?\" And I\nsaid, \"Verily, I am affrighted at the loneliness of the house and\nthe lack of any at the door thereof; for I see none appear.\" \"O\nmy lord,\" answered he, \"this is a privy door.\" \"Privy or public,\"\nanswered I, \"open to me.\"\n\nSo he opened to me and I went out and had not gone far from the\nhouse when I met a woman, who said to me, \"Methinks a long life\nwas fore-ordained to thee; else hadst thou not come forth of\nyonder house.\" \"How so?\" asked I, and she answered, \"Ask thy\nfriend [such an one,\" naming thee,] \"and he will acquaint thee\nwith strange things.\" So, God on thee, O my friend, tell me what\nbefell thee of wonders and rarities, for I have told thee what\nbefell me.' 'O my brother,' answered I, 'I am bound by a solemn\noath.' And he said, 'O my friend, break thine oath and tell me.'\nQuoth I, 'Indeed, I fear the issue of this.' [But he importuned\nme] till I told him all, whereat he marvelled. Then I went away\nfrom him and abode a long while, [without farther news].\n\nOne day, another of my friends came to me and said 'A neighbour\nof mine hath invited me to hear [music]. [And he would have me go\nwith him;] but I said, 'I will not foregather with any one.'\nHowever, he prevailed upon me [to accompany him]; so we repaired\nto the place and found there a man, who came to meet us and said,\n'[Enter,] in the name of God!' Then he pulled out a key and\nopened the door, whereupon we entered and he locked the door\nafter us. Quoth I, 'We are the first of the folk; but where are\ntheir voices?'[FN#128] '[They are] within the house,' answered\nhe. 'This is but a privy door; so be not amazed at the absence of\nthe folk.' And my friend said to me, 'Behold, we are two, and\nwhat can they avail to do with us?' [Then he brought us into the\nhouse,] and when we entered the saloon, we found it exceeding\ndesolate and repulsive of aspect Quoth my friend, 'We are fallen\n[into a trap]; but there is no power and no virtue save in God\nthe Most High, the Supreme!' And I said, 'May God not requite\nthee for me with good!'\n\nThen we sat down on the edge of the estrade and presently I\nespied a closet beside me; so I looked into it and my friend said\nto me, 'What seest thou?' Quoth I, 'I see therein good galore and\nbodies of murdered folk. Look.' So he looked and said, 'By Allah,\nwe are lost men!' And we fell a-weeping, I and he. As we were\nthus, behold, there came in upon us, by the door at which we had\nentered, four naked men, with girdles of leather about their\nmiddles, and made for my friend. He ran at them and dealing one\nof them a buffet, overthrew him, whereupon the other three fell\nall upon him. I seized the opportunity to escape, what while they\nwere occupied with him, and espying a door by my side, slipped\ninto it and found myself in an underground chamber, without\nwindow or other issue. So I gave myself up for lost and said,\n'There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the\nSupreme!' Then I looked to the top of the vault and saw in it a\nrange of glazed lunettes; so I clambered up for dear life, till I\nreached the lunettes, and I distracted [for fear]. I made shift\nto break the glass and scrambling out through the frames, found a\nwall behind them. So I bestrode the wall and saw folk walking in\nthe road; whereupon I cast myself down to the ground and God the\nMost High preserved me, so that I reached the earth, unhurt. The\nfolk flocked round me and I acquainted them with my story.\n\nAs fate would have it, the chief of the police was passing\nthrough the market; so the people told him [what was to do] and\nhe made for the door and burst it open. We entered with a rush\nand found the thieves, as they had overthrown my friend and cut\nhis throat; for they occupied not themselves with me, but said,\n'Whither shall yonder fellow go? Indeed, he is in our grasp.' So\nthe prefect took them with the hand[FN#129] and questioned them,\nand they confessed against the woman and against their associates\nin Cairo. Then he took them and went forth, after he had locked\nup the house and sealed it; and I accompanied him till he came\nwithout the [first] house. He found the door locked from within;\nso he bade break it open and we entered and found another door.\nThis also he caused burst in, enjoining his men to silence till\nthe doors should be opened, and we entered and found the band\noccupied with a new victim, whom the woman had just brought in\nand whose throat they were about to cut.\n\nThe prefect released the man and gave him back all that the\nthieves had taken from him; and he laid hands on the woman and\nthe rest and took forth of the house treasures galore. Amongst\nthe rest, they found the money-bag of the Turcoman\nsheep-merchant. The thieves they nailed up incontinent against\nthe wall of the house, whilst, as for the woman, they wrapped her\nin one of her veils and nailing her [to a board, set her] upon a\ncamel and went round about the town with her. Thus God razed\ntheir dwelling-places and did away from me that which I feared.\nAll this befell, whilst I looked on, and I saw not my friend who\nhad saved me from them the first time, whereat I marvelled to the\nutterest of marvel. However, some days afterward, he came up to\nme, and indeed he had renounced[FN#130] [the world] and donned a\nfakir's habit; and he saluted me and went away.\n\nThen he again began to pay me frequent visits and I entered into\nconverse with him and questioned him of the band and how he came\nto escape, he alone of them all. Quoth he, 'I left them from the\nday on which God the Most High delivered thee from them, for that\nthey would not obey my speech; wherefore I swore that I would no\nlonger consort with them.' And I said, 'By Allah, I marvel at\nthee, for that thou wast the cause of my preservation!' Quoth he,\n'The world is full of this sort [of folk]; and we beseech God the\nMost High for safety, for that these [wretches] practise upon men\nwith every kind of device.' Then said I to him, 'Tell me the most\nextraordinary adventure of all that befell thee in this villainy\nthou wast wont to practise.' And he answered, saying, 'O my\nbrother, I was not present when they did on this wise, for that\nmy part with them was to concern myself with selling and buying\nand [providing them with] food; but I have heard that the most\nextraordinary thing that befell them was on this wise.\n\n\n\n\n\n                       THE THIEF'S STORY.\n\n\n\nThe woman who used to act as decoy for them once caught them a\nwoman from a bride-feast, under pretence that she had a wedding\ntoward in her own house, and appointed her for a day, whereon she\nshould come to her. When the appointed day arrived, the woman\npresented herself and the other carried her into the house by a\ndoor, avouching that it was a privy door. When she entered [the\nsaloon], she saw men and champions[FN#131] [and knew that she had\nfallen into a trap]; so she looked at them and said, \"Harkye,\nlads![FN#132] I am a woman and there is no glory in my slaughter,\nnor have ye any feud of blood-revenge against me, wherefore ye\nshould pursue me; and that which is upon me of [trinkets and\napparel] ye are free to take.\" Quoth they, \"We fear thy\ndenunciation.\" But she answered, saying, \"I will abide with you,\nneither coming in nor going out.\" And they said, \"We grant thee\nthy life.\"\n\nThen the captain looked on her [and she pleased him]; so he took\nher for himself and she abode with him a whole year, doing her\nendeavour in their service. till they became accustomed to her\n[and felt assured of her]. One night she plied them with drink\nand they drank [till they became intoxicated]; whereupon she\narose and took her clothes and five hundred dinars from the\ncaptain; after which she fetched a razor and shaved all their\nchins. Then she took soot from the cooking-pots and blackening\ntheir faces withal, opened the doors and went out; and when the\nthieves awoke, they abode confounded and knew that the woman had\npractised upon them.'\"'\n\nThe company marvelled at this story and the ninth officer came\nforward and said, 'I will tell you a right goodly story I heard\nat a wedding.\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE NINTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nA certain singing-woman was fair of favour and high in repute,\nand it befell one day that she went out apleasuring. As she\nsat,[FN#133] behold, a man lopped of the hand stopped to beg of\nher, and he entered in at the door. Then he touched her with his\nstump, saying, \"Charity, for the love of God!\" but she answered,\n\"God open [on thee the gate of subsistence]!\" and reviled him.\nSome days after this, there came to her a messenger and gave her\nthe hire of her going forth.[FN#134] So she took with her a\nhandmaid and an accompanyist;[FN#135] and when she came to the\nappointed place, the messenger brought her into a long passage,\nat the end whereof was a saloon. So (quoth she) we entered and\nfound none therein, but saw the [place made ready for an]\nentertainment with candles and wine and dessert, and in another\nplace we saw food and in a third beds.\n\nWe sat down and I looked at him who had opened the door to us,\nand behold he was lopped of the hand. I misliked this of him, and\nwhen I had sat a little longer, there entered a man, who filled\nthe lamps in the saloon and lit the candles; and behold, he also\nwas handlopped. Then came the folk and there entered none except\nhe were lopped of the hand, and indeed the house was full of\nthese. When the assembly was complete, the host entered and the\ncompany rose to him and seated him in the place of honour. Now he\nwas none other than the man who had fetched me, and he was clad\nin sumptuous apparel, but his hands were in his sleeves, so that\nI knew not how it was with them. They brought him food and he\nate, he and the company; after which they washed their hands and\nthe host fell to casting furtive glances at me.\n\nThen they drank till they were drunken, and when they had taken\nleave [of their wits], the host turned to me and said, \"Thou\ndealtest not friendly with him who sought an alms of thee and\nthou saidst to him, 'How loathly thou art!'\" I considered him and\nbehold, he was the lophand who had accosted me in my pleasaunce.\nSo I said, \"O my lord, what is this thou sayest?\" And he\nanswered, saying, \"Wait; thou shall remember it.\" So saying, he\nshook his head and stroked his beard, whilst I sat down for fear.\nThen he put out his hand to my veil and shoes and laying them by\nhis side, said to me, \"Sing, O accursed one!\" So I sang till I\nwas weary, whilst they occupied themselves with their case and\nintoxicated themselves and their heat redoubled.[FN#136]\nPresently, the doorkeeper came to me and said, \"Fear not, O my\nlady; but, when thou hast a mind to go, let me know.\" Quoth I,\n\"Thinkest thou to delude me?\" And he said, \"Nay, by Allah! But I\nhave compassion on thee for that our captain and our chief\npurposeth thee no good and methinketh he will slay thee this\nnight.\" Quoth I to him, \"An thou be minded to do good, now is the\ntime.\" And he answered, saying, \"When our chief riseth to do his\noccasion and goeth to the draught-house, I will enter before him\nwith the light and leave the door open; and do thou go\nwhithersoever thou wilt.\"\n\nThen I sang and the captain said, \"It is good,\" Quoth I, \"Nay,\nbut thou art loathly.\" He looked at me and said, \"By Allah, thou\nshalt never more scent the odour of the world!\" But his comrades\nsaid to him, \"Do it not,\" and appeased him, till he said, \"If it\nmust be so, she shall abide here a whole year, not going forth.\"\nAnd I said, \"I am content to submit to whatsoever pleaseth thee.\nIf I have erred, thou art of those to whom pertaineth clemency.\"\nHe shook his head and drank, then arose and went out to do his\noccasion, what while his comrades were occupied with what they\nwere about of merry-making and drunkenness and sport. So I winked\nto my fellows and we slipped out into the corridor. We found the\ndoor open and fled forth, unveiled and knowing not whither we\nwent; nor did we halt till we had left the house far behind and\nhappened on a cook cooking, to whom said I, \"Hast thou a mind to\nquicken dead folk?\" And he said, \"Come up.\" So we went up into\nthe shop, and he said, 'Lie down.\" Accordingly, we lay down and\nhe covered us with the grass,[FN#137] wherewith he was used to\nkindle [the fire] under the food.\n\nHardly had we settled ourselves in the place when we heard a\nnoise of kicking [at the door] and people running right and left\nand questioning the cook and saying, \"Hath any one passed by\nthee?\" \"Nay,\" answered he; \"none hath passed by me.\" But they\nceased not to go round about the shop till the day broke, when\nthey turned back, disappointed. Then the cook removed the grass\nand said to us, \"Arise, for ye are delivered from death.\" So we\narose, and we were uncovered, without mantle or veil; but the\ncook carried us up into his house and we sent to our lodgings and\nfetched us veils; and we repented unto God the Most High and\nrenounced singing,[FN#138] for indeed this was a great\ndeliverance after stress.'\n\nThe company marvelled at this story and the tenth officer came\nforward and said, 'As for me, there befell me that which was yet\nmore extraordinary than all this.' Quoth El Melik ez Zahir, 'What\nwas that?' And he said,\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE TENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\n'A great theft had been committed in the city and I was\ncited,[FN#139] I and my fellows. Now it was a matter of\nconsiderable value and they[FN#140] pressed hard upon us; but we\nobtained of them some days' grace and dispersed in quest of the\nstolen goods. As for me, I sallied forth with five men and went\nround about the city that day; and on the morrow we fared forth\n[into the suburbs]. When we came a parasang or two parasangs'\ndistance from the city, we were athirst; and presently we came to\na garden. So I went in and going up to the water-wheel,[FN#141]\nentered it and drank and made the ablution and prayed. Presently\nup came the keeper of the garden and said to me, \"Out on thee!\nWho brought thee into this water-wheel?\" And he cuffed me and\nsqueezed my ribs till I was like to die. Then he bound me with\none of his bulls and made me turn in the water-wheel, flogging me\nthe while with a cattle whip he had with him, till my heart was\non fire; after which he loosed me and I went out, knowing not the\nway.\n\nWhen I came forth, I swooned away: so I sat down till my trouble\nsubsided; then I made for my comrades and said to them, \"I have\nfound the booty and the thief, and I affrighted him not neither\ntroubled him, lest he should flee; but now, come, let us go to\nhim, so we may make shift to lay hold upon him.\" Then I took them\nand repaired to the keeper of the garden, who had tortured me\nwith beating, meaning to make him taste the like of that which he\nhad done with me and lie against him and cause him eat stick. So\nwe rushed into the water-wheel and seizing the keeper, pinioned\nhim.\n\nNow there was with him a youth and he said, \"By Allah, I was not\nwith him and indeed it is six months since I entered the city,\nnor did I set eyes on the stuffs until they were brought hither.\"\nQuoth we, \"Show us the stuffs.\" So he carried us to a place\nwherein was a pit, beside the water-wheel, and digging there,\nbrought out the stolen goods, with not a stitch of them missing.\nSo we took them and carried the keeper to the prefecture, where\nwe stripped him and beat him with palm-rods till he confessed to\nthefts galore. Now I did this by way of mockery against my\ncomrades, and it succeeded.'[FN#142]\n\nThe company marvelled at this story with the utmost wonderment,\nand the eleventh officer rose and said, 'I know a story yet rarer\nthan this: but it happened not to myself.\n\n\n\n\n\n                 THE ELEVENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nThere was once aforetime a chief officer [of police] and there\npassed by him one day a Jew, with a basket in his hand, wherein\nwere five thousand dinars; whereupon quoth the officer to one of\nhis slaves, \"Canst thou make shift to take that money from yonder\nJew's basket?\" \"Yes,\" answered he, nor did he tarry beyond the\nnext day before he came to his master, with the basket in his\nhand. So (quoth the officer) I said to him, \"Go, bury it in such\na place.\" So he went and buried it and returned and told me.\nHardly had he done this when there arose a clamour and up came\nthe Jew, with one of the king's officers, avouching that the\nmoney belonged to the Sultan and that he looked to none but us\nfor it. We demanded of him three days' delay, as of wont, and I\nsaid to him who had taken the money, \"Go and lay somewhat in the\nJew's house, that shall occupy him with himself.\" So he went and\nplayed a fine trick, to wit, he laid in a basket a dead woman's\nhand, painted [with henna] and having a gold seal- ring on one of\nthe fingers, and buried the basket under a flagstone in the Jew's\nhouse. Then came we and searched and found the basket, whereupon\nwe straightway clapped the Jew in irons for the murder of a\nwoman.\n\nWhen it was the appointed time, there came to us the man of the\nSultan's guards, [who had accompanied the Jew, when he came to\ncomplain of the loss of the money,] and said, \"The Sultan biddeth\nyou nail up[FN#143] the Jew and bring the money, for that there\nis no way by which five thousand dinars can be lost.\" Wherefore\nwe knew that our device sufficed not. So I went forth and finding\na young man, a Haurani,[FN#144] passing the road, laid hands on\nhim and stripped him and beat him with palm-rods. Then I clapped\nhim in irons and carrying him to the prefecture, beat him again,\nsaying to them, \"This is the thief who stole the money.\" And we\nstrove to make him confess; but he would not confess. So we beat\nhim a third and a fourth time, till we were weary and exhausted\nand he became unable to return an answer. But, when we had made\nan end of beating and tormenting him, he said, \"I will fetch the\nmoney forthright.\"\n\nSo we went with him till he came to the place where my slave had\nburied the money and dug there and brought it out; whereat I\nmarvelled with the utmost wonder and we carried it to the\nprefect's house. When the latter saw the money, he rejoiced with\nan exceeding joy and bestowed on me a dress of honour. Then he\nrestored the money straightway to the Sultan and we left the\nyouth in prison; whilst I said to my slave who had taken the\nmoney, \"Did yonder young man see thee, what time thou buriedst\nthe money?\" \"No, by the Great God!\" answered he. So I went in to\nthe young man, the prisoner, and plied him with wine till he\nrecovered, when I said to him, \"Tell me how thou stolest the\nmoney.\" \"By Allah,\" answered he, \"I stole it not, nor did I ever\nset eyes on it till I brought it forth of the earth!\" Quoth I,\n\"How so?\" And he said, \"Know that the cause of my falling into\nyour hands was my mother's imprecation against me; for that I\nevil entreated her yesternight and beat her and she said to me,\n'By Allah, O my son, God shall assuredly deliver thee into the\nhand of the oppressor!' Now she is a pious woman. So I went out\nforthright and thou sawest me in the way and didst that which\nthou didst; and when beating was prolonged on me, my senses\nfailed me and I heard one saying to me, 'Fetch it.' So I said to\nyou what I said and he[FN#145] guided me till I came to the place\nand there befell what befell of the bringing out of the money.\"\n\nI marvelled at this with the utmost wonderment and knew that he\nwas of the sons of the pious. So I bestirred myself for his\nrelease and tended him [till he recovered] and besought him of\nquittance and absolution of responsibility.'\n\nAll those who were present marvelled at this story with the\nutmost marvel, and the twelfth officer came forward and said, 'I\nwill tell you a pleasant trait that I had from a certain man,\nconcerning an adventure that befell him with one of the thieves.\n(Quoth he)\n\n\n\n\n\n                  THE TWELFTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nAs I was passing one day in the market, I found that a thief had\nbroken into the shop of a money-changer and taken thence a\ncasket, with which he had made off to the burial-grounds. So I\nfollowed him thither [and came up to him, as] he opened the\ncasket and fell a-looking into it; whereupon I accosted him,\nsaying, \"Peace be on thee!\" And he was startled at me. Then I\nleft him and went away from him.\n\nSome months after this, I met him again under arrest, in the\nmidst of the guards and officers of the police, and he said to\nthem, \"Seize yonder man.\" So they laid hands on me and carried me\nto the chief of the police, who said, \"What hast thou to do with\nthis fellow?\" The thief turned to me and looking a long while in\nmy face, said, \"Who took this man?\" Quoth the officers, \"Thou\nbadest us take him; so we took him.\" And he said, \"I seek refuge\nwith God! I know not this man, nor knoweth he me; and I said not\nthat to you but of a man other than this.\" So they released me,\nand awhile afterward the thief met me in the street and saluted\nme, saying, \"O my lord, fright for fright! Hadst thou taken aught\nfrom me, thou hadst had a part in the calamity.\"[FN#146] And I\nsaid to him, \"God [judge] between thee and me!\" And this is what\nI have to tell'\n\nThen came forward the thirteenth officer and said, 'I will tell\nyou a story that a man of my friends told me. (Quoth he)\n\n\n\n\n\n                THE THIRTEENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nI went out one night to the house of one of my friends and when\nit was the middle of the night, I sallied forth alone [to go\nhome]. When I came into the road, I espied a sort of thieves and\nthey saw me, whereupon my spittle dried up; but I feigned myself\ndrunken and staggered from side to side, crying out and saying,\n\"I am drunken.\" And I went up to the walls right and left and\nmade as if I saw not the thieves, who followed me till I reached\nmy house and knocked at the door, when they went away.\n\nSome days after this, as I stood at the door of my house, there\ncame up to me a young man, with a chain about his neck and with\nhim a trooper, and he said to me, \"O my lord, charity for the\nlove of God!\" Quoth I, \"God open!\"[FN#147] and he looked at me a\nlong while and said, \"That which thou shouldst give me would not\ncome to the value of thy turban or thy waistcloth or what not\nelse of thy raiment, to say nothing of the gold and the silver\nthat was about thee.\" \"How so?\" asked I, and he said, \"On such a\nnight, when thou fellest into peril and the thieves would have\nstripped thee, I was with them and said to them, 'Yonder man is\nmy lord and my master who reared me.' So was I the cause of thy\ndeliverance and thus I saved thee from them.\" When I heard this,\nI said to him, \"Stop;\" and entering my house, brought him that\nwhich God the Most High made easy [to me].[FN#148] So he went his\nway. And this is my story.'\n\nThen came forward the fourteenth officer and said, 'Know that the\nstory I have to tell is pleasanter and more extraordinary than\nthis; and it is as follows.\n\n\n\n\n\n                THE FOURTEENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nBefore I entered this corporation,[FN#149] I had a draper's shop\nand there used to come to me a man whom I knew not, save by his\nface, and I would give him what he sought and have patience with\nhim, till he could pay me. One day, I foregathered with certain\nof my friends and we sat down to drink. So we drank and made\nmerry and played at Tab;[FN#150] and we made one of us Vizier and\nanother Sultan and a third headsman.\n\nPresently, there came in upon us a spunger, without leave, and we\nwent on playing, whilst he played with us. Then quoth the Sultan\nto the Vizier, \"Bring the spunger who cometh in to the folk,\nwithout leave or bidding, that we may enquire into his case. Then\nwill I cut off his head.\" So the headsman arose and dragged the\nspunger before the Sultan, who bade cut off his head. Now there\nwas with them a sword, that would not cut curd;[FN#151] so the\nheadsman smote him therewith and his head flew from his body.\nWhen we saw this, the wine fled from our heads and we became in\nthe sorriest of plights. Then my friends took up the body and\nwent out with it, that they might hide it, whilst I took the head\nand made for the river.\n\nNow I was drunken and my clothes were drenched with the blood;\nand as I passed along the road, I met a thief. When he saw me, he\nknew me and said to me, \"Harkye, such an one!\" \"Well?\" answered\nI, and he said, \"What is that thou hast with thee?\" So I\nacquainted him with the case and he took the head from me. Then\nwe went on till we came to the river, where he washed the head\nand considering it straitly, said, \"By Allah, this is my brother,\nmy father's son. and he used to spunge upon the folk.\" Then he\nthrew the head into the river. As for me, I was like a dead man\n[for fear]; but he said to me, \"Fear not neither grieve, for thou\nart quit of my brother's blood.\"\n\nThen he took my clothes and washed them and dried them, and put\nthem on me; after which he said to me, \"Get thee gone to thy\nhouse.\" So I returned to my house and he accompanied me, till I\ncame thither, when he said to me, \"May God not forsake thee! I am\nthy friend [such an one, who used to take of thee goods on\ncredit,] and I am beholden to thee for kindness; but henceforward\nthou wilt never see me more.\"'\n\nThe company marvelled at the generosity of this man and his\nclemency[FN#152] and courtesy, and the Sultan said, 'Tell us\nanother of thy stories.'[FN#153] 'It is well,' answered the\nofficer, 'They avouch that\n\n\n\n\n\n                    A MERRY JEST OF A THIEF.\n\n\n\nA thief of the thieves of the Arabs went [one night] to a certain\nman's house, to steal from a heap of wheat there, and the people\nof the house surprised him. Now on the heap was a great copper\nmeasure, and the thief buried himself in the corn and covered his\nhead with the measure, so that the folk found him not and went\naway; but, as they were going, behold, there came a great crack\nof wind forth of the corn. So they went up to the measure and\n[raising it], discovered the thief and laid hands on him. Quoth\nhe, \"I have eased you of the trouble of seeking me: for I\npurposed, [in letting wind], to direct you to my [hiding-]place;\nwherefore do ye ease me and have compassion on me, so may God\nhave compassion on you!\" So they let him go and harmed him not.\n\nAnd for another story of the same kind,' continued the officer,\n\n\n\n\n\n                   STORY OF THE OLD SHARPER.\n\n\n\n'There was once an old man renowned for roguery, and he went, he\nand his mates, to one of the markets and stole thence a parcel of\nstuffs. Then they separated and returned each to his quarter.\nAwhile after this, the old man assembled a company of his fellows\nand one of them pulled out a costly piece of stuff and said,\n\"Will any one of you sell this piece of stuff in its own market\nwhence it was stolen, that we may confess his [pre-eminence in]\nsharping?\" Quoth the old man, \"I will;\" and they said, \"Go, and\nGod the Most High prosper thee!\"\n\nSo on the morrow, early, he took the stuff and carrying it to the\nmarket whence it had been stolen, sat down at the shop whence it\nhad been stolen and gave it to the broker, who took it and cried\nit for sale. Its owner knew it and bidding for it, [bought it]\nand sent after the chief of the police, who seized the sharper\nand seeing him an old man of venerable appearance, handsomely\nclad, said to him, \"Whence hadst thou this piece of stuff?\" \"I\nhad it from this market,\" answered he, \"and from yonder shop\nwhere I was sitting.\" Quoth the prefect, \"Did its owner sell it\nto thee?\" \"Nay,\" replied the thief; \"I stole it and other than\nit.\" Then said the magistrate, \"How camest thou to bring it [for\nsale] to the place whence thou stolest it?\" And he answered, \"I\nwill not tell my story save to the Sultan, for that I have an\nadvertisement[FN#154] wherewith I would fain bespeak him.\" Quoth\nthe prefect, \"Name it.\" And the thief said, \"Art thou the\nSultan?\" \"No,\" replied the other; and the old man said, \"I will\nnot tell it but to himself.\"\n\nSo the prefect carried him up to the Sultan and he said, \"I have\nan advertisement for thee, O my lord.\" \"What is thine\nadvertisement?\" asked the Sultan; and the thief said, \"I repent\nand will deliver into thy hand all who are evildoers; and\nwhomsoever I bring not, I will stand in his stead.\" Quoth the\nSultan, \"Give him a dress of honour and accept his profession of\nrepentance.\" So he went down from the presence and returning to\nhis comrades, related to them that which had passed and they\nconfessed his subtlety and gave him that which they had promised\nhim. Then he took the rest of the stolen goods and went up with\nthem to the Sultan. When the latter saw him, he was magnified in\nhis eyes and he commanded that nought should be taken from him.\nThen, when he went down, [the Sultan's] attention was diverted\nfrom him, little by little, till the case was forgotten, and so\nhe saved the booty [for himself].' The folk marvelled at this and\nthe fifteenth officer came forward and said, 'Know that among\nthose who make a trade of knavery are those whom God the Most\nHigh taketh on their own evidence against themselves.' 'How so?'\nasked they; and he said.\n\n\n\n\n\n                 THE FIFTEENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\n'It is told of a certain doughty thief, that he used to rob and\nstop the way by himself upon caravans, and whenever the prefect\nof police and the magistrates sought him, he would flee from them\nand fortify himself in the mountains. Now it befell that a\ncertain man journeyed along the road wherein was the robber in\nquestion, and this man was alone and knew not the perils that\nbeset his way. So the highwayman came out upon him and said to\nhim, \"Bring out that which is with thee, for I mean to slay thee\nwithout fail.\" Quoth the traveller, \"Slay me not, but take these\nsaddle-bags and divide [that which is in] them and take the\nfourth part [thereof].\" And the thief answered, \"I will not take\naught but the whole.\" \"Take half,\" rejoined the traveller, \"and\nlet me go.\" But the robber replied, \"I will take nought but the\nwhole, and I will slay thee [to boot].\" And the traveller said,\n\"Take it.\"\n\nSo the highwayman took the saddle-bags and offered to kill the\ntraveller, who said, \"What is this? Thou hast no blood-feud\nagainst me, that should make my slaughter incumbent [on thee].\nQuoth the other, \"Needs must I slay thee;\" whereupon the\ntraveller dismounted from his horse and grovelled on the earth,\nbeseeching the robber and speaking him fair. The latter hearkened\nnot to his prayers, but cast him to the ground; whereupon the\ntraveller [raised his eyes and seeing a francolin flying over\nhim,] said, in his agony,\" O francolin, bear witness that this\nman slayeth me unjustly and wickedly; for indeed I have given him\nall that was with me and besought him to let me go, for my\nchildren's sake; yet would he not consent unto this. But be thou\nwitness against him, for God is not unmindful of that which is\ndone of the oppressors.\" The highwayman paid no heed to this\nspeech, but smote him and cut off his head.\n\nAfter this, the authorities compounded with the highwayman for\nhis submission, and when he came before them, they enriched him\nand he became in such favour with the Sultan's deputy that he\nused to eat and drink with him and there befell familiar converse\nbetween them. On this wise they abode a great while, till, one\nday, the Sultan's deputy made a banquet, and therein, for a\nwonder, was a roasted francolin, which when the robber saw, he\nlaughed aloud. The deputy was angered against him and said to\nhim, \"What is the meaning of thy laughter? Seest thou default [in\nthe entertainment] or dost thou mock at us, of thy lack of\nbreeding?\" \"Not so, by Allah, O my lord,\" answered the\nhighwayman. \"But I saw yonder francolin and bethought myself\nthereanent of an extraordinary thing; and it was on this wise. In\nthe days of my youth, I used to stop the way, and one day I fell\nin with a man, who had with him a pair of saddle-bags and money\ntherein. So I said to him, 'Leave these bags, for I mean to kill\nthee.' Quoth he, 'Take the fourth part of [that which is in] them\nand leave [me] the rest.' And I said, 'Needs must I take the\nwhole and slay thee, to boot.' Then said he, 'Take the\nsaddle-bags and let me go my way.' But I answered, 'Needs must I\nslay thee.' As we were in this contention, he and I, behold, he\nsaw a francolin and turning to it, said, 'Bear witness against\nhim, O francolin, that he slayeth me unjustly and letteth me not\ngo to my children, for all he hath gotten my money.' However, I\ntook no pity on him neither hearkened to that which he said, but\nslew him and concerned not myself with the francolin's\ntestimony.\"\n\nHis story troubled the Sultan's deputy and he was sore enraged\nagainst him; so he drew his sword and smiting him, cut off his\nhead; whereupon one recited the following verses:\n\nAn you'd of evil be quit, look that no evil yon do; Nay, but do\n     good, for the like God will still render to you.\nAll things, indeed, that betide to you are fore-ordered of God;\n     Yet still in your deeds is the source to which their\n     fulfilment is due.\n\nNow this[FN#155] was the francolin that bore witness against\nhim.'\n\nThe company marvelled at this story and said all, 'Woe to the\noppressor!' Then came forward the sixteenth officer and said,\n'And I also will tell you a marvellous story, and it is on this\nwise.\n\n\n\n\n\n                 THE SIXTEENTH OFFICER'S STORY.\n\n\n\nI went forth one day, purposing to make a journey, and fell in\nwith a man whose wont it was to stop the way. When he came up\nwith me, he offered to slay me and I said to him, \"I have nothing\nwith me whereby thou mayst profit.\" Quoth he, \"My profit shall be\nthe taking of thy life.\" \"What is the cause of this?\" asked I.\n\"Hath there been feud between us aforetime?\" And he answered,\n\"No; but needs must I slay thee.\" Therewithal I fled from him to\nthe river-side; but he overtook me and casting me to the ground,\nsat down on my breast. So I sought help of the Sheikh El\nHejjaj[FN#156] and said to him, \"Protect me from this oppressor!\"\nAnd indeed he had drawn a knife, wherewith to cut my throat,\nwhen, behold, there came a great crocodile forth of the river and\nsnatching him up from off my breast, plunged with him into the\nwater, with the knife still in his hand; whilst I abode extolling\nthe perfection of God the Most High and rendering thanks for my\npreservation to Him who had delivered me from the hand of that\noppressor.'\n\n\n\n\n\n            ABDALLAH BEN NAFI AND THE KING'S SON OF\n                       CASHGHAR.[FN#157]\n\n\n\nThere abode once, of old days and in bygone ages and times, in\nthe city of Baghdad, the Abode of Peace, the Khalif Haroun er\nReshid, and he had boon-companions and story-tellers, to\nentertain him by night Among his boon-companions was a man called\nAbdallah ben Nan, who was high in favour with him and dear unto\nhim, so that he was not forgetful of him a single hour. Now it\nbefell, by the ordinance of destiny, that it became manifest to\nAbdallah that he was grown of little account with the Khalif and\nthat he paid no heed unto him; nor, if he absented himself, did\nhe enquire concerning him, as had been his wont. This was\ngrievous to Abdallah and he said in himself, \"Verily, the heart\nof the Commander of the Faithful and his fashions are changed\ntowards me and nevermore shall I get of him that cordiality\nwherewith he was wont to entreat me.\" And this was distressful to\nhim and concern waxed upon him, so that he recited the following\nverses:\n\nIf, in his own land, midst his folk, abjection and despite\n     Afflict a man, then exile sure were better for the wight.\nSo get thee gone, then, from a house wherein thou art abased And\n     let not severance from friends lie heavy on thy spright.\nCrude amber[FN#158] in its native land unheeded goes, but, when\n     It comes abroad, upon the necks to raise it men delight.\nKohl[FN#159] in its native country, too, is but a kind of stone;\n     Cast out and thrown upon the ways, it lies unvalued quite;\nBut, when from home it fares, forthright all glory it attains And\n     'twixt the eyelid and the eye incontinent 'tis dight.\n\nThen he could brook this no longer; so he went forth from the\ndominions of the Commander of the Faithful, under pretence of\nvisiting certain of his kinsmen, and took with him servant nor\ncompanion, neither acquainted any with his intent, but betook\nhimself to the road and fared on into the desert and the\nsandwastes, knowing not whither he went. After awhile, he fell in\nwith travellers intending for the land of Hind [and journeyed\nwith them]. When he came thither, he lighted down [in a city of\nthe cities of the land and took up his abode] in one of the\nlodging-places; and there he abode a while of days, tasting not\nfood neither solacing himself with the delight of sleep; nor was\nthis for lack of dirhems or dinars, but for that his mind was\noccupied with musing upon [the reverses of] destiny and bemoaning\nhimself for that the revolving sphere had turned against him and\nthe days had decreed unto him the disfavour of our lord the\nImam.[FN#160]\n\nOn this wise he abode a space of days, after which he made\nhimself at home in the land and took to himself comrades and got\nhim friends galore, with whom he addressed himself to diversion\nand good cheer. Moreover, he went a-pleasuring with his friends\nand their hearts were solaced [by his company] and he entertained\nthem with stories and civilities[FN#161] and diverted them with\npleasant verses and told them abundance of histories and\nanecdotes. Presently, the report of him reached King Jemhour,\nlord of Cashghar of Hind, and great was his desire [for his\ncompany]. So he went in quest of him and Abdallah repaired to his\ncourt and going in to him, kissed the earth before him. Jemhour\nwelcomed him and entreated him with kindness and bade commit him\nto the guest-house, where he abode three days, at the end of\nwhich time the king sent [to him] a chamberlain of his\nchamberlains and let bring him to his presence. When he came\nbefore him, he greeted him [with the usual compliment], and the\ninterpreter accosted him, saying, \"King Jemhour hath heard of thy\nreport, that thou art a goodly boon-companion and an eloquent\nstory-teller, and he would have thee company with him by night\nand entertain him with that which thou knowest of anecdotes and\npleasant stories and verses.\" And he made answer with \"Hearkening\nand obedience.\"\n\n(Quoth Abdallah ben Nan) So I became his boon-companion and\nentertained him by night [with stories and the like]; and this\npleased him to the utmost and he took me into especial favour and\nbestowed on me dresses of honour and assigned me a separate\nlodging; brief, he was everywise bountiful to me and could not\nbrook to be parted from me a single hour. So I abode with him a\nwhile of time and every night I caroused with him [and\nentertained him], till the most part of the night was past; and\nwhen drowsiness overcame him, he would rise [and betake himself]\nto his sleeping-place, saying to me, \"Forsake not my service for\nthat of another than I and hold not aloof from my presence.\" And\nI made answer with \"Hearkening and obedience.\"\n\nNow the king had a son, a pleasant child, called the Amir\nMohammed, who was comely of youth and sweet of speech; he had\nread in books and studied histories and above all things in the\nworld he loved the telling and hearing of verses and stories and\nanecdotes. He was dear to his father King Jemhour, for that he\nhad none other son than he on life, and indeed he had reared him\nin the lap of fondness and he was gifted with the utterest of\nbeauty and grace and brightness and perfection. Moreover, he had\nlearnt to play upon the lute and upon all manner instruments of\nmusic and he was used to [carouse and] company with friends and\nbrethren. Now it was of his wont that, when the king rose to go\nto his sleeping-chamber, he would sit in his place and seek of me\nthat I should entertain him with stories and verses and pleasant\nanecdotes; and on this wise I abode with them a great while in\nall cheer and delight, and the prince still loved me with an\nexceeding great love and entreated me with the utmost kindness.\n\nIt befell one day that the king's son came to me, after his\nfather had withdrawn, and said to me, \"Harkye, Ibn Nafil\" \"At thy\nservice, O my lord,\" answered I; and he said, \"I would have thee\ntell me an extraordinary story and a rare matter, that thou hast\nnever related either to me or to my father Jemhour.\" \"O my lord,\"\nrejoined I, \"what story is this that thou desirest of me and of\nwhat kind shall it be of the kinds?\" Quoth he, \"It matters little\nwhat it is, so it be a goodly story, whether it befell of old\ndays or in these times.\" \"O my lord,\" said I, \"I know many\nstories of various kinds; so whether of the kinds preferrest\nthou, and wilt thou have a story of mankind or of the Jinn?\" \"It\nis well,\" answered he; \"if thou have seen aught with thine eyes\nand heard it with thine ears, [tell it me.\"Then he bethought\nhimself] and said to me, \"I conjure thee by my life, tell me a\nstory of the stories of the Jinn and that which thou hast heard\nand seen of them!\" \"O my son,\" replied I, \"indeed thou conjurest\n[me] by a mighty conjuration; so [hearken and thou shalt] hear\nthe goodliest of stories, ay, and the most extraordinary of them\nand the pleasantest and rarest.\" Quoth the prince, \"Say on, for I\nam attentive to thy speech.\" And I said, \"Know, then, O my son,\nthat\n\n\n\n\n\n            STORY OF THE DAMSEL TUHFET EL CULOUB AND\n                  THE KHALIF HAROUN ER RESHID.\n\n\n\nThe Vicar of the Lord of the Worlds[FN#162] Haroun er Reshid had\na boon-companion of the number of his boon-companions, by name\nIshac ben Ibrahim en Nedim el Mausili,[FN#163] who was the most\naccomplished of the folk of his time in the art of smiting upon\nthe lute; and of the Commander of the Faithful's love for him, he\nassigned him a palace of the choicest of his palaces, wherein he\nwas wont to instruct slave-girls in the arts of lute-playing and\nsinging. If any slave-girl became, by his instruction,\naccomplished in the craft, he carried her before the Khalif, who\nbade her play upon the lute; and if she pleased him, he would\norder her to the harem; else would he restore her to Ishac's\npalace.\n\nOne day, the Commander of the Faithful's breast was straitened;\nso he sent after his Vizier Jaafer the Barmecide and Ishac the\nboon-companion and Mesrour the eunuch, the swordsman of his\nvengeance; and when they came, he changed his raiment and\ndisguised himself, whilst Jaafer [and Ishac] and Mesrour and El\nFezll[FN#164] and Younus[FN#165] (who were also present) did the\nlike. Then he went out, he and they, by the privy gate, to the\nTigris and taking boat, fared on till they came to near Et\nTaf,[FN#166] when they landed and walked till they came to the\ngate of the thoroughfare street.[FN#167] Here there met them an\nold man, comely of hoariness and of a venerable and dignified\nbearing, pleasing[FN#168] of aspect and apparel. He kissed the\nearth before Ishac el Mausili (for that be knew but him of the\ncompany, the Khalif being disguised, and deemed the others\ncertain of his friends) and said to him, 'O my lord, there is\npresently with me a slave-girl, a lutanist, never saw eyes the\nlike of her nor the like of her grace, and indeed I was on my way\nto pay my respects to thee and give thee to know of her; but\nAllah, of His favour, hath spared me the trouble. So now I desire\nto show her to thee, and if she be to thy liking, well and good:\nelse I will sell her.' Quoth Ishac, 'Go before me to thy barrack,\ntill I come to thee and see her.'\n\nThe old man kissed his hand and went away; whereupon quoth Er\nReshid to him, 'O Ishac, who is yonder man and what is his\noccasion?' 'O my lord,' answered the other, 'this is a man called\nSaid the Slave-dealer, and he it is who buyeth us slave-girls and\nmamelukes.[FN#169] He avoucheth that with him is a fair\n[slave-girl, a] lutanist, whom he hath withheld from sale, for\nthat he could not fairly sell her till he had shown her to me.'\n'Let us go to him,' said the Khalif,'so we may look on her, by\nway of diversion, and see what is in the slave-dealer's barrack\nof slave-girls.' And Ishac answered, 'Commandment belongeth to\nGod and to the Commander of the Faithful.' Then he went on before\nthem and they followed in his track till they came to the\nslave-dealer's barrack and found it high of building and spacious\nof continence, with sleeping-cells and chambers therein, after\nthe number of the slave-girls, and folk sitting upon the benches.\n\nIshac entered, he and his company, and seating themselves in the\nplace of honour, amused themselves by looking on the slave-girls\nand mamelukes and watching how they were sold, till the sale came\nto an end, when some of the folk went away and other some sat.\nThen said the slave-dealer, 'Let none sit with us except him who\nbuyeth by the thousand [dinars] and upwards.' So those who were\npresent withdrew and there remained none but Er Reshid and his\ncompany; whereupon the slave-dealer called the damsel, after he\nhad caused set her a chair of fawwak,[FN#170] furnished with\nGreek brocade, and it was as she were the sun shining in the\nclear sky. When she entered, she saluted and sitting down, took\nthe lute and smote upon it, after she had touched its strings and\ntuned it, so that all present were amazed. Then she sang thereto\nthe following verses:\n\nWind of the East, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones\n     dwell, I pray, The fullest of greetings bear to them from\n     me, their lover, and say\nThat I am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love\n     And eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye.\nO ye who have withered my heart and marred my hearing and my\n     sight, Desire and transport for your sake wax on me night\n     and day.\nMy heart with yearning is ever torn and tortured without cease,\n     Nor can my lids lay hold on sleep, that Sees from them away.\n\n'Well done, O damsel!' cried Ishac. 'By Allah, this is a fair\nhour!' Whereupon she rose and kissed his hand, saying, 'O my\nlord, the hands stand still in thy presence and the tongues at\nthy sight, and the eloquent before thee are dumb; but thou art\nthe looser of the veil.'[FN#171] Then she clung to him and said,\n'Stand.' So he stood and said to her, 'Who art thou and what is\nthy need?' She raised a corner of the veil, and he beheld a\ndamsel as she were the rising full moon or the glancing\nlightning, with two side locks of hair that fell down to her\nanklets. She kissed his hand and said to him, 'O my lord, know\nthat I have been in this barrack these five months, during which\ntime I have been withheld[FN#172] from sale till thou shouldst be\npresent [and see me]; and yonder slave-dealer still made thy\ncoming a pretext to me[FN#173] and forbade me, for all I sought\nof him night and day that he should cause thee come hither and\nvouchsafe me thy presence and bring me and thee together.' Quoth\nIshac, 'Say what thou wouldst have.' And she answered, 'I beseech\nthee, by God the Most High, that thou buy me, so I may be with\nthee, by way of service.' 'Is that thy desire?' asked he, and she\nreplied, ' Yes.'\n\nSo Ishac returned to the slave-dealer and said to him, 'Harkye,\nGaffer Said!*' 'At thy service, O my lord,' answered the old man;\nand Ishac said, 'In the corridor is a cell and therein a damsel\npale of colour. What is her price in money and how much dost thou\nask for her?, Quoth the slave-dealer, 'She whom thou mentionest\nis called Tuhfet el Hemca.'[FN#174] 'What is the meaning of El\nHemca?' asked Ishac, and the old man replied, 'Her price hath\nbeen paid down an hundred times and she still saith, \"Show me him\nwho desireth to buy me;\" and when I show her to him, she saith,\n\"This fellow is not to my liking; he hath in him such and such a\ndefault.\" And in every one who would fain buy her she allegeth\nsome default or other, so that none careth now to buy her and\nnone seeketh her, for fear lest she discover some default in\nhim.' Quoth Ishac, 'She seeketh presently to sell herself; so go\nthou to her and enquire of her and see her price and send her to\nthe palace.' 