The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 4 - Sir Richard Francis Burton (robert munsch read aloud txt) 📗

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THE BOOK OF THE

THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT

A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments Translated and Annotated by Richard F. Burton VOLUME FOUR

 

To Foster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot.

 

My Dear Arbuthnot,

 

I have no fear that a friend, whose friendship has lasted nearly a third of a century, will misunderstand my reasons for inscribing his name upon these pages. You have lived long enough in the East and, as your writings show, observantly enough, to detect the pearl which lurks in the kitchen-midden, and to note that its lustre is not dimmed nor its value diminished by its unclean surroundings.

 

Ever yours sincerely, Richard F. Burton.

 

Athen�um Club, October 1, 1885

 

Contents of the Fourth Volume

 

Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman (continued)

a. Ni’amar Bin Al-Rabi’a and Naomi His Slave-girl b. Conclusion of the Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman 22. Ala Al-Din Abu Al-Shamat

23. Hatim of the Trive of Tayy

24. Ma’an the Son of Zaidah

25. Ma’an the Son of Zaidah and the Badawi 26. The City of Labtayt

27. The Caliph Hisham and the Arab Youth 28. Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi and the Barber-Surgeon 29. The City of Many-Columned Iram and Abdullah Son of Abi Kilabah

30. Isaac of Mosul

31. The Sweep and the Noble Lady

32. The Mock Caliph

33. Ali the Persian

34. Haru Al-Rashid and the Slave-Girl and the Iman Abu Yusuf 35. The Lover Who Feigned Himself A Thief 36. Ja’afar the Barmecide and the Bean-Seller 37. Abu Mohammed Hight Lazybones

38. Generous Dealing of Yahya Bin Kh�lid The Barmecide with Mansur

39. Generous Dealing of Yahya Son of Kh�lid with a Man Who Forged a Letter in his Name

40. Caliph Al-Maamum and the Strange Scholar 41. Ali Shar and Zumurrud

42. The Loves of Jubayr Bin Umayr and the Lady Budur 43. The Man of Al-Yaman and His Six Slave-Girls 44. Harun Al-Rashid and the Damsel and Abu Nowas 45. The Man Who Stole the Dish of Gold Wherein The Dog Ate 46. The Sharper of Alexandria and the Chief of Police 47. Al-Malik Al-Nasir and the Three Chiefs of Police a. Story of the Chief of Police of Cairo b. Story of the Chief of the Bulak Police c. Story of the Chief of the Old Cairo Police 48. The Thief and the Shroff

49. The Chief of the Kus Police and the Sharper 50. Ibrahim Bin Al-Mahdi and the Merchant’s Sister 51. The Woman Whose Hands were Cut Off For Giving Alms to the Poor

52. The Devout Israelite

53. Abu Hassan Al-Ziyadi and the Khorasan 54. The Poor Man and His Friend in Need 55. The Ruined Man Who became Rich Again Through A Dream 56. Caliph Al-Mutawakkil and His Concubine Mahbubah 57. Wardan the Butcher; His Adventure With the Lady and the Bear 58. The King’s Daughter and the Ape

 

The Book of the Thousand Nights and A Night

Ni’amah bin al-Rabi’a and Naomi his Slave-girl.

 

There lived once in the city of Cufa[FN#1] a man called Al-Rab�‘a bin H�tim, who was one of the chief men of the town, a wealthy and a healthy, and Heaven had vouchsafed him a son, whom he named Ni’amah Allah.[FN#2] One day, being in the slave-brokers’ mart, he saw a woman exposed for sale with a little maid of wonderful beauty and grace on her arm. So he beckoned to the broker and asked him, “How much for this woman and her daughter?” He answered “Fifty dinars.” Quoth Al-Rabi’a “Write the contract of sale and take the money and give it to her owner.” Then he gave the broker the price and his brokerage and taking the woman and her child, carried them to his house. Now when the daughter of his uncle who was his wife saw the slave, she said to her husband, “O my cousin, what is this damsel?” He replied, “Of a truth, I bought her for the sake of the little one on her arm; for know that, when she groweth up, there will not be her like for beauty, either in the land of the Arabs or the Ajams.” His wife remarked, “Right was thy rede”, and said to the woman “What is thy name?” She replied, “O my lady, my name is Taufl�k.[FN#3]”

“And what is thy daughter’s name?” asked she? Answered the slave, “Sa’ad, the happy.” Rejoined her mistress; “Thou sayst sooth, thou art indeed happy, and happy is he who hath bought thee.”

