One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  She took up three locks of her hair and spread them out one night

  And straight four nights discovered at once unto my sight.

  Then did she turn her visage up to the moon of the sky And showed

  me two moons at one season, both burning clear and bright.

  She hath a nose like the point of the burnished sword and cheeks like purple wine or blood-red anemones: her lips are like coral and cornelian and the water of her mouth is sweeter than old wine, its taste would allay the torments of Hell. Her tongue is moved by abounding wit and ready repartee: her breast is a temptation to all that see it, glory be to Him who created it and finished it: and joined thereto are two smooth round arms. As says of her the poet El Welhan:

  She hath two wrists, which, were they not by bracelets held, I trow, Would flow out of their sleeves as brooks of liquid silver flow.

  She has breasts like two globes of ivory, the moons borrow from their brightness, and a belly dimpled as it were a brocaded cloth of the finest Egyptian linen, with creases like folded scrolls, leading to a waist slender past conception, over buttocks like a hill of sand, that force her to sit, when she would fain stand, and awaken her, when she would sleep, even as saith of her the poet:

  Her slender waist a pair of buttocks overlies, The which both

  over her and me do tyrannize.

  For they confound my wit, whenas I think on them, And eke enforce

  her sit, whenas she fain would rise.

  They are upborne by smooth round thighs and legs like columns of pearl, and all this rests upon two slender feet, pointed like spear-blades, the handiwork of God, the Protector and Requiter, I wonder how, of their littleness, they can sustain what is above them. But I cut short my description of her charms, lest I be tedious. The father of this young lady is a powerful king, a fierce cavalier, immersed night and day in wars and battles, fearless of death and dreading not ruin, for that he is a masterful tyrant and an irresistible conqueror, lord of troops and armies, continents and islands, cities and villages, and his name is King Ghaïour, lord of the Islands and the Seas and of the Seven Palaces. He loves his daughter, the young lady whom I have described to thee, very dearly, and for love of her, he gathered together the treasures of all the kings and built her therewith seven palaces, each of a different fashion; the first of crystal, the second of marble, the third of China steel, the fourth of precious stones, the fifth of porcelain and vari-coloured onyx, the sixth of silver and the seventh of gold. He filled the seven palaces with rich silken carpets and hangings and vessels of gold and silver and all manner of gear befitting kings and commanded his daughter, whose name is the Princess Budour, to abide in each by turns for a certain season of the year. When her beauty became known and her fame was noised abroad in the neighbouring countries, all the kings sent to her father, to demand her in marriage, and he consulted her on the matter, but she misliked it and said, “O my father, I have no mind to marry; for I am a sovereign lady and a princess ruling over men, and I have no desire for a man who shall rule over me.” The more she refused, the more the eagerness of her suitors increased and all the kings of the Islands of the Inland Sea sent gifts and offerings to her father, with letters asking her in marriage. So he pressed her again and again to make choice of a husband, despite her refusals, till at last she turned upon him angrily and said to him, “O my father, if thou name marriage to me again, I will go into my chamber and take a sword and fixing its hilt in the ground, set its point to my breast; then will I lean upon it, till it come forth from my back, and so kill myself.” When the King heard this, the light became darkness in his sight and his heart was torn with anxiety and perplexity concerning her affair; for he feared lest she should kill herself and knew not how to deal with the kings who sought her hand. So he said to her, “If thou be irrevocably determined not to marry, abstain from going in and out.” Then he shut her up in her chamber, appointing ten old body-women to guard her, and made as though he were wroth with her, forbidding her to go forth to the seven palaces; moreover, he sent letters to all the kings, giving them to know that she had been stricken with madness. It is now a year (continued Dehnesh) since she has been thus cloistered, and every night I go to her, whilst she is asleep, and take my fill of gazing on her face and kiss her between the eyes: yet, of my love to her, I do her no hurt neither swive her, for that her youth is fair and her loveliness surpassing; every one who sees is jealous for her of himself. I conjure thee, therefore, O my lady, to go back with me and look on her beauty and symmetry; and after, if thou wilt, chastise me or enslave me: for it is thine to command and to forbid.’ So saying, he bowed his head towards the earth and drooped his wings; but Maimouneh laughed at his words and spitting in his face, answered, ‘What is this girl of whom thou pratest but a potsherd to cleanse the privities withal? Faugh! Faugh! By Allah, O accursed one, I thought thou hadst some rare story to tell me or some marvel to make known to me! How would it be if thou sawest my beloved? Verily this night I have seen a young man whom if thou sawest though but in sleep, thou wouldst be palsied with admiration and thy mouth would water.’ ‘And who and what is this youth?’ asked the Afrit. ‘Know, O Dehnesh,’ answered she, ‘that there hath befallen him the like of what befell thy mistress; for his father pressed him again and again to marry, but he refused, till at length his father waxed wroth and imprisoned him in the tower where I dwell: and I came up to-night and saw him.’ ‘O my lady,’ said Dehnesh, ‘show me the youth, that I may see if he be indeed handsomer than my mistress, the Princess Budour, or not; for I cannot believe that there lives her equal.’ ‘Thou liest, O accursed one!’ rejoined Maimouneh. ‘O most ill-omened of Marids and vilest of Satans! Sure am I that there is not in this world the like of my beloved. Art thou mad to even thy beloved with mine?’ ‘I conjure thee by Allah, O my lady,’ said Dehnesh, ‘to go back with me and see my mistress, and after I will return with thee and look upon thy beloved.’ ‘It must needs be so, O accursed one!’ answered she. ‘Yet, for that thou art a knavish devil, I will not go with thee nor shalt thou come with me, save upon surety and condition of pledge. If thy beloved prove handsomer than mine, the pledge shall be thine against me; but if my beloved prove the fairer, the pledge shall be mine against thee.’ ‘O my lady,’ said Dehnesh, ‘I accept this thy condition; so come with me to the Islands.’ ‘Not so,’ replied Maimouneh; ‘for the abode of my beloved is nearer than that of thine: here it is under us; so come down with me and see my beloved, and after we will go look upon thy mistress.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ said Dehnesh. So they descended and alighting on the tower, entered the saloon, where Maimouneh stationed Dehnesh beside the bed and putting out her hand, drew back the silken coverlet, whereupon Kemerezzeman’s face shone out like the sun. She looked at him a moment, then turning to Dehnesh, said, ‘‘Look, O accursed one, and be not the vilest of madmen; I am a maiden and am ravished with him.’ So Dehnesh looked at the prince and gazed steadfastly on him awhile, then, shaking his head, said to Maimouneh, ‘By Allah, O my lady, thou art excusable; but there is another thing to be considered, and that is that the female estate differs from the male. By the virtue of God, this thy beloved is the likest of all created things to my mistress in beauty and loveliness and grace and it is as though they were both cast alike in the mould of perfection!’ When Maimouneh heard these words, the light in her sight became darkness and she dealt him so fierce a buffet on the head with her wing as well-nigh made an end of him. Then, ‘I conjure thee,’ said she, ‘by the light of his glorious countenance, go at once, O accursed one, and bring hither thy mistress in haste that we may lay them together and look on them both, as they lie asleep side by side; so will it appear to us whether is the goodlier and more beautiful of the two. Except thou obey me forthright, I will dart my sparks at thee and consume thee with my fire; yea, I will rend thee in pieces and cast thee into the deserts, as an example to stay-at-home and wayfarer.’ ‘O my lady,’ answered the Afrit, ‘I will do thy bidding, for I know that my mistress is the
fairer and sweeter.’ So saying, he flew away and Maimouneh flew with him, to guard him. They were absent awhile and presently returned, bearing the young lady, who was clad in a shift of fine Venetian silk, laced with gold and wrought with the most exquisite broidery and having the following verses worked upon the ends of the sleeves:

  Three things for ever hinder her to visit us, for fear Of the

  intriguing spy and eke the rancorous envier;

  Her forehead’s lustre and the sound of all her ornaments And the

  sweet scent her creases hold of ambergris and myrrh.

  Grant with the border of her sleeve she hide her brows and doff

  Her ornaments, how shall she do her scent away from her?

  They carried her into the saloon and laying her beside Kemerezzeman, uncovered both their faces, and behold, they were the likest of all folk, one to the other, as they were twins or an only brother and sister; and indeed they were a temptation to the pious, even as says of them the poet El Mubin:

  Be not thy love, O heart, to one alone confined, Lest, for that

  one, amaze and doting thee enwind;

  But love thou rather all the fair, and thou shalt find, If one

  contrarious prove, another will be kind.

  And quoth another:

  Two fair ones lying on the earth I did of late espy; Two that I

  needs must love, although they lay upon mine eye.

  Dehnesh and Maimouneh gazed on them awhile, and the former said, ‘By Allah, O my lady, it is good! My mistress is assuredly the fairer.’ ‘Not so,’ answered she, ‘my beloved is the fairer. Out on thee, O Dehnesh! Thou art blind of eye and heart and distinguishest not between good and bad. Wilt thou hide the truth? Dost thou not see his beauty and grace and symmetry? Out on thee, hear what I purpose to say in praise of my beloved, and do thou the like for her thou lovest, an thou be a true lover.’ Then she kissed Kemerezzeman again and again between the eyes and repeated the following ode:

  Ah me, what ails the censurer that he at thee should flite? How

  shall I be consoled for thee, and thou a sapling slight?

  Thou of the black and languorous eye, that casteth far and wide

  Charms, whose sheer witchery compels to passion’s utmost

  height,

  Whose looks, with Turkish languor fraught, work havoc in the

  breast, Leaving such wounds as ne’er were made of falchion

  in the fight,

  Thou layst on me a heavy load of passion and desire, On me that

  am too weak to bear a shift upon me dight.

  My love for thee, as well thou know’st, my very nature is, And

  that for others which I feign dissembling but and sleight.

  An if my heart were like to thine, I’d not refuse; alack! ’Tis

  but my body’s like thy waist, worn thin and wasted quite.

  Out on him for a moon that’s famed for beauty far and near, That

  for th’ exemplar of all grace men everywhere do cite!

  The railers say, “Who’s this for love of whom thou art

  distressed?” And I reply, “An if ye can, describe the lovely

  wight.”

  O learn to yield, hard heart of his, take pattern by his shape!

  So haply yet he may relent and put away despite.

  Thou, that my prince in beauty art, a steward hast, whose

  rule Aggrieves me and a chamberlain that doth me foul

  upright.

  He lies who says, “All loveliness in Joseph was comprised.” How

  many a Joseph is there not within thy beauty bright!

  The Jinn do fear me, whenas I confront them face to face; But

  when I meet with thee, my heart doth tremble for affright.

  I feign aversion unto thee, for fear of slanderous tongues; The

  more I feign, the more my love to madness I excite.

  Black hair and smooth and glistening brows, eyes languorous and

  soft, As of the maids of Paradise, and slender shape and

  slight!

  When Dehnesh heard this, he shook for delight and was filled with admiration and said, ‘Thou hast indeed done well in praise of him whom thou lovest! Needs must I do my endeavour, in my turn, to celebrate my mistress, to the best of my power, and recite somewhat in her honour.’ Then he went up to the lady Budour and kissing her between the eyes, looked at her and at Maimouneh and recited the following verses, for all he had no skill in poetry:

  They chide my passion for my fair in harsh and cruel guise; But,

  of their ignorance, forsooth, they’re neither just nor wise.

  Vouchsafe thy favours to the slave of love, for, an he taste Of

  thine estrangement and disdain, assuredly he dies.

  Indeed, for very stress of love, I’m drenched with streaming

  tears, That, like a rivulet of blood, run ever from mine

  eyes.

  No wonder ’tis what I for love endure; the wonder is That any,

  since the loss of thee, my body recognize.

  Forbidden be thy sight to me, if I’ve a thought of doubt Or if my

  heart of passion tire or feign or use disguise!

  And also the following:

  I feed mine eyes on the places where we met long ago; Far distant

  now is the valley and I’m forslain for woe.

