One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  rich bedight.

  Raiment of silk and sendal, too, he brought to us for gift, And

  me in marriage sought therewith; yet, all his pains despite,

  Of me he got not what he sought and brideless did return, For

  that estrangement and disdain were pleasing in my sight.

  Wherefore, O stranger, dare thou not approach me with desire,

  Lest ruin quick and pitiless thy hardihood requite.

  When she had made an end of her verses, she folded the letter and delivered it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to El Abbas. He broke it open and read it and apprehended its purport; then took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:

  Indeed, thou’st told the tale of kings and men of might, Each one

  a lion fierce, impetuous in the fight,

  Whose wits (like mine, alack!) thou stalest and whose hearts With

  shafts from out thine eyes bewitching thou didst smite.

  Yea, and how slaves and steeds and good and virgin girls Were

  proffered thee to gift, thou hast not failed to cite,

  How presents in great store thou didst refuse and eke The givers,

  great and small, with flouting didst requite.

  Then came I after them, desiring thee, with me No second save my

  sword, my falchion keen and bright.

  No slaves with me have I nor camels swift of foot, Nor

  slave-girls have I brought in curtained litters dight.

  Yet, an thou wilt vouchsafe thy favours unto me, My sabre thou

  shalt see the foemen put to flight;

  Ay, and around Baghdad the horsemen shalt behold, Like clouds

  that wall the world, full many a doughty knight,

  All hearkening to my word, obeying my command, In whatsoever

  thing is pleasing to my sight.

  If slaves thou fain wouldst have by thousands every day Or,

  kneeling at thy feet, see kings of mickle might,

  And horses eke wouldst have led to thee day by day And girls,

  high- breasted maids, and damsels black and white,

  Lo under my command the land of Yemen is And trenchant is my

  sword against the foe in fight.

  Whenas the couriers came with news of thee, how fair Thou wast

  and sweet and how thy visage shone with light,

  All, all, for thy sweet sake, I left; ay, I forsook Aziz, my

  sire, and those akin to me that hight

  And unto Irak fared, my way to thee to make, And crossed the

  stony wastes i’ the darkness of the night.

  Then sent I speech to thee in verses such as burn The heart;

  reproach therein was none nor yet unright;

  Yet with perfidiousness (sure Fortune’s self as thou Ne’er so

  perfidious was) my love thou didst requite

  And deemedst me a waif, a homeless good-for-nought, A

  slave-begotten brat, a wanton, witless wight.

  Then he folded the letter and committed it to the nurse and gave her five hundred dinars, saying, “Accept this from me, for that indeed thou hast wearied thyself between us.” “By Allah, O my lord,” answered she, “my desire is to bring about union between you, though I lose that which my right hand possesseth.” And he said, “May God the Most High requite thee with good!” Then she carried the letter to Mariyeh and said to her, “Take this letter; belike it may be the end of the correspondence.” So she took it and breaking it open, read it, and when she had made an end of it, she turned to the nurse and said to her, “This fellow putteth off lies upon me and avoucheth unto me that he hath cities and horsemen and footmen at his command and submitting to his allegiance; and he seeketh of me that which he shall not obtain; for thou knowest, O nurse, that kings’ sons have sought me in marriage, with presents and rarities; but I have paid no heed unto aught of this; so how shall I accept of this fellow, who is the fool of his time and possesseth nought but two caskets of rubies, which he gave to my father, and indeed he hath taken up his abode in the house of El Ghitrif and abideth without silver or gold? Wherefore, I conjure thee by Allah, O nurse, return to him and cut off his hope of me.”

  Accordingly the nurse returned to El Abbas, without letter or answer; and when she came in to him, he saw that she was troubled and noted the marks of chagrin on her face; so he said to her, “What is this plight?” Quoth she, “I cannot set out to thee that which Mariyeh said; for indeed she charged me return to thee without letter or answer.” “O nurse of kings,” rejoined El Abbas, “I would have thee carry her this letter and return not to her without it.” Then he took inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:

  My secret is disclosed, the which I strove to hide; Of thee and

  of thy love enough have I abyed.

  My kinsmen and my friends for thee I did forsake And left them

  weeping tears that poured as ‘twere a tide.

  Yea, to Baghdad I came, where rigour gave me chase And I was

  overthrown of cruelty and pride.

  Repression’s draught, by cups, from the beloved’s hand I’ve

  quaffed; with colocynth for wine she hath me plied.

  Oft as I strove to make her keep the troth of love, Unto

  concealment’s ways still would she turn aside.

  My body is dissolved with sufferance in vain; Relenting, ay, and

  grace I hoped should yet betide;

  But rigour still hath waxed on me and changed my case And love

  hath left me bound, afflicted, weeping-eyed.

  How long shall I anights distracted be for love Of thee? How long

  th’ assaults of grief and woes abide?

  Thou, thou enjoy’st repose and comfortable sleep, Nor of the

  mis’ries reckst by which my heart is wried.

  I watch the stars for wake and pray that the belov’d May yet to

  me relent and bid my tears be dried.

  The pains of long desire have wasted me away; Estrangement and

  disdain my body sore have tried.

  “Be thou not hard of heart,” quoth I. Had ye but deigned To visit

  me in dreams, I had been satisfied.

  But when ye saw my writ, the standard ye o’erthrew Of faith, your

  favours grudged and aught of grace denied.

  Nay, though ye read therein discourse that sure should speak To

  heart and soul, no word thereunto ye replied,

  But deemed yourself secure from every changing chance Nor recked

  the ebb and flow of Fortune’s treacherous tide.

  Were my affliction thine, love’s anguish hadst thou dreed And in

  the flaming hell of long estrangement sighed.

  Yet shall thou suffer that which I from thee have borne And with

  love’s woes thy heart shall yet be mortified.

  The bitterness of false accusing shall thou taste And eke the

  thing reveal that thou art fain to hide;

  Yea, he thou lov’st shall be hard-hearted, recking not Of

  fortune’s turns or fate’s caprices, in his pride.

  Wherewith farewell, quoth I, and peace be on thee aye, What while

  the branches bend, what while the stars abide.

  When he had made an end of his verses, he folded the letter and gave it to the nurse, who took it and carried it to Mariyeh. When she came into the princess’s presence, she saluted her; but Mariyeh returned not her salutation and she said, “O my lady, how hard is thy heart that thou grudgest to return the salutation! Take this letter, for that it is the last of that which shall come to thee from him.” Quoth Mariyeh, “Take my warning and never again enter my palace, or it will be the cause of thy destruction; for I am certified that thou purposest my dishonour. So get thee gone from me.” And she commanded to beat the nurse; whereupon the latter went forth fleeing from her presence, changed of colour and absent of wits, and gave not over going till she came to the house of El Abbas.


  When the prince saw her in this plight, he was as a sleeper awakened and said to her, “What hath befallen thee? Set out to me thy case.” “God on thee,” answered she, “nevermore send me to Mariyeh, and do thou protect me, so may God protect thee from the fires of hell!” Then she related to him that which had bedded her with Mariyeh; which when he heard, there took him the shamefastness of the generous and this was grievous unto him. The love of Mariyeh fled forth of his heart and he said to the nurse, “How much hadst thou of Mariyeh every month?” “Ten dinars,” answered she, and he said, “Be not concerned.” Then he put his hand to his poke and bringing out two hundred dinars, gave them to her and said, “Take this for a whole year’s wage and turn not again to serve any one. When the year is out, I will give thee two years’ wage, for that thou hast wearied thyself with us and on account of the cutting off of thy dependence upon Mariyeh.”

  Moreover, he gave her a complete suit of clothes and raising his head to her, said, “When thou toldest me that which Mariyeh had done with thee, God rooted out the love of her from my heart, and never again will she occur to my mind; so extolled be the perfection of Him who turneth hearts and eyes! It was she who was the cause of my coming out from Yemen, and now the time is past for which I engaged with my people and I fear lest my father levy his troops and come forth in quest of me, for that he hath no child other than myself and cannot brook to be parted from me; and on like wise is it with my mother.” When the nurse heard his words, she said to him, “O my lord, and which of the kings is thy father?” “My father is El Aziz, lord of Yemen and Nubia and the Islands of the Benou Kehtan and the Two Noble Sanctuaries (God the Most High have them in His keeping!),” answered El Abbas; “and whenas he taketh horse, there mount with him an hundred and twenty and four thousand horsemen, all smiters with the sword, let alone attendants and servants and followers, all of whom give ear unto my word and obey my commandment.” “Why, then, O my lord,” asked the nurse, “didst thou conceal the secret of thy rank and lineage and passedst thyself off for a wayfarer? Alas for our disgrace before thee by reason of our shortcoming in rendering thee thy due! What shall be our excuse with thee, and thou of the sons of the kings?” But he rejoined, “By Allah, thou hast not fallen short! Nay, it is incumbent on me to requite thee, what while I live, though I be far distant from thee.”

  Then he called his servant Aamir and said to him, “Saddle the horses.” When the nurse heard his words and indeed [she saw that] Aamir brought him the horses and they were resolved upon departure, the tears ran down upon her cheeks and she said to him, “By Allah, thy separation is grievous to me, O solace of the eye!” Then said she, “Where is the goal of thine intent, so we may know thy news and solace ourselves with thy report?” Quoth he, “I go hence to visit Akil, the son of my father’s brother, for that he hath his sojourn in the camp of Kundeh ben Hisham, and these twenty years have I not seen him nor he me; wherefore I purpose to repair to him and discover his news and return hither. Then will I go hence to Yemen, if it be the will of God the Most High.”

  So saying, he took leave of the woman and her husband and set out, intending for Akil, his father’s brother’s son. Now there was between Baghdad and Akil’s abiding-place forty days’ journey; so El Abbas settled himself on the back of his courser and his servant Aamir mounted also and they fared forth on their way. Presently, El Abbas turned right and left and recited the following verses:

  I am the champion-slayer, the warrior without peer; My foes I

  slay, destroying the hosts, when I appear.

  Tow’rds El Akil my journey I take; to visit him, The wastes in

  praise and safety I traverse, without fear,

  And all the desert spaces devour, whilst to my rede, Or if in

  sport or earnest, still Aamir giveth ear.

  Who letteth us or hind’reth our way, I spring on him, As

  springeth lynx or panther upon the frighted deer;

  With ruin I o’erwhelm him and abjectness and woe And cause him

  quaff the goblet of death and distance drear.

  Well-ground my polished sword is and thin and keen of edge And

  trenchant, eke, for smiting and long my steel-barbed spear.

  So fell and fierce my stroke is, if on a mountain high It lit,

  though all of granite, right through its midst ’twould

  shear.

  Nor troops have I nor henchmen nor one to lend me aid Save God,

  to whom, my Maker, my voice in praise I rear.

  ’Tis He who pardoneth errors alike to slave and free; On Him is

  my reliance in good and evil cheer.

  Then they fell to journeying night and day, and as they went, behold, they sighted a camp of the camps of the Arabs. So El Abbas enquired thereof and was told that it was the camp of the Benou Zuhreh. Now there were around them sheep and cattle, such as filled the earth, and they were enemies to El Akil, the cousin of El Abbas, upon whom they still made raids and took his cattle; wherefore he used to pay them tribute every year, for that he availed not to cope with them. When El Abbas came near the camp, he dismounted from his courser and his servant Aamir also dismounted; and they set down the victual and ate their sufficiency and rested awhile of the day. Then said the prince to Aamir, “Fetch water and give the horses to drink and draw water for us in thy water-bag, by way of provision for the road.”

  So Aamir took the water-skin and made for the water; but, when he came to the well, behold, two young men with gazelles, and when they saw him, they said to him, “Whither wilt thou, O youth, and of which of the Arabs art thou?” “Harkye, lads,” answered he, “fill me my water-skin, for that I am a stranger man and a wayfarer and I have a comrade who awaiteth me.” Quoth they, “Thou art no wayfarer, but a spy from El Akil’s camp.” Then they took him and carried him to [their king] Zuheir ben Shebib; and when he came before him, he said to him, “Of which of the Arabs art thou?” Quoth Aamir, “I am a wayfarer.” And Zuheir said, “Whence comest thou and whither wilt thou?” “I am on my way to Akil,” answered Aamir. When he named Akil, those who were present were agitated; but Zuheir signed to them with his eyes and said to him, “What is thine errand with Akil?” Quoth he, “We would fain see him, my friend and I.”

  When Zuheir heard his words, he bade smite off his head; but his Vizier said to him, “Slay him not, till his friend be present.” So he commanded the two slaves to fetch his friend; whereupon they repaired to El Abbas and called to him, saying, “O youth, answer the summons of King Zuheir.” “What would the king with me?” asked he, and they answered, “We know not.” Quoth he, “Who gave the king news of me?” “We went to draw water,” answered they, “and found a man by the water. So we questioned him of his case, but he would not acquaint us therewith; wherefore we carried him perforce to King Zuheir, who questioned him of his case and he told him that he was going to Akil. Now Akil is the king’s enemy and he purposeth to betake himself to his camp and make prize of his offspring and cut off his traces.” “And what,” asked El Abbas, “hath Akil done with King Zuheir?” And they replied, “He engaged for himself that he would bring the king every year a thousand dinars and a thousand she-camels, besides a thousand head of thoroughbred horses and two hundred black slaves and fifty slave-girls; but it hath reached the king that Akil purposeth to give nought of this; wherefore he is minded to go to him. So hasten thou with us, ere the king be wroth with thee and with us.”

  Then said El Abbas to them, “O youths, sit by my arms and my horse till I return.” But they answered, saying, “By Allah, thou prolongest discourse with that which beseemeth not of words! Make haste, or we will go with thy head, for indeed the king purposeth to slay thee and to slay thy comrade and take that which is with you.” When the prince heard this, his skin quaked and he cried out at them with a cry that made them tremble. Then he sprang upon his horse and settling himself in the saddle, galloped till he came to the king’s assembly, when he cried out at the top of his voice, saying [“T
o horse,] cavaliers!” And levelled his spear at the pavilion wherein was Zuheir. Now there were about him a thousand smiters with the sword; but El Abbas fell in upon them and dispersed them from around him, and there abode none in the tent save Zuheir and his vizier.

  Then came up El Abbas to the door of the tent, and therein were four-and-twenty golden doves; so he took them, after he had beaten them down with the end of his lance. Then he called out, saying, “Harkye, Zuheir! Doth it not suffice thee that thou hast quelled El Akil’s repute, but thou art minded to quell that of those who sojourn round about him? Knowest thou not that he is of the lieutenants of Kundeh ben [Hisham of the Benou] Sheiban, a man renowned for prowess? Indeed, covetise of him hath entered into thee and jealousy of him hath gotten possession of thee. Doth it not suffice thee that thou hast orphaned his children and slain his men? By the virtue of the Chosen Prophet, I will make thee drink the cup of death!” So saying, he drew his sword and smiting Zuheir on his shoulder, caused the steel issue, gleaming, from the tendons of his throat. Then he smote the vizier and clove his head in sunder.

  As he was thus, behold, Aamir called out to him and said, “O my lord, come to my help, or I am a dead man!” So El Abbas went up to him and found him cast down on his back and chained with four chains to four pickets of iron. He loosed his bonds and said to him, “Go before me, O Aamir.” So he fared on before him a little, and presently they looked, and behold, horsemen making to Zuheir’s succour, to wit, twelve thousand cavaliers, with Sehl ben Kaab in their van, mounted upon a jet-black steed. He charged upon Aamir, who fled from him, then upon El Abbas, who said, “O Aamir, cleave fast to my horse and guard my back.” Aamir did as he bade him, whereupon El Abbas cried out at the folk and falling upon them, overthrew their braves and slew of them nigh two thousand cavaliers, whilst not one of them knew what was to do nor with whom he fought. Then said one of them to other, “Verily, the king is slain; so with whom do we wage war? Indeed ye flee from him; so do ye enter under his banners, or not one of you will be saved.”

  Thereupon they all dismounted and putting off that which was upon them of harness of war, came before El Abbas and tendered him allegiance and sued for his protection. So he held his hand from them and bade them gather together the spoils. Then he took the riches and the slaves and the camels, and they all became his liege-men and his retainers, to the number (according to that which is said) of fifty thousand horse. Moreover, the folk heard of him and flocked to him from all sides; whereupon he divided [the spoil amongst them] and gave gifts and abode thus three days, and there came presents to him. Then he bade set out for Akil’s abiding-place; so they fared on six days and on the seventh day they came in sight of the camp. El Abbas bade his man Aamir forego him and give Akil the glad news of his cousin’s coming. So he rode on to the camp and going in to Akil, gave him the glad news of Zuheir’s slaughter and the conquest of his tribe.