The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Volume IV Part 8

TALE OF THE LOVER WHO FEIGNED HIMSELF A THIEF.

When Khalid bin Abdallah al-Kasri[FN#218] was Emir of Ba.s.sorah, there came to him one day a company of men dragging a youth of exceeding beauty and lofty bearing and perfumed attire; whose aspect expressed good breeding, abundant wit and dignity of the gravest. They brought him before the Governor, who asked what it was and they replied, "This fellow is a thief, whom we caught last night in our dwelling-house." Whereupon Khalid looked at him and was pleased with his well-favouredness and elegant aspect; so he said to the others, "Loose him," and going up to the young man, asked what he had to say for himself. He replied, "Verily the folk have spoken truly and the case is as they have said."

Quoth Khalid, "And what moved thee to this and thou so n.o.ble of port and comely of mien?" Quoth the other "The l.u.s.t after worldly goods, and the ordinance of Allah (extolled exalted be He!)."

Rejoined Khalid, "Be thy mother bereaved of thee![FN#219] Hadst thou not, in thy fair face and sound sense and good breeding, what should restrain thee from thieving?" Answered the young man, "O Emir, leave this talk and proceed to what Almighty Allah hath ordained; this is what my hands have earned, and, 'G.o.d is not unjust towards mankind.'"[FN#220] So Khalid was silent awhile considering the matter then he bade the young man draw near him and said, "Verily, thy confession before witnesses perplexeth me, for I cannot believe thee to be a thief: haply thou hast some story that is other than one of theft; and if so tell it me."

Replied the youth "O Emir, imagine naught other than what I have confessed to in thy presence; for I have no tale to tell save that verily I entered these folks' house and stole what I could lay hands on and they caught me and took the stuff from me and carried me before thee." Then Khalid bade clap him in gaol and commended a crier to cry throughout Ba.s.sorah, "O yes! O yes!

Whoso be minded to look upon the punishment of such an one, the thief, and the cutting-off of his hand, let him be present to- morrow morning at such a place!" Now when the young man found himself in prison, with irons on his feet, he sighed heavily and with tears streaming from his eyes extemporized these couplets,

"When Khalid menaced off to strike my hand * If I refuse to tell him of her case; Quoth I, 'Far, far fro' me that I should tell * A love, which ever shall my heart engrace; Loss of my hand for sin I have confessed * To me were easier than to shame her face.'"

The warders heard him and went and told Khalid who, when it was dark night, sent for the youth and conversed with him. He found him clever and well-bred, intelligent, lively and a pleasant companion; so he ordered him food and he ate. Then after an hour's talk said Khalid, "I know indeed thou hast a story to tell that is no thief's; so when the Kazi shall come to-morrow morning and shall question thee about this robbery, do thou deny the charge of theft and avouch what may avert the pain and penalty of cutting off thy hand; for the Apostle (whom Allah bless and keep!) saith, 'In cases of doubt, eschew punishment.'" Then he sent him back to prison,--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid, after conversing with the youth, sent him back to prison, where he pa.s.sed the night. And when morning dawned the folk a.s.sembled to see his hand cut off, nor was there a soul in Ba.s.sorah, man or woman, but was present to look upon the punishment of that handsome youth. Then Khalid mounted in company of the notables of the city and others; and, summoning all four Kazis, sent for the young man, who came hobbling and stumbling in his fetters. There was none saw him but wept over him and the women all lifted up their voices in lamentation as for the dead. Then the Kazi bade silence the women and said to the prisoner, "These folk avouch that thou didst enter their dwelling-house and steal their goods: belike thou stolest less than a quarter dinar[FN#221]?" Replied he, "Nay, I stole that and more." "Peradventure," rejoined the Kazi "thou art partner with the folk in some of the goods?" Quoth the young man; "Not so: it was all theirs, and I had no right in it." At this the Khalid was wroth and rose and smote him on the face with his whip, applying to his own case this couplet,

"Man wills his wish to him accorded be; * But Allah naught accords save what He wills."

Then he called for the butcher to do the work, who came and drew forth his knife and taking the prisoner's hand set the blade to it, when, behold, a damsel pressed through the crowd of women, clad in tattered clothes,[FN#222] and cried out and threw herself on the young man. Then she unveiled and showed a face like the moon whereupon the people raised a mighty clamour and there was like to have been a riot amongst them and a violent scene. But she cried out her loudest, saying, "I conjure thee, by Allah, O Emir, hasten not to cut off this man's hand, till thou have read what is in this scroll!" So saying, she gave him a scroll, and Khalid took it and opened it and read therein these couplets,

"Ah Khalid! this one is a slave of love distraught, * And these bowed eye-lashes sent shaft that caused his grief: Shot him an arrow sped by eyes of mine, for he, * Wedded to burning love of ills hath no relief: He hath avowed a deed he never did, the while * Deeming this better than disgrace of lover fief: Bear then, I pray, with this distracted lover mine * Whose n.o.ble nature falsely calls himself a thief!"

When Khalid had read these lines he withdrew himself from the people and summoned the girl and questioned her; and she told him that the young man was her lover and she his mistress; and that thinking to visit her he came to the dwelling of her people and threw a stone into the house, to warn her of his coming. Her father and brothers heard the noise of the stone and sallied out on him; but he, hearing them coming, caught up all the household stuff and made himself appear a robber to cover his mistress's honour. "Now when they saw him they seized him (continued she), crying:--A thief! and brought him before thee, whereupon he confessed to the robbery and persisted in his confession, that he might spare me disgrace; and this he did, making himself a thief, of the exceeding n.o.bility and generosity of his nature." Khalid answered, "He is indeed worthy to have his desire;" and, calling the young man to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then he sent for the girl's father and bespoke him, saying, "O Shaykh, we thought to carry out the law of mutilation in the case of this young man; but Allah (to whom be Honour and Glory!) hath preserved us from this, and I now adjudge him the sum of ten thousand dirhams, for that he would have given his hand for the preservation of thine honour and that of thy daughter and for the sparing of shame to you both. Moreover, I adjudge other ten thousand dirhams to thy daughter, for that she made known to me the truth of the case; and I ask thy leave to marry her to him."

Rejoined the old man, "O Emir, thou hast my consent." So Khalid praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Ninety-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Khalid praised Allah and thanked Him and improved the occasion by preaching a goodly sermon and a prayerful; after which he said to the young man, "I give thee to wife the damsel, such an one here present, with her own permission and her father's consent; and her wedding settlement shall be this money, to wit, ten thousand dirhams." "I accept this marriage at thy hands," replied the youth; and Khalid bade them carry the money on bra.s.s trays in procession to the young man's house, whilst the people dispersed, fully satisfied. "And surely (quoth he who tells the tale[FN#223]) never saw I a rarer day than this, for that it began with tears and annoy; and it ended with smiles and joy."

And in contrast of this story is this piteous tale of

JA'AFAR THE BARMECIDE AND THE BEAN SELLER.

When Harun al-Ras.h.i.+d crucified Ja'afar the Barmecide[FN#224] he commended that all who wept or made moan for him should also be crucified; so the folk abstained from that. Now it chanced that a wild Arab, who dwelt in a distant word, used every year to bring to the aforesaid Ja'afar an ode[FN#225] in his honour, for which he rewarded him with a thousand dinars; and the Badawi took them and, returning to his own country, lived upon them, he and his family, for the rest of the year. Accordingly, he came with his ode at the wonted time and, finding that Ja'afar had been crucified, betook himself to the place where his body was hanging, and there made his camel kneel down and wept with sore weeping and mourned with grievous mourning; and he recited his ode and fell asleep. Presently Ja'afar the Barmecide appeared to him in a vision and said, "Verily thou hast wearied thyself to come to us and findest us as thou seest; but go to Ba.s.sorah and ask for a man there whose name is such and such, one of the merchants of the town, and say to him, 'Ja'afar, the Barmecide, saluteth thee and biddeth thee give me a thousand dinars, by the token of the bean.'" Now when the wild Arab awoke, he repaired to Ba.s.sorah, where he sought out the merchant and found him and repeated to him what Ja'afar had said in the dream; whereupon he wept with weeping so sore that he was like to depart the world.

