I wished them good morning and gave them joy of their safety and reunion, saying to Jubeir, “That which began with constraint hath ended in contentment.” “Thou sayst well,” replied he; “and indeed thou deservest largesse.” And he called his treasurer and bade him fetch three thousand dinars. So he brought a purse containing that sum, and Jubeir gave it to me, saying, “Favour us by accepting this.” “I will not take it,” answered I, “till thou tell me the manner of the transfer of love from her to thee, after so great an aversion.” “I hear and obey,” said he. “Know that we have a festival, called the festival of the New Year, when all the people use to take boat and go a-pleasuring on the river. So I went out, with my comrades, and saw a boat, wherein were half a score damsels like moons, and amongst them, the lady Budour, with her lute in her hand. She preluded in eleven modes, then returning to the first, sang the following verses:
Fire is not so fierce and so hot as the fires in my heart that
glow, And granite itself is less hard than the heart of my
lord, I trow.
Indeed, when I think on his make and his fashion, I marvel to see
A heart that is harder than rock in a body that’s softer
than snow.
Quoth I to her, ‘Repeat the verses and the air.’ But she would not; so I bade the boatmen pelt her with oranges, and they pelted her till we feared her boat would sink. Then she went her way, and this is how the love was transferred from her breast to mine.” So I gave them joy of their reunion and taking the purse, with its contents, returned to Baghdad.
When the Khalif heard Ibn Mensour’s story, his heart was lightened and the restlessness and oppression from which he suffered forsook him.
John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents
THE MAN OF YEMEN AND HIS SIX SLAVE-GIRLS
The Khalif El-Mamoun was sitting one day in his palace, surrounded by his grandees and officers of state, and there were present also before him all his poets and minions, amongst the rest one named Mohammed of Bassora. Presently, the Khalif turned to the latter and said to him, ‘O Mohammed, I wish thee to tell me something that I have never before heard.’ ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ answered Mohammed, ‘shall I tell thee a thing that I have heard with my ears of a thing that I have seen with my eyes?’ ‘Tell me whichever is the rarer,’ said El Mamoun.
‘Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,’ began Mohammed, ‘that there lived once a wealthy man, who was a native of Yemen; but he left his native land and came to this city of Baghdad, whose sojourn so pleased him that he transported hither his family and possessions. Now he had six slave-girls, the first fair, the second dark, the third fat, the fourth thin, the fifth yellow and the sixth black, all fair of face and perfectly accomplished and skilled in the arts of singing and playing upon instruments of music. One day he sent for them all and called for meat and drink; and they ate and drank and made merry. Then he filled the cup and taking it in his hand, said to the blonde, “O new-moon- face, let us hear somewhat pleasing.” So she took the lute and tuning it, made music thereon with such melodious trills and modulations that the place danced to the rhythm; after which she played a lively measure and sang the following verses:
I have a friend, whose form is mirrored in mine eye, And deep
within my breast, his name doth buried lie.
Whenas I call him back to mind, I am all heart, And when on him I
gaze, all eyes indeed am I.
“Forswear the love of him,” my censor says; and I, “That which is
not to be, how shall it be?” reply.
“Go forth from me,” quoth I, “and leave me, censor mine: Feign
not that eath and light, that’s grievous to aby.”
At this their master was moved to mirth and drinking off his cup, gave the damsels to drink, after which he said to the brunette, “O light of the brasier and delight of souls, let us hear thy lovely voice, wherewith all that hearken are ravished.” So she took the lute and trilled upon it, till the place was moved to mirth; then, taking all hearts with her graceful bendings, she sang the following verses:
As thy face liveth, none but thee I’ll love nor cherish e’er,
Till death, nor ever to thy love will I be false, I swear.
O full moon, shrouded, as it were a veil, with loveliness, All
lovely ones on earth that be beneath thy banners fare.
Thou, that in pleasantness and grace excellest all the fair, May
God, the Lord of heaven and earth, be with thee everywhere!
The man was pleased and drank off his cup; after which he filled again and taking the goblet in his hand, beckoned to the plump girl and bade her sing and play. So she took the lute and striking a grief-dispelling measure, sang as follows:
If but thy consent be assured, O thou who art all my desire, Be
all the folk angered ‘gainst me; I set not a whit by their
ire.
And if thou but show me thy face, thy brilliant and beautiful
face, I reck not if all the kings of the earth from my
vision retire.
Thy favour, O thou unto whom all beauty must needs be referred,
Of the goods and the sweets of the world is all that I seek
and require.
