One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  Then Nour el Huda bade the old woman question him before her, that she might hear his answers: so she said to him, ‘The queen returns thy greeting and asks thee what is thy name and that of thy country, and what are the names of thy wife and children, on whose account thou art come hither?’ ‘O queen of the age and the day and peerless jewel of the epoch and the time,’ answered he, (and indeed he had made firm his heart and providence aided him,) ‘my name is Hassan, the fulfilled of sorrow, and my native city is Bassora. I know not the name of my wife, but my children’s names are Mensour and Nasir.’

  When the queen heard his reply, she bespoke him herself and said, ‘And whence took she her children?’ ‘O queen,’ answered he, ‘she took them from the city of Baghdad and the palace of the Khalifate.’ Quoth Nour el Huda, ‘And did she say nought to thee, whenas she flew away?’ And he replied, ‘Yes; she said to my mother, “When thy son cometh and the days of separation are long upon him and he craveth meeting with me and reunion and the winds of love and longing agitate him, let him come to me in the Islands of Wac.”’ Whereupon the queen shook her head and said to him, ‘Except she desired thee and yearned for reunion with thee, she had not said this to thy mother, neither had she bidden thee to her country nor acquainted thee with her abiding-place.’ ‘O mistress of kings and asylum of rich and poor,’ rejoined Hassan, ‘I have told thee what happened and have concealed nought thereof, and I appeal to God and to thee for succour; wherefore oppress me not, but have compassion on me and earn recompense and requital for me [from God] by aiding me to regain my wife and children. Grant me my urgent need and solace mine eyes with my children and help me to the sight of them.’ Then he wept and lamented and recited the following verses:

  What while the turtle-dove complains, I’ll praise thee with my might, Albeit I should fail of that which is thy due and right.

  For, lo, I wallowed not in joys of old, but now I find Thee to have been the cause and spring of all my past delight.

  The queen shook her head and bowed it in thought a great while; then, raising it, she said to Hassan (and indeed she was wroth), ‘I have compassion on thee and am resolved to show thee all the girls in the city and in the provinces of my island; and if thou know thy wife, I will deliver her to thee; but, if thou know her not and know not her place, I will put thee to death and crucify thee over the old woman’s door.’ ‘I accept this from thee, O queen of the age,’ answered Hassan, ‘and am content to submit to this thy condition. There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ And he recited the following verses:

  Ye’ve roused my heart to love and yet unmoved yourselves remain; Ye’ve doomed my wounded lids to wake and sleep, whilst I complain.

  Ye swore to me that ye would keep your plighted faith with me; But, when my heart was yours, you broke the oath that you had ta’en.

  I loved you as a child, indeed, unknowing what love was; Wherefore ‘twere surely foul unright, if I of you be slain.

  Fear ye not God and will ye slay a lover who anights Watches the stars, whilst all but he are bound in slumber’s chain?

  When I am dead, I prithee write, ‘fore Allah, on my tomb, ‘A slave of passion lieth here, who died of love in vain.’

  It may be one, whom love like me hath smitten, passing by, Shall see my tomb and to salute and pity me be fain.

  Then Queen Nour el Huda commanded that all the girls in the city should come up to the palace and pass in review before Hassan and bade Shewahi go down and bring them up herself. So all the maidens in the city presented themselves before the queen, who caused them go in to Hassan, hundred by hundred, till there was no girl left in the place, but she had shown her to him; but he saw not his wife amongst them. Then said she to him, ‘Seest thou her amongst these?’ And he answered, saying, ‘By thy life, O queen, she is not amongst them.’

  With this she was sore enraged against him and said to the old woman, ‘Go in and bring out all who are in the palace and show them to him.’ So she showed him all the girls in the palace, but he saw not his wife among them and said to the queen, ‘As thy head liveth, O queen, she is not among these.’ Whereat the queen was wroth and cried out to those about her, saying, ‘Take him and drag him along, face to ground, and cut off his head, lest any adventure himself after him and intrude upon us in our country and tread the soil of our islands and spy out our estate.’ So they threw him down on his face and covering his eyes with his skirt, stood at his head with drawn swords, awaiting permission [to strike].

  But Shewahi came forward and kissing the earth before the queen, took her skirt and laid it on her head, saying, ‘O queen, by the claim I have on thee for fosterage, be not hasty with him, more by token of thy knowledge that this poor wretch is a stranger, who hath adventured himself and suffered perils and hardships, such as none ever suffered before him, and God preserved him from death, for that his life was ordained to be long. He heard of thy justice and entered thy city and sanctuary; wherefore, if thou put him to death, the report will be noised abroad of thee, by means of the travellers, that thou hatest strangers and slayest them. In any case he is at thy mercy and the slain of thy sword, if his wife be not found in thy dominions; and whensoever thou desirest his presence, I can bring him back to thee. And indeed I took him not under my protection but of my confidence in thy generosity, through my claim on thee for fosterage, so that I engaged to him that thou wouldst bring him to his desire, of my knowledge of thy justice and kindness of heart. But for this, I had not brought him into thy kingdom; for I said to myself, “The queen will take pleasure in looking upon him and hearing his verses and his sweet and eloquent discoursed like strung pearls.” Moreover, he hath entered our land and eaten of our victual; wherefore it behoved us to give him his due, the more that I promised to bring him in company with thee; and thou knowest that parting is grievous and separation slaughter, especially separation from children. Now he hath seen all our women, save only thyself; so do thou show him thy face.’

  The queen smiled and said, ‘How can he be my husband and have had children by me, that I should show him my face?’ Then she made them bring Hassan before her and unveiled her face, which when he saw, he gave a great cry and fell down in a swoon. The old woman ceased not to tend him, till he came to himself and recited the following verses:

  O zephyr from the land of Irak that dost stray and blowest to the land of those ‘Wac! Wac!’ that say,

  Carry my loved ones news of me and say I die Of passion’s bitter food, that’s sour of savour aye.

  O darlings of my love, show favour and relent! My heart for parting’s pains is melted all away.

  Then he rose and looking on the queen’s fare, cried out with a great cry, for stress whereof the palace was like to fall on those who were therein. Then he swooned away again and the old woman tended him till he revived, when she asked him what ailed him and he said, ‘This queen is either my wife or else the likest of all folk to her.’ Quoth Nour el Huda to the old woman, ‘Out on the, O nurse! This stranger is either mad or disordered in mind, for he stareth me in the face with wide eyes and saith I am his wife.’ ‘O queen,’ answered Shewahi, ‘indeed he is excusable; so blame him not, for the proverb says, “There is no remedy for the sick of love, and he and the madman are alike.” And Hassan wept sore and recited the following verses:

  I see their traces and pine for longing pain; My tears rain down on the empty dwelling-place;

  And I pray to God, who willed that we should part, Once more to grant us reunion of His grace.

  Then said he to the queen, ‘By Allah, thou art not my wife, but thou art the likest of all folks to her!’

  Nour el Huda laughed till she fell backward and turned over on her side. Then said she to him, ‘O my friend, take thy time and observe me attentively: answer me at thy leisure what I shall ask thee and put away from thee madness and confusion and perplexity, for relief is at hand.’ ‘O mistress of kings and refuge of all, rich and poor,’ answered Hassan, ‘when I looked on th
ee, I was distracted, seeing thee to be either my wife or the likest of all folk to her; but now ask me what thou wilt.’ Quoth she, ‘What is it in thy wife that resembles me?’ ‘O my lady,’ replied he, ‘all that is in thee of beauty and elegance and amorous grace, such as the symmetry of thy shape and the sweetness of thy speech and the redness of thy cheeks and thy swelling breasts and so forth, resembleth her and thou art her very self in thy speech and the fairness of thy favour and the brilliancy of thy forehead.’

  When the queen heard this, she smiled and gloried in her beatify and grace and her cheeks reddened and her eyes wantoned; then she turned to Shewahi and said to her, ‘O my mother, carry him back to the place where he was with thee and tend him thyself, till I examine into his affair; for, if he be indeed a man of worth and mindful of friendship and love and affection, it becometh us to help him to his desire, more by token that he hath taken up his abode in our country and eaten of our victual, to say nought of the hardships of travel he hath suffered and the horrors and perils he hath undergone. But, when thou hast brought him to thy house, commend him to thy servants’ care and return to me in all haste; and God willing, all shall be well.’

  So Shewahi carried him back to her lodging and charged her servants and women wait upon him and bring him all he needed nor fail in that which was his due. Then she returned to Nour el Huda, who bade her don her arms and set out, taking with her a thousand stout horsemen, for the city of the Supreme King, her father, there to alight at the abode of her youngest sister, Menar es Sena, and say to her, ‘Clothe thy two sons in the coats of mail that their aunt hath made them and send them to her; for she longeth for them.’ Moreover the queen charged her keep Hassan’s affair secret and say to Menar es Sena, ‘Thy sister invitees thee to visit her.’

  ‘Then,’ continued she, ‘take the children and bring them to me in haste and let her follow at her leisure. Do thou come by a road other than hers and journey night and day and beware of discovering this matter to any. And I swear by all possible oaths that, if my sister prove to be his wife and it appear that her children are his, I will not hinder him from taking her and them and departing with them to his own country, but will aid him thereto. If she be not his wife, I will slay him; but if the children resemble him, we will believe him. For, O my mother, if my thought tell me true, my sister Menar es Sena is his wife, seeing that these traits are her traits and the attributes of surpassing beauty and excelling grace, of which he spoke, are found in none except my sisters and especially the youngest; but God alone is All-knowing!’

  The old woman put faith in her words, knowing not what she purposed in herself; so she kissed her hand and returning to Hassan, told him what the queen had said, whereat he was transported for joy and coming up to her, kissed her head. ‘O my son,’ said she, ‘kiss not my head, but my mouth, and be it by way of guerdon for thy salvation. Be of good heart and cheerful eye and grudge not to kiss my mouth, for I was the means of thy fore- gathering with her. So take comfort and be of good cheer nor be thy heart other than light, for, God willing, thy desire shall be accomplished at my hand.’ So saying, she bade him farewell and departed, whilst he recited the following verses:

  My witnesses unto the love of thee are four; Two witnesses each case requireth, and no more.

  A fluttering heart they are and limbs for aye a-quake, Tongue knotted in its speech and body wasted sore.

  And these also:

  Two things there are, whereover if eye wept tear on tear Of blood, till they for weeping were like to disappear,

  They never could fulfil them the tithe of all their due, The prime of youth and radiance from friends and lovers dear.

  Then the old women armed herself and taking with her a thousand armed horsemen, set out and journeyed till she came to the island and the city where dwelt the princess Menar es Sena and between which and that of her sister Nour el Huda was three days’ journey. Now the king had seven daughters, all sisters-german by one mother and father except the youngest: the eldest was called Nour el Huda, the second Nejm es Sebah, the third Shems ez Zuha, the fourth Shejeret et Durr, the fifth Cout el Culoub, the sixth Sheref el Benat and the youngest Menar es Sena, Hassan’s wife, who was their sister by the father’s side only. When Shewahi reached the city, she went in to the princess Menar es Sena and saluting her, gave her her sister’s greeting and acquainted her with the latter’s longing for her and her children and that she reproached her for not visiting her. Quoth Menar es Sena, ‘Verily, I am beholden to my sister and have failed of my duty to her in not visiting her, but I will do so now.’ Then she bade pitch her tents without the city and took with her a suitable present for her sister.

  Presently, the king her father looked out of the window of his palace, and seeing the tents pitched by the road, enquired of them, and they said to him, ‘The princess Menar es Sena hath pitched her tents there, being minded to visit her sister Queen Nour el Huda.’ When the king heard this, he equipped troops to escort her to her sister and brought out to her from his treasuries meat and drink and treasure and jewels and rarities, that beggar description. Presently the old woman again presented herself and kissed the earth before the princess, who said to her, ‘Hast thou any need, O my mother?’ Quoth Shewahi, ‘Thy sister, Queen Nour el Huda, biddeth thee clothe thy sons in the two coats of mail which she made for them and send them to her by me, and I will take them and forego thee with them and be the harbinger of thy coming to her.’

  When the princess heard these her words, her colour changed and she bowed her head a long while, after which she shook it and looking up, said to the old woman, ‘O my mother, when thou namest my children, my mind is troubled and my heart fluttereth; for, from the time of their birth, none, neither genie nor man, male nor female, hath looked on their faces, and I am jealous for them of the soft-blowing zephyr.’ ‘What words are these, O my lady?’ replied the old woman. ‘Dost thou fear for them from thy sister? God keep thy reason! Thou mayst not cross the queen in this thing, for she would be wroth with thee. Indeed, O my lady, the children are young, and thou art excusable in fearing for them, for those that love are apt to deem evil: but, O my daughter, thou knowest my tenderness and solicitude over thee and thy children, for indeed I reared thee before them. I will take them and make my cheek their pillow and open my heart and set them within, nor is it needful to commend them to my care in the like of this case; so be of good heart and cheerful eye and send them to her, for, at the most, I shall but forego thee with them a day or two.’ And she went on to urge her, till she gave way, fearing her sister’s anger and knowing not what lurked for her in the future, and consented to send them with the old woman.

  So she called them and bathed them and equipped them and changed their apparel. Then she clad them in the two coats of mail and delivered them to Shewahi, who took them and sped on with them like a bird, by another road than that by which their mother should travel, even as the queen had charged her; nor did she cease to fare on with all diligence, being fearful for them, till she came in sight of their aunt’s city, when she crossed the river and entering the town, carried them in to Nour el Huda. The queen rejoiced at their sight and embraced them and pressed them to her bosom; after which she seated them, one on each knee, and said to the old women, ‘Now fetch me Hassan, for I have granted him my safeguard and have spared him from my sabre and he hath sought refuge in my house and taken up his abode in my courts, after having endured hardships and horrors and come through all manner of mortal perils, each more terrible than the other; yet hitherto is he not safe from drinking the cup , of death and from the cutting off of his breath.’ ‘If I bring him to thee,’ replied Shewahi, ‘wilt thou reunite him with these his children? Or if they prove not his, wilt thou pardon him and restore him to his own country?’

  The queen was exceeding wroth at her words and said to her, ‘Out on thee, O ill-omened old woman! How long wilt thou play us false in the matter of this stranger, who hath dared [to intrude] upon us and hath lifted our veil and pr
ied into our conditions? Thinkest thou that he shall come to our land and look upon our faces and soil our honours and after return in safety to his own country and expose our affairs to his people, wherefore our report will be bruited abroad among all the kings of the quarters of the earth and the merchants will bear tidings of us in every direction, saying, “A mortal entered the Wac Islands and traversed the land of the Jinn and the lands of the Wild Beasts and the Birds and set foot in the country of the warlocks and the enchanters and returned in safety?” This shall never be; and I swear by Him who created the heavens and builded them. Him who spread out the earth and levelled it, who made all creatures and numbered them, that, if they be not his children, I will assuredly slay him and strike of his head with my own hand!’

  Then she cried out at the old woman, who fell down for fear; and she said to the chamberlain, ‘Take twenty slaves and go with this old woman and fetch me in haste the youth who is in her house.’ So they dragged Shewahi along, pale and trembling in every nerve, till they came to her house, where she went in to Hassan, who rose to her and kissed her hands and saluted her. She returned not his greeting, but said to him, ‘Come; speak with the queen. Did I not forbid thee from all this, saying, “Return presently to thine own country and I will give thee that to which no mortal may avail?” But thou wouldst not obey me nor hearken to my words, but rejectedst my counsel and chosest to bring destruction on thyself and me. Up, then, and take that which thou hast chosen; for death is at hand. Arise: speak with yonder wicked tyrannical baggage.’ So Hassan arose, broken-spirited, mournful-hearted and fearful, despairing of life and saying, ‘O Preserver, preserve Thou me! O my God, be gracious to me in that which Thou hast decreed to me of Thine affliction and protect me, O Thou the most merciful of those that show mercy!’ Then he followed the old woman and the chamberlain and the guards to the queen’s presence, where he found his two sons Nasir and Mensour sitting in her lap, whilst she played and made merry with them. As soon as his eyes fell on them, he knew them and giving a great cry, fell down in a swoon for excess of joy at their sight. They also knew him and natural affection moved them, so that they freed themselves from the queen’s lap and fell upon Hassan, and God (to whom belong knight and majesty) made them speak and say to him, ‘O our father!’ Whereupon the old woman and all who were present wept for pity and tenderness over them and said, ‘Praised be God, who hath reunited you with your father!’ Presently, Hassan came to himself and embracing his children, wept till he fainted again, and when he revived, he recited the following verses: