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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 Sixth Night,

She resumed: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the
fifth Wazir said, "Blessed be the Most High, Giver of all good
gifts and graces the most precious! But to continue: we are well
assured that Allah favoureth whoso are thankful to Him and
mindful of His faith; and thou, O auspicious King, art far-famed
for these illustrious virtues and for justice and equitable
dealing between subject and subject and in that which is
acceptable to Allah Almighty. By reason of this hath the Lord
exalted thy dignity and prospered thy days and bestowed on thee
the good gift of this august child, after despair, wherefrom
there hath betided us gladness abiding and joys which may not be
cut off; for we before this were in exceeding cark and passing
care, because of thy lack of issue, and full of concern
bethinking us of all thy justice and gentle dealing with us and
fearful lest Allah decree death to thee and there be none to
succeed thee and inherit the kingdom after thee, and so we be
divided in our counsels and dissensigns arise between us and
there befal us what befel the Crows." Asked the King, "And what
befel the Crows?"; and the Wazir answered saying, "Hear, O
auspicious King, the tale of




The Crows and the Hawk.



There was once, in a certain desert, a spacious Wady, full of
rills and trees and fruits and birds singing the praises of Allah
the One of All might, Creator of day and night; and among them
was a troop of Crows, which led the happiest of lives. Now they
were under the sway and government of a Crow who ruled them with
mildness and benignity, so that they were with him in peace and
contentment; and by reason of their wisely ordering their
affairs, none of the other birds could avail against them.
Presently it chanced that there befel their chief the doom
irrevocably appointed to all creatures and he departed
life;[FN#89] whereupon the others mourned for him with sore
mourning, and what added to their grief was that there abided not
amongst them like him one who should fill his place. So they all
assembled and took counsel together concerning whom it befitted
for his goodness and piety to set over them; and a party of them
chose one Crow, saying, "It beseemeth that this be King over us,"
whilst others objected to him and would none of him; and thus
there arose division and dissension amidst them and the strife of
excitement waxed hot between them. At last they agreed amongst
themselves and consented to sleep the night upon it and that none
should go forth at dawn next day to seek his living, but that all
must wait till high morning, when they should gather together all
in one place. "Then," said they, "we will all take flight at once
and whichsoever shall soar above the rest in his flying, he shall
be accepted of us as ruler and be made King over us." The fancy
pleased them; so they made covenant together and did as they had
agreed and took flight all, but each of them deemed himself
higher than his fellow; wherefore quoth this one, "I am highest,"
and that, "Nay, that am I." Then said the lowest of them, "Look
up, all of you, and whomsoever ye find the highest of you, let
him be your chief." So they raised their eyes and seeing the Hawk
soaring over them, said each to other, "We agreed that which bird
soever should be the highest of us we will make king over us, and
behold, the Hawk is the highest of us; what say ye to him?" And
they all cried out, "We accept of him." Accordingly they summoned
the Hawk and said to him, "O Father of Good,[FN#90] we have
chosen thee ruler over us, that thou mayst look into our affair."
The Hawk consented, saying, "Inshallah, ye shall win of me
abounding weal." So they rejoiced and made him their King. But
after awhile, he fell to taking a company of them every day and
betaking himself with them afar off to one of the caves, where he
struck them down and eating their eyes and brains, threw their
bodies into the river. And he ceased not doing on this wise, it
being his intent to destroy them all till, seeing their number
daily diminishing, the Crows flocked to him and said, "O our
King, we complain to thee because from the date we made thee
Sovran and ruler over us, we are in the sorriest case and every
day a company of us is missing and we know not the reason of
this, more by token that the most part thereof are the high in
rank and of those in attendance on thee. We must now look after
our own safety." Thereupon the Hawk waxed wroth with them and
said to them, "Verily, ye are the murtherers, and ye forestall me
with accusation!" So saying, he pounced upon them and tearing to
pieces half a score of their chiefs in front of the rest,
threatened them and crave them out, sorely cuffed and beaten,
from before him. Hereat they repented them of that which they had
done and said, "We have known no good since the death of our
first King especially in the deed of this stranger in kind; but
we deserve our sufferings even had he destroyed us one by one to
the last of us, and there is exemplified in us the saying of him
that saith, 'Whoso submitteth him not to the rule of his own
folk, the foe hath dominion over him, of his folly.' And now
there is nothing for it but to flee for our lives, else shall we
perish." So they took flight and dispersed to various places.
"And we also, O King," continued the Wazir, "feared lest the like
of this befal us and there become ruler over us a King other than
thyself; but Allah hath vouchsafed us this boon and hath sent us
this blessed child, and now we are assured of peace and union and
security and prosperity in our Mother-land. So lauded be Almighty
Allah and to Him be praise and thanks and goodly gratitude! And
may He bless the King and us all his subjects and vouchsafe unto
us and him the acme of felicity and make his life-tide happy and
his endeavour constant!" Then arose the sixth Wazir and said,
"Allah favour thee with all fell city, O King, in this world and
in the next world! Verily, the ancients have left us this saying,
'Whoso prayeth and fasteth and giveth parents their due and is
just in his rule meeteth his Lord and He is well pleased with
him.' Thou hast been set over us and hast ruled us justly and
thine every step in this hath been blessed; wherefore we beseech
Allah Almighty to make great thy reward eternal and requite thee
thy beneficence. I have heard what this wise man hath said
respecting our fear for the loss of our prosperity, by reason of
the death of the King or the advent of another who should not be
his parallel, and how after him dissensions would be rife among
us and calamity betide from our division and how it behoved us
therefore to be instant in prayer to Allah the Most High, so
haply He might vouchsafe the King a happy son to inherit the
kingship after him. But, after all, the issue of that which man
desireth of mundane goods and wherefor he lusteth is unknown to
him and consequently it behoveth a mortal to ask not of his Lord
a thing whose end he wotteth not; for that haply the hurt of that
thing is nearer to him than its gain and his destruction may be
in that he seeketh and there may befal him what befel the Serpent
charmer, his wife and children and the folk of his house."--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her
permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Seventh Night,

She said: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
sixth Wazir said, "It behoveth not a man to ask of his Lord aught
whereof he ignoreth the issue for that haply the hurt of that
thing may be nearer than its gain, his destruction may be in that
he seeketh and there may befal him what befel the Serpent
charmer, his children, his wife and his household," the King
asked, "What was that?"; and the Wazir answered, "Hear, O King
the tale of




The Serpent charmer and his Wife.



There was once a man, a Serpent-charmer,[FN#91] who used to train
serpents, and this was his trade; and he had a great
basket,[FN#92] wherein were three snakes, but the people of his
house knew this not. Every day he used to go round with this
pannier about the town gaining his living and that of his family
by showing the snakes, and at eventide he returned to his house
and clapped them back into the basket privily. This lasted a long
while, but it chanced one day, when he came home, as was his
wont, his wife asked him, saying, "What is in this pannier?" And
he replied, "What wouldest thou with it? Is not provision
plentiful with you? Be thou content with that which Allah hath
allotted to thee and ask not of aught else." With this the woman
held her peace; but she said in herself, "There is no help but
that I search this basket and know what is there." So she egged
on her children and enjoined them to ask him of the pannier and
importune him with their questions, till he should tell them what
was therein. They presently concluded that it contained something
to eat and sought every day of their father that he should show
them what was therein; and he still put them off with pleasant
presences and forbade them from asking this. On such wise they
abode awhile, the wife and mother still persisting in her quest
till they agreed with her that they would neither eat meat nor
drain drink with their father, till he granted them their prayer
and opened the basket to them. One night, behold, the Serpent-
charmer came home with great plenty of meat and drink and took
his seat calling them to eat with him, but they refused his
company and showed him anger. Whereupon he began to coax them
with fair words, saying, "Lookye, tell me what you would have,
that I may bring it you, be it meat or drink or raiment."
Answered they, "O our father, we want nothing of thee but that
thou open this pannier that we may see what is therein, else we
will slay ourselves." He rejoined, "O my children, there is
nothing good for you therein and indeed the opening of it will be
harmful to you." Hereat they redoubled in rage for all he could
say, which when he saw, he began to scold them and threaten them
with beating, except they returned from such condition; but they
only increased in anger and persistence in asking, till at last
he waxed wroth and took a staff to beat them, and they fled from
before him within the house. Now the basket was present and the
Serpent-charmer had not hidden it anywhere, so his wife left him
occupied with the children and opened the pannier in haste, that
she might see what was therein. Thereupon behold, the serpents
came out and first struck their fangs into her and killed her;
then they tried round about the house and slew all, great and
small, who were therein, except the Serpent-charmer, who left the
place and went his way. "If then, O auspicious King," continued
the Wazir, "thou consider this, thou wilt be convinced that it is
not for a man to desire aught save that which God the Great
refuseth not to him; nay, he should be content with what He
willeth. And thou, O King, for the overflowing of thy wisdom and
the excellence of thine understanding, Allah hath cooled thine
eyes with the advent of this thy son, after despair, and hath
comforted thy heart; wherefore we pray the Almighty to make him
of the just successors acceptable to Himself and to his
subjects." Then rose the seventh Wazir and said, "O King, I know
and certify all that my brethren, these Ministers wise and
learned, have said in the presence, praising thy justice and the
goodness of thy policy and proving how thou art distinguished in
this from all Kings other than thyself; wherefore they gave thee
the preference over them. Indeed, this be of that which is
incumbent on us, O King, and I say, 'Praised be Allah!' in that
He hath guerdoned thee with His gifts and vouchsafed thee of His
mercy, the welfare of the realm; and hath succoured thee and
ourselves, on condition that we increase in gratitude to Him; and
all this no otherwise than by thine existence! What while thou
remainest amongst us, we fear not oppression neither dread
upright, nor can any take long-handed advantage of our weakness!
and indeed it is said, 'The greatest good of a people is a just
King and their greatest ill an unjust King'; and again, 'Better
dwell with rending lions than with a tyrannous Sultan.' So
praised be Almighty Allah with eternal praise for that He hath
blessed us with thy life and vouchsafed thee this blessed child,
whenas thou wast stricken in years and hadst despaired of issue!
For the goodliest of the gifts in this world is a virtuous sire,
and it is said, 'Whoso hath no progeny his life is without result
and he leaveth no memory.' As for thee, because of the
righteousness of thy justice and thy pious reliance on Allah the
Most High, thou hast been vouchsafed this happy son; yea, this
blessed[FN#93] child cometh as a gift from the Most High Lord to
us and to thee, for the excellence of thy governance and the
goodliness of thy long-sufferance; and in this thou hast fared
even as fared the Spider and the Wind." Asked the King, "And what
is the story of the Spider and the Wind?"--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Eighth Night,

She continued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when
the King asked, "And what is the story of the twain?", the Wazir
answered, "Give ear, O King, to the tale of




The Spider and the Wind.



A Spider once attached herself to a high gate[FN#94] and retired
and span her web there and dwelt therein in peace, giving thanks
to the Almighty, who had made this dwelling-place easy to her and
had set her in safety from noxious reptiles. On this wise she
abode a long while, still giving thanks to Allah for her ease and
regular supply of daily bread, till her Creator bethought Him to
try her and make essay of her gratitude and patience. So he sent
upon her a strong east Wind, which carried her away, web and all,
and cast her into the main. The waves washed her ashore, and she
thanked the Lord for safety and began to upbraid the Wind,
saying, "O Wind, why hast thou dealt thus with me and what good
hast thou gotten by bearing me hither from my abiding-place,
where indeed I was in safety, secure in my home on the top of
that gate?" Replied the Wind, saying, "O Spider, hast thou not
learnt that this world is a house of calamities; and, say me, who
can boast of lasting happiness that such portion shall be thine?
Wottest thou not that Allah tempteth His creatures in order to
learn by trial what may be their powers of patience? How, then,
cloth it beset thee to upbraid me, thou who hast been saved by me
from the vasty deep?" "Thy words are true, O Wind," replied the
Spider, "yet not the less do I desire to escape from this
stranger land into which thy violence hath cast me." The Wind
rejoined, "Cease thy blaming, for right soon I will bear thee
back and replace thee in thy place, as thou wast aforetime." So
the Spider waited patiently till the north-east Wind left
blowing, and there arose a south-west Wind, which gently caught
her up and flew with her towards her dwelling-place; and when she
came to her abode, she knew it and clung to it. "And we,"
continued the Wazir, "beseech Allah (who hath rewarded the King
for his singleness of heart and patience and hath taken pity on
his subjects and blessed them with His favour and hath vouchsafed
the King this son in his old age, after he had despaired of issue
and removed him not from the world, till He had blessed him with
coolth of eyes and bestowed on him what He hath bestowed of
Kingship and Empire!) to vouchsafe unto thy son that which He
hath vouchsafed unto thee of dominion and Sultanship and glory!
Amen." Then said the King, "Praised be Allah over all praise and
thanks be to Him over all thanks! There is no god but He, the
Creator of all things, by the light of whose signs we know the
glory of His greatness and who giveth kingship and command over
his own country to whom He willeth of His servants! He chooseth
of them whomso He please to make him His viceroy and viceregent
over His creatures and commandeth him to just and equitable
dealing with them and the maintenance of religious laws and
practices and right conduct and constancy in ordering their
affairs to that which is most acceptable to Him and most grateful
to them. Whoso cloth thus and obeyeth the commandment of his
Lord, his desire attaineth and the orders of his God maintaineth;
so Providence preserveth him from the perils of the present world
and maketh ample his recompense in the future world; for indeed
He neglecteth not the reward of the righteous. And whoso cloth
otherwise than as Allah biddeth him sinneth mortal sin and
disobeyeth his Lord, preferring his mundane to his supra-mundane
weal. He hath no trace in this world and in the next no portion,
for Allah spareth not the unjust and the mischievous, nor cloth
He neglect any of His servants. These our Wazirs have set forth
how, by reason of our just dealing with them and our wise
governance of affairs, Allah hath vouchsafed us and them His
grace, for which it behoveth us to thank Him, because of the
great abundance of His mercies; each of them hath also spoken
that wherewith the Almighty inspired Him concerning this matter,
and they have vied one with another in rendering thanks to the
Most High Lord and praising Him for His favours and bounties. I
also render thanks to Allah for that I am but a slave commanded;
my heart is in His hand and my tongue in His subjection,
accepting that which He adjudgeth to me and to them, come what
may thereof. Each one of them hath said what passed through his
mind on the subject of this boy and hath set froth that which was
of the renewal of divine favour to us, after my rears had reached
the term when confidence faileth and despair assaileth. So
praised be Allah who hath saved us from disappointment and from
the alternation of rulers, like to the alternation of night and
day! For verily, this was a great boon both to them and to us;
wherefore we praise Almighty Allah who hath given a ready answer
to our prayer and hath blessed us with this boy and set him in
high place, as the inheritor of the kingship. And we entreat him,
of His bounty and clemency, to make him happy in his actions,
prone to pious works, so he may become a King and a Sultah
governing his people with justice and equity, guarding them from
perilous error and frowardness, of His grace, goodness and
generosity!" When the King had made an end of his speech, the
sages and Olema rose and prostrated themselves before Allah and
thanked the King; after which they kissed his hands and departed,
each to his own house, whilst Jali'ad withdrew into his prayers
for him and named him Wird Khan.[FN#95] The boy grew up till he
attained the age of twelve,[FN#96] when the King being minded to
have him taught the arts and sciences, bade build him a palace
amiddlemost the city, wherein were three hundred and threescore
rooms,[FN#97] and lodged him therin. Then he assigned him three
wise men of the Olema and bade them not be lax in teaching him
day and night and look that there was no kind of learning but
they instruct him hterin, so he might become versed in all
knowledge. He also commanded them to sit with him one day in each
of the rooms by turn and write on the door thereof that which
they had taught him therein of various kinds of lore and report
to himself, every seven days, whatso instructions they had
imparted to him. So they went in to the Prince and stinted not
from educating him day nor night, nor withheld from him aught of
that they knew; and presently there appeared in him readiness to
receive instruction such as none had shown before him. Every
seventh day his governors reported to the King what his son had
learnt and mastered, whereby Jali'ad became proficient in goodly
learning and fair culture, and the Olema said to him, "Never saw
we one so richly gifted with understanding as is this boy Allah
bless thee in him and give thee joy of his life!" When the Prince
had completed his twelfth year, he knew the better part of every
science and excelled all the Olema and sages of his day;
wherefore his governors brought him to his sire and said to him
"Allah gladden thine eyes, O King, with this auspicious youth! We
bring him to thee after he hath learnt all manner knowledge; and
there is not one of the learned men of the time nor a scientist
who hath attained to that whereto he hath attained of science."
The King rejoiced in this with joy exceeding and, thanking the
Almighty, prostrated himself in gratitude before Allah (to whom
belong Majesty and Might!), saying, "Laud be to the Lord for His
mercies incalculable!" Then he called his Chief Wazir and said to
him, "Know, O Shimas, that the governors of my son are come to
tell me that he hath mastered every kind of knowledge and there
is nothing but they have instructed him therein, so that he
surpasseth in this all who forewent him. What sayst thou, O
Shimas?" Hereat the Minister prostrated himself before Allah (to
whom belong Might and Majesty!) and kissed the King's hand,
saying, "Loath is the ruby stone, albeit be bedded in the hardest
rock on hill, to do aught but shine as a lamp, and this thy son
is such a gem. His tender age hath not hindered him from becoming
a sage and Alhamdolillah--praised be Allah--for that which He
deigned bestow on him! But to-morrow I will call an assembly of
the flower of the Emirs and men of learning and examine the
Prince and cause him speak forth that which is with him in their
presence, Inshallah!" ---And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Nine Hundred and Ninth Night,

She pursued: It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
King Jali'ad heard the words of his Wazir, Shimas, he commended
the attendance of the keenest-witted[FN#98] of the Olema and most
accomplished of the learned and sages of his dominions, and they
all presented themselves on the morrow at the door of the palace,
whereupon the King bade admit them. Then entered Shimas and
kissed the hands of the Prince, who rose and prostrated himself
to the Minister. But Shimas said, "It behoveth not the lion-whelp
to prostrate himself to any of the wild beasts, nor besitteth it
that Light prostrate itself to shade." Quoth the Prince, "Whenas
the lion-whelp seeth the leopard,[FN#99] he riseth up to him and
prostrateth himself before him because of his wisdom, and Light
prostrateth itself to shade for the purpose of disclosing that
which is therewithin." Quoth Shimas, "True, O my lord, but I
would have thee answer me anent whatso I shall ask thee, by leave
of His Highness and his lieges." And the youth said, "And I, with
permission of my sire, will answer thee." So Shimas began and
said, "Tell me what is the Eternal, the Absolute, and what are
the two manifestations thereof and whether of the two is the
abiding one?" Answered the Prince, "Allah (to whom belong Might
and Majesty!) is the Eternal, the Absolute; for that He is Alpha,
without beginning, and Omega, without end. Now his two
manifestations[FN#100] are this world and the next, and the
abiding one of the two is the world to come." Q "Thou sayst truly
and I approve thy reply; but I would have thee tell me, how
knowest thou that one of Allah's manifestations is this world and
the other the world to come?"--"I know this because this world
was created from nothingness and had not its being from any
existing thing; wherefore its affair is referable to the first
essence. Moreover, it is a commodity swift of ceasing, the works
whereof call for requital of action and this postulateth the
reproduction[FN#101] of whatso passeth away; so the next world is
the second manifestation." Q "Now inform me how knowest thou that
the world to come is the abiding one of the two existences?"--
"Because it is the house of requital for deeds done in this world
prepared by the Eternal sans surcease." Q "Who are the people of
this world most to be praised for their practice?"--"Those who
prefer their weal in the world to come before their weal in this
world." Q "And who is he that preferreth his future to his
present welfare?"--"He who knoweth that he dwelleth in a
perishing house, that he was created but to vade away and that,
after vading away, he will be called to account and indeed, were
there in this world one living and abiding for ever, he would not
prefer it to the next world." Q "Can the future life subsist
permanently without the present?"--"He who hath no present life
hath no future life; and indeed I liken this world and its folk
and the goal to which they fare with certain workmen, for whom an
Emir buildeth a narrow house and lodgeth them therein, commanding
each of them to do a certain task and assigning to him a set term
and appointing one to act as steward over them. Whoso doeth the
work appointed unto him, the steward bringeth him forth of that
straitness; but whoso doeth it not within the stablished term is
punished. After awhile, behold, they find honey exuding from the
chinks of the house,[FN#102] and when they have eaten thereof and
tasted its sweetness of savour, they slacken in their ordered
task and cast it behind their backs. So they patiently suffer the
straitness and distress wherein they are, with what they know of
the future punishment whereto they are fast wending, and are
content with this worthless and easily won sweetness; and the
Steward leaveth not to fetch every one of them forth of the
house, for ill or good, when his appointed period shall have
come. Now we know the world to be a dwelling wherein all eyes are
dazed, and that each of its folk hath his set term; and he who
findeth the little sweetness that is in the world and busieth
himself therewith is of the number of the lost, since he
preferreth the things of this world to the things of the next
world; but whoso payeth no heed to this poor sweetness and
preferreth the things of the coming world to those of this world,
is of those who are saved." Q "I have heard what thou sayest of
this world and the next and I accept thine answer; but I see they
are as two placed in authority over man; needs must he content
them both, and they are contrary one to other. So, if the
creature set himself to seek his livelihood, it is harmful to his
soul in the future, and if he devote himself to the next world,
it is hurtful to his body, and there is no way for him of
pleasing these two contraries at once."--"Indeed, the quest of
one's worldly livelihood with pious intent and on lawful wise is
a viaticum for the quest of the goods of the world to come; if a
man spend a part of his days in seeking his livelihood in this
world, for the sustenance of his body, and devote the rest of his
day to seeking the goods of the next world, for the repose of his
soul and the warding off of hurt therefrom; and indeed I see this
world and the other world as they were two Kings, a just and an
unjust." Asked Shimas, "How so?" and the youth began the tale of

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