The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 1

R >> Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 1

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She rose like the morn as she shone through the night * And she
gilded the grove with her gracious sight:
From her radiance the sun taketh increase when * She unveileth
and shameth the moonshine bright.
Bow down all beings between her hands * As she showeth charms
with her veil undight.
And she foodeth cities[FN#13] with torrent tears * When she
flasheth her look of levee light.

The Jinni seated her under the tree by his side and looking at
her said, "O choicest love of this heart of mine! O dame of
noblest line, whom I snatched away on thy bride night that none
might prevent me taking thy maidenhead or tumble thee before I
did, and whom none save myself hath loved or hath enjoyed: O my
sweetheart! I would fief sleep a little while." He then laid his
head upon the lady's thighs; and, stretching out his legs which
extended down to the sea, slept and snored and sparked like the
roll of thunder. Presently she raised her head towards the tree
top and saw the two Kings perched near the summit; then she
softly lifted off her lap the Jinni's pate which she was tired of
supporting and placed it upon the ground; then standing upright
under the tree signed to the Kings, "Come ye down, ye two, and
fear naught from this Ifrit."[FN#14] They were in a terrible
fright when they found that she had seen them and answered her in
the same manner, "Allah upon thee[FN#15] and by thy modesty, O
lady, excuse us from coming down!" But she rejoined by saying,
"Allah upon you both, that ye come down forthright, and if ye
come not, I will rouse upon you my husband, this Ifrit, and he
shall do you to die by the illest of deaths;" and she continued
making signals to them. So, being afraid, they came down to her
and she rose be fore them and said, "Stroke me a strong stroke,
without stay or delay, otherwise will I arouse and set upon you
this Ifrit who shall slay you straightway." They said to her, "O
our lady, we conjure thee by Allah, let us off this work, for we
are fugitives from such and in extreme dread and terror of this
thy husband. How then can we do it in such a way as thou
desires"?" "Leave this talk: it needs must be so;" quoth she, and
she swore them by Him[FN#16] who raised the skies on high,
without prop or pillar, that, if they worked not her will, she
would cause them to be slain and cast into the sea. Whereupon out
of fear King Shahryar said to King Shah Zaman, "O my brother, do
thou what she biddeth thee do;" but he replied, "I will not do it
till thou do it before I do." And they began disputing about
futtering her. Then quoth she to the twain, "How is it I see you
disputing and demurring; if ye do not come forward like men and
do the deed of kind ye two, I will arouse upon you the If rit."
At this, by reason of their sore dread of the Jinni, both did by
her what she bade them do; and, when they had dismounted from
her, she said, "Well done!" She then took from her pocket a purse
and drew out a knotted string, whereon were strung five hundred
and seventy[FN#17] seal rings, and asked, "Know ye what be
these?" They answered her saying, "We know not!" Then quoth she;
"These be the signets of five hundred and seventy men who have
all futtered me upon the horns of this foul, this foolish, this
filthy Ifrit; so give me also your two seal rings, ye pair of
brothers." When they had drawn their two rings from their hands
and given them to her, she said to them, "Of a truth this If rit
bore me off on my bride night, and put me into a casket and set
the casket in a coffer and to the coffer he affixed seven strong
padlocks of steel and deposited me on the deep bottom of the sea
that raves, dashing and clashing with waves; and guarded me so
that I might remain chaste and honest, quotha! none save himself
might have connexion with me. But I have lain under as many of my
kind as I please, and this wretched Jinni wotteth not that Des
tiny may not be averted nor hindered by aught, and that whatso
woman willeth the same she fulfilleth however man nilleth. Even
so saith one of them.--

Rely not on women; * Trust not to their hearts,
Whose joys and whose sorrows * Are hung to their parts!
Lying love they will swear thee * Whence guile ne'er departs:
Take Yusuf[FN#18] for sample * 'Ware sleights and 'ware smarts!
Iblis[FN#19] ousted Adam * (See ye not?) thro' their arts.

And another saith:--

Stint thy blame, man! 'Twill drive to a passion without bound; *
My fault is not so heavy as fault in it hast found.
If true lover I become, then to me there cometh not * Save what
happened unto many in the bygone stound.
For wonderful is he and right worthy of our praise * Who from
wiles of female wits kept him safe and kept him sound."

Hearing these words they marvelled with exceeding marvel, and she
went from them to the Ifrit and, taking up his head on her thigh
as before, said to them softly, "Now wend your ways and bear
yourselves beyond the bounds of his malice." So they fared forth
saying either to other, "Allah! Allah!" and, "There be no Majesty
and there be no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great; and
with Him we seek refuge from women's malice and sleight, for of a
truth it hath no mate in might. Consider, O my brother, the ways
of this marvellous lady with an Ifrit who is so much more
powerful than we are. Now since there hath hap pened to him a
greater mishap than that which befel us and which should bear us
abundant consolation, so return we to our countries and capitals,
and let us decide never to intermarry with womankind and
presently we will show them what will be our action." Thereupon
they rode back to the tents of King Shahryar, which they reached
on the morning of the third day; and, having mustered the Wazirs
and Emirs, the Chamberlains and high officials, he gave a robe of
honour to his Viceroy and issued orders for an immediate return
to the city. There he sat him upon his throne and sending for the
Chief Minister, the father of the two damsels who (Inshallah!)
will presently be mentioned, he said, "I command thee to take my
wife and smite her to death; for she hath broken her plight and
her faith." So he carried her to the place of execution and did
her die. Then King Shahryar took brand in hand and repairing to
the Serraglio slew all the concubines and their Mamelukes.[FN#20]
He also sware himself by a binding oath that whatever wife he
married he would abate her maidenhead at night and slay her next
morning to make sure of his honour; "For," said he, "there never
was nor is there one chaste woman upon face of earth." Then Shah
Zaman prayed for permission to fare homewards; and he went forth
equipped and escorted and travelled till he reached his own
country. Mean while Shahryar commanded his Wazir to bring him the
bride of the night that he might go in to her; so he produced a
most beautiful girl, the daughter of one of the Emirs and the
King went in unto her at eventide and when morning dawned he bade
his Minister strike off her head; and the Wazir did accordingly
for fear of the Sultan. On this wise he continued for the space
of three years; marrying a maiden every night and killing her the
next morning, till folk raised an outcry against him and cursed
him, praying Allah utterly to destroy him and his rule; and women
made an uproar and mothers wept and parents fled with their
daughters till there remained not in the city a young person fit
for carnal copulation. Presently the King ordered his Chief
Wazir, the same who was charged with the executions, to bring him
a virgin as was his wont; and the Minister went forth and
searched and found none; so he returned home in sorrow and
anxiety fearing for his life from the King. Now he had two
daughters, Shahrazad and Dunyazad hight,[FN#21] of whom the elder
had perused the books, annals and legends of preceding Kings, and
the stories, examples and instances of by gone men and things;
indeed it was said that she had collected a thousand books of
histories relating to antique races and departed rulers. She had
perused the works of the poets and knew them by heart; she had
studied philosophy and the sciences, arts and accomplish meets;
and she was pleasant and polite, wise and witty, well read and
well bred. Now on that day she said to her father, "Why do I see
thee thus changed and laden with cark and care? Concerning this
matter quoth one of the poets.--

Tell whoso hath sorrow * Grief never shall last:
E'en as joy hath no morrow * So woe shall go past."

When the Wazir heard from his daughter these words he related to
her, from first to last, all that had happened between him and
the King. Thereupon said she, "By Allah, O my father, how long
shall this slaughter of women endure? Shall I tell thee what is
in my mind in order to save both sides from destruction?" "Say
on, O my daughter," quoth he, and quoth she, "I wish thou wouldst
give me in marriage to this King Shahryar; either I shall live or
I shall be a ransom for the virgin daughters of Moslems and the
cause of their deliverance from his hands and thine."[FN#22]
"Allah upon thee!" cried he in wrath exceeding that lacked no
feeding, "O scanty of wit, expose not thy life to such peril! How
durst thou address me in words so wide from wisdom and un far
from foolishness? Know that one who lacketh experience in worldly
matters readily falleth into misfortune; and whoso considereth
not the end keepeth not the world to friend, and the vulgar say:-
-I was lying at mine ease: nought but my officiousness brought me
unease." "Needs must thou," she broke in, "make me a doer of this
good deed, and let him kill me an he will: I shall only die a
ransom for others." "O my daughter," asked he. "and how shall
that profit thee when thou shalt have thrown away thy life?" and
she answered, "O my father it must be, come of it what will!" The
Wazir was again moved to fury and blamed and reproached her,
ending with, "In very deed--I fear lest the same befal thee which
befel the Bull and the Ass with the Husband man." "And what,"
asked she, "befel them, O my father?" Whereupon the Wazir began
the

Tale of the Bull[FN#23] and the Ass.

Know, O my daughter, that there was once a merchant who owned
much money and many men, and who was rich in cattle and camels;
he had also a wife and family and he dwelt in the country, being
experienced in husbandry and devoted to agriculture. Now Allah
Most High had endowed him with under standing the tongues of
beasts and birds of every kind, but under pain of death if he
divulged the gift to any. So he kept it secret for very fear. He
had in his cow house a Bull and an Ass each tethered in his own
stall one hard by the other. As the merchant was sitting near
hand one day with his servants and his children were playing
about him, he heard the Bull say to the Ass, "Hail and health to
thee O Father of Waking![FN#24] for that thou enjoyest rest and
good ministering; all under thee is clean swept and fresh
sprinkled; men wait upon thee and feed thee, and thy provaunt is
sifted barley and thy drink pure spring water, while I (unhappy
creature!) am led forth in the middle of the night, when they set
on my neck the plough and a something called Yoke; and I tire at
cleaving the earth from dawn of day till set of sun. I am forced
to do more than I can and to bear all manner of ill treatment
from night to night; after which they take me back with my sides
torn, my neck flayed, my legs aching and mine eyelids sored with
tears. Then they shut me up in the byre and throw me beans and
crushed straw,[FN#25] mixed with dirt and chaff; and I lie in
dung and filth and foul stinks through the livelong night. But
thou art ever in a place swept and sprinkled and cleansed, and
thou art always lying at ease, save when it happens (and seldom
enough!) that the master hath some business, when he mounts thee
and rides thee to town and returns with thee forthright. So it
happens that I am toiling and distress while thou takest thine
ease and thy rest; thou sleepest while I am sleepless; I hunger
still while thou eatest thy fill, and I win contempt while thou
winnest good will." When the Bull ceased speaking, the Ass turned
to wards him and said, "O Broad o' Brow,[FN#26] 0 thou lost one!
he lied not who dubbed thee Bull head, for thou, O father of a
Bull, hast neither forethought nor contrivance; thou art the
simplest of simpletons,[FN#27] and thou knowest naught of good
advisers. Hast thou not heard the saying of the wise:--

For others these hardships and labours I bear * And theirs is the
pleasure and mine is the care;
As the bleacher who blacketh his brow in the sun * To whiten the
raiment which other men wear.[FN#28]

But thou, O fool, art full of zeal and thou toilest and moilest
before the master; and thou tearest and wearest and slayest thy
self for the comfort of another. Hast thou never heard the saw
that saith, None to guide and from the way go wide? Thou wendest
forth at the call to dawn prayer and thou returnest not till
sundown; and through the livelong day thou endurest all manner
hardships; to wit, beating and belabouring and bad language. Now
hearken to me, Sir Bull! when they tie thee to thy stinking
manger, thou pawest the ground with thy forehand and rashest out
with thy hind hoofs and pushest with thy horns and bellowest
aloud, so they deem thee contented. And when they throw thee thy
fodder thou fallest on it with greed and hastenest to line thy
fair fat paunch. But if thou accept my advice it will be better
for thee and thou wilt lead an easier life even than mine. When
thou goest a field and they lay the thing called Yoke on thy
neck, lie down and rise not again though haply they swinge thee;
and, if thou rise, lie down a second time; and when they bring
thee home and offer thee thy beans, fall backwards and only sniff
at thy meat and withdraw thee and taste it not, and be satis fied
with thy crushed straw and chaff; and on this wise feign thou art
sick, and cease not doing thus for a day or two days or even
three days, so shalt thou have rest from toil and moil." When the
Bull heard these words he knew the Ass to be his friend and
thanked him, saying, "Right is thy rede;" and prayed that all
blessings might requite him, and cried, "O Father Wakener![FN#29]
thou hast made up for my failings." (Now[FN#30] the merchant, O
my daughter, understood all that passed between them.) Next day
the driver took the Bull, and settling the plough on his
neck,[FN#31] made him work as wont; but the Bull began to shirk
his ploughing, according to the advice of the Ass, and the
ploughman drubbed him till he broke the yoke and made off; but
the man caught him up and leathered him till he despaired of his
life. Not the less, however, would he do nothing but stand still
and drop down till the evening. Then the herd led him home and
stabled him in his stall: but he drew back from his manger and
neither stamped nor ramped nor butted nor bellowed as he was wont
to do; whereat the man wondered. He brought him the beans and
husks, but he sniffed at them and left them and lay down as far
from them as he could and passed the whole night fasting. The
peasant came next morning; and, seeing the manger full of beans,
the crushed straw untasted and the ox lying on his back in
sorriest plight, with legs outstretched and swollen belly, he was
concerned for him, and said to himself, "By Allah, he hath
assuredly sickened and this is the cause why he would not plough
yesterday." Then he went to the merchant and reported, "O my
master, the Bull is ailing; he refused his fodder last night; nay
more, he hath not tasted a scrap of it this morning." Now the
merchant farmer understood what all this meant, because he had
overheard the talk between the Bull and the Ass, so quoth he,
"Take that rascal donkey, and set the yoke on his neck, and bind
him to the plough and make him do Bull's work." Thereupon the
ploughman took the Ass, and worked him through the live long day
at the Bull's task; and, when he failed for weakness, he made him
eat stick till his ribs were sore and his sides were sunken and
his neck was hayed by the yoke; and when he came home in the
evening he could hardly drag his limbs along, either fore hand or
hind legs. But as for the Bull, he had passed the day lying at
full length and had eaten his fodder with an excellent appetite,
and he ceased not calling down blessings on the Ass for his good
advice, unknowing what had come to him on his ac count. So when
night set in and the Ass returned to the byte the Bull rose up
before him in honour, and said, "May good tidings gladden thy
heart, O Father Wakener! through thee I have rested all this day
and I have eaten my meat in peace and quiet." But the Ass
returned no reply, for wrath and heart burning and fatigue and
the beating he had gotten; and he repented with the most grievous
of repentance; and quoth he to himself: "This cometh of my folly
in giving good counsel; as the saw saith, I was in joy and
gladness, nought save my officiousness brought me this sadness.
But I will bear in mind my innate worth and the nobility of my
nature; for what saith the poet?

Shall the beautiful hue of the Basil[FN#32] fail * Tho' the
beetle's foot o'er the Basil crawl?
And though spider and fly be its denizens * Shall disgrace attach
to the royal hall?
The cowrie,[FN#33] I ken, shall have currency * But the pearl's
clear drop, shall its value fall?

And now I must take thought and put a trick upon him and return
him to his place, else I die." Then he went aweary to his manger,
while the Bull thanked him and blessed him. And even so, O my
daughter, said the Wazir, thou wilt die for lack of wits;
therefore sit thee still and say naught and expose not thy life
to such stress; for, by Allah, I offer thee the best advice,
which cometh of my affection and kindly solicitude for thee." "O
my father," she answered, "needs must I go up to this King and be
married to him." Quoth he, "Do not this deed;" and quoth she, "Of
a truth I will:" whereat he rejoined, "If thou be not silent and
bide still, I will do with thee even what the merchant did with
his wife." "And what did he?" asked she. "Know then, answered the
Wazir, that after the return of the Ass the merchant came out on
the terrace roof with his wife and family, for it was a moonlit
night and the moon at its full. Now the ter race overlooked the
cowhouse and presently, as he sat there with his children playing
about him, the trader heard the Ass say to the Bull, "Tell me, O
Father Broad o' Brow, what thou purposest to do to morrow?" The
Bull answered, "What but continue to follow thy counsel, O
Aliboron? Indeed it was as good as good could be and it hath
given me rest and repose; nor will I now depart from it one
little: so, when they bring me my meat, I will refuse it and blow
out my belly and counterfeit crank." The Ass shook his head and
said, "Beware of so doing, O Father of a Bull!" The Bull asked,
"Why," and the Ass answered, "Know that I am about to give thee
the best of counsel, for verily I heard our owner say to the
herd, If the Bull rise not from his place to do his work this
morning and if he retire from his fodder this day, make him over
to the butcher that he may slaughter him and give his flesh to
the poor, and fashion a bit of leather[FN#34] from his hide. Now
I fear for thee on account of this. So take my advice ere a
calamity befal thee; and when they bring thee thy fodder eat it
and rise up and bellow and paw the ground, or our master will
assuredly slay thee: and peace be with thee!" Thereupon the Bull
arose and lowed aloud and thanked the Ass, and said, "To morrow I
will readily go forth with them;" and he at once ate up all his
meat and even licked the manger. (All this took place and the
owner was listening to their talk.) Next morning the trader and
his wife went to the Bull's crib and sat down, and the driver
came and led forth the Bull who, seeing his owner, whisked his
tail and brake wind, and frisked about so lustily that the
merchant laughed a loud laugh and kept laughing till he fell on
his back. His wife asked him, "Whereat laughest thou with such
loud laughter as this?"; and he answered her, "I laughed at a
secret something which I have heard and seen but cannot say lest
I die my death." She returned, "Perforce thou must discover it to
me, and disclose the cause of thy laughing even if thou come by
thy death!" But he rejoined, "I cannot re veal what beasts and
birds say in their lingo for fear I die." Then quoth she, "By
Allah, thou liest! this is a mere pretext: thou laughest at none
save me, and now thou wouldest hide somewhat from me. But by the
Lord of the Heavens! an thou disclose not the cause I will no
longer cohabit with thee: I will leave thee at once." And she sat
down and cried. Whereupon quoth the merchant, "Woe betide thee!
what means thy weeping? Bear Allah and leave these words and
query me no more questions." "Needs must thou tell me the cause
of that laugh," said she, and he replied, "Thou wottest that when
I prayed Allah to vouchsafe me understanding of the tongues of
beasts and birds, I made a vow never to disclose the secret to
any under pain of dying on the spot." "No matter," cried she,
"tell me what secret passed between the Bull and the Ass and die
this very hour an thou be so minded;" and she ceased not to
importune him till he was worn out and clean distraught. So at
last he said, "Summon thy father and thy mother and our kith and
kin and sundry of our neighbours," which she did; and he sent for
the Kazi[FN#35] and his assessors, intending to make his will and
reveal to her his secret and die the death; for he loved her with
love exceeding because she was his cousin, the daughter of his
father's brother, and the mother of his children, and he had
lived with her a life of an hundred and twenty years. Then,
having assembled all the family and the folk of his
neighbourhood, he said to them, "By me there hangeth a strange
story, and 'tis such that if I discover the secret to any, I am a
dead man." Therefore quoth every one of those present to the
woman, "Allah upon thee, leave this sinful obstinacy and
recognise the right of this matter, lest haply thy husband and
the father of thy children die." But she rejoined, "I will not
turn from it till he tell me, even though he come by his death."
So they ceased to urge her; and the trader rose from amongst them
and repaired to an out house to per form Wuzu ablution,[FN#36]
and he purposed thereafter to return and to tell them his secret
and to die. Now, daughter Shahrazad, that mer chant had in his
out houses some fifty hens under one cock, and whilst making
ready to farewell his folk he heard one of his many farm dogs
thus address in his own tongue the Cock, who was flapping his
wings and crowing lustily and jumping from one hen's back to
another and treading all in turn, saying "O Chanti clear! how
mean is thy wit and how shameless is thy conduct! Be he
disappointed who brought thee up![FN#37] Art thou not ashamed of
thy doings on such a day as this!" "And what," asked the Rooster,
"hath occurred this day?" when the Dog answered, "Doss thou not
know that our master is this day making ready for his death? His
wife is resolved that he shall disclose the secret taught to him
by Allah, and the moment he so doeth he shall surely die. We dogs
are all a mourning; but thou clappest thy wings and clarionest
thy loudest and treadest hen after hen. Is this an hour for
pastime and pleasuring? Art thou not ashamed of thyself?"[FN#38]
"Then by Allah," quoth the Cock, "is our master a lack wit and a
man scanty of sense: if he cannot manage matters with a single
wife, his life is not worth prolonging. Now I have some fifty
Dame Partlets; and I please this and provoke that and starve one
and stuff another; and through my good governance they are all
well under my control. This our master pretendeth to wit and
wisdom, and he hath but one wife, and yet knoweth not how to
manage her." Asked the Dog, "What then, O Cock, should the master
do to win clear of his strait?" "He should arise forthright,"
answered the Cock, "and take some twigs from yon mulberry tree
and give her a regular back basting and rib roasting till she
cry:--I repent, O my lord! I will never ask thee a question as
long as I live! Then let him beat her once more and soundly, and
when he shall have done this he shall sleep free from care and
enjoy life. But this master of ours owns neither sense nor
judgment." "Now, daughter Shahrazad," continued the Wazir, "I
will do to thee as did that husband to that wife." Said
Shahrazad, "And what did he do?" He replied, "When the merchant
heard the wise words spoken by his Cock to his Dog, he arose in
haste and sought his wife's chamber, after cutting for her some
mulberry twigs and hiding them there; and then he called to her,
"Come into the closet that I may tell thee the secret while no
one seeth me and then die." She entered with him and he locked
the door and came down upon her with so sound a beating of back
and shoulders, ribs, arms and legs, saying the while, "Wilt thou
ever be asking questions about what concerneth thee not?" that
she was well nigh senseless. Presently she cried out, "I am of
the repentant! By Allah, I will ask thee no more questions, and
indeed I repent sincerely and wholesomely." Then she kissed his
hand and feet and he led her out of the room submissive as a wife
should be. Her parents and all the company rejoiced and sadness
and mourn ing were changed into joy and gladness. Thus the
merchant learnt family discipline from his Cock and he and his
wife lived together the happiest of lives until death. And thou
also, O my daughter!" continued the Wazir, "Unless thou turn from
this matter I will do by thee what that trader did to his wife."
But she answered him with much decision, "I will never desist, O
my father, nor shall this tale change my purpose. Leave such talk
and tattle. I will not listen to thy words and, if thou deny me,
I will marry myself to him despite the nose of thee. And first I
will go up to the King myself and alone and I will say to him:--I
prayed my father to wive me with thee, but he refused being
resolved to disappoint his lord, grudging the like of me to the
like of thee." Her father asked, "Must this needs be?" and she
answered, "Even so." Hereupon the Wazir being weary of lamenting
and contending, persuading and dissuading her, all to no purpose,
went up to King Shahryar and after blessing him and kissing the
ground before him, told him all about his dispute with his
daughter from first to last and how he designed to bring her to
him that night. The King wondered with exceeding wonder; for he
had made an especial exception of the Wazir's daughter, and said
to him, "O most faithful of Counsellors, how is this? Thou
wottest that I have sworn by the Raiser of the Heavens that after
I have gone in to her this night I shall say to thee on the
morrow's morning:--Take her and slay her! and, if thou slay her
not, I will slay thee in her stead without fail." "Allah guide
thee to glory and lengthen thy life, O King of the age," answered
the Wazir, "it is she that hath so determined: all this have I
told her and more; but she will not hearken to me and she
persisteth in passing this coming night with the King's Majesty."
So Shahryar rejoiced greatly and said, "'Tis well; go get her
ready and this night bring her to me." The Wazir returned to his
daughter and reported to her the command saying, "Allah make not
thy father desolate by thy loss!" But Shah razed rejoiced with
exceeding joy and get ready all she required and said to her
younger sister, Dunyazad, "Note well what directions I entrust to
thee! When I have gone in to the King I will send for thee and
when thou comest to me and seest that he hath had his carnal will
of me, do thou say to me:--O my sister, an thou be not sleepy,
relate to me some new story, delectable and delightsome, the
better to speed our waking hours;" and I will tell thee a tale
which shall be our deliverance, if so Allah please, and which
shall turn the King from his blood thirsty custom." Dunyazad
answered "With love and gladness." So when it was night their
father the Wazir carried Shahrazad to the King who was gladdened
at the sight and asked, "Hast thou brought me my need?" and he
answered, "I have." But when the King took her to his bed and
fell to toying with her and wished to go in to her she wept;
which made him ask, "What aileth thee?" She replied, "O King of
the age, I have a younger sister and fief would I take leave of
her this night before I see the dawn." So he sent at once for
Dunyazad and she came and kissed the ground between his hands,
when he permitted her to take her seat near the foot of the
couch. Then the King arose and did away with his bride's
maidenhead and the three fell asleep. But when it was midnight
Shahrazad awoke and signalled to her sister Dunyazad who sat up
and said, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, recite to us some new
story, delightsome and delectable, wherewith to while away the
waking hours of our latter night."[FN#39] "With joy and goodly
gree," answered Shahrazad, "if this pious and auspicious King
permit me." "Tell on," quoth the King who chanced to be sleepless
and restless and therefore was pleased with the prospect of
hearing her story. So Shahrazad rejoiced; and thus, on the first
night of the Thousand Nights and a Night, she began with the

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