  I’m drunk with the wine of passion and the teardrops in mine eyes

  Dance to the song of the leader of the camels, as we go.

  I cease not from mine endeavour to win to fortune fair; Yet in

  Budour, Suada, all fortune is, I know.

  Three things I reckon, I know not of which to most complain; Give

  ear whilst I recount them and be you judge, I trow.

  Firstly, her eyes, the sworders; second, the spearman, her shape,

  And thirdly, her ringlets that clothe her in armour,

  row upon row.

  Quoth she (and indeed I question, for tidings of her I love, All

  whom I meet, or townsman or Bedouin, high or low)

  Quoth she unto me, “My dwelling is in thy heart; look there And

  thou shalt see me.” I answer, “And where is my heart?

  Heigho!”

  When Maimouneh heard this, she said, ‘Thou hast done well, O Dehnesh! But tell me, which of the two is the handsomer?’ And he answered, ‘My mistress Budour is certainly handsomer than thy beloved.’ ‘Thou liest, O accursed one!’ cried Maimouneh. ‘Nay, my beloved is more beautiful than thine!’ And they ceased not to gainsay each other, till Maimouneh cried out at Dehnesh and would have laid violent hands on him; but he humbled himself to her and softening his speech, said to her, ‘Let us leave talking, for we do but contradict each other, and rather seek one who shall judge fairly between us, whether of the two is fairer, and let us abide by his sentence.’ ‘I agree to this,’ answered she and smote the earth with her foot, whereupon there came up a one-eyed Afrit, hump-backed and scurvy, with eyes slit endlong in his face. On his head were seven horns and four locks of hair falling to his heels; his hands were like pitchforks, his legs like masts and he had claws like a lion and hoofs like those of the wild ass. When he saw Maimouneh, he kissed the earth before her and standing with his hands clasped behind him, said, ‘What is thy will, O king’s daughter?’ ‘O Keshkesh,’ answered she, ‘I would have thee judge between me and this accursed Dehnesh.’ And she made known to him the whole matter, whereupon he looked at the prince and princess and saw them lying asleep, embraced, each with an arm about the other’s neck, alike in beauty and grace and equal in goodliness. The Marid gazed long and fixedly upon them, marvelling at their beauty, and repeated the following verses:

  Cleave fast to her thou lov’st and let the envious rail amain,

  For calumny and envy ne’er to favour love were fain.

  Lo, the Compassionate hath made no fairer thing to see Than when

  one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain,

&n
bsp; Each to the other’s bosom clasped, clad in their own delight,

  Whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks

  enchain.

  If in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, I rede

  thee cast the world away and with that one remain.

  Lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, But

  on cold iron smite the folk that chide at them in vain.

  Thou that for loving censures the votaries of love, Canst thou

  assain a heart diseased or heal a cankered brain?

  O Lord, O Thou Compassionate, I prithee, ere we die, Though only

  for a single day, unite us two again!

  Then he turned to Maimouneh and Dehnesh and said to them, ‘By Allah, if you will have the truth, they are equal in beauty and grace and perfection, nor is there any difference between them but that of sex. But I have another idea, and it is that we wake each of them in turn, without the other’s knowledge, and whichever is more enamoured of the other shall be held the lesser in beauty and grace.’ ‘This is a good counsel,’ answered Maimouneh, and Dehnesh said, ‘I consent to this.’ Then Dehnesh changed himself to a flea and bit Kemerezzeman on the neck, whereupon the prince awoke with a start and rubbed the place of the bite, because of the smart. Then turning sideways, he found lying by him something, whose breath was more fragrant than musk, and whose body was softer than cream. At this he marvelled greatly and sitting up, looked at this that lay beside him and saw it to be a young lady like the moon, as she were a splendid pearl, or a shining sun, five feet high, with a shape like the letter I, high-bosomed and rosy-checked; even as saith of her the poet:

  Four things there are, which ne’er unite, except it be To shed my

  heart’s best blood and take my soul by storm.

  And these are night-black locks and brow as bright as day, Cheeks