Then quoth she to her husband, “O my cousin, what wilt thou call her?”; and quoth he, “Whatso thou chooses”; so she said, “Then let us call her Naomi,” and he rejoined “Good is thy device.” The little Naomi was reared with Al-Rabi’a’s son Ni’amah in one cradle, so to speak, till the twain reached the age of ten and each grew handsomer than the other; and the boy used to address her, “O my sister!” and she, “O my brother!”, till they came to that age when Al-Rabi’a said to Ni’amah, “O my son, Naomi is not thy sister but thy slave. I bought her in thy name whilst thou wast yet in the cradle; so call her no more sister from this day forth.” Quoth Ni’amah, “If that be so, I will take her to wife.”

Then he went to his mother and told her of this, and she said to him, “O my son, she is thy handmaid.” So he wedded and went in unto Naomi and loved her; and two[FN#4] years passed over them whilst in this condition, nor was there in all Cufa a fairer girl than Naomi, or a sweeter or a more graceful. As she grew up she learnt the Koran and read works of science and excelled in music and playing upon all kinds of instruments; and in the beauty of her singing she surpassed all the folk of her time. Now one day as she sat with her husband in the wine chamber, she took the lute, tightened the strings, and sang these two couplets, “While thou’rt my lord whose bounty’s my estate, * A sword whereby my woes to annihilate,

Recourse I never need to Amru or Zayd,[FN#5] * Nor aught save thee if way to me grow strait!”

 

Ni’amah was charmed with these verses and said to her, “By my life, O Naomi, sing to us with the tambourine and other instruments!” So she sang these couplets to a lively measure, “By His life who holds my guiding rein, I swear I’ll meet on love ground parlous foe nor care: Good sooth I’ll vex revilers, thee obey And quit my slumbers and all joy forswear:

And for thy love I’ll dig in vitals mine * A grave, nor shall my vitals weet ‘tis there!”

 

And Ni’amah exclaimed, “Heaven favoured art thou, O Naomi!” But whilst they led thus the most joyous life, behold!

Al-Hajj�j,[FN#6] the Viceroy of Cufa said to himself, “Needs must I contrive to take this girl named Naomi and send her to the Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marw�n, for he hath not in his palace her like for beauty and sweet singing.” So he summoned an old woman of the duennas of his wives and said to her, “Go to the house of Al-Rabi’a and foregather with the girl Naomi and combine means to carry her off; for her like is not to be found on the face of the earth.” She promised to do his bidding; the next morning she donned the woollen clothes of a devotee and hung around her neck a rosary of beads by the thousand; and, henting in hand a staff and a leather water bottle of Yamani manufacture.— And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

 

When it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman promised to do the bidding of Al-Hajjaj, and whenas it was morning she donned the woollen clothes of a devotee[FN#7] and hung around her neck a rosary of beads by the thousand and hent in hand a staff and a leather water bottle of Yamani manufacture and fared forth crying, “Glory be to Allah! Praised be Allah!

There is no god but the God! Allah is Most Great! There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” Nor did she leave off her lauds and her groaning in prayer whilst her heart was full of guile and wiles, till she came to the house of Ni’amah bin al-Rabi’a at the hour of noon prayer, and knocked at the door. The doorkeeper opened and said to her, “What dost thou want?” Quoth she, “I am a poor pious woman, whom the time of noon prayer hath overtaken, and fief would I pray in this blessed place.” Answered the porter, “O old woman, this is no mosque nor oratory, but the house of Ni’amah son of al Rabi’a.” She replied, “I know there is neither cathedral-mosque nor oratory like the house of Ni’amah bin al-Rabi’a. I am a chamberwoman of the palace of the Prince of True Believers and am come out for worship and the visitation of Holy Places.” But the porter rejoined, “Thou canst not enter;”

and many words passed between them, till at last she caught hold and hung to him saying,