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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




'I weet not, whenas to a land I fare * In quest of good, what I
shall there obtain;
Or gain I fare with sole desire to seek; * Or loss that seeketh
me when seek I gain.'

Then said I to them, 'See what hath fallen to me in this mine
absence;' and displayed to them all that was with me of treasures
and told them what I had beheld in the City of Stone, adding,
'Had ye hearkened to me and gone with me, ye had gotten of these
things great gain.'"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.

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

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that
Abdullah bin Fazil said to his shipmates and to his two brothers,
"Had ye gone with me, ye had gotten of these things great gain."
But they said, "By Allah, had we gone, we had not dared to go in
to the King of the city!"--"Then I said to my brothers, 'No harm
shall befal you; for that which I have will suffice us all and
this is our lot.'[FN#527] So I divided my booty into four parts
according to our number and gave one to each of my brothers and
to the Captain, taking the fourth for myself, setting aside
somewhat for the servants and sailors, who rejoiced and blessed
me: and all were content with what I gave them, save my brothers
who changed countenance and rolled their eyes. I perceived that
lust of lucre had gotten hold of them both; so I said to them, 'O
my brothers, methinketh what I have given you doth not satisfy
you; but we are brothers and there is no difference between us.
My good and yours are one and the same thing, and if I die none
will inherit of me but you.' And I went on to soothe them. Then I
bore the Princess on board the galleon and lodged her in the
cabin, where I sent her somewhat to eat and we sat talking, I and
my brothers. Said they, 'O our brother, what wilt thou do with
that damsel of surpassing beauty?' And I replied, 'I mean to
contract marriage with her, as soon as I reach Bassorah and make
a splendid wedding and go in to her there.' Exclaimed one of
them, 'O my brother, verily, this young lady excelleth in beauty
and loveliness and the love of her is fallen on my heart;
wherefore I desire that thou give her to me and I will espouse
her.' And the other cried, 'I too desire this: give her to me,
that I may espouse her.' 'O my brothers,' answered I, 'indeed she
took of me an oath and a covenant that I would marry her myself;
so, if I give her to one of you, I shall be false to my oath and
to the covenant between me and her, and haply she will be broken-
hearted, for she came not with me but on condition that I marry
her. So how can I wed her to other than myself? As for your both
loving her, I love her more than you twain, for she is my
treasure-trove, and as for my giving her to one of you, that is a
thing which may not be. But, if we reach Bassorah in safety, I
will look you out two girls of the best of the damsels of
Bassorah and demand them for you in marriage and pay the dower of
my own monies and make one wedding and we will all three go into
our brides on the same night. But leave ye this damsel, for she
is of my portion.' They held their peace, and I thought they were
content with that which I had said. Then we fared onwards for
Bassorah, and every day I sent her meat and drink; but she came
not forth of the cabin, whilst I slept between my brothers on
deck. We sailed thus forty days, till we sighted Bassorah city
and rejoiced that we were come near it. Now I trusted in my
brothers and was at my ease with them, for none knoweth the
hidden future save Allah the Most High; so I lay down to sleep
that night; but, as I abode drowned in slumber, I suddenly found
myself caught up by these my brothers, one seizing me by the legs
and the other by the arms, for they had taken counsel together to
drown me in the sea for the sake of the damsel. When I saw myself
in their hands, I said to them, 'O my brothers, why do ye this
with me?' And they replied, 'Ill-bred that thou art, wilt thou
barter our affection for a girl?; we will cast thee into the sea,
because of this.' So saying, they threw me overboard." (Here
Abdullah turned to the dogs and said to them, "Is this that I
have said true O my brothers or not?"; and they bowed their heads
and fell a-whining, as if confirming his speech; whereat the
Caliph wondered). Then Abdullah resumed, "O Commander of the
Faithful, when they threw me into the sea, I sank to the bottom;
but the water bore me up again to the surface, and before I could
think, behold a great bird, the bigness of a man, swooped down
upon me and snatching me up, flew up with me into upper air. I
fainted and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a strong-
pillared place, a high-builded palace, adorned with magnificent
paintings and pendants of gems of all shapes and hues. Therein
were damsels standing with their hands crossed over their breasts
and, behold in their midst was a lady seated on a throne of red
gold, set with pearls and gems, and clad in apparel whereon no
mortal might open his eyes, for the lustre of the jewels
wherewith they were decked. About her waist she wore a girdle of
jewels no money could pay their worth and on her head a three-
fold tiara dazing thought and wit and dazzling heart and sight.
Then the bird which had carried me thither shook and became a
young lady bright as sun raying light. I fixed my eyes on her and
behold, it was she whom I had seen, in snake form on the mountain
and had rescued from the dragon which had wound his tail around
her. Then said to her the lady who sat upon the throne, 'Why hast
thou brought hither this mortal?'; and she replied, 'O my mother,
this is he who was the means of veiling my honour[FN#528] among
the maidens of the Jinn.' Then quoth she to me, 'Knowest thou who
I am?'; and quoth I, 'No.' Said she, 'I am she who was on such a
mountain, where the black dragon strave with me and would have
forced my honour, but thou slewest him.' And I said, 'I saw but a
white snake with the dragon.' She rejoined, "Tis I who was the
white snake; but I am the daughter of the Red King, Sovran of the
Jann and my name is Sa'idah.[FN#529] She who sitteth there is my
mother and her name is Mubarakah, wife of the Red King. The black
dragon who attacked me and would have done away my honour was
Wazir to the Black King, Darfil by name, and he was foul of
favour. It chanced that he saw me and fell in love with me; so he
sought me in marriage of my sire, who sent to him to say, 'Who
art thou, O scum of Wazirs, that thou shouldst wed with Kings'
daughters?' Whereupon he was wroth and sware an oath that he
would assuredly do away my honour, to spite my father. Then he
fell to tracking my steps and following me whithersoever I went,
designing to ravish me; wherefore there befel between him and my
parent mighty fierce wars and bloody jars, but my sire could not
prevail against him, for that he was fierce as fraudful and as
often as my father pressed hard upon him and seemed like to
conquer he would escape from him, till my sire was at his wits'
end. Every day I was forced to take new form and hue; for, as
often as I assumed a shape, he would assume its contrary, and to
whatsoever land I fled he would snuff my fragrance and follow me
thither, so that I suffered sore affliction of him. At last I
took the form of a snake and betook myself to the mountain where
thou sawest me; whereupon he changed himself to a dragon and
pursued me, till I fell into his hands, when he strove with me
and I struggled with him, till he wearied me and mounted me,
meaning to have his lustful will of me; but thou camest and smote
him with the stone and slewest him. Then I returned to my own
shape and showed myself to thee, saying, 'I am indebted to thee
for a service such as is not lost save with the son of
adultery.'[FN#530] So, when I saw thy brothers do with thee this
treachery and throw thee into the sea, I hastened to thee and
saved thee from destruction, and now honour is due to thee from
my mother and my father.' Then she said to the Queen, 'O my
mother, do thou honour him as deserveth he who saved my virtue.'
So the Queen said to me, 'Welcome, O mortal! Indeed thou hast
done us a kindly deed which meriteth honour.' Presently she
ordered me a treasure-suit,[FN#531] worth a mint of money, and
store of gems and precious stones, and said, 'Take him and carry
him in to the King.' Accordingly, they carried me into the King
in his Divan, where I found him seated on his throne, with his
Marids and guards before him; and when I saw him my sight was
blent for that which was upon him of jewels; but when he saw me,
he rose to his feet and all his officers rose also, to do him
worship. Then he saluted me and welcomed me and entreated me with
the utmost honour, and gave me of that which was with him of good
things; after which he said to some of his followers, 'Take him
and carry him back to my daughter, that she may restore him to
the place whence she brought him.' So they carried me back to the
Lady Sa'idah, who took me up and flew away with me and my
treasures. On this wise fared it with me and the Princess; but as
regards the Captain of the galleon, he was aroused by the splash
of my fall, when my brothers cast me into the sea, and said,
'What is that which hath fallen overboard?' Whereupon my brothers
fell to weeping and beating of breasts and replied, 'Alas, for
our brother's loss! He thought to do his need over the ship's
side[FN#532] and fell into the water!' Then they laid their hands
on my good, but there befel dispute between them because of the
damsel, each saying, 'None shall have her but I.' And they abode
jangling and wrangling each with other and remembered not their
brother nor his drowning and their mourning for him ceased. As
they were thus, behold Sa'idah alighted with me in the midst of
the galleon,"--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.

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

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah
bin Fazil continued, "As they were thus, behold, Sa'idah alighted
with me in the midst of the galleon and when my brothers saw me,
they embraced me and rejoiced in me, saying, 'O our brother, how
hast thou fared in that which befel thee? Indeed our hearts have
been occupied with thee.' Quoth Sa'idah, 'Had ye any heart-
yearnings for him or had ye loved him, ye had not cast him into
the sea; but choose ye now what death ye will die.' Then she
seized on them and would have slain them; but they cried out,
saying, 'In thy safeguard, O our brother!' Thereupon I interceded
and said to her, 'I claim of thine honour not to kill my
brothers.' Quoth she, 'There is no help but that I slay them, for
they are traitors.' But I ceased not to speak her fair and
conciliate her till she said, 'To content thee, I will not kill
them, but I will enchant them.' So saying, she brought out a cup
and filling it with sea-water, pronounced over it words that
might not be understood; then saying, 'Quit this human shape for
the shape of a dog;' she sprinkled them with the water, and
immediately they were transmewed into dogs, as thou seest them, O
Vicar of Allah." Whereupon he turned to the dogs and said to
them, "Have I spoken the truth, O my brothers?" And they bowed
their heads, as they would say, "Thou hast spoken sooth." At this
he continued, "Then she said to those who were in the galleon,
'Know ye that Abdullah bin Fazil here present is become my
brother and I shall visit him once or twice every day: so, whoso
of you crosseth him or gainsayeth his bidding or doth him hurt
with hand or tongue, I will do with him even as I have done with
these two traitors and bespell him to a dog, and he shall end his
days in that form, nor shall he find deliverance.' And they all
said to her, 'O our lady, we are his slaves and his servants
every one of us and will not disobey him in aught.' Moreover, she
said to me, 'When thou comest to Bassorah, examine all thy
property and if there lack aught thereof, tell me and I will
bring it to thee, in whose hands and in what place soever it may
be, and will change him who took it into a dog. When thou hast
magazined thy goods, clap a collar[FN#533] of wood on the neck of
each of these two traitors and tie them to the leg of a couch and
shut them up by themselves. Moreover, every night, at midnight,
do thou go down to them and beat each of them a bout till he
swoon away; and if thou suffer a single night to pass without
beating them, I will come to thee and drub thee a sound drubbing,
after which I will drub them.' And I answered, 'To hear is to
obey.' Then said she, 'Tie them up with ropes till thou come to
Bassorah.' So I tied a rope about each dog's neck and lashed them
to the mast, and she went her way. On the morrow we entered
Bassorah and the merchants came out to meet me and saluted me,
and no one of them enquired of my brothers. But they looked at
the dogs and said to me, 'Ho, such and such,[FN#534] what wilt
thou do with these two dogs thou hast brought with thee?' Quoth
I, 'I reared them on this voyage and have brought them home with
me.' And they laughed at them, knowing not that they were my
brothers. When I reached my house, I put the twain in a closet
and busied myself all that night with the unpacking and
disposition of the bales of stuffs and jewels. Moreover, the
merchants were with me being minded to offer me the salam;
wherefore I was occupied with them and forgot to beat the dogs or
chain them up. Then without doing them aught of hurt, I lay down
to sleep, but suddenly and unexpectedly there came to me the Red
King's daughter Sa'idah and said to me, 'Did I not bid thee clap
chains on their necks and give each of them a bout of beating?'
So saying, she seized me and pulling out a whip, flogged me till
I fainted away, after which she went to the place where my
brothers were and with the same scourge beat them both till they
came nigh upon death. Then said she to me, 'Beat each of them a
like bout every night, and if thou let a night pass without doing
this, I will beat thee;' and I replied, 'O my lady, to-morrow I
will put chains on their necks, and next night I will beat them
nor will I leave them one night unbeaten.' And she charged me
strictly to beat them and disappeared. When the morning morrowed
it being no light matter for me to put fetters of iron on their
necks, I went to a goldsmith and bade him make them collars and
chains of gold. He did this and I put the collars on their necks
and chained them up, as she bade me; and next night I beat them
both in mine own despite. This befel in the Caliphate of Al-
Mahdi,[FN#535] third of the sons of Al-Abbas, and I commended
myself to him by sending him presents, so he invested me with the
government and made me viceroy of Bassorah. On this wise I abode
some time and after a while I said to myself, 'Haply her wrath is
grown cool;' and left them a night unbeaten, whereupon she came
to me and beat me a bout whose burning I shall never forget long
as I live. So, from that time to this, I have never left them a
single night unbeaten during the reign of Al-Mahdi; and when he
deceased and thou camest to the succession, thou sentest to me,
confirming me in the government of Bassorah. These twelve years
past have I beaten them every night, in mine own despite, and
after I have beaten them, I excuse myself to them and comfort
them and give them to eat and drink; and they have remained shut
up, nor did any of the creatures of Allah know of them, till thou
sentest to me Abu Ishak the boon-companion, on account of the
tribute, and he discovered my secret and returning to thee,
acquainted thee therewith. Then thou sentest him back to fetch me
and them; so I answered with 'Hearkening and obedience,' and
brought them before thee, whereupon thou questionedst me and I
told thee the truth of the case; and this is my history." The
Caliph marvelled at the case of the two dogs and said to
Abdullah, "Hast thou at this present forgiven thy two brothers
the wrong they did thee, yea or nay?" He replied, "O my lord, may
Allah forgive them and acquit them of responsibility in this
world and the next! Indeed, 'tis I who stand in need of their
forgiveness, for that these twelve years past I have beaten them
a grievous bout every night!" Rejoined the Caliph, "O Abdullah,
Inshallah, I will endeavour for their release and that they may
become men again, as they were before, and I will make peace
between thee and them; so shall you live the rest of your lives
as brothers loving one another; and like as thou hast forgiven
them, so shall they forgive thee. But now take them and go down
with them to thy lodging and this night beat them not, and to-
morrow there shall be naught save weal." Quoth Abdullah, "O my
lord, as thy head liveth, if I leave them one night unbeaten,
Sa'idah will come to me and beat me, and I have no body to brook
beating." Quoth the Caliph, "Fear not, for I will give thee a
writing under my hand.[FN#536] An she come to thee, do thou give
her the paper and if, when she has read it, she spare thee, the
favour will be hers; but, if she obey not my bidding, commit thy
business to Allah and let her beat thee a bout and suppose that
thou hast forgotten to beat them for one night and that she
beateth thee because of that: and if it fall out thus and she
thwart me, as sure as I am Commander of the Faithful, I will be
even with her." Then he wrote her a letter on a piece of paper,
two fingers broad, and sealing it with his signet-ring, gave it
to Abdullah, saying, "O Abdullah, if Sa'idah come, say to her,
'The Caliph, King of mankind, hath commanded me to leave beating
them and hath written me this letter for thee; and he saluteth
thee with the salam.' Then give her the warrant and fear no
harm." After which he exacted of him an oath and a solemn pledge
that he would not beat them. So Abdullah took the dogs and
carried them to his lodging, saying to himself, "I wonder what
the Caliph will do with the daughter of the Sovran of the Jinn,
if she cross him and trounce me to-night! But I will bear with a
bout of beating for once and leave my brothers at rest this
night, though for their sake I suffer torture." Then he bethought
himself awhile, and his reason said to him, "Did not the Caliph
rely on some great support, he had never forbidden me from
beating them." So he entered his lodging and doffed the collars
from the dogs' necks, saying, "I put my trust in Allah," and fell
to comforting them and saying, "No harm shall befal you; for the
Caliph, fifth[FN#537] of the sons of Al-Abbas, hath pledged
himself for your deliverance and I have forgiven you. An it
please Allah the Most High, the time is come and ye shall be
delivered this blessed night; so rejoice ye in the prospect of
peace and gladness." when they heard these words, they fell to
whining with the whining of dogs,--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

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

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Abdullah
bin Fazil said to his brothers, "Rejoice ye in the prospect of
comfort and gladness." And when they heard his words they fell to
whining with the whining of dogs, and rubbed their jowls against
his feet, as if blessing him and humbling themselves before him.
He mourned over them and took to stroking their backs till supper
time; and when they set on the trays he bade the dogs sit. So
they sat down and ate with him from the tray, whilst his officers
stood gaping and marvelling at his eating with dogs and all said,
"Is he mad or are his wits gone wrong? How can the Viceroy of
Bassorah city, he who is greater than a Wazir, eat with dogs?
Knoweth he not that the dog is unclean?[FN#538]" And they stared
at the dogs, as they ate with him as servants eat with their
lords,[FN#539] knowing not that they were his brothers; nor did
they cease staring at them, till they had made an end of eating,
when Abdullah washed his hands and the dogs also put out their
paws and washed; whereupon all who were present began to laugh at
them and to marvel, saying, one to other, "Never in our lives saw
we dogs eat and wash their paws after eating!" Then the dogs sat
down on the divans beside Abdullah, nor dared any ask him of
this; and thus the case lasted till midnight, when he dismissed
the attendants and lay down to sleep and the dogs with him, each
on a couch; whereupon the servants said one to other, "Verily, he
hath lain down to sleep and the two dogs are lying with him."
Quoth another, "Since he hath eaten with the dogs from the same
tray, there is no harm in their sleeping with him; and this is
naught save the fashion of madmen." Moreover, they ate not
anything of the food which remained in the tray, saying, "'Tis
unclean." Such was their case; but as for Abdullah, ere he could
think, the earth clave asunder and out rose Sa'idah, who said to
him, "O Abdullah, why hast thou not beaten them this night and
why hast thou undone the collars from their necks? Hast thou
acted on this wise perversely and in mockery of my commandment?
But I will at once beat thee and spell thee into a dog like
them." He replied, "O my lady, I conjure thee by the graving upon
the seal-ring of Solomon David-son (on the twain be peace!) have
patience with me till I tell thee my cause and after do with me
what thou wilt." Quoth she, "Say on," and quoth he, "The reason
of my not punishing them is only this. The King of mankind, the
Commander of the Faithful, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, ordered me
not to beat them this night and took of me oaths and covenants to
that effect; and he saluteth thee with the salam and hath
committed to me a mandate under his own hand, which he bade me
give thee. So I obeyed his order for to obey the Commander of the
Faithful is obligatory; and here is the mandate. Take it and read
it and after work thy will." She replied "Hither with it!" So he
gave her the letter and she opened it and read as follows, "In
the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate! From
the King of mankind, Harun al-Rashid, to the daughter of the Red
King, Sa'idah! But, after. Verily, this man hath forgiven his
brothers and hath waived his claim against them, and we have
enjoined them to reconciliation. Now, when reconciliation ruleth,
retribution is remitted, and if you of the Jinn contradict us in
our commandments, we will contrary you in yours and traverse your
ordinances; but, an ye obey our bidding and further our orders,
we will indeed do the like with yours. Wherefore I bid thee hurt
them no hurt, and if thou believe in Allah and in His Apostle, it
behoveth thee to obey and us to command.[FN#540] So an thou spare
them, I will requite thee with that whereto my Lord shall enable
me; and the token of obedience is that thou remove thine
enchantment from these two men, so they may come before me to-
morrow, free. But an thou release them not, I will release them
in thy despite, by the aid of Almighty Allah." When she had read
the letter, she said, "O Abdullah, I will do nought till I go to
my sire and show him the mandate of the monarch of mankind and
return to thee with the answer in haste." So saying, she signed
with her hand to the earth, which clave open and she disappeared
therein, whilst Abdullah's heart was like to fly for joy and he
said, "Allah advance the Commander of the Faithful!" As for
Sa'idah, she went in to her father; and, acquainting him with
that which had passed, gave him the Caliph's letter, which he
kissed and laid on his head. Then he read it and understanding
its contents said, "O my daughter, verily, the ordinance of the
monarch of mankind obligeth us and his commandments are effectual
over us, nor can we disobey him: so go thou and release the two
men forth-with and say to them, 'Ye are freed by the intercession
of the monarch of mankind.' For, should he be wroth with us, he
would destroy us to the last of us; so do not thou impose on us
that which we are unable." Quoth she "O my father, if the monarch
of mankind were wroth with us, what could he do with us?"; and
quoth her sire, "He hath power over us for several reasons. In
the first place, he is a man and hath thus pre-eminence over
us[FN#541]; secondly he is the Vicar of Allah; and thirdly, he is
constant in praying the dawn-prayer of two bows[FN#542];
therefore were all the tribes of the Jinn assembled together
against him from the Seven Worlds they could do him no hurt. But
he, should he be wroth with us would pray the dawn-prayer of two
bows and cry out upon us one cry, when we should all present
ourselves before him obediently and be before him as sheep before
the butcher. If he would, he could command us to quit our
abiding-places for a desert country wherein we might not endure
to sojourn; and if he desired to destroy us, he would bid us
destroy ourselves, whereupon we should destroy one another.
wherefore we may not disobey his bidding for, if we did this, he
would consume us with fire nor could we flee from before him to
any asylum. Thus is it with every True Believer who is persistent
in praying the dawn-prayer of two bows; his commandment is
effectual over us: so be not thou the means of our destruction,
because of two mortals, but go forthright and release them, ere
the anger of the Commander of the Faithful fall upon us." So she
returned to Abdullah and acquainted him with her father's words,
saying, "Kiss for us the hands of the Prince of True Believers
and seek his approval for us." Then she brought out the tasse and
filling it with water, conjured over it and uttered words which
might not be understood; after which she sprinkled the dogs with
the water saying, "Quit the form of dogs and return to the shape
of men!" Whereupon they became men as before and the spell of the
enchantment was loosed from them. Quoth they, "I testify that
there is no god but the God and I testify that Mohammed is the
Apostle of God!" Then they fell on their brother's feet and
hands, kissing them and beseeching his forgiveness: but he said,
"Do ye forgive me;" and they both repented with sincere
repentance, saying, "Verily, the damned Devil lured us and
covetise deluded us: but our Lord hath requited us after our
deserts, and forgiveness is of the signs of the noble." And they
went on to supplicate their brother and weep and profess
repentance for that which had befallen him from them[FN#543].
Then quoth he to them, "What did ye with my wife whom I brought
from the City of Stone?" Quoth they, "When Satan tempted us and
we cast thee into the sea, there arose strife between us, each
saying, I will have her to wife. Now when she heard these words
and beheld our contention, she knew that we had thrown thee into
the sea; so she came up from the cabin and said to us, 'Contend
not because of me, for I will not belong to either of you. My
husband is gone into the sea and I will follow him.' So saying,
she cast herself overboard and died." Exclaimed Abdullah, "In
very sooth she died a martyr[FN#544]! But there is no Majesty and
there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!" Then
he wept for her with sore weeping and said to his brothers, "It
was not well of you to do this deed and bereave me of my wife."
They answered, "Indeed, we have sinned, but our Lord hath
requited us our misdeed and this was a thing which Allah decreed
unto us, ere He created us." And he accepted their excuse; but
Sa'idah said to him, "Have they done all these things to thee and
wilt thou forgive them?" He replied, "O my sister, whoso hath
power[FN#545] and spareth, for Allah's reward he prepareth." Then
said she, "Be on thy guard against them, for they are traitors;"
and fare-welled him and fared forth.--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

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