One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  May all delights of life attend thee, O my lord, And mayst thou

  live as long as night and morning be!

  Lo! when meets tongues recall thy magnanimity, The age doth leap

  for Joy and Time claps hands for glee.

  The Sultan rose to receive them and after thanking Noureddin for his compliment, asked the Vizier who he was. The Vizier replied, “This is my brother’s son.” And the Sultan said, “How comes it that we have never heard of him?” “O my lord the Sultan,” answered the Vizier, know that my brother was Vizier in Egypt and died, leaving two sons, whereof the elder became Vizier in his father’s stead and the younger, whom thou seest, came to me. I had sworn that I would give my daughter in marriage to none but him; so when he came, I married him to her. Now he is young and I am old; my hearing grows dull and my judgment fails; wherefore I pray our lord the Sultan to make him Vizier in my room, for he is my brother’s son and the husband of my daughter, and he is apt for the Vizierate, being a man of sense and judgment.” The Sultan looked at Noureddin and was pleased with him, so granted the Vizier’s request and appointed him to the Vizierate, presenting him with a splendid dress of honour and one of his choicest mules and allotting him stipends and allowances. Noureddin kissed the Sultan’s hands and went home, he and his father-in-law, rejoicing greatly and saying, “This is of the good fortune of the new-born Hassan.’’ Next day he presented himself before the King and repeated the following verses:

  New favours attend thee each day of thy life, And fortune to

  counter the craft of thy foes!

  May thy days with God’s favour be white to the end, And black be

  their days with misfortune and woes!

  The Sultan commanded him to sit in the Vizier’s place; so he sat down and applied himself to the business of his office, examining into the folks’ affairs and giving judgment on their suits, after the usage of Viziers, whilst the Sultan watched him and wondered at his wit and good sense and judgment, wherefore he loved him and took him into favour. When the Divan broke up, Noureddin returned to his house and related what had passed to his father-in-law, who rejoiced. Thence-forward Noureddin ceased not so to apply himself to the duties of the Vizierate, that he left not the Sultan day or night and the latter increased his stipends and allowances till he amassed great wealth and became the owner of ships, that made trading voyages for his hand, as well as of slaves and servants, black and white, and laid out many estates and made irrigation-works and planted gardens. When his son Hassan was four years old, his father-in-law, the old Vizier, died, and he buried him with great pomp. Then he occupied himself with the education of his son and when he came to the age of seven, he brought him a doctor of the law, to teach him in his own house, and charged him to give him a good education and teach him good manners. So the tutor taught the boy to read and all manner of useful knowledge, after he had spent some years in committing the Koran to memory; and he grew in stature and beauty and symmetry, even as says the poet:

  The moon in the heaven of his grace shines full and fair to see,

  And the sun of the morning glows in his cheeks’ anemones.

  He’s such a compend of beauties, meseems, indeed, from him The

  world all beauty borrows that lives in lands and seas.

  The professor brought him up in his father’s palace, and all his years of youth he never left the house, till one day his father clad him in his richest clothes, and mounting him on one of the best of his mules, carried him to the Sultan, who was struck with his beauty and loved him. As for the people of the city, when he passed through the streets on his way to the palace, they were dazzled with his loveliness and sat down in the road, awaiting his return, that they might gaze their fill on his beauty and grace and symmetry. The Sultan made much of the boy and bade his father bring him with him, whenever his affairs called him to the palace. Noureddin replied, “I hear and obey,” and ceased not to carry him to the Sultan’s court, till he reached the age of fifteen, when his father sickened and calling his son, said to him, “Know, O my son, that this world is but a temporary abode, whilst the next is an eternal one. Before I die, I wish to give thee certain last injunctions, so pay heed to my words and set thy mind to understand them.” Then he gave him certain advice as to the proper way of dealing with folk and the conduct of his affairs; after which he called to mind his brother and his native land and wept for his separation from those he loved. Then he wiped away his tears and turning to his son, said to him, “Before I proceed to my parting exhortations, thou must know that thou hast an uncle who is Vizier in Cairo, and I left him and went away without his consent.” Then he took a sheet of paper and wrote therein all that had happened to him from the day of the dispute, together with the dates of his marriage and going in to the Vizier’s daughter and the birth of his son; after which he folded and sealed the paper and gave it to his son, saying, “keep this paper carefully, for in it is written thy rank and lineage and origin, and if any mishap befall thee, go to Cairo and ask for thine uncle and give him this and tell him that I died in a foreign land, full of longing for him.” So Bedreddin took the paper and wrapping it in a piece of waxed cloth, sewed it into the lining of his skull-cap and wound the muslin of his turban over it, weeping the while at the thought of losing his father, whilst himself but a boy. Then said Noureddin, “I have five behests to lay on thee: and the first is that thou be not too familiar with any one, neither frequent him nor foregather with him over-much; so shalt thou be safe from his mischief, for in retirement is safety, and I have heard it said by a poet:

  There is no man in all the world, whose love is worth thy trust,

  No friend who, if fate play thee false, will true and

  constant be.

