The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 3

R >> Richard F. Burton >> The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Volume 3

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32

When it was the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the two
Kings agreed each to rule one day in turn: then made they feasts
and offered sacrifices of clean beasts and held high festival;
and they abode thus awhile, whilst Sultan Kanmakan spent his
nights with his cousin Kuzia Fakan. And after that period, as
the two Kings sat rejoicing in their condition and in the happy
ending of their troubles, behold, they saw a cloud of dust arise
and tower till it walled the world from their eyes. And out of
it came a merchant shrieking and crying aloud for succour and
saying, "O Kings of the Age! how cometh it that I woned safely
in the land of the Infidels and I am plundered in your realm,
though it be the biding place of justice[FN#113] and peace?" Then
King Rumzan went up to him and questioned him of his case and he
replied, "I am a merchant and, like other merchants, I have been
long absent from my native land, travelling in far countries for
some twenty years; and I have a patent of exemption from the city
of Damascus which the Viceroy, King Sharrkan (who hath found
mercy) wrote me, for the cause that I had made him gift of a
slave-girl. Now as I was drawing near my home, having with me an
hundred loads of rarities of Hind, when I brought them near
Baghdad, which be the seat of your sovereignty and the place of
your peace and your justice, out there came upon me wild Arabs
and Kurds[FN#114] in band gathered together from every land; and
they slew my many and they robbed my money and this is what they
have done me." Then the trader wept in presence of King Rumzan,
saying that he was an old man and infirm; and he bemoaned himself
till the King felt for him and had compassion on him; and
likewise did King Kanmakan and they swore that they would sally
forth upon the thieves. So they set out amid an hundred horse,
each reckoned worth thou sands of men, and the merchant went
before them to guide them in the right way; and they ceased not
faring on all that day and the livelong night till dawnbreak,
when they came to a valley abounding in rills and shady with
trees. Here they found the foray dispersed about the valley,
having divided that merchant's bales among them; but there was
yet some of the goods left. So the hundred horsemen fell upon
them and surrounded them on all sides, and King Rumzan shouted
his war cry, and thus also did his nephew Kanmakan, and ere long
they made prize of them all, to the number of near three hundred
horsemen, banded together of the refuse of rascality.[FN#115]
They took what they could find of the merchant's goods and,
binding them tightly, brought them to Baghdad, where King Rumzan
and his nephew, King Kanmakan, sat down together on one throne
and, passing the prisoners in review before them, questioned them
of their case and their chiefs. They said, "We have no chiefs
but these three men and it was they who gathered us together from
all corners and countries." The Kings said to them, "Point out to
us your headmen!"; and, when this was done, they bade lay hands
on the leaders and set their comrades free, after taking from
them all the goods in their possession and restoring them to the
merchant, who examined his stuffs and monies and found that a
fourth of his stock was missing. The Kings engaged to make good
the whole of his loss, where upon the trader pulled out two
letters, one in the handwriting of Sharrkan, and the other in
that of Nuzhat al-Zaman; for this was the very merchant who had
bought Nuzhat al-Zaman of the Badawi, when she was a virgin, and
had forwarded her to her brother Sharrkan; and that happened
between them which happened.[FN#116] Hereupon King Kanmakan
examined the letters and recognised the handwriting of his uncle
Sharrkan, and, having heard the history of his aunt, Nuzhat al-
Zaman, he went in to her with the second letter written by her to
