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The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 9

R >> Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 9




When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-first Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah
bin Fazil continued to the Caliph, "When I saw them in this
plight, it was grievous to me and I mourned for them and my
reason fled my head. So I rose and embraced them and wept over
their condition: then I put on one of them the pelisse of sable
and on the other the fur coat of meniver and, carrying them to
the Hammam, sent thither for each of them a suit of apparel such
as befitted a merchant worth a thousand.[FN#494] When they had
washed and donned each his suit, I carried them to my house
where, seeing them well nigh famished, I set a tray of food
before them and ate with them, caressing them and comforting
them." (Then he again turned to the two dogs and said to them
"Was this so, O my brothers?"; and they bent their heads and
lowered their eyes.) So Abdullah continued "When they had eaten,
O Vicar of Allah, quoth I to them, 'What hath befallen you and
where are your goods?'; and quoth they, 'We fared up the
river,[FN#495] till we came to a city called Cufa, where we sold
for ten dinars the piece of stuff that had cost half a ducat and
that which cost us a ducat for twenty. So we profited greatly and
bought Persian stuffs at the rate of ten sequins per piece of
silk worth forty in Bassorah. Thence we removed to a city called
Al-Karkh[FN#496] where we sold and bought and made gain galore
and amassed of wealth great store.' And they went on to set forth
to me the places and the profits. So I said to them, 'Since ye
had such good luck and lot, how cometh it that I see you return
naked?' They sighed and answered, 'O our brother, some one must
have evileyed us, and in travel there is no trusting. When we had
gotten together these monies and goods, we freighted a ship
therewith and set sail, intending for Bassorah. We fared on three
days and on the fourth day we saw the sea rise and fall and roar
and foam and swell and dash, whilst the waves clashed together
with a crash, striking out sparks like fire[FN#497] in the darks.
The winds blew contrary for us and our craft struck upon the
point of a bill-projected rock, where it brake up and plunged us
into the river, and all we had with us was lost in the waters. We
abode struggling on the surface a day and a night, till Allah
sent us another ship, whose crew picked us up and we begged our
way from town to town, suffering mighty sore hardships and
selling our body-clothes piecemeal, to buy us food, till we drew
near Bassorah; nor did we make the city till we had drained the
draught of a thousand miseries. But, had we come safely off with
that which was by us, we had brought back riches that might be
even with those of the King: but this was fore ordained to us of
Allah.' I said, 'O my brothers, let not your hearts be grieved,
for wealth is the ransom of bodies and safety is property. Since
Allah hath written you of the saved, this is the end of desire,
for want and wealth are but as it were illusions of dreams and
God-gifted is he who said,

'If a man from destruction can save his head * Let him hold his
wealth as a slice of nail.'

I continued, 'O my brothers we will suppose that our sire died
to-day and left us all this wealth that is with me, for I am
right willing to share it with you equally.' So I fetched a
departitor from the Kazi's court and brought out to him all my
money, which he distributed into three equal parts, and we each
took one. Then said I to them, 'O my brothers, Allah blesseth a
man in his daily bread, if he be in his own country: so let each
of you open him a shop and sit therein to get his living; and he
to whom aught is ordained in the Secret Purpose,[FN#498] needs
must he get it.' Accordingly, I helped each of them to open a
shop and filled it for him with goods, saying to them, 'Sell and
buy and keep your monies and spend naught thereof; for all ye
need of meat and drink and so forth I will furnish to you.' I
continued to entreat them generously, and they fell to selling
and buying by day and returning at even-tide to my house where
they lay the night; nor would I suffer them to expend aught of
their own substance. But, whenever I sat talking with them, they
would praise travel and proclaim its pleasures and vaunt the
gains they had made therein; and they ceased not to urge me to
accompany them in travelling over foreign parts." (Then he said
to the dogs, "Was this so, O my brothers?" and they again bowed
their heads and lowered their eyes in confirmation of his words.)
He continued, "On such wise, O Vicar of Allah, they continued to
urge me and tempt me to travel by vaunting the great gains and
profit to be obtained thereby till I said to them, 'Needs must I
fare with you for your sake!' Then I entered into a contract of
partnership with them and we chartered a ship and packing up all
manner of precious stuffs and merchandise of every kind,
freighted it therewith; after which we embarked in it all we
needed and, setting sail from Bassorah, launched out into the
dashing sea, swollen with clashing surge whereinto whoso entereth
is lone and lorn and whence whoso cometh forth is as a babe new-
born. We ceased not sailing on till we came to a city of the
cities, where we sold and bought and made great cheape. Thence we
went on to another place, and we ceased not to pass from land to
land and port to port, selling and buying and profiting, till we
had gotten us great wealth and much advantage. Presently, we came
to a mountain,[FN#499] where the captain cast anchor and said to
us, 'O passengers; go ye ashore; ye shall be saved from this
day,[FN#500] and make search; it may be ye shall find water.' So
all landed I amongst the crowd, and dispersed about the island in
search of water. As for me, I climbed to the top of the mountain,
and whilst I went along, lo and behold! I saw a white snake
fleeing and followed by a black dragon, foul of favour and
frightful of form, hotly pursuing her. Presently he overtook her
and clipping her, seized her by the head and wound his tail about
her tail, whereupon she cried out and I knew that he purposed to
rape her. So I was moved to ruth for her and taking up a lump of
granite,[FN#501] five pounds or more in weight, hurled it at the
dragon. It smote him on the head and crushed it, and ere I knew,
the white snake changed and became a young girl bright with
beauty and loveliness and brilliancy and perfect grace, as she
were the shining full moon, who came up to me and kissing my
hands, said to me, 'Allah veil thee with two-fold veils, one from
shame in this world and the other from the flame in the world to
come on the day of the Great Upstanding, the day when neither
wealth nor children shall avail save to him who shall come to
Allah with a sound heart!'[FN#502] And presently she continued,
'O mortal, thou hast saved my honour and I am indebted to thee
for kindness, wherefore it behoveth me to requite thee.' So
saying, she signed with her hand to the earth, which opened and
she descended thereinto: then it closed up again over her and by
this I knew that she was of the Jinn. As for the dragon, fire was
kindled in him and consumed him and he became ashes. I marvelled
at this and returned to my comrades, whom I acquainted with
whatso I had seen, and we passed the night in the island. On the
morrow the Captain weighed anchor and spread the sails and coiled
the ropes and we sailed till the shore faded from our gaze. We
fared on twenty days, without seeing or land or bird, till our
water came to an end and quoth the Rais to us, 'O folk, our fresh
water is spent.' Quoth we, 'Let us make for land; haply we shall
find water.' But he exclaimed, 'By Allah, I have lost my way and
I know not what course will bring me to the seaboard.' Thereupon
betided us sore chagrin and we wept and besought Almighty Allah
to guide us into the right course. We passed that night in the
sorriest case: but God-gifted is He who said,

'How many a night have I spent in woes * That would grizzle the
suckling-babe with fear:
But morrowed not morn ere to me there came * 'Aidance from Allah
and victory near.'[FN#503]

But when the day arose in its sheen and shone, we caught sight of
a high mountain and rejoiced therein. When we came to its skirts,
the Captain said to us, 'O folk, go ashore and seek for water.'
So we all landed and sought water but found none, whereat we were
sore afflicted because we were suffering for want of it. As for
me, I climbed up to the mountain-top and on the other side
thereof I saw a spacious circle[FN#504] distant from us an hour's
journey or more. Presently I called my companions and as soon as
they all rejoined me, said to them 'Look at yonder basin behind
this mountain; for I see therein a city high of base and a
strong-cornered place girt with sconce and rampartry, pasturage
and lea and doubtless it wanteth not water and good things. So
hie we thither and fetch drink therefrom and buy what we need of
provisions, meat and fruit, and return.' But they said, 'We fear
lest the city-folk be Kafirs ascribing to Allah partners and
enemies of The Faith and lay hand on us and take us captive or
else slay us; so should we cause the loss of our own lives,
having cast ourselves into destruction and evil emprise. Indeed,
the proud and presumptuous are never praiseworthy, for that they
ever fare in danger of calamities, even as saith of such an one a
certain poet,

'Long as earth is earth, long as sky is sky, * The o'erproud is
blamed tho' from risk he fly!'

So we will not expose ourselves to peril.' I replied, 'O folk, I
have no authority over you; so I will take my brothers and go to
yonder city.' But my brothers said to me, 'We also fear this
thing and will not go with thee.' Quoth I, 'As for me, I am
resolved to go thither, and I put my trust in Allah and accept
whatsoever He shall decree to me. Do ye therefore await me,
whilst I wend thither and return to you twain.'"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighty-second Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah
said, "'Do ye twain await me whilst I wend thither and return to
you.'"--"So I left them and walked on till I came to the gate of
the place and saw it a city of building wondrous and projection
marvellous, with boulevards high-towering and towers strong-
builded and palaces high-soaring. Its portals were of Chinese
iron, rarely gilded and graven on such wise as confounded the
wit. I entered the gateway and saw there a stone bench, whereon
sat a man bearing on his forearm a chain of brass, whereto hung
fourteen keys; so I knew him to be the porter of the city and
that it had fourteen gates. I drew near him and said to him
'Peace be with thee!'; but he returned not my salam and I saluted
him a second and a third time; but he made me no reply. Then I
laid my hand on his shoulder and said to him, 'Ho thou, why dost
thou not return my salam? Art thou asleep or deaf or other than a
Moslem, that thou refrainest from exchanging the salutation?' But
he answered me not neither stirred; so I considered him and saw
that he was stone. Quoth I, 'Verily an admirable matter! This is
a stone wroughten in the semblance of a son of Adam and wanting
in naught save speech!' Then I left him and entering the city,
beheld a man standing in the road; so I went up to him and
scrutinised him and found him stone. Presently, as I walked adown
the broad-ways, and saw that this was every where the case, I met
an old woman bearing on her head a bundle of clothes ready for
washing; so I went up to her and examining her, saw that she was
stone, and the bundle of clothes on her head was stone
also.[FN#505] Then I fared for the market, where I saw an oilman
with his scales set up and fronted by various kinds of wares such
as cheese and so forth, all of stone. Moreover, I saw all manner
of tradesmen seated in their shops and men and women and
children, some standing and some sitting; but they were all
stone; and the stuffs were like spiders' webs. I amused myself
with looking upon them, and as often as I laid hold upon a piece
of stuff, it powdered in my hands like dust dispread. Presently I
saw some chests and opening one of them, found it full of gold in
bags; so I laid hold upon the bags, but they crumbled away in my
grasp, whilst the gold abode unchanged. I carried off of it what
I could carry and said to myself, 'Were my brothers with me, they
might take of this gold their fill and possess themselves of
these hoards which have no owner.' Then I entered another shop
and found therein more than this, but could bear away no more
than I had borne. I left this market and went on to another and
thence to another and another, much enjoying the sight of all
manner of creatures of various kinds, all several stones, even to
the dogs and the cats, till I came to the goldsmiths' bazar,
where I saw men sitting in their shops, with their stock-in-trade
about them, some in their hands and others in crates of wicker-
work. When I saw this, O Commander of the Faithful, I threw down
the gold and loaded myself with goldsmiths' ware, as much as I
could carry. Then I went on to the jewel-market and saw there the
jewellers seated in their shops, each with a tray before him,
full of all sorts of precious stones, jacinths and diamonds and
emeralds and balass rubies and so forth: but all the shop-keepers
were stones; whereupon I threw away the goldsmiths' ware and
carried off as many jewels as I could carry, regretting that my
brothers were not with me, so they might take what they would of
those costly gems. Then I left the jewel-market and went on till
I came to a great door, quaintly gilded and decorated after the
fairest fashion, within which were wooden benches and in the
porch sat eunuchs, and body-guards; horsemen, and footmen and
officers of police each and every robed in the richest of
raiment; but they were all stones. I touched one of them and his
clothes crumbled away from his body like cobwebs. Then I passed
through the door and saw a palace without equal for its building
and the goodliness of the works that were therein. Here I found
an audience-chamber, full of Grandees and Wazirs and Officers and
Emirs, seated upon chairs and every one of them stone. Moreover,
I saw a throne of red gold, crusted with pearls and gems, and
seated thereon a son of Adam arrayed in the most sumptuous
raiment and bearing on his head a Chosroan[FN#506] crown,
diademed with the finest stones that shed a light like the light
of day; but, when I came up to him, I found him stone. Then I
went on to the gate of the Harim and entering, found myself in
the Queen's presence-chamber, wherein I saw a throne of red gold,
inlaid with pearls and gems, and the Queen seated thereon. On her
head she wore a crown diademed with finest jewels, and round
about her were women like moons, seated upon chairs and clad in
the most sumptuous clothing of all colours. There also the
eunuchry, with their hands upon their breasts,[FN#507] were
standing in the attitude of service, and indeed this hall
confounded the beholder's wits with what was therein of quaint
gilding and rare painting and curious carving and fine furniture.
There hung the most brilliant lustres[FN#508] of limpid crystal,
and in every globe[FN#509] of the crystal was an unique jewel,
whose price money might not fulfil. So I threw down that which
was with me, O Prince of True Believers, and fell to taking of
these jewels what I could carry, bewildered as to what I should
bear away and what I should leave; for indeed I saw the place as
it were a treasure of the treasures of the cities. Presently I
espied a wicket[FN#510] standing open and within it a staircase:
so I entered and mounting forty steps, heard a human voice
reciting the Koran in a low tone. I walked towards that sound
till I came to the main door hung with a silken curtain, laced
with wires of gold whereon were strung pearls and coral and
rubies and cut emeralds which gave forth a light like the light
of stars. The voice came from behind the curtain: so I raised it
and discovered a gilded door, whose beauty amazed the mind. I
passed through the door and found myself in a saloon as it were a
hoard upon earth's surface[FN#511] and therein a girl as she were
the sun shining fullest sheen in the zenith of a sky serene. She
was robed in the costliest of raiment and decked with ornaments
the most precious that could be and withal she was of passing
beauty and loveliness, a model of symmetry and seemliness, of
elegance and perfect grace, with waist slender and hips heavy and
dewy lips such as heal the sick and eyelids lovely in their
languor, as it were she of whom the sayer spake when he said,

'My best salam to what that robe enrobes of symmetry, * And what
that blooming garth of cheek enguards of rosy blee:
It seems as though the Pleiades depend upon her brow; * And other
lights of Night in knots upon her breast we see:
Did she but don a garment weft of Rose's softest leaf, * The leaf
of Rose would draw her blood[FN#512] when pluckt that fruit
from tree:
And did she crache in Ocean's face, next Morn would see a change
* To sweeter than the honeycomb of what was briny sea:
And did she deign her favours grant to grey-beard staff-enpropped
* He'd wake and rend the lion's limbs for might and
valiancy.'"

Then Abdullah continued, "O Prince of True Believers, as soon as
I saw that girl I fell passionately in love with her and going
straight up to her, found her seated on a high couch, reciting by
heart and in grateful memory the Book of Allah, to whom belong
honour and glory! Her voice was like the harmony of the gates of
Heaven, when Rizwan openeth them, and the words came from her
lips like a shower of gems; whilst her face was with beauty
dight, bright and blossom-white, even as saith the poet of a
similar sight,

'O thou who gladdenest man by speech and rarest quality; * Grow
longing and repine for thee and grow beyond degree!
In thee two things consume and melt the votaries of Love; * The
dulcet song of David joined with Joseph's brilliancy.'

When I heard her voice of melody reciting the sublime Koran, my
heart quoted from her killing glances, 'Peace, a word from a
compassionating Lord;'[FN#513] but I stammered[FN#514] in my
speech and could not say the salam-salutation aright, for my mind
and sight were confounded and I was become as saith the bard,

'Love-longing urged me not except to trip in speech o'er free; *
Nor, save to shed my blood I passed the campment's boundary:
I ne'er will hear a word from those who love to rail, but I *
Will testify to love of him with every word of me.'

Then I hardened myself against the horrors of repine and said to
her, 'Peace be with thee, O noble Lady, and treasured jewel!
Allah grant endurance to the foundation of thy fortune fair and
upraise the pillars of thy glory rare!' Said she, 'And on thee
from me be peace and salutation and high honour, O Abdullah, O
son of Fazil! Well come and welcome and fair welcome to thee, O
dearling mine and coolth of mine eyne!' Rejoined I, 'O my lady,
whence wottest thou my name and who art thou and what case befel
the people of this city, that they are become stones? I would
have thee tell me the truth of the matter, for indeed I am
admiring at this city and its citizens and that I have found none
alive therein save thyself. So, Allah upon thee, tell me the
cause of all this, according to the truth!' Quoth she, 'Sit, O
Abdullah, and Inshallah, I will talk with thee and acquaint thee
in full with the facts of my case and of this place and its
people; and there is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great!' So I sat me down by her side and
she said to me, 'Know, O Abdullah, (may Allah have mercy on
thee!) that I am the daughter of the King of this city and that
it is my sire whom thou sawest seated on the high stead in the
Divan, and those who are round about him were the Lords of his
land and the Guards of his empery. He was a King of exceeding
prowess and had under his hand a thousand thousand and sixty
thousand troopers. The number of the Emirs of his Empire was
four-and-twenty thousand, all of them Governors and Dignitaries.
He was obeyed by a thousand cities, besides towns, hamlets and
villages; and sconces and citadels, and the Emirs[FN#515] of the
wild Arabs under his hand were a thousand in number, each
commanding twenty thousand horse. Moreover, he had monies and
treasures and precious stones and jewels and things of price,
such as eye never saw nor of which ear ever heard.'"--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eight-third Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
Princess, daughter to the King of the Stone-city, thus continued,
"Verily, O Abdullah my father had monies and hoards, such as eye
never saw and of which ear never heard. He used to debel Kings
and do to death champions and braves in battle and in the field
of fight, so that the Conquerors feared him and the
Chosroes[FN#516] humbled themselves to him. For all this, he was
a miscreant in creed ascribing to Allah partnership and adoring
idols, instead of the Lord of worship; and all his troops were of
images fain in lieu of the All-knowing Sovereign. One day of the
days as he sat on the throne of his Kingship, compassed about
with the Grandees of his realm, suddenly there came in to him a
Personage, whose face illumined the whole Divan with its light.
My father looked at him and saw him clad in a garb of
green,[FN#517] tall of stature and with hands that reached
beneath his knees. He was of reverend aspect and awesome and the
light[FN#518] shone from his face. Said he to my sire, 'O rebel,
O idolater, how long wilt thou take pride in worshipping idols
and abandoning the service of the All-knowing King? Say, 'I
testify that there is no god but the God and that Mohammed is His
servant and His messenger.' And embrace Al-Islam, thou and thy
tribe; and put away from you the worship of idols, for they
neither suffice man's need nor intercede. None is worshipful save
Allah alone, who raised up the heavens without columns and spread
out the earths like carpets in mercy to His creatures.'[FN#519]
Quoth my father, 'Who art thou, O man who rejectest the worship
of idols, that thou sayst thus? Fearest thou not that the idols
will be wroth with thee?' He replied, 'The idols are stones;
their anger cannot prejudice me nor their favour profit me. So do
thou set in my presence thine idol which thou adorest and bid all
thy folk bring each his image: and when they are all present, do
ye pray them to be wroth with me and I will pray my Lord to be
wroth with them, and ye shall descry the difference between the
anger of the creature and that of the Creator. For your idols, ye
fashioned them yourselves and the Satans clad themselves
therewith as with clothing, and they it is who spake to you from
within the bellies of the images,[FN#520] for your idols are made
and the maker is my God to whom naught is impossible. An the True
appear to you, do ye follow it, and if the False appear to you do
ye leave it.' Cried they, 'Give us a proof of thy god, that we
may see it;' and quoth he, 'Give me proof of your gods.' So the
King bade every one who worshipped his lord in image-form to
bring it, and all the armies brought their idols to the Divan.
Thus fared it with them; but as for me, I was sitting behind a
curtain, whence I could look upon my father's Divan, and I had an
idol of emerald whose bigness was as the bigness of a son of
Adam. My father demanded it, so I sent it to the Divan, where
they set it down beside that of my sire, which was of jacinth,
whilst the Wazir's idol was of diamond.[FN#521] As for those of
the Grandees and Notables, some were of balass-ruby and some of
carnelian, others of coral or Comorin aloes-wood and yet others
of ebony or silver or gold; and each had his own idol, after the
measure of his competence; whilst the idols of the common
soldiers and of the people were some of granite, some of wood,
some of pottery and some of mud; and all were of various hues
yellow and red; green, black and white. Then said the Personage
to my sire, 'Pray your idol and these idols to be wroth with me.'
So they aligned the idols in a Divan,[FN#522] setting my father's
idol on a chair of gold at the upper end, with mine by its side,
and ranking the others each according to the condition of him who
owned it and worshipped it. Then my father arose and prostrating
himself to his own idol, said to it, 'O my god, thou art the
Bountiful Lord, nor is there among the idols a greater than
thyself. Thou knowest that this person cometh to me, attacking
thy divinity and making mock of thee; yea, he avoucheth that he
hath a god stronger than thou and ordereth us leave adoring thee
and adore his god. So be thou wrath with him, O my god!' And he
went on to supplicate the idol; but the idol returned him no
reply neither bespoke him with aught of speech; whereupon quoth
he, 'O my god, this is not of thy wont, for thou usedst to answer
me, when I addressed thee. How cometh it that I see thee silent
and speaking not? Art thou unheeding or asleep?[FN#523] Awake;
succour me and speak to me!' And he shook it with his hand; but
it spake not neither stirred from its stead. Thereupon quoth the
Personage, 'What aileth thine idol that it speaketh not?'; and
quoth the King, 'Methinks he is absent-minded or asleep.'
Exclaimed the other, 'O enemy of Allah, how canst thou worship a
god that speaketh not nor availeth unto aught and not worship my
God, who to prayers deigns assent and who is ever present and
never absent, neither unheeding nor sleeping, whom conjecture may
not ween, who seeth and is not seen and who over all things
terrene is omnipotent? Thy god is powerless and cannot guard
itself from harm; and indeed a stoned Satan had clothed himself
therewith as with a coat that he might debauch thee and delude
thee. But now hath its devil departed; so do thou worship Allah
and testify that there is no god but He and that none is
worshipful nor worshipworth but Himself; neither is there any
good but His good. As for this thy god, it cannot ward off hurt
from it; so how shall it ward off harm from thee? See with thine
own eyes its impotence.' So saying, he went up to the idol and
dealt it a cuff on the neck, that it fell to the ground;
whereupon the King waxed wroth and cried to the bystanders, 'This
froward atheist hath smitten my god. Slay him!' So they would
have arisen to smite him, but none of them could stir from his
place. Then he propounded to them Al-Islam; but they refused to
become Moslems and he said, 'I will show you the wroth of my
Lord.' Quoth they, 'Let us see it!' So he spread out his hands
and said, 'O my God and my Lord, Thou art my stay and my hope;
answer Thou my prayer against these lewd folk, who eat of Thy
good and worship other gods. O Thou the Truth, O Thou of All-
might, O Creator of Day and Night, I beseech Thee to turn these
people into stones, for Thou art the Puissant nor is aught
impossible to Thee, and Thou over all things are omnipotent!' And
Allah transformed the people of this city into stones; but, as
for me, when I saw the manifest proof of His deity, I submitted
myself to Him and was saved from that which befel the rest. Then
the Personage drew near me and said 'Felicity[FN#524] was fore-
ordained of Allah to thee and in this a purpose had He.' And he
went on to instruct me and I took unto him the oath and
covenant.[FN#525] I was then seven years of age and am now thirty
years old. Then said I to him, 'O my lord, all that is in the
city and all its citizens are become stones by thine effectual
prayer, and I am saved, for that I embraced Al-Islam at thy
hands. Wherefore thou art become my Shaykh; so do thou tell me
thy name and succour me with thy security and provide me with
provision whereon I may subsist.' Quoth he, 'My name is Abu al-
'Abbas al-Khizr'; and he planted me a pomegranate-tree, which
forthright grew up and foliaged, flowered and fruited, and bare
one pomegranate; whereupon quoth he, 'Eat of that wherewith Allah
the Almighty provideth thee and worship Him with the worship
which is His due.' Then he taught me the tenets of Al-Islam and
the canons of prayer and the way of worship, together with the
recital of the Koran, and I have now worshipped Allah in this
place three-and-twenty years. Each day the tree yieldeth me a
pomegranate which I eat and it sustaineth me from tide to tide;
and every Friday, Al-Khizr (on whom be peace!) cometh to me and
'tis he who acquainted me with thy name and gave me the glad
tidings of thy soon coming hither, saying to me, 'When he shall
come to thee, entreat him with honour and obey his bidding and
gainsay him not; but be thou to him wife and he shall be to thee
man, and wend with him whitherso he will.' So, when I saw thee, I
knew thee and such is the story of this city and of its people,
and the Peace!'"--"Then she showed me the pomegranate-tree,
whereon was one granado, which she took and eating one-half
thereof herself, gave me the other to eat, and never did I taste
aught sweeter or more savoury or more satisfying than that
pomegranate. After this, I said to her, 'Art thou content, even
as the Shaykh Al-Khizr charged thee, to be my wife and take me to
mate; and art thou ready to go with me to my own country and
abide with me in the city of Bassorah?' She replied, 'Yes,
Inshallah: an it please Almighty Allah. I hearken to thy word and
obey thy hest without gainsaying.' Then I made a binding covenant
with her and she carried me into her father's treasury, whence we
took what we could carry and going forth that city, walked on
till we came to my brothers, whom I found searching for me. They
asked, 'Where hast thou been? Indeed thou hast tarried long from
us, and our hearts were troubled for thee.' And the captain of
the ship said to me, 'O merchant Abdullah, the wind hath been
fair for us this great while, and thou hast hindered us from
setting sail.' And I answered, 'There is no harm in that;
ofttimes slow[FN#526] is sure and my absence hath wrought us
naught but advantage, for indeed, there hath betided me therein
the attainment of our hopes and God-gifted is he who said,

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