The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 8 - Sir Richard Francis Burton (best e reader for epub .TXT) 📗

When it was the Seven Hundred and Eighty-third Night, She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Persian said to Hasan, “In very sooth yonder dust-cloud is the cloud of something we will mount and which will aid us to cut across this wold and will make easy to us the hardships thereof.”

Presently the dust lifted off three she-dromedaries, one of which Bahram mounted and Hasan another. Then they loaded their victual on the third and fared on seven days, till they came to a wide champaign and, descending into its midst, they saw a dome vaulted upon four pilasters of red gold; so they alighted and entering thereunder, ate and drank and took their rest. Anon Hasan chanced to glance aside and seeing from afar a something lofty said to the Magian, “What is that, O nuncle?” Bahram replied, “‘Tis a palace,” and quoth Hasan, “Wilt thou not go thither, that we may enter and there repose ourselves and solace ourselves with inspecting it?” But the Persian was wroth and said, “Name not to me yonder palace; for therein dwelleth a foe, with whom there befel me somewhat whereof this is no time to tell thee.” Then he beat the kettledrum and up came the dromedaries, and they mounted and fared on other seven days. On the eighth day, the Magian said, “O Hasan, what seest thou?” Hasan replied, “I see clouds and mists twixt east and west.” Quoth Bahram, “That is neither clouds nor mists, but a vast mountain and a lofty whereon the clouds split,[FN#31] and there are no clouds above it, for its exceeding height and surpassing elevation. Yon mount is my goal and thereon is the need we seek. ‘Tis for that I brought thee hither, for my wish may not be won save at thy hands. Hasan hearing this gave his life up for lost and said to the Magian, “By the right of that thou worshippest and by the faith wherein thou believest, I conjure thee to tell me what is the object wherefor thou hast brought me!” Bahram replied, “The art of alchemy may not be accomplished save by means of a herb which groweth in the place where the clouds pass and whereon they split. Such a site is yonder mountain upon whose head the herb groweth and I purpose to send thee up thither to fetch it; and when we have it, I will show thee the secret of this craft which thou desirest to learn.” Hasan answered, in his fear, “‘Tis well, O my master;” and indeed he despaired of life and wept for his parting from his parent and people and patrial stead, repenting him of having gainsaid his mother and reciting these two couplets,

“Consider but thy Lord, His work shall bring * Comfort to thee, with quick relief and near:

Despair not when thou sufferest sorest bane: * In bane how many blessed boons appear!”

They ceased not faring on till they came to the foothills of that mountain where they halted; and Hasan saw thereon a palace and asked Bahram, “What be yonder palace?”; whereto he answered, “‘Tis the abode of the Jann and Ghuls and Satans.” Then the Magian alighted and making Hasan also dismount from his dromedary kissed his head and said to him, “Bear me no ill will anent that I did with thee, for I will keep guard over thee in thine ascent to the palace; and I conjure thee not to trick and cheat me of aught thou shalt bring therefrom; and I and thou will share equally therein.” And Hasan replied, “To hear is to obey.” Then Bahram opened a bag and taking out a handmill and a sufficiency of wheat, ground the grain and kneaded three round cakes of the flour; after which he lighted a fire and baked the bannocks.

Then he took out the copper kettledrum and beat it with the broidered strap, whereupon up came the dromedaries. He chose out one and said, “Hearken, O my son, O Hasan, to what I am about to enjoin on thee;” and Hasan replied, “‘Tis well.” Bahram continued, “Lie down on this skin and I will sew thee up therein and lay thee on the ground; whereupon the Rakham birds[FN#32]

will come to thee and carry thee up to the mountaintop. Take this knife with thee; and, when thou feelest that the birds have done flying and have set thee down, slit open therewith the skin and come forth. The vultures will then take fright at thee and fly away; whereupon do thou look down from the mountain head and speak to me, and I will tell thee what to do.” So he sewed him up in the skin, placing therein three cakes and a leathern bottle full of water, and withdrew to a distance. Presently a vulture pounced upon him and taking him up, flew away with him to the mountaintop and there set him down. As soon as Hasan felt himself on the ground, he slit the skin and coming forth, called out to the Magian, who hearing his speech rejoiced and danced for excess of joy, saying to him, “Look behind thee and tell me what thou seest.” Hasan looked and seeing many rotten bones and much wood, told Bahram, who said to him, “This be what we need and seek. Make six bundles of the wood and throw them down to me, for this is wherewithal we do alchemy.” So he threw him the six bundles and when he had gotten them into his power he said to Hasan, “O gallows bird, I have won my wish of thee; and now, if thou wilt, thou mayst abide on this mountain, or cast thyself down to the earth and perish. So saying, he left him[FN#33] and went away, and Hasan exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This hound hath played the traitor with me.” And he sat bemoaning himself and reciting these couplets,

“When God upon a man possessed of reasoning, Hearing and sight His will in aught to pass would bring, He stops his ears and blinds his eyes and draws his wit, From him, as one draws out the hairs to paste that cling; Till, His decrees fulfilled, He gives him back His wit, That therewithal he may receive admonishing.

So say thou not of aught that haps, ‘How happened it?’ For Fate and fortune fixed do order everything.[FN#34]”

—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Seven Hundred and Eighty-fourth Night, She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the Magian sent Hasan to the mountaintop and made him throw down all he required he presently reviled him and left him and wended his ways and the youth exclaimed, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This damned hound hath played the traitor.” Then he rose to his feet and looked right and left, after which he walked on along the mountain top, in mind making certain of death. He fared on thus till he came to the counterslope of the mountain, along which he saw a dark-blue sea, dashing with billows clashing and yeasting waves each as it were a lofty mount. So he sat down and repeated what he might of the Koran and besought Allah the Most High to ease him of his troubles, or by death or by deliverance from such strait. Then he recited for himself the funeral-prayer[FN#35]

and cast himself down into the main; but, the waves bore him up by Allah’s grace, so that he reached the water unhurt, and the angel in whose charge is the sea watched over him, so that the billows bore him safe to land, by the decree of the Most High.

Thereupon he rejoiced and praised Almighty Allah and thanked Him; after which he walked on in quest of something to eat, for stress of hunger, and came presently to the place where he had halted with the Magian, Bahram. Then he fared on awhile, till behold, he caught sight of a great palace, rising high in air, and knew it for that of which he had questioned the Persian and he had replied, “Therein dwelleth a foe, of mine.” Hasan said to himself, “By Allah, needs must I enter yonder palace; perchance relief awaiteth me there.” So coming to it and finding the gate open, he entered the vestibule, where he saw seated on a bench two girls like twin moons with a chess-cloth before them and they were at play. One of them raised her head to him and cried out for joy saying, “By Allah, here is a son of Adam, and methinks ‘tis he whom Bahram the Magian brought hither this year!” So Hasan hearing her words cast himself at their feet and wept with sore weeping and said, “Yes, O my ladies, by Allah, I am indeed that unhappy.” Then said the younger damsel to her elder sister, “Bear witness against me,[FN#36] O my sister, that this is my brother by covenant of Allah and that I will die for his death and live for his life and joy for his joy and mourn for his mourning.” So saying, she rose and embraced him and kissed him and presently taking him by the hand and her sister with her, led him into the palace, where she did off his ragged clothes and brought him a suit of King’s raiment wherewith she arrayed him.

Moreover, she made ready all manner viands[FN#37] and set them before him, and sat and ate with him, she and her sister. Then said they to him, “Tell us thy tale with yonder dog, the wicked, the wizard, from the time of thy falling into his hands to that of thy freeing thee from him; and after we will tell thee all that hath passed between us and him, so thou mayst be on thy guard against him an thou see him again.” Hearing these words and finding himself thus kindly received, Hasan took heart of grace and reason returned to him and he related to them all that had befallen him with the Magian from first to last. Then they asked, “Didst thou ask him of this palace?”; and he answered, “Yes, but he said, ‘Name it not to me; for it belongeth to Ghuls and Satans.’” At this, the two damsels waxed wroth with exceeding wrath and said, “Did that miscreant style us Ghuls and Satans?”

And Hasan answered, “Yes.” Cried the younger sister, “By Allah, I will assuredly do him die with the foulest death and make him to lack the wind of the world!” Quoth Hasan, “And how wilt thou get at him, to kill him, for he is a crafty magician?”; and quoth she, “He is in a garden by name Al-Mushayyad,[FN#38] and there is no help but that I slay him before long.” Then said her sister, “Sooth spake Hasan in everything he hath recounted to us of this cur; but now tell him our tale, that all of it may abide in his memory.” So the younger said to him, “Know, O my brother, that we are the daughters of a King of the mightiest Kings of the Jann, having Marids for troops and guards and servants, and Almighty Allah blessed him with seven daughters by one wife; but of his folly such jealousy and stiff-neckedness and pride beyond compare gat hold upon him that he would not give us in marriage to any one and, summoning his Wazirs and Emirs, he said to them, ‘Can ye tell me of any place untrodden by the tread of men and Jinn and abounding in trees and fruits and rills?’ And