'O my lord,' answered Said, 'her price is an hundred\ndinars, though, were she whole of this paleness that is upon her\nface, she would be worth a thousand; but folly and pallor have\ndiminished her value; and behold, I will go to her and consult\nher of this.' So he betook himself to her, and said to her, 'Wilt\nthou be sold to Ishac ben Ibrahim el Mausili?' 'Yes,' answered\nshe, and he said, 'Leave frowardness,[FN#175] for to whom doth it\nhappen to be in the house of Ishac the boon-companion?'[FN#176]\n\nThen Ishac went forth of the barrack and overtook Er Reshid [who\nhad foregone him]; and they walked till they came to their\n[landing-]place, where they embarked in the boat and fared on to\nTheghr el Khanekah.[FN#177] As for the slave-dealer, he sent the\ndamsel to the house of Ishac en Nedim, whose slave-girls took her\nand carried her to the bath. Then each damsel gave her somewhat\nof her apparel and they decked her with earrings and bracelets,\nso that she redoubled in beauty and became as she were the moon\non the night of its full. When Ishac returned home from the\nKhalifs palace, Tuhfeh rose to him and kissed his hand; and he\nsaw that which the slave-girls had done with her and thanked them\ntherefor and said to them, 'Let her be in the house of\ninstruction and bring her instruments of music, and if she be apt\nunto singing, teach her; and may God the Most High vouchsafe her\nhealth and weal!' So there passed over her three months, what\nwhile she abode with him in the house of instruction, and they\nbrought her the instruments of music. Moreover, as time went on,\nshe was vouchsafed health and soundness and her beauty waxed many\ntimes greater than before and her pallor was changed to white and\nred, so that she became a ravishment to all who looked on her.\n\nOne day, Ishac let bring all who were with him of slave-girls\nfrom the house of instruction and carried them up to Er Reshid's\npalace, leaving none in his house save Tuhfeh and a cookmaid; for\nthat he bethought him not of Tuhfeh, nor did she occur to his\nmind, and none of the damsels remembered him of her. When she saw\nthat the house was empty of the slave-girls, she took the lute\n(now she was unique in her time in smiting upon the lute, nor had\nshe her like in the world, no, not Ishac himself, nor any other)\nand sang thereto the following verses:\n\nWhenas the soul desireth one other than its peer, It winneth not\n     of fortune the wish it holdeth dear.\nHim with my life I'd ransom whose rigours waste away My frame and\n     cause me languish; yet, if he would but hear,\nIt rests with him to heal me; and I (a soul he hath Must suffer\n     that which irks it), go saying, in my fear\nOf spies, \"How long, O scoffer, wilt mock at my despair, As\n     'twere God had created nought else whereat to jeer?\"\n\nNow Ishac had returned to his house upon an occasion that\npresented itself to him; and when he entered the vestibule, he\nheard a sound of singing, the like whereof he had never heard in\nthe world, for that it was [soft] as the breeze and\nricher[FN#178] than almond oil.[FN#179] So the delight of it gat\nhold of him and joyance overcame him, and he fell down aswoon in\nthe vestibule, Tuhfeh heard the noise of steps and laying the\nlute from her hand, went out to see what was to do. She found her\nlord Ishac lying aswoon in the vestibule; so she took him up and\nstrained him to her bosom, saying, 'I conjure thee in God's name,\nO my lord, tell me, hath aught befallen thee?' When he heard her\nvoice, he recovered from his swoon and said to her, 'Who art\nthou? ' Quoth she, 'I am thy slave-girl Tuhfeh.' And he said to\nher, 'Art thou indeed Tuhfeh?' 'Yes,' answered she; and he, 'By\nAllah, I had forgotten thee and remembered thee not till now!'\nThen he looked at her and said, 'Indeed, thy case is altered and\nthy pallor is grown changed to rosiness and thou hast redoubled\nin beauty and lovesomeness. But was it thou who was singing but\nnow?' And she was troubled and affrighted and answered, 'Even I,\nO my lord.'\n\nThen Ishac seized upon her hand and carrying her into the house,\nsaid to her, 'Take the lute and sing; for never saw I nor heard\nthy like in smiting upon the lute; no, not even myself!' 'O my\nlord,' answered she, 'thou makest mock of me. Who am I that thou\nshouldst say all this to me? Indeed, this is but of thy\nkindness.' 'Nay, by Allah,' exclaimed he, 'I said but the truth\nto thee and I am none of those on whom pretence imposeth. These\nthree months hath nature not moved thee to take the lute and sing\nthereto, and this is nought but an extraordinary thing. But all\nthis cometh of strength in the craft and self-restraint.' Then he\nbade her sing; and she said, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she\ntook the lute and tightening its strings, smote thereon a number\nof airs, so that she confounded Ishac's wit and he was like to\nfly for delight. Then she returned to the first mode and sang\nthereto the following verses:\n\nStill by your ruined camp a dweller I abide; Ne'er will I change\n     nor e'er shall distance us divide.\nFar though you dwell, I'll ne'er your neighbourhood forget, O\n     friends, whose lovers still for you are stupefied.\nYour image midst mine eye sits nor forsakes me aye; Ye are my\n     moons in gloom of night and shadowtide.\nStill, as my transports wax, grows restlessness on me And woes\n     have ta'en the place of love-delight denied.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song and laid down the lute,\nIshac looked fixedly on her, then took her hand and offered to\nkiss it; but she snatched it from him and said to him, 'Allah, O\nmy lord, do not that!' Quoth he, 'Be silent. By Allah, I had said\nthat there was not in the world the like of me; but now I have\nfound my dinar[FN#180] in the craft but a danic,[FN#181] \"for\nthou art, beyond comparison or approximation or reckoning, more\nexcellent of skill than I! This very day will I carry thee up to\nthe Commander of the Faithful Haroun er Reshid, and whenas his\nglance lighteth on thee, thou wilt become a princess of\nwomankind. So, Allah, Allah upon thee, O my lady, whenas thou\nbecomest of the household of the Commander of the Faithful, do\nnot thou forget me!' And she replied, saying, 'Allah, O my lord,\nthou art the source of my fortunes and in thee is my heart\nfortified.' So he took her hand and made a covenant with her of\nthis and she swore to him that she would not forget him.\n\nThen said he to her, 'By Allah, thou art the desire of the\nCommander of the Faithful![FN#182] So take the lute and sing a\nsong that thou shalt sing to the Khalif, whenas thou goest in to\nhim.' So she took the lute and tuning it, sang the following\nverses:\n\nHis love on him took pity and wept for his dismay: Of those that\n     him did visit she was, as sick he lay.\nShe let him taste her honey and wine[FN#183] before his death:\n     This was his last of victual until the Judgment Day.\n\nIshac stared at her and seizing her hand, said to her, 'Know that\nI am bound by an oath that, when the singing of a damsel pleaseth\nme, she shall not make an end of her song but before the\nCommander of the Faithful. But now tell me, how came it that thou\nabodest with the slave-dealer five months and wast not sold to\nany, and thou of this skill, more by token that the price set on\nthee was no great matter?'\n\nShe laughed and answered, 'O my lord, my story is a strange one\nand my case extraordinary. Know that I belonged aforetime to a\nMughrebi merchant, who bought me, when I was three years old, and\nthere were in his house many slave-girls and eunuchs; but I was\nthe dearest to him of them all. So he kept me with him and used\nnot to call me but \"daughterling,\" and indeed I am presently a\nclean maid. Now there was with him a damsel, a lutanist, and she\nreared me and taught me the craft, even as thou seest. Then was\nmy master admitted to the mercy of God the Most High[FN#184] and\nhis sons divided his good. I fell to the lot of one of them; but\nit was only a little while ere he had squandered all his\nsubstance and there was left him no tittle of money. So I left\nthe lute, fearing lest I should fall into the hand of a man who\nknew not my worth, for that I was assured that needs must my\nmaster sell me; and indeed it was but a few days ere he carried\nme forth to the barrack of the slave-merchant who buyeth\nslave-girls and showeth them to the Commander of the Faithful.\nNow I desired to learn the craft; so I refused to be sold to\nother than thou, till God (extolled be His perfection and exalted\nbe He!) vouchsafed me my desire of thy presence; whereupon I came\nout to thee, whenas I heard of thy coming, and besought thee to\nbuy me. Thou healedst my heart and boughtedst me; and since I\nentered thy house, O my lord, I have not taken up the lute till\nnow; but to-day, whenas I was quit of the slave-girls, [I took\nit]; and my purpose in this was that I might see if my hand were\nchanged[FN#185] or no. As I was singing, I heard a step in the\nvestibule; so I laid the lute from my hand and going forth to see\nwhat was to do, found thee, O my lord, on this wise.'\n\nQuoth Ishac, 'Indeed, this was of thy fair fortune. By Allah, I\nknow not that which thou knowest in this craft!' Then he arose\nand going to a chest, brought out therefrom striped clothes of\ngreat price, netted with jewels and great pearls, and said to\nher, 'In the name of God, don these, O my lady Tuhfeh.' So she\narose and donned those clothes and veiled herself and went up\n[with Ishac] to the palace of the Khalifate, where he made her\nstand without, whilst he himself went in to the Commander of the\nFaithful (with whom was Jaafer the Barmecide) and kissing the\nearth before him, said to him, 'O Commander of the Faithful, I\nhave brought thee a damsel, never saw eyes her like for\nexcellence in singing and touching the lute; and her name is\nTuhfeh.\"[FN#186] 'And where,' asked Er Reshed, 'is this Tuhfeh,\nwho hath not her like in the world?' Quoth Ishac, 'Yonder she\nstands, O Commander of the Faithful;' and he acquainted the\nKhalif with her case from first to last. Then said Er Reshid, 'It\nis a marvel to hear thee praise a slave-girl after this fashion.\nAdmit her, so we may see her, for that the morning may not be\nhidden.'\n\nAccordingly, Ishac bade admit her; so she entered, and when her\neyes fell upon the Commander of the Faithful, she kissed the\nearth before him and said, 'Peace be upon thee, O Commander of\nthe Faithful and asylum of the people of the faith and reviver of\njustice among all creatures! May God make plain the treading of\nthy feet and vouchsafe thee enjoyment of that which He hath\nbestowed on thee and make Paradise thy harbourage and the fire\nthat of thine enemies!' Quoth Er Reshid, 'And on thee be peace, O\ndamsel! Sit.' So she sat down and he bade her sing; whereupon she\ntook the lute and tightening its strings, played thereon in many\nmodes, so that the Commander of the Faithful and Jaafer were\nconfounded and like to fly for delight. Then she returned to the\nfirst mode and sang the following verses:\n\nBy Him whom I worship, indeed, I swear, O thou that mine eye dost\n     fill, By Him in whose honour the pilgrims throng and fare to\n     Arafat's hill,\nThough over me be the tombstone laid, if ever thou call on me,\n     Though rotten my bone should be, thy voice I'll answer, come\n     what will.\nI crave none other than thou for friend, beloved of my heart; So\n     trust in my speech, for the generous are true and trusty\n     still.\n\nEr Reshid considered her beauty and the goodliness of her singing\nand her eloquence and what not else she comprised of qualities\nand rejoiced with an exceeding joyance; and for the stress of\nthat which overcame him of delight, he descended from the couch\nand sitting down with her upon the ground, said to her, 'Thou\nhast done well, O Tuhfeh. By Allah, thou art indeed a\ngift'[FN#187] Then he turned to Ishac and said to him, 'Thou\ndealtest not equitably, O Ishac, in the description of this\ndamsel,[FN#188] neither settest out all that she compriseth of\ngoodliness and skill; for that, by Allah, she is incomparably\nmore skilful than thou; and I know of this craft that which none\nknoweth other than I!' 'By Allah,' exclaimed Jaafer, 'thou sayst\nsooth, O my lord, O Commander of the Faithful. Indeed, this\ndamsel hath done away my wit' Quoth Ishac, 'By Allah, O Commander\nof the Faithful, I had said that there was not on the face of the\nearth one who knew the craft of the lute like myself; but, when I\nheard her, my skill became nothing worth in mine eyes.'\n\nThen said the Khalif to her, 'Repeat thy playing, O Tuhfeh.' So\nshe repeated it and he said to her, 'Well done!' Moreover, he\nsaid to Ishac, 'Thou hast indeed brought me that which is\nextraordinary and worth in mine eyes the empire of the earth.'\nThen he turned to Mesrour the eunuch and said to him, 'Carry\nTuhfeh to the lodging of honour.'[FN#189] Accordingly, she went\naway with Mesrour and the Khalif looked at her clothes and seeing\nher clad in raiment of choice, said to Ishac, 'O Ishac, whence\nhath she these clothes?' 'O my lord, answered he, 'these are\nsomewhat of thy bounties and thy largesse, and they are a gift to\nher from me. By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, the world,\nall of it, were little in comparison with her!' Then the Khalif\nturned to the Vizier Jaafer and said to him, 'Give Ishac fifty\nthousand dirhems and a dress of honour of the apparel of choice.'\n'Hearkening and obedience,' replied Jaafer and gave him that\nwhich the Khalif ordered him.\n\nAs for Er Reshid, he shut himself up with Tuhfeh that night and\nfound her a clean maid and rejoiced in her; and she took high\nrank in his heart, so that he could not endure from her a single\nhour and committed to her the keys of the affairs of the realm,\nfor that which he saw in her of good breeding and wit and\nmodesty. Moreover, he gave her fifty slave-girls and two hundred\nthousand dinars and clothes and trinkets and jewels and precious\nstones, worth the kingdom of Egypt; and of the excess of his love\nfor her, he would not entrust her to any of the slave-girls or\neunuchs; but, whenas he went out from her, he locked the door\nupon her and took the key with him, against he should return to\nher, forbidding the damsels to go in to her, of his fear lest\nthey should slay her or practise on her with knife or poison; and\non this wise he abode awhile.\n\nOne day as she sang before the Commander of the Faithful, he was\nmoved to exceeding delight, so that he took her and offered to\nkiss her hand; but she drew it away from him and smote upon her\nlute and broke it and wept Er Reshid wiped away her tears and\nsaid, 'O desire of the heart, what is it maketh thee weep? May\nGod not cause an eye of thine to weep!' 'O my lord,' answered\nshe, 'what am I that thou shouldst kiss my hand? Wilt thou have\nGod punish me for this and that my term should come to an end and\nmy felicity pass away? For this is what none ever attained unto.'\nQuoth he, 'Well said, O Tuhfeh. Know that thy rank in my esteem\nis mighty and for that which wondered me of what I saw of thee, I\noffered to do this, but I will not return unto the like thereof;\nso be of good heart and cheerful eye, for I have no desire for\nother than thyself and will not die but in the love of thee, and\nthou to me art queen and mistress, to the exclusion of all\nhumankind.' Therewith she fell to kissing his feet; and this her\nfashion pleased him, so that his love for her redoubled and he\nbecame unable to brook an hour's severance from her.\n\nOne day he went forth to the chase and left Tuhfeh in her\npavilion. As she sat looking upon a book, with a candlestick of\ngold before her, wherein was a perfumed candle, behold, a\nmusk-apple fell down before her from the top of the\nsaloon.[FN#190] So she looked up and beheld the Lady Zubeideh\nbint el Casim,[FN#191] who saluted her and acquainted her with\nherself, whereupon Tuhfeh rose to her feet and said, 'O my lady,\nwere I not of the number of the upstarts, I had daily sought thy\nservice; so do not thou bereave me of thine august\nvisits.'[FN#192] The Lady Zubeideh called down blessings upon her\nand answered, 'By the life of the Commander of the Faithful, I\nknew this of thee, and but that it is not of my wont to go forth\nof my place, I had come out to do my service to thee.' Then said\nshe to her, 'Know, O Tuhfeh, that the Commander of the Faithful\nhath forsaken all his concubines and favourites on thine account,\neven to myself. Yea, me also hath he deserted on this wise, and I\nam not content to be as one of the concubines; yet hath he made\nme of them and forsaken me, and I am come to thee, so thou mayst\nbeseech him to come to me, though it be but once a month, that I\nmay not be the like of the handmaids and concubines nor be evened\nwith the slave-girls; and this is my occasion with thee.'\n'Hearkening and obedience,' answered Tuhfeh. 'By Allah, O my\nlady, I would well that he might be with thee a whole month and\nwith me but one night, so thy heart might be comforted, for that\nI am one of thy handmaids and thou art my lady in every event.'\nThe Lady Zubeideh thanked her for this and taking leave of her,\nreturned to her palace.\n\nWhen the Khalif returned from the chase, he betook himself to\nTuhfeh's pavilion and bringing out the key, opened the door and\nwent in to her. She rose to receive him and kissed his hand, and\nhe took her to his breast and seated her on his knee. Then food\nwas brought to them and they ate and washed their hands; after\nwhich she took the lute and sang, till Er Reshid was moved to\nsleep. When she was ware of this, she left singing and told him\nher adventure with the Lady Zubeideh, saying, 'O Commander of the\nFaithful, I would have thee do me a favour and heal my heart and\naccept my intercession and reject not my word, but go forthright\nto the Lady Zubeideh's lodging.' Now this talk befell after he\nhad stripped himself naked and she also had put off her clothes;\nand he said, 'Thou shouldst have named this before we stripped\nourselves naked.' But she answered, saying, ' O Commander of the\nFaithful, I did this not but in accordance with the saying of the\npoet in the following verses:\n\nAll intercessions come and all alike do ill succeed, Save\n     Tuhfeh's, daughter of Merjan, for that, in very deed,\nThe intercessor who to thee herself presenteth veiled Is not her\n     like who naked comes with thee to intercede.'\n\nWhen the Khalif heard this, her speech pleased him and he\nstrained her to his bosom. Then he went forth from her and locked\nthe door upon her, as before; whereupon she took the book and sat\nlooking in it awhile. Presently, she laid it down and taking the\nlute, tightened its strings. Then she smote thereon, after a\nwondrous fashion, such as would have moved inanimate things [to\ndelight], and fell to singing marvellous melodies and chanting\nthe following verses:\n\nRail not at the vicissitudes of Fate, For Fortune still spites\n     those who her berate.\nBe patient under its calamities, For all things have an issue\n     soon or late.\nHow many a mirth-exciting joy amid The raiment of ill chances\n     lies in wait!\nHow often, too, hath gladness come to light Whence nought but\n     dole thou didst anticipate!\n\nThen she turned and saw within the chamber an old man, comely of\nhoariness, venerable of aspect, who was dancing on apt and goodly\nwise, a dance the like whereof none might avail unto. So she\nsought refuge with God the Most High from Satan the\nStoned[FN#193] and said, 'I will not give over what I am about,\nfor that which God decreeth, He carrieth into execution.'\nAccordingly, she went on singing till the old man came up to her\nand kissed the earth before her, saying, 'Well done, O Queen of\nthe East and the West! May the world be not bereaved of thee! By\nAllah, indeed thou art perfect of qualities and ingredients, O\nTuhfet es Sudour![FN#194] Dost thou know me?' 'Nay, by Allah,'\nanswered she; 'but methinks thou art of the Jinn.' Quoth he,\n'Thou sayst sooth; I am the Sheikh Aboultawaif[FN#195] Iblis, and\nI come to thee every night, and with me thy sister Kemeriyeh, for\nthat she loveth thee and sweareth not but by thy life; and her\nlife is not pleasant to her, except she come to thee and see\nthee, what while thou seest her not. As for me, I come to thee\nupon an affair, wherein thou shall find thine advantage and\nwhereby thou shalt rise to high rank with the kings of the Jinn\nand rule them, even as thou rulest mankind; [and to that end I\nwould have thee come with me and be present at the festival of my\nson's circumcision;[FN#196]] for that the Jinn are agreed upon\nthe manifestation of thine affair.' And she answered, 'In the\nname of God.'\n\nSo she gave him the lute and he forewent her, till he came to the\nhouse of easance, and behold, therein was a door and a stairway.\nWhen Tuhfeh saw this, her reason fled; but Iblis cheered her with\ndiscourse. Then he descended the stair and she followed him to\nthe bottom thereof, where she found a passage and they fared on\ntherein, till they came to a horse standing, Teady saddled and\nbridled and accoutred. Quoth Iblis, '[Mount], in the name of God,\nO my lady Tuhfeh;' and he held the stirrup for her. So she\nmounted and the horse shook under her and putting forth wings,\nflew up with her, whilst the old man flew by her side; whereat\nshe was affrighted and clung to the pummel of the saddle; nor was\nit but an hour ere they came to a fair green meadow,\nfresh-flowered as if the soil thereof were a goodly robe,\nembroidered with all manner colours.\n\nMidmost that meadow was a palace soaring high into the air, with\nbattlements of red gold, set with pearls and jewels, and a\ntwo-leaved gate; and in the gateway thereof were much people of\nthe chiefs of the Jinn, clad in sumptuous apparel. When they saw\nthe old man, they all cried out, saying, 'The Lady Tuhfeh is\ncome!' And as soon as she reached the palace-gate, they came all\nand dismounting her from the horse's back, carried her into the\npalace and fell to kissing her hands. When she entered, she\nbeheld a palace whereof never saw eyes the like; for therein were\nfour estrades, one facing other, and its walls were of gold and\nits ceilings of silver. It was lofty of building, wide of\ncontinence, and those who beheld it would be puzzled to describe\nit. At the upper end of the hall stood a throne of red gold, set\nwith pearls and jewels, unto which led up five steps of silver,\nand on the right thereof and on its left were many chairs of gold\nand silver; and over the dais was a curtain let down, gold and\nsilver wrought and broidered with pearls and jewels.\n\nThe old man carried Tuhfeh up [to the dais and seated her] on a\nchair of gold beside the throne, whilst she was amazed at that\nwhich she saw in that place and magnified her Lord (extolled be\nHis perfection and exalted be He!) and hallowed Him. Then the\nkings of the Jinn came up to the throne and seated themselves\nthereon; and they were in the semblance of mortals, excepting two\nof them, who were in the semblance of the Jinn, with eyes slit\nendlong and jutting horns and projecting tusks. After this there\ncame up a young lady, fair of favour and pleasant of parts; the\nlight of her face outshone that of the flambeaux, and about her\nwere other three women, than whom there were no fairer on the\nface of the earth. They saluted Tuhfeh and she rose to them and\nkissed the earth before them; whereupon they embraced her and sat\ndown on the chairs aforesaid.\n\nNow the four women who thus accosted Tuhfeh were the princess\nKemeriyeh, daughter of King Es Shisban, and her sisters; and\nKemeriyeh loved Tuhfeh with an exceeding love. So, when she came\nup to her, she fell to kissing and embracing her, and Iblis said,\n'Fair befall you! Take me between you.' At this Tuhfeh laughed\nand Kemeriyeh said, 'O my sister, I love thee and doubtless\nhearts have their evidences,[FN#197] for, since I saw thee, I\nhave loved thee.' 'By Allah,' replied Tuhfeh, 'hearts have\ndeeps,[FN#198] and thou, by Allah, art dear to me and I am thy\nhandmaid.' Kemeriyeh thanked her for this and said to her, 'These\nare the wives of the kings of the Jinn: salute them. This is\nQueen Jemreh,[FN#199] that is Queen Wekhimeh and this other is\nQueen Sherareh, and they come not but for thee.' So Tuhfeh rose\nto her feet and kissed their hands, and the three queens kissed\nher and welcomed her and entreated her with the utmost honour.\n\nThen they brought trays and tables and amongst the rest a platter\nof red gold, inlaid with pearls and jewels; its margents were of\ngold and emerald, and thereon were graven the following verses:\n\nFor the uses of food I was fashioned and made; The hands of the\n     noble me wrought and inlaid.\nMy maker reserved me for generous men And the niggard and\n     sland'rer to use me forebade.\nSo eat what I offer in surety and be The Lord of all things with\n     thanks- giving repaid!\n\nSo they ate and Tuhfeh looked at the two kings, who had not\nchanged their favour and said to Kemeriyeh, 'O my lady, what is\nyonder wild beast and that other like unto him? By Allah, mine\neye brooketh not the sight of them.' Kemeriyeh laughed and\nanswered, 'O my sister, that is my father Es Shisban and the\nother is Meimoun the Sworder; and of the pride of their souls and\ntheir arrogance, they consented not to change their [natural]\nfashion. Indeed, all whom thou seest here are, by nature, like\nunto them in fashion; but, on thine account, they have changed\ntheir favour, for fear lest thou be disquieted and for the\ncomforting of thy mind, so thou mightest make friends with them\nand be at thine ease.' 'O my lady,' quoth Tuhfeh, 'indeed I\ncannot look at them. How frightful is yonder Meimoun, with his\n[one] eye! Mine eye cannot brook the sight of him, and indeed I\nam fearful of him.' Kemeriyeh laughed at her speech, and Tuhfeh\nsaid, 'By Allah, O my lady, I cannot fill my eye with\nthem!'[FN#200] Then said her father Es Shisban to her, 'What is\nthis laughing?' So she bespoke him in a tongue none understood\nbut they [two] and acquainted him with that which Tuhfeh had\nsaid; whereat he laughed a prodigious laugh, as it were the\npealing thunder.\n\nThen they ate and the tables were removed and they washed their\nhands; after which Iblis the Accursed came up to Tuhfeh and said\nto her, 'O my lady Tuhfeh, thou gladdenest the place and with thy\npresence enlightenest and embellishest it; but now fain would\nthese kings hear somewhat of thy singing, for the night hath\nspread its wings for departure and there abideth thereof but a\nlittle.' Quoth she, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the\nlute and touching its strings on rare wise, played thereon after\na wondrous fashion, so that it seemed to those who were present\nas if the palace stirred with them for the music. Then she fell\na-singing and chanted the following verses:\n\nPeace on you, people of my troth! With peace I do you greet. Said\n     ye not truly, aforetime, that we should live and meet?\nAh, then will I begin on you with chiding than the breeze More\n     soft, ay pleasanter than clear cold water and more sweet.\nIndeed, mine eyelids still with tears are ulcered and to you My\n     bowels yearn to be made whole of all their pain and heat.\nParting hath sundered us, belov'd; indeed, I stood in dread Of\n     this, whilst yet our happiness in union was complete.\nTo God of all the woes I've borne I plain me, for I pine For\n     longing and lament, and Him for solace I entreat\n\nThe kings of the Jinn were moved to delight by that fair singing\nand fluent speech and praised Tuhfeh; and Queen Kemeriyeh rose to\nher and embraced her and kissed her between the eyes, saying, 'By\nAllah, it is good, O my sister and solace of mine eyes and\ndarling of my heart!' Then said she, 'I conjure thee by Allah,\ngive us more of this lovely singing.' And Tuhfeh answered with\n'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the lute and playing\nthereon after a different fashion from the former one, sang the\nfollowing verses:\n\nOft as my yearning waxeth, my heart consoleth me With hopes of\n     thine enjoyment in all security.\nSure God shall yet, in pity, reknit our severed lives, Even as He\n     did afflict me with loneness after thee.\nThou whose desire possesseth my soul, the love of whom Hold on my\n     reins hath gotten and will not let me free,\nCompared with thine enjoyment, the hardest things are light To\n     win and all things distant draw near and easy be.\nGod to a tristful lover be light! A man of wit, Yet perishing for\n     yearning and body-worn is he.\nWere I cut off, beloved, from hope of thy return, Slumber,\n     indeed, for ever my wakeful lids would flee.\nFor nought of worldly fortune I weep! my only joy In seeing thee\n     consisteth and in thy seeing me.\n\nAt this the accursed Iblis was moved to delight and put his\nfinger to his arse, whilst Meimoun danced and said, 'O Tuhfet es\nSudour, soften the mode;[FN#201] for, as delight, entereth into\nmy heart, it bewildereth my vital spirits.' So she took the lute\nand changing the mode, played a third air; then she returned to\nthe first and sang the following verses:\n\nThe billows of thy love o'erwhelm me passing sore; I sink and all\n     in vain for succour I implore.\nYe've drowned me in the sea of love for you; my heart Denies to\n     be consoled for those whom I adore.\nThink not that I forget our trothplight after you. Nay; God to me\n     decreed remembrance heretofore.[FN#202]\nLove to its victim clings without relent, and he Of torments and\n     unease complaineth evermore.\n\nThe kings and all those who were present rejoiced in this with an\nexceeding delight and the accursed Iblis came up to Tuhfeh and\nkissing her hand, said to her, 'There abideth but little of the\nnight; so do thou tarry with us till the morrow, when we will\napply ourselves to the wedding[FN#203] and the circumcision.'\nThen all the Jinn went away, whereupon Tuhfeh rose to her feet\nand Iblis said, 'Go ye up with Tuhfeh to the garden for the rest\nof the night.' So Kemeriyeh took her and carried her into the\ngarden. Now this garden contained all manner birds, nightingale\nand mocking-bird and ringdove and curlew[FN#204] and other than\nthese of all the kinds, and therein were all kinds of fruits. Its\nchannels[FN#205] were of gold and silver and the water thereof,\nas it broke forth of its conduits, was like unto fleeing\nserpents' bellies, and indeed it was as it were the Garden of\nEden.[FN#206]\n\nWhen Tuhfeh beheld this, she called to mind her lord and wept\nsore and said, 'I beseech God the Most High to vouchsafe me\nspeedy deliverance, so I may return to my palace and that my high\nestate and queendom and glory and be reunited with my lord and\nmaster Er Reshid.' Then she walked in that garden and saw in its\nmidst a dome of white marble, raised on columns of black teak and\nhung with curtains embroidered with pearls and jewels.\nAmiddleward this pavilion was a fountain, inlaid with all manner\njacinths, and thereon a statue of gold, and [beside it] a little\ndoor. She opened the door and found herself in a long passage; so\nshe followed it and behold, a bath lined with all kinds of\nprecious marbles and floored with a mosaic of pearls and jewels.\nTherein were four cisterns of alabaster, one facing other, and\nthe ceiling of the bath was of glass coloured with all manner\ncolours, such as confounded the understanding of the folk of\nunderstanding and amazed the wit.\n\nTuhfeh entered the bath, after she had put off her clothes, and\nbehold, the basin thereof was overlaid with gold set with pearls\nand red rubies and green emeralds and other jewels; so she\nextolled the perfection of God the Most High and hallowed Him for\nthe magnificence of that which she saw of the attributes of that\nbath. Then she made her ablutions in that basin and pronouncing\nthe Magnification of Prohibition,[FN#207] prayed the morning\nprayer and what else had escaped her of prayers;[FN#208] after\nwhich she went out and walked in that garden among jessamine and\nlavender and roses and camomile and gillyflowers and thyme and\nviolets and sweet basil, till she came to the door of the\npavilion aforesaid and sat down therein, pondering that which\nshould betide Er Reshid after her, whenas he should come to her\npavilion and find her not. She abode sunken in the sea of her\nsolicitude, till presently sleep took her and she slept\n\nPresently she felt a breath upon her face; whereupon she awoke\nand found Queen Kemeriyeh kissing her, and with her her three\nsisters, Queen Jemreh, Queen Wekhimeh and Queen Sherareh. So she\narose and kissed their hands and rejoiced in them with the utmost\njoy and they abode, she and they, in talk and converse, what\nwhile she related to them her history, from the time of her\npurchase by the Mughrebi to that of her coming to the\nslave-dealers' barrack, where she besought Ishac en Nedim to buy\nher, and how she won to Er Reshid, till the moment when Iblis\ncame to her and brought her to them. They gave not over talking\ntill the sun declined and turned pale and the season of sundown\ndrew near and the day departed, whereupon Tuhfeh was instant in\nsupplication to God the Most High, on the occasion of the prayer\nof sundown, that He would reunite her with her lord Er Reshid.\n\nAfter this, she abode with the four queens, till they arose and\nentered the palace, where she found the candles lit and ranged in\ncandlesticks of gold and silver and censing-vessels of gold and\nsilver, filled with aloes-wood and ambergris, and there were the\nkings of the Jinn sitting. So she saluted them, kissing the earth\nbefore them and doing them worship; and they rejoiced in her and\nin her sight. Then she ascended [the estrade] and sat down upon\nher chair, whilst King Es Shisban and King El Muzfir and Queen\nLouloueh and [other] the kings of the Jinn sat on chairs, and\nthey brought tables of choice, spread with all manner meats\nbefitting kings. They ate their fill; after which the tables were\nremoved and they washed their hands and wiped them with napkins.\nThen they brought the wine-service and set on bowls and cups and\nflagons and hanaps of gold and silver and beakers of crystal and\ngold; and they poured out the wines and filled the flagons.\n\nThen Iblis took the cup and signed to Tuhfeh to sing; and she\nsaid, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the lute and tuning\nit, sang the following verses:\n\nDrink ever, O lovers, I rede you, of wine And praise his desert\n     who for yearning doth pine,\nWhere lavender, myrtle, narcissus entwine, With all sweet-scented\n     herbs, round the juice of the vine.\n\nSo Iblis the Accursed drank and said, 'Well done, O desire of\nhearts! but thou owest me yet another song.' Then he filled the\ncup and signed to her to sing. Quoth she, 'Hearkening and\nobedience,' and sang the following verses:\n\nYe know I'm passion-maddened, racked with love and languishment,\n     Yet ye torment me, for to you 'tis pleasing to torment.\nBetween mine eyes and wake ye have your dwelling-place, and thus\n     My tears flow on unceasingly, my sighs know no relent.\nHow long shall I for justice sue to you, whilst, with desire For\n     aid, ye war on me and still on slaying me are bent!\nTo me your rigour love-delight, your distance nearness is; Ay,\n     your injustice equity, and eke your wrath consent.\nAccuse me falsely, cruelly entreat me; still ye are My heart's\n     beloved, at whose hands no rigour I resent.\n\nAll who were present were delighted and the sitting-chamber shook\nwith mirth, and Iblis said, 'Well done, O Tuhfet es Sudour!' Then\nthey gave not over wine-bibbing and rejoicing and making merry\nand tambourining and piping till the night waned and the dawn\ndrew near; and indeed exceeding delight entered into them. The\nmost of them in mirth was the Sheikh Iblis, and for the excess of\nthat which betided him of delight, he put off all that was upon\nhim of coloured clothes and cast them over Tuhfeh, and among the\nrest a robe broidered with jewels and jacinths, worth ten\nthousand dinars. Then he kissed the earth and danced and put his\nfinger to his arse and taking his beard in his hand, said to her,\n'Sing about this beard and endeavour after mirth and pleasance,\nand no blame shall betide thee for this.' So she improvised and\nsang the following verses:\n\nBeard of the old he-goat, the one-eyed, what shall be My saying\n     of a knave, his fashion and degree?\nI rede thee vaunt thee not of praise from us, for lo! Even as a\n     docktailed cur thou art esteemed of me.\nBy Allah, without fail, to-morrow thou shalt see Me with\n     ox-leather dress and drub the nape of thee!\n\nAll those who were present laughed at her mockery of Iblis and\nmarvelled at the goodliness of her observation[FN#209] and her\nreadiness in improvising verses; whilst the Sheikh himself\nrejoiced and said to her, 'O Tuhfet es Sudour, the night is gone;\nso arise and rest thyself ere the day; and to-morrow all shall be\nwell.' Then all the kings of the Jinn departed, together with\nthose who were present of guards, and Tuhfeh abode alone,\npondering the affair of Er Reshid and bethinking her of how it\nwas with him, after her, and of that which had betided him for\nher loss, till the dawn gleamed, when she arose and walked in the\npalace. Presently she saw a handsome door; so she opened it and\nfound herself in a garden goodlier than the first, never saw eyes\na fairer than it. When she beheld this garden, delight moved her\nand she called to mind her lord Er Reshid and wept sore, saying,\n'I crave of the bounty of God the Most High that my return to him\nand to my palace and my home may be near at hand!'\n\nThen she walked in the garden till she came to a pavilion, lofty\nof building and wide of continence, never saw mortal nor heard of\na goodlier than it [So she entered] and found herself in a long\ncorridor, which led to a bath goodlier than that whereof it hath\nbeen spoken, and the cisterns thereof were full of rose-water\nmingled with musk. Quoth Tuhfeh, 'Extolled be the perfection of\nGod! Indeed, this[FN#210] is none other than a mighty king.' Then\nshe put off her clothes and washed her body and made her\nablution, after the fullest fashion,[FN#211] and prayed that\nwhich was due from her of prayer from the evening [of the\nprevious day].[FN#212] When the sun rose upon the gate of the\ngarden and she saw the wonders thereof, with that which was\ntherein of all manner flowers and streams, and heard the voices\nof its birds, she marvelled at what she saw of the surpassing\ngoodliness of its ordinance and the beauty of its disposition and\nsat meditating the affair of Er Reshid and pondering what was\ncome of him after her. Her tears ran down upon her cheek and the\nzephyr blew on her; so she slept and knew no more till she felt a\nbreath on her cheek, whereupon she awoke in affright and found\nQueen Kemeriyeh kissing her face, and with her her sisters, who\nsaid to her, 'Arise, for the sun hath set.'\n\nSo she arose and making the ablution, prayed that which behoved\nher of prayers[FN#213] and accompanied the four queens to the\npalace, where she saw the candles lighted and the kings sitting.\nShe saluted them and seated herself upon her couch; and behold,\nKing Es Shisban had changed his favour, for all the pride of his\nsoul. Then came up Iblis (whom God curse!) and Tuhfeh rose to him\nand kissed his hands. He in turn kissed her hand and called down\nblessings on her and said, 'How deemest thou? Is [not] this place\npleasant, for all its loneliness and desolation?' Quoth she,\n'None may be desolate in this place;' and he said, 'Know that no\nmortal dare tread [the soil of] this place.' But she answered, 'I\nhave dared and trodden it, and this is of the number of thy\nfavours.' Then they brought tables and meats and viands and\nfruits and sweetmeats and what not else, to the description\nwhereof mortal man availeth not, and they ate till they had\nenough; after which the tables were removed and the trays and\nplatters[FN#214] set on, and they ranged the bottles and flagons\nand vessels and phials, together with all manner fruits and\nsweet-scented flowers.\n\nThe first to take the cup was Iblis the Accursed, who said, 'O\nTuhfet es Sudour, sing over my cup.' So she took the lute and\ntouching it, sang the following verses:\n\nAwaken, O ye sleepers all, and profit, whilst it's here By what's\n     vouchsafed of fortune fair and life untroubled, clear.\nDrink of the first-run wine, that shows as very flame it were,\n     When from the pitcher 'tis outpoured, or ere the day appear.\nO skinker of the vine-juice, let the cup 'twixt us go round, For\n     in its drinking is my hope and all I hold most dear.\nWhat is the pleasance of the world, except it be to see My lady's\n     face, to drink of wine and ditties still to hear?\n\nSo Iblis drank off his cup, and when he had made an end of his\ndraught, he waved his hand to Tuhfeh, and putting off that which\nwas upon him of clothes, delivered them to her. Amongst them was\na suit worth ten thousand dinars and a tray full of jewels worth\na great sum of money. Then he filled again and gave the cup to\nhis son Es Shisban, who took it from his hand and kissing it,\nstood up and sat down again. Now there was before him a tray of\nroses; so he said to her 'O Tuhfeh sing upon these roses.'\nHearkening and obedience,' answered she and sang the following\nverses:\n\nO'er all the fragrant flowers that be I have the prefrence aye,\n     For that I come but once a year, and but a little stay.\nAnd high is my repute, for that I wounded aforetime My\n     lord,[FN#215] whom God made best of all the treaders of the\n     clay.\n\nSo Es Shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, 'Well done,\nO desire of hearts!' And he bestowed on her that which was upon\nhim, to wit, a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with great pearls\nand rubies and broidered with precious stones, and a tray wherein\nwere fifty thousand dinars. Then Meimoun the Sworder took the cup\nand fell to gazing intently upon Tuhfeh. Now there was in his\nhand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, 'Sing upon this\npomegranate-flower, O queen of men and Jinn; for indeed thou hast\ndominion over all hearts.' Quoth she, 'Hearkening and obedience;'\nand she improvised and sang the following verses:\n\nThe zephyr's sweetness on the coppice blew, And as with falling\n     fire 'twas clad anew;\nAnd to the birds' descant in the foredawns, From out the boughs\n     it flowered forth and grew,\nTill in a robe of sandal green 'twas clad And veil that blended\n     rose and flame[FN#216] in hue.\n\nMeinsoun drank off his cup and said to her, 'Well done, O perfect\nof attributes!' Then he signed to her and was absent awhile,\nafter which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an\nhundred thousand dinars, [which he gave to Tuhfeh]. So Kemeriyeh\narose and bade her slave-girl open the closet behind her, wherein\nshe laid all that wealth. Then she delivered the key to Tuhfeh,\nsaying, 'All that cometh to thee of riches, lay thou in this\ncloset that is by thy side, and after the festival, it shall be\ncarried to thy palace on the heads of the Jinn.' Tuhfeh kissed\nher hand, and another king, by name Munir, took the cup and\nfilling it, said to her, 'O fair one, sing to me over my cup upon\nthe jasmine.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered she and\nimprovised the following verses:\n\nIt is as the jasmine, when it I espy, As it glitters and gleams\n     midst its boughs, were a sky\nOf beryl, all glowing with beauty, wherein Thick stars of pure\n     silver shine forth to the eye.\n\nMunir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand\ndinars, whereat Kemeriyeh rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed\nTuhfeh on her face and said to her, 'May the world not be\nbereaved of thee, O thou who lordest it over the hearts of Jinn\nand mortals!' Then she returned to her place and the Sheikh Iblis\narose and danced, till all present were confounded; after which\nhe said to Tuhfeh, 'Indeed, thou embellishest my festival, O thou\nwho hast commandment over men and Jinn and rejoicest their hearts\nwith thy loveliness and the excellence of thy faithfulness to thy\nlord. All that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee [in thy\npalace and placed] at thy service; but now the dawn is near at\nhand; so do thou rise and rest thee, as of thy wont' Tuhfeh\nturned and found with her none of the Jinn; so she laid her head\non the ground and slept till she had gotten her rest; after which\nshe arose and betaking herself to the pool, made the ablution and\nprayed. Then she sat beside the pool awhile and pondered the\naffair of her lord Er Reshid and that which had betided him after\nher and wept sore.\n\nPresently, she heard a blowing behind her; so she turned and\nbehold, a head without a body and with eyes slit endlong; it was\nof the bigness of an elephant's head and bigger and had a mouth\nas it were an oven and projecting tusks, as they were grapnels,\nand hair that trailed upon the earth. So Tuhfeh said, 'I take\nrefuge with God from Satan the Stoned!' and recited the Two\nAmulets;[FN#217] what while the head drew near her and said to\nher, 'Peace be upon thee, O princess of Jinn and men and unique\npearl of her age and her time! May God still continue thee on\nlife, for all the lapsing of the days, and reunite thee with thy\nlord the Imam!'[FN#218] 'And upon thee be peace,' answered she,\n'O thou whose like I have not seen among the Jinn!' Quoth the\nhead, 'We are a people who avail not to change their favours and\nwe are called ghouls. The folk summon us to their presence, but\nwe may not present ourselves before them [without leave]. As for\nme, I have gotten leave of the Sheikh Aboultawaif to present\nmyself before thee and I desire of thy favour that thou sing me a\nsong, so I may go to thy palace and question its haunters[FN#219]\nconcerning the plight of thy lord after thee and return to thee;\nand know, O Tuhfet es Sudour, that between thee and thy lord is a\ndistance of fifty years' journey to the diligent traveller.'\n'Indeed,' rejoined Tuhfeh, 'thou grievest me [for him] between\nwhom and me is fifty years' journey. And the head said to her,\n'Be of good heart and cheerful eye, for the kings of the Jinn\nwill restore thee to him in less than the twinkling of an eye.'\nQuoth she,' I will sing thee an hundred songs, so thou wilt bring\nme news of my lord and that which hath befallen him after me.'\nAnd the head answered, saying, 'Do thou favour me and sing me a\nsong, so I may go to thy lord and bring thee news of him, for\nthat I desire, before I go, to hear thy voice, so haply my\nthirst[FN#220] may be quenched.' So she took the lute and tuning\nit, sang the following verses:\n\nThey have departed; but the steads yet full of them remain: Yea,\n     they have left me, but my heart of them doth not complain.\nMy heart bereavement of my friends forebode; may God of them The\n     dwellings not bereave, but send them timely home again!\nThough they their journey's goal, alas I have hidden, in their\n     track Still will I follow on until the very planets wane.\nYe sleep; by Allah, sleep comes not to ease my weary lids; But\n     from mine eyes, since ye have passed away, the blood doth\n     rain.\nThe railers for your loss pretend that I should patient be:\n     'Away!' I answer them: ' 'tis I, not you, that feel the\n     pain.'\nWhat had it irked them, had they'd ta'en farewell of him they've\n     left Lone, whilst estrangement's fires within his entrails\n     rage amain?\nGreat in delight, beloved mine, your presence is with me; Yet\n     greater still the miseries of parting and its bane.\nYe are the pleasaunce of my soul; or present though you be Or\n     absent from me, still my heart and thought with you remain.\n\nThe head wept exceeding sore and said, 'O my lady, indeed thou\nhast solaced my heart, and I have nought but my life; so take\nit.' Quoth she, 'An I but knew that thou wouldst bring me news of\nmy lord Er Reshid, it were liefer to me than the empery of the\nworld.' And the head answered her, saying, 'It shall be done as\nthou desirest.' Then it disappeared and returning to her at the\nlast of the night, said, 'Know, O my lady, that I have been to\nthy palace and have questioned one of the haunters thereof of the\ncase of the Commander of the Faithful and that which befell him\nafter thee; and he said, \"When the Commander of the Faithful came\nto Tuhfeh's lodging and found her not and saw no sign of her, he\nbuffeted his face and head and rent his clothes. Now there was in\nthy lodging the eunuch, the chief of thy household, and he cried\nout at him, saying, 'Bring me Jaafer the Barmecide and his father\nand brother forthright.' The eunuch went out, confounded in his\nwit for fear of the Commander of the Faithful, and whenas he came\nto Jaafer, he said to him, 'Come to the Commander of the\nFaithful, thou and thy father and brother.' So they arose in\nhaste and betaking themselves to the Khalif's presence, said to\nhim, 'O Commander of the Faithful, what is to do?' Quoth he,\n'There is that to do which overpasseth description. Know that I\nlocked the door and taking the key with me, betook myself to the\ndaughter of mine uncle, with whom I lay the night; but, when I\narose in the morning and came and opened the door, I found no\nsign of Tuhfeh.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' rejoined Jaafer,\n'have patience, for that the damsel hath been snatched away, and\nneeds must she return, seeing she took the lute with her, and it\nis her [own] lute. The Jinn have assuredly carried her off and we\ntrust in God the Most High that she will return.' Quoth the\nKhalif, ' This[FN#221] is a thing that may nowise be' And he\nabode in her lodging, eating not neither drinking, what while the\nBarmecides besought him to go forth to the folk; and he weepeth\nand abideth on this wise till she shall return.\" This, then, is\nthat which hath betided him after thee.'\n\nWhen Tuhfeh heard this, it was grievous to her and she wept sore;\nwhereupon quoth the head to her, 'The relief of God the Most High\nis near at hand; but now let me hear somewhat of thy speech.' So\nshe took the lute and sang three songs, weeping the while. 'By\nAllah,' said the head, 'thou hast been bountiful to me, may God\nbe with thee!' Then it disappeared and the season of sundown\ncame. So she arose [and betook herself] to her place [in the\nhall]; whereupon the candles rose up from under the earth and\nkindled themselves. Then the kings of the Jinn appeared and\nsaluted her and kissed her hands and she saluted them. Presently,\nup came Kemeriyeh and her three sisters and saluted Tuhfeh and\nsat down; whereupon the tables were brought and they ate. Then\nthe tables were removed and there came the wine-tray and the\ndrinking-service. So Tuhfeh took the lute and one of the three\nqueens filled the cup and signed to Tuhfeh [to sing]. Now she had\nin her hand a violet; so Tuhfeh sang the following verses:\n\nBehold, I am clad in a robe of leaves green And a garment of\n     honour of ultramarine.\nThough little, with beauty myself I've adorned; So the flowers\n     are my subjects and I am their queen.\nIf the rose be entitled the pride of the morn, Before me nor\n     after she wins it, I ween.\n\nThe queen drank off her cup and bestowed on Tuhfeh a dress of\ncloth-of-pearl, fringed with red rubies, worth twenty thousand\ndinars, and a tray wherein were ten thousand dinars.\n\nAll this while Meimoun's eye was upon her and presently he said\nto her, 'Harkye, Tuhfeh! Sing to me.' But Queen Zelzeleh cried\nout at him and said, 'Desist, O Meimoun. Thou sufferest not\nTuhfeh to pay heed unto us.' Quoth he, 'I will have her sing to\nme.' And words waxed between them and Queen Zelzeleh cried out at\nhim. Then she shook and became like unto the Jinn and taking in\nher hand a mace of stone, said to him, 'Out on thee! What art\nthou that thou shouldst bespeak us thus? By Allah, but for the\nking's worship and my fear of troubling the session and the\nfestival and the mind of the Sheikh Iblis, I would assuredly beat\nthe folly out of thy head!' When Meimoun heard these her words,\nhe rose, with the fire issuing from his eyes, and said, 'O\ndaughter of Imlac, what art thou that thou shouldst outrage me\nwith the like of this talk?' 'Out on thee, O dog of the Jinn,'\nreplied she, 'knowest thou not thy place?' So saying, she ran at\nhim and offered to strike him with the mace, but the Sheikh Iblis\narose and casting his turban on the ground, said, 'Out on thee, O\nMeimoun! Thou still dost with us on this wise. Wheresoever thou\nart present, thou troubleth our life! Canst thou not hold thy\npeace till thou goest forth of the festival and this\nbride-feast[FN#222] be accomplished? When the circumcision is at\nan end and ye all return to your dwelling-places, then do as thou\nwilt. Out on thee, O Meimoun! Knowest thou not that Imlac is of\nthe chiefs of the Jinn? But for my worship, thou shouldst have\nseen what would have betided thee of humiliation and punishment;\nbut by reason of the festival none may speak. Indeed thou\nexceedest: knowest thou not that her sister Wekhimeh is doughtier\nthan any of the Jinn? Learn to know thyself: hast thou no regard\nfor thy life?'\n\nMeimoun was silent and Iblis turned to Tuhfeh and said to her,\n'Sing to the kings of the Jinn this day and to-night until the\nmorrow, when the boy will be circumcised and each shall return to\nhis own place.' So she took the lute and Kemeriyeh said to her,\n(now she had in her hand a cedrat), 'O my sister, sing to me on\nthis cedrat.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' replied Tuhfeh, and\nimprovising, sang the following verses:\n\nMy fruit is a jewel all wroughten of gold, Whose beauty amazeth\n     all those that behold.\nMy juice among kings is still drunken for wine And a present am I\n     betwixt friends, young and old.\n\nAt this Queen Kemeriyeh was moved to exceeding delight and drank\noff her cup, saying, 'Well done, O queen of hearts!' Moreover,\nshe took off a surcoat of blue brocade, fringed with red rubies,\nand a necklace of white jewels, worth an hundred thousand dinars,\nand gave them to Tuhfeh. Then she passed the cup to her sister\nZelzeleh, who had in her hand sweet basil, and she said to\nTuhfeh, 'Sing to me on this sweet basil.' 'Hearkening and\nobedience,' answered she and improvised and sang the following\nverses:\n\nThe crown of the flow'rets am I, in the chamber of wine, And\nAllah makes mention of me 'mongst the pleasures divine; Yea, ease\nand sweet basil and peace, the righteous are told, In Eternity's\nGarden of sweets shall to bless them combine.[FN#223] Where,\nthen, is the worth that in aught with my worth can compare And\nwhere is the rank in men's eyes can be likened to mine?\n\nThereat Queen Zelzeleh was moved to exceeding delight and bidding\nher treasuress bring a basket, wherein were fifty pairs of\nbracelets and the like number of earrings, all of gold, set with\njewels of price, the like whereof nor men nor Jinn possessed, and\nan hundred robes of coloured brocade and an hundred thousand\ndinars, gave the whole to Tuhfeh. Then she passed the cup to her\nsister Sherareh, who had in her hand a stalk of narcissus; so she\ntook it from her and turning to Tuhfeh, said to her, 'O Tuhfeh,\nsing to me on this.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered she and\nimprovised and sang the following verses:\n\nMost like a wand of emerald my shape it is, trow I; Amongst the\n     fragrant flow'rets there's none with me can vie.\nThe eyes of lovely women are likened unto me; Indeed, amongst the\n     gardens I open many an eye.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song, Sherareh was moved to\nexceeding delight and drinking off her cup, said to her, 'Well\ndone, O gift of hearts!' Then she ordered her an hundred dresses\nof brocade and an hundred thousand dinars and passed the cup to\nQueen Wekhimeh. Now she had in her hand somewhat of blood-red\nanemone; so she took the cup from her sister and turning to\nTuhfeh, said to her, 'O Tuhfeh, sing to me on this.' Quoth she,\n'I hear and obey,' and improvised the following verses:\n\nThe Merciful dyed me with that which I wear Of hues with whose\n     goodliness none may compare.\nThe earth is my birth-place, indeed; but my place Of abidance is\n     still in the cheeks of the fair.\n\nTherewith Wekhimeh was moved to exceeding delight and drinking\noff the cup, ordered her twenty dresses of Greek brocade and a\ntray, wherein were thirty thousand dinars. Then she gave the cup\nto Queen Shuaaeh, Queen of the Fourth Sea, who took it and said,\n'O my lady Tuhfeh, sing to me on the gillyflower.' Quoth she\n'Hearkening and obedience,' and improvised the following verses:\n\nThe season of my presence is never at an end 'Mongst all their\n     time in gladness and solacement who spend,\nWhenas the folk assemble for birling at the wine, Whether in\n     morning's splendour or when night's shades descend.\nThe pitcher then of goblets filled full and brimming o'er With\n     limpid wine we plunder, that pass from friend to friend.\n\nQueen Shuaaeh was moved to exceeding delight and emptying her\ncup, gave Tuhfeh an hundred thousand dinars. Then arose Iblis\n(may God curse him!) and said, 'Verily, the dawn gleameth.'\nWhereupon the folk arose and disappeared, all of them, and there\nabode not one of them save Tuhfeh, who went forth to the garden\nand entering the bath, made her ablutions and prayed that which\nhad escaped her of prayers. Then she sat down and when the sun\nrose, behold, there came up to her near an hundred thousand green\nbirds; the branches of the trees were filled with their\nmultitudes and they warbled in various voices, whilst Tuhfeh\nmarvelled at their fashion. Presently, up came eunuchs, bearing a\nthrone of gold, set with pearls and jewels and jacinths white and\nred and having four steps of gold, together with many carpets of\nsilk and brocade and Egyptian cloth of silk welted with gold.\nThese latter they spread amiddleward the garden and setting up\nthe throne thereon, perfumed the place with virgin musk and aloes\nand ambergris.\n\nAfter that, there appeared a queen, never saw eyes a goodlier\nthan she nor than her attributes; she was clad in rich raiment,\nembroidered with pearls and jewels, and on her head was a crown\nset with various kinds of pearls and jewels. About her were five\nhundred slave-girls, high-bosomed maids, as they were moons,\nscreening her, right and left, and she among them as she were the\nmoon on the night of its full, for that she was the most of them\nin majesty and dignity. She gave not over walking, till she came\nto Tuhfeh, whom she found gazing on her in amazement; and when\nthe latter saw her turn to her, she rose to her, standing on her\nfeet, and saluted her and kissed the earth before her.\n\nThe queen rejoiced in her and putting out her hand to her, drew\nher to herself and seated her by her side on the couch; whereupon\nTuhfeh kissed her hands and the queen said to her, 'Know, O\nTuhfeh, that all that thou treadest of these belong not to any of\nthe Jinn,[FN#224] for that I am the queen of them all and the\nSheikh Aboultawaif Iblis sought my permission[FN#225] and prayed\nme to be present at the circumcision of his son. So I sent to\nhim, in my stead, a slave-girl of my slave-girls, to wit,\nShuaaeh, Queen of the Fourth Sea, who is vice-queen of my\nkingdom. When she was present at the wedding and saw thee and\nheard thy singing, she sent to me, giving me to know of thee and\nsetting forth to me thine elegance and pleasantness and the\ngoodliness of thy breeding and thy singing. So I am come to thee,\nfor that which I have heard of thy charms, and this shall bring\nthee great worship in the eyes of all the Jinn.'[FN#226]\n\nTuhfeh arose and kissed the earth and the queen thanked her for\nthis and bade her sit. So she sat down and the queen called for\nfood; whereupon they brought a table of gold, inlaid with pearls\nand jacinths and jewels and spread with various kinds of birds\nand meats of divers hues, and the queen said, 'O Tuhfeh, in the\nname of God, let us eat bread and salt together, thou and I.' So\nTuhfeh came forward and ate of those meats and tasted somewhat\nthe like whereof she had never eaten, no, nor aught more\ndelicious than it, what while the slave-girls stood compassing\nabout the table and she sat conversing and laughing with the\nqueen. Then said the latter, 'O my sister, a slave-girl told me\nof thee that thou saidst, \"How loathly is yonder genie Meimoun!\nThere is no eating [in his presence].\"'[FN#227] 'By Allah, O my\nlady,' answered Tuhfeh, 'I cannot brook the sight of him,[FN#228]\nand indeed I am fearful of him.' When the queen heard this, she\nlaughed, till she fell backward, and said, 'O my sister, by the\nvirtue of the inscription upon the seal-ring of Solomon, prophet\nof God, I am queen over all the Jinn, and none dare so much as\nlook on thee a glance of the eye.' And Tuhfeh kissed her hand.\nThen the tables were removed and they sat talking.\n\nPresently up came the kings of the Jinn from every side and\nkissed the earth before the queen and stood in her service; and\nshe thanked them for this, but stirred not for one of them. Then\ncame the Sheikh Aboultawaif Iblis (God curse him!) and kissed the\nearth before her, saying, 'O my lady, may I not be bereft of\nthese steps!'[FN#229] O Sheikh Aboultawalf,' answered she, 'it\nbehoveth thee to thank the bounty of the Lady Tuhfeh, who was the\ncause of my coming.' 'True,' answered he and kissed the earth.\nThen the queen fared on [towards the palace] and there [arose\nand] alighted upon the trees an hundred thousand birds of various\ncolours. Quoth Tuhfeh, 'How many are these birds!' And Queen\nWekhimeh said to her, 'Know, O my sister, that this queen is\ncalled Queen Es Shuhba and that she is queen over all the Jinn\nfrom East to West. These birds that thou seest are of her troops,\nand except they came in this shape, the earth would not contain\nthem. Indeed, they came forth with her and are present with her\npresence at this circumcision. She will give thee after the\nmeasure of that which hath betided thee[FN#230] from the first of\nthe festival to the last thereof; and indeed she honoureth us all\nwith her presence.'\n\nThen the queen entered the palace and sat down on the throne of\nthe circumcision[FN#231] at the upper end of the hall, whereupon\nTuhfeh took the lute and pressing it to her bosom, touched its\nstrings on such wise that the wits of all present were bewildered\nand the Sheikh Iblis said to her, 'O my lady Tuhfeh, I conjure\nthee, by the life of this worshipful queen, sing for me and\npraise thyself, and gainsay me not.' Quoth she, 'Hearkening and\nobedience; yet, but for the adjuration by which thou conjurest\nme, I had not done this. Doth any praise himself? What manner of\nthing is this?' Then she improvised and sang the following\nverses:\n\nIn every rejoicing a boon[FN#232] midst the singers and minstrels\n     am I;\nThe folk witness bear of my worth and none can my virtues deny.\nMy virtues 'mongst men are extolled and my glory and station rank\n     high.\n\nHer verses pleased the kings of the Jinn and they said, 'By\nAllah, thou sayst sooth!' Then she rose to her feet, with the\nlute in her hand, and played and sang, whilst the Jinn and the\nSheikh Aboultawaif danced. Then the latter came up to her and\ngave her a carbuncle he had taken from the hidden treasure of\nJaphet, son of Noah (on whom be peace), and which was worth the\nkingdom of the world; its light was as the light of the sun and\nhe said to her, 'Take this and glorify thyself withal\nover[FN#233] the people of the world.' She kissed his hand and\nrejoiced in the jewel and said, 'By Allah, this beseemeth none\nbut the Commander of the Faithful.'\n\nNow the dancing of Iblis pleased Queen Es Shuhba and she said to\nhim, 'By Allah, this is a goodly dancing!' He thanked her for\nthis and said to Tuhfeh, 'O Tuhfeh, there is not on the face of\nthe earth a skilfuller than Ishac en Nedim; but thou art more\nskilful than he. Indeed, I have been present with him many a time\nand have shown him passages[FN#234] on the lute, and there have\nbetided me such and such things with him.[FN#235] Indeed, the\nstory of my dealings with him is a long one and this is no time\nto repeat it; but now I would fain show thee a passage on the\nlute, whereby thou shall be exalted over all the folk.' Quoth she\nto him, 'Do what seemeth good to thee.' So he took the lute and\nplayed thereon on wondrous wise, with rare divisions and\nextraordinary modulations, and showed her a passage she knew not;\nand this was liefer to her than all that she had gotten. Then she\ntook the lute from him and playing thereon, [sang and] presently\nreturned to the passage that he had shown her; and he said, 'By\nAllah, thou singest better than I!' As for Tuhfeh, it was made\nmanifest to her that her former usance[FN#236] was all of it\nwrong and that what she had learnt from the Sheikh Aboultawaif\nIblis was the origin and foundation [of all perfection] in the\nart. So she rejoiced in that which she had gotten of [new skill\nin] touching the lute far more than in all that had fallen to her\nlot of wealth and raiment and kissed the Sheikh's hand.\n\nThen said Queen Es Shuhba, 'By Allah, O Sheikh, my sister Tuhfeh\nis indeed unique among the folk of her time, and I hear that she\nsingeth upon all sweet- scented flowers.' 'Yes, O my lady,'\nanswered Iblis, 'and I am in the utterest of wonderment thereat.\nBut there remaineth somewhat of sweet-scented flowers, that she\nhath not besung, such as the myrtle and the tuberose and the\njessamine and the moss-rose and the like.' Then he signed to her\nto sing upon the rest of the flowers, that Queen Es Shuhba might\nhear, and she said, 'Hearkening and obedience.' So she took the\nlute and played thereon in many modes, then returned to the first\nmode and sang the following verses:\n\nOne of the host am I of lovers sad and sere For waiting long\n     drawn out and expectation drear.\nMy patience underneath the loss of friends and folk With pallor's\n     sorry garb hath clad me, comrades dear.\nAbasement, misery and heart-break after those I suffer who\n     endured before me many a year.\nAll through the day its light and when the night grows dark, My\n     grief forsakes me not, no, nor my heavy cheer.\nMy tears flow still, nor aye of bitterness I'm quit, Bewildered\n     as I am betwixten hope and fear.\n\nTherewithal Queen Es Shuhba was moved to exceeding delight and\nsaid, 'Well done, O queen of delight! None can avail to describe\nthee. Sing to us on the apple,' Quoth Tuhfeh, 'Hearkening and\nobedience.' Then she improvised and sang the following verses:\n\nEndowed with amorous grace past any else am I; Graceful of shape\n     and lithe and pleasing to the eye.\nThe hands of noble folk do tend me publicly; With waters clear\n     and sweet my thirsting tongue they ply.\nMy clothes of sendal are, my veil of the sun's light, The very\n     handiwork of God the Lord Most High.\nWhenas my sisters dear forsake me, grieved that they Must leave\n     their native place and far away must hie,\nThe nobles' hands, for that my place I must forsake, Do solace me\n     with beds, whereon at ease I lie.\nLo! in the garden-ways, the place of ease and cheer, Still, like\n     the moon at full, my light thou mayst espy.\n\nQueen Es Shubha rejoiced in this with an exceeding delight and\nsaid, 'Well done! By Allah, there is none surpasseth thee.'\nTuhfeh kissed the earth, then returned to her place and\nimprovised on the tuberose, saying:\n\nMy flower a marvel on your heads doth show, Yet homeless[FN#237]\n     am I in your land, I trow.\nMake drink your usance in my company And flout the time that\n     languishing doth go.\nCamphor itself to me doth testify And in my presence owns me\n     white as snow.\nSo make me in your morning a delight And set me in your houses,\n     high and low;\nSo shall we quaff the cups in ease and cheer, In endless joyance,\n     quit of care and woe.\n\nAt this Queen Es Shuhba was stirred to exceeding delight and\nsaid, 'Well done, O queen of delight! By Allah, I know not how I\nshall do to render thee thy due! May God the Most High grant us\nto enjoy thy long continuance [on life]!' Then she strained her\nto her breast and kissed her on the cheek; whereupon quoth Iblis\n(on whom be malison!), 'Indeed, this is an exceeding honour!'\nQuoth the queen, 'Know that this lady Tuhfeh is my sister and\nthat her commandment is my commandment and her forbiddance my\nforbiddance. So hearken all to her word and obey her\ncommandment.' Therewithal the kings rose all and kissed the earth\nbefore Tuhfeh, who rejoiced in this. Moreover, Queen Es Shuhba\nput off on her a suit adorned with pearls and jewels and\njacinths, worth an hundred thousand dinars, and wrote her on a\nsheet of paper a patent in her own hand, appointing her her\ndeputy. So Tuhfeh rose and kissed the earth before the queen, who\nsaid to her, 'Sing to us, of thy favour, concerning the rest of\nthe sweet-scented flowers and herbs, so I may hear thy singing\nand divert myself with witnessing thy skill.' 'Hearkening and\nobedience, O lady mine,' answered Tuhfeh and taking the lute,\nimprovised the following verses:\n\nMidst colours, my colour excelleth in light And I would every eye\n     of my charms might have sight.\nMy place is the place of the fillet and pearls And the fair are\n     most featly with jasmine bedight,\nHow bright and how goodly my lustre appears! Yea, my wreaths are\n     like girdles of silver so white.\n\nThen she changed the measure and improvised the following:\n\nI'm the crown of every sweet and fragrant weed; When the loved\n     one calls, I keep the tryst agreed.\nMy favours I deny not all the year; Though cessation be desired,\n     I nothing heed.\nI'm the keeper of the promise and the troth, And my gathering is\n     eath, without impede.\n\nThen she changed the measure and the mode [and played] so that\nshe amazed the wits of those who were present, and Queen Es\nShuhba was moved to mirth and said, 'Well done, O queen of\ndelight!' Then she returned to the first mode and improvised the\nfollowing verses on the water-lily:\n\nI fear to be seen in the air, Without my consent, unaware;\nSo I stretch out my root neath the flood And my branches turn\n     back to it there.\n\nTherewithal Queen Es Shuhba was moved to delight and said, 'Well\ndone, O Tuhfeh! Let me have more of thy singing.' So she smote\nthe lute and changing the mode, improvised the following verses\non the moss-rose:\n\nLook at the moss-rose, on its branches seen, Midmost its leafage,\n     covered all with green.\nTis gazed at for its slender swaying shape And cherished for its\n     symmetry and sheen.\nLovely with longing for its love's embrace, The fear of his\n     estrangement makes it lean.\n\nThen she changed the measure and the mode and sang the following\nverses:\n\nO thou that questionest the lily of its scent, Give ear unto my\n     words and verses thereanent.\nTh' Amir (quoth it) am I whose charms are still desired; Absent\n     or present, all in loving me consent.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her song, Queen Es Shuhba arose and\nsaid, 'Never heard I from any the like of this.' And she drew\nTuhfeh to her and fell to kissing her. Then she took leave of her\nand flew away; and all the birds took flight with her, so that\nthey walled the world; whilst the rest of the kings tarried\nbehind.\n\nWhen it was the fourth night, there came the boy whom they were\nminded to circumcise, adorned with jewels such as never saw eye\nnor heard ear of, and amongst the rest a crown of gold, set with\npearls and jewels, the worth whereof was an hundred thousand\ndinars. He sat down upon the throne and Tuhfeh sang to him, till\nthe surgeon came and they circumcised him, in the presence of all\nthe kings, who showered on him great store of jewels and jacinths\nand gold. Queen Kemeriyeh bade the servants gather up all this\nand lay it in Tuhfeh's closet, and it was [as much in value as]\nall that had fallen to her, from the first of the festival to the\nlast thereof. Moreover, the Sheikh Iblis (whom God curse!)\nbestowed upon Tuhfeh the crown worn by the boy and gave the\nlatter another, whereat her reason fled. Then the Jinn departed,\nin order of rank, whilst Iblis took leave of them, band by band.\n\nWhilst the Sheikh was thus occupied with taking leave of the\nkings, Meimoun sought his opportunity, whenas he saw the place\nempty, and taking up Tuhfeh on his shoulders, soared up with her\nto the confines of the sky and flew away with her. Presently,\nIblis came to look for Tuhfeh and see what she purposed, but\nfound her not and saw the slave-girls buffeting their faces; so\nhe said to them, 'Out on ye! What is to do?' 'O our lord,'\nanswered they, 'Meimoun hath snatched up Tuhfeh and flown away\nwith her.' When Iblis heard this, he gave a cry, to which the\nearth trembled, and said, 'What is to be done? Out on ye! Shall\nhe carry off Tuhfeh from my very palace and outrage mine honour?\nDoubtless, this Meimoun hath lost his wits.' Then he cried out a\nsecond time, that the earth quaked therefor, and rose up into the\nair.\n\nThe news came to the rest of the kings; so they [flew after him\nand] overtaking him, found him full of trouble and fear, with\nfire issuing from his nostrils, and said to him, 'O Sheikh\nAboultawaif, what is to do?' Quoth he, 'Know that Meimoun hath\ncarried off Tuhfeh from my palace and outraged mine honour.' When\nthey heard this, they said, 'There is no power and no virtue but\nin God the Most High, the Supreme! By Allah, he hath ventured\nupon a grave matter and indeed he destroyeth himself and his\npeople!' Then the Sheikh Iblis gave not over flying till he fell\nin with the tribes of the Jinn, and there gathered themselves\ntogether unto him much people, none may tell the tale of them\nsave God the Most High. So they came to the Fortress of Copper\nand the Citadel of Lead,[FN#238] and the people of the\nstrongholds saw the tribes of the Jinn issuing from every steep\nmountain-pass and said, 'What is to do?' Then Iblis went in to\nKing Es Shisban and acquainted him with that which had befallen,\nwhereupon quoth he, 'May God destroy Meimoun and his folk! He\nthinketh to possess Tuhfeh, and she is become queen of the Jinn!\nBut have patience till we contrive that which befitteth in the\nmatter of Tuhfeh.' Quoth Iblis, 'And what befitteth it to do?'\nAnd Es Shisban said, *We will fall upon him and slay him and his\npeople with the sword.'\n\nThen said the Sheikh Iblis, 'We were best acquaint Queen\nKemeriyeh and Queen Zelzeleh and Queen Sherareh and Queen\nWekhimeh; and when they are assembled, God shall ordain [that\nwhich He deemeth] good in the matter of her release.' 'It is well\nseen of thee,' answered Es Shisban and despatched to Queen\nKemeriyeh an Afrit called Selheb, who came to her palace and\nfound her asleep; so he aroused her and she said, 'What is to do,\nO Selheb?' 'O my lady,' answered he, 'come to the succour of thy\nsister Tuhfeh, for that Meimoun hath carried her off and outraged\nthine honour and that of the Sheikh Iblis.' Quoth she, 'What\nsayest thou?' And she sat up and cried out with a great cry. And\nindeed she feared for Tuhfeh and said, 'By Allah, indeed she used\nto say that he looked upon her and prolonged the looking on her;\nbut ill is that to which his soul hath prompted him.' Then she\narose in haste and mounting a she-devil of her devils, said to\nher, 'Fly.' So she flew off and alighted with her in the palace\nof her sister Sherareh, whereupon she sent for her sisters\nZelzeleh and Wekhimeh and acquainted them with the news, saying,\n'Know that Meimoun hath snatched up Tuhfeh and flown off with her\nswiftlier than the blinding lightning.'\n\n[Then they all flew off in haste and] lighting down in the place\nwhere were their father Es Shisban and their grandfather the\nSheikh Aboultawaif, found the folk on the sorriest of plights.\nWhen their grandfather Iblis saw them, he rose to them and wept,\nand they all wept for Tuhfeh. Then said Iblis to them, 'Yonder\ndog hath outraged mine honour and taken Tuhfeh, and I doubt not\nbut that she is like to perish [of concern] for herself and her\nlord Er Reshid and saying \"All that they said and did[FN#239] was\nfalse.\"' Quoth Kemeriyeh, 'O grandfather mine, there is nothing\nleft for it but [to use] stratagem and contrivance for her\ndeliverance, for that she is dearer to me than everything; and\nknow that yonder accursed one, whenas he is ware of your coming\nupon him, will know that he hath no power to cope with you, he\nwho is the least and meanest [of the Jinn]; but we fear that,\nwhen he is assured of defeat, he will kill Tuhfeh; wherefore\nnothing will serve but that we contrive for her deliverance; else\nwill she perish.' 'And what hast thou in mind of device?' asked\nhe; and she answered, 'Let us take him with fair means, and if he\nobey, [all will be well]; else will we practise stratagem against\nhim; and look thou not to other than myself for her deliverance.'\nQuoth Iblis, 'The affair is thine; contrive what thou wilt, for\nthat Tuhfeh is thy sister and thy solicitude for her is more\neffectual than [that of] any.'\n\nSo Kemeriyeh cried out to an Afrit of the Afrits and a calamity\nof the calamities,[FN#240] by name El Ased et Teyyar,[FN#241] and\nsaid to him, 'Go with my message to the Crescent Mountain, the\nabiding-place of Meimoun the Sworder, and enter in to him and\nsalute him in my name and say to him, \"How canst thou be assured\nfor thyself, O Meimoun?[FN#242] Couldst thou find none on whom to\nvent thy drunken humour and whom to maltreat save Tuhfeh, more by\ntoken that she is a queen? But thou art excused, for that thou\ndidst this not but of thine intoxication, and the Shekh\nAboultawaif pardoneth thee, for that thou wast drunken. Indeed,\nthou hast outraged his honour; but now restore her to her palace,\nfor that she hath done well and favoured us and done us service,\nand thou knowest that she is presently our queen. Belike she may\nbespeak Queen Es Shuhba, whereupon the matter will be aggravated\nand that wherein there is no good will betide. Indeed, thou wilt\nget no tittle of profit [from this thine enterprise]; verily, I\ngive thee good counsel, and so peace be on thee!\"'\n\n'Hearkening and obedience,' answered El Ased and flew till he\ncame to the Crescent Mountain, when he sought audience of\nMeimoun, who bade admit him. So he entered and kissing the earth\nbefore him, gave him Queen Kemeriyeh's message, which when he\nheard he said to the Afrit, 'Return whence thou comest and say to\nthy mistress, \"Be silent and thou wilt do wisely.\" Else will I\ncome and seize upon her and make her serve Tuhfeh; and if the\nkings of the Jinn assemble together against me and I be overcome\nof them, I will not leave her to scent the wind of this world and\nshe shall be neither mine nor theirs, for that she is presently\nmy soul[FN#243] from between my ribs; and how shall any part with\nhis soul?' When the Afrit heard Meimoun's words, he said to him,\n'By Allah, O Meimoun, thou hast lost thy wits, that thou speakest\nthese words of my mistress, and thou one of her servants!'\nWhereupon Meimoun cried out and said to him, 'Out on thee, O dog\nof the Jinn! Wilt thou bespeak the like of me with these words?'\nThen, he bade those who were about him smite El Ased, but he took\nflight and soaring into the air, betook himself to his mistress\nand told her that which had passed; and she said, 'Thou hast done\nwell, O cavalier.'\n\nThen she turned to her father and said to him, 'Give ear unto\nthat which I shall say to thee.' Quoth he, 'Say on;' and she\nsaid, 'Take thy troops and go to him, for that, when he heareth\nthis, he in his turn will levy his troops and come forth to thee;\nwherepon do thou give him battle and prolong the fighting with\nhim and make a show to him of weakness and giving way. Meantime,\nI will practise a device for winning to Tuhfeh and delivering\nher, what while he is occupied with you in battle; and when my\nmessenger cometh to thee and giveth thee to know that I have\ngotten possession of Tuhfeh and that she is with me, do thou\nreturn upon Meimoun forthright and destroy him, him and his\nhosts, and take him prisoner. But, if my device succeed not with\nhim and we avail not to deliver Tuhfeh, he will assuredly go\nabout to slay her, without recourse, and regret for her will\nabide in our hearts.' Quoth Iblis, 'This is the right counsel,'\nand let call among the troops to departure, whereupon an hundred\nthousand cavaliers, doughty men of war, joined themselves to him\nand set out for Meimoun's country.\n\nAs for Queen Kemeriyeh, she flew off to the palace of her sister\nWekhimeh and told her what Meimoun had done and how [he avouched\nthat], whenas he saw defeat [near at hand], he would slay Tuhfeh;\n'and indeed,' added she, 'he is resolved upon this; else had he\nnot dared to commit this outrage. So do thou contrive the affair\nas thou deemest well, for thou hast no superior in judgment.'\nThen they sent for Queen Zelzeleh and Queen Sherareh and sat down\nto take counsel, one with another, of that which they should do\nin the matter. Then said Wekhimeh, 'We were best fit out a ship\nin this island [wherein is my palace] and embark therein, in the\nguise of mortals, and fare on till we come to a little island,\nthat lieth over against Meimoun's palace. There will we [take up\nour abode and] sit drinking and smiting the lute and singing. Now\nTuhfeh will of a surety be sitting looking upon the sea, and\nneeds must she see us and come down to us, whereupon we will take\nher by force and she will be under our hands, so that none shall\navail more to molest her on any wise. Or, if Meimoun be gone\nforth to do battle with the Jinn, we will storm his stronghold\nand take Tuhfeh and raze his palace and put to death all who are\ntherein. When he hears of this, his heart will be rent in sunder\nand we will send to let our father know, whereupon he will return\nupon him with his troops and he will be destroyed and we shall be\nquit of him.' And they answered her, saying, 'This is a good\ncounsel.' Then they bade fit out a ship from behind the\nmountain,[FN#244] and it was fitted out in less than the\ntwinkling of an eye. So they launched it on the sea and embarking\ntherein, together with four thousand Afrits, set out, intending\nfor Meimoun's palace. Moreover, they bade other five thousand\nAfrits betake themselves to the island under the Crescent\nMountain and lie in wait for them there.\n\nMeanwhile, the Sheikh Aboultawaif Iblis and his son Es Shisban\nset out, as we have said, with their troops, who were of the\ndoughtiest of the Jinn and the most accomplished of them in\nvalour and horsemanship, [and fared on till they drew near the\nCrescent Mountain], When the news of their approach reached\nMeimoun, he cried out with a great cry to the troops, who were\ntwenty thousand horse, [and bade them make ready for departure].\nThen he went in to Tuhfeh and kissing her, said to her, 'Know\nthat thou art presently my life of the world, and indeed the Jinn\nare gathered together to wage war on me on thine account. If I am\nvouchsafed the victory over them and am preserved alive, I will\nset all the kings of the Jinn under thy feet and thou shall\nbecome queen of the world.' But she shook her head and wept; and\nhe said, 'Weep not, for, by the virtue of the mighty inscription\nengraven on the seal-ring of Solomon, thou shall never again see\nthe land of men! Can any one part with his life? So give ear unto\nthat which I say; else will I kill thee.' And she was silent.\n\nThen he sent for his daughter, whose name was Jemreh, and when\nshe came, he said to her, 'Harkye, Jemreh! Know that I am going\nto [meet] the clans of Es Shisban and Queen Kemeriyeh and the\nkings of the Jinn. If I am vouchsafed the victory over them, to\nAllah be the praise and thou shall have of me largesse; but, if\nthou see or hear that I am worsted and any come to thee with news\nof me [to this effect], hasten to slay Tuhfeh, so she may fall\nneither to me nor to them.' Then he took leave of her and\nmounted, saying, 'When this cometh about, pass over to the\nCrescent Mountain and take up thine abode there, and await what\nshall befall me and what I shall say to thee.' And Jemreh\nanswered with 'Hearkening and obedience.'\n\nWhen Tuhfeh heard this, she fell to weeping and wailing and said,\n'By Allah, nought irketh me save separation from my lord Er\nReshid; but, when I am dead, let the world be ruined after me.'\nAnd she doubted not in herself but that she was lost without\nrecourse. Then Meimoun set forth with his army and departed in\nquest of the hosts [of the Jinn], leaving none in the palace save\nhis daughter Jemreh and Tuhfeh and an Afrit who was dear unto\nhim. They fared on till they met with the army of Es Shisban; and\nwhen the two hosts came face to face, they fell upon each other\nand fought a passing sore battle. After awhile, Es Shisban's\ntroops began to give back, and when Meimoun saw them do thus, he\ndespised them and made sure of victory over them.\n\nMeanwhile, Queen Kemeriyeh and her company sailed on, without\nceasing, till they came under the palace wherein was Tuhfeh, to\nwit, that of Meimoun the Sworder; and by the ordinance of\ndestiny, Tuhfeh herself was then sitting on the belvedere of the\npalace, pondering the affair of Haroun er Reshid and her own and\nthat which had befallen her and weeping for that she was doomed\nto slaughter. She saw the ship and what was therein of those whom\nwe have named, and they in mortal guise, and said, 'Alas, my\nsorrow for yonder ship and the mortals that be therein!' As for\nKemeriyeh and her company, when they drew near the palace, they\nstrained their eyes and seeing Tuhfeh sitting, said, 'Yonder sits\nTuhfeh. May God not bereave [us] of her!' Then they moored their\nship and making for the island, that lay over against the palace,\nspread carpets and sat eating and drinking; whereupon quoth\nTuhfeh, 'Welcome and fair welcome to yonder faces! These are my\nkinswomen and I conjure thee by Allah, O Jemreh, that thou let me\ndown to them, so I may sit with them awhile and make friends with\nthem and return.' Quoth Jemreh, 'I may on no wise do that.' And\nTuhfeh wept. Then the folk brought out wine and drank, what while\nKemeriyeh took the lute and sang the following verses:\n\nBy Allah, but that I trusted that I should meet you again, Your\n     camel-leader to parting had summoned you in vain!\nParting afar hath borne you, but longing still is fain To bring\n     you near; meseemeth mine eye doth you contain.\n\nWhen Tuhfeh heard this, she gave a great cry, that the folk heard\nher and Kemeriyeh said, 'Relief is at hand.' Then she looked out\nto them and called to them, saying, 'O daughters of mine uncle, I\nam a lonely maid, an exile from folk and country. So, for the\nlove of God the Most High, repeat that song!' So Kemeriyeh\nrepeated it and Tuhfeh swooned away. When she came to herself,\nshe said to Jemreh, 'By the virtue of the Apostle of God (whom\nmay He bless and preserve!) except thou suffer me go down to them\nand look on them and sit with them awhile, [I swear] I will cast\nmyself down from this palace, for that I am weary of my life and\nknow that I am slain without recourse; wherefore I will slay\nmyself, ere thou pass sentence upon me.' And she was instant with\nher in asking.\n\nWhen Jemreh heard her words, she knew that, if she let her not\ndown, she would assuredly destroy herself. So she said to her, 'O\nTuhfeh, between thee and them are a thousand fathoms; but I will\nbring them up to thee.' 'Nay,' answered Tuhfeh, 'needs must I go\ndown to them and take my pleasance in the island and look upon\nthe sea anear; then will we return, thou and I; for that, if thou\nbring them up to us, they will be affrighted and there will\nbetide them neither easance nor gladness. As for me, I do but\nwish to be with them, that they may cheer me with their company\nneither give over their merrymaking, so haply I may make merry\nwith them, and indeed I swear that needs must I go down to them;\nelse will I cast myself upon them.' And she cajoled Jemreh and\nkissed her hands, till she said, 'Arise and I will set thee down\nbeside them.'\n\nThen she took Tuhfeh under her armpit and flying up, swiftlier\nthan the blinding lightning, set her down with Kemeriyeh and her\ncompany; whereupon she went up to them and accosted them, saying,\n'Fear not, no harm shall betide you; for I am a mortal, like unto\nyou, and I would fain look on you and talk with you and hear your\nsinging.' So they welcomed her and abode in their place, whilst\nJemreh sat down beside them and fell a-snuffing their odours and\nsaying, 'I smell the scent of the Jinn! I wonder whence [it\ncometh!'] Then said Wekhimeh to her sister Kemeriyeh, 'Yonder\nfilthy one [smelleth us] and presently she will take to flight;\nso what is this remissness concerning her?'[FN#245] Thereupon\nKemeriyeh put out a hand,[FN#246] as it were a camel's\nneck,[FN#247] and dealt Jemreh a buffet on the head, that made it\nfly from her body and cast it into the sea. Then said she, 'God\nis most great!' And they uncovered their faces, whereupon Tuhfeh\nknew them and said to them, 'Protection!'\n\nQueen Kemeriyeh embraced her, as also did Queen Zelzeleh and\nQueen Wekhimeh and Queen Sherareh, and the former said to her,\n'Rejoice in assured deliverance, for there abideth no harm for\nthee; but this is no time for talk.' Then they cried out,\nwhereupon up came the Afrits ambushed in the island, with swords\nand maces in their hands, and taking up Tuhfeh, flew with her to\nthe palace and made themselves masters thereof, whilst the Afrit\naforesaid, who was dear to Meimoun and whose name was Dukhan,\nfled like an arrow and stayed not in his flight till he carne to\nMeimoun and found him engaged in sore battle with the Jinn. When\nhis lord saw him, he cried out at him, saying, 'Out on thee! Whom\nhast thou left in the palace?' And Dukhan answered, saying, 'And\nwho abideth in the palace? Thy beloved Tuhfeh they have taken and\nJemreh is slain and they have gotten possession of the palace,\nall of it.' With this Meimoun buffeted his face and head and\nsaid, 'Out on it for a calamity!' And he cried aloud. Now\nKemeriyeh had sent to her father and acquainted him with the\nnews, whereat the raven of parting croaked for them. So, when\nMeimoun saw that which had betided him, (and indeed the Jinn\nsmote upon him and the wings of death overspread his host,) he\nplanted the butt of his spear in the earth and turning the point\nthereof to his heart, urged his charger upon it and pressed upon\nit with his breast, till the point came forth, gleaming, from his\nback.\n\nMeanwhile the messenger had reached the opposite camp with the\nnews of Tuhfeh's deliverance, whereat the Sheikh Aboultawaif\nrejoiced and bestowed on the bringer of good tidings a sumptuous\ndress of honour and made him commander over a company of the\nJinn. Then they fell upon Meimoun's troops and destroyed them to\nthe last man; and when they came to Meimoun, they found that he\nhad slain himself and was even as we have said. Presently\nKemeriyeh and her sister [Wekhimeh] came up to their grandfather\nand told him what they had done; whereupon he came to Tuhfeh and\nsaluted her and gave her joy of her deliverance. Then he\ndelivered Meimoun's palace to Selheb and took all the former's\nriches and gave them to Tuhfeh, whilst the troops encamped upon\nthe Crescent Mountain. Moreover, the Sheikh Aboultawaif said to\nTuhfeh, 'Blame me not,' and she kissed his hands. As they were\nthus engaged, there appeared to them the tribes of the Jinn, as\nthey were clouds, and Queen Es Shuhba flying in their van, with a\ndrawn sword in her hand.\n\nWhen she came in sight of the folk, they kissed the earth before\nher and she said to them, 'Tell me what hath betided Queen Tuhfeh\nfrom yonder dog Meimoun and why did ye not send to me and tell\nme?' Quoth they, 'And who was this dog that we should send to\nthee, on his account? Indeed, he was the least and meanest [of\nthe Jinn].' Then they told her what Kemeriyeh and her sisters had\ndone and how they had practised upon Meimoun and delivered Tuhfeh\nfrom his hand, fearing lest he should slay her, whenas he found\nhimself discomfited; and she said, 'By Allah, the accursed one\nwas wont to prolong his looking upon her!' And Tuhfeh fell to\nkissing Queen Es Shuhba's hand, whilst the latter strained her to\nher bosom and kissed her, saying, 'Trouble is past; so rejoice in\nassurance of relief.'\n\nThen they arose and went up to the palace, whereupon the trays of\nfood were brought and they ate and drank; after which quoth Queen\nEs Shuhba, 'O Tuhfeh, sing to us, by way of thankoffering for thy\ndeliverance, and favour us with that which shall solace our\nminds, for that indeed my mind hath been occupied with thee.'\nQuoth Tuhfeh 'Hearkening and obedience, O my lady.' So she\nimprovised and sang the following verses:\n\nWind of the East, if thou pass by the land where my loved ones\n     dwell, I pray, The fullest of greetings bear to them from\n     me, their lover, and say\nThat I am the pledge of passion still and that my longing love\n     And eke my yearning do overpass all longing that was aye.\n\nTherewithal Queen Es Shuhba rejoiced and all who were present\nrejoiced also and admired her speech and fell to kissing her; and\nwhen she had made an end of her song, Queen Kemeriyeh said to\nher, 'O my sister, ere thou go to thy palace, I would fain bring\nthee to look upon El Anca, daughter of Behram Gour, whom El Anca,\ndaughter of the wind, carried off, and her beauty; for that there\nis not her match on the face of the earth.' And Queen Es Shuhba\nsaid, 'O Kemeriyeh, I [also] have a mind to see her.' Quoth\nKemeriyeh, 'I saw her three years agone; but my sister Wekhimeh\nseeth her at all times, for that she is near unto her, and she\nsaith that there is not in the world a fairer than she. Indeed,\nthis Queen El Anca is become a byword for loveliness and proverbs\nare made upon her beauty and grace' And Wekhimeh said, 'By the\nmighty inscription [on the seal-ring of Solomon], there is not\nher like in the world!' Then said Queen Es Shuhba, 'If it needs\nmust be and the affair is as ye say, I will take Tuhfeh and go\nwith her [to El Anca], so she may see her.'\n\nSo they all arose and repaired to El Anca, who abode in the\nMountain Caf.[FN#248] When she saw them, she rose to them and\nsaluted them, saying, 'O my ladies, may I not be bereaved of\nyou!' Quoth Wekhimeh to her, 'Who is like unto thee, O Anca?\nBehold, Queen Es Shuhba is come to thee.' So El Anca kissed the\nqueen's feet and lodged them in her palace; whereupon Tuhfeh came\nup to her and fell to kissing her and saying, 'Never saw I a\ngoodlier than this favour.' Then she set before them somewhat of\nfood and they ate and washed their hands; after which Tuhfeh took\nthe lute and played excellent well; and El Anca also played, and\nthey fell to improvising verses in turns, whilst Tuhfeh embraced\nEl Anca every moment. Quoth Es Shuhba, 'O my sister, each kiss is\nworth a thousand dinars;' and Tuhfeh answered, 'Indeed, a\nthousand dinars were little for it.' Whereat El Anca laughed and\non the morrow they took leave of her and went away to Meimoun's\npalace.[FN#249]\n\nHere Queen Es Shuhba bade them farewell and taking her troops,\nreturned to her palace, whilst the kings also went away to their\nabodes and the Sheikh Aboultawaif addressed himself to divert\nTuhfeh till nightfall, when he mounted her on the back of one of\nthe Afrits and bade other thirty gather together all that she had\ngotten of treasure and raiment and jewels and dresses of honour.\n[Then they flew off,] whilst Iblis went with her, and in less\nthan the twinkling of an eye he set her down in her\nsleeping-chamber. Then he and those who were with him took leave\nof her and went away. When Tuhfeh found herself in her own\nchamber and on her couch, her reason fled for joy and it seemed\nto her as if she had never stirred thence. Then she took the lute\nand tuned it and touched it on wondrous wise and improvised\nverses and sang.\n\nThe eunuch heard the smiting of the lute within the chamber and\nsaid, 'By Allah, that is my lady Tuhfeh's touch!' So he arose and\nwent, as he were a madman, falling down and rising up, till he\ncame to the eunuch on guard at the door at the Commander of the\nFaithful and found him sitting. When the latter saw him, and he\nlike a madman, falling down and rising up, he said to him, 'What\naileth thee and what bringeth thee hither at this hour?' Quoth\nthe other, 'Wilt thou not make haste and awaken the Commander of\nthe Faithful?' And he fell to crying out at him; whereupon the\nKhalif awoke and heard them bandying words together and Tuhfeh's\nservant saying to the other, 'Out on thee! Awaken the Commander\nof the Faithful in haste.' So he said, 'O Sewab, what aileth\nthee?' And the chief eunuch answered, saying, 'O our lord, the\neunuch of Tuhfeh's lodging hath taken leave of his wits and\nsaith, \"Awaken the Commander of the Faithful in haste!\"' Then\nsaid Er Reshid to one of the slave-girls, 'See what is to do.'\n\nSo she hastened to admit the eunuch, who entered; and when he saw\nthe Commander of the Faithful, he saluted not neither kissed the\nearth, but said, 'Quick, quick! Arise in haste! My lady Tuhfeh\nsitteth in her chamber, singing a goodly ditty. Come to her in\nhaste and see all that I say to thee! Hasten! She sitteth [in her\nchamber].' The Khalif was amazed at his speech and said to him,\n'What sayst thou?' 'Didst thou not hear the first of the speech?'\nreplied the eunuch. 'Tuhfeh sitteth in the sleeping-chamber,\nsinging and playing the lute. Come thy quickliest! Hasten!' So Er\nReshid arose and donned his clothes; but he credited not the\neunuch's words and said to him, 'Out on thee! What is this thou\nsayst? Hast thou not seen this in a dream?' 'By Allah,' answered\nthe eunuch, 'I know not what thou sayest, and I was not asleep.'\nQuoth Er Reshid, 'If thy speech be true, it shall be for thy good\nluck, for I will enfranchise thee and give thee a thousand\ndinars; but, if it be untrue and thou have seen this in sleep, I\nwill crucify thee.' And the eunuch said in himself, 'O\nProtector,[FN#250] let me not have seen this in Sleep!' Then he\nleft the Khalif and going to the chamber-door, heard the sound of\nsinging and lute-playing; whereupon he returned to Er Reshid and\nsaid to him, 'Go and hearken and see who is asleep.'\n\nWhen Er Reshid drew near the door of the chamber, he heard the\nsound of the lute and Tuhfeh's voice singing; whereat he could\nnot restrain his reason and was like to swoon away for excess of\njoy. Then he pulled out the key, but could not bring his hand to\nopen the door. However, after awhile, he took heart and applying\nhimself, opened the door and entered, saying, 'Methinks this is\nnone other than a dream or an illusion of sleep.' When Tuhfeh saw\nhim, she rose and coming to meet him, strained him to her bosom;\nand he cried out with a cry, wherein his soul was like to depart,\nand fell down in a swoon. She strained him to her bosom and\nsprinkled on him rose-water, mingled with musk, and washed his\nface, till he came to himself, as he were a drunken man, for the\nexcess of his joy in Tuhfeh's return to him, after he had\ndespaired of her.\n\nThen she took the lute and smote thereon, after the fashion she\nhad learnt from the Sheikh Iblis, so that Er Reshid's wit was\ndazed for excess of delight and his understanding was confounded\nfor joy; after which she improvised and sang the following\nverses:\n\nMy heart will never credit that I am far from thee; In it thou\n     art, nor ever the soul can absent be.\nOr if to me \"I'm absent\" thou sayest, \"'Tis a lie,\" My heart\n     replies, bewildered 'twixt doubt and certainty.\n\nWhen she had made an end of her verses, Er Reshid said to her, 'O\nTuhfeh, thine absence was extraordinary, but thy presence[FN#251]\nis yet more extraordinary.' 'By Allah, O my lord,' answered she,\n'thou sayst sooth.' And she took his hand and said to him, 'See\nwhat I have brought with me.' So he looked and saw riches such as\nneither words could describe nor registers avail to set out,\npearls and jewels and jacinths and precious stones and great\npearls and magnificent dresses of honour, adorned with pearls and\njewels and embroidered with red gold. Moreover, she showed him\nthat which Queen Es Shuhba had bestowed on her of those carpets,\nwhich she had brought with her, and that her throne, the like\nwhereof neither Chosroes nor Cassar possessed, and those tables\ninlaid with pearls and jewels and those vessels, that amazed all\nwho looked on them, and the crown, that was on the head of the\ncircumcised boy, and those dresses of honour, which Queen Es\nShuhba and the Sheikh Aboultawaif had put off upon her, and the\ntrays wherein were those riches; brief, she showed him treasures\nthe like whereof he had never in his life set eyes on and which\nthe tongue availeth not to describe and whereat all who looked\nthereon were amazed.\n\nEr Reshid was like to lose his wits for amazement at this sight\nand was confounded at this that he beheld and witnessed. Then\nsaid he to Tuhfeh, 'Come, tell me thy story from first to last,\n[and let me know all that hath betided thee,] as if I had been\npresent' She answered with 'Hearkening and obedience,' and fell\nto telling him [all that had betided her] first and last, from\nthe time when she first saw the Sheikh Aboultawaif, how he took\nher and descended with her through the side of the draught-house;\nand she told him of the horse she had ridden, till she came to\nthe meadow aforesaid and described it to him, together with the\npalace and that which was therein of furniture, and related to\nhim how the Jinn rejoiced in her and that which she had seen of\nthe kings of them, men and women, and of Queen Kemeriyeh and her\nsisters and Queen Shuaaeh, Queen of the Fourth Sea, and Queen Es\nShuhba, Queen of Queens, and King Es Shisban, and that which each\none of them had bestowed upon her. Moreover, she told him the\nstory of Meimoun the Sworder and described to him his loathly\nfavour, which he had not consented to change, and related to him\nthat which befell her from the kings of the Jinn, men and women,\nand the coming of the Queen of Queens, Es Shuhba, and how she had\nloved her and appointed her her vice-queen and how she was thus\nbecome ruler over all the kings of the Jinn; and she showed him\nthe patent of investiture that Queen Es Shuhba had written her\nand told him that which had betided her with the Ghoul-head,\nwhenas it appeared to her in the garden, and how she had\ndespatched it to her palace, beseeching it to bring her news of\nthe Commander of the Faithful and that which had betided him\nafter her. Then she described to him the gardens, wherein she had\ntaken her pleasure, and the baths inlaid with pearls and jewels\nand told him that which had befallen Meimoun the Sworder, whenas\nhe carried her off, and how he had slain himself; brief, she told\nhim all that she had seen of wonders and rarities and that which\nshe had beheld of all kinds and colours among the Jinn.\n\nThen she told him the story of Anca, daughter of Behram Gour,\nwith Anca, daughter of the wind, and described to him her\ndwelling-place and her island, whereupon quoth Er Reshid, 'O\nTuhfet es Sedr,[FN#252] tell me of El Anca, daughter of Behram\nGour; is she of the Jinn or of mankind or of the birds? For this\nlong time have I desired to find one who should tell me of her.'\n'It is well, O Commander of the Faithful,' answered Tuhfeh. 'I\nasked the queen of this and she acquainted me with her case and\ntold me who built her the palace.' Quoth Er Reshid, 'I conjure\nthee by Allah, tell it me.' And Tuhfeh answered, 'It is well,'\nand proceeded to tell him. And indeed he was amazed at that which\nhe heard from her and what she told him and at that which she had\nbrought back of jewels and jacinths of various colours and\npreciots stones of many kinds, such as amazed the beholder and\nconfounded thought and mind. As for this, it was the means of the\nenrichment of the Barmecides and the Abbasicles, and they abode\nin their delight.\n\nThen the Khalif went forth and bade decorate the city: [so they\ndecorated it] and the drums of glad tidings were beaten. Moreover\nthey made banquets to the people and the tables were spread seven\ndays. And Tuhfeh and the Commander of the Faithful ceased not to\nbe in the most delightsome of life and the most prosperous\nthereof till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the\nSunderer of Companies; and thu is all that hath come down to as\nof their story.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n                    Calcutta (1814-18) Text.\n\n\n\n                             NOTE.\n\n\n\nThe following story occupies the last five Nights (cxcv-cc) of\nthe unfinished Calcutta Edition of 1814-18. The only other text\nof it known to me is that published by Monsieur Langles (Paris,\n1814), as an appendix to his Edition of the Voyages of Sindbad,\nand of this I have freely availed myself in making the present\ntranslation, comparing and collating with it the Calcutta\n(1814-18) Text and filling up and correcting omissions and errors\nthat occur in the latter. In the Calcutta (1814-18) Text this\nstory (Vol. II. pp. 367-378) is immediately succeeded by the\nSeven Voyages of Sindbad (Vol. II. pp. 378-458), which conclude\nthe work.\n\n\n\n\n\n                         WOMEN'S CRAFT.\n\n\n\nIt is told that there was once, in the city of Baghdad, a comely\nand well-bred youth, fair of face, tall of stature and slender of\nshape. His name was Alaeddin and he was of the chiefs of the sons\nof the merchants and had a shop wherein he sold and bought One\nday, as he sat in his shop, there passed by him a girl of the\nwomen of pleasure,[FN#253] who raised her eyes and casting a\nglance at the young merchant, saw written in a flowing hand on\nthe forepart[FN#254] of the door of his shop, these words,\n\"VERILY, THERE IS NO CRAFT BUT MEN'S CRAFT, FORASMUCH AS IT OVERCOMETH\nWOMEN'S CRAFT.\" When she beheld this, she was wroth and took\ncounsel with herself, saying, \"As my head liveth, I will\nassuredly show him a trick of the tricks of women and prove the\nuntruth of[FN#255] this his inscription!\"\n\nSo, on the morrow, she made her ready and donning the costliest\nof apparel, adorned herself with the most magnificent of\nornaments and the highest of price and stained her hands with\nhenna. Then she let down her tresses upon her shoulders and went\nforth, walking along with coquettish swimming gait and amorous\ngrace, followed by her slave-girls, till she came to the young\nmerchant's shop and sitting down thereat, under colour of seeking\nstuffs, saluted him and demanded of him somewhat of merchandise.\nSo he brought out to her various kinds of stuffs and she took\nthem and turned them over, talking with him the while. Then said\nshe to him, \"Look at the goodliness of my shape and my symmetry.\nSeest thou in me any default?\" And he answered, \"No, O my lady.\"\n\"Is it lawful,\" continued she, \"in any one that he should slander\nme and say that I am humpbacked?\"\n\nThen she discovered to him a part of her bosom, and when he saw\nher breasts, his reason took flight from his head and he said to\nher, \"Cover it up, so may God have thee in His safeguard!\" Quoth\nshe, \"Is it fair of any one to missay of my charms?\" And he\nanswered, \"How shall any missay of thy charms, and thou the sun\nof loveliness?\" Then said she, \"Hath any the right to say of me\nthat I am lophanded? \"And tucking up her sleeves, showed him\nforearms, as they were crystal; after which she unveiled to him a\nface, as it were a full moon breaking forth on its fourteenth\nnight, and said to him, \"Is it lawful for any to missay of me\n[and avouch] that my face is pitted with smallpox or that I am\none-eyed or crop-eared?\" And he answered her, saying, \"O my lady,\nwhat is it moveth thee to discover unto me that lovely face and\nthose fair members, [of wont so jealously] veiled and guarded?\nTell me the truth of the matter, may I be thy ransom!\" And he\nrecited the following verses:\n\nA white one, from her sheath of tresses now laid bare And now\n     again concealed in black, luxuriant hair;[FN#256]\nAs if the maid the day resplendent and her locks The night that\n     o'er it spreads its shrouding darkness were.\n\n\"Know, O my lord,\" answered she, \"that I am a maiden oppressed of\nmy father, for that he misspeaketh of me and saith to me, 'Thou\nart foul of favour and it befitteth not that thou wear rich\nclothes; for thou and the slave-girls, ye are equal in rank,\nthere is no distinguishing thee from them.' Now he is a rich man,\nhaving wealth galore, [and saith not on this wise but] because he\nis a niggard and grudgeth the spending of a farthing; [wherefore\nhe is loath to marry me,] lest he be put to somewhat of charge in\nmy marriage, albeit God the Most High hath been bountiful to him\nand he is a man puissant in his time and lacking nothing of the\ngoods of the world.\" \"Who is thy father,\" asked the young\nmerchant, \"and what is his condition?\" And she replied, \"He is\nthe Chief Cadi of the Supreme Court, under whose hand are all the\nCadis who administer justice in this city.\"\n\nThe merchant believed her and she took leave of him and went\naway, leaving in his heart a thousand regrets, for that the love\nof her had gotten possession of him and he knew not how he should\nwin to her; wherefore he abode enamoured, love-distraught,\nunknowing if he were alive or dead. As soon as she was gone, he\nshut his shop and going up to the Court, went in to the Chief\nCadi and saluted him. The magistrate returned his salutation and\nentreated him with honour and seated him by his side. Then said\nAlaeddin to him, \"I come to thee, a suitor, seeking thine\nalliance and desiring the hand of thy noble daughter.\" \"O my lord\nmerchant,\" answered the Cadi, \"indeed my daughter beseemeth not\nthe like of thee, neither sorteth she with the goodliness of thy\nyouth and the pleasantness of thy composition and the sweetness\nof thy discourse;\" but Alaeddin rejoined, saying, \"This talk\nbehoveth thee not, neither is it seemly in thee; if I be content\nwith her, how should this irk thee?\" So they came to an accord\nand concluded the treaty of marriage at a dower precedent of five\npurses[FN#257] paid down then and there and a dower contingent of\nfifteen purses,[FN#258] so it might be uneath unto him to put her\naway, forasmuch as her father had given him fair warning, but he\nwould not be warned.\n\nThen they drew up the contract of marriage and the merchant said,\n\"I desire to go in to her this night.\" So they carried her to him\nin procession that very night, and he prayed the prayer of\neventide and entered the privy chamber prepared for him; but,\nwhen he lifted the veil from the face of the bride and looked, he\nsaw a foul face and a blameworthy aspect; yea, he beheld somewhat\nthe like whereof may God not show thee! loathly, dispensing from\ndescription, inasmuch as there were reckoned in her all legal\ndefects.[FN#259] So he repented, whenas repentance availed him\nnot, and knew that the girl had cheated him. However, he lay with\nthe bride, against his will, and abode that night sore troubled\nin mind, as he were in the prison of Ed Dilem.[FN#260] Hardly had\nthe day dawned when he arose from her and betaking himself to one\nof the baths, dozed there awhile, after which he made the\nablution of defilement[FN#261] and washed his clothes. Then he\nwent out to the coffee-house and drank a cup of coffee; after\nwhich he returned to his shop and opening the door, sat down,\nwith discomfiture and chagrin written on his face.\n\nPresently, his friends and acquaintances among the merchants and\npeople of the market began to come up to him, by ones and twos,\nto give him joy, and said to him, laughing, \"God's blessing on\nthee! Where an the sweetmeats? Where is the coffee?[FN#262] It\nwould seem thou hast forgotten us; surely, the charms of the\nbride have disordered thy reason and taken thy wit, God help\nthee! Well, well; we give thee joy, we give thee joy.\" And they\nmade mock of him, whilst he gave them no answer and was like to\ntear his clothes and weep for vexation. Then they went away from\nhim, and when it was the hour of noon, up came his mistress,\ntrailing her skirts and swaying in her gait, as she were a\ncassia-branch in a garden. She was yet more richly dressed and\nadorned and more bewitching[FN#263] in her symmetry and grace\nthan on the previous day, so that she made the passers stop and\nstand in ranks to look on her.\n\nWhen she came to Alaeddin's shop, she sat down thereat and said\nto him, \"May the day be blessed to thee, O my lord Alaeddin! God\nprosper thee and be good to thee and accomplish thy gladness and\nmake it a wedding of weal and content!\" He knitted his brows and\nfrowned in answer to her; then said he to her, \"Tell me, how have\nI failed of thy due, or what have I done to injure thee, that\nthou shouldst play me this trick?\" Quoth she, \"Thou hast no wise\noffended against me; but this inscription that is written on the\ndoor of thy shop irketh me and vexeth my heart. If thou wilt\nchange it and write up the contrary thereof, I will deliver thee\nfrom thy predicament.\" And he answered, \"This that thou seekest\nis easy. On my head and eyes be it.\" So saying, he brought out a\nducat[FN#264] and calling one of his mamelukes, said to him, \"Get\nthee to such an one the scribe and bid him write us an\ninscription, adorned with gold and ultramarine, in these words,\nto wit, 'THERE IS NO CRAFT BUT WOMEN'S CRAFT, FOR THAT INDEED THEIR CRAFT IS\nA MIGHTY CRAFT AND OVERCOMETH AND HUMBLETH THE FABLES[FN#265] OF MEN.'\" And\nshe said to the servant, \"Go forthright.\"\n\nSo he repaired to the scribe, who wrote him the scroll, and he\nbrought it to his master, who set it on the door and said to the\ndamsel, \"Art thou satisfied?\" \"Yes,\" answered she. \"Arise\nforthright and get thee to the place before the citadel, where do\nthou foregather with all the mountebanks and ape-dancers and\nbear-leaders and drummers and pipers and bid them come to thee\nto-morrow early, with their drums and pipes, what time thou\ndrinkest coffee with thy father-in-law the Cadi, and congratulate\nthee and wish thee joy, saying, 'A blessed day, O son of our\nuncle! Indeed, thou art the vein[FN#266] of our eye! We rejoice\nfor thee, and if thou be ashamed of us, verily, we pride\nourselves upon thee; so, though thou banish us from thee, know\nthat we will not forsake thee, albeit thou forsakest us.' And do\nthou fall to strewing dinars and dirhems amongst them; whereupon\nthe Cadi will question thee, and do thou answer him, saying, 'My\nfather was an ape-dancer and this is our original condition; but\nout Lord opened on us [the gate of fortune] and we have gotten us\na name among the merchants and with their provost.'\n\nThen will he say to thee, 'Then thou art an ape-leader of the\ntribe of the mountebanks?' And do thou reply, 'I may in nowise\ndeny my origin, for the sake of thy daughter and in her honour.'\nThe Cadi will say, 'It may not be that thou shalt be given the\ndaughter of a sheikh who sitteth upon the carpet of the Law and\nwhose descent is traceable by genealogy to the loins of the\nApostle of God,[FN#267] nor is it seemly that his daughter be in\nthe power of a man who is an ape-dancer, a minstrel.' And do thou\nrejoin, 'Nay, O Effendi, she is my lawful wife and every hair of\nher is worth a thousand lives, and I will not let her go, though\nI be given the kingship of the world.' Then be thou persuaded to\nspeak the word of divorce and so shall the marriage be dissolved\nand ye be delivered from each other.\"\n\nQuoth Alaeddin, \"Thou counsellest well,\" and locking up his shop,\nbetook himself to the place before the citadel, where he\nforegathered with the drummers and pipers and instructed them how\nthey should do, [even as his mistress had counselled him,]\npromising them a handsome reward. So they answered him with\n\"Hearkening and obedience\" and on the morrow, after the\nmorning-prayer, he betook himself to the presence of the Cadi,\nwho received him with obsequious courtesy and seated him beside\nhimself. Then he turned to him and fell to conversing with him\nand questioning him of matters of selling and buying and of the\nprice current of the various commodities that were exported to\nBaghdad from all parts, whilst Alaeddin replied to him of all\nwhereof he asked him.\n\nAs they were thus engaged, behold, up came the dancers and\nmountebanks, with their pipes and drums, whilst one of their\nnumber forewent them, with a great banner in his hand, and played\nall manner antics with his voice and limbs. When they came to the\nCourthouse, the Cadi exclaimed, \"I seek refuge with God from\nyonder Satans!\" And the merchant laughed, but said nothing. Then\nthey entered and saluting his highness the Cadi, kissed\nAlaeddin's hands and said, \"God's blessing on thee, O son of our\nuncle! Indeed, thou solacest our eyes in that which thou dost,\nand we beseech God to cause the glory of our lord the Cadi to\nendure, who hath honoured us by admitting thee to his alliance\nand allotted us a part in his high rank and dignity.\" When the\nCadi heard this talk, it bewildered his wit and he was confounded\nand his face flushed with anger and he said to his son-in-law,\n\"What words are these?\" Quoth the merchant, \"Knowest thou not, O\nmy lord, that I am of this tribe? Indeed this man is the son of\nmy mother's brother and that other the son of my father's\nbrother, and I am only reckoned of the merchants [by courtesy]!\"\n\nWhen the Cadi heard this, his colour changed and he was troubled\nand waxed exceeding wroth and was rike to burst for excess of\nrage. Then said he to the merchant, \"God forbid that this should\nbe! How shall it be permitted that the daughter of the Cadi of\nthe Muslims abide with a man of the dancers and vile of origin?\nBy Allah, except thou divorce her forthright, I will bid beat\nthee and cast thee into prison till thou die! Had I foreknown\nthat thou wast of them, I had not suffered thee to approach me,\nbut had spat in thy face, for that thou art filthier[FN#268] than\na dog or a hog.\" Then he gave him a push and casting him down\nfrom his stead, commanded him to divorce; but he said, \"Be\nclement to me, O Effendi, for that God is clement, and hasten\nnot. I will not divorce my wife, though thou give me the kingdom\nof Irak.\"\n\nThe Cadi was perplexed and knew that constraint was not permitted\nof the law;[FN#269] so he spoke the young merchant fair and said\nto him, \"Protect me,[FN#270] so may God protect thee. If thou\ndivorce her not, this disgrace will cleave to me till the end of\ntime.\" Then his rage got the better of him and he said to him,\n\"An thou divorce her not with a good grace, I will bid strike off\nthy head forthright and slay myself; rather flame[FN#271] than\nshame.\" The merchant bethought himself awhile, then divorced her\nwith a manifest divorcement[FN#272] and on this wise he delivered\nhimself from that vexation. Then he returned to his shop and\nsought in marriage of her father her who had played him the trick\naforesaid and who was the daughter of the chief of the guild of\nthe blacksmiths. So he took her to wife and they abode with each\nother and lived the most solaceful of lives, in all prosperity\nand contentment and joyance, till the day of death; and God\n[alone] is All-Knowing.\n\n\n\n\n\nEnd of vol. II.\n\n\n\n\n                Tales from the Arabic, Volume 2\n                            Endnotes\n\n\n\n\n\n[FN#1]  A town of Khoiassan.\n\n[FN#2]  i.e., he dared not attempt to force her?\n\n[FN#3]  i.e. her \"yes\" meant \"yes\" and her \"no\" \"no.\"\n\n[FN#4]  Lit. ignorance.\n\n[FN#5]  Lit. spoke against her due.\n\n[FN#6]  i.e. a domed monument.\n\n[FN#7]  Lit \"ignorance,\" often used in the sense of\n\"forwardness.\"\n\n[FN#8]  i.e. my present plight.\n\n[FN#9]  i.e. ten thousand dinars.\n\n[FN#10] A similar story to this, though differing considerably in\ndetail, will be found in my \"Book of the Thousand Nights and One\nNight,\" Vol. V. p. 9, The Jewish Cadi and his pions wife.\n\n[FN#11] Or divineress (kahinek).\n\n[FN#12] i.e. whoredom.\n\n[FN#13] Or \"scar\" (ather).\n\n[FN#14] ie. hearken to.\n\n[FN#15] i.e. Persia.\n\n[FN#16] i.e. the case with which he earned his living.\n\n[FN#17] i.e. the ten thousand dirhems of the bond.\n\n[FN#18] i.e. exhorted her to patience.\n\n[FN#19] Or performing surgical operations (ilaj).\n\n[FN#20] i.e. the open space before his house.\n\n[FN#21] Or \"drew near unto.\"\n\n[FN#22] i.e. a descendant of Mohammed.\n\n[FN#23] Or the art of judging from external appearances\n(firaseh).\n\n[FN#24] Sic in the text; but the passage is apparently corrupt.\nIt is not plain why a rosy complexion, blue eyes and tallness\nshould be peculiar to women in love. Arab women being commonly\nshort, swarthy and black eyed, the attributes mentioned appear\nrather to denote the foreign origin of the woman; and it is\nprobable, therefore, that this passage has by a copyist's error,\nbeen mixed up with that which related to the signs by which the\nmock physician recognized her strangehood, the clause specifying\nthe symptoms of her love lorn condition having been crowded out\nin the process, an accident of no infrequent occurrence in the\ntranscription of Oriental works.\n\n[FN#25] Yellow was the colour prescribed for the wearing of Jews\nby the Muslim lawm in accordance with the decree issued by Khalif\nOmar ben el Khettab after the taking of Jerusalem in A.D. 636.\n\n[FN#26] i.e. Sunday.\n\n[FN#27] Herais, a species of \"risotto,\" made of pounded wheat or\nrice and meat in shreds.\n\n[FN#28] Lit. \"That have passed the night,\" i.e. are stale and\ntherefore indigestable.\n\n[FN#29] i.e. Saturday.\n\n[FN#30] i.e. native of Merv.\n\n[FN#31] Or \"ruined,\" lit. \"destroyed.\"\n\n[FN#32] i.e. native of Rei, a city of Khorassia.\n\n[FN#33] The text has khenadic, ditches or valleys; but this is,\nin all probability, a clerical or typographical error for\nfenadic, inns or caravanserais.\n\n[FN#34] It is a paramount duty of the Muslim to provide his dead\nbrother in the faith with decent interment; it is, therefore, a\ncommon practice for the family of a poor Arab to solicit\ncontributions toward the expenses of his burial, nor is the\nwell-to-do true believer safe from imposition of the kind\ndescribed in the text.\n\n[FN#35] i.e. the recompense in the world to come promised to the\nperformer of a charitable action.\n\n[FN#36] i.e. camphor and lote-tree leaves dried and powdered\n(sometimes mixed with rose-water) which are strewn over the dead\nbody, before it is wrapped in the shroud. In the case of a man of\nwealth, more costly perfumes (such as musk, aloes and ambergris)\nare used.\n\n[FN#37] All the ablutions prescribed by the Mohammedan ritual are\navoided by the occurrence, during the process, of any cause of\nceremonial impurity (such as the mentioned in the text) and must\nbe recommenced.\n\n[FN#38] Having handled a corpse, he had become in a state of\nlegal impurity and it beloved him therefore to make the\nprescribed ablution.\n\n[FN#39] Which he had taken off for the purpose of making\nabulution. This was reversing the ordinary course of affairs, the\ndead man's clothes being the washer's prequisite.\n\n[FN#40] i.e. till it was diminished by evaporation to two-thirds\nof its original volume.\n\n[FN#41] The Mohammedan grave is a cell, hollowed out in the sides\nof a trench and so constructed as to keep out the earth, that the\ndeceased may be able to sit up and answer the examining angels\nwhen they visit him in the tomb. There was, therefore, nothing\nimprobable in Er Razi's boast that he could abide two days in the\ntomb.\n\n[FN#42] Nawous, a sort of overground well or turricle of masonry,\nsurmounted by an iron grating, on which the Gueber's body is\nplaced for devoration by the birds.\n\n[FN#43] Munkir [Munker] and Nakir [Nekir] are the two angels that\npreside at 'the examination of the tomb.' They visit a man in his\ngrave directly after he has been buried and examine him\nconcerning his faith; if he acknowledge that there is but one God\nand that Mohammed is His prophet [apostle], they suffer him to\nrest in peace; otherwise they beat him with [red-hot] iron maces,\ntill he roars so loud[ly] that he is heard by all from east to\nwest, except by man and Ginns [Jinn].\"--Palmer's Koran,\nIntroduction.\n\n[FN#44] Lit. the oven (tennour); but this is obviously a mistake\nfor \"tombs\" (cubour).\n\n[FN#45] i.e. as a propitiatory offering on behalf of.\n\n[FN#46] i.e. though he remain at thy charge or (as we should say)\non thy hands.\n\n[FN#47] About twenty-five shillings.\n\n[FN#48] About \u00a3137 10s.\n\n[FN#49] Meaning the sharper.\n\n[FN#50] i.e. he asketh nought but that which is reasonable.\n\n[FN#51] The strict Muslim is averse from taking an oath, even in\nsupport at the truth, and will sometimes submit to a heavy loss\nrather than do so. For an instance of this, see my \"Book of the\nThousand Nights and One Night,\" Vol. V. p. 44, The King of the\nIsland.\n\n[FN#52] To wit, the merchant and his officious friend.\n\n[FN#53] There appears to be some mistake here, but I have no\nmeans of rectifying it. The passage is probably hopelessly\ncorrupt and a portion of the conclusion of the story seems to\nhave dropped out.\n\n[FN#54] i.e. well-guarded, confined in the harem.\n\n[FN#55] i.e. an old woman to crafty that she was a calamity to\nthose against whom she plotted.\n\n[FN#56] i.e. the amount of the contingent dowry and of the\nallowance which he was bound to make her for her support during\nthe four months and some days which must elapse before she could\nlawfully marry again.\n\n[FN#57] i.e. thou wilt have satisfied us all.\n\n[FN#58] With the smoke of burning aloes-wood or other perfume, a\ncommon practice among the Arabs. The aloes-wood is placed upon\nburning charcoal in a censer perforated with holes, which is\nswung towards the person to be fumigated, whose clothes and hair\nare thus impregnated with the grateful fragrance of the burning\nwood. An accident such as that mentioned in the text might easily\nhappen during the process of fumigation.\n\n[FN#59] i.e. by God. The old woman is keeping up her assumption\nof the character of a devotee by canting about Divine direction.\n\n[FN#60] This is the same story as \"The House with the Belvedere.\"\nSee my \"Book of the Thousand Nights and one Night,\" Vol. V. p.\n323.\n\n[FN#61] See note, Vol. I. p. 212. Also my \"Book of the Thousand\nNights and One Night,\" Vol. V. p. 263, The King and his Vizier's\nwife.\n\n[FN#62] Or experienced.\n\n[FN#63] i.e. the inhabitants of the island and the sailors?\n\n[FN#64] i.e. postponed the fulfilment of his promise.\n\n[FN#65] Sic; but apparently a state-prison or place of\nconfinement for notable offenders is meant.\n\n[FN#66] Or \"getting hold of.\"\n\n[FN#67] Lit. \"betrothed.\"\n\n[FN#68] Or \"in.\"\n\n[FN#69] i.e. if his appearance be such as to belie the\npossibility of his being a thief.\n\n[FN#70] i.e. people of power and worship.\n\n[FN#71] i.e. of wine.\n\n[FN#72] i.e. all his former afflictions or (perhaps) all His\ncommandments.\n\n[FN#73] i.e. a more venial sin.\n\n[FN#74] i.e. I have a proposal to make thee.\n\n[FN#75] i.e. he was brought up in my house.\n\n[FN#76] i.e. prayed for him by name, as the reigning sovereign,\nin the Khutbeh, a sort of homily made up of acts of prayer and\npraise and of exhortations to the congregation, which forms part\nof the Friday prayers. The mention of a newly-appointed\nsovereign's name in the Khutbeh is equivalent with the Muslims to\na solemn proclamation of his accession.\n\n[FN#77] i.e. deprive him of his rank.\n\n[FN#78] Or perverted belief, i.e. an infidel.\n\n[FN#79] i.e. not God.\n\n[FN#80] Or corrupt belief, i.e. that the destinies of mankind\nwere governed by the planets and not by God alone.\n\n[FN#81] i.e. \"him who is to me even as mine own soul,\" to wit,\nthe king.\n\n[FN#82] The whole of this story (which is apparently intended as\nan example of the flowery style (el bediya) of Arab prose) is\nterribly corrupt and obscure, and in the absence of a parallel\nversion, with which to collate it, it is impossible to be sure\nthat the exact sense has been rendered.\n\n[FN#83] Breslau Text, vol xi. pp. 321-99, Nights dccccxxx-xl.\n\n[FN#84] i.e. the first or Beherite dynasty of the Mameluke\nSultans, the founder of which was originally a Turkish (i.e.\nTurcoman) slave.\n\n[FN#85] Fourth Sultan of the above dynasty.\n\n[FN#86] i.e. Palestine (Es Sahil) so styled by the Arabs.\n\n[FN#87] Lit. his nightly entertainers, i.e. those whose place it\nwas to entertain him by night with the relation of stories and\nanecdotes and the recitation of verses, etc.\n\n[FN#88] i.e. the perfect of police.\n\n[FN#89] About fifty shillings.\n\n[FN#90] i.e. those of the visible and invisible worlds.\n\n[FN#91] i.e. of the Sultan's officers of the household. The\nSultan's palace and the lodgings of his chief officers were\nsituate, according to Eastern custom, in the citadel or central\nfortress of the city.\n\n[FN#92] Lit. [self-]possession (temkin).\n\n[FN#93] God forbid!\n\n[FN#94] Or strong place.\n\n[FN#95] i.e. lest ill-hap betide her and you be held responsible\nfor her.\n\n[FN#96] Which was in his custody in his ex-officio capacity of\nguardian, orphans in Muslim countries being, by operation of law,\nwards of the Cadi of their district.\n\n[FN#97] Altogether six thousand dinars or about \u00a33000.\n\n[FN#98] i.e. except thou give me immediate satisfaction, I will\ncomplain of thee to the Sultan.\n\n[FN#99] i.e. forgetting all that is enjoined upon the\ntrue-believer by the Institutes of the Prophet (Sunneh) and the\nCanons (Fers) of the Divine Law, as deduced from the Koran.\n\n[FN#100] Lit. red i.e. violent or bloody) death.\n\n[FN#101] Lit. the conquered one.\n\n[FN#102] i.e. my view of the matter differs from that of the\nCadi, but I cannot expect a hearing against a personage of his\nrank.\n\n[FN#103] And therefore freshly shed.\n\n[FN#104] For redness.\n\n[FN#105] Or parties.\n\n[FN#106] Lit. quench that fire from him.\n\n[FN#107] Of Cairo or (qu\u00e6re) the two Egyptian provinces known as\nEs Sherkiyeh (The Eastward) and El Gherbiyeh (The Westward).\n\n[FN#108] i.e, he was a man of ready wit and presence of mind.\n\n[FN#109] Or (in modern slang) \"There are good pickings to be had\nout of this job.\"\n\n[FN#110] Lit \"the douceur of the key,\" i.e. the gratuity which it\nis customary to give to the porter or portress on hiring a house\nor lodging. Cf. the French denier \u00e0 Dieu, Old English \"God's\npenny.\"\n\n[FN#111] i.e. made the complete ablution prescribed by the Muslim\nlaw after copulation.\n\n[FN#112] i.e. the round opening made in the ceiling for\nventilation.\n\n[FN#113] i.e. he who sits on the bench outside the police-office,\nto attend to emergencies.\n\n[FN#114] Lit. witnesses, i.e. those who are qualified by their\ngeneral respectability and the blamelessness of their lives, to\ngive evidence in the Mohamedan courts of law.\n\n[FN#115] Sic.\n\n[FN#116] About 50 pounds.\n\n[FN#117] Or guardian.\n\n[FN#118] Syn. book (kitab).\n\n[FN#119] Or made it a legal deed.\n\n[FN#120] Lit. assessors.\n\n[FN#121] This sentence is almost unintelligible, owing to the\ncorruptness and obscurity of the text; but the sense appears to\nbe as above.\n\n[FN#122] Apparently supposing the draper to have lost it and\npurposing to require a heavy indemnity for its loss.\n\n[FN#123] Apparently, a cant phrase for \"thieve.\"\n\n[FN#124] or disapprove of.\n\n[FN#125] This passage is unintelligible; the text is here again,\nto all appearance, corrupt.\n\n[FN#126] i.e. women's tricks?\n\n[FN#127] Muslim formula of invitation.\n\n[FN#128] i.e. the singers?\n\n[FN#129] i.e. easily.\n\n[FN#130] Or made a show of renouncing.\n\n[FN#131] i.e. strong men (or athletes) armed.\n\n[FN#132] Fityan, Arab cant name for thieves.\n\n[FN#133] Apparently in a pavillion in some garden or orchard, the\nusual pleasure of the Arabs.\n\n[FN#134] i.e. engaged her to attend an entertainment and paid her\nher hire in advance.\n\n[FN#135] Lit. a [she-]partner, i.e. one who should relieve her,\nwhen she was weary of singing, and accompany her voice on the\nlute.\n\n[FN#136] i.e. they grew ever more heated with drink.\n\n[FN#137] Helfeh or helfaa (vulg. Alfa), a kind of coarse, rushy\ngrass (Pos. multiflora), used in the East as fuel.\n\n[FN#138] Lit. \"we repented to God, etc, of singing.\" The practice\nof music, vocal and instrumental, is deprecated by the strict\nMuslim, in accordance with a tradition by which the Prophet is\nsaid to have expressed his disapproval of these arts.\n\n[FN#139] i.e. required to find the thief or make good the loss.\n\n[FN#140] i.e. the parties aggrieved.\n\n[FN#141] Or irrigation-work, usually a bucket-wheel, worked by\noxen.\n\n[FN#142] Or \"came true.\"\n\n[FN#143] i.e. crucify.\n\n[FN#144] i.e. a native of the Hauran, a district East of\nDamascus.\n\n[FN#145] i.e. the mysterious speaker.\n\n[FN#146] i.e. in the punishment that overtook me.\n\n[FN#147] The well-known Arab formula of refusal to a beggar,\nequivalent to the Spanish \"Perdoneme por amor de Dios, hermano!\"\n\n[FN#148] i.e. what I could afford.\n\n[FN#149] i.e. that of the officers of police.\n\n[FN#150] A common Oriental game, something like a rude out-door\nform of back-gammon, in which the players who throw certain\nnumbers are dubbed Sultan and Vizier.\n\n[FN#151] Lit. milk (leben), possibly a copyist's error for jubn\n(cheese).\n\n[FN#152] i.e. his forbearance in relinquishing his blood-revenge\nfor his brother.\n\n[FN#153] In the text, by an evident error, Shehriyar is here made\nto ask Shehrzad for another story and she to tell it him.\n\n[FN#154] Nesiheh.\n\n[FN#155] i.e. the mysterious speaker?\n\n[FN#156] Apparently some famous saint. The El Hajjaj whose name\nis familiar to readers of the Thomsand and One Night (see supra,\nVol. I. p. 53, note 2) was anything but a saint, if we may\nbelieve the popular report of him.\n\n[FN#157] Breslan Text, vol. xi. pp. 400-473 and vol. xii. pp.\n4-50, Nights dccccvli-dcccclvii.\n\n[FN#158] The usual meaning of the Arab word anber (pronounced\namber) a ambergris, i.e. the morbid secretion of the sperm-whale;\nbut the context appears to point to amber, i.e. the fossil resin\nused for necklaces, etc.; unless, indeed, the allusion of the\nsecond hemistich is to ambergris, as worn, for the sake of the\nperfume, in amulets or pomanders (Fr. pomme d'ambre) slung about\nthe neck.\n\n[FN#159] i.e. galena or sulphuret of lead, of which, reduced to\npowder, alone or in combination with other ingredients, the\nwell-known cosmetic or eye-powder called kohl consists.\n\n[FN#160] See supra, Vol. 1. p. 50, note 2.\n\n[FN#161] Or \"accomplishments\" (adab).\n\n[FN#162] Title of the Khalif.\n\n[FN#163] i.e. Isaac of Mosul, the greatest of Arab musicians.\n\n[FN#164] Elder brother of Jaafer; see my \"Book of the Thousand\nNights and One Night,\" Vol. IX. p. 342 et seq.\n\n[FN#165] Yonnus ibn Hebib, a renowned grammarian and philologer\nof the day, who taught at Bassora and whose company was much\nsought after by distinguished men of letters and others. He was a\nfriend of Isaac of Mosul.\n\n[FN#166] Apparently a suburb of Baghdad.\n\n[FN#167] i.e. the principal street of Et Taf.\n\n[FN#168] Or \"elegant.\"\n\n[FN#169] See supra, Vol. I. p. 236, note 1.\n\n[FN#170] ?\n\n[FN#171] A passage has apparently dropped out here. The Khalif\nseems to have gone away without buying, leaving Ishac behind,\nwhereupon the latter was accosted by another slave-girl, who came\nout of a cell in the corridor.\n\n[FN#172] Or \"have withheld myself.\"\n\n[FN#173] For not selling me?\n\n[FN#174] i.e. Tuhfeh the fool. Hemca is the feminine form of\nahmec, fool. If by a change in the (unwritten) vowels, we read\nHumeca, which is the plural form of ahmec, the title will\nsignify, \"Gift (Tuhfeh) of fools\" and would thus represent a\njesting alteration of the girl's real name (Tuhfet el Culoub,\nGift of hearts), in allusion to her (from the slave-merchant's\npoint of view) foolish and vexatious behaviour in refusing to be\nsold to the first comer, as set out below.\n\n[FN#175] Or \"folly\" (hemakeh).\n\n[FN#176] i.e. not every one is lucky enough to be in Ishac's\nhouse.\n\n[FN#177] Apparently some part of Baghdad adjoining the Tigris.\nKhanekah means \"a convent of dervishes.\"\n\n[FN#178] Lit. stronger (acwa).\n\n[FN#179] The gist of this curious comparison is not very\napparent. Perhaps \"blander\" is meant.\n\n[FN#180] About 10s.\n\n[FN#181] About a penny; i.e. I have found all my skill in the\ncraft but a trifle in comparison with thine.\n\n[FN#182] i.e. thou art what he wants.\n\n[FN#183] i.e. the dews of her mouth, commonly compared by\nOriental writers to wine and honey.\n\n[FN#184] i.e. he died.\n\n[FN#185] i.e. if my hand were out for want of practice.\n\n[FN#186] i.e. a gift or rarity.\n\n[FN#187] Or \"rarity\" (tuhfeh)\n\n[FN#188] i.e. thou didst her not justice.\n\n[FN#189] i.e. that set apart for the chief of the concubines.\n\n[FN#190] i.e. from the opening made in the ceiling for\nventilation. Or the saloon in which she sat may have been open to\nthe sky, as is not uncommon in the East.\n\n[FN#191] Zubeideh was the daughter of Jaafer, son of El Mensour,\nsecond Khalif of the house of Abbas, and was therefore Er\nReshid's first cousin. It does not appear why she is called\ndaughter (bint) of El Casim.\n\n[FN#192] Lit. \"of those noble steps.\"\n\n[FN#193] So styled by the Muslums, because Abraham is fabled by\nthem to have driven him away with stones, when he strove to\nprevent him from sacrificing Ishmael, whom they substitute for\nIsaac as the intended victim.\n\n[FN#194] i.e. Gift of Breasts. The word \"breasts\" here is, of\ncourse, used (metonymically) for \"hearts.\"\n\n[FN#195] i.e. \"He (lit. father) of the hosts of tribes.\"\n\n[FN#196] See post, passim.\n\n[FN#197] Lit. witnesses (shawahid).\n\n[FN#198] Lit. seas (behar).\n\n[FN#199] Afterwards called Zelzeleh; see post, p. 245 et seq.\n\n[FN#200] i.e. I cannot look long on them.\n\n[FN#201] i.e. change the sir to one less poignant? Or (perhaps)\n\"lower thy voice.\"\n\n[FN#202] i.e. from time immemorial, before the creation of the\nworld. The most minute details of every man's life in the world\nare believed by the Mohammedans to have been fore-ordained by God\nfrom all eternity. This belief is summed up in the Koranic\nsaying, \"Verily, the commandment of God is a prevenient decree.\"\n\n[FN#203] No mention is afterward made of any wedding, and the\nword is, therefore, probably used here in its implied sense of\n\"festival,\" \"merry-making.\" I am not, however acquainted with any\ninstance of this use of the word urs.\n\n[FN#204] Or \"peewit.\"\n\n[FN#205] i.e. those that led the water to the roots of the trees,\nafter the manner of Eastern gardeners.\n\n[FN#206] One of the seven \"Gardens\" or stages for the Mohammedan\nheaven.\n\n[FN#207] \"God is Most Great!\" So called because its\npronunciation, after that of the niyeh or intent (i.e. \"I purpose\nto pray such and such prayers\"), prohibits the speaking of any\nwords previous to prayer.\n\n[FN#208] i.e. those of the five daily prayers (due at daybreak,\nnoon, mid-afternoon, sundown, and nightfall respectively) which\nshe had been prevented from praying on the previous evening,\nthrough having passed it in carousing with the Jinn. It is\nincumbent on the strict Muslim to make up his arrears of prayer\nin this manner.\n\n[FN#209] Lit. skill in physiognomy (firaseh).\n\n[FN#210] i.e. the owner of this palace.\n\n[FN#211] The Mohammedan rite of ablution, previous to prayer, is\na very elaborate and complicated process, somewhat \"scamped\" by\nthe ordinary \"true-believer.\" See my \"Book of the Thousand Nights\nand One Night,\" Vol. IV. pp. 332-4.\n\n[FN#212] i.e. the prayers of nightfall, in addition to those of\ndaybreak.\n\n[FN#213] i.e. those of noon, mid-afternoon and sundown.\n\n[FN#214] Containing the dessert.\n\n[FN#215] i.e. Mohammed, who was passionately fond of flowers and\nespecially of the rose, which is fabled to have blossomed from\nhis sweat.\n\n[FN#216] The Arab name (julnar) of the promegranate is made up of\nthe Persian word for rose (gul) and the Arabic fire (nar).\n\n[FN#217] i.e. Chapters cxiii. and cxiv. of the Koran,\nrespectively known as the Chapter of the [Lord of the] Daybreak\nand the Chapter of [The Lord of] Men. These chapters, which it is\nthe habit of the Muslim to recite as a talisman or preventive\nagainst evil, are the last and shortest in the book and run as\nfollows. Chapter cxiii.--\"In the name of the Compassionate, the\nMerciful! Say [quoth Gabriel] 'I take refuge with the Lord of the\nDaybreak from the evil of that which He hath created and from the\nevil of the beginning of the night, whenas it invadeth [the\nworld], and from the mischief of the women who blow on knots\n(i.e. witches) and from the mischief of the envier, whenas he\nenvieth.'\" Chapter cxiv.--\"In the name of God the Compassionate,\nthe Merciful! Say [quoth Gabriel] 'I take refuge with the Lord of\nMen, the King of Men, the God of Men, from the mischief of the\nstealthy Tempter (i.e. the devil) who whispereth (i.e.\ninsinuateth evil) into the breasts (hearts) of mankind, from Jinn\nand men!'\" These two chapters are often written on parchment etc.\nand worn as an amulet about the person--hence their name.\n\n[FN#218] Hieratic title of the Khalif, as foreman (imam) of the\npeople at prayer.\n\n[FN#219] i.e. the Jinn that dwell therein. Each house, according\nto Muslim belief, has its haunter or domestic spirit.\n\n[FN#220] i.e. yearning.\n\n[FN#221] i.e. her return.\n\n[FN#222] See ante, p. 229, note 2.\n\n[FN#223] \"As for him who is of those brought near unto God, [for\nhim shall be] easance and sweet basil (syn. victual, rihan), and\na garden of pleasance.\"--Koran lvi. 87-8. It will be observed\nthat this verse is somewhat garbled in the quotation.\n\n[FN#224] Meaning apparently, \"None of the Jinn may tread these\ncarpets, etc., that thou treadest.\"\n\n[FN#225] i.e. to hold festival.\n\n[FN#226] This passage may also be rendered, \"And in this I do\nthee a great favour [and honour thee] over all the Jinn.\"\n\n[FN#227] Lit. \"How loathly is that which yonder genie Meimoun\neateth!\" But this is evidently a mistake. See ante, p. 226.\n\n[FN#228] Lit. \"I have not an eye that availeth to look upon him.\"\n\n[FN#229] i.e. \"May I not lack of thy visits!\"\n\n[FN#230] i.e. \"As much again as all thou hast given.\"\n\n[FN#231] The attainment by a boy of the proper age for\ncircumcision, or (so to speak) his religious majority, in a\nsubject for great rejoicing with the Mohammedans, and the\noccasion is celebrated by the giving of as splendid an\nentertainment as the means of his family will afford, during\nwhich he is displayed to view upon a throne or raised seat,\narrayed in the richest and ornaments that can be found, hired or\nborrowed for the purpose.\n\n[FN#232] Tuhfeh.\n\n[FN#233] Lit. \"be equitable therewith unto;\" but the meaning\nappears to be as above.\n\n[FN#234] Lit. \"places\" (mawazi). Quaere \"shifts\" or \"positions.\"\n\n[FN#235] See my \"Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night,\" Vol.\nVI. p. 226, Isaac of Mosul and his Mistress and the Devil.\n\n[FN#236] i.e. method of playing the lute.\n\n[FN#237] i.e. not indigenous?\n\n[FN#238] Apparently the residence of King Es Shisban.\n\n[FN#239] i.e. all the Jinn's professions of affection to me and\npromises of protection, etc.\n\n[FN#240] i.e. one so crafty that he was a calamity to his\nenemies, a common Arab phrase used in a complimentary sense.\n\n[FN#241] i.e. the Flying Lion.\n\n[FN#242] i.e. How canst thou feel assured of safety, after that\nwhich thou hast done?\n\n[FN#243] Or \"life\" (ruh).\n\n[FN#244] Quaere the mountain Cat.\n\n[FN#245] i.e. why tarriest thou to make an end of her?\n\n[FN#246] i.e. arm.\n\n[FN#247] i.e. for length.\n\n[FN#248] A fabulous mountain-range, believed by the Arabs to\nencompass the world and by which they are supposed to mean the\nCaucasus.\n\n[FN#249] The Anca, phoenix or griffin, is a fabulous bird that\nfigures largely in Persian romance. It is fabled to have dwelt in\nthe Mountain Caf and to have once carried off a king's daughter\non her wedding-day. It is to this legend that the story-teller\nappears to refer in the text; but I am not aware that the\nprincess in question is represented to have been the daughter of\nBehram Gour, the well-known King of Persia, who reigned in the\nfirst half of the fifth century and was a contemporary of the\nEmperors Theodosius the Younger and Honorius.\n\n[FN#250] One of the names of God.\n\n[FN#251] i.e. thy return.\n\n[FN#252] Gift of the Breast (heart).\n\n[FN#253] Binat el hawa, lit. daughters of love. This is the\nordinary meaning of the phrase; but the girl in question appears\nto have been of good repute and the expression, as applied to\nher, is probably, therefore, only intended to signify a\nsprightly, frolicsome damsel.\n\n[FN#254] Lit. the forehead, quare the lintel.\n\n[FN#255] Or \"put to nought\"\n\n[FN#256] Comparing her body, now hidden in her flowing stresses\nand now showing through them, to a sword, as it flashes in and\nout of its sheath.\n\n[FN#257] About \u00a325.\n\n[FN#258] About \u00a375.\n\n[FN#259] i.e. all defects for which a man is by law entitled to\nreturn a slave-girl to her seller.\n\n[FN#260] Ed Dilem is the ancient Media. The allusion to its\nprison or prisons I do not understand.\n\n[FN#261] i.e. the complete ablution prescribed by the Mohammedan\nlaw after sexual intercourse.\n\n[FN#262] It is customary for a newly-married man to entertain his\nmale acquaintances with a collation on the morning after the\nwedding.\n\n[FN#263] Lit. more striking and cutting.\n\n[FN#264] Sherifi, a small gold coin, worth about 6s. 8d.\n\n[FN#265] Or \"false pretences.\"\n\n[FN#266] Or, as we should say, \"the apple.\"\n\n[FN#267] Apparently the Cadi was our claimed to be a seyyid i.e.\ndescendant of Mohammed, through his daughter Fatmeh.\n\n[FN#268] Lit. more ill-omened.\n\n[FN#269] i.e. that the law would not allow him to compel the\nyoung merchant to divorce his wife.\n\n[FN#270] i.e. veil in honour.\n\n[FN#271] Lit the fire, i.e. hell.\n\n[FN#272] i.e. by an irrevocable divorcement (telacan bainan), to\nwit, such a divorcement as estops the husband from taking back\nhis divorced wife, except with her consent and after the\nexecution of a fresh contract of marriage.","title":"Tales from the Arabic \u2014 Volume 02","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":72572}