One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  Ye made us a promise of yore; will ye not to your promise be

  true? Ye spoke us a word aforetime; as ye spoke to us, will

  ye not do?

  We waken, whilst ye are asleep, according to passion’s decree; So

  have ye the vantage of us, for watchers and sleepers are

  two.

  We vowed to each other, whilere, that we would keep secret our

  loves; But the breedbate possessed you to speak, and you

  spoke and revealed what none knew.

  Belovéd in pleasure and pain, chagrin and contentment alike,

  Whate’er may betide, ye alone are the goal that my wishes

  ensue.

  There’s one that still holdeth a heart, a heart sore tormented of

  mine; Ah, would she’d have ruth on my plight and pity the

  soul that she slew!

  Not every one’s eye is as mine, worn wounded and cankered with

  tears, And hearts that are, even as mine, the bondslaves of

  passion, are few.

  Ye acted the tyrant with me, saying, “Love is a tyrant, I trow.”

  Indeed, ye were right, and the case has proved what ye said

  to be true.

  Alack! They’ve forgotten outright a passion-distraught one,

  whose faith Time ‘minisheth not, though the fires in his

  entrails rage ever anew.

  If my foeman in love be my judge, to whom shall I make my

  complaint? To whom of injustice complain, to whom for

  redress shall I sue?

  Were it not for my needing of love and the ardour that burns in

  my breast, I had not a heart love-enslaved and a soul that

  for passion must rue.

  To return to the princess Budour. When she awoke, she sought her husband and found him not: then she saw the ribbon of her trousers undone and the talisman missing and said to herself, ‘By Allah, this is strange! Where is my husband? It would seem as if he had taken the talisman and gone away, knowing not the secret that is in it. Whither can he have gone? It must have been some extraordinary matter that drew him away, for he cannot brook to leave me an hour. May God curse the talisman and its hour!’ Then she considered awhile and said in herself, ‘If I go out and tell the servants that my husband is lost, they will covet me: I must use stratagem.’ So she rose and donned some of her husband’s clothes and boots and spurs and a turban like his, drawing the loose end across her face for a chin-band. Then setting a slave-girl in her litter, she went forth the tent and called to the servants, who brought her Kemerezzeman’s horse; and she mounted and bade load the beasts and set forward. So they bound on the burdens and departed, none doubting but she was Kemerezzeman, for she resembled him in face and form; nor did they leave journeying, days and nights, till they came in sight of a city overlooking the sea, when they halted to rest and pitched their tents without the walls. The princess asked the name of the place and was told, ‘It is called the City of Ebony: its king is named Armanous, and he hath a daughter called Heyat en Nufous.’ Presently, the King sent to learn who it was that had encamped without his city; so the messenger, coming to the tents, enquired of Budour’s servants and was told that she was a king’s son, bound for the Khalidan Islands, who had strayed from his road; whereupon he returned and told the King, who straightway took horse and rode out, with his nobles, to meet the strange prince. As he drew near the tents, the princess came to meet him on foot, whereupon the King alighted and they saluted each other. Then he carried her into the city and bringing her to the palace, let spread a banquet and bade transport her company and baggage to the guest-house, where they abode three days; at the end of which time the King came in to Budour (Now she had that day gone to the bath and her face shone as the moon at its full, enchanting all beholders, and she was clad in robes of silk, embroidered with gold and jewels) and said to her, ‘Know, O my son, that I am a very old man and am grown unable for the conduct of the state. Now God has blessed me with no child save one daughter, who resembles thee in beauty and grace; so, O my son, if this my country please thee and thou be willing to make thine abode here, I will marry thee to my daughter and give thee my kingdom and so be at rest.’ When Budour heard this, she bowed her head and her forehead sweated for shame, and she said to herself, ‘How shall I do, and I a woman? If I refuse and depart, I cannot be safe but that he may send after me troops to kill me; and if I consent, belike I shall be put to shame. I have lost my beloved Kemerezzeman and know not what is come of him; wherefore I see nothing for it but to hold my peace and consent and abide here, till God accomplish what is to be.’ So she raised her head and made submission to King Armanous, saying, ‘I hear and obey,’ whereat he rejoiced and bade make proclamation, throughout the Ebony Islands, to hold high festival and decorate the houses. Then he assembled his chamberlains and Amirs and Viziers and other officers of state and the Cadis of the city, and putting off the kingship, invested Budour therewith and clad her in the royal robes. Moreover, the Amirs and grandees went in to her and did her homage, nothing doubting but that she was a young man, and all who looked on her berayed their hose for the excess of her beauty and grace; then, after the lady Budour had been made Sultan and the drums had been beaten, in announcement of the joyful event, Armanous proceeded to equip his daughter for marriage, and in a few days, they brought Budour in to her, when they seemed as it were two moons risen at one time or two suns foregathering. So they entered the bridal-chamber and the doors were shut and the curtains let down upon them, after the attendants had lighted the candles and spread the bed for them. When Budour found herself alone with the princess Heyat en Nufous, she called to mind her beloved Kemerezzeman and grief was sore upon her. So she wept for his loss and absence and repeated the following verses:

  O ye who went and left my heart to pine alone fore’er, No spark

  of life remains in me, since ye away did fare!

  I have an eye that doth complain of sleeplessness alway; Tears

  have consumed it; would to God that sleeplessness would

  spare!

  When ye departed, after you the lover did abide; But question of

  him what of pain in absence he doth bear.

  But for the ceaseless flood of tears my eyes pour forth, the

  world Would at my burning all catch fire, yea, seas and

  lands and air.

  To God Most High I make my moan of dear ones loved and lost, That

  on my passion have no ruth nor pity my despair.

  I never did them wrong, except my love for them were such; But

  into blest and curst in love men aye divided were.

  When she had finished, she sat down beside the princess Heyat en Nufous and kissed her on the mouth. Then, rising abruptly, she made the ablution and betook herself to her devotions, nor did she leave praying till Heyat en Nufous was asleep, when she slipt into bed and lay with her back to her till morning; then rose and went out. Presently, the old king and queen came in to their daughter and asked her how she did, whereupon she told them what had passed and repeated to them the verses she had heard.

  Meanwhile, Budour seated herself upon the throne and all the Amirs and captains and officers of state came in to her and wished her joy of the kingship, kissing the earth before her and calling down blessings upon her. She smiled on them and clad them in robes of honour, augmenting the fiefs of the Amirs and giving largesse to the troops; wherefore all the people loved her and offered up prayers for the continuance of her reign, doubting not but that she was a man. She sat all day in the hall of audience, ordering and forbidding and dispensing justice, releasing those who were in prison and remitting the customs dues, till nightfall, when she withdrew to the apartment prepared for her. Here she found Heyat en Nufous seated; so she sat down by her and clapping her on the back, caressed her and kissed her between the eyes, repeating the following verses:

  The secret that I cherished my tears have public made; The


  wasting of my body my passion hath bewrayed.

  I hid my love and longing; but on the parting-day My plight,

  alas! revealed it to spies; ’twas open laid.

  O ye who have departed the camp, ye’ve left behind My body worn

  with languor and spirit all decayed.

  Within my heart’s recesses ye have your dwelling-place; My tears

  are ever running and lids with blood berayed.

  For ever will I ransom the absent with my soul; Indeed, for them

  my yearnings are patent and displayed.

  I have an eye, whose pupil, for love of them, rejects Sleep and

  whose tears flow ever, unceasing and unstayed.

  My foes would have me patient for him; but God forbid That ever

  of my hearing should heed to them be paid!

  I baulked their expectation. Of Kemerezzeman Sometime I did

  accomplish the joys for which I prayed.

  He doth, as none before him, perfections all unite; No king of

  bygone ages was in the like arrayed.

  His clemency and bounty Ben Zaïdeh’s largesse And

  Muawiyeh’s mildness have cast into the shade.

  But that it would be tedious and verse sufficeth not To picture

  forth his beauties, I’d leave no rhyme unmade.

  Then she wiped away her tears and making the ablution, stood up to pray; nor did she give over praying, till drowsiness overcame Heyat en Nufous and she slept, whereupon Budour came and lay beside her till the morning. At daybreak, she arose and prayed the morning-prayer; then, going forth, seated herself on the throne and passed the day in ordering and forbidding and administering justice. Meanwhile, King Armanous went in to his daughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had passed and repeated to him the verses that Budour had recited, adding, ‘O my father, never saw I one more abounding in sense and modesty than my husband, save that he doth nothing but weep and sigh.’ ‘O my daughter,’ answered her father, ‘have patience with him yet this third night, and if he go not in to thee and do away thy maidenhead, we will take order with him and oust him from the throne and banish him the country.’ When the night came, the princess Budour rose from the throne and betaking herself to the bride-chamber, found the candles lighted and the princess Heyat en Nufous sitting awaiting her; whereupon she bethought her of her husband and recalling the early severance of their loves, wept and sighed and groaned groan upon groan, repeating the following verses:

  I swear the tidings of my woes fills all the country-side, Like

  the sun shining on the hills of Nejed far and wide.

  His gesture speaks, but hard to tell the meaning of it is, And

  thus my yearning without end is ever magnified.

  I hate fair patience since the hour I fell in love with thee.

  Hast seen a lover hating love at any time or tide?

  One, in whose glances sickness lies, hath smitten me to death,

  For looks are deadliest of the things, wherein doth sickness

  bide.

  He shook his clustered ringlets down and laid his chin-band by,

  And beauty thus in him, at once both black and white, I

  spied.

  Sickness and cure are in his hands; for, to the sick of love, By

  him alone who caused their dole can healing be applied.

  The softness of his waist hath made his girdle mad for love And

  of his hips, for jealousy, to rise he is denied.

  His forehead, covered with his curls, is as a mirky night;

  Unveiled, ’tis as a shining moon that thrusts the dark

  aside.

  When she had finished, she would have risen to pray, but Heyat en Nufous caught her by the skirt, saying, ‘O my lord, art thou not ashamed to neglect me thus, after all the favour my father hath done thee?’ When Budour heard this, she sat down again and said, ‘O my beloved, what is this thou sayest?’ ‘What I say,’ answered Heyat en Nufous, ‘is that I never saw any so self-satisfied as thou. Is every fair one so disdainful? I say not this to incline thee to me, but only of my fear for thee from King Armanous; for he purposes, an thou go not in to me to-night and do away my maidenhead, to strip thee of the kingship on the morrow and banish thee the realm; and belike his much anger may lead him to kill thee. But I, O my lord, have compassion on thee and give thee fair warning; and it is thine to decide.’ At this, Budour bowed her head in perplexity and said in herself, ‘If I refuse, I am lost, and if I obey, I am shamed. I am now queen of all the Ebony Islands and they are under my rule and I shall never again foregather with Kemerezzeman except it be in this place; for there is no way for him to his native land but through the Ebony Islands. Verily, I know not what to do, for I am no man that I should arise and open this virgin girl; but I commit my case to God, who orders all for the best.’ Then she said to Heyat en Nufous, ‘O my beloved, it is in my own despite that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee.’ And she discovered herself to her and told her her whole story, saying, ‘I conjure thee by Allah to keep my counsel, till God reunite me with my beloved Kemerezzeman, and then let what will happen.’ Her story moved Heyat en Nufous to wonder and pity, and she prayed God to reunite her with her beloved, saying, ‘Fear nothing, O my sister, but have patience till God accomplish that which is to be.’ And she repeated the following verses:

  None keepeth counsel saving those who’re trusty and discreet. A

  secret’s ever safely placed with honest folk and leal;

  And secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house, Whose keys

  are lost and on whose door is set the Cadi’s seal.

  ‘O my sister,’ continued she, ‘the breasts of the noble are the graves of secrets, and I will not discover thine.’ Then they toyed and embraced and kissed and slept till near the call to morning-prayer, when Heyat en Nufous arose and slaughtering a young pigeon, besmeared herself and besprinkled her shift with its blood. Then she put off her trousers and cried out, whereupon her waiting-women hastened to her and raised cries of joy. Presently, her mother came in to her aad asked her how she did and tended her and abode with her till evening; whilst the lady Budour repaired to the bath and after washing herself, proceeded to the hall of audience, where she sat down on her throne and dispensed justice among the folk. When King Armanous heard the cries, he asked what was the matter and was informed of the consummation of his daughter’s marriage; whereat he rejoiced and his breast dilated and he made a great banquet.

  To return to King Shehriman. When Kemerezzeman and Merzewan returned not at the appointed time, he passed the night without sleep, restless and consumed with anxiety. The night was long upon him and he thought the day would never dawn. He passed the forenoon of the ensuing day in expectation of his son’s coming, but he came not; whereat his heart forebode separation and he was distraught with fears for Kemerezzeman. He wept till his clothes were drenched, crying out, ‘Alas, my son!’ and repeating the following verses from an aching heart:

  Unto the votaries of love I still was contrary, Till of its

  bitter and its sweet myself perforce must taste.

  I quaffed its cup of rigours out, yea, even to the dregs, And to

  its freemen and its slaves myself therein abased.

  Fortune aforetime made a vow to separate our loves; Now hath she

  kept her vow, alack! and made my life a waste.

  Then he wiped away his tears and bade his troops make ready for a long journey. So they all mounted and set forth, headed by the Sultan, whose heart burnt with grief and anxiety for his son. He divided the troops into six bodies, whom he despatched in as many directions, giving them rendezvous for the morrow at the cross-roads. Accordingly they scoured the country diligently all that day and night, till at noon of the ensuing day they joined company at the cross-roads. Here four roads met and they knew not which the prince had followed, till they came to the torn clothes and found shreds of flesh and blood scattered by the way on all
sides. When the King saw this, he cried out from his inmost heart, saying, ‘Alas, my son!’ and buffeted his face and tore his beard and rent his clothes, doubting not but his son was dead. Then he gave himself up to weeping and wailing, and the troops also wept for his weeping, being assured that the prince had perished. They wept and lamented and threw dust on their heads till they were nigh upon death, and the night surprised them whilst they were thus engaged. Then the King repeated the following verses, with a heart on fire for the torment of his despair:

  Blame not the mourner for the grief to which he is a prey, For

  yearning sure sufficeth him, with all its drear dismay.

  He weeps for dreariment and grief and stress of longing pain, And

  eke his transport doth the fires, that rage in him, bewray.

  Alas, his fortune who’s Love’s slave, whom languishment hath

  bound Never to let his eyelids stint from weeping night and

  day!

  He mourns the loss of one was like a bright and brilliant moon,

  That shone out over all his peers in glorious array.

  But Death did proffer to his lips a brimming cup to drink, What

  time he left his native land, and now he’s far away.

  He left his home and went from us unto calamity; Nor to his

  brethren was it given to him farewell to say.

  Indeed, his loss hath stricken me with anguish and with woe; Yea,

  for estrangement from his sight my wits are gone astray.