One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  When it was the One Hundred and Twenty-second Night,

  She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young merchant, whose name was Aziz, continued to Taj al-Muluk: — And when I entered the street called Syndic Street behold, I caught sight of an old woman walking with a lighted taper in one hand and in the other a folded letter and I drew near her and lo! she was weeping and repeating these couplets,

  “O glad news bearer well come! Welcome! Hail! * How sweet thy

  speech to me, what treat thy tale:

  O messenger from him whose weal I love, * God bless thee long as

  breathes soft morning-gale!”

  Now when she saw me she asked, “O my son! canst thou read?”; and I answered, of my officiousness, “Yes, old naunty!” Rejoined she, “Then take this letter and read it to me.” And when she handed it to me, I took it and unfolding it read it to her and behold it was from an absent man to his friends and lovers whom he greeted; and, when she heard its purport, she rejoiced at the good tidings and blessed me, saying, “Allah dispel thine anxiety, even as thou hast dispelled mine!” Then she took the letter and walked on. Meanwhile, I was urged by a call of nature and sat down on my heels to make water.524 When I had ended I stood up and wiped the orifice with a pebble and then, letting down my clothes, I was about to wend my way, when suddenly the old woman came up to me again and, bending down over my hand, kissed it and said, “O my master! the Lord give thee joy of thy youth! I entreat thee to walk with me a few steps as far as yonder door, for I told them what thou didst read to me of the letter, and they believe me not, so come with me two steps and read them the letter from behind the door and accept the prayers of a righteous woman.” I enquired, “What is the history of this letter?”, and she replied, “O my son, this letter is from my son, who hath been absent for a term of ten years. He set out with a stock of merchandise and tarried long in foreign parts, till we lost hope of him and supposed him to be dead. Now after all that delay cometh this letter from him, and he hath a sister who weepeth for him night and day; so I said to her, ‘He is well and all right.’ But she will not believe me and declares, ‘There is no help but thou bring me one who will read this letter in my presence, that my heart may be at rest and my mind at ease.’ Thou knowest, O my son, that all who love are wont to think evil: so be good enough to go with me and read to her this letter, standing behind the curtain, whilst I call his sister to listen within the door, so shalt thou dispel our heed and fulfil our need. Verily quoth the Apostle of Allah (whom Allah bless and preserve!), ‘Whoso easeth the troubled of one of the troubles of this troublous world, Allah will ease him of an hundred troubles’; and according to another tradition, ‘Whoso easeth his brother of one of the troubles of this troublous world, Allah shall relieve him of seventy and two troubles on the Day of Resurrection.’ And I have betaken myself to thee; so disappoint me not.” Replied I, “To hear is to obey: do thou go before me!” So she walked on devancing me and I followed her a little way, till she came to the gate of a large and handsome mansion whose door was plated with copper.525 I stood behind the door, whilst the old woman cried out in Persian, and ere I knew it a damsel ran up with light and nimble step. She had tucked up her trousers to her knees, so that I saw a pair of calves that confounded thinker and lighter, and the maid herself was as saith the poet describing her,

  “O thou who barest leg calf, better to suggest * For passion

  madded amourist better things above!

  Towards its lover cloth the bowl go round and run; * Cup526

  and cup bearer only drive us daft with love.”527

  Now these legs were like two pillars of alabaster adorned with anklets of gold, wherein were set stones of price. And the damsel had tucked up the end of her gown under her arm pit and had rolled up her sleeves to the elbow, so that I could see her white wrists whereon were two pairs of bracelets with clasps of great pearls; and round her neck was a collar of costly gems. Her ears were adorned with pendants of pearls and on her head she wore a kerchief528 of brocade, brand new and broidered with jewels of price. And she had thrust the skirt of her shift into her trousers string being busy with some household business. So when I saw her in this undress, I was confounded at her beauty, for she was like a shining sun. Then she said, with soft, choice speech, never heard I sweeter, “O my mother! is this he who cometh to read the letter?” “It is,” replied the old woman; and she put out her hand to me with the letter. Now between her and the door was a distance of about half a rod529 ; so I stretched forth my hand to take the letter from her and thrust head and shoulders within the door, thinking to draw near her and read the letter when, before I knew what her design was, the old woman butted her head against my back and pushed me forwards with the letter in my hand, so that ere I could take thought I found myself in the middle of the hall far beyond the vestibule. Then she entered, faster than a flash of blinding leven, and had naught to do but to shut the door. And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

  When it was the One Hundred and Twenty-third Night,

  She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the youth Aziz pursued to Taj al Muluk: “When the old woman pushed me forwards I found myself, ere I could think, inside the vestibule; and the old woman entered faster than a flash of blinding levee and had naught to do but to shut the door. When the girl saw me in the vestibule, she came up to me and strained me to her bosom, and threw me to the floor; then she sat astraddle upon my breast and kneaded my belly with her fingers, till I well nigh lost my senses. Thereupon she took me by the hand and led me, unable to resist for the violence of her pressure, through seven vestibules, whilst the old woman forewent us with the lighted candle, till we came to a great saloon with four estrades whereon a horseman might play Polo.530 Here she released me, saying, “Open thine eyes.” So I opened them still giddy for the excess of her embracing and pressing, and saw that the whole saloon was built of the finest marbles and alabasters, and all its furniture was of silk and brocade even to the cushions and mattresses. Therein also were two benches of yellow brass and a couch of red gold, set with pearls and precious stones, befitting none save Kings like thyself. And off the saloon were smaller sitting rooms; and the whole place was redolent of wealth. Then she asked, “O Aziz, which is liefer to thee life or death?” “Life,” answered I; and she said, “If life be liefer to thee, marry me.” Quoth I, “Indeed I should hate to marry the like of thee.” Quoth she, “If thou marry me thou wilt at least be safe from the daughter of Dalílah the Wily One.”531 I asked, “And who be that daughter of the Wily One?” Whereupon she laughed and replied, “ ’Tis she who hath companied with thee this day for a year and four months (may the Almighty destroy and afflict her with one worse than herself!) By Allah, there liveth not a more perfidious than she. How many men hath she not slain before thee and what deeds hath she not done. Nor can I understand how thou hast been all the time in her company, yet she hath not killed thee nor done thee a mischief.” When I heard her words, I marvelled with exceeding marvel and said, “O my lady, who made thee to know her?” Said she, “I know her as the age knoweth its calamities; but now I would fain have thee tell me all that hath passed between you two, that I may ken the cause of thy deliverance from her.” So I told her all that had happened between us, including the story of my cousin Azizah. She expressed her pity when she heard of the death, and her eyes ran over with tears and she claps hand on hand and cried out, Her youth was lost on Allah’s way,532 and may the Lord bless thee for her good works! By Allah, O Aziz, she who died for thee was the cause of thy preservation from the daughter of Dalia the Wily; and, but for her, thou hadst been lost. And now she is dead I fear for thee from the Crafty One’s perfidy and mischief; but my throat is choking and I cannot speak.” Quoth I Ay, by Allah: all this happened even as thou sayest.” And she shook her head and cried, “There liveth not this day the like of Azizah. I continued, “And on her death bed she bade me repeat to my lover these two saws,
‘Faith is fair! Unfaith is foul’” When she heard me say this, she exclaimed, “O Aziz, by Allah those same words saved thee from dying by her hand; and now my heart is at ease for thee from her, for she will never kill thee and the daughter of thy uncle preserved thee during her lifetime and after her death. By Allah, I have desired thee day after day but could not get at thee till this time when I tricked thee and outwitted thee; for thou art a raw youth533 and knowest not the wiles of young women nor the deadly guile of old women.” Rejoined I, No, by Allah!” Then said she to me, “Be of good cheer and eyes clear; the dead hath found Allah’s grace, and the live shall be in good case. Thou art a handsome youth and I do not desire thee but according to the ordinance of Allah and His Apostle (on whom be salutation and salvation!). Whatever thou requirest of money and stuff, thou shalt have forthright without stint, and I will not impose any toil on thee, no, never!, for there is with me always bread baked hot and water in pot. All I need of thee is that thou do with me even as the cock doth.” I asked “And what doth the cock?” Upon this she laughed and clapped her hands and fell over on her back for excess of merriment then she sat up and smiled and said, “O light of my eyes, really dost thou not know what cock’s duty is?” “No, by Allah!” replied I, and she, “The cock’s duty is to eat and drink and tread.’ I was abashed at her words and asked, “Is that the cock’s duty? Yes, answered she; “and all I ask of thee now is to gird thy loins and strengthen thy will and futter thy best.” Then she clapped her hands and cried out, saying, “O my mother, bring forward those who are with thee.” And behold, in came the old woman accompanied by four lawful witnesses, and carrying a veil of silk. Then she lighted four candles, whilst the witnesses saluted me and sat down; and the girl veiled herself with the veil and deputed one of them to execute the contract on her behalf. So they wrote out the marriage bond and she testified to have received the whole sum settled upon her, both the half in advance and the half in arrears; and that she was indebted to me in the sum of ten thousand dirhams. — And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

