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

evasive answers and would not tell him my name; but he conjured me till I told him who I was, whereupon he sprang to his feet”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

 

When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-seventh Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Ibrahim son of Al-Mahdi continued: “Now when the housemaster heard my name he sprang to his feet and said, ‘Indeed I wondered that such gifts should belong to any but the like of thee; and Fortune hath done me a good turn for which I cannot thank her too much. But, haply, this is a dream; for how could I hope that one of the Caliphate house should visit my humble home and carouse with me this night?’ I conjured him to be seated; so he sat down and began to question me as to the cause of my visit in the most courteous terms. So I told him the whole affair, first and last, hiding naught, and said to him, ‘Now as to the food I have had my will, but of the hand and wrist I have still to win my wish.’ Quoth he, ‘Thou shalt have thy desire of the hand and wrist also, Inshallah!’ Then said he to the slave-girl, ‘Ho, such an one, bid such an one come down.’ And he called his slave-girls down, one by one and showed them to me; but I saw not my mistress among them, and he said, ‘O my lord, there is none left save my mother and sister; but, by Allah, I must needs have them also down and show them to thee.’ So I marvelled at his courtesy and large heartedness and said, ‘May I be thy sacrifice! Begin with the sister;’ and he answered, ‘With joy and goodwill.’ So she came down and he showed me her hand and behold, she was the owner of the hand and wrist. Quoth I, ‘Allah make me thy ransom! this is the damsel whose hand and wrist I saw at the lattice.’ Then he sent his servants without stay or delay for witnesses and bringing out two myriads[FN#411] of gold pieces, said to the witnesses, ‘This our lord and master, Ibrahim son of Al-Mahdi, paternal-uncle of the Commander of the Faithful, seeketh in marriage my sister such an one; and I call you to witness that I give her in wedlock to him and that he hath settled upon her ten thousand dinars.’ And he said to me, ‘I give thee my sister in marriage, at the portion aforesaid.’ ‘I consent,’ answered I, ‘and am herewith content.’ Whereupon he gave one of the bags to her and the other to the witnesses, and said to me, ‘O our lord, I desire to adorn a chamber for thee, where thou mayst sleep with thy wife.’ But I was abashed at his generosity and was ashamed to lie with her in his house; so I said, ‘Equip her and send her to my place.’ And by thy being, O Commander of the Faithful, he sent me with her such an equipage that my house, for all its greatness, was too strait to hold it! And I begot on her this boy that standeth in thy presence.” Then Al-Maamun marvelled at the man’s generosity and said, “Gifted of Allah is he! Never heard I of his like.” And he bade Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi bring him to court, that he might see him. He brought him and the Caliph conversed with him; and his wit and good breeding so pleased him that he made him one of his chief officers. And Allah is the Giver, the Bestower! Men also relate the tale of

THE WOMAN WHOSE HANDS WERE CUT OFF FOR

GIVING ALMS TO THE POOR.

 

A certain King once made proclamation to the people of his realm saying, “If any of you give alms of aught, I will verily and assuredly cut off his hand;” wherefore all the people abstained from alms-deed, and none could give anything to any one. Now it chanced that one day a beggar accosted a certain woman (and indeed hunger was sore upon him), and said to her, “Give me an alms”—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

 

When it was Three Hundred and Forty-eighth Night She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that, quoth the beggar to the woman, “Give me an alms however small.” But she answered him, “How can I give thee aught, when the King cutteth off the hands of all who give alms?” Then he said, “I conjure thee by Allah Almighty, give me an alms;” so when he adjured her by the Holy Name of Allah, she had ruth on him and gave him two scones. The King heard of this; whereupon he called her before him and cut off her hands, after which she returned to her house.

Now it chanced after a while that the King said to his mother, “I have a mind to take a wife; so do thou marry me to a fair woman.”

Quoth she, “There is among our female slaves one who is unsurpassed in beauty; but she hath a grievous blemish.” The King asked, “What is that?” and his mother answered, “She hath had both her hands cut off.” Said he, “Let me see her.” So she brought her to him, and he was ravished by her and married her and went in unto her; and begat upon her a son. Now this was the woman who had given two scones as an alms to the asker, and whose hands had been cut off therefor; and when the King married her, her fellow-wives envied her and wrote to the common husband that she was an unchaste, having just given birth to the boy; so he wrote to his mother, bidding her carry the woman into the desert and leave her there. The old Queen obeyed his commandment and abandoned the woman and her son in the desert; whereupon she fell to weeping for that which had befallen her and wailing with exceeding sore wail. As she went along, she came to a river and knelt down to drink, being overcome with excess of thirst, for fatigue of walking and for grief; but, as she bent her head, the child which was at her neck fell into the water. Then she sat weeping bitter tears for her child, and as she wept, behold came up two men, who said to her, “What maketh thee weep?” Quoth she, “I had a child at my neck, and he hath fallen into the water.”

They asked, “Wilt thou that we bring him out to thee?” and she answered, “Yes.” So they prayed to Almighty Allah, and the child came forth of the water to her, safe and sound. Then said they, “Wilt thou that Allah restore thee thy hands as they were?”

“Yes,” replied she: whereupon they prayed to Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) and her hands were restored to her, goodlier than before. Then said they, “Knowest thou who we are?”; and she replied, “Allah is all knowing;”[FN#412] and they said, “We are thy two Scones of Bread, which thou gayest in alms to the asker and which were the cause of the cutting off of thy hands.[FN#413]

So praise thou Allah Almighty for that He hath restored to thee thy hands and thy child.” Then she praised Almighty Allah and glorified Him. And men relate a tale of

THE DEVOUT ISRAELITE.

 

There was once a devout man of the Children of Israel,[FN#414]

whose family span cotton-thread; and he used every day to sell the yarn and buy fresh cotton, and with the profit he laid in daily bread for his household. One morning he went out and sold the day’s yarn as wont, when there met him one of his brethren, who complained to him of need; so he gave him the price of the thread and returned, empty-handed, to his family, who said to him, “Where is the cotton and the food?” Quoth he, “Such an one met me and complained to me of want; whereupon I gave him the price of the yarn.” And they said, “How shall we do? We have nothing to sell.” Now they had a cracked trencher[FN#415] and a jar; so he took them to the bazar but none would buy them of him.

However presently, as he stood in the market, there passed by a man with a fish,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

 

When it was the Three Hundred and Forty-ninth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the man took the trencher and jar to the bazar, but none would buy them of him. However there presently passed by a man with a fish which was so stinking and so swollen that no one would buy it of him, and he said to the Jew, “Wilt thou sell me thine unsaleable ware for mine?” “Yes,” answered the Jew; and, giving him the wooden trencher and jar, took the fish and carried it home to his family, who said, “What shall we do with this fish?” Quoth he, “We will broil it and eat it, till it please Allah to provide bread for us.” So they took it and ripping open its belly, found therein a great pearl and told the head of the household who said, “See ye if it be pierced: if so, it belongeth to some one of the folk; if not, ‘tis a provision of Allah for us.” So they examined it and found it unpierced. Now when it was the morrow, the Jew carried it to one of his brethren which was an expert in jewels, and the man asked, “O such an one! whence haddest thou this pearl?”; whereto the Jew answered, “It was a gift of Almighty Allah to us,” and the other said, “It is worth a thousand dirhams and I will give thee that; but take it to such an one, for he hath more money and skill than I.” So the Jew took it to the jeweller, who said, “It is worth seventy thousand dirhams and no more.” Then he paid him that sum and the Jew hired two porters to carry the money to his house. As he came to his door, a beggar accosted him, saying, “Give me of that which Allah hath given thee.” Quoth the Jew to the asker, “But yesterday we were even as thou; take thee half this money:” so he made two parts of it, and each took his half. Then said the beggar, “Take back thy money and Allah bless and prosper thee in it; I am a Messenger,[FN#416] whom thy Lord hath sent to try thee.” Quoth the Jew, “To Allah be the praise and the thanks!” and abode in all delight of life he and his household till death. And men recount this story of

 

ABU HASSAN AL-ZIYADI AND THE KHORASAN.

 

Quoth Ab� Hass�n al-Ziy�di[FN#417]: “I was once in straitened case and so needy that the grocer, the baker and other tradesmen dunned and importuned me; and my misery became extreme, for I knew of no resource nor what to do. Things being on this wise there came to me one day certain of my servants and said to me, ‘At the door is a pilgrim wight, who seeketh admission to thee.’

Quoth I, ‘Admit him.’ So he came in and behold, he was a Khoras�n�. We exchanged salutations and he said to me, ‘Tell me, art thou Abu Hassan al-Ziyadi?’; and I replied, ‘Yes, what is thy wish?’ Quoth he, ‘I am a stranger and am minded to make the pilgrimage; but I have with me a great sum of