the merchant who had lost through her his monies; Kanmakan also
told her what had befallen the trader from first to last. She
knew her own handwriting and, recognising the merchant,
despatched to him guest gifts and commended him to her brother
and nephew, who ordered him largesse of money and black slaves
and pages to wait on him; besides which Nuzhat al-Zaman sent him
an hundred thousand dirhams in cash and fifty loads of
merchandise and presented to him other rich presents. Then she
sent for him and when he came, she went up to him and saluted him
and told him that she was the daughter of King Omar bin al-
Nu'uman and that her brother was King Rumzan and that King
Kanmakan was her nephew. Thereupon the merchant rejoiced with
great joy, and congratulated her on her safety and on her re-
union with her brother, and kissed her hands thanking her for her
bounty, and said to her, "By Allah! a good deed is not lost upon
thee!" Then she withdrew to her own apartment and the trader
sojourned with them three days, after which he took leave of them
and set out on his return march to the land of Syria. Thereupon
the two Kings sent for the three robber chiefs who were of the
highway men, and questioned them of their case, when one of them
came forward and said, "Know ye that I am a Badawi who am wont to
lie in wait, by the way, to snatch small children[FN#117] and
virgin girls and sell them to merchants; and this I did for many
a year until these latter days, when Satan incited me to join yon
two gallows birds in gathering together all the riff-raff of the
Arabs and other peoples, that we might plunder merchandise and
waylay merchants." Said the Kings, "Tell us the rarest of the
adventures that have befallen thee in kidnapping children and
maidens." Replied he, "O Kings of the Age, the strangest thing
that happened to me was that one day, two-and-twenty years ago, I
snatched a girl who belonged to the Holy City; she was gifted
with beauty and comeliness, despite that she was but a servant
and was clad in threadbare clothes, with a piece of camlet-cloth
on her head. So I entrapped her by guile as she came out of the
caravanserai; and at that very hour mounting her on a camel, made
off with her, thinking to carry her to my own people in the
Desert and there set her to pasture the camels and gather their
droppings in the valley. But she wept with so sore a weeping
that after coming down upon her with blows, I took her and
carried her to Damascus city where a merchant saw her with me
and, being astounded at her beauty and marvelling at her
accomplishments, wished to buy her of me and kept on bidding me
more and more for her, till at last I sold her to him for an
hundred thousand dirhams. After selling her I heard her display
prodigious eloquence; and it reached me that the merchant clothed
her in handsome gear and presented her to the Viceroy of
Damascus, who gave him three times the price which he had paid to
me, and this price, by my life! was but little for such a
damsel. This, O Kings of the Age, is the strangest thing that
ever befel me." When the two Kings heard her story they wondered
thereat, but when Nuzhat al-Zaman heard what the Badawi related,
the light became darkness before her face and she cried out and
said to her brother Rumzan, "Sure and sans doubt this is the very
Badawi who kidnapped me in the Holy City Jerusalem!" Then she
told them all that she had endured from him in her stranger hood
of hardship, blows, hunger, humiliation, contempt, adding, "And
now it is lawful for me to slay him." So saying she seized a
sword and made at him to smite him; and behold, he cried out and
said, "O Kings of the Age, suffer her not to slay me, till I
shall have told you the rare adventures that have betided me."
And her nephew Kanmakan said to her, "O my aunt, let him tell us
his tale, and after that do with him as thou wilt." So she held
her hand and the Kings said to him, "Now let us hear thy
history." Quoth he, "O Kings of the Age, if I tell you a rare
tale will ye pardon me?" "Yes," answered they. Then the Badawi
robber-chief began,