  When it was the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Night,

  She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young merchant continued to Taj al-Muluk: When they wrote out the marriage contract, she testified to having received the whole sum settled upon her, the half in advance and the half in arrears and that she was indebted to me in the sum of ten thousand dirhams. She paid the witnesses their wage and they withdrew whence they came. Thereupon she arose and cast off her clothes and stood in a chemise of fine silk edged with gold lace, after which she took off her trousers and seized my hand and led me up to the couch, saying, “There is no sin in a lawful put in.” She lay down on the couch outspread upon her back; and, drawing me on to her breast, heaved a sigh and followed it up with a wriggle by way of being coy. Then she pulled up the shift above her breasts, and when I saw her in this pose, I could not withhold myself from thrusting it into her, after I had sucked her lips, whilst she whimpered and shammed shame and wept when no tears came, and then said she, “O my beloved, do it, and do thy best!” Indeed the case reminded me of his saying, who said,

  “When I drew up her shift from the roof of her coynte, * I found

  it as strait* as my mind and my money:

  So I drove it half-way, and she sighed a loud sigh * Quoth I,

  ‘Why this sigh?’: ‘For the rest of it, honey!’”

  And she repeated, “O my beloved, let the finish be made for I am thine handmaid. My life on thee, up with it! give it me, all of it! that I may take it in my hand and thrust it into my very vitals!” And she ceased not to excite me with sobs and sighs and amorous cries in the intervals of kissing and clasping until amid our murmurs of pleasure we attained the supreme delight and the term we had in sight. We slept together till the morning, when I would have gone out; but lo! she came up to me, laughing, and said, “So! So! thinkest thou that going into the Hammam is the same as going out?534 Dost thou deem me to be the like of the daughter of Dalilah the Wily One? Beware of such a thought, for thou art my husband by contract and according to law. If thou be drunken return to thy right mind, and know that the house wherein thou art openeth but one day in every year. Go down and look at the great door.” So I arose and went down and found the door locked and nailed up and returned and told her of the locking and nailing. “O Aziz,” said she, “We have in this house flour, grain, fruits and pomegranates; sugar, meat, sheep, poultry and so forth enough for many years; and the door will not be opened till after the lapse of a whole twelvemonth and well I weet thou shalt not find thyself without this house till then.” Quoth I “There is no Majesty, and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” “And how can this harm thee,” rejoined she; “seeing thou knowest cock’s duty, whereof I told thee?” Then she laughed and I laughed too, and I conformed to what she said and abode with her, doing cock’s duty and eating and drinking and futtering for a year of full twelve months, during which time she conceived by me, and I was blessed with a babe by her. On the New Year’s day I heard the door opened and behold, men came in with cakes and flour and sugar. Upon this, I would have gone out but my wife said, “Wait till supper tide and go out even as thou camest in.” So I waited till the hour of night prayer and was about to go forth in fear and trembling, when she stopped me, saying, “By Allah, I will not let thee go until thou swear to come back this night before the closing of the door.” I agreed to this, and she swore me a solemn oath on Blade and Book,535 and the oath of divorce to boot, that I would return to her. Then I left her and going straight to the garden, found the door open as usual; where at I was angry and said to myself, “I have been absent this whole year and come here unawares and find the place open as of wont! I wonder is the damsel still here as before? I needs must enter and see before I go to my mother, more by reason that it is now nightfall.” So I entered the flower garden, — And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

  Richard Francis Burton’s translation: detailed table of contents

  FOOTNOTES VOLUME II.

  1 Supplementarily to note 2, , 2 Vol 1]and note 2, , 21 Vol 1] vol. i., I may add that “Shahrázád,” in the Shams al-Loghat, is the P.N. of a King. L. Langlès (Les Voyages de Sindibâd Le Marin et La Ruse des Femmes, first appended to Savary’s Grammar and reprinted 12 mot p + 113, Imprimerie Royale, Paris, M.D.CCC.XIV) explains it by Le cyprès, la beauté de la ville; and he is followed by (A. de Biberstein) Kazimirski (Ends el-Djelis Paris, Barrois, 1847). Ouseley (Orient. Collect.) makes Shahrzád=town-born; and others an Arabisation of Chehr-ázád (free of face, ingenuous of countenance) the petit nom of Queen Humay, for whom see the Terminal Essay. The name of the sister, whom the Fihrist converts into a Kahramánah, or nurse, vulgarly written Dínár-zád, would= child of gold pieces, freed by gold pieces, or one who has no need of gold pieces: Dínzád=child of faith and Daynázád, proposed by Langlès, “free from debt (!)” I have adopted Macnaghten’s Dunyazad. “Shahryar,” which Scott hideously writes “Shier ear,” is translated by the Shams, King of the world, absolute monarch and the court of Anushir wan while the Burhán-i-Káti’a renders it a King of Kings, and P.N. of a town. Shahr-báz is also the P.N. of a town in Samarcand.

  2 Arab. “Malik,” here used as in our story-books: “Pompey was a wise and powerful King” says the Gesta Romanorum. This King is, as will appear, a Regent or Governor under Harun al-Rashid. In the next tale he is Viceroy of Damascus, where he is also called “Sultan.”

  3 The Bull Edit. gives the lines as follows: —

  The lance was his pen, and the hearts of his foes *

  His paper, and dipped he in blood for ink;

  Hence our sires entitled the spear Khattíyah, *

  Meaning that withal man shall write, I think.

  The pun is in “Khattíyah” which may mean a writer (feminine) and also a spear, from Khatt Hajar, a tract in the province Al-Bahrayn (Persian Gulf), and Oman, where th
e best Indian bamboos were landed and fashioned into lances. Imr al-Keys (Mu’allakah v. 4.) sings of “our dark spears firmly wrought of Khattiyan cane;” Al-Busírí of “the brown lances of Khatt;” also see Lebid v. 50 and Hamásah p, 231, Antar notes the “Spears of Khatt” and “Rudaynian lances.” Rudaynah is said to have been the wife of one Samhár, the Ferrara of lances; others make her the wife of Al-Ka’azab and hold Sambár to be a town in Abyssinia where the best weapons were manufactured The pen is the Calamus or Kalam (reed cut for pen) of which the finest and hardest are brought from Java: they require the least ribbing. The rhetorical figure in the text is called Husn al-Ta’alíl, our aetiology; and is as admirable to the Arabs as it appears silly to us.

  4 “He loves folk” is high praise, meaning something more than benevolence and beneficence.. Like charity it covers a host of sins.

  5 The sentence is euphuistic.

  6 Arab. “Rubb”=syrup a word Europeanised by the “Rob

  Laffecteur.”

  7 The Septentriones or four oxen and their wain.

  8 The list fatally reminds us of “astronomy and the use of the globes” . . . “Shakespeare and the musical glasses.”

  9 The octave occurs in Night xv. I quote Torrens () by way of variety.

  10 A courteous formula of closing with the offer.

  11 To express our “change of climate” Easterns say, “change of water and air,” water coming first.

  12 “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night” (Psalm cxxi. 6). Easterns still believe in the blighting effect of the moon’s rays, which the Northerners of Europe, who view it under different conditions, are pleased to deny. I have seen a hale and hearty Arab, after sitting an hour in the moonlight, look like a man fresh from a sick bed; and I knew an Englishman in India whose face was temporarily paralysed by sleeping with it exposed to the moon.