One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  Richard Francis Burton’s translation: detailed table of contents

  The Third Day.

  Richard Francis Burton’s translation: detailed table of contents

  Of the Advantages of Patience.164

  When it was the third day, the third Wazir came in to the king and said to him, “O king, delay not the matter of this youth, because his deed hath caused us fall into the mouths of folk, and it behoveth that thou slay him forthright, that the talk may be cut from us and it be not said, ‘The king saw on his bed a man with his wife and spared him.’” The king was chagrined by these words and bade bring the youth. Accordingly, they fetched him in fetters, and indeed the king’s anger was upstirred against him by the Minister’s speech and he was troubled; so he said to him, “O base of birth, thou hast dishonoured us and marred our mention, and needs must I do away thy life from the world.” Quoth the youth, “O king, make use of patience in all thine affairs, so wilt thou win to thy wish, for that Allah Almighty hath appointed the issue of long-suffering to be in abounding good, and indeed by patience Abъ Sбbir ascended from the pit and sat down upon the throne.” Asked the king, “Who was Abъ Sбbir, and what is his tale?” and the youth answered, saying, “Hear thou, O king,

  Richard Francis Burton’s translation: detailed table of contents

  The Story of Abu Sabir.

  There was once a man, a village headman,165 Abъ Sabнr hight, and he had much black cattle and a buxom wife, who had borne him two sons. They abode in a certain hamlet and there used to come thither a lion and rend and devour Abu Sabir’s herd, so that the most part thereof was wasted and his wife said to him one day, “This lion hath wasted the greater part of our property. Arise, mount thy horse and take thy host and do thy best to kill him, so we may be at rest from him.” But Abu Sabir said, “Have patience, O woman, for the issue of patience is praised. This lion it is which transgresseth against us, and the transgressor, perforce must Almighty Allah destroy him. Indeed, ’tis our long-suffering that shall slay him,166 and he that doth evil needs must it recoil upon him.” A few days after, the king went forth one morning to hunt and falling in with the lion, he and his host, gave chase to him and ceased not pursuit till they slew him. This news reached Abъ Sбbir who improved the occasion to his wife, “Said I not to thee, O woman, that whoso doth evil, it shall recoil upon him? Haply an I sought to slay the lion myself, I had not prevailed against him, and this is the issue of patience.” It befel, after this, that a man was slain in Abъ Sбbir’s village; wherefore the Sultan bade plunder the village, and they spoiled the patient one’s goods with the rest. Thereupon his wife said to him, “All the king’s officers know thee; so do thou prefer thy plaint to the sovran, that he may bid thy beasts to be restored to thee.” But he said to her, “O woman, said I not to thee that he who worketh wrong shall be wronged? Indeed, the king hath done evil, and right soon he shall suffer the issues of his deed, for whoso taketh the goods of the folk, needs must his goods be taken.” A man of his neighbours heard his speech, and he was an envier of his; so he went to the Sultan and acquainted him therewith, whereupon the king sent and plundered all the rest of his goods and drave him forth from the village, and his wife and family with him. They went wandering in the waste grounds about the hamlet and his wife said to him, “All that hath befallen us cometh of thy slowness in affairs and thy helplessness.” But he said to her, “Have patience, for the issue of patience is good.” Then they walked on a little way, and thieves met them and despoiling them of whatso remained with them, stripped them of their raiment and took from them the two children; whereupon the woman wept and said to her husband, “Hearkye, my good man, put away from thee this folly and up with us to follow the thieves, so, peradventure they may have compassion on us and restore the children to us.” He replied, “O woman, have patience, for he who doth evil shall be requited with evil and his frowardness shall revert upon him. Were I to follow them, belike one of them would take his sword and smite my neck and slay me; but have patience, for the issue of patience is praised.” Then they fared on till they made a village167 in the land of Kirman, and by it a river of water; so the man said to his wife, “Tarry thou here, whilst I enter the village and look us out a place wherein we may home ourselves.” And he left her by the water and entered the village. Presently, up came a horseman in quest of water, wherewith to water his horse: he saw the woman and she was pleasing in his eyes; so quoth he to her, “Arise, mount with me and I will take thee to wife and entreat thee kindly.” Quoth she, “Spare me, so may Allah spare thee! Indeed I have a husband.” But he drew his dudgeon and said to her, “An thou obey me not, I will smite thee and slay thee.” When she saw his frowardness, she wrote on the ground in the sand with her finger, saying, “O Abъ Sбbir, thou hast not ceased to be patient, till thy good is gone from thee and thy children and now thy wife, who was more precious in thy sight than everything and than all thy monies, and indeed thou abidest in thy sorrow the whole of thy life long, so thou mayest see what thy patience will profit thee.” Then the horseman took her, and setting her behind him, went his way. As for Abъ Sбbir, when he returned, he saw not his wife but he read what was writ upon the ground, wherefore he wept and sat awhile sorrowing. Then said he to himself, “O Abъ Sбbir, it behoveth thee to be patient, for haply there shall betide thee an affair yet sorer than this and more grievous;” and he went forth a-following his face,168 like to one love-distraught and passion-madded, till he came to a gang of labourers working upon the palace of the king, by way of forced labour.169 When the overseers saw him, they laid hold of him and said to him, “Work thou with these folk at the palace of the king; else we will imprison thee for life.” So he fell to working with them as a labourer and every day they gave him a bannock of bread. He wrought with them a month’s space, till it chanced that one of the labourers mounted a ladder and falling, brake his leg; whereupon he cried out and shed tears. Quoth Abъ Sбbir to him, “Have patience and weep not; for in thine endurance thou shalt find ease.” But the man said to him, “How long shall I have patience?” And he answered, saying, “Long-suffering bringeth a man forth of the bottom of the pit and seateth him on the throne of the kingdom.” It so fortuned that the king was seated at the lattice, hearkening to their talk, and Abъ Sбbir’s words angered him for the moment; wherefore he bade bring him before him and they brought him forthright. Now there was in the king’s palace an underground dungeon and therein a vast silo170 and a deep, into which the king caused cast Abъ Sбbir, saying to him, “O little of wit, soon shall we see how thou wilt come forth of the pit to the throne of the kingdom.” Then he used continuously to come and stand at the mouth of the pit and say, “O little of wit, O Abъ Sбbir,171 I see thee not come forth of the pit and sit down on the king’s throne!” And he assigned him each day two bannocks of bread, whilst Abъ Sбbir kept silence and spake not, but patiently bore whatso betided him. Now the king had a brother, whom he had imprisoned in that pit of old time, and he had died there; but the folk of the realm deemed him still alive, and when his durance grew long, the courtiers of the king used to talk of this and of the tyranny of their liege Lord, and the bruit spread abroad that the sovran was a tyrant, so they fell upon him one day and slew him. Then they sought the silo and brought out therefrom Abъ Sбbir, deeming him the king’s brother, for that he was the nearest of folk to him in favour and the likest, and he had been long in the pit. So they doubted not but that he was the Prince and said to him, “Reign thou in thy brother’s room, for we have slain him and thou art sovran in his stead.” But Abъ Sбbir was silent and spoke not a word;172 and he knew that this was the result of his patience. Then he arose and sitting down on the king’s throne, donned the royal dress and dispensed justice and equity, and affairs prospered; wherefore the lieges obeyed him and the subjects inclined to him and many were his soldiers. Now the king, who erst had plundered Abъ Sбbir’s goods and driven him forth of his village, had an enemy; and the foe mounted horse against him and overcame him
and captured his capital; wherefore he betook him to flight and came to Abъ Sбbir’s city, craving support of him and seeking that he should succour him. He knew not that the king of the city was the headman whom he had spoiled; so he presented himself before him and made complaint to him; but Abъ Sбbir knew him and said to him, “This is somewhat of the issue of patience. Allah the Most High hath given me power over thee.” Then he commanded his guards to plunder the unjust king and his suite; so they spoiled them and stripping them of their clothes, put them forth of his country. When Abъ Sбbir’s troops saw this, they marvelled and said, “What be this deed the king doth? There cometh a king to him, craving protection, and he spoileth him! This is not the fashion of kings.” But they dared not speak of this. Presently, news came to the king of highwaymen in his land; so he set out in quest of them and ceased not to follow after them, till he seized on them all. and behold, they were the very thieves who had plundered him and his wife by the way and had carried off his children. Accordingly he bade bring them before him, and when they came into his presence, he questioned them, saying, “Where are the two boys ye took on such a day?” Said they, “They are with us and we will present them to our lord the king for Mamelukes to serve him and give him wealth galore that we have gotten together and doff all we own and repent from lawlessness and fight in thy service.” Abъ Sбbir, however, paid no heed to their words, and seized all their good and bade put them all to death. Furthermore. he took his two boys and rejoiced in them with exceeding joy, whereat the troops murmured among themselves, saying, “Verily, this is a greater tyrant than his brother! There cometh to him a gang of thieves, and they seek to repent and proffer two boys by way of peace-offering, and he taketh the two lads and all their good and slayeth them! Indeed this be violent oppression.” After this came the horseman, who had seized Abъ Sбbir’s wife, and complained of her to the king that she would not give him possession of her person, and solemnly declared that she was his wife. The king bade bring her before him, that he might hear her plea and pronounce judgment upon her. So the horseman came with her before him, and when the king saw her, he knew her and taking her from her ravisher, bade put him to death. Then he became aware of the troops, that they murmured against him and spake of him as a tyrant; so he turned to his courtiers and ministers and said to them, “As for me, by Allah of All-might,173 I am not the king’s brother! Nay, I am but one whom the king imprisoned upon a word he heard from me and he used every day to come and taunt me therewith. Ye deem me the king’s brother; but I am Abъ Sabir and the Lord hath given me the kingship in virtue of my patience. As for the king who sought protection of me and I plundered him, ’twas he who first wronged me, for that he plundered me aforetime and drave me forth of my native land and banished me, without due cause; wherefore I requited him with that which he had done to me, in the way of lawful retribution. As for the highwaymen who proffered repentance, there was no repentance for them with me, because they began upon me with foul dealing and waylaid me by the road and despoiled me and seized my good and my sons, the two boys that I took of them, and those ye deemed Mamelukes are my very sons; so I avenged myself on the thieves of that which they did with me whilome and requited them with strict justice. As for the horseman whom I slew, this woman I took from him was my wife and he seized her by force, but Allah the Most High hath restored her to me; so this was my right, and my deed that I have done was righteous, albeit ye, judging by the externals of the matter, deemed that I had done this by way of tyranny.” When the folk heard these words, they marvelled and fell prostrate before him; and they redoubled in esteem for him and exceeding affection and sued pardon of him, admiring that which Allah had done with him and how He had given him the kingship by reason of his longsuffering and his patience and how he had raised himself by his endurance from the bottom of the pit to the throne of the kingdom, what while Allah cast down the late king from the throne into the pit.174 Then Abъ Sбbir foregathered with his wife and said to her, “How deemest thou of the fruit of patience and its sweetness and the fruit of haste and its bitterness? Verily, all that a man doth of good and evil, he shall assuredly encounter the same.” “On like wise, O king” (continued the young treasurer), “it besitteth thee to practice patience, whenever it is possible to thee, for that longsuffering is the wont of the noble, and it is the chiefest of their reliance, especially for kings.” When the king heard this from the youth, his wrath subsided; so he bade return him to the prison, and the folk dispersed that day.