The Tale of Hammad the Badawi.

And he said:--Know ye that a short while ago, I was sore wakeful
one night and thought the morn would never dawn; so, as soon as
it was break of day I rose, without stay or delay; and, slinging
over my shoulder my sword, mounted horse and set my lance in
rest. Then I rode out to sport and hunt and, as I went along, a
company of men accosted me and asked me whither I was bound I
told them and they said, "We will keep thee company." So we all
fared on together, and, whilst we were faring, lo and behold! up
started an ostrich and we gave her chase, but she escaped our
pursuit and spreading wings ceased not to fly before us (and we
following by sight) till she lost us in a desert wherein there
was neither grass nor water, nor heard we aught therein save hiss
of snake and wail of Jinn and howl of Ghul; and when we reached
that place the ostrich disappeared nor could we tell whether she
had flown up into the sky or into the ground had gone down. Then
we turned our horses' heads and thought to return; but found that
to retrace our steps at that time of burning heat would be
toilsome and dangerous; for the sultry air was grievous to us, so
that we thirsted with sore thirst and our steeds stood still. We
made sure of death; but while we were in this case we suddenly
espied from afar a spacious mead where gazelles were frisking
Therein was a tent pitched and by the tent side a horse tethered
and a spear was planted with head glittering in the sun.[FN#118]
Upon this our hearts revived after we had despaired, and we
turned our horses' heads towards that tent making for the meadow
and the water which irrigated it; and all my comrades fared for
it and I at their head, and we ceased not faring till we reached
the mead. Then we alighted at the spring and watered our beasts.
But I was seized with a fever of foolish curiosity and went up to
the door of that tent, wherein I saw a young man, without hair on
his cheeks, who fellowed the new moon; and on his right hand was
a slender-waisted maid, as she were a willow-wand. No sooner did
I set eyes on her than love get hold upon my heart and I saluted
the youth, who returned my greeting. Then said I, "O my brother,
tell me who thou art and what to thee is this damsel sitting by
thy side?"[FN#119] Thereupon the youth bent his head groundwards
awhile, then raised it and replied, "Tell me first who thou art
and what are these horsemen with thee?" Answered I, "I am Hammad
son of al-Fazari, the renowned knight, who is reckoned among the
Arabs as five hundred horse. We went forth from our place this
morning to sport and chase and were overcome by thirst; so I came
to the door of this tent, thinking haply to get of thee a draught
of water." When he heard these my words, he turned to the fair
maiden and said, "Bring this man water and what food there is
ready." So she arose trailing her skirts, whilst the golden
bangles tinkled on her ankles and her feet stumbled in her long
locks, and she disappeared for a little while. Presently she
returned bearing in her right hand a silver vessel full of cold
water and in her left hand a bowl brimming with milk and dates,
together with some flesh of wild cattle. But I could take of her
nor meat nor drink for the excess of my passion, and I applied to
her these two couplets, saying,

"It was as though the sable dye[FN#120] upon her palms, *
Were raven perching on a swathe of freshest snow;
Thou seest Sun and Moon conjoined in her face, *
While Sun fear-dimmed and Moon fright-pallid show."

After I had eaten and drunk I said to the youth, "Know thou, O
Chief of the Arabs, that I have told thee in all truth who and
what I am, and now I would fain have thee do the like by me and
tell me the truth of thy case." Replied the young man, "As for
this damsel she is my sister." Quoth I, "It is my desire that
thou give me her to wife of thy free will: else will I slay thee
and take her by force." Upon this, he bowed his head groundwards
awhile, then he raised his eyes to me and answered, "Thou sayest
sooth in avouching thyself a renowned knight and famed in fight
and verily thou art the lion of the desert; but if ye all attack
me treacherously and slay me in your wrath and take my sister by
force, it will be a stain upon your honour. An you be, as ye
aver, cavaliers who are counted among the Champions and reck not
the shock of foray and fray, give me a little time to don my
armour and sling on my sword and set lance in rest and mount war
steed. Then will we go forth into the field of fight, I and you;
and, if I conquer you, I will kill you to the last man; but if
you overcome me and slay me, this damsel, my sister, is yours."
Hearing such words I replied, "This is only just, and we oppose
it not." Then I turned back my horse's head (for my love for the
damsel waxed hotter and hotter) and returned to my companions, to
whom I set forth her beauty and loveliness as also the comeliness
of the young man who was with her, together with his velour and
strength of soul and how he had avouched himself a match for a
thousand horse. Moreover, I described to my company the tent and
all the riches and rarities therein and said to them, "Know ye
that this youth would not have cut himself off from society and
have taken up his abode alone in this place, were he not a man of
great prowess: so I propose that whoso slayeth the younker shall
take his sister." And they said, "This contenteth us." Then my
company armed themselves and mounting, rode to the tent, where we
found that the young man had donned his gear and backed his
steed; but his sister ran up to him (her veil being drenched with
tears), and took hold of his stirrup and cried out, saying,
"Alas!" and, "Woe worth the day!" in her fear for her brother,
and recited these couplets,

"To Allah will I make my moan of travail and of woe, *
Maybe Ilah of Arsh[FN#121] will smite their faces with
affright:
Fain would they slay thee, brother mine, with purpose
felon-fell; * Albe no cause of vengeance was, nor fault
forewent the fight.
Yet for a rider art thou known to those who back the steed, *
And twixt the East and West of knights thou art the prowess
knight:
Thy sister's honour thou shalt guard though little might be
hers, * For thou'rt her brother and for thee she sueth
Allah's might:
Then let not enemy possess my soul nor 'thrall my frame, *
And work on me their will and treat thy sister with
despight.
I'll ne'er abide, by Allah's truth, in any land or home *
Where thou art not, though dight it be with joyance and
delight
For love and yearning after thee myself I fain will slay, *
And in the gloomy darksome tomb spread bed upon the clay."

But when her brother heard her verse he wept with sore weeping
and turned his horse's head towards his sister and made this
answer to her poetry,

"Stand by and see the derring-do which I to-day will show, *
When meet we and I deal them blows that rend and cleave and
split;
E'en though rush out to seek a bout the lion of the war, *
The stoutest hearted brave of all and eke the best in wit;
To him I'll deal without delay a Sa'alabiyan blow,[FN#122] *
And dye my cane-spear's joint in blood by wound of foe
bespit:
If all I beat not off from thee, O sister, may this frame *
Be slain, and cast my corpse to birds, for so it would
befit:
Yes, for thy dearest sake I'll strike my blows with might and
main, * And when we're gone shall this event in many a book
be writ."

And when he had ended his verse, he said, "O my sister, give ear
to what I shall enjoin on thee"; whereto she replied, "Hearkening
and obedience." Quoth he, "If I fall, let none possess thy
person;" and thereupon she buffeted her face and said, "Allah
forbid, O my brother, that I should see thee laid low and yield
myself to thy foe!" With this the youth put out his hand to her
and withdrew her veil from her face, whereupon it shone forth as
the sun shineth out from the white clouds. Then he kissed her
between the eyes and bade her farewell; after which he turned to
us and said, "Holla, Knights! Come ye as guests or crave ye cuts
and thrusts? If ye come to us as your hosts, rejoice ye in the
guest rite; and, if ye covet the shining moon, come ye out
against me, knight by knight, into this plain and place of
fight." There upon rushed out to him a doughty rider and the
young man said to him, "Tell me thy name and thy father's name,
for I am under an oath not to slay any whose name tallies with
mine and whose father's name is that of my father; and if this be
the case with thee, I will give thee up the maid." Quoth the
horseman, "My name is Bilal;"[FN#123] and the young man answered
him, saying,

"Thou liest when speaking of 'benefits,' while *
Thou comest to front with shine evillest will
An of prowess thou'rt prow, to my words give ear, *
I'm he who make' champions in battle-field reel
With keen blade, like the horn of the cusped moon, *
So 'ware thrust the, shall drill through the duress hill!"

Then they charged down, each at each, and the youth thrust his
adversary in the breast so that the lance head issued from his
back. With tints, another came out, and the youth cried,

"Ho thou hound, who art rotten with foulness in grain,[FN#124] *
What high meed is there easy for warrior to gain?
'Tis none save the lion of strain purest pure *
Who uncareth for life in the battle plain!"

Nor was it long before the youth left him drowned in his blood
and cried out, "Who will come forth to me?" So a third horse man
rushed out upon the youth and began saying,

"To thee come I forth with my heart a-flame, *
And summon my friends and my comrades by name:
When thou slewest the chief of the Arabs this day, *
This day thou remainest the pledge of my claim."

Now when the youth heard this he answered him in these words,

"Thou liest, O foulest of Satans that are, *
And with easings calumnious thou comest to war
This day thou shalt fall by a death dealing point *
Where the lances lunge and the scymitars jar!"

Then he so foined him in the breast that the spear-point issued
from his back and he cried out, saying, "Ho! will none come out?
So a fourth fared forwards and the youth asked him his name and
he answered, "My name is Hilal, the New Moon." And the youth
began repeating,

"Thou hast failed who would sink me in ruin sea, *
Thou who camest in malice with perfidy:
I, whose verses hast heard from the mouth of me, *
Will ravish thy soul though unknown to thee."

Then they drave at each other and delivered two cuts, but the
youth's stroke devanced that of the rider his adversary and slew
him: and thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him.
Now when I saw my comrades slain, I said to myself, "If I go down
to fight with him, I shall not be able to prevail against him;
and, if I flee, I shall become a byword of shame among the
Arabs." But the youth gave me no time to think, for he ran at me
and dragged me from my saddle and hurled me to the ground. I
fainted at the fall and he raised his sword designing to cut off
my head; but I clung to his skirts, and he lifted me in his hand
as though I were a sparrow. When the maiden saw this, she
rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him, kissed
him between the eyes. Then he delivered me to her, saying, "Take
him and look to him and entreat him hospitably, for he is come
under our rule." So she took hold of the collar of my
hauberk[FN#125] and led me away by it as one would lead a dog.
Then she did off her brother's coat of mail and clad him in a
robe, and set for him a stool of ivory, on which he sat down; and
she said to him, "Allah whiten thy honour and prevent from thee
the shifts of fortune!" And he answered her with these couplets,

"My sister said, as saw she how I stood *
In fight, when sun-rays lit my knightlihood
'Allah assain thee for a Brave of braves *
To whom in vale bow lions howso wood!'
Quoth I, 'Go ask the champions of my case, *
When feared the Lords of war my warrior mood!
My name is famed for fortune and for force, *
And soared my spirit to such altitude,'
Ho thou, Hammad, a lion hast upstirred, *
Shall show thee speedy death like viper brood."

Now when I heard his verse, I was perplexed as to my case and
considering my condition and how I was become a captive, I was
lowered in my own esteem. Then I looked at the damsel, his
sister, and seeing her beauty I said to myself, "'Tis she who
caused all this trouble"; and I fell a-marvelling at her
loveliness till the tears streamed from my eyes and I recited
these couplets,

"Dear friend! ah leave thy loud reproach and blame; *
Such blame but irks me yet may not alarm:
I'm clean distraught for one whom saw I not *
Without her winning me by winsome charm
Yestreen her brother crossed me in her love, *
A Brave stout-hearted and right long of arm."

Then the maiden set food before her brother and he bade me eat
with him, whereat I rejoiced and felt assured that I should not
be slain. And when he had ended eating, she brought him a flagon
of pure wine and he applied him to it till the fumes of the drink
mounted to his head and his face flushed red. Then he turned to
me and said, "Woe to thee, O Hammad! dost thou know me or not?"
Replied I, "By thy life, I am rich in naught save ignorance!'
Quoth he, "O Hammad, I am 'Abbad bin Tamim bin Sa'labah and
indeed Allah giveth thee thy liberty and leadeth thee to a happy
bride and spareth thee confusion." Then he drank to my long life
and gave me a cup of wine and I drank it off; and presently he
filled me a second and a third and a fourth, and I drained them
all; while he made merry with me and swore me never to betray
him. So I sware to him one thousand five hundred oaths that I
would never deal perfidiously with him at any time, but that I
would be a friend and a helper to him. Thereupon he bade his
sister bring me ten suits of silk, so she brought them and laid
them on my person, and this dress I have on my body is one of
them. Moreover, he made bring one of the best of his she-
dromedaries[FN#126] carrying stuffs and provaunt, he bade her
also bring a sorrel horse, and when they were brought he gave the
whole of them to me. I abode with them three days, eating and
drinking, and what he gave me of gifts is with me to this
present. At the end of the three days he said to me, "O Hammad,
O my brother, I would sleep awhile and take my rest and verily I
trust my life to thee; but, if thou see horsemen making hither,
fear not, for know that they are of the Banu Sa'labah, seeking to
wage war on me." Then he laid his sword under his head-pillow and
slept; and when he was drowned in slumber Iblis tempted me to
slay him; so I arose in haste, and drawing the sword from under
his head, dealt him a blow that made his head fall from his body.
But his sister knew what I had done, and rushing out from within
the tent, threw herself on his corpse, rending her raiment and
repeating these couplets,

"To kith and kin bear thou sad tidings of our plight; *
From doom th' All-wise decreed shall none of men take
flight:
Low art thou laid, O brother! strewn upon the stones, *
With face that mirrors moon when shining brightest bright!
Good sooth, it is a day accurst, thy slaughter-day *
Shivering thy spear that won the day in many a fight!
Now thou be slain no rider shall delight in steed, *
Nor man child shall the breeding woman bring to light.
This morn Hammad uprose and foully murthered thee, *
Falsing his oath and troth with foulest perjury."

When she had ended her verse she said to me, "O thou of accursed
forefathers, wherefore didst thou play my brother false and slay
him when he purposed returning thee to thy native land with
provisions; and it was his intent also to marry thee to me at the
first of the month?" Then she drew a sword she had with her, and
planting the hilt in the earth, with the point set to her breast,
she bent over it and threw herself thereon till the blade issued
from her back and she fell to the ground, dead. I mourned for
her and wept and repented when repentance availed me naught.
Then I arose in haste and went to the tent and, taking whatever
was light of load and weighty of worth, went my way; but in my
haste and horror I took no heed of my dead comrades, nor did I
bury the maiden and the youth. And this my tale is still more
wondrous than the story of the serving-girl I kidnapped from the
Holy City, Jerusalem. But when Nuzhat al-Zaman heard these words
from the Badawi, the light was changed in her eyes to night.--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Nuzhat
al-Zaman heard these words from the Badawi, the light was changed
in her eyes to night, and she rose and drawing the sword, smote
Hammad the Arab between the shoulder-blades so that the point
issued from the apple of his throat.[FN#127] And when all
present asked her, 'Why hast thou made haste to slay him;" she
answered, "Praised be Allah who hath granted me in my life tide
to avenge myself with mine own hand!" And she bade the slaves
drag the body out by the feet and cast it to the dogs. Thereupon
they turned to the two prisoners who remained of the three; and
one of them was a black slave, so they said to him, What is thy
name, fellow? Tell us the truth of thy case." He replied, "As
for me my name is Al-Ghazban," and acquainted them what had
passed between himself and Queen Abrizah, daughter of King
Hardub, Lord of Greece, and how he had slain her and fled.
Hardly had the negro made an end of his story, when King Rumzan
struck off his head with his scymitar, saying, Praise to Allah
who gave me life! I have avenged my mother with my own hand."
Then he repeated to them what his nurse Marjanah had told him of
this same slave whose name was Al-Ghazban; after which they
turned to the third prisoner. Now this was the very camel-
driver[FN#128] whom the people of the Holy City, Jerusalem, hired
to carry Zau al-Makan and lodge him in the hospital at Damascus
of Syria; but he threw him down on the ashes midden and went his
way. And they said to him, "Acquaint us with thy case and tell
the truth." So he related to them all that had happened to him
with Sultan Zau al-Makan; how he had been carried from the Holy
City, at the time when he was sick, till they made Damascus and
he had been thrown into the hospital; how also the Jerusalem folk
had paid the cameleer money to transport the stranger to
Damascus, and he had taken it and fled after casting his charge
upon the midden by the side of the ash-heap of the Hammam. But
when he ended his words, Sultan Kanmakan took his sword
forthright and cut off his head, saying, "Praised be Allah who
hath given me life, that I might requite this traitor what he did
with my father, for I have heard this very story from King Zau
al-Makan himself." Then the Kings said each to other, "It
remaineth only for us to wreak our revenge upon the old woman
Shawahi, yclept Zat al-Dawahi, because she is the prime cause of
all these calamities and cast us into adversity on this wise.
Who will deliver her into our hands that we may avenge ourselves
upon her and wipe out our dishonour?" And King Rumzan said,
"Needs must we bring her hither." So without stay or delay he
wrote a letter to his grandmother, the aforesaid ancient woman,
giving her to know therein that he had subdued the kingdoms of
Damascus and Mosul and Irak, and had broken up the host of the
Moslems and captured their princes, adding, "I desire thee of all
urgency to come to me, bringing with thee Queen Sophia, daughter
of King Afridun, and whom thou wilt of the Nazarene chiefs, but
no armies; for the country is quiet and wholly under our hand."
And when she read the letter and recognised the handwriting of
King Rumzan, she rejoiced with great joy and forthright equipping
herself and Queen Sophia, set out with their attendants and
journeyed, without stopping, till they drew near Baghdad. Then
she foresent a messenger to acquaint the King of her arrival,
whereupon quoth Rumzan, "We should do well to don the habit of
the Franks and fare forth to meet the old woman, to the intent
that we may be assured against her craft and perfidy." Whereto
Kanmakan replied, "Hearing is consenting." So they clad
themselves in Frankish clothes and, when Kuzia Fakan saw them,
she exclaimed, "By the truth of the Lord of Worship, did I not
know you, I should take you to be indeed Franks!" Then they
sallied forth with a thousand horse, King Rumzan riding on before
them, to meet the old woman. As soon as his eyes fell on hers,
he dismounted and walked towards her and she, recognizing him,
dismounted also and embraced him, but he pressed her ribs with
his hands, till he well nigh broke them. Quoth she, "What is
this, O my son?" But before she had done speaking, up came
Kanmakan and Dandan; and the horsemen with them cried out at the
women and slaves and took them all prisoners. Then the two Kings
returned to Baghdad, with their captives, and Rumzan bade them
decorate the city which they did for three days, at the end of
which they brought out the old woman Shawahi, highs Zat al-
Dawahi, with a peaked red turband of palm-leaves on her head,
diademed with asses' dung and preceded by a herald proclaiming
aloud, "This is the reward of those who presume to lay hands on
Kings and the sons of Kings!" Then they crucified her on one of
the gates of Baghdad; and, when her companions saw what befel
her, all embraced in a body the faith of Al-Islam. As for
Kanmakan and his uncle Rumzan and his aunt Nuzhat al-Zaman and
the Wazir Dandan, they marvelled at the wonderful events that had
betided them and bade the scribes chronicle them in books that
those who came after might read. Then they all abode for the
remainder of their days in the enjoyment of every solace and
comfort of life, till there overtook them the Destroyer of all
delights and the Sunderer of all societies. And this is the
whole that hath come down to us of the dealings of fortune with
King Omar bin al-Nu'uman and his sons Sharrkan and Zau al-Makan
and his son's son Kanmakan and his daughter Nuzhat al-Zaman and
her daughter Kuzia Fakan. Thereupon quoth Shahryar to Shahrazad,
"I desire that thou tell me somewhat about birds;" and hearing
this Dunyazad said to her sister, "I have never seen the Sultan
light at heart all this while till the present night, and his
pleasure garreth me hope that the issue for thee with him may be
a happy issue." Then drowsiness overcame the Sultan, so he
slept;[FN#129]--And Shahrazad perceived the approach of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32