  Wherefore I’d have thee live apart and lean for help on none. In

  this I give thee good advice; so let it profit thee.

  Secondly, O my son, oppress no one, lest Fortune oppress thee; for the fortune of this world is one day for thee and another against thee, and its goods are but a loan to be repaid. As I have heard a poet say:

  Be slow to move and hasten not to snatch thy heart’s desire; Be

  merciful to all, as thou on mercy reckonest;

  For no hand is there but the hand of God is over it, And no

  oppressor but shall be with worse than he oppress.

  Thirdly, preserve silence and let thy faults distract thee from those of other men; for it is said that in silence is safety; and thereon I have heard the following verses:

  Silence is fair and safety lies in taciturnity. So, when thou

  speak’st, I counsel thee, give not thy tongue the rein.

  Since, for one time that thou repent the having held thy tongue,

  Thou shalt of having spoke repent again and yet again.

  Fourthly, O my son, beware of drinking wine, for wine is the root of all evils and the thief of wit. Guard thyself from it, for the poet says:

  Wine and the drinkers of wine I have put away, And am become of

  those that of it mis-say.

  For wine indeed diverts from the road of right, And to all kinds

  of evil opens the way.

  Lastly, O my son, keep thy wealth, that it may keep thee, and watch over it, that it may watch over thee. Squander not thy substance, or thou wilt come to need the meanest of folk. Guard well thy money, for it is a sovereign salve for the wounds of life, even as says the poet:

  If wealth should fail, there is no friend will bear thee company,

  But whilst thy substance still abounds, all men are friends

  to thee.

  How many a foe for money’s sake hath companied with me! But when

  wealth failed beneath my hand, my dearest friend did flee.”

  And Noureddin ceased not to exhort his son till his spirit departed and his house became the abode of mourning. The King and all the Amirs grieved for him and buried him; but Bedreddin ceased not to bewail his father for two whole months, during which tim
e he never left the house, nor did he attend the Divan or present himself before the Sultan. At last the latter became wroth with him and made one of his chamberlains Vizier in his stead and bade him seize on all Noureddin’s houses and goods and possessions and seal them up. So the new Vizier went forth to do this and take Bedreddin Hassan and bring him before the Sultan, that he might deal with him as he thought fit. Now there was among the troops one who had been a servant of the deceased Vizier, and when he heard this order he spurred his steed and rode at full speed to Bedreddin’s house, where he found him sitting at the gate, with downcast head, broken-hearted. So he dismounted and kissing his hand, said to him, “O my lord and son of my lord, hasten, ere destruction light on thee!” When Bedreddin heard this, he trembled and said, “What is the matter?” “The Sultan is wroth with thee,” answered the other, “and has given orders for thine arrest, and calamity follows hard upon me, so flee for thy life.” Quoth Bedreddin, “Is there time for me to go in and take somewhat to stand me in stead in my strangerhood?” But the other answered, “O my lord, rise at once and save thyself whilst it is yet time, and leave thy house.” So Bedreddin covered his face with his skirt and went out and walked on till he came without the city. On his way, he heard the people saying that the Sultan had sent the new Vizier to the late Vizier’s house, to seize on his possessions and take his son Bedreddin Hassan and bring him before him, that he might put him to death, and they grieved for him by reason of his beauty and grace. When he heard this, he fled forth at hazard, not knowing whither, and chance led him to the cemetery where his father was buried. So he passed among the tombs, till he came to his father’s sepulchre and entering, sat down and let fall from over his head the skirt of his cassock, which was made of brocade, with the following lines embroidered in gold on the hem:

  Thou whose face with the rainbow might vie, That art bright as

  the stars of the sky,

  May thy fortune ne’er fail to be fair And thy glory for ever be

  high!

  As he sat by his father’s tomb, there came up a Jew, as he were a money-changer, with a pair of saddle-bags full of gold, and accosted him, saying, “Whither away, O my lord? It is near the end of the day and thou art lightly clad and bearest the marks of chagrin on thy countenance.” “I was asleep but now,” answered Bedreddin, “when my father appeared to me and reproached me for not having visited his tomb, and I awoke, trembling, and came hither at once, fearing lest the day should pass, without my paying him a visit, which would have been grievous to me.” “O my lord,” said the Jew, “thy father had many ships at sea, whereof some are now due; and it is my wish to buy of thee the cargo of the first that comes into port for a thousand dinars.” “I will well,” answered Bedreddin; whereupon the Jew took out a purse of gold and counted out a thousand dinars, which he gave to Bedreddin, saying, “Write me an acknowledgment and seal it.” So Bedreddin took pen and paper and wrote the following in double: “The writer, Bedreddin Hassan, son of the Vizier Noureddin of Bassora, has sold to Isaac the Jew all the cargo of the first of his father’s ships that comes into port, at the price of a thousand dinars, which he has received in advance.” Then he gave one copy to the Jew, who took it and went away, and put the other in the purse, which he thrust into his waistcloth. And he bethought him of his former estate of honour and consideration and wept and repeated the following verses:

  Home is no longer home to me, now ye are gone away, Nor are the

  neighbours neighbours now, after our parting-day,

  The comrade, whom I loved whilere, no more a comrade is, And even

  the very sun and moon’ no longer bright are they.

  Ye went away and all the world was saddened for your loss, And

  all the hills and plains grew dark with sorrow and dismay.

  O that the raven of ill-luck, that croaked our parting hour, May

  lose his plumes nor find a nest in which his bead to lay!

  My patience fails me for desire, my body wasteth sore; How many a

  veil the hands of death and parting rend in tway!

  I wonder, will our happy nights come ever back again, Or one

  house hold us two once more, after the olden way!

  Then he wept sore and laying his head on his father’s tomb, remained plunged in melancholy thought till drowsiness overcame him and he fell asleep. He slept on till the moon rose, when his head rolled off the tomb and he lay on his back, with his face gleaming in the moon. Now the cemetery was haunted by true-believing Jinn, and presently a Jinniyeh came out and seeing Bedreddin lying asleep, marvelled at his beauty and grace and said, “Glory be to God! This can be no other than one of the children of Paradise.” Then she rose into the air to fly about, as was her wont, and met an Afrit flying, who saluted her, and she said to him, “Whence comest thou?” “From Cairo,” replied he. Quoth she, “Wilt thou come with me and look on the beauty of a youth who sleeps in the burial-ground yonder?” And he said, “I will well.” So they both flew down to the tomb and she showed him Bedreddin, saying, “Sawest thou ever the like of this young man?” The Afrit looked at him and exclaimed, “Blessed be God to whom there is none like! But, O my sister, shall I tell thee what I have seen this day?” “What is that?” asked she; and he answered, “I have seen a young lady in the land of Egypt, who is the counterpart of this youth. She is the daughter of the Vizier Shemseddin of Cairo and is possessed of beauty and grace and symmetry and perfection. When she reached the age of fifteen, the Sultan of Egypt heard of her and sending for the Vizier her father, said to him, ‘O Vizier, it has come to my knowledge that thou hast a daughter and I wish to demand her of thee in marriage.’ ‘O my lord the Sultan,’ replied the Vizier, ‘I prithee accept my excuse and take compassion on my grief, for thou knowest that my brother Noureddin, who was my partner in the Vizierate, left us many years ago and went I know not whither. Now the reason of his departure was that one night we were sitting talking of marriage and children, when we came to words on the subject and he was angry with me and went away in his anger. But on the day her mother bore her, fifteen years ago, I swore that I would marry my daughter to none but my brother’s son. Now, awhile ago, I heard that he is lately dead at Bassora, where he was Vizier, after having married the former Vizier’s daughter and had by her a son; and I will not marry my daughter but to him, in honour of my brother’s memory. Moreover, I recorded the date of my marriage and of the conception and birth of my daughter and drew her horoscope, and she is destined for her cousin and there are girls in plenty for our lord the Sultan.’ When the Sultan heard the Vizier’s answer, he was exceeding wroth and said, ‘When the like of me demands in marriage the daughter of the like of thee, he confers a favour on her, and thou puttest me off with idle excuses! As my head liveth, I will marry her to the meanest of my serving men, to spite thee!’ Now the Sultan had a hunchbacked groom, with a hump behind and before, and he sent for him and married him to the Vizier’s daughter, whether she would or no, and bade carry him in procession and bring him in to his bride this very night. Now I have just come from Cairo, where I left the hunchback at the door of the bath, surrounded by the King’s servants holding lighted flambeaux and making mock of him. As for the Vizier’s daughter, she sits among her nurses and tire-women, weeping, for they have forbidden her father access to her. Never, O my sister, saw I one more hideous than the hunchback, whilst the young lady is the likest of all folk to this youth, though she is even handsomer than he.” “Thou liest,” replied the Jinniyeh; “this youth is handsomer than any one of his day.” “By Allah, O my sister,” replied the Afrit, “the girl I speak of is handsomer than he, but none but he is worthy of her, for they resemble each other as they were brother and sister or brothers’ children. Alas, the pity of her with that hunchback!” Then said she, “O my brother, let us take him up and carry him to Cairo, that we may compare him with the damsel and see whether of them is the handsomer.” “I hear and obey,” answered the Afrit; “this is right well advised, and I wil
l carry him.” So he took Bedreddin up and flew with him through the air, accompanied by the Afriteh, till he alighted in the city of Cairo and set him down on a stone bench. Then he aroused him, and when he found himself no longer on his father’s tomb in Bassora, but in a strange city, he would have cried out, but the Afrit gave him a cuff and imposed silence on him. Then he brought him a splendid dress and made him put it on, and giving him a lighted flambeau, said to him, “Know that I have brought thee hither, meaning to do thee a good turn for the love of God; so take this torch and mingle with the people at the door of the bath and accompany them to the house of the wedding festival. Then advance and enter the hall and fear none, but sit down on the right hand of the humpbacked bridegroom; and as often as the tire-women and singers stop before thee, put thy hand into thy pocket and thou wilt find it full of gold. Take it out by handsful and give to all who come to thee and spare not, for as often as thou puttest thy hand into thy pocket, thou wilt find it without fail full of gold. So fear nothing, but put thy trust in Him who created thee, for all this is not by shine own strength but by that of God, that His decrees may take effect upon His creatures.” Quoth Bedreddin to himself, “I wonder what is the meaning of all this!” And taking the torch, went to the bath, where he found the hunchback already on horseback. So he mixed with the people and moved on with the bridal-procession; and as often as the singing-women stopped to collect largesse from the people, he put his hand into his pocket and finding it full of gold, took out a handful and threw it into the singers’ tambourine, till it was full of dinars. The singing women were amazed at his munificence and they and the people wondered at his beauty and grace and the richness of his dress. He ceased not to do thus, till he reached the Vizier’s palace, where the chamberlains drove back the people and forbade them to enter; but the singing women said, “By Allah, we will not enter, unless this young man enter with us, for he has overwhelmed us with his bounties; nor shall the bride be displayed, except he be present.” So the chamberlains let him pass, and he entered the bridal saloon with the singers, who made him sit down, in defiance of the humpbacked bridegroom. The wives of the Viziers and Amirs and chamberlains were ranged, each veiled to the eyes and holding a great lighted flambeau, in two ranks, extending right and left from the bride’s throne to the upper end of the dais, in front of the door from which she was to issue. When the ladies saw Bedreddin and noted his beauty and grace and his face that shone like the new moon, they all inclined to him, and the singers said to all the women present, “You must know that this handsome youth has handselled us with nought but red gold, so fail ye not to wait on him and comply with all that he says.” So all the women crowded round Bedreddin, with their torches, and gazed on his beauty arid envied him his grace; and each would gladly have lain in his bosom an hour or a year. In their intoxication, they let fall their veils from their faces and said, “Happy she who belongs to him or to whom he belongs!” And they cursed the humpbacked groom and him who was the cause of his marriage to that lovely lady; and as often as they invoked blessings on Bedreddin, they followed them up with imprecations on the hunchback, saying, “Indeed, this youth and he alone deserves our bride. Alas, the pity of her with this wretched hunchback, God’s curse be on him and on the Sultan who will have her marry him!” Then the singers beat their tambourines and raised cries of joy, announcing the coming of the bride; and the Vizier’s daughter entered, surrounded by her tire-women, who had perfumed her with essences and incensed her and decked her hair and dressed her in costly robes and ornaments such as were worn by the ancient kings of Persia. Over all she wore a robe embroidered in red gold with figures of birds and beasts with eyes and beaks of precious stones and feet and claws of red rubies and green beryl, and about her neck was clasped a necklace of Yemen work, worth many thousands of dinars, whose beazels were all manner jewels, never had Caesar or King of Yemen its like. She seemed as it were the full moon, when it shines out on the fourteenth night, or one of the houris of Paradise, glory be to Him who made her so splendidly fair! The women encompassed her as they were stars, and she in their midst as the moon breaking through the clouds. As she came forward, swaying gracefully to and fro, the hunchback rose to kiss her, but she turned from him and seeing Bedreddin Hassan seated, with all the company gazing on him, went and stood before him. When the folk saw her thus attracted towards Bedreddin, they laughed and shouted and the singers raised their voices, whereupon he put his hand to his pocket and cast gold by handsful into the tambourines of the singing-women, who rejoiced and said, “Would this bride were thine!” At this he smiled, and the people came round him, with the flambeaux in their hands, whilst the hunchback was left sitting alone, looking like an ape; for as often as they lighted a candle for him, it went out and he abode in darkness, speechless and confounded and grumbling to himself. When Bedreddin saw the bridegroom sitting moping alone and all the lights and people collected round himself, he was confounded and marvelled; but when he looked at his cousin, the Vizier’s daughter, he rejoiced and was glad, for indeed her face was radiant with light and brilliancy. Then the tire-women took off the veil and displayed the bride in her first dress of red satin, and she moved to and fro with a languorous grace, till the heads of all the men and women were turned by her loveliness, for she was even as says the excellent poet: