text.english.50MB.131072.bin

, "Indeed, the daughter of King
Such-an-one is seemlier than he." When Bihzad heard this saying,
his reason fled and his heart fluttered and he called the last
speaker and said to him, "Repeat to me that which thou saidst and
tell me the truth concerning her whom thou avouchest to be
goodlier than I and whose daughter she is." Quoth the man, "She
is the daughter of King Such-an-one;" whereupon Bihzad's heart
clave to her and his colour changed. Presently the news reached
his sire, who said to him, "O my son, this maiden to whom thy
heart cleaveth is at thy command and we have power over her; so
wait till I demand her in wedlock for thee." But the Prince said,
"I will not wait." So the king hastened in the matter and sent to
demand her of her sire, who required of him an hundred thousand
dinars paid down to his daughter's dowry. Quoth Bihzad's father,
"So be it," and weighed out what was in his treasuries, and there
remained to his charge but a little of the dower.[FN#177] So he
said, "Have patience, O my son, till we gather together the rest
of the money and send to fetch her for thee, since now she is
become thine." Therewith the Prince waxed wroth with exceeding
wrath and cried, "I will not have patience;" so he took his sword
and his lance[FN#178] and mounting his horse, went forth and fell
to cutting the way.[FN#179] It chanced one day that he fell upon
a company of folk who overcame him by dint of numbers and taking
him prisoner, pinioned him and carried him to the lord of that
land wherein he was a-highwaying. This king saw his semblance and
loveliness and misdoubting of him, said, "This be no robber's
favour. Tell me truly, O youth, who thou art." Bihzad was ashamed
to acquaint him with his condition and preferred death for
himself; so he answered, "I am naught but a thief and a bandit."
Quoth the king, "It behoveth us not to act hastily in the matter
of this youth, but that we look into his affair, for that
impatience gendereth penitence." So he imprisoned him in his
palace and assigned him one to serve him. Meanwhile the news
spread abroad that Bihzad, son of the sovran, was lost, whereupon
his father sent letters in quest of him to all the kings
including him with whom he was imprisoned. When the letter
reached the latter, he praised Almighty Allah for that he had not
anyways hastened in Bihzad's affair and bidding them bring him
before himself, said to him, "Art thou minded to destroy thy
life?" Quoth Bihzad, "I did this for fear of shame;" and the king
said, "An thou fear shame, thou shouldst not practise haste in
thy doings; knowest thou not that the fruit of impatience is
repentance? Had we hasted, we also, like thee, had repented."
Then he conferred on him a robe of honour and engaged to him for
the completion of the dowry and sent to his father, giving him
the glad tidings and comforting his heart with news of his son's
safety; after which he said to Bihzad, "Arise, O my son, and go
to thy sire." Rejoined the Prince, "O king, complete thy kindness
to me by hastening my going-in to my wife; for, an I go back to
my sire, the time will be long till he send a messenger and he
return, promising me dispatch." The king laughed and marvelled at
him and said to him, "I fear for thee from this precipitancy,
lest thou come to shame and win not thy wish." Then he gave him
muchel of wealth and wrote him letters, commending him to the
father of the Princess, and despatched him to them. When he drew
near their country, the king came forth to meet him with the
people of his realm and assigned him a fine lodging and bade
hasten the going-in of his daughter to him, in compliance with
the other king's letter. He also advised the Prince's father of
his son's coming and they busied themselves with the affair of
the young lady. When it was the day of the bride's
going-in[FN#180] Bihzad, of his impetuosity and lack of patience,
betook himself to the wall, which was between himself and her
lodging and wherein was a hole pierced, and of his haste looked
through it, so he might see his bride. But her mother espied
him[FN#181] and this was grievous to her; so she took from one of
the pages two red-hot iron spits and thrust them into the hole
through which the Prince was looking. The spits ran into his eyes
and put them out and he fell down fainting and the
wedding-festival was changed to mourning and sore concern. "See,
then, O king" (continued the youth), "the issue of the Prince's
haste and lack of deliberation, for indeed his impatience
bequeathed him long penitence and his joy turned to annoy; and on
like wise was it with the woman who hastened to put out his eyes
and delayed not to deliberate. All this was the doing of haste;
wherefore it behoveth the king not to be hasty in putting me to
death, for that I am under the hold of his hand, and whatso time
thou desirest my slaughter, it shall not escape thee." When the
king heard this his anger subsided and he said, "Return him back
to the prison till to-morrow, so we may look into his case."




                         The Fifth Day.



Of the Issues of Good and Evil Actions.



When it was the fifth day, the fifth Wazir, whose name was
Jahrbaur,[FN#182] came in to the king and prostrating himself
before him. said, "O king, it behoveth thee, an thou see or hear
one look on thy house,[FN#183] that thou pluck out his eyes. How
then should it be with him whom thou sawest a-middlemost thy
palace and on thy royal bed, and he suspected with thy Harim, and
not of thy lineage or of thy kindred? So do thou away this shame
by putting him to death. Indeed, we urge thee not to this, except
for the assurance of thine empire and of our zeal for thy loyal
counselling and of our affection to thee. How can it be lawful
that this youth should live for a single hour?" Therewith the
king was filled with fury and cried, "Bring him forthright." So
they fetched the youth whom they set before him in fetters, and
the king said to him, "Woe to thee! Thou hast sinned a great sin
and the time of thy survival hath been long;[FN#184] but needs
must we put thee to death, because there is no case for us in thy
life till we take it." Quoth the youth, "Know O king, that I, by
Allah, am guiltless, and by reason of this I hope for life, for
that he who is innocent of all offence goeth not in fear of pains
and penalties, neither greateneth his mourning and his concern;
but whoso hath sinned, needs must his sin be expiated upon him,
though his life be prolonged, and it shall overtake him, even as
it overtook Dadbin the king and his Wazir." Asked Azadbakht,"How
was that?" and the youth said,"Hear, O king (whose days may Allah
increase!),




The Story of King Dadbin[FN#185] and his Wazirs.



There was once a king in the land of Tabaristan,[FN#186] by name
Dadbin, and he had two Wazirs, one called Zorkhan and the other
Kardan.[FN#187] The Minister Zorkhan had a daughter, there was
not in her day a fairer than she nor yet a chaster or a more
pious, for she was a faster, a prayer and an adorer of Allah the
Almighty, and her name was Arwa.[FN#188] Now Dadbin, the king,
heard tell of her praises; so his heart clave to her and he
called the Wazir her sire and said to him, "I desire of thee that
thou marry me to thy daughter." Quoth Zorkhan, "O my liegest
lord, suffer me to consult her, and if she consent, I will marry
thee with her." And the king, said, "Haste thee with this." So
the Minister went in to his daughter and said to her, "O my
daughter, the king seeketh thee of me and desireth to marry
thee." She said. "O my father, I desire not a husband, and if
thou wilt marry me not but with a mate who shall be mine inferior
in rank and I nobler than he, so he may not turn to other than
myself nor lift his eyes upon me,[FN#189] and marry me not to one
who is nobler than I, lest I be with him as a slave-girl and a
serving-woman." Accordingly the Wazir returned to the king and
acquainted him with that which his daughter had said, whenas he
redoubled in desire and love-longing for her, and said to her
sire, "An thou marry me not to her of good grace, I will take her
in thy despite and by force." The Minister again betook himself
to his daughter and repeated to her the king's words, but she
replied, "I want no husband." So he returned to the king and told
him what she said, and he was wroth and threatened him, whereupon
the father took his daughter and fled with her. When this came to
the king's knowledge, he despatched troops in pursuit of Zorkhan,
to stop the road upon him, whilst he himself went out and
overtaking the Wazir, smote him on the head with his mace[FN#190]
and slew him. Then he took his daughter by force and returning to
his dwelling-place, went in to her and married her. Arwa resigned
herself with patience to that which betided her and committed her
case to Allah Almighty; and indeed she was used to serve Him
night and day with a goodly service in the house of King Dadbin
her husband. It befel one day that the king had occasion to make
a journey; so he called his second Wazir Kardan and said to him,
"I have a charge to commit to thy care, and it is yonder lady, my
wife, the daughter of the Wazir Zorkhan, and I desire that thou
keep her and guard her thy very self, because I have not in the
world aught dearer than she." Quoth Kardan in his mind, "Of a
truth, the king honoureth me with an exceeding honour in
entrusting me with this lady." And he answered, "With love and
all gladness." When the king had departed on his journey, Kardan
said in himself, "Needs must I look upon this lady whom the king
loveth with all this love." So he hid himself in a place, that he
might espy her, and saw her surpassing description; wherefor he
was confounded at her and his wit was wildered and love gat the
lordship of him, so that he sent to her, saying, "Have pity on
me, for indeed I perish for the love of thee." She sent back to
him and replied, "O Wazir, thou art in the place of faith and
confidence, so do not thou betray thy trust, but make thine
inward life like unto thine outward[FN#191] and occupy thyself
with thy wife and that which is lawful to thee. As for this, 'tis
mere lust and women are all of one and the same taste.[FN#192]
And if thou wilt not be forbidden from this talk, I will make
thee a byword and a reproach among folk." When the Minister heard
her answer, he knew that she was chaste of soul and body;
wherefore he repented with the utmost of repentance and feared
for himself from the king and said, "Needs must I devise a device
whereby I may destroy her; else shall I be disgraced with the
king." Now when the king returned from his journey, he questioned
Kardan of the affairs of his kingdom, and the Wazir answered,
"All is right well, O king, save a vile matter, which I have
espied here and with which I am ashamed to confront the sovran;
but, if I hold my peace thereof, I fear lest other than I
discover it and I shall have played traitor to the king in the
matter of my warning and my trust." Quoth Dadbin, "Speak, for to
me thou art none other than a truth-teller, a trustworthy and a
loyal counsellor in whatso thou sayest, undistrusted in aught."
And the Minister said, "O king, this woman to whose love thy
heart cleaveth and of whose piety thou talkest and her fasting
and her praying, I will plainly prove to thee that this is craft
and guile." Hereat the king was troubled and said, "What may be
the matter?" and the Wazir replied, "I would have thee wot that
some days after thy departure, one came to me and said to me,
Come, O Wazir, and look. So I went to the door of the queen's
sleeping-chamber and behold, she was sitting with Abu al-Khayr,
her father's page, whom she favoureth, and she did with him what
she did, and such is the manner of that which I saw and heard."
When Dadbin heard this, he burnt with rage and said to one of his
eunuchs,[FN#193] "Go and slay her in her chamber." But the eunuch
said to him, "O king, Allah prolong thy life! Indeed, the killing
of her may not be in this way neither at this time; but do thou
bid one of thine Castratos take her up on a camel and carry her
to one of the trackless wolds and cast her down there; so, if she
be guilty, Allah shall cause her to perish, and if she be
innocent, He will deliver her, and the king shall be free from
default against her; for that this lady is dear to thee and thou
slewest her father by reason of thy love for her." Quoth the
king, "By Allah, thou sayst sooth!" Then he bade one of his
eunuchs carry her on a camel to one of the far-off wilds and
cut-off wolds and there leave her and wend his ways, and he
forbade her torment to be prolonged. So he took her up and
betaking himself with her to the desert, left her there without
provaunt or water and returned, whereupon she made for one of the
hills, and ranging stones before her in form of prayer-niche,
stood praying. Now it chanced that a camel-driver, belonging to
Kisra[FN#194] the king, lost certain camels, and his lord
threatened him, if he found them not, that he would slay him.
Accordingly he set out and plunged into the wastes till he came
to the place where the lady was, and seeing her standing at
prayer utterly alone, waited till she had made an end of her
orisons, when he went up to her and saluted her with the salam,
saying, "Who art thou?" Quoth she, "I am a hand-maid of the
Almighty." He asked, "What doest thou in this desolate place?"
and she answered, "I serve Allah the Most High." When he saw her
beauty and loveliness, he fell in love with her, and said to her,
"Harkye! Do thou take me to mate and I will be tender to thee and
use thee with exceeding ruth, and I will further thee in
obedience to Allah Almighty." But she answered, saying, "I have
no need of wedlock and I desire to abide here alone with my Lord
and His worship; but an thou wouldst have ruth upon me and
further me in the obedience of Allah the Most High, carry me to a
place where there is water and thou wilt have done me a
kindness." Thereupon he took her to a place wherein was running
water and setting her down on the ground, left her and went his
ways, marvelling at her. After he left her, he found his camels,
by her blessing, and when he returned, King Kisra asked him,
"Hast thou found the camels?" He answered "Yes," and acquainted
him with the affair of the damsel, and detailed to him her beauty
and loveliness: whereupon the king's heart clave to her and he
mounted with a few men and betook himself to that place, where he
found the lady and was amazed at her, because he saw her
surpassing the description wherewith the camel-driver had
described her to him. So he accosted her and said to her, "I am
King Kisra, greatest of the kings. Wilt thou not have me to
husband?" Quoth she, "What wilt thou do with me, O king, and I a
woman abandoned in the waste?" And quoth he, "Needs must this be,
and if thou wilt not consent to me, I will take up my abode here
and devote myself to Allah's service and thy service, and with
thee worship the Almighty." Then he bade set up for her a tent
and another for himself, facing hers, so he might adore Allah
with her, and fell to sending her food; and she said in herself,
"This is a king, and 'tis not lawful for me that I suffer him for
my sake to forsake his lieges and his land." Presently she said
to the servingwoman, who used to bring her the food, "Speak the
king that he return to his women, for he hath no need of me, and
I desire to abide in this place, so I may worship therein Allah
the Most High." The slave-girl returned to the king and told him
this, whereupon he sent back to her, saying, "I have no need of
the kingship and I also desire to tarry here and worship Allah
with thee in this waste." When she found this earnestness in him,
she fell in with his wishes, and said, "O king, I will consent to
that which thou desirest and will be to thee a wife, but on
condition that thou bring me Dadbin the king and his Wazir Kardan
and his Chamberlain the chief Eunuch, and that they be present in
thine assembly, so I may speak a word with them in thy presence,
to the intent that thou mayst redouble in affection for me."
Quoth Kisra, "And what is thy want unto this?" So she related to
him her story from first to last, how she was the wife of Dadbin
the king and how the Wazir Kardan had misspoken of her honour.
When King Kisra heard this, he redoubled in love-longing for her
and affection and said to her, "Do whatso thou willest:" then he
let bring a litter[FN#195] and carrying her therein to his
dwelling-place, entreated her with the utmost honour and espoused
her. Presently he sent a great army to King Dadbin and fetching
him and his Wazir Kardan and the Eunuch-chamberlain, caused bring
them before him, they unknowing the while what he might purpose
to do with them. Moreover, he caused set up for Arwa a
pavilion[FN#196] in the courtyard of his palace, and she entered
it and let down the curtain before herself. When the servants had
set their seats and they had seated themselves, Arwa raised a
corner of the curtain and said, "O Kardan, rise to thy feet, for
it befitteth not that thou sit in the like of this assembly,
before this mighty King Kisra." When the Wazir heard these words,
his heart fluttered and his joints were loosened and he rose to
his feet of his fear. Then said she to him, "By the virtue of Him
who hath made thee stand up to judgment in this standing-stead,
and thou abject and humiliated, I conjure thee speak the truth
and say what egged thee on to lie against me and drive me from my
home and from the land of my husband and made thee practise thus
against a man and a Moslem so as to slay him.[FN#197] This is no
place wherein lying availeth nor may artifice be herein." When
the Wazir was 'ware that she was Arwa and heard her speech, he
knew that it behoved him not to lie and that naught would avail
him save truth; so he bowed his head groundwards and wept and
said, "Whoso doth evil, needs must he incur it, albe his day be
prolonged. By Allah, I am he who hath sinned and transgressed,
and naught prompted me unto this but fear and overmastering
desire and the misery writ upon my brow.[FN#198] And indeed this
woman is pure and chaste and free from all fault." When King
Dadbin heard this, he beat his face and said to Kardan, his
Wazir, "Allah slay thee![FN#199] 'Tis thou that hast parted me
and my wife and wronged me!" But Kisra the king said to him,
"Allah shall assuredly slay thee, because thou hastenedst and
lookedst not into thine affair, and knewest not the guilty from
the guiltless. Hadst thou wrought deliberately, the unright had
been made manifest to thee from the right; so when this villain
Wazir purposed thy ruin, where was thy judgment and whither went
thy sight?" Then he asked Arwa, "What wilt thou that I do with
them?" and she answered, "Accomplish on them the ordinance of
Almighty Allah:[FN#200] let the slayer be slain and the
transgressor transgressed against, even as he transgressed
against us; yea, and to the well-doer weal shall be done even as
he did unto us." So she gave her officers order concerning Dadbin
and they smote him on the head with a mace and slew him, and she
said, "This is for the slaughter of my sire." Then she bade set
the Wazir on a beast and bear him to the desert whither he had
caused her to be borne, and leave him there without provaunt or
water; and she said to him, "An thou be guilty, thou shalt suffer
the punishment of thy guilt and die in the desert of hunger and
thirst; but an there be no guilt in thee, thou shalt be
delivered, even as I was delivered." As for the
Eunuch-chamberlain, who had counselled King Dadbin not to slay
her, but to cause carry her to the desert, she bestowed on him a
costly robe of honour and said to him, "The like of thee it
befitteth kings to hold in favour and promote to high place, for
that thou spakest loyally and well, and a man is requited
according to his deed." And Kisra the King made him Wali in a
certain province of his empire. "Know, therefore, O king"
(continued the youth), "that whoso doeth good is requited with
good, and he who is guiltless of sin and offence feareth not the
issue of his affair. And I, O my liege lord, am free from guilt,
wherefore I hope in Allah that He will show forth the truth to
mine auspicious king, and vouchsafe me the victory over enemies
and enviers." When the king heard this, his wrath subsided and he
said, "Return him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look
into his case."




                         The Sixth Day.



Of Trust in Allah.



When it was the sixth day, the wrath of the Wazirs redoubled,
because they had not won their will of the youth and they feared
for their lives from the liege lord; so three of them went in to
him and prostrating themselves between his hands, said to him, "O
king, indeed we are loyal counsellors to thy dignity and fondly
solicitous for thy weal. Verily, thou persistest long in leaving
this youth alive and we know not what is thine advantage therein.
Every day findeth him yet on life and the talk of folk redoubleth
suspicion on thee; so do thou do him dead, that the talk may be
made an end of." When the king heard this speech, he said, "By
Allah, verily ye say sooth and speak rightly!" Then he bade them
bring the young treasurer and when he came into the presence said
to him, "How Iong shall I look into thy case, and find no helper
for thee and see them athirst for thy blood?" The youth answered,
"O king, I hope for succour only from Allah, not from created
beings: an He aid me, none shall have power to harm me, and if He
be with me and on my side, because of the truth, from whom shall
I fear, because of untruth? Indeed, I have made my intent with
Allah a pure intent and a sincere, and I have severed my
expectation from the help of the creature; and whoso seeketh aid
of Allah findeth of his desire that which Bakhtzaman found."
Quoth the king, "Who was Bakhtzaman and what is his story?" and
quoth the youth, "Hear, O king,




The Story of King Bakhtzaman.[FN#201]



There was once a king of the kings whose name was Bakhtzaman, and
he was a great eater and drinker and carouser. Now enemies of his
made their appearance in certain parts of his realm which they
coveted; and one of his friends said to him, "O king, the foe
intendeth for thee: be on thy guard against him." Quoth
Bakhtzaman "I reck not of him, for that I have weapons and wealth
and warmen and am not afraid of aught." Then said his friends to
him, "Ask aid of Allah, O king, for He will help thee more than
thy wealth and thy weapons and thy warriors." But he turned a
deaf ear to the speech of his loyal counsellors, and presently
the enemy came upon him and waged war upon him and got the
victory over him and profited him naught his trust in other than
Allah the Most High. So he fled from him and seeking one of the
sovrans, said to him, "I come to thee and lay hold upon thy
skirts and take refuge with thee, so thou mayst help me against
my foe." The king gave him money and men and a mighty many and
Bakhtzaman said in himself, "Now am I fortified with this force
and needs must I conquer my foe with such combatants and overcome
him;" but he said not, "With the aid of Allah Almighty." So his
enemy met him and overcame him again and he was defeated and put
to the rout and fled at random: his troops were dispersed from
him and his money lost and the enemy pursued him. Thereupon he
sought the sea and passing over to the other side, saw a great
city and therein a mighty citadel. He asked its name and that of
its owner, and they said to him, "It belongeth to
Khadidan[FN#202] the king." So he fared on till he came to the
royal palace and concealing his condition, passed himself off for
a horseman[FN#203] and sought service with King Khadidan, who
attached him to his attendance and entreated him with honour; but
his heart still clung to his mother-land and his home. Presently,
it chanced that an enemy came out against King Khadidan; so he
sent his troops to meet him and made Bakhtzaman head of the host.
Then they went forth to the field and Khadidan also came forth
and ranged his troops and levelled lance and sallied out in
person and fought a sore fight and overcame his foe, who with his
troops ignominiously fled. When the king and his army returned in
triumph, Bakhtzaman said to him, "Harkye, O king! This be a
strange thing I see in thee that thou art compassed about with
this mighty great army, yet dost thou apply thyself in person to
battle and adventurest thy life." Quoth the king, "Dost thou call
thyself a knight and a learned wight and deemest that victory is
in the many of men?" Quoth Bakhtzaman, "Such is indeed my
belief." And Khadidan the king cried, "By Allah, then, thou
errest in this thy belief!" presently adding, "woe and again woe
to him whose trust is in other than Allah! Indeed, this army is
appointed only for phantasy and majesty, and victory is from
Allah alone. I too, O Bakhtzaman, whilome believed that victory
was in the number of men,[FN#204] and an enemy came out against
me with eight hundred head, whilst I had eight hundred thousand.
I trusted in the tale of my troops, whilst my foe trusted in
Allah, so he defeated me and routed me and I was put to a
shameful flight and hid myself in one of the mountains, where I
met with a Religious who had withdrawn himself from the world. So
I joined myself to him and complained to him of my case and
acquainted him with all that had befallen me. Quoth the Recluse,
'Wottest thou why this befel thee and thou wast defeated?' Quoth
I, 'I know not;' and he said. 'Because thou didst put thy trust
in the multitude of thy warmen and reliedst not upon Allah the
Most High. Hadst thou put thy trust in the Almighty and believed
of Him that it is He alone who advantageth and endamageth thee,
never had thy foe availed to cope with thee. Return unto Allah.'
So I returned to my right senses, and repented at the hands of
that Religious, who said to me, 'Turn back with what remaineth to
thee of troops and confront thy foes, for, if their intents be
changed and turned away from Allah, thou wilt overcome them, e'en
wert thou alone.' When I heard the Solitary's words, I put my
trust in Allah of All-Might; and, gathering together those who
remained with me, fell upon mine enemies at unawares in the
night. They deemed us many and fled with the shamefullest flight,
whereupon I entered my city and repossessed myself of my place by
the might of Almighty Allah, and now I fight not but trusting in
His aid. When Bakhtzaman heard these words he awoke from his
heedlessness and cried, "Extolled be the perfection of God the
Great! O king, this is my case and my story, nothing added and
naught subtracted, for I am King Bakhtzaman and all this happened
to me: wherefore I will seek the gate of Allah's mercy and repent
unto Him." So he went forth to one of the mountains and
worshipped Allah there awhile, till one night, as he slept, a
personage appeared to him in a dream and said to him, "O
Bakhtzaman, Allah accepteth thy repentance and openeth on thee
the door of succour and will aid thee against thy foe." When he
was assured of this in the dream, he arose and turned back,
intending for his own city; and when he drew near thereunto, he
saw a company of the king's retainers, who said to him, "Whence
art thou? We see that thou art a foreigner and fear for thee from
this king, for that every stranger who entereth this city, he
destroyeth him, of his dread of King Bakhtzaman." Said
Bakhtzaman, "None shall prejudice him nor profit him save Allah
the Most High." And they replied. "Indeed, he hath a vast army
and his heart is fortified in the multitude of his many." When
King Bakhtzaman heard this, his mind was comforted and he said to
himself, "I place my trust in Allah. An He will, I shall overcome
mine enemy by the might of the Lord of Omnipotence." So he said
to the folk, "Wot ye not who I am?" and they said, "No, by
Allah." Cried he, "I am King Bakhtzaman." When they heard this
and knew that it was indeed he, they dismounted from their horses
and kissed his stirrup, to do him honour, and said to him, "O
king, why thus risk thy life?" Quoth he, "Indeed, my life is a
light matter to me and I set my trust in Almighty Allah, looking
to Him for protection." And quoth they, "May that suffice thee!"
presently adding, "We will do with thee that which is in our
power and whereof thou art worthy: hearten thy heart, for we will
succour thee with our substance and our existence, and we are his
chief officers and the most in favour with him of all folk. So we
will take thee with us and cause the lieges follow after thee,
because the inclination of the people, all of them, is
theewards." Said he, "Do whatso Allah Almighty enableth you to
do." So they carried him into the city and hid him with them.
Then they agreed with a company of the king's chief officers, who
had aforetime been those of Bakhtzaman, and acquainted them with
this; whereat they rejoiced with joy exceeding. Then they
assembled together to Bakhtzaman, and made a covenant and
handfast of fealty with him and fell upon the foe and slew him
and seated King Bakhtzaman again on the throne of his kingship.
And his affairs prospered and Allah amended his estate and
restored to him His bounty, and he ruled his subjects justly and
abode in the obedience of the Almighty. "On this wise, O king"
(continued the young treasurer), "he with whom Allah is and whose
intent is pure, meeteth naught save good. As for me, I have no
helper other than the Almighty, and I am content to submit myself
to His ordinance, for that He knoweth the purity of my intent."
With this the king's wrath subsided and he said, "Return him to
the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his case."





                        The Seventh Day.



Of Clemency.



When it was the seventh day, the seventh Wazir, whose name was
Bihkamal,[FN#205] came in to the king and prostrating himself to
him, said, "O king, what doth thy long-suffering with this youth
profit thee? Indeed the folk talk of thee and of him. Why, then,
dost thou postpone the putting him to death?" The Minister's
words aroused the anger of the king, and he bade bring the youth.
So they fetched him before him in fetters and Azadbakht said to
him, "Ho, woe to thee! By Allah, after this day there abideth no
deliverance for thee from my hand, by reason that thou hast
outraged mine honour, and there can be no forgiveness for thee"
The youth replied, "O king, there is no great forgiveness save in
case of a great default, for according as the offence is great in
so much magnified is mercy; and it is no grace to the like of
thee if he spare the like of me. Verily, Allah knoweth that there
is no crime in me, and indeed He commandeth to clemency, and no
clemency is greater than that which spareth from slaughter, for
that thy pardon of him whom thou purposest to put to death is as
the quickening of a dead man; and whoso doth evil shall find it
before him, even as it was with King Bihkard." Asked the king,
"And what is the story of King Bihkard?" And the youth answered,
"Hear, O king,





The Story of King Bihkard.[FN#206]



There was once a king named Bihkard, and he had mickle of wealth
and many troops; but his deeds were evil and he would punish for
a slight offence, and he never forgave any offender. He went
forth one day to hunt and a certain of his pages shot a shaft,
which lit on the king's ear and cut it off. Bihkard cried, "Who
shot that arrow?" So the guards brought him in haste the
misdemeanant, whose name was Yatru,[FN#207] and he of his fear
fell down on the ground in a fainting fit. Then quoth the king,
"Slay him;" but Yatru said, "O king, this which hath befallen was
not of my choice nor of my knowledge; so do thou pardon me, in
the hour of thy power over me, for that mercy is of the goodliest
of deeds and belike it shall be in this world a provision and a
good work for which thou shalt be repaid one of these days, and a
treasure laid up to thine account with Allah in the world to
come. Pardon me, therefore, and fend off evil from me, so shall
Allah fend off from thee the like evil." When the king beard
this, it pleased him and he pardoned the page, albeit he had
never before pardoned any. Now this page was of the sons of the
kings and had fled from his sire on account of a sin he had
committed: then he went and took service with Bihkard the king,
and there happened to him what happened. After a while, it
chanced that a man recognised him and went and told his father,
who sent him a letter, comforting his heart and mind and calling
upon him to return to him. Accordingly he returned to his father,
who came forth to meet him and rejoiced in him, and the Prince's
affairs were set right with his sire. Now it befel, one day of
the days, that king Bihkard shipped him in a ship and put out to
sea, so he might fish: but the wind blew on them and the craft
sank. The king made the land upon a plank, unknown of any, and
came forth, mother-naked, on one of the coasts; and it chanced
that he landed in the country whereof the father of the page
aforesaid was king. So he came in the night to the gate of the
sovran's capital, and finding it shut, lodged him in a
burying-place there. When the morning morrowed and the folk came
forth of the city, behold, they found a man lately murthered and
cast down in a corner of the burial ground, and seeing Bihkard
there, doubted not but it was he who had slain him during the
night; so they laid hands on him and carried him up to the king
and said to him, "This fellow hath slain a man." The king bade
imprison him; whereupon they threw him in jail, and he fell to
saying in himself, what while he was in the prison, "All that
hath befallen me is of the abundance of my sins and my tyranny,
for, indeed, I have slain much people unrighteously and this is
the requital of my deeds and that which I have wrought whilome of
oppression." As he was thus pondering in himself, there came a
bird and lighted down on the pinnacle of the prison, whereupon,
of his passing eagerness in the chase, he took a stone and threw
it at the bird. Now the king's son was playing in the
exercise-ground with the ball and the bat,[FN#208] and the stone
lit on his ear and cut it off, whereupon the Prince fell down in
a fit. So they enquired who had thrown the stone and finding that
it was Bihkard, took him and carried him before the king's son,
who bade do him die. Accordingly, they cast the turband from his
head and were about to fillet his eyes, when the Prince looked at
him and seeing him cropped of an ear, said to him, "But for thy
villainies thine ear had not been cut off." Said Bihkard, "Not
so, by Allah! Nay, but the story of the loss of my ear is so and
so, and I pardoned him who smote me with an arrow and cut off my
ear." When the prince heard this, he looked in his face and
knowing him, cried out and said, "Art thou not Bihkard the king?"
"Yes," replied he, and the Prince said to him, "What ill chance
threw thee here?" Thereupon he told him all that had betided him
and the folk wondered and extolled the perfection of the
Almighty, crying "Subhana 'llah!--laud to the Lord!" Then the
Prince rose to him and embraced him and kissed him and,
entreating him with respect, seated him in a chair and bestowed
on him a robe of honour; and he turned to his sire and said to
him, "This be the king who pardoned me and this be his ear which
I cut off with a shaft; and indeed he deserveth my pardon by
having pardoned me." Then said he to Bihkard, "Verily, the issue
of mercy hath been a provision for thee in such hour as this."
And they entreated him with the utmost kindness and sent him back
to his own country in all honour. "Know, then, O king" (continued
the youth), "that there is no goodlier quality than mercy and
that all thou dost of clemency, thou shalt find before thee a
treasure for thee treasured up." When the king heard this, his
wrath subsided and he said, "Return him to the prison till the
morrow, so we may look into his case.




                        The Eighth Day.



Of Envy and Malice.



When it was the eighth day, the Wazirs all assembled and had
speech together and said, "How shall we do with this youth, who
overcometh us with his much talk? Indeed, we fear lest he be
saved and we fall into destruction. So, let us all go in to the
king and unite our efforts to gain our cause, ere he appear
without guilt and come forth and get the better of us."
Accordingly they all went in to the king and prostrating
themselves before him, said to him, "O king, beware lest this
youth ensorcell thee with his sorcery and beguile thee with his
wiles. An thou heardest what we hear, thou wouldst not suffer him
live; no, not a single day. Wherefore heed not his speech, for we
are thy Ministers, who endeavour for thy permanence, and if thou
hearken not to our word, to whose word wilt thou hearken? See, we
are ten Wazirs who testify against this youth that he is guilty
and entered not the king's sleeping chamber save with ill intent,
so he might put the king to shame and outrage his honour; and if
the king slay him not, let him banish him his realm, that the
tongue of the folk may desist from him." When the king heard his
Ministers' words, he was wroth with exceeding wrath and bade
bring the youth, and when he came in to the king, the Wazirs all
cried out with one voice, saying, "O Lack-wits, thinkest thou to
save thyself from slaughter by guile and sleight, that thou
wilest the king with thy talk and hopest pardon for the like of
this mighty great crime thou hast committed?" Then the king bade
fetch the sworder, so he might smite his neck; whereupon each of
the Wazirs fell to saying, "I will slay him;" and they sprang
upon him. Quoth the youth, "O king, consider and ponder the
eagerness of these thy Ministers. Is this of envy or is it not?
They would fain make severance between me and thee, so there may
fall to them what they shall plunder, as aforetime." And the king
said to him, "Consider their witness against thee." The young man
said, "O king, how shall they testify of that which they saw
not?[FN#209] This is but envy and despight; and thou, an thou
slay me, wilt indeed regret me, and I fear lest there betide thee
of repentance that which betided Aylan Shah, by reason of the
malice of his Wazirs." Asked Azadbakht, "And what is his story?"
and the youth answered, "Hear, O king,




The Story of Aylan Shah and Abu Tammam.[FN#210]



Whilome there was a merchant named Abu Tammam, and he was a
clever man and a well-bred, quickwitted and truthful in all his
affairs, and he was monied to boot. Now there was in his land a
king as unjust as he was jealous, and Abu Tammam feared for his
wealth from this king and said, "I will remove hence to another
place where I shall not be in dread." So he made for the city of
Aylan Shah and built himself a palace therein and transporting
his wealth thither, took up his abode there. Presently, the news
of him reached King Aylan Shah; so he sent to invite him to his
presence and said to him, "We know of thy coming to us and thine
entering under our allegiance, and indeed we have heard of thine
excellence and wit and generosity; so welcome to thee and fair
welcome! The land is thy land and at thy command, and whatsoever
need thou needest of us, 'tis already accomplished to thee; and
it behoveth that thou be near our person and of our assembly."
Abu Tammam prostrated himself before the king, and said to him,
"O king, I will serve thee with my monies and with my life, but
do thou excuse me from nearness to thee, for that an I took
office about thee, I should not be safe from enemies and
enviers." Then he applied himself to the royal service with
presents and largesses, and the king saw him to be intelligent,
well-bred and of good counsel; so his heart inclined to him and
he committed to him the ordinance of his affairs and the power to
bind and to loose was in his hand. Now Aylan Shah had three
Wazirs, in whose hands public affairs were wont to be and they
had been accustomed not to quit the king night or day; but they
became shut out from him by reason of Abu Tammam and the king was
occupied with him to their exclusion. Herewith the Ministers took
counsel together upon the matter and said, "What is your rede we
should do, seeing that the king is occupied from us with yonder
man, and indeed he honoureth him with more honour than us? But
now come, let us devise some device whereby we may alienate him
from the king." So each of them spoke forth that which was in his
mind, and one of them said, "The king of the Turks hath a
daughter, whose like there is not in the world, and whatso
messenger goeth to demand her in marriage, him her father
slaughtereth. Now our king hath no knowledge of this; so, come,
let us foregather with him and bring up the mention of her: when
his heart is taken with her, we will advise him to dispatch Abu
Tammam to seek her hand in marriage; whereupon her father will
slay him and we shall be quit of him and settle his affair once
for all." Accordingly, they went in to the king one day (Abu
Tammam being present among them), and mentioned the affair of the
damsel, the daughter of the Turks' king, and enlarged upon her
charms, till the king's heart was taken with her and he said to
them, "We will send one to demand her to wife for us; but who
shall be our messenger?" Quoth the Wazirs, "There is none fit for
this business but Abu Tammam, by reason of his wit and good
breeding;" and the king said, "Indeed, even as ye say, none is
fitting for this affair save he." Then he turned to Abu Tammam
and said to him, "Wilt thou not go with my message and seek me in
marriage the daughter of the Turks' king?" and he answered, "To
hear is to obey, O my Sovran!" So they made ready his affair and
the king conferred on him a robe of honour, and he took with him
a present and a letter under the king's hand and setting out,
fared on till he came to the capital city of Turkistan. When the
king of the Turks knew of his coming, he despatched his officers
to receive him and entreated him with honour and lodged him as
befitted his rank. Then he guested him three days, after which
time he summoned him to his presence and Abu Tammam went in to
him; and, prostrating himself as beseemeth before kings, laid
that present before him and gave him the letter. The king read
the writ and said to Abu Tammam, "We will do what behoveth in the
matter; but, O Abu Tammam, needs must thou view my daughter and
she view thee, and needs must thou hear her speech and she hear
thine." So saying, he sent him to the lodging of the Princess,
who had had notice of this; so that they had adorned her
sitting-room with the costliest that might be of vessels of gold
and silver and the like, and she seated herself on a chair of
gold, clad in the richest of royal robes and ornaments. When Abu
Tammam entered, he took thought and said, "The wise declare that
whoso governeth his sight shall suffer naught unright and he who
guardeth his tongue shall hear naught of foul taunt, and he who
keepeth watch over his hand, it shall be lengthened and not
shortened."[FN#211] So he entered and seating himself on the
floor, cast down his eyes and covered his hands and feet with his
dress.[FN#212] Quoth the king's daughter to him, "Raise thy head,
O Abu Tammam, and look on me and speak with me." But he spake not
neither raised his head, and she continued, "They sent thee only
to view me and talk with me, and yet behold thou sayest not a
word;" presently adding, "Take of these union-pearls that be
round thee and of these jewels and gold and silver." But he put
not forth his hand to aught, and when she saw that he paid no
heed to anything, she was angry and cried, "They have messaged me
with a messenger, blind, dumb, deaf." Then she sent to acquaint
her father with this; whereupon the king called Abu Tammam to him
and said to him, "Thou camest not save to view my daughter: why,
then, hast thou not looked upon her?" Quoth Abu Tammam, "I saw
everything;" and quoth the king, "Why didst thou not take
somewhat of that which thou sawest of jewels and the like? Indeed
they were set out for thee." But he answered, "It behoveth me not
to put out my hand to aught that is not mine." When the king
heard his speech, he gave him a sumptuous robe of honour and
loved him muchly[FN#213] and said to him, "Come, look at this
well." So Abu Tammam went up to the pit-mouth and looked, and
behold, it was full of heads of the sons of Adam, and the king
said to him, "These are the heads of envoys whom I slew, because
I saw them without loyalty to their lords, and I was used, whenas
I beheld an envoy without good manners, to say, 'He who sent him
is worsemannered than he, because the messenger is the tongue of
him who sendeth him and his breeding is of his master's breeding;
and whoso is after this fashion, it befitteth not that he be akin
to me.'[FN#214] For this reason I used to put the envoys to
death; but, as for thee, thou hast overcome us and won my
daughter, of the excellence of thy manners; so hearten thy heart,
for she is thy lord's." Then he sent him back to King Aylan Shah
with presents and rarities and a letter, saying, "This that I
have done is in honour of thee and of thine envoy." When Abu
Tammam returned after accomplishing his mission and brought the
presents and the letter, King Aylan Shah rejoiced in this and
redoubled all his favours and showed him honour the highest. Some
days after, the King of Turkistan sent his daughter and she went
in to King Aylan Shah, who rejoiced in her with exceeding joy and
Abu Tammam's worth was exalted in the royal sight. When the
Wazirs saw this, they redoubled in envy and despite and said,
"'An we contrive us not a contrivance to rid us of this man, we
shall die of rage." So they bethought them and agreed upon a
device they should practise. Then they betook themselves to two
boys, pages affected to the service of the king, who slept not
but on their knees,[FN#215] and they lay at his head, for that
they were his bed-chamber pages. So the Ministers gave them each
a thousand dinars of gold, saying, "We desire of you that ye do
somewhat we require and take this gold as a provision against
your time of need." Quoth the lads, "What is it ye would have us
do?" and quoth the Wazirs, "This Abu Tammam hath marred matters
for us, and if his case abide in this way, he will remove us all
from the king's favour; and what we want of you twain is that,
when ye are alone with the king and he leaneth back, as he were
asleep, one of you say to his fellow, 'Verily, the king hath
taken Abu Tammam into high favour and hath advanced him to
exalted rank, yet he is a transgressor against the king's honour
and an accursed wight.' Then let the other of you ask, 'And what
is his transgression?' and let the first answer, 'He outrageth
the king's honour and saith, the King of Turkistan was used, when
a messenger went to him to seek his daughter in marriage, to slay
him; but me he spared, because she liked me, and by reason of
this her sire sent her hither, for that she loved me.' Then let
the other say, 'Knowest thou this for truth?' and let the first
reply, 'By Allah, this is familiar to all the folk, but, of their
fear of the king, they dare not divulge it to him; and as often
as the king is absent a-hunting or a-wayfaring, Abu Tammam cometh
to her and is private with her.'" Whereupon the boys answered,
"We will say this." Accordingly, one night, when they were alone
with the king and he leant back, as he were asleep, they said
these words and the king heard all and was like to die of fury
and despite and said to himself, "These are young boys, not come
to years of discretion, and have no business with any; and unless
they had heard these words from some one, they had not spoken
thereof each with other." When it was morning wrath overmastered
him, so that he stayed not neither deliberated, but summoned Abu
Tammam and taking him apart, said to him, "Whoso guardeth not the
honour of his liege lord,[FN#216] what deserveth he?" Said Abu
Tammam, "He deserveth that his lord guard not his honour." Aylan
Shah continued, "And whoso entereth the king's house and playeth
traitor with him, what behoveth unto him?" and Abu Tammam
replied, "He shall not be left alive." Whereupon the king spat in
his face and said to him, "Both these deeds hast thou done." Then
he drew his poinard on him in haste and smiting him in the belly,
slit it and Abu Tammam died forthright; whereupon the king
dragged him along and cast him into a well that was in his
palace. After he had slain him, he fell into repentance and
mourning increased and chagrin waxed sore upon him, and he would
acquaint none who questioned him with the cause, nor, of his love
for his wife, did he tell her of this, and whenever she asked him
wherefore he grieved, he answered her not. When the Wazirs knew
of Abu Tammam's death, they rejoiced with exceeding joy and knew
that the king's sorrow arose from regret for him. As for Aylan
Shah, after this he used to betake himself by night to the
sleeping-chamber of the two boys and spy upon them, that he might
hear what they said concerning his wife. As he stood one night
privily at the door of their chamber, he saw them spread out the
gold between their hands and play with it and heard one of them
say, "Woe to us! What doth this gold profit us? Indeed we cannot
buy therewith any thing nor spend it upon ourselves. Nay, but we
have sinned against Abu Tammam and done him dead unjustly." And
said the other, "Had we known that the king would slay him on the
spot, we had not done what we did." When the king heard that, he
could not contain himself, but rushed in upon them and said to
them, "Woe to you! What did ye? Tell me." And they cried,
"Aman,[FN#217] O king!" He cried, "An ye would have pardon from
Allah and me, you are bound to tell me the truth, for nothing
shall save you from me but soothfastness." Hereat they prostrated
themselves before him and said, "By Allah, O king, the Wazirs
gave us this gold and taught us to lie against Abu Tammam, so
thou mightest kill him, and what we said was their speech." When
the king heard this, he plucked at his beard, till he was like to
tear it up by the roots and bit upon his fingers, till he well
nigh cut them in twain, for repentance and sorrow that he had
wrought hastily and had not delayed with Abu Tammam, so he might
consider his case. Then he sent for the Ministers and said to
them, "O villainous Wazirs, ye deemed that Allah was heedless of
your deed, but right soon shall your wickedness revert upon you.
Know ye not that whoso diggeth for his brother a pit shall
himself fall into it?[FN#218] Take from me the punishment of this
world and to-morrow ye shall receive the punishment of the next
world and requital from Allah." Then he bade put them to death;
so the headsman smote off their heads before the king, and he
went in to his wife and acquainted her with whatso he had misdone
to Abu Tammam; whereupon she grieved for him with mighty great
grief and the king and his household ceased not weeping and
repenting all their lives. Moreover, they brought Abu Tammam
forth of the well and the king built him a dome[FN#219] in his
palace and buried him therein. "See, then, O auspicious king"
(continued the youth), "what jealousy doth and injustice and how
Allah caused the Wazirs' malice to revert upon their own necks;
and I trust in the Almighty that He will empower me over all who
envy me my favour with the king and show forth the truth unto
him. Indeed, I dread naught for my life from death; only I fear
lest the king repent of my slaughter, for that I am guiltless of
offence, and if I knew that I were guilty on any wise, my tongue
would be dumb-struck." When the king heard this, he bowed his
head groundwards in perplexity and confusion and said, "Restore
him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into his case."




                         The Ninth Day.



Of Destiny or That Which is Written on the Forehead.



Now when it was the ninth day, the Wazirs met and said one to
other, "Verily, this youth baffleth us, for as often as the king
is minded to kill him, he beguileth him and bewitcheth him with a
story; so what be your rede we should do, that we may slay him
and be at rest from him?" Then they advised together and agreed
that they should go to the king's wife.[FN#220] So they betook
themselves to her and said to her, "Thou art careless of this
affair wherein thou art and this uncare shall not profit thee;
whilst the king, occupied with eating and drinking and diversion,
forgetteth that the folk beat upon tambourines and sing of thee
and say, The wife of the king loveth the youth; and as long as he
abideth alive the talk will increase and not diminish." Quoth
she, "By Allah, 'twas ye egged me on against him, and what shall
I do now?" and quoth they, "Go thou in to the king and weep and
say to him, 'Verily, the women come to me and inform me that I am
dishonoured throughout the city, and what is thine advantage in
the sparing of this youth? An thou wilt not slay him, slay me to
the end that this talk may be cut off from us.'" So the woman
arose and rending her raiment, went in to the king, in the
presence of the Wazirs, and cast herself upon him, saying, "O
king, is my shame not upon thee or fearest thou not shame?
Indeed, this is not the fashion of kings that their jealousy over
their women should be such as this.[FN#221] Thou art heedless and
all the folk of the realm prate of thee, men and women. Either
slay him, that the talk may be cut off, or slay me, if thy soul
will not consent to his slaughter." Thereupon the king's wrath
waxed hot and he said to her, "I have no pleasure in his
continuance and needs must I slay him this very day. So return to
thy palace and solace thy heart." Then he bade fetch the youth;
whereupon they brought him before him and the Wazirs said, O base
of base, fie upon thee! Thy life-term is at hand and earth
hungereth for thy flesh, so it may make a meal of it." But he
said to them, "Death is not in your word or in your envy; nay, it
is a destiny written upon the forehead: wherefore, if aught be
writ upon my front, there is no help but it come to pass, and
neither striving nor thought-taking nor precaution-seeking shall
deliver me therefrom; even as happened to King Ibrahim and his
son." Quoth the king, "Who was King Ibrahim and who was his son?"
and quoth the youth "Hear, O king,




The Story of King Ibrahim and his Son.[FN#222]



There was once a king of the kings, Sultan Ibrahim hight, to whom
the sovrans abased themselves and did obedience; but he had no
son and was straitened of breast because of that, fearing lest
the kingship go forth of his hand. He ceased not to long for a
son and to buy slave-girls and he with them, till one of them
conceived, whereat he rejoiced with passing joy and grave great
gifts and the largest largesse. When the girl's months were
complete and the time of her lying-in drew near, the king
summoned the astrologers and they watched for the hour of
child-bearing and raised their astrolabes and carefully noted the
time. The hand-maid gave birth to a man-child, whereat the king
rejoiced exceedingly, and the people congratulated one another
with this glad news. Then the astrophils made their calculations
and looked into his nativity and his ascendant, whereupon their
colour changed and they were confounded. Quoth the king to them,
"Acquaint me with his horoscope and ye shall have assurance of
pardon and have naught to fear."[FN#223] They replied, "O king,
this princely child's nativity denoteth that, in the seventh year
of his age, there is fearful danger for him from a lion, which
shall attempt to rend him: and if he be saved from the lion,
there will betide a matter yet sorer and more grievous even than
that." Asked the king, "What is it?" and they answered, "We will
not speak, except the king command us and give us assurance from
fear." Quoth the king, "Allah assure you!" and quoth they, "An he
be saved from the lion, the king's destruction shall be at his
hand." When the king heard this, his complexion changed and his
breast was straitened; but he said to himself, "I will be
watchful and do my endeavour and suffer not the lion to eat him.
It cannot be that he will kill me, and indeed 'The astrologers
lied.'"[FN#224] Then he caused rear him among the wet-nurses and
the noble matrons;[FN#225] but withal he ceased not to ponder the
prediction of the astrophils and verily his life was troubled. So
he betook himself to the top of a high mountain and hollowed
there a deep excavation[FN#226] and made in it many
dwelling-places and rooms and filled it with all that was needful
of rations and raiment and what not else and laid in it
pipe-conduits of water from the mountain and lodged the boy
therein, with a nurse who should rear him. Moreover, at the first
of each month he used to go to the mountain and stand at the
mouth of the hollow and let down a rope he had with him and draw
up the boy to him and strain him to his bosom and kiss him and
play with him awhile, after which he would let him down again to
his place and return; and he was wont to count the days till the
seven years should pass by. Now when arrived the time of the Fate
foreordered and the Fortune graven on the forehead and there
remained for the boy but ten days till the seven years should be
complete, there came to that mountain hunters chasing wild beasts
and, seeing a lion, they attacked him. He fled from them and
seeking refuge in the mountain, fell into the hollow in its
midst. The nurse saw him forthwith and escaped from him into one
of the chambers; upon which the lion made for the lad and seizing
upon him, tare his shoulder, after which he sought the room
wherein was the nurse and falling upon her, devoured her, whilst
the boy lay in a swoon. Meanwhile, when the huntsmen saw that the
lion had fallen into the pit, they came to the mouth and heard
the shrieking of the boy and the woman; and after awhile the
cries died away, whereby they knew that the lion had slain them.
Presently, as they stood by the mouth of the excavation behold,
the lion came scrambling up the sides and would have issued
forth: but, as often as he showed his head, they pelted him with
stones, till they beat him down and he fell; whereupon one of the
hunters descended into the pit and despatched him and saw the boy
wounded; after which he went to the chamber, where he found the
woman dead, and indeed the lion had eaten his fill of her. Then
he noted that which was therein of clothes and what not else, and
notifying his mates, fell to passing the stuff up to them:
lastly, he took up the boy and bringing him forth of the pit,
carried him to their dwelling-place where they dressed his
wounds. He grew up with them, but acquainted them not with his
affair; and indeed, when they questioned him, he knew not what he
should say, because they let him down into the pit when he was a
little one. The hunters marvelled at his speech and loved him
with exceeding love and one of them took him to son and abode
rearing him by his side and training him in hunting and
horseriding, till he reached the age of twelve and became a
brave, going forth with the folk to the chase and to the cutting
of the way. Now it chanced one day that they sallied forth to
stop the road and fell in with a caravan during the night: but
its stout fellows were on their guard; so they joined battle with
the robbers and overcame them and slew them and the boy fell
wounded and tarried cast down in that place till the morrow, when
he opened his eyes and finding his comrades slain, lifted himself
up and arose to walk the road. Presently, there met him a man, a
treasure-seeker, and asked him, "Whither away, O lad?" So he told
him what had betided him and the other said, "Be of good heart,
for that the tide of thy good fortune is come and Allah bringeth
thee joy and gladness. I am one who am in quest of a hidden
treasure, wherein is a mighty mickle of wealth. So come with me
that thou mayst help me, and I will give thee monies with which
thou shalt provide thyself all thy life long." Then he carried
the youth to his dwelling and dressed his wounds and he tarried
with him some days till he was rested; when the treasure-seeker
took him and two beasts and all that he needed, and they fared on
till they came to a towering highland. Here the man brought out a
book and reading therein, dug in the crest of the mountain five
cubits deep, whereupon there appeared to him a stone. He pulled
it up and behold it was a trap-door covering the mouth of a pit.
So he waited till the foul air[FN#227] was come forth from the
midst of the pit, when he bound a rope about the lad's middle and
let him down bucket-wise to the bottom, and with him a lighted
waxen taper. The boy looked and beheld, at the upper end of the
pit, wealth abundant; so the treasure-seeker let down a rope and
a basket and the boy fell to filling and the man to drawing up,
till the fellow had got his sufficiency, when he loaded his
beasts and ceased working, whilst the boy looked for him to let
down the rope and draw him up; but he rolled a great stone to the
mouth of the pit and went his ways. When the boy saw what the
treasure-seeker had done with him, he relied upon Allah (extolled
and exalted be He!) and abode perplexed concerning his case and
said, "How bitter be this death!" for indeed the world was
darkened on him and the pit was blinded to him. So he fell
a-weeping and saying, "I escaped the lion and the robbers and now
is my death to be in this pit, where I shall die by slow
degrees." And he abode perplexed and looked for nothing but
death. But as he stood pondering, behold, he heard a sound of
water rushing with a thunderous noise; so he arose and walked in
the pit following the sound, till he came to a corner and heard
the mighty coursing of water. Then he laid his ear to the sound
of the current and hearing it rushing in great strength, said to
himself, "This is the flowing of a mighty watercourse and needs
must I depart life in this place, be it to-day or to-morrow; so I
will throw myself into the stream and not die a slow death in
this pit." Thereupon he called up his courage and gathering up
his skirts, cast himself into the water, and it bore him along
with force exceeding and carrying him under the earth, stayed not
till it brought him out into a deep Wady, adown which ran a great
river, that welled up from under the ground. When he found
himself on the face of earth, he abode dazed and a-swoon all that
day; after which he came to himself and rising, fared on along
that valley; and he ceased not his wayfare, praising Almighty
Allah the while, till he came to an inhabited land and a great
village in the reign of the king his sire. So he entered and
foregathered with the villagers, who questioned him of his case;
whereupon he told them his tale, and they admired how Allah had
delivered him from all those dangers. Then he took up his abode
with them and they loved him much. On this wise happened it to
him; but as regards the king, his father, when he went to the
pit, as was his wont, and called the nurse, she returned him no
answer, whereat his breast was straitened and he let down a man
who found the woman dead and the boy gone and acquainted
therewith the king, who when he heard this, buffeted his head and
wept with sore weeping and descended into the midst of the pit
that he might see how the case stood. There he espied the nurse
slain and the lion dead, but beheld not the boy; so he returned
and acquainted the astrologers with the soothfastness of their
saying, and they replied, "O king, the lion hath eaten him;
destiny hath been wroughten upon him and thou art delivered from
his hand; for, had he been saved from the lion, we indeed, by
Allah, had feared for thee from him, because the king's
destruction would have been at his hand." So the king ceased to
sorrow for this and the days passed by and the affair was
forgotten. Meanwhile the boy grew up and abode with the people of
the village, and when Allah willed the accomplishing of His
commandment, which no endeavour availeth to avert, he went forth
with a party of the villagers to cut the way. The folk complained
to King Ibrahim his father, who sallied out with a company of his
men and surrounded the highwaymen. Now that boy was with them,
and he drew forth an arrow and launched it at them, and it smote
the king and wounded him in a mortal place. So they carried him
to his palace, after they had laid hands upon the youth and his
comrades and brought them before the sovran, saying, "What
biddest us to do with them?" Quoth he, "I am presently in trouble
for myself, so bring me the astrologers." Accordingly, they
brought them before him and he said to them, "Ye said to me Thy
death shall be by slaying at the hand of thy son: how, then,
befalleth it that I have got my death-hurt by yonder thieves?"
The astrologers marvelled and said to him, "O king, 'tis not
beyond the lore of the stars, together with the doom of Allah,
that he who hath smitten thee should be thy son." When King
Ibrahim heard this, he bade fetch the thieves and said to them,
"Tell me truly, which of you shot the shaft that wounded me."
Said they, "'Twas this youth that is with us." Whereupon the king
fell to considering him and said, "O youth, acquaint me with thy
case and tell me who was thy father and thou shalt have assurance
of safety from Allah." The youth replied, "O my lord, I know no
father; as for me, my father lodged me in a pit, with a nurse to
rear me, and one day, there fell in upon us a lion, which tare my
shoulder, then left me and occupied himself with the nurse and
rent her in pieces; and Allah vouchsafed me one who brought me
forth the pit." Then he related to him all that had befallen him,
first and last; which when King Ibrahim heard, he cried out and
said, "By Allah, this is my son!" presently adding, "Bare thy
shoulder." So he uncovered it, and behold, it was scarred. Then
the king assembled his lords and lieges and the astrologers and
said to them, "Know that what Allah hath writ upon the forehead,
be it fair fortune or misfortune, none may efface, and all that
is decreed to a man must perforce befal him. Indeed, this my
care-taking and my endeavour profited me naught, for what weird
Allah decreed for my son, he hath dreed and whatso He decreed to
me I have endured. Nevertheless, I praise Allah and thank Him
because this was at my son's hand, and not at the hand of
another, and Alhamdolillah--laud to the Lord--for that the
kingship is come to my son!" And he strained the youth to his
bosom and embraced him and kissed him, saying "O my son, this
matter was after such fashion, and of my watchfulness over thee
from Fate, I lodged thee in that pit; but caretaking availed
not." Then he took the crown of the kingship and set it on his
son's head and caused the lieges and the people do homage to him
and commended the subjects to his care and enjoined to him
justice and equity. And he farewelled him that night and died and
his son reigned in his stead.[FN#228] "On like wise, O king"
(continued the young treasurer), "'tis with thee. If Allah have
written aught on my forehead, needs must it befal me and my
speech to the king shall not avail me; no, nor my illustrating it
to him with instances, against the doom of Allah. And so it is
with these Wazirs, for all their eagerness and endeavour for my
destruction, this shall not profit them; because, if Allah
determine to save me, He will give me the victory over them."
When the king heard these words he became perplexed and said,
"Return him to the prison till the morrow, so we may look into
his affair, for the day draweth to an end and I mean to do him
dead in foulest sort, and to-morrow we will visit him with that
which he meriteth."




                         The Tenth Day.



Of the Appointed Term,[FN#229] Which, if it be Advanced, may
not be Deferred, and if it be Deferred, may not be Advanced.



When it was the tenth day (now this day was called
Al-Mihrjan[FN#230] and it was the day of the coming in of the
folk, gentle and simple, to the king, so they might give him joy
and salute him and go forth), the council of the Wazirs agreed
that they should speak with a company of the city notables. So
they said to them, "When ye go in today to the king and salute
him, do ye say to him, 'O king (to the Lord be the laud!), thou
art praiseworthy of policy and procedure and just to all thy
subjects; but respecting this youth whom thou hast favoured and
who nevertheless hath reverted to his base origin and done this
foul deed, what is thy purpose in his continuance? Indeed, thou
hast prisoned him in thy palace, and every day thou hearest his
palaver and thou knowest not what the folk say.'" And they
answered, "Hearing is obeying." Accordingly, when they entered
with the folk and had prostrated themselves before the king and
congratulated his majesty, he raised their several degrees. Now
it was the custom of the folk to salute and go forth; but they
took seat, and the king knew that they had a word they would fain
address to him: so he turned to them (the Wazirs being also
present) and said, "Ask your need." Therefore they repeated to
him all that the Ministers had taught them and the Wazirs also
spoke with them; and Azadbakht said to them, "O folk, I would
have it known to you that there is no doubt with me concerning
this your speech proceeding from love and loyal counsel to me,
and ye ken that, were I inclined to kill half these folk, I could
do them die and this would not be hard to me; so how shall I not
slay this youth and he in my power and in the hending of my hand?
Indeed, his crime is manifest and he hath incurred death penalty;
and I have deferred it only by reason of the greatness of the
offence; for, an I do this with him and my proof against him be
strengthened, my heart is healed and the heart of my whole folk;
and if I slay him not to-day, his slaying shall not escape me
to-morrow." Then he bade fetch the youth who, when present
between his hands, prostrated to him and blessed him; whereupon
quoth the king, "Woe to thee! How long shall the folk upbraid me
on thine account and blame me for delaying thy death? Even the
people of my city reproach me because of thee, so that I am grown
a prating-stock amongst them, and indeed they come in to me and
reproach me for not putting thee to death. How long shall I delay
this? Verily, this very day I mean to shed thy blood and rid the
folk of thy prattling." The youth replied, "O king, an there have
betided thee talk because of me, by Allah, and again by Allah the
Great, those who have brought on thee this talk from the folk are
none but these wicked Wazirs, who chatter with the crowd and tell
them foul tales and ill things in the king's house, but I hope in
the Most High that He will cause their malice to recoil upon
their own heads. As for the king's menace of slaying me, I am in
the grip of his hand; so let not the king occupy his mind with my
slaughter, because I am like the sparrow in the grasp of the
fowler; if he will, he cutteth his throat, and if he will, he
letteth him go. As for the delaying of my death, 'tis not from
the king, but from Him in whose hand is my life; for, by Allah, O
king, an the Almighty willed my slaughter, thou couldst not
postpone it; no, not for a single hour. And, indeed, man availeth
not to fend off evil from himself, even as it was with the son of
King Sulayman Shah, whose anxiety and carefulness for the winning
of his wish in the matter of the new-born child availed him
naught, for his last hour was deferred how many a time! and Allah
saved him until he had accomplished his period and had fulfilled
his life-term." Cried the king, "Fie upon thee, how great is thy
craft and thy talk! Tell me, what was their tale." And the youth
said, "Hear, O king,




The Story of King Sulayman Shah and his Niece.[FN#231]



There was once a king named Sulayman Shah, who was goodly of
policy and rede, and he had a brother who died and left a
daughter; so Sulayman Shah reared her with the best of rearing
and the girl became a model of reason and perfection, nor was
there in her time a more beautiful than she. Now the king had two
sons, one of whom he had appointed in his mind to wed her, while
the other purposed to take her. The elder son's name was
Bahluwan[FN#232] and that of the younger Malik Shah[FN#233], and
the girl was called Shah Khatun. Now one day, King Sulayman Shah
went in to his brother's daughter and kissing her head, said to
her, "Thou art my daughter and dearer to me than a child, for the
love of thy late father who hath found mercy; wherefore I purpose
espousing thee to one of my sons and appointing him my heir
apparent, so he may be king after me. Look, then, which thou wilt
have of my sons,[FN#234] for that thou hast been reared with them
and knowest them." The maiden arose and kissing his hand, said to
him, "O my lord, I am thine hand-maid and thou art the ruler over
me; so whatever liketh thee do that same, inasmuch as thy wish is
higher and honourabler and holier than mine and if thou wouldst
have me serve thee as a hand-maid for the rest of my life, 'twere
fairer to me than any mate." The king commended her speech and
conferred on her a robe of honour and gave her magnificent gifts;
after which, his choice having fallen upon his younger son, Malik
Shah, he wedded her with him and made him his heir apparent and
bade the folk swear fealty to him. When this reached his brother
Bahluwan and he was ware that his younger brother had by favour
been preferred over him, his breast was straitened and the affair
was sore to him and envy entered in to him and hate; but he hid
this in his heart, whilst fire raged therein because of the
damsel and the dominion. Meanwhile Shah Khatun went in bridal
splendour to the king's son and conceived by him and bare a son,
as he were the illuming moon. When Bahluwan saw this betide his
brother, envy and jealousy overcame him; so he went in one night
to his father's palace and coming to his brother's chamber, saw
the nurse sleeping at the door, with the cradle before her and
therein his brother's child asleep. Bahluwan stood by him and
fell to looking upon his face, whose radiance was as that of the
moon, and Satan insinuated himself into his heart, so that he
bethought himself and said, "Why be not this babe mine? Verily, I
am worthier of him than my brother; yea, and of the damsel and
the dominion." Then the idea got the mastery of him and anger
drave him, so that he took out a knife, and setting it to the
child's gullet, cut his throat and would have severed his
windpipe. So he left him for dead and entering his brother's
chamber, saw him asleep, with the Princess by his side, and
thought to slay her, but said to himself, "I will leave the
girl-wife for myself." Then he went up to his brother and cutting
his throat, parted head from body, after which he left him and
went away. But now the world was straitened upon him and his life
was a light matter to him and he sought the lodging of his sire
Sulayman Shah, that he might slay him also, but could not get
admission to him. So he went forth from the palace and hid
himself in the city till the morrow, when he repaired to one of
his father's fortalices and therein fortified himself. On this
wise it was with him; but as regards the nurse, she presently
awoke that she might give the child suck, and seeing the cradle
running with blood, cried out; whereupon the sleepers started up
and the king was aroused and making for the place, found the
child with his throat cut and the bed running over with blood and
his father dead with a slit weasand in his sleeping chamber. They
examined the child and found life in him and his windpipe whole
and they sewed up the place of the wound: then the king sought
his son Bahluwan, but found him not and saw that he had fled; so
he knew that it was he who had done this deed, and this was
grievous to the king and to the people of his realm and to the
lady Shah Khatun. Thereupon the king laid out his son Malik Shah
and buried him and made him a mighty funeral and they mourned
with passing sore mourning; after which he applied himself to
rearing the infant. As for Bahluwan, when he fled and fortified
himself, his power waxed amain and there remained for him but to
make war upon his father, who had cast his fondness upon the
child and used to rear him on his knees and supplicate Almighty
Allah that he might live, so he might commit the command to him.
When he came to five years of age, the king mounted him on
horseback and the people of the city rejoiced in him and prayed
for him length of life, that he might take vengeance for his
father[FN#235] and heal his grandsire's heart. Meanwhile,
Bahluwan the rebel[FN#236] addressed himself to pay court to
Caesar, king of the Roum[FN#237] and crave aid of him in
debelling his father, and he inclined unto him and gave him a
numerous army. His sire the king hearing of this sent to Caesar,
saying, "O glorious king of might illustrious, succour not an
evil doer. This is my son and he hath done so and so and cut his
brother's throat and that of his brother's son in the cradle."
But he told not the king of the Roum that the child had recovered
and was alive. When Caesar heard the truth of the matter, it was
grievous to him as grievous could be, and he sent back to
Sulayman Shah, saying, "An it be thy wish, O king, I will cut off
his head and send it to thee." But he made answer, saying, "I
care naught for him: soon and surely the reward of his deed and
his crimes shall overtake him, if not to-day, then tomorrow." And
from that date he continued to exchange letters and presents with
Caesar. Now the king of the Roum heard tell of the widowed
Princess[FN#238] and of the beauty and loveliness wherewith she
was endowed, wherefore his heart clave to her and he sent to seek
her in wedlock of Sulayman Shah, who could not refuse him. So he
arose and going in to Shah Khatun, said to her, "O my daughter,
the king of the Roum hath sent to me to seek thee in marriage.
What sayst thou?" She wept and replied, "O king, how canst thou
find it in thy heart to address me thus? As for me, abideth there
husband for me, after the son of my uncle?" Rejoined the king, "O
my daughter, 'tis indeed as thou sayest; but here let us look to
the issues of affairs. I must now take compt of death, for that I
am a man short in years and fear not save for thee and for thy
little son; and indeed I have written to the king of the Roum and
others of the kings and said, His uncle slew him, and said not
that he had recovered and is living, but concealed his affair.
Now the king of the Roum hath sent to demand thee in marriage,
and this is no thing to be refused and fain would we have our
back strengthened with him."[FN#239] And she was silent and spake
not. So King Sulayman Shah made answer to Caesar with "Hearing
and obeying." Then he arose and despatched her to him, and Caesar
went in to her and found her passing the description wherewith
they had described her; wherefore he loved her every day more and
more and preferred her over all his women and his affection for
Sulayman Shah was increased; but Shah Khatun's heart still clave
to her child and she could say naught. As for Sulayman Shah's
son, the rebel Bahluwan, when he saw that Shah Khatun had married
the king of the Roum, this was grievous to him and he despaired
of her. Meanwhile, his father Sulayman Shah watched over the
child and cherished him and named him Malik Shah, after the name
of his sire. When he reached the age of ten, he made the folk do
homage to him and appointed him his heir apparent, and after some
days, the old king's time for paying the debt of nature drew near
and he died. Now a party of the troops had banded themselves
together for Bahluwan; so they sent to him, and bringing him
privily, went in to the little Malik Shah and seized him and
seated his uncle Bahluwan on the throne of kingship. Then they
proclaimed him king and did homage to him all, saying, "Verily,
we desire thee and deliver to thee the throne of kingship; but we
wish of thee that thou slay not thy brother's son, because we are
still bounden by the oaths we sware to his sire and his grandsire
and the covenants we made with them." So Bahluwan granted this to
them and imprisoned the boy in an underground dungeon and
straitened him. Presently, the grievous news reached his mother
and this was to her a fresh grief; but she could not speak and
committed her affair to Allah Almighty, for that she durst not
name this to King Caesar her spouse, lest she should make her
uncle King Sulayman Shah a liar. But as regards Bahluwan the
Rebel, he abode king in his father's place and his affairs
prospered, while young Malik Shah lay in the souterrain four
full-told years, till his favour faded and his charms changed.
When He (extolled and exalted be He!) willed to relieve him and
to bring him forth of the prison, Bahluwan sat one day with his
chief Officers and the Lords of his land and discoursed with them
of the story of his sire, King Sulayman Shah and what was in his
heart. Now there were present certain Wazirs, men of worth, and
they said to him, "O king, verily Allah hath been bountiful to
thee and hath brought thee to thy wish, so that thou art become
king in thy father's place and hast won whatso thou wishedst.
But, as for this youth, there is no guilt in him, because he,
from the day of his coming into the world, hath seen neither ease
nor pleasure, and indeed his favour is faded and his charms
changed. What is his crime that he should merit such pains and
penalties? Indeed, others than he were to blame, and hereto Allah
hath given thee the victory over them, and there is no fault in
this poor lad." Quoth Bahluwan, "Verily, 'tis as ye say; but I
fear his machinations and am not safe from his mischief; haply
the most part of the folk will incline unto him." They replied,
"O king, what is this boy and what power hath he? An thou fear
him, send him to one of the frontiers." And Bahluwan said, "Ye
speak sooth; so we will send him as captain of war to reduce one
of the outlying stations." Now over against the place in question
was a host of enemies, hard of heart, and in this he designed the
slaughter of the youth; so he bade bring him forth of the
underground dungeon and caused him draw near to him and saw his
case. Then he robed him, whereat the folk rejoiced, and bound for
him the banners[FN#240] and, giving him a mighty many, despatched
him to the quarter aforesaid, whither all who went or were slain
or were taken. Accordingly Malik Shah fared thither with his
force and when it was one of the days, behold, the enemy attacked
them in the night; whereupon some of his men fled and the rest
the enemy captured; and they seized Malik Shah also and cast him
into a pit with a company of his men. His fellows mourned over
his beauty and loveliness and there he abode a whole twelvemonth
in evillest plight. Now at the beginning of every year it was the
enemy's wont to bring forth their prisoners and cast them down
from the top of the citadel to the bottom; so at the customed
time they brought them forth and cast them down, and Malik Shah
with them. However, he fell upon the other men and the ground
touched him not, for his term was God-guarded. But those who were
cast down there were slain upon the spot and their bodies ceased
not to lie there till the wild beasts ate them and the winds
scattered their bones. Malik Shah abode strown in his place and
aswoon, all that day and that night, and when he revived and
found himself safe and sound, he thanked Allah the Most High for
his safety and rising, left the place. He gave not over walking,
unknowing whither he went and dieting upon the leaves of the
trees; and by day he hid himself where he might and fared on at
hazard all his night; and thus he did for some days, till he came
to a populous part and seeing folk there, accosted them. He
acquainted them with his case, giving them to know that he had
been prisoned in the fortress and that they had thrown him down,
but Almighty Allah had saved him and brought him off alive. The
people had ruth on him and gave him to eat and drink and he abode
with them several days; then he questioned them of the way that
led to the kingdom of his uncle Bahluwan, but told them not that
he was his father's brother. So they showed him the road and he
ceased not to go barefoot, till he drew near his uncle's capital,
naked, anhungered, and indeed his limbs were lean and his colour
changed. He sat down at the city gate, when behold, up came a
company of King Bahluwan's chief officers, who were out a-hunting
and wished to water their horses. They lighted down to rest and
the youth accosted them, saying, "I would ask you of somewhat
that ye may acquaint me therewith." Quoth they, "Ask what thou
wilt;" and quoth he, "Is King Bahluwan well?" They derided him
and replied, "What a fool art thou, O youth! Thou art a stranger
and a beggar, and whence art thou that thou should'st question
concerning the king?"[FN#241] Cried he, "In very sooth, he is my
uncle;" whereat they marvelled and said, "'Twas one
catch-question[FN#242] and now 'tis become two." Then said they
to him, "O youth, it is as if thou wert Jinn-mad. Whence comest
thou to claim kinship with the king? Indeed, we know not that he
hath any kith and kin save a nephew, a brother's son, who was
prisoned with him, and he despatched him to wage war upon the
infidels, so that they slew him." Said Malik Shah, "I am he and
they slew me not, but there befel me this and that." They knew
him forthwith and rising to him, kissed his hands and rejoiced in
him and said to him, "O our lord, thou art indeed a king and the
son of a king, and we desire thee naught but good and we pray for
thy continuance. Look how Allah hath rescued thee from this
wicked uncle, who sent thee to a place whence none ever came off
safe and sound, purposing not in this but thy destruction; and
indeed thou fellest upon death from which Allah delivered thee.
How, then, wilt thou return and cast thyself again into thine
foeman's hand? By Allah, save thyself and return not to him this
second time. Haply thou shalt abide upon the face of the earth
till it please Almighty Allah to receive thee; but, an thou fall
again into his hand, he will not suffer thee to live a single
hour." The Prince thanked them and said to them, "Allah reward
you with all weal, for indeed ye give me loyal counsel; but
whither would ye have me wend?" Quoth they, "To the land of the
Roum, the abiding place of thy mother." "But," quoth he, "My
grandfather Sulayman Shah, when the king of the Roum wrote to him
demanding my mother in marriage, hid my affair and secreted my
secret; and she hath done the same, and I cannot make her a
liar." Rejoined they, "Thou sayst sooth, but we desire thine
advantage, and even wert thou to take service with the folk,
'twere a means of thy continuance." Then each and every of them
brought out to him money and gave him a modicum and clad him and
fed him and fared on with him the length of a parasang, till they
brought him far from the city, and letting him know that he was
safe, departed from him, whilst he journeyed till he came forth
of his uncle's reign and entered the dominion of the Roum. Then
he made a village and taking up his abode therein, applied
himself to serving one there in earing and seeding and the like.
As for his mother, Shah Khatun, great was her longing for her
child and she thought of him ever and news of him was cut off
from her, so her life was troubled and she foresware sleep and
could not make mention of him before King Caesar her spouse. Now
she had a Castrato who had come with her from the court of her
uncle King Sulayman Shah, and he was intelligent, quick-witted,
right-reded. So she took him apart one day and said to him,
shedding tears the while, "Thou hast been my Eunuch from my
childhood to this day; canst thou not therefore get me tidings of
my son, seeing that I cannot speak of his matter?" He replied, "O
my lady, this is an affair which thou hast concealed from the
commencement, and were thy son here, 'twould not be possible for
thee to entertain him, lest[FN#243] thine honour be smirched with
the king; for they would never credit thee, since the news hath
been bruited abroad that thy son was slain by his uncle." Quoth
she, "The case is even as thou sayst and thou speaketh sooth;
but, provided I know that my son is alive, let him be in these
parts pasturing sheep and let me not sight him nor he sight me."
He asked, "How shall we manage in this matter?" and she answered,
"Here be my treasures and my wealth: take all thou wilt and bring
me my son or else tidings of him." Then they devised a device
between them, which was that they should feign some business in
their own country, to wit that she had wealth there buried from
the time of her husband, Malik Shah, and that none knew of it but
this Eunuch who was with her, so it behoved him to go fetch it.
Accordingly she acquainted the king her husband with that and
sought his permit for the Eunuch to fare: and the king granted
him leave of absence for the journey and charged him devise a
device, lest he come to grief. The Castrato, therefore, disguised
himself in merchant's habit and repairing to Bahluwan's city,
began to make espial concerning the youth's case; whereupon they
told him that he had been prisoned in a souterrain and that his
uncle had released him and despatched him to such a place, where
they had slain him. When the Eunuch heard this, the mishap was
grievous to him and his breast was straitened and he knew not
what to do. It chanced one day of the days that a certain of the
horsemen, who had fallen in with the young Malik Shah by the
water and clad him and given him spendingmoney, saw the Eunuch in
the city, habited as a merchant, and recognising him, questioned
him of his case and of the cause of his coming. Quoth he, "I came
to sell merchandise;" and quoth the horseman, "I will tell thee
somewhat, an thou canst keep it secret." Answered the Neutral,
"That I can! What is it?" and the other said, "We met the king's
son Malik Shah, I and sundry of the Arabs who were with me, and
saw him by such a water and gave him spending-money and sent him
towards the land of the Roum, near his mother, for that we feared
for him lest his uncle Bahluwan slay him." Then he told him all
that had passed between them, whereat the Eunuch's countenance
changed and he said to the cavalier "Thou art safe!" The knight
replied, "Thou also art safe though thou come in quest of him."
And the Eunuch rejoined, saying, "Truly, that is my errand: there
is no rest for his mother, lying down or rising up, and she hath
sent me to seek news of him." Quoth the cavalier, "Go in safety,
for he is in a quarter of the land of the Roum, even as I said to
thee." The Castrato thanked him and blessed him and mounting,
returned upon his road, following the trail, whilst the knight
rode with him to a certain highway, when he said to him, "This is
where we left him." Then he took leave of him and returned to his
own city, whilst the Eunuch fared on along the road, enquiring in
every village he entered of the youth, by the description which
the rider had given him, and he ceased not thus to do till he
came to the village wherein was young Malik Shah. So he entered,
and dismounting, made enquiry after the Prince, but none gave him
news of him; whereat he abode perplexed concerning his affair and
made ready to depart. Accordingly he mounted his horse; but, as
he passed through the village, he saw a cow bound with a rope and
a youth asleep by her side, hending the halter in hand; so he
looked at him and passed on and heeded him not in his heart; but
presently he halted and said to himself, "An the youth whom I am
questing have become the like of this sleeping youth whom I
passed but now, how shall I know him? Alas, the length of my
travail and travel! How shall I go about in search of a somebody
I know not, one whom, if I saw him face to face I should not
know?" So saying he turned back, musing anent that sleeping
youth, and coming to him, he still sleeping, dismounted from his
mare and sat down by his side. He fixed his eyes upon his face
and considered him awhile and said in himself, "For aught I wot,
this youth may be Malik Shah;" then he began hemming and saying,
"Harkye, O youth!" Whereupon the sleeper awoke and sat up; and
the Eunuch asked him, "Who be thy father in this village and
where be thy dwelling?" The youth sighed and replied, "I am a
stranger;" and quoth the Castrato, "From what land art thou and
who is thy sire?" Quoth the other, "I am from such a land," and
the Eunuch ceased not to question him and he to answer his
queries, till he was certified of him and knew him. So he rose
and embraced him and kissed him and wept over his case: he also
told him that he was wandering about in search of him and
informed him that he was come privily from the king, his mother's
husband, and that his mother would be satisfied to weet that he
was alive and well, though she saw him not. Then he re-entered
the village and buying the Prince a horse, mounted him and they
ceased not going till they came to the frontier of their own
country, where there fell robbers upon them by the way and took
all that was with them and pinioned them; after which they threw
them in a pit hard by the road and went their ways and left them
to die there; and indeed they had cast many folk into that pit
and they had perished. The Eunuch fell a-weeping in the pit and
the youth said to him, "What is this weeping and what shall it
profit here?" Quoth the Castrato, "I weep not for fear of death,
but of ruth for thee and the cursedness of thy case and because
of thy mother's heart and for that which thou hast suffered of
horrors and that thy death should be this ignoble death, after
the endurance of all manner dire distresses." But the youth said,
"That which hath betided me was writ to me and that which is
written none hath power to efface; and if my life-term be
advanced, none may defer it."[FN#244] Then the twain passed that
night and the following day and the next night and the next day
in the hollow, till they were weak with hunger and came nigh upon
death and could but groan feebly. Now it fortuned by the decree
of Almighty Allah and His destiny, that Caesar, king of the
Greeks, the spouse of Malik Shah's mother Shah Khatun, went forth
a-hunting that morning. He flushed a head of game, he and his
company, and chased it, till they came up with it by that pit,
whereupon one of them lighted down from his horse, to slaughter
it, hard by the mouth of the hollow. He heard a sound of low
moaning from the sole of the pit; whereat he arose and mounting
his horse, waited till the troops were assembled. Then he
acquainted the king with this and he bade one of his servants
descend into the hollow: so the man climbed down and brought out
the youth and the Eunuch in fainting condition. They cut their
pinion-bonds and poured wine down their throats, till they came
to themselves, when the king looked at the Eunuch and recognising
him, said, "Harkye, Suchan-one!" The Castrato replied, "Yes, O my
lord the king," and prostrated himself to him; whereat the king
wondered with exceeding wonder and asked him, "How camest thou to
this place and what hath befallen thee?" The Eunuch answered, "I
went and took out the treasure and brought it thus far; but the
evil eye was behind me and I unknowing. So the thieves took us
alone here and seized the money and cast us into this pit that we
might die the slow death of hunger, even as they had done with
others; but Allah the Most High sent thee, in pity to us." The
king marvelled, he and his, and praised the Lord for that he had
come thither; after which he turned to the Castrato and said to
him, "What is this youth thou hast with thee?" He replied, "O
king, this is the son of a nurse who belonged to us and we left
him when he was a little one. I saw him to-day and his mother
said to me, 'Take him with thee;' so this morning I brought him
that he might be a servant to the king, for that he is an adroit
youth and a clever." Then the king fared on, he and his company,
and with them the Eunuch and the youth, who questioned his
companion of Bahluwan and his dealing with his subjects, and he
replied, saying, "As thy head liveth, O my lord the king, the
folk are in sore annoy with him and not one of them wisheth a
sight of him, be they high or low." When the king returned to his
palace, he went in to his wife Shah Khatun and said to her, "I
give thee the glad tidings of thine Eunuch's return;" and he told
her what had betided and of the youth whom he had brought with
him. When she heard this, her wits fled and she would have
screamed, but her reason restrained her, and the king said to
her, "What is this? Art thou overcome with grief for the loss of
the monies or for that which hath befallen the Eunuch?" Said she,
"Nay, as thy head liveth, O king, but women are weaklings." Then
came the Castrato and going in to her, told her all that had
happened to him and also acquainted her with her son's case and
with that which he had suffered of distresses and how his uncle
had exposed him to slaughter, and he had been taken prisoner and
they had cast him into the pit and hurled him from the highmost
of the citadel and how Allah had delivered him from these perils,
all of them; and whilst he recounted to her all this, she wept.
Then she asked him, "When the king saw him and questioned thee of
him, what was it thou saidst him?" and he answered, "I said to
him, 'This is the son of a nurse who belonged to us. We left him
a little one and he grew up; so I brought him, that he might be
servant to the king.'" Cried she, "Thou didst well;" and she
charged him to serve the Prince with faithful service. As for the
king, he redoubled in kindness to the Castrato and appointed the
youth a liberal allowance and he abode going in to and coming out
of the king's house and standing in his service, and every day he
waxed better with him. As for Shah Khatun, she used to station
herself at watch for him at the windows and in the balconies and
gaze upon him, and she frying on coals of fire on his account;
yet could she not speak. In such condition she abode a long while
and indeed yearning for him was killing her; so she stood and
watched for him one day at the door of her chamber and straining
him to her bosom, bussed him on the breast and kissed him on
either cheek. At this moment, behold, out came the major-domo of
the king's household and seeing her embracing the youth, started
in amazement. Then he asked to whom that chamber belonged and was
answered, "To Shah Khatun, wife of the king," whereupon he turned
back, quaking as one smitten by a leven-bolt. The king saw him in
a tremor and said to him, "Out on thee! what is the matter?" Said
he, "O king, what matter can be more grievous than that which I
see?" Asked the king, "What seest thou?" and the officer
answered, "I see that the youth, who came with the Eunuch, was
not brought with him save on account of Shah Khatun; for I passed
but now by her chamber door, and she was standing, watching; and
when the youth came up, she rose to him and clipped him and
kissed him on his cheek." When the king heard this, he bowed his
head amazed, perplexed, and sinking into a seat, clutched at his
beard and shook it until he came nigh upon plucking it out. Then
he arose forthright and laid hands on the youth and clapped him
in jail. He also took the Eunuch and cast them both into a
souterrain under his palace. After this he went in to Shah Khatun
and said to her, "Brava, by Allah, O daughter of nobles. O thou
whom kings sought to wed, for the purity of thy repute and the
fairness of the fame of thee! How seemly is thy semblance! Now
may Allah curse her whose inward contrarieth her outward, after
the likeness of thy base favour, whose exterior is handsome and
its interior fulsome, face fair and deeds foul! Verily, I mean to
make of thee and of yonder ne'er-do-well an example among the
lieges, for that thou sentest not thine Eunuch but of intent on
his account, so that he took him and brought him into my palace
and thou hast trampled[FN#245] my head with him; and this is none
other than exceeding boldness; but thou shalt see what I will do
with you all." So saying, he spat in her face and went out from
her; whilst Shah Khatun said nothing, well knowing that, an she
spoke at that time, he would not credit her speech. Then she
humbled herself in supplication to Allah Almighty and said, "O
God the Great, Thou knowest the things by secrecy ensealed and
their outwards revealed and their inwards concealed! If an
advanced life-term be appointed to me, let it not be deferred,
and if a deferred one, let it not be advanced!" On this wise she
passed some days, whilst the king fell into bewilderment and
forsware meat and drink and sleep, and abode knowing not what he
should do and saying to himself, "An I slay the Eunuch and the
youth, my soul will not be solaced, for they are not to blame,
seeing that she sent to fetch him, and my heart careth not to
kill them all three. But I will not be hasty in doing them die,
for that I fear repentance." Then he left them, so he might look
into the affair. Now he had a nurse, a foster-mother, on whose
knees he had been reared, and she was a woman of understanding
and suspected him, yet dared not question him. So she went in to
Shah Khatun and finding her in yet sadder plight than he, asked
her what was to do; but she refused to answer. However, the nurse
gave not over coaxing and questioning her, till she swore her to
concealment. Accordingly, the old woman made oath that she would
keep secret all that she should say to her, whereupon the Queen
to her related her history, first and last, and told her that the
youth was her son. With this the old woman prostrated herself
before her and said to her, "This is a right easy matter." But
the Queen replied, "By Allah, O my mother, I prefer my
destruction and that of my son to defending myself by a plea
which they will not believe; for they will say, 'She pleadeth
this only that she may fend off shame from herself.' And naught
will profit me save long-suffering." The old woman was moved by
her speech and her wisdom and said to her, "Indeed, O my
daughter, 'tis as thou sayest, and I hope in Allah that He will
show forth the truth. Have patience and I will presently go in to
the king and hear his words and machinate somewhat in this
matter, Inshallah!" Thereupon the ancient dame arose and going in
to the king, found him with his head between his knees in sore
pain of sorrow. She sat down by him awhile and bespake him with
soft words and said to him,[FN#246] "Indeed, O my son, thou
consumest my vitals, for that these many days thou hast not
mounted horse, and thou grievest and I know not what aileth
thee." He replied, "O my mother, all is due to yonder accursed,
of whom I deemed so well and who hath done this and that." Then
he related to her the whole story from beginning to end, and she
cried to him, "This thy chagrin is on account of a
no-better-than-she-should-be!" Quoth he, "I was but considering
by what death I should slay them, so the folk may take warning
and repent." And quoth she, "O my son, 'ware precipitance, for it
gendereth repentance and the slaying of them shall not escape
thee. When thou art assured of this affair, do whatso thou
willest." He rejoined, "O my mother, there needeth no assurance
anent him for whom she despatched her Eunuch and he fetched him."
But she retorted, "There is a thing wherewith we will make her
confess,[FN#247] and all that is in her heart shall be discovered
to thee." Asked the king, "What is that?" and she answered, "I
will bring thee the heart of a hoopoe,[FN#248] which, when she
sleepeth, do thou lay upon her bosom and question her of
everything thou wouldst know, and she will discover the same unto
thee and show forth the truth to thee." The king rejoiced in this
and said to his nurse, "Hasten thou and let none know of thee."
So she arose and going in to the Queen, said to her, "I have done
thy business and 'tis as follows. This night the king will come
in to thee and do thou seem asleep; and if he ask thee of aught,
do thou answer him, as if in thy sleep." The Queen thanked her
and the old dame went away and fetching the bird's heart, gave it
to the king. Hardly was the night come, when he went in to his
wife and found her lying back, a-slumbering; so he sat down by
her side and laying the hoopoe's heart on her breast, waited
awhile, so he might be assured that she slept. Then said he to
her, "Shah Khatun,[FN#249] Shah Khatun, is this my reward from
thee?" Quoth she, "What offence have I committed?" and quoth he,
"What offence can be greater than this? Thou sentest after yonder
youth and broughtest him hither, on account of the lust of thy
heart, so thou mightest do with him that for which thou
lustedst." Said she, "I know not carnal desire. Verily, among thy
pages are those who are comelier and seemlier than he; yet have I
never desired one of them." He asked "Why, then, didst thou lay
hold of him and kiss him?" And she answered, "This youth is my
son and a piece of my liver; and of my longing and affection for
him, I could not contain myself, but sprang upon him and kissed
him." When the king heard this, he was dazed and amazed and said
to her, "Hast thou a proof that this youth is thy son? Indeed, I
have a letter from thine uncle King Sulayman Shah, informing me
that his uncle Bahluwan cut his throat." Said she "Yes, he did
indeed cut his throat, but severed not the wind-pipe; so my uncle
sewed up the wound and reared him, for that his life-term was not
come." When the king heard this, he said, "This proof sufficeth
me," and rising forthright in the night, bade bring the youth and
the Eunuch. Then he examined his stepson's throat with a candle
and saw the scar where it had been cut from ear to ear, and
indeed the place had healed up and it was like a thread stretched
out. Thereupon the king fell down prostrate before Allah, who had
delivered the Prince from all these perils and from the
distresses he had suffered, and rejoiced with joy exceeding
because he had delayed and had not made haste to slay him, in
which case mighty sore repentance had betided him.[FN#250] "As
for the youth," continued the young treasurer, "he was not saved
but because his life-term was deferred, and in like manner, O
king, 'tis with me: I too have a deferred term, which I shall
attain, and a period which I shall accomplish, and I trust in
Almighty Allah that He will give me the victory over these
villain Wazirs." When the youth had made an end of his speech,
the king said, "Restore him to the prison;" and when they had
done this, he turned to the Ministers and said to them, "Yonder
youth lengtheneth his tongue upon you, but I know your tenderness
for the weal of mine empire and your loyal counsel to me; so be
of good heart, for all that ye advise me I will do." They
rejoiced when they heard these words, and each of them said his
say. Then quoth the king, "I have not deferred his slaughter but
to the intent that the talk might be prolonged and that words
might abound, yet shall he now be slain without let or stay, and
I desire that forthright ye set up for him a gibbet without the
town and that the crier cry among the folk bidding them assemble
and take him and carry him in procession to the gibbet, with the
crier crying before him and saying, 'This is the reward of him
whom the king delighted to favour and who hath betrayed him!'"
The Wazirs rejoiced when they heard this, and for their joy slept
not that night; and they made proclamation in the city and set up
the gallows.




                       The Eleventh Day.



Of the Speedy Relief of Allah.



When it was the eleventh day, the Wazirs repaired in early
morning to the king's gate and said to him, "O king, the folk are
assembled from the portals of the palace to the gibbet, to the
end they may see the king's order carried out on the youth." So
Azadbakht bade fetch the prisoner and they brought him; whereupon
the Ministers turned to him and said to him, "O vile of birth,
can any lust for life remain with thee and canst thou hope for
deliverance after this day?" Said he, "O wicked Wazirs, shall a
man of understanding renounce all esperance in Almighty Allah?
Howsoever a man be oppressed, there cometh to him deliverance
from the midst of distress and life from the midst of death, as
in the case of the prisoner and how Allah delivered him." Asked
the king, "What is his story?" and the youth answered, saying, "O
king, they tell




The Story of the Prisoner and How Allah Gave Him Relief.[FN#251]



There was once a king of the kings, who had a high palace,
overlooking his prison, and he used to hear in the night one
saying, "O Ever-present Deliverer, O Thou whose deliverance is
aye present, relieve Thou me!" One day the king waxed wroth and
said, "Yonder fool looketh for relief from the pains and
penalties of his crime." Then said he to his officers, "Who is in
yonder jail?" and said they, "Folk upon whom blood hath been
found."[FN#252] Hearing this the king bade bring that man before
him and said to him, "O fool, O little of wit, how shalt thou be
delivered from this prison, seeing that thy crime is mortal?"
Then he committed him to a company of his guards and said to
them, "Take this wight and crucify him within sight of the city."
Now it was the night season. So the soldiers carried him without
the city, thinking to crucify him, when behold, there came out
upon them robbers and fell upon them with swords and other
weapons. Thereat the guards left him whom they purposed to slay
and fled whilst the man who was going to slaughter also took to
flight and plunging deep into the desert, knew not whither he
went before he found himself in a copse and there came out upon
him a lion of terrible aspect, who snatched him up and cast him
under him. Then he went up to a tree and uprooting it, covered
the man therewithal and made off into the thicket, in quest of
the lioness.[FN#253] As for the man, he committed his affair to
Allah the Most High, relying upon Him for deliverance, and said
to himself, "What is this affair?" Then he removed the leaves
from himself and rising, saw great plenty of men's bones there,
of those whom the lion had devoured. He looked again and behold,
he saw a heap of gold lying alongside a purse-belt;[FN#254]
whereat he marvelled and gathering up the gold in the breast of
his gaberdine, went forth of the copse and fled at hap-hazard,
turning neither to the right nor to the left, in his fear of the
lion; nor did he cease flying till he came to a village and cast
himself down, as he were dead. He lay there till the day appeared
and he was rested from his travail, when he arose and burying the
gold, entered the village. Thus Allah gave him relief and he got
the gold. Then said the king, "How long wilt thou beguile us, O
youth, with thy prate? But now the hour of thy slaughter is
come." So he bade crucify him upon the gibbet. But as they were
about to hoist him up, lo and behold! the Captain of the thieves,
who had found him and reared him, came up at that moment and
asked, "What be this assembly and the cause of the crowds here
gathered together?" They informed him that a page of the king had
committed a mighty great crime and that he was about to do him
die; so the Captain of the thieves pressed forward and looking
upon the prisoner, knew him, whereupon he went up to him and
strained him to his bosom and threw his arms round his neck, and
fell to kissing him upon his mouth.[FN#255] Then said he, "This
is a boy I found under such a mountain, wrapped in a gown of
brocade, and I reared him and he fell to cutting the way with us.
One day, we set upon a caravan, but they put us to flight and
wounded some of us and took the lad and ganged their gait. From
that day to this I have gone round about the lands seeking him,
but have not found news of him till now; and this is he." When
the king heard this, he was assured that the youth was his very
son; so he cried out at the top of his voice and casting himself
upon him, embraced him and kissed him and shedding tears, said,
"Had I put thee to death, as was mine intent, I should have died
of regret for thee." Then he cut his pinion-bonds and taking his
crown from his head, set it on the head of his son, whereupon the
people raised cries of joy, whilst the trumpets blared and the
kettledrums beat and there befel a mighty great rejoicing. They
decorated the city and it was a glorious day; even the birds
stayed their flight in the welkin, for the greatness of the
greeting and the clamour of the crying. The army and the folk
carried the prince to the palace in splendid procession, and the
news came to his mother Bahrjaur, who fared forth and threw
herself upon him. Moreover, the king bade open the prison and
bring forth all who were therein, and they held high festival
seven days and seven nights and rejoiced with a mighty rejoicing.
Thus it betided the youth; but as regards the Ministers, terror
and silence, shame and affright fell upon them and they gave
themselves up for lost. After this the king sat, with his son by
his side and the Wazirs on their knees before him, and summoned
his chief officers and the subjects of the city. Then the prince
turned to the Ministers and said to them, "See, O villain Wazirs,
the work of Allah and his speedy relief." But they answered ne'er
a syllable and the king said, "It sufficeth me that there is
nothing alive but rejoiceth with me this day, even to the birds
in the sky, but ye, your breasts are straitened. Indeed, this is
the greatest of hostility in you mewards, and had I hearkened to
you, my regret had been prolonged and I had died miserably of
sorrow." Quoth the prince, "O my father, but for the fairness of
thy thought and thy perspicacity and thy longanimity and
deliberation in affairs, there had not betided thee this great
joy. Hadst thou slain me in haste, repentance would have been
sore on thee and longsome annoy, and on this wise whoso
preferreth haste shall rue." Presently the king sent for the
Captain of the robbers and bade indue him with a robe of honour,
commanding that all who loved the king should doff their dresses
and cast them upon him.[FN#256] So there fell robes of honour on
him, till he was a-wearied with their weight, and Azadbakht
invested him with the mastership of the police of his city. Then
he bade set up other nine gibbets by the side of the first and
said to his son, "Thou art innocent, and yet these villain Wazirs
strave for thy slaughter." Replied the prince, "O my sire, I had
no fault in their eyes but that I was a loyal counsellor to thee
and still kept watch over thy wealth and withdrew their hands
from thy hoards and treasuries; wherefore they were jealous and
envied me and plotted against me and planned to slay me." Quoth
the king, "The time of retribution is at hand, O my son; but what
be thy rede we should do with them in requital of that they did
with thee? And indeed they have striven for thy slaughter and
exposed thee to disgrace and smirched mine honour among the
kings." Then he turned to the Wazirs and said to them, "Woe to
you! What liars ye are! And is aught of excuse left to you?" Said
they, "O king, there remaineth no excuse for us and we are
houghed[FN#257] by the deed we would have done to him. Indeed we
planned evil to this youth and it hath reverted upon us, and we
plotted mischief against him and it hath overtaken us; yea, we
digged for him a pit and we ourselves have fallen into it." So
the king bade hoist up the Wazirs upon the gibbets and crucify
them there, because Allah is just and decreeth that which is due.
Then Azadbakht and his wife and son abode in joyance and
gladness, till there came to them the Destroyer of delights and
they died all; and extolled be the Living One, who dieth not, to
whom be glory and whose mercy be upon us for ever and ever! Amen.




             JA'AFAR BIN YAHYA AND ABD AL-MALIK BIN
                  SALITH THE ABBASIDE[FN#258]



It is told of Ja'afar bin Yahya the Barmecide that he sat down
one day to wine and, being minded to be private, sent for his
boon-companions, with whom he was most familiar, and charged the
chamberlain that he suffer none of the creatures of Almighty
Allah to enter, save a man of his cup-mates, by name Abd al-Malik
bin Salih, who was behindhand with them.  Then they donned
brightly-dyed dresses.[FN#259] for it was their wont, as often as
they sat in the wine-seance, to endue raiment of red and yellow
and green silk, and they sat down to drink, and the cups went
round the lutes thrilled and shrilled.  Now there was a man of
the kinsfolk of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, by name Abd al-Malik
bin Salih[FN#260] bin Ali bin Abdallah bin al-Abbas,[FN#261] who
was great of gravity and sedateness, piety and propriety, and Al-
Rashid used instantly to require that he should company him in
converse and carouse and drink with him and had offered him to
such end abounding wealth, but he never would.  It fortuned that
this Abd al-Malik bin Salih came to the door of Ja'afar bin
Yahya, so he might bespeak him of certain requisitions of his,
and the chamberlain, doubting not but he was the Abd al-Malik bin
Salih aforesaid (whom Ja'afar had permitted him admit and that he
should suffer none but him to enter), allowed him to go in to his
master.  Accordingly Abd al-Malik went in, garbed in black, with
his Rusafiyah[FN#262] on his head.  When Ja'afar saw him, his
reason was like to depart for shame and he understood the case,
to wit, that the chamberlain had been deceived by the likeness of
the name; and Abd al-Malik also perceived how the matter stood
and perplexity was manifest to him in Ja'afar's face.  So he put
on a cheery countenance and said, "No harm be upon you![FN#263]
Bring us of these dyed clothes."  Thereupon they brought him a
dyed robe[FN#264] and he donned it and sat discoursing gaily with
Ja'afar and jesting with him.  Then said he, "Allow us to be a
partaker in your pleasures, and give us to drink of your
Nabiz."[FN#265]  So they brought him a silken robe and poured him
out a pint, when he said, "We crave your indulgence, for we have
no wont of this."  Accordingly Ja'afar ordered a flagon of Nabiz
be set before him, that he might drink whatso he pleased. Then,
having anointed himself with perfumes, he chatted and jested with
them till Ja'afar's bosom broadened and his constraint ceased
from him and his shame, and he rejoiced in this with joy
exceeding and asked Abd al-Malik, "What is thine errand?  Inform
me thereof, for I cannot sufficiently acknowledge they courtesy."
Answered the other, "I come (amend thee Allah!) on three
requirements, of which I would have thee bespeak the Caliph; to
wit, firstly, I have on me a debt to the amount of a thousand
thousand dirhams,[FN#266] which I would have paid: secondly, I
desire for my son the office of Wali or governor of a
province,[FN#267] whereby his rank may be raised: and thirdly, I
would fain have thee marry him to Al-'Aliyah, the daughter of the
Commander of the Faithful, for that she is his cousin and he is a
match for her."  Ja'afar said, "Allah accomplisheth unto thee
these three occasions.  As for the money, it shall be carried to
thy house this very hour: as for the government, I make thy son
Viceroy of Egypt; and as for the marriage, I give him to mate
Such-an-one, the daughter of our lord the Prince of True
Believers, at a dowry of such and such a sum.   So depart in the
assurance of Allah Almighty."  Accordingly Abd al-Malik went away
much astonished at Ja'afar's boldness in undertaking such
engagements.  He fared straight for his house, whither he found
that the money had preceded him, and in the morrow Ja'afar
presented himself before Al-Rashid and acquainted him with what
had passed, and that he had appointed Abd al-Malik's son Wali of
Egypt[FN#268] and had promised him his daughter, Al-'Aliyah to
wife.  The Caliph was pleased to approve of this and he confirmed
the appointment and the marriage.  Then he sent for the young man
and he went not forth of the palace of the Caliphate till Al-
Rashid wrote him the patent of investiture with the government of
Egypt; and he let bring the Kazis and the witnesses and drew up
the contract of marriage.




              AL-RASHID AND THE BARMECIDES[FN#269]



It is said that the most wondrous of matters which happened to
Al-Rashid was this.  his brother Al-Hadi,[FN#270] when he
succeeded to the Caliphate, enquired of a seal-ring of great
price, which had belonged to his father Al-Mahdi,[FN#271] and it
reached him that Al-Rashid had taken it.  So he required it of
him, but he refused to give it up, and Al-Hadi insisted upon him,
yet he still denied the seal-ring of the Caliphate.  Now this was
on Tigris-bridge, and he threw the ring into the river.[FN#272]
When Al-Hadi died and Al-Rashid succeeded to the Caliphate, he
went in person to that very place with a seal-ring of lead, which
he cast into the stream at the same stead, and bade the divers
seek it.  So the duckers did his bidding and brought up the first
ring, and this was counted an omen of Al-Rashid's good fortune
and of the continuance of his reign.[FN#273]  When Al-Rashid come
to the throne, he invested Ja'afar bin Yahya bin Khalid al-
Barmaki[FN#274] with the Wazirate.  Now Ja'afar was eminently
noted for generosity and munificence, and the histories of him to
this purport are renowned and have been documented.  None of the
Wazirs rose to the rank and favour whereto he attained with Al-
Rashid, who was wont to call him brother[FN#275] and used to
carry him with him into his house.  The period of his Wazirate
was nineteen[FN#276] years, and Yahya one day said to his son
Ja'afar, "O my son, as long as thy reed trembleth,[FN#277] water
it with kindness."  Men differ concerning the reason of Ja'afar's
slaughter, but the better opinion of it is follows.  Al-Rashid
could not bear to be parted from Ja'afar nor from his own sister
'Abbasah, daughter of Al-Mahdi, a single hour, and she was the
loveliest woman of her day; so he said to Ja'afar, "I will marry
thee to her, that it may be lawful to thee to look upon her, but
thou shalt not touch her."  After this time the twain used to be
present in Al-Rashid's sitting chamber.  Now the Caliph would get
up bytimes and leave the chamber, and they being filled with wine
as well as being young, Ja'afar would rise to her and know her
carnally.[FN#278]  She conceived by him and bare a handsome boy;
and, fearing Al-Rashid, she dispatched the new-born child by one
of her confidants to Meccah the Magnified (May Allah Almighty
greaten it in honor and increase it in venerance and nobility and
magnification!).  the affair abode concealed till there befel a
brabble between Abbasah and one of her hand-maidens whereupon the
slave-girl discovered the affair of the child to Al-Rashid and
acquainted him with its abiding-place.  So, when the Caliph
pilgrimaged, he sent one who brought him the boy and found the
matter true, where he caused befel the Barmecides whatso
befel.[FN#279]




              IBN AL-SAMMAK AND AL-RASHID[FN#280]



It is related that Ibn al-Sammak[FN#281] went in one day to Al-
Rashid, and the Caliph, being athirst, called for drink.  So his
cup was brought him, and when he took it, Ibn al-Sammak said to
him, "Softly, O Prince of True Believers!  An thou wert denied
this draught, with how much wouldst thou buy it?"  He replied,
"With the half of my reign;" and Ibn al-Sammak said, "Drink and
Allah make it grateful to thee!"  Then, when he had drunken; he
asked him, "An thou wert denied the issuing forth of the draught
from thy body, with what wouldst thou buy its issue?"  Answered
Al-Rashid, "With the whole of my reign;" and Ibn al-Sammak said,
"O Commander of the Faithful, verily, a realm that weighteth not
in the balance against a draught of water or a voiding of urine
is not worth the striving for."  And Harun wept.




                 AL-MAAMUN AND ZUBAYDAH[FN#282]



It is said that Al-Maamun[FN#283] came one day upon Zubaydah,
mother of Al-Amin,[FN#284] and saw her moving her lips and
muttering somewhat he understood not; so he said to her, "O
mother mine, art thou cursing me because I slew thy son and
spoiled him of his realm?"  Said she, "Not so, by Allah, O
Commander of the Faithful!" and quoth he, "What then was it thou
saidest?"  Quoth she, "Let the Prince of True Believers excuse
me."  But he was urgent with her, saying, "There is no help but
that thou tell it."  And she replied, "I said, Allah confound
importunity!"  He asked, "How so?" and she answered, "I played
one day at chess with the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-
Rashid, and he imposed on me the condition of forfeits.[FN#285]
He won and made me doff my dress and walk around the palace,
stark naked; so I did this, and I felt incensed against him.
Then we fell to playing and I won; whereat I made him go to the
kitchen and lie with the foulest and fulsomest wench of the
wenches thereof; but I found not a slave-girl fouler and filthier
than they mother;[FN#286] so I so bade him tumble her.  He did my
bidding and she conceived by him of thee, and thus was I the
cause of the slaying of my son and the spoiling of him of his
realm."  When Al-Maamun heard this, he turned away, saying,
"Allah curse the importunate!" that is, himself, who had
importuned her till she acquainted him with that affair.




              AL-NU'UMAN AND THE ARAB OF THE BANU
                          TAY[FN#287]



It is said that Al-Nu'uman[FN#288] had two boon-companions, one
of whom was hight Ibn Sa'ad and the other Amru bin al-Malik, and
he became one night drunken and bade bury them alive; so they
buried him.  When he arose on the morrow, he asked for them and
was acquainted with their affair, whereupon he built over them a
building and appointed to himself a day of ill-luck and a day of
good fortune.  If any met him on his unlucky day, he slew him and
with his blood he washed that monument, which is a place well
known in Kufah; and if any met him on this day of good fortune he
enriched him.  Now there accosted him once, on his day of ill-
omen, an Arab of the Banu Tay[FN#289] and Al-Nu'uman would have
done him dead; but the Arab said, "Allah quicken the king! I have
two little girls and have made none guardian over them;
wherefore, and the king see fit to grant me leave to go to them,
I will give him the covenant of Allah[FN#290] that I will return
to him, as soon as I shall have appointed unto them a guardian."
Al-Nu'uman had ruth on him and said to him, "An a man will be
surety for thee of those who are with us, I will let thee go, and
if thou return not I will slay him."  Now there was with Al-
Nu'uman his Wazir Sharik bin Amru: so the Tai[FN#291] looked at
him and said,

"Ho thou, Sharik, O Amru-son is there fro' Death repair? * O
     brother to men brotherless, brother to all in care!
O brother of Al-Nu'uman an old man this day spare, * An old man
     slain and Allah deign fair meed for thee prepare!"

Quoth Sharik, "On me be his warranty, Allah assign the king!"  So
the Tai departed, after a term had been assigned him for his
returning.  Now when the appointed day arrived, Al-Nu'uman sent
for Sharik and said to him, "Verily the high noon of this day is
past;" and Sharik answered, "the king hath no procedure against
me till it be eventide." Whenas evened the evening there appeared
one afar off and Al-Nu'uman fell to looking upon him and on
Sharik who said to him, "Thou hast no right over me till yonder
person come, for haply he is my man."  As he spake, up came the
Tai in haste and Al-Nu'uman said, "By Allah, never saw I any more
generous than you two!  I know not which of you be the nobler,
whether this one who became warrant for thee in death-risk or
thou who returnest to thy slaughter."  Then quoth he to Sharik,
"What drave thee to become warrant for him, knowing the while it
was death?" and quoth he, "I did this lest it be said, Generosity
hath departed from Wazirs."  Then Al-Nu'uman asked the Tai, "And
thou, what prompted thee to return, knowing that therein was
death and thine one destruction?" and the Arab answered, "I did
this lest it be said, Fidelity hath departed from the folk; for
such thing would be a shame to mine issue and to my tribe."  And
Al-Nu'uman cried, "By Allah, I will be the third of you, lest it
be said, Mercy hath departed from the kings."  So he pardoned him
and bade abolish the day of ill-luck; whereupon the Arab began to
say,

"A many urged me that I false my faith, * But I refused whatso
     the wights could plead;
For I'm a man in whom Faith dwells for aye, * And every true
     man's word is pledge of deed."

Quoth Al-Nu'uman, "What prompted thee to keep faith, the case
being as thou sayest?"  Quoth he, "O king, it was my religion."
Al-Nu'uman asked, "What is thy religion?" and he answered "The
Nazarene!"  The king said, "Expound it to me."  So the Tai
expounded it to him and Al-Nu'uman became a Christian.[FN#292]




                   FIRUZ AND HIS WIFE[FN#293]



They relate that a certain king sat one day on the terrace-roof
of his palace, solacing himself with the view, and presently, his
wandering glances espied, on a house-top over against his palace,
a woman seer never saw her like. So he turned to those present
and asked them, "To whom belongeth yonder house?" when they
answered, "To thy servant Firuz, and that is his spouse." So he
went down (and indeed passion had made him drunken as with wine,
and he was deeply in love of her), and calling Firuz, said to
him, "Take this letter and go with it to such a city and bring me
the reply." Firuz took the letter and going to his house, laid it
under his head and passed that night; and when the morning
morrowed, he farewelled his wife and fared for that city,
unknowing what his sovran purposed against him. As for the king,
he arose in haste after the husband had set out and repairing to
the house of Firuz in disguise, knocked at the entrance. Quoth
Firuz's wife, "Who's at the door?" and quoth he, saying, "I am
the king, thy husband's master." So she opened and he entered and
sat down, saying, "We are come to visit thee." She cried, "I seek