Then he welcomed the Badawi and seated him by his side and made his stay pleasant and entertained him three days as an honoured guest; and when he was minded to depart he gave him a thousand and five hundred dinars, saying, "The thousand are what is commanded to thee, and the five hundred are a gift from me to thee; and every year thou shalt have of me a thousand gold pieces." Now when the Arab was about to take leave, he said to the merchant, "Allah upon thee, tell me the story of the bean, that I may know the origin of all this." He answered: "In the early part of my life I was poor and hawked hot beans[FN#226]

about the streets of Baghdad to keep me alive. So I went out one raw and rainy day, without clothes enough on my body to protect me from the weather; now s.h.i.+vering for excess of cold and now stumbling into the pools of rain-water, and altogether in so piteous a plight as would make one shudder with goose-skin to look upon. But it chanced that Ja'afar that day was seated with his officers and his concubines, in an upper chamber overlooking the street when his eyes fell on me; so he took pity on my case and, sending one of his dependents to fetch me to him, said as soon as he saw me, 'Sell thy beans to my people.' So I began to mete out the beans with a measure I had by me; and each who took a measure of beans filled the measure with gold pieces till all my store was gone and my basket was clean empty. Then I gathered together the gold I had gotten, and Ja'afar said to me, 'Hast thou any beans left?' 'I know not,' answered I, and then sought in the basket, but found only one bean. So Ja'afar took from me the single bean and, splitting it in twain, kept one half himself and gave the other to one of his concubines, saying, 'For how much wilt thou buy this half bean?' She replied, 'For the tale of all this gold twice-told;' whereat I was confounded and said to myself, 'This is impossible.' But, as I stood wondering, behold, she gave an order to one of her hand-maids and the girl brought me the sum of the collected monies twice-told. Then said Ja'afar, 'And I will buy the half I have by me for double the sum of the whole,' presently adding, 'Now take the price of thy bean.' And he gave an order to one of his servants, who gathered together the whole of the money and laid it in my basket; and I took it and went my ways. Then I betook myself to Ba.s.sorah, where I traded with the monies and Allah prospered me amply, to Him be the praise and the thanks! So, if I give thee every year a thousand dinars of the bounty of Ja'afar, it will in no wise injure me. Consider then the munificence of Ja'afar's nature and how he was praised both alive and dead, the mercy of Allah Almighty be upon him! And men also recount the tale of

ABU MOHAMMED HIGHT LAZYBONES.

It is told that Harun al-Ras.h.i.+d was sitting one day on the throne of the Caliphate, when there came in to him a youth of his eunuchry, bearing a crown of red gold, set with pearls and rubies and all manner of other gems and jewels, such as money might not buy; and, bussing the ground between his hands, said, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before thee"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Whereupon quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How pleasant is thy tale and profitable; and how sweet is thy speech and how delectable!" "And where is this," replied Shahrazad, "compared with what I shall tell you next night an I live and the King grant me leave!" Thereupon quoth the King to himself, "By Allah, I will not slay her until I hear the end of her tale."

When it was the Three Hundredth Night,

Quoth Dunyazad, "favour us, O my sister, with thy tale," and she replied, 'With joy and good will, if the King accord me leave;"

whereupon the King said, "Tell thy tale, O Shahrazad." So she pursued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth said to the Caliph, "The Lady Zubaydah kisseth the earth before thee and saith to thee, Thou knowest she hath bidden make this crown, which lacketh a great jewel for its dome-top; and she hath made search among her treasures, but cannot find a jewel of size to suit her mind." Quoth the Caliph to his Chamberlains and Viceregents, Make search for a great jewel, such as Zubaydah desireth." So they sought, but found nothing befitting her and told the Caliph who, vexed and annoyed thereat, exclaimed, "How am I Caliph and King of the Kings of the earth and cannot find so small a matter as a jewel? Woe to you! Ask of the merchants." So they enquired of the traders, who replied, "Our lord the Caliph will not find a jewel such as he requireth save with a man of Ba.s.sorah, by name Abu Mohammed highs Lazybones." Thereupon they acquainted the Caliph with this and he bade his Wazir Ja'afar send a note to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, Governor of Ba.s.sorah, commanding him to equip Abu Mohammed Lazybones and bring him into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful. The Minister accordingly wrote a note to that effect and despatched it by Masrur, who set out forthright for the city of Ba.s.sorah, and went in to the Emir Mohammed al-Zubaydi, who rejoiced in him and treated him with the high-most honour. Then Masrur read him the mandate of the Prince of True Believers, Harun al-Ras.h.i.+d, to which he replied, "I hear and I obey," and forthwith despatched him, with a company of his followers, to Abu Mohammed's house.

When they reached it, they knocked at the door, whereupon a page came out and Masrur said to him, "Tell thy lord, The Commander of the Faithful summoneth thee." The servant went in and told his master, who came out and found Masrur, the Caliph's Chamberlain, and a company of the Governor's men at the door. So he kissed ground before Masrur and said, "I hear and obey the summons of the Commander of the Faithful; but first enter ye my house." They replied, "We cannot do that, save in haste; even as the Prince of True Believers commanded us, for he awaiteth thy coming." But he said, "Have patience with me a little, till I set my affairs in order." So after much pressure and abundant persuasion, they entered the house with him and found the vestibule hung with curtains of azure brocade, purfled with red gold, and Abu Mohammed Lazybones bade one of his servants carry Masrur to the private Hammam. Now this bath was in the house and Masrur found its walls and floors of rare and precious marbles, wrought with gold and silver, and its waters mingled with rose-water. Then the servants served Masrur and his company with the perfection of service; and, on their going forth of the Hammam, clad them in robes of honour, brocade-work interwoven with gold. And after leaving the bath Masrur and his men went in to Abu Mohammed Lazybones and found him seated in his upper chamber; and over his head hung curtains of gold-brocade, wrought with pearls and jewels, and the pavilion was spread with cus.h.i.+ons, embroidered in red gold. Now the owner was sitting softly upon a quilted cloth covering a settee inlaid with stones of price; and, when he saw Masrur, he went forward to meet him and bidding him welcome, seated him by his side. Then he called for the food-trays; so they brought them, and when Masrur saw the tables, he exclaimed, "By Allah, never did I behold the like of these appointments in the palace of the Commander of the Faithful!" For indeed the trays contained every manner of meat all served in dishes of gilded porcelain.[FN#227] "So we ate and drank and made merry till the end of the day (quoth Masrur) when the host gave to each and every of us five thousand dinars, and on the morrow he clad us in dresses of honour of green and gold and entreated us with the utmost wors.h.i.+p." Then said Masrur to him, "We can tarry no longer for fear of the Caliph's displeasure." Answered Abu Mohammed Lazybones, "O my lord, have patience with us till the morrow, that we may equip ourselves, and we will then depart with you." So they tarried with him that day and slept the night; and next morning Abu Mohammed's servants saddled him a she mule with selle and trappings of gold, set with all manner of pearls and stones of price; whereupon quoth Masrur to himself, "I wonder, when Abu Mohammed shall present himself in such equipage, if the Caliph will ask him how he came by all this wealth." Thereupon they took leave of Al-Zubaydi and, setting out from Ba.s.sorah, fared on, without ceasing to fare till they reached Baghdad-city and presented themselves before the Caliph, who bade Abu Mohammed be seated. He sat down and addressed the Caliph in courtly phrase, saying, "O Commander of the Faithful, I have brought with me an humble offering by way of homage: have I thy gracious permission to produce it?" Al-Ras.h.i.+d replied, "There is no harm in that,"[FN#228] whereupon Abu Mohammed bade his men bring in a chest, from which he took a number of rarities, and amongst the rest, trees of gold with leaves of white emeraid,[FN#229] and fruits of pigeon blood rubies and topazes and new pearls and bright. And as the Caliph was struck with admiration he fetched a second chest and brought out of it a tent of brocade, crowned with pearls and jacinths and emeralds and jaspers and other precious stones; its poles were of freshly cut Hindi aloes-wood, and its skirts were set with the greenest smaragds. Thereon were depicted all manner of animals such as beasts and birds, spangled with precious stones, rubies, emeralds, chrysolites and bala.s.ses and every kind of precious metal. Now when Al-Ras.h.i.+d saw these things, he rejoiced with exceeding joy and Abu Mohammed Lazybones said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, deem not that I have brought these to thee, fearing aught or coveting anything; but I knew myself to be but a man of the people and that such things befitted none save the Commander of the Faithful. And now, with thy leave, I will show thee, for thy diversion, something of what I can do." Al-Ras.h.i.+d replied, "Do what thou wilt, that we may see." "To hear is to obey," said Abu Mohammed and, moving his lips, beckoned the palace battlements,[FN#230] whereupon they inclined to him; then he made another sign to them, and they returned to their place. Presently he made a sign with his eye, and there appeared before him closets with closed doors, to which he spoke, and lo! the voices of birds answered him from within.

The Caliph marvelled with pa.s.sing marvel at this and said to him, "How camest thou by all this, seeing that thou art known only as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and they tell me that thy father was a cupper serving in a public Hammam, who left thee nothing?"

Whereupon he answered, "Listen to my story" And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and First Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed Lazybones thus spake to the Caliph: "O Prince of True Believers, listen to my story, for it is a marvellous and its particulars are wondrous; were it graven with graver-needles upon the eye-corners it were a warner to whose would be warned." Quoth Al-Ras.h.i.+d, "Let us hear all thou hast to say, O Abu Mohammed!"

So he began "Know then, O Commander of the Faithful (Allah prolong to thee glory and dominion!), the report of the folk; that I am known as the Lazybones and that my father left me nothing, is true; for he was, as thou hast said, nothing but a barber-cupper in a Hammam. And I throughout my youth was the idlest wight on the face of the earth; indeed, so great was my sluggishness that, if I lay at full length in the sultry season and the sun came round upon me, I was too lazy to rise and remove from the sun to the shade. And thus I abode till I reached my fifteenth year, when my father deceased in the mercy of Allah Almighty and left me nothing. However, my mother used to go out a-charing and feed me and give me to drink, whilst I lay on my side. Now it came to pa.s.s that one day she came in to me with five silver dirhams, and said to me, 'O my son, I hear that Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar[FN#231] is about to go a voyage to China.'

(Now this Shaykh was a good and charitable man who loved the poor.) 'So come, my son, take these five silver bits; and let us both carry them to him and beg him to buy thee therewith somewhat from the land of China; so haply thou mayst make a profit of it by the bounty of Allah, whose name be exalted!' I was too idle to move for her; but she swore by the Almighty that, except I rose and went with her, she would bring me neither meat nor drink nor come in to me, but would leave me to die of hunger and thirst.

Now when I heard her words, O Commander of the Faithful, I knew she would do as she threatened for her knowledge of my sluggishness; so I said to her, 'Help me to sit up.' She did so, and I wept the while and said to her, 'Bring me my shoes.'

Accordingly, she brought them and I said, 'Put them on my feet.'

She put them on my feet and I said, 'Lift me up off the ground.'

So she lifted me up and I said, 'Support me, that I may walk.' So she supported me and I continued to fare a foot, at times stumbling over my skirts, till we came to the river bank, where we saluted the Shaykh and I said to him, 'O my uncle, art thou Abu al-Muzaffar?' 'At thy service,' answered he, and I, 'Take these dirhams and with them buy me somewhat from the land of China: haply Allah may vouchsafe me a profit of it.' Quoth the Shaykh to his companions, 'Do ye know this youth?' They answered, 'Yes, he is known as Abu Mohammed Lazybones, and we never saw him stir from his house till this moment.' Then said he to me, 'O my son, give me the silver with the blessing of Almighty Allah!' So he took the money, saying, 'Bismillah in the name of Allah!' and I returned home with my mother. Presently Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar set sail, with a company of merchants, and stayed not till they reached the land of China, where he and his bought and sold; and, having won what they wished, set out on their homeward voyage.

When they had been three days at sea, the Shaykh said to his company, 'Stay the vessel!' They asked, 'What dost thou want?'

and he answered, 'Know that I have forgotten the commission wherewith Abu Mohammed Lazybones charged me; so let us turn back that we may lay out his money on somewhat whereby he may profit.'

They cried, 'We conjure thee, by Allah Almighty turn not back with us; for we have traversed a long distance and a sore, and while so doing we have endured sad hards.h.i.+p and many terrors.'

Quoth he, 'There is no help for it but we return;' and they said, 'Take from us double the profit of the five dirhams, and turn us not back.' He agreed to this and they collected for him an ample sum of money. Thereupon they sailed on, till they came to an island wherein was much people; when they moored thereto and the merchants went ash.o.r.e, to buy thence a stock of precious metals and pearls and jewels and so forth. Presently Abu al-Muzaffar saw a man seated, with many apes before him, and amongst them one whose hair had been plucked off; and as often as their owner's attention was diverted from them, the other apes fell upon the plucked one and beat him and threw him on their master; whereupon the man rose and bashed them and bound them and punished them for this; and all the apes were wroth with the plucked ape on this account and funded him the more. When Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar saw this, he felt for and took compa.s.sion upon the plucked ape and said to his master, 'Wilt thou sell me yonder monkey?' Replied the man, 'Buy,' and Abu al-Muzaffar rejoined, 'I have with me five dirhams, belonging to an orphan lad. Wilt thou sell it me for that sum?' Answered the monkey-merchant, 'It is a bargain; and Allah give thee a blessing of him!' So he made over the beast and received his money; and the Shaykh's slaves took the ape and tied him up in the s.h.i.+p. Then they loosed sail and made for another island, where they cast anchor; and there came down divers, who plunged for precious stones, pearls and other gems; so the merchants hired them to dive for money and they dived. Now when the ape saw them doing this, he loosed himself from his bonds and, jumping off the s.h.i.+p's side, plunged with them, whereupon quoth Abu al-Muzaffar, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might, save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! The monkey is lost to us with the luck of the poor fellow for whom we bought him.' And they despaired of him; but, after a while, the company of divers rose to the surface, and behold, among them was the ape, with his hands full of jewels of price, which he threw down before Abu al-Muzaffar. The Shaykh marvelled at this and said, 'There is much mystery in this monkey!' Then they cast off and sailed till they came to a third island, called the Isle of the Zunuj,[FN#232] who are a people of the blacks, which eat the flesh of the sons of Adam. When the blacks saw them, they boarded them in dug-outs[FN#233] and, taking all in the vessel, pinioned them and carried them to their King, who bade slaughter certain of the merchants. So they slaughtered them by cutting their throats and ate their flesh; and the rest of the traders pa.s.sed the night in bonds and were in sore concern. But when it was midnight, the ape arose and going up to Abu al-Muzaffar, loosed his bonds; and, as the others saw him free, they said, 'Allah grant our deliverance may be at thy hands, O Abu al-Muzaffar!'

But he replied, 'Know that he who delivered me, by leave of Allah Almighty, was none other than this monkey'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu al-Muzaffar declared, "None loosed me, by leave of Allah Al-mighty, save this monkey and I buy my release of him at a thousand dinars!" whereupon the merchants rejoined, 'And we likewise, each and every, will pay him a thousand dinars if he release us.' With this the ape arose and went up to them and loosed their bonds one by one, till he had freed them all, when they made for the vessel and boarding her, found all safe and nothing missing from her. So they cast off and set sail; and presently Abu al-Muzaffar said to them, 'O merchants, fulfil your promise to the monkey.' 'We hear and we obey,' answered they; and each one paid him one thousand dinars, whilst Abu al-Muzaffar brought out to him the like sum of his own monies, so that a great heap of coin was collected for the ape. Then they fared on till they reached Ba.s.sorah-city where their friends came out to meet them; and when they had landed, the Shaykh said, 'Where is Abu Mohammed Lazybones?' The news reached my mother, who came to me as I lay asleep and said to me, 'O my son, verily the Shaykh Abu al-Muzaffar hath come back and is now in the city; so rise and go thou to him and salute him and enquire what he hath brought thee; it may be Allah Almighty have opened to thee the door of fortune with somewhat.' Quoth I, 'Lift me from the ground and prop me up, whilst I go forth and walk to the river bank.'

After which I went out and walked on, stumbling over my skirts, till I met the Shaykh, who exclaimed at sight of me, 'Welcome to him whose money hath been the means of my release and that of these merchants, by the will of Almighty Allah.' Then he continued, 'Take this monkey I bought for thee and carry him home and wait till I come to thee.' So I took the ape and went off, saying in my mind, 'By Allah, this is naught but rare merchandise!' and led it home, where I said to my mother, 'Whenever I lie down to sleep, thou biddest me rise and trade; see now this merchandise with thine own eyes.' Then I sat me down and as I sat, up came the slaves of Abu al-Muzaffar and said to me, 'Art thou Abu Mohammed Lazybones?' 'Yes' answered I; and behold, Abu al-Muzaffar appeared behind them. So I rose up to him and kissed his hands: and he said, 'Come with me to my home.'

'Hearkening and obedience,' answered I and accompanied him to his house, where he bade his servants bring me what money the monkey had earned for me. So they brought it and he said to me, 'O my son, Allah hath blessed thee with this wealth, by way of profit on thy five dirhams.' Then the slaves set down the treasure in chests, which they had carried on their heads, and Abu al-Muzaffar gave me the keys saying, 'Go before the slaves to thy house; for in sooth all this wealth is thine.' So I returned to my mother, who rejoiced in this and said to me, 'O my son, Allah hath blessed thee with all these riches; so put off thy laziness and go down to the bazar and sell and buy.' At once I shook off my dull sloth, and opened a shop in the bazar, where the ape used to sit on the same divan with me eating with me when I ate and drinking when I drank. But, every day, he was absent from dawn till noon, when he came back bringing with him a purse of a thousand dinars, which he laid by my side, and sat down; and he ceased not so doing for a great while, till I ama.s.sed much wealth, wherewith, O Commander of the Faithful, I purchased houses and lands, and I planted gardens and I bought me white slaves and negroes and concubines. Now it came to pa.s.s one day, as I sat in my shop, with the ape sitting at my side on the same carpet, behold, he began to turn right and left, and I said to myself, 'What aileth the beast?' Then Allah made the ape speak with a ready tongue, and he said to me, 'O Abu Mohammed!' Now when I heard him speak, I was sore afraid; but he said to me, 'Fear not; I will tell thee my case. I am a Marid of the Jinn and came to thee because of thy poor estate; but today thou knowest not the amount of thy wealth; and now I have need of thee and if thou do my will, it shall be well for thee.' I asked, 'What is it?' and he answered, 'I have a mind to marry thee to a girl like the full moon.' Quoth I, 'How so?'; and quoth he, 'Tomorrow don thou thy richest dress and mount thy mule, with the saddle of gold and ride to the Haymarket. There enquire for the shop of the Sharif[FN#234] and sit down beside him and say to him, 'I come to thee as a suitor craving thy daughter's hand.' 'If he say to thee, 'Thou hast neither cash nor rank nor family'; pull out a thousand dinars and give them to him, and if he ask more, give him more and tempt him with money.' Whereto I replied, 'To hear is to obey; I will do thy bidding, Inshallah!' So on the next morning I donned my richest clothes, mounted my she mule with trappings of gold and rode to the Haymarket where I asked for the Sharif's shop, and finding him there seated, alighted and saluted him and seated myself beside him"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abu Mohammed Lazybones continued: "So I alighted and, saluting him, seated myself beside him, and my Mamelukes and negro-slaves stood before me. Said the Sharif, 'Haply, thou hast some business with us which we may have pleasure of transacting?' Replied I, 'Yes, I have business with thee.' Asked he, 'And what is it?'; and I answered, 'I come to thee as a suitor for thy daughter's hand.'

So he said, 'Thou hast neither cash nor rank nor family;'

whereupon I pulled him out a purse of a thousand dinars, red gold, and said to him, 'This is my rank[FN#235] and my family; and he (whom Allah bless and keep!) hath said, The best of ranks is wealth. And how well quoth the poet,

'Whoso two dithams hath, his lips have learnt * Speech of all kinds with eloquence bedight: Draw near[FN#236] his brethren and crave ear of him, * And him thou seest haught in pride-full height: Were 't not for dirhams wherein glories he, * Hadst found him 'mid man kind in sorry plight.

When richard errs in words they all reply, * "Sooth thou hast spoken and hast said aright!"

When pauper speaketh truly all reply * 'Thou liest;' and they hold his sayings light.[FN#237]

Verily dirhams in earth's every stead * Clothe men with rank and make them fair to sight Gold is the very tongue of eloquence; * Gold is the best of arms for might who'd fight!'

Now when the Sharif heard these my words and understood my verse, he bowed his head awhile groundwards then raising it, said, 'If it must be so, I will have of thee other three thousand gold pieces.' 'I hear and I obey,' answered I, and sent one of my Mamelukes home for the money. As soon as he came back with it, I handed it to the Sharif who, when he saw it in his hands, rose, and bidding his servants shut his shop, invited his brother merchants of the bazar the wedding; after which he carried me to his house and wrote out my contract of marriage with his daughter saying to me, 'After ten days, I will bring thee to pay her the first visit.' So I went home rejoicing and, shutting myself up with the ape, told him what had pa.s.sed; and he said 'Thou hast done well.' Now when the time appointed by the Sharif drew near, the ape said to me, 'There is a thing I would have thee do for me; and thou shalt have of me (when it is done) whatso thou wilt.' I asked, 'What is that?' and he answered, 'At the upper end of the chamber wherein thou shalt meet thy bride, the Sharif's daughter, stands a cabinet, on whose door is a ring-padlock of copper and the keys under it. Take the keys and open the cabinet in which thou shalt find a coffer of iron with four flags, which are talismans, at its corners; and in its midst stands a brazen basin full of money, wherein is tied a white c.o.c.k with a cleft comb; while on one side of the coffer are eleven serpents and on the other a knife. Take the knife and slaughter the c.o.c.k; cut away the flags and upset the chest, then go back to the bride and do away her maidenhead. This is what I have to ask of thee.' 'Hearkening and obedience,' answered I, and betook myself to the house of the Sharif. So as soon as I entered the bride-chamber, I looked for the cabinet and found it even as the ape had described it. Then I went in unto the bride and marvelled at her beauty and loveliness and stature and symmetrical-grace, for indeed they were such as no tongue can set forth. I rejoiced in her with exceeding joy; and in the middle of the night, when my bride slept, I rose and, taking the keys, opened the cabinet.

Then I seized the knife and slew the c.o.c.k and threw down the flags and upset the coffer, whereupon the girl awoke and, seeing the closet open and the c.o.c.k with cut throat, exclaimed, 'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! The Marid hath got hold of me!' Hardly had she made an end of speaking, when the Marid swooped down upon the house and, s.n.a.t.c.hing up the bride, flew away with her; whereupon there arose a mighty clamour and behold, in came the Sharif, buffetting his face and crying, 'O Abu Mohammed, what is this deed thou hast done? Is it thus thou requiitest us? I made this talisman in the cabinet fearing for my daughter from this accursed one who, for these six years, hath sought to steal-away the girl, but could not. But now there is no more abiding for thee with us, so wend thy ways.' Thereupon I went forth and returned to my own house, where I made search for the ape but could not find him nor any trace of him; whereby I knew that it was he who was the Marid, and that he had carried off my wife and had tricked me into destroying the talisman and the c.o.c.k, the two things which hindered him from taking her, and I repented, rending my raiment and cuffing my face. And there was no land but was straitened upon me; so I made for the desert forthright and ceased not wandering on till night overtook me, for I knew not whither I was going. And whilst I was deep in sad thought behold, I met two serpents, one tawny and the other white, and they were fighting to kill each other. So I took up a stone and with one cast slew the tawny serpent, which was the aggressor; whereupon the white serpent glided away and was absent for a while, but presently she returned accompanied by ten other white serpents which glided up to the dead serpent and tore her in pieces, so that only the head was left. Then they went their ways and I fell prostrate for weariness on the ground where I stood; but as I lay, pondering my case lo! I heard a Voice though I saw no one and the Voice versified with these two couplets,

'Let Fate with slackened bridle fare her pace, * Nor pa.s.s the night with mind which cares an ace Between eye-closing and its opening, * Allah can foulest change to fairest case.'