One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  To God above I make my moan of sorrow and affright. Mayhap, the

  empyrean’s Lord will smite them with dismay.

  They fain would kill thee, brother mine, with malice

  aforethought, Though never cause of anger was nor fault

  forewent the fray.

  Yet for a champion art thou known among the men of war, The

  doughtiest knight that East or West goes camping by the way.

  Thou wilt thy sister’s honour guard, whose might is small, for

  thou Her brother art and she for thee unto the Lord doth

  pray

  Let not the foe possess my soul nor seize on me perforce And work

  their cruel will on me, without my yea or nay.

  By God His truth, I’ll never live in any land where thou Art not

  albeit all the goods of plenty it display!

  But I will slay myself for love and yearning for thy sake And in

  the darksome tomb I’ll make my bed upon the clay.

  When he heard her words, he wept sore and turning his horse’s head towards her, made answer with the following verses:

  Stand by and see the wondrous deeds that I will do this day,

  Whenas we meet and I on them rain blows in the mellay.

  E’en though the lion of the war, the captain of the host, The

  stoutest champion of them all, spur out into the fray,

  I’ll deal a Thaalebiyan blow at him and in his heart I’ll

  let my spear, even to the shaft, its thirst for blood allay.

  If I defend thee not from all that seek thee, sister mine, May I

  be slaughtered and my corse given to the birds of prey!

  Ay, I will battle for thy sake, with all the might I may, And

  books shall story after me the marvels of this day.

  Then said he, ‘O my sister, give ear to what I shall enjoin on thee.’ And she answered, ‘I hear and obey.’ Quoth he, ‘If I fall, let none possess thee;’ and she buffeted her face and said, ‘God forbid, O my brother, that I should see thee laid low and yield myself to thine enemies!’ With this he put out his hand to her and drew aside her veil, whereupon her face shone forth, like the sun from out clouds. Then he kissed her between the eyes and bade her farewell; after which he turned to us and said, ‘Ho, cavaliers! Come ye as guests or are you minded to cut and thrust? If ye come as guests, rejoice in hospitality; and if ye covet the shining moon, come out against me, one by one, and fight.’ Then came out to him a sturdy horseman, and the young man said to him, ‘Tell me thy name and thy father’s name, for I have sworn to fight with none whose name and whose father’s name tally with mine and my father’s, and if it be thus with thee, I will give thee up the girl.’ ‘My name is Bilal,’ answered the other; and the young man repeated the following verses:

  Thou liest when thou talkest of “benefits”; for lo, Thou comest

  with mischief and malice and woe!

  So, an thou be doughty, heed well what I say: I’m he who the

  braver in the battle lays low

  With a keen-cutting sword, like the horn of the moon; So look

  (and beware) for a hill-shaking blow!

  Then they ran at one another, and the youth smote his adversary in the breast, that the lance-head issued from his back. With this, another came out, and the youth repeated the following verses:

  O dog, that art noisome of stench and of sight, What is there of

  worth that to come by is light?

  ’Tis only the lion, of race and of might Right noble, recks

  little of life in the fight.

  Nor was it long before he left him also drowned in his blood and cried out, ‘Who will come out to me?’ So a third horseman pricked out, reciting the following verses:

  I come to thee, with a fire in my breast that blazes free, And

  call on my comrades all to the fight to follow me.

  Though thou hast slain the chiefs of the Arabs, yet, perdie, Thou

  shalt not ‘scape this day from those that follow thee!

  When the youth heard this, he answered him, saying:

  Thou com’st, like theright evil fiend that thou art, With a lie

  on thy lips and a fraud at thy heart;

  This day shalt thou taste of a death-dealing dart And a spear

  that shall rid thee of life with its smart.

  Then he smote him on the breast, that the spear-point issued from his back, and cried out, saying, ‘Will another come out?’ So a fourth came out and the youth asked him his name. He replied, ‘My name is Hilal.’ And the youth repeated these verses:

  Thou err’st, that wouldst plunge in my sea of affray And thinkest

  to daunt me with lies and dismay.

  Lo, I, to whose chant thou hast hearkened this day, Thy soul, ere

  thou know’st it, will ravish away!

  Then they drove at one another and exchanged blows; but the youth’s stroke forewent that of his adversary and slew him: and thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him. When I saw my comrades slain, I said in myself, ‘If I fight with him, I shall not be able to withstand him, and if I flee, I shall become a byword among the Arabs.’ However, the youth gave me no time to think, but ran at me and laying hold of me, dragged me from my saddle. I swooned away and he raised his sword to cut off my head; but I clung to his skirts and he lifted me in his hand, as I were a sparrow [in the clutches of a hawk]. 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 entreat him well, for he is come under our rule.’ So she took hold of the collars of my coat-of-arms and led me away by them as one would lead a dog. Then she did off her brother’s armour and clad him in a robe, after which she brought him a stool of ivory, on which he sat down, and said to him, ‘May God whiten thine honour and make thee to be as a provision against the shifts of fortune!’ And he answered her with the following verses:

  My sister said, (who saw my lustrous forehead blaze Midmost the

  war, as shine the sun’s meridian rays)

  “God bless thee for a brave, to whom, when he falls on, The

  desert lions bow in terror and amaze!”

  “Question the men of war,” I answered her, “of me, Whenas the

  champions flee before my flashing gaze.

  I am the world-renowned for fortune and for might, Whose prowess

  I uplift to what a height of praise!

  O Hemmad, thou hast roused a lion, who shall show Thee death that

  comes as swift as vipers in the ways.”

  When I heard what he said, I was perplexed about my affair, and considering my condition and how I was become a captive, I was lessened in my own esteem. Then I looked at the damsel and said to myself, ‘It is she who is the cause of all this trouble;’ and I fell a-marvelling at her beauty and grace, till the tears streamed from my eyes and I recited the following verses:

  Reproach me not, O friend, nor chide me for the past, For I will

  pay no heed to chiding and dispraise.

  Lo, I am clean distraught for one, whom when I saw, Fate in my

  breast forthright the love of her did raise.

  Her brother was my foe and rival in her love, A man of mickle

  might and dreadful in affrays.

  Then the maiden set food before her brother, and he bade me eat with him, whereat I rejoiced and felt assured of my life. When he had made an end of eating, she brought him a flagon of wine and he drank, till the fumes of the wine mounted to his head and his face flushed. Then he turned to me and said, ‘Harkye, Hemmad, dost thou know me?’ ‘By thy life,’ answered I, ‘I am rich in nought but ignorance!’ Said he, ‘I am Ibad ben Temim ben Thaalebeh, and indeed God giveth thee thy liberty and spareth thee confusion.’ Then he drank to my health and gave me a cup of wine and I drank it off. Then he filled me a second and a third and a fourth, and I drank them all; and he made merry with me and
took an oath of me that I would never betray him. So I swore to him a thousand oaths that I would never deal perfidiously with him, but would be a friend and a helper to him.

  Then he bade his sister bring me ten dresses of silk; so she brought them and laid them on me, and this gown I have on my body is one of them. Moreover, he made her bring one of the best of the riding camels, laden with stuffs and victual, and a sorrel horse, and gave the whole to me. I abode with them three days, eating and drinking, and what he gave me is with me to this day. At the end of this time, he said to me, ‘O Hemmad, O my brother, I would fain sleep awhile and rest myself. I trust myself to thee; but if thou see horsemen making hither, fear not, for they are of the Beni Thaalebeh, seeking to wage war on me.’ Then he laid his sword under his head and slept; and when he was drowned in slumber, the devil prompted me to kill him; so I rose, and drawing the sword from under his head, dealt him a blow that severed his head from his body. His sister heard what I had done, and rushing out from within the tent, threw herself on his body, tearing her clothes and repeating the following verses:

  Carry the tidings to the folk, the saddest news can be; But man

  from God His ordinance no whither hath to flee.

  Now art thou slaughtered, brother mine, laid prostrate on the

  earth, Thou whose bright face was as the round of the full

  moon to see.

  Indeed, an evil day it was, the day thou mettest them, And after

  many a fight, thy spear is shivered, woe is me!

  No rider, now that thou art dead, in horses shall delight Nor

  evermore shall woman bear a male to match with thee.

  Hemmad this day hath played thee false and foully done to death;

  Unto his oath and plighted faith a traitor base is he.

  He deemeth thus to have his will and compass his desire; But

  Satan lieth to his dupes in all he doth decree.

  When she had ended, she turned to me and said, ‘O man of accursed lineage, wherefore didst thou play my brother false and slay him, whenas he purposed to send thee back to thy country with gifts and victual 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 it in the ground, with the point set to her breast, threw herself thereon and pressed upon it, 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 nothing. Then I went in haste to the tent and taking whatever was light of carriage and great of worth, went my way: but in my haste and fear, I took no heed of my (dead) comrades, nor did I bury the maiden and the youth. This, then, is my story, and it is still more extraordinary than that of the serving-maid I kidnapped in Jerusalem.”

  When Nuzet ez Zeman heard these words of the Bedouin, the light in her eyes was changed to darkness, and she rose and drawing the sword, smote him amiddleward the shoulder-blades, that the point issued from his throat. The bystanders said to her, “Why hast thou made haste to slay him?” And she answered, “Praised be God who hath granted me to avenge myself with my own hand!” And she bade the slaves drag the body out by the feet and cast it to the dogs. Then they turned to the second prisoner, who was a black slave, and said to him, “What is thy name? Tell us the truth of thy case.” “My name is Ghezban,” answered he and told them what had passed between himself and the princess Abrizeh and how he had slain her and fled. Hardly had he made an end of his story, when King Rumzan struck off his head with his sabre, saying, “Praised be God that gave me life! I have avenged my mother with my own hand.” Then he repeated to them what his nurse Merjaneh had told him of this same Ghezban; after which they turned to the third prisoner and said to him, “Tell us who thou art and speak the truth.” Now this was the very camel-driver, whom the people of Jerusalem hired to carry Zoulmekan to the hospital at Damascus; but he threw him down on the fuel-heap and went his way. So he told them how he had dealt with Zoulmekan, whereupon Kanmakan took his sword forthright and cut off his head, saying, “Praised be God 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 Zoulmekan himself!” Then they said to each other “It remains only for us to take our wreak of the old woman Shewahi, yclept Dhat ed Dewahi, for that she is the prime cause of all these troubles. 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 he wrote a letter to his grandmother, the aforesaid old woman, giving her to know that he had subdued the kingdoms of Damascus and Mosul and Irak and had broken up the host of the Muslims and captured their princes and adding, “I desire thee of all urgency to come to me without delay, bringing with thee the princess Sufiyeh, daughter of King Afridoun, and whom thou wilt of the Nazarene chiefs, but no troops; for the country is quiet and under our hand.” And he despatched the letter to her, which when she read, she rejoiced greatly and forthwith equipping herself and Sufiyeh, set out with their attendants and journeyed, without stopping, till they drew near Baghdad. Then she sent a messenger to acquaint the King of her arrival, whereupon quoth Rumzan, “We should do well to don the habit of the Franks and go out to meet the old woman, to the intent that we may be assured against her craft and perfidy.” So they clad themselves in Frankish apparel, and when Kuzia Fekan saw them, she exclaimed, “By 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, to meet the old woman, and King Rumzan rode on before them. As soon as his eyes met 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 Dendan, 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 decorate the city three days long, at the end of which time they brought out the old woman, with a tall red bonnet 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 kings’ sons!” Then they crucified her on one of the gates of Baghdad; and her companions, seeing what befell her, all embraced the faith of Islam. As for Kanmakan and his uncle Rumzan and his aunt Nuzhet ez Zeman, they marvelled at the wonderful events that had betided them and bade the scribes set them down orderly in books, that those who came after might read. Then they all abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, till there overtook them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Companies; and this is all that hath come down to us of the dealings of fortune with King Omar ben Ennuman and his sons Sherkan and Zoulmekan and his son’s son Kanmakan and his daughter Nuzhet ez Zeman and her daughter Kuzia Fekan.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  VOLUME III.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT

  When Shehrzad had made an end of the history of King Omar teen Ennuman and his sons, Shehriyar said to her, “I desire that thou tell me some story about birds;” and Dunyazad, hearing this, said to her sister, “All this while I have never seen the Sultan light at heart till this night; and this gives me hope that the issue may be a happy one for thee with him.” Then drowsiness overcame the Sultan; so he slept and Shehrzad, perceiving the approach of day, was silent.

  When it was the hundred and forty-sixth night, Shehrzad began as follows: “I have heard tell, O august King, that

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  STORY OF THE BIRDS AND BEASTS AND THE SON OF ADAM.

  A peacock once abode with his mate on the sea-shore, in a place that abounded in trees and streams, but was infested with lions and all manner other wild beasts, and for fear of these latter, the
two birds were wont to roost by night upon a tree, going forth by day in quest of food. They abode thus awhile, till, their fear increasing on them, they cast about for some other place wherein to dwell, and in the course of their search, they happened on an island abounding in trees and streams. So they alighted there and ate of its fruits and drank of its waters. Whilst they were thus engaged, up came a duck, in a state of great affright, and stayed not till she reached the tree on which the two peacocks were perched, when she seemed reassured. The peacock doubted not but that she had some rare story; so he asked her of her case and the cause of her alarm, to which she replied, ‘I am sick for sorrow and my fear of the son of Adam: beware, O beware of the sons of Adam!’ ‘Fear not,’ rejoined the peacock, ‘now that thou hast won to us.’ ‘Praised be God,’ cried the duck, ‘who hath done away my trouble and my concern with your neigbourhood! For indeed I come, desiring your friendship.’ Thereupon the peahen came down to her and said, ‘Welcome and fair welcome! No harm shall befall thee: how can the son of Adam come at us and we in this island midmost the sea? From the land he cannot win to us, neither can he come up to us out of the sea. So be of good cheer and tell us what hath betided thee from him. ‘Know then, O peahen,’ answered the duck, ‘that I have dwelt all my life in this island in peace and safety and have seen no disquieting thing, till one night, as I was asleep, I saw in a dream the semblance of a son of Adam, who talked with me and I with him. Then I heard one say to me, “O duck, beware of the son of Adam and be not beguiled by his words nor by that he may suggest to thee; for he aboundeth in wiles and deceit; so beware with all wariness of his perfidy, for he is crafty and guileful, even as saith of him the poet: