The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 3
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Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 3
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And yet another,
'A boy of twice ten is fit for a King!'
And yet another,
'The penis smooth and round was made with anus best to match
it, * Had it been made for cunnus' sake it had been formed
like hatchet!'
And yet another said,
'My soul thy sacrifice! I chose thee out *
Who art not menstruous nor oviparous:
Did I with woman mell, I should beget *
Brats till the wide wide world grew strait for us.'
And yet another,
'She saith (sore hurt in sense the most acute *
For she had proffered what did not besuit),
'Unless thou stroke as man should swive his wife *
Blame not when horns thy brow shall incornute!
Thy wand seems waxen, to a limpo grown, *
And more I palm it, softer grows the brute!'
And yet another,
'Quoth she (for I to lie with her forbore), *
'O folly-following fool, O fool to core:
If thou my coynte for Kiblah[FN#342] to thy coigne *
Reject, we'll shall please thee more.'[FN#343]
And yet another,
'She proffered me a tender coynte *
Quoth I 'I will not roger thee!'
She drew back, saying, 'From the Faith *
He turns, who's turned by Heaven's decree![FN#344]
And front wise fluttering, in one day, *
Is obsolete persistency!'
Then swung she round and shining rump *
Like silvern lump she showed me!
I cried: 'Well done, O mistress mine! *
No more am I in pain for thee;
O thou of all that Allah oped[FN#345] *
Showest me fairest victory!'
And yet another,
'Men craving pardon will uplift their hands; *
Women pray pardon with their legs on high:
Out on it for a pious, prayerful work! *
The Lord shall raise it in the depths to lie.'"[FN#346]
When Kamar al-Zaman heard her quote this poetry, and was
certified that there was no escaping compliance with what willed
she, he said, "O King of the age, if thou must needs have it so,
make covenant with me that thou wilt do this thing with me but
once, though it avail not to correct thy depraved appetite, and
that thou wilt never again require this thing of me to the end of
time; so perchance shall Allah purge me of the sin." She replied
"I promise thee this thing, hoping that Allah of His favour will
relent towards us and blot out our mortal offence; for the girdle
of heaven's forgiveness is not indeed so strait, but it may
compass us around and absolve us of the excess of our heinous
sins and bring us to the light of salvation out of the darkness
of error; and indeed excellently well saith the poet,
'Of evil thing the folk suspect us twain; *
And to this thought their hearts and souls are bent:
Come, dear! let's justify and free their souls *
That wrong us; one good bout and then--repent!'''[FN#347]
Thereupon she made him an agreement and a covenant and swore a
solemn oath by Him who is Self-existent, that this thing should
befal betwixt them but once and never again for all time, and
that the desire of him was driving her to death and perdition. So
he rose up with her, on this condition, and went with her to her
own boudoir, that she might quench the lowe of her lust, saying,
"There is no Majesty, and there is no Might save in Allah, the
Glorious, the Great! This is the fated decree of the All-
powerful, the All-wise!"; and he doffed his bag-trousers,
shamefull and abashed, with the tears running from his eyes for
stress of affright. Thereat she smiled and making him mount upon
a couch with her, said to him, "After this night, thou shalt see
naught that will offend thee." Then she turned to him bussing and
bosoming him and bending calf over calf, and said to him, "Put
thy hand between my thighs to the accustomed place; so haply it
may stand up to prayer after prostration." He wept and cried, "I
am not good at aught of this," but she said, "By my life, an thou
do as I bid thee, it shall profit thee!" So he put out his hand,
with vitals a-fire for confusion, and found her thighs cooler
than cream and softer than silk. The touching of them pleasured
him and he moved his hand hither and thither, till it came to a
dome abounding in good gifts and movements and shifts, and said
in himself, "Perhaps this King is a hermaphrodite,[FN#348]
neither man nor woman quite;" so he said to her, "O King, I
cannot find that thou hast a tool like the tools of men; what
then moved thee to do this deed?" Then loudly laughed Queen Budur
till she fell on her back,[FN#349] and said, "O my dearling, how
quickly thou hast forgotten the nights we have lain together!"
Then she made herself known to him, and he knew her for his wife,
the Lady Budur, daughter of King al-Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and
the Seas. So he embraced her and she embraced him, and he kissed
her and she kissed him; then they lay down on the bed of pleasure
voluptuous, repeating the words of the poet,
"When his softly bending shape bid him close to my embrace *
Which clips him all about like the tendrils of the vine
And shed a flood of softness on the hardness of his heart, *
He yielded though at first he was minded to decline;
And dreading lest the railer's eye should light upon his form, *
Came armoured with caution to baffle his design:
His waist makes moan of hinder cheeks that weigh upon his feet *
Like heavy load of merchandise upon young camel li'en;
Girt with his glances scymitar which seemed athirst for blood, *
And clad in mail of dusky curls that show the sheeniest
shine,
His fragrance wafted happy news of footstep coming nigh, *
And to him like a bird uncaged I flew in straightest line:
I spread my cheek upon his path, beneath his sandal-shoon, *
And lo! the stibium[FN#350] of their dust healed all my hurt
of eyne.
With one embrace again I bound the banner of our loves[FN#351] *
And loosed the knot of my delight that bound in bonds
malign:
Then bade I make high festival, and straight came flocking in *
Pure joys that know not grizzled age[FN#352] nor aught of
pain and pine:
The full moon dotted with the stars the lips and pearly teeth *
That dance right joyously upon the bubbling face of wine:
So in the prayer-niche of their joys I yielded me to what *
Would make the humblest penitent of sinner most indign.
I swear by all the signs[FN#353] of those glories in his face *
I'll ne'er forget the Chapter entituled Al-Ikhlas."[FN#354]
Then Queen Budur told Kamar al-Zaman all that had befallen her
from beginning to end and he did likewise; after which he began
to upbraid her, saying, "What moved thee to deal with me as thou
hast done this night?" She replied, "Pardon me! for I did this by
way of jest, and that pleasure and gladness might be increased."
And when dawned the morn and day arose with its sheen and shone,
she sent to King Armanus, sire of the Lady Hayat al-Nufus, and
acquainted him with the truth of the case and that she was wife
to Kamar al-Zaman. Moreover, she told him their tale and the
cause of their separation, and how his daughter was a virgin,
pure as when she was born. He marvelled at their story with
exceeding marvel and bade them chronicle it in letters of gold.
Then he turned to Kamar al-Zaman and said, "O King's son, art
thou minded to become my son-in-law by marrying my daughter?"
Replied he, "I must consult the Queen Budur, as she hath a claim
upon me for benefits without stint." And when he took counsel
with her, she said, "Right is thy recking; marry her and I will
be her handmaid; for I am her debtor for kindness and favour and
good offices, and obligations manifold, especially as we are here
in her place and as the King her father hath whelmed us with
benefits."[FN#355] Now when he saw that she inclined to this and
was not jealous of Hayat al-Nufus, he agreed with her upon this
matter.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased
saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Seventeenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Kamar al-
Zaman agreed with his wife, Queen Budur, upon this matter and
told King Armanus what she had said; whereat he rejoiced with
great joy. Then he went out and, seating himself upon his chair
of estate, assembled all the Wazirs, Emirs, Chamberlains and
Grandees, to whom he related the whole story of Kamar al-Zaman
and his wife, Queen Budur, from first to last; and acquainted
them with his desire to marry his daughter Hayat al-Nufus to the
Prince and make him King in the stead of Queen Budur. Whereupon
said they all, "Since he is the husband of Queen Budur, who hath
been our King till now, whilst we deemed her son-in-law to King
Armanus, we are all content to have him to Sultan over us; and we
will be his servants, nor will we swerve from his allegiance." So
Armanus rejoiced hereat and, summoning Kazis and witnesses and
the chief officers of state, bade draw up the contract of
marriage between Kamar al-Zaman and his daughter, the Princess
Hayat al-Nufus. Then he held high festival, giving sumptuous
marriage-feasts and bestowing costly dresses of honour upon all
the Emirs and Captains of the host; moreover he distributed alms
to the poor and needy and set free all the prisoners. The whole
world rejoiced in the coming of Kamar al-Zaman to the throne,
blessing him and wishing him endurance of glory and prosperity,
renown and felicity; and, as soon as he became King, he remitted
the customs-dues and released all men who remained in gaol. Thus
he abode a long while, ordering himself worthily towards his
lieges; and he lived with his two wives in peace, happiness,
constancy and content, lying the night with each of them in turn.
He ceased not after this fashion during many years, for indeed
all his troubles and afflictions were blotted out from him and he
forgot his father King Shahriman and his former estate of honour
and favour with him. After a while Almighty Allah blessed him
with two boy children, as they were two shining moons, through
his two wives; the elder whose name was Prince Amjad,[FN#356] by
Queen Budur, and the younger whose name was Prince As'ad by Queen
Hayat al-Nufus; and this one was comelier than his brother. They
were reared in splendour and tender affection, in respectful
bearing and in the perfection of training; and they were
instructed in penmanship and science and the arts of government
and horsemanship, till they attained the extreme accomplishments
and the utmost limit of beauty and loveliness; both men and women
being ravished by their charms. They grew up side by side till
they reached the age of seventeen, eating and drinking together
and sleeping in one bed, nor ever parting at any time or tide;
wherefore all the people envied them. Now when they came to man's
estate and were endowed with every perfection, their father was
wont, as often as he went on a journey, to make them sit in his
stead by turns in the hall of judgement; and each did justice
among the folk one day at a time. But it came to pass, by
confirmed fate and determined lot, that love for As'ad (son of
Queen Hayat al-Nufus) rose in the heart of Queen Budur, and that
affection for Amjad (son of Queen Budur) rose in the heart of
Queen Hayat al-Nufus.[FN#357] Hence it was that each of the women
used to sport and play with the son of her sister-wife, kissing
him and straining him to her bosom, whilst each mother thought
that the other's behaviour arose but from maternal affection. On
this wise passion got the mastery of the two women's hearts and
they became madly in love with the two youths, so that when the
other's son came in to either of them, she would press him to her
breast and long for him never to be parted from her; till, at
last, when waiting grew longsome to them and they found no path
to enjoyment, they refused meat and drink and banished the solace
of sleep. Presently, the King fared forth to course and chase,
bidding his two sons sit to do justice in his stead, each one day
in turn as was their wont.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Eighteenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the King
fared forth to sport and hunt, bidding his two sons sit to do
justice in his stead, each one day by turn, as was their wont.
Now Prince Amjad sat in judgement the first day, bidding and
forbidding, appointing and deposing, giving and refusing; and
Queen Hayat al-Nufus, mother of As'ad, wrote to him a letter
suing for his favour and discovering to him her passion and
devotion; altogether put tiny off the mask and giving him to know
that she desired to enjoy him. So she took a scroll and thereon
indited these cadences, "From the love deranged * the sorrowful
and estranged * whose torment is prolonged for the longing of
thee! * Were I to recount to thee the extent of my care * and
what of sadness I bear * the passion which my heart cloth tear *
and all that I endure for weeping and unrest * and the rending of
my sorrowful breast * my unremitting grief * and my woe without
relief * and all my suffering for severance of thee * and sadness
and love's ardency * no letter could contain it; nor calculation
could compass it * Indeed earth and heaven upon me are strait;
and I have no hope and no trust but what from thee I await * Upon
death I am come nigh * and the horrors of dissolution I aby *
Burning upon me is sore * with parting pangs and estrangement
galore * Were I to set forth the yearnings that possess me more
and more * no scrolls would suffice to hold such store * and of
the excess of my pain and pine, I have made the following lines:-
-
Were I to dwell on heart-consuming heat, *
Unease and transports in my spins meet,
Nothing were left of ink and reeden pen *
Nor aught of paper; no, not e'en a sheet.
Then Queen Hayat al-Nufus wrapped up her letter in a niece of
costly silk scented with musk and ambergris; and folded it up
with her silken hair-strings[FN#358] whose cost swallowed down
treasures laid it in a handkerchief and gave it to a eunuch
bidding him bear it to Prince Amjad.--And Shahrazad perceived the
dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Nineteenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that she gave
her missive to the eunuch in waiting and bade him bear it to
Prince Amjad. And that eunuch went forth ignoring what the future
hid for him (for the Omniscient ordereth events even as He
willeth); and, going in to the Prince, kissed the ground between
his hands and handed to him the letter. On receiving the kerchief
he opened it and, reading the epistle and recognizing its gist he
was ware that his father's wife was essentially an adulteress and
a traitress at heart to her husband, King Kamar al-Zaman. So he
waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and railed at women and their
works, saying, "Allah curse women, the traitresses, the imperfect
in reason and religion!"[FN#359] Then he drew his sword and said
to the eunuch, "Out on thee, thou wicked slave! Dost thou carry
messages of disloyalty for thy lord's wife? By Allah, there is no
good in thee, O black of hue and heart, O foul of face and
Nature's forming!" So he smote him on the neck and severed his
head from his body; then, folding the kerchief over its contents
he thrust it into his breast pocket and went in to his own mother
and told her what had passed, reviling and reproaching her, and
saying, "Each one of you is viler than the other; and, by Allah
the Great and Glorious, did I not fear ill-manneredly to
transgress against the rights of my father, Kamar al-Zaman, and
my brother, Prince As'ad, I would assuredly go in to her and cut
off her head, even as I cut off that of her eunuch!" Then he went
forth from his mother in a mighty rage; and when the news reached
Queen Hayat al-Nufus of what he had done with her eunuch, she
abused him[FN#360] and cursed him and plotted perfidy against
him. He passed the night, sick with rage, wrath and concern; nor
found he pleasure in meat, drink or sleep. And when the next
morning dawned Prince As'ad fared forth in his turn to rule the
folk in his father's stead, whilst his mother, Hayat al-Nufus,
awoke in feeble plight because of what she had heard from Prince
Amjad concerning the slaughter of her eunuch. So Prince As'ad sat
in the audience-chamber that day, judging and administering
justice, appointing and deposing, bidding and forbidding, giving
and bestowing. And he ceased not thus till near the time of
afternoon-prayer, when Queen Budur sent for a crafty old woman
and, discovering to her what was in her heart, wrote a letter to
Prince As'ad, complaining of the excess of her affection and
desire for him in these cadenced lines, "From her who perisheth
for passion and love-forlorn * to him who in nature and culture
is goodliest born * to him who is conceited of his own loveliness
* and glories in his amorous grace * who from those that seek to
enjoy him averteth his face * and refuseth to show favour unto
the self abasing and base * him who is cruel and of disdainful
mood * from the lover despairing of good * to Prince As'ad *
with passing beauty endowed * and of excelling grace proud *
of the face moon bright * and the brow flower-white * and
dazzling splendid light * This is my letter to him whose love
melteth my body * and rendeth my skin and bones! * Know that my
patience faileth me quite * and I am perplexed in my plight *
longing and restlessness weary me * and sleep and patience deny
themselves to me * but mourning and watching stick fast to me *
and desire and passion torment me * and the extremes of languor
and sickness have sheet me * Yet may my life be a ransom for thee
* albeit thy pleasure be to slay her who loveth thee * and Allah
prolong the life of thee * and preserve thee from all infirmity!"
And after these cadences she wrote these couplets,
"Fate hath commanded I become thy fere, *
O shining like full moon when clearest clear!
All beauty dost embrace, all eloquence; *
Brighter than aught within our worldly sphere:
Content am I my torturer thou be: *
Haply shalt alms me with one lovely leer!
Happy her death who dieth for thy love! *
No good in her who holdeth thee unclear!"
And also the following couplets,
"Unto thee, As'ad! I of passion-pangs complain; *
Have ruth on slave of love so burnt with flaming pain:
How long, I ask, shall hands of Love disport with me, *
With longings, dolour, sleepliness and bale and bane?
Anon I 'plain of sea in heart, anon of fire *
In vitals, O strange case, dear wish, my fairest fain!
O blamer, cease thy blame, and seek thyself to fly *
From love, which makes these eyne a rill of tears to rain.
How oft I cry for absence and desire, Ah grief! *
But all my crying naught of gain for me shall gain:
Thy rigours dealt me sickness passing power to bear, *
Thou art my only leach, assain me an thou deign!
O chider, chide me not in caution, for I doubt *
That plaguey Love to thee shall also deal a bout."
Then Queen Budur perfumed the letter-paper with a profusion of
odoriferous musk and, winding it in her hairstrings which were of
Iraki silk, with pendants of oblong emeralds, set with pearls and
stones of price, delivered it to the old woman, bidding her carry
it to Prince As'ad.[FN#361] She did so in order to pleasure her,
and going in to the Prince, straightway and without stay, found
him in his own rooms and delivered to him the letter in privacy;
after which she stood waiting an hour or so for the answer. When
As'ad had read the paper and knew its purport, he wrapped it up
again in the ribbons and put it in his bosom-pocket: then (for he
was wrath beyond all measure of wrath) he cursed false women and
sprang up and drawing his sword, smote the old trot on the neck
and cut off her pate. Thereupon he went in to his mother, Queen
Hayat al-Nufus, whom he found lying on her bed in feeble case,
for that which had betided her with Prince Amjad, and railed at
her and cursed her; after which he left her and fore-gathered
with his brother, to whom he related all that had befallen him
with Queen Budur, adding, "By Allah, O my brother, but that I was
ashamed before thee, I had gone in to her forthright and had
smitten her head off her shoulders!" Replied Prince Amjad, "By
Allah, O my brother, yesterday when I was sitting upon the seat
of judgement, the like of what hath befallen thee this day befel
me also with thy mother who sent me a letter of similar purport."
And he told him all that had passed, adding, "By Allah, O my
brother, naught but respect for thee withheld me from going in to
her and dealing with her even as I dealt with the eunuch!" They
passed the rest of the night conversing and cursing womankind,
and agreed to keep the matter secret, lest their father should
hear of it and kill the two women. Yet they ceased not to suffer
trouble and foresee affliction. And when the morrow dawned, the
King returned with his suite from hunting and sat awhile in his
chair of estate; after which he sent the Emirs about their
business and went up to his palace, where he found his two wives
lying a-bed and both exceeding sick and weak. Now they had made a
plot against their two sons and concerted to do away their lives,
for that they had exposed themselves before them and feared to be
at their mercy and dependent upon their forbearance. When Kamar
al-Zaman saw them on this wise, he said to them, "What aileth
you?" Whereupon they rose to him and kissing his hands answered,
perverting the case and saying "Know, O King, that thy two sons,
who have been reared in thy bounty, have played thee false and
have dishonoured thee in the persons of thy wives." Now when he
heard this, the light became darkness in his sight, and he raged
with such wrath that his reason fled: then said he to them,
"Explain me this matter." Replied Queen Budur, "O King of the
age, know that these many days past thy son As'ad hath been in
the persistent habit of sending me letters and messages to
solicit me to lewdness and adultery while I still forbade him
from this, but he would not be forbidden; and, when thou wentest
forth to hunt, he rushed in on me, drunk and with a drawn sword
in his hand, and smiting my eunuch, slew him. Then he mounted on
my breast, still holding the sword, and I feared lest he should
slay me, if I gainsaid him, even as he had slain my eunuch; so he
took his wicked will of me by force. And now if thou do me not
justice on him, O King, I will slay myself with my own hand, for
I have no need of life in the world after this foul deed." And
Queen Hayat al-Nufus, choking with tears, told him respecting
Prince Amjad a story like that of her sister-wife.--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Twentieth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Queen Hayat
al-Nufus told her husband, King Kamar al-Zaman, a story like that
of her sister in wedlock, Budur, and, quoth she, "The same thing
befel me with thy son Amjad;" after which she took to weeping and
wailing and said, "Except thou do me justice on him I will tell
my father, King Armanus." Then both women wept with sore weeping
before King Kamar al-Zaman who, when he saw their tears and heard
their words, concluded that their story was true and, waxing
wroth beyond measure of wrath, went forth thinking to fall upon
his two sons and put them to death. On his way he met his father-
in-law, King Armanus who, hearing of his return from the chase,
had come to salute him at that very hour and, seeing him with
naked brand in hand and blood dripping from his nostrils, for
excess of rage, asked what ailed him. So Kamar al-Zaman told him
all that his sons Amjad and As'ad had done and added, "And here I
am now going in to them to slay them in the foulest way and make
of them the most shameful of examples." Quoth King Armanus (and
indeed he too was wroth with them), "Thou dost well, O my son,
and may Allah not bless them nor any sons that do such deed
against their father's honour. But, O my son, the sayer of the
old saw saith, 'Whoso looketh not to the end hath not Fortune to
friend.' In any case, they are thy sons, and it befitteth not
that thou kill them with shine own hand, lest thou drink of their
death-agony,[FN#362] and anon repent of having slain them whenas
repentance availeth thee naught. Rather do thou send them with
one of thy Mamelukes into the desert and let him kill them there
out of thy sight, for, as saith the adage, 'Out of sight of my
friend is better and pleasanter.'[FN#363] And when Kamar al-Zaman
heard his father-in-law's words, he knew them to be just; so he
sheathed his sword and turning back, sat down upon the throne of
his realm. There he summoned his treasurer, a very old man,
versed in affairs and in fortune's vicissitudes, to whom he said,
"Go in to my sons, Amjad and As'ad; bind their hands behind them
with strong bonds, lay them in two chests and load them upon a
mule. Then take horse thou and carry them into mid desert, where
do thou kill them both and fill two vials with their blood and
bring the same to me in haste." Replied the treasurer, "I hear
and I obey," and he rose up hurriedly and went out forthright to
seek the Princes; and, on his road, he met them coming out of the
palace-vestibule, for they had donned their best clothes and
their richest; and they were on their way to salute their sire
and give him joy of his safe return from his going forth to hunt.
Now when he saw them, he laid hands on them, saying, "Omy sons,
know ye that I am but a slave commanded, and that your father
hath laid a commandment on me; will ye obey his commandment?"
They said, "Yes"; whereupon he went up to them and, after
pinioning their arms, laid them in the chests which he loaded on
the back of a mule he had taken from the city. And he ceased not
carrying them into the open country till near noon, when he
halted in a waste and desolate place and, dismounting from his
mare, let down the two chests from the mule's back. Then he
opened them and took out Amjad and As'ad; and when he looked upon
them he wept sore for their beauty and loveliness; then drawing
his sword he said to them, "By Allah, O my lords, indeed it is
hard for me to deal so evilly by you; but I am to be excused in
this matter, being but a slave commanded, for that your father
King Kamar al-Zaman hath bidden me strike off your heads." They
replied, "O Emir, do the King's bidding, for we bear with
patience that which Allah (to Whom be Honour, Might and Glory!)
hath decreed to us; and thou art quit of our blood." Then they
embraced and bade each other farewell, and As'ad said to the
treasurer, "Allah upon thee, O uncle, spare me the sight of my
brother's death-agony and make me not drink of his anguish, but
kill me first, for that were the easier for me." And Amjad said
the like and entreated the treasurer to kill him before As'ad,
saying, "My brother is younger than I; so make me not taste of
his anguish. And they both wept bitter tears whilst the treasurer
wept for their weeping;--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.
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