The man was charmed and emptying his cup, gave the girls to drink. Then he beckoned to the slender girl and said to her, “O houri of Paradise, feed thou our ears with sweet sounds.” So she took the lute and tuning it, preluded and sang the following verses:
Is it not martyrdom that I for thine estrangement dree, Seeing,
indeed, I cannot live, if thou depart from me?
Is there no judge, in Love its law, to judge betwixt us twain, to
do me justice on thy head and take my wreak of thee?
Their lord rejoiced and emptying the cup, gave the girls to drink. Then he signed to the yellow girl and said to her, “O sun of the day, let us hear some pleasant verses.” So she took the lute and preluding after the goodliest fashion, sang as follows:
I have a lover, whenas I draw him nigh, He bares upon me a sword
from either eye.
May God avenge me some whit of him! For lo, He doth oppress me,
whose heart in ‘s hand doth lie.
Oft though, “Renounce him, my heart,” I say, yet it Will to none
other than him itself apply.
He’s all I ask for, of all created things; Yet jealous Fortune
doth him to me deny.
The man rejoiced and drank and gave the girls to drink; then he filled the cup and taking it in his hand, signed to the black girl, saying, “O apple of the eye, let us have a taste of thy fashion, though it be but two words.” So she took the lute and preluded in various modes, then returned to the first and sang the following verses to a lively air:
O eyes, be large with tears and pour them forth amain, For, lo,
for very love my senses fail and wane.
All manner of desire I suffer for his sake I cherish, and my foes
make merry at my pain.
My enviers me forbid the roses of a cheek; And yet I have a heart
that is to roses fain.
Ay, once the cups went round with joyance and delight And to the
smitten lutes, the goblets did we drain,
What time my love kept troth and I was mad for him And in faith’s
heaven, the star of happiness did reign.
But lo, he turned away from me, sans fault of mine! Is there a
bitterer thing than distance and disdain?
Upon his cheeks there bloom a pair of roses red, Blown ready to
be plucked; ah God, those roses twain!
Were’t lawful to prostrate oneself to any else Than God, I’d sure
prostrate myself upon the swain.
Then rose the six girls and kissing the ground before their lord, said to him, “Judge thou between us, O our lord!” He looked at their beauty and grace and th
e difference of their colours and praised God the Most High and glorified Him: then said he, “There is none of you but has read the Koran and learnt to sing and is versed in the chronicles of the ancients and the doings of past peoples; so it is my desire that each of you rise and pointing to her opposite, praise herself and dispraise her rival; that is to say, let the blonde point to the black, the plump to the slender and the yellow to the brunette; and after, the latter shall, each in turn, do the like with the former; and be this illustrated with citations from the Holy Koran and somewhat of anecdotes and verse, so as to show forth your culture and elegance of discourse.” Quoth they, “We hear and obey.”
So the blonde rose first and pointing at the black, said to her, “Out on thee, blackamoor! It is told that whiteness saith, ‘I am the shining light, I am the rising full moon.’ My colour is patent and my forehead is resplendent, and of my beauty quoth the poet:
A blonde with smooth and polished cheeks, right delicate and
fair, As if a pearl in beauty hid, as in a shell, she were.
Her shape a splendid Alif is, her smile a medial
Mim And over it her eyebrows make inverted
Nouns, a pair.
Yes, and the glances of her eyes are arrows, and her brows A bow
that therewithal is horned with death and with despair.
If to her cheeks and shape thou pass, her cheeks are roses red,
Sweet basil, ay, and eglantine and myrtles rich and rare.
’Tis of the saplings’ wont, to be implanted in the meads But, in
the saplings of thy shape, how many meads are there!
My colour is like the wholesome day and the newly-gathered orange-blossom and the sparkling star; and indeed quoth God the Most High, in His precious book, to His prophet Moses (on whom be peace), ‘Put thy hand into thy bosom and it shall come forth white without hurt.’ And again He saith, ‘As for those whose faces are made white, they are in the mercy of God and dwell for ever therein.’ My colour is a miracle and my grace an extreme and my beauty a term. It is in the like of me that clothes show fair and to the like of me that hearts incline. Moreover, in whiteness are many excellences; for instance, the snow falls white from heaven, and it is traditional that white is the most beautiful of colours. The Muslims also glory in white turbans; but I should be tedious, were I to repeat all that may be said in praise of white; little and enough is better than too much. So now I will begin with thy dispraise, O black, O colour of ink and blacksmith’s dust, thou whose face is like the crow that brings about lovers’ parting! Verily, the poet saith in praise of white and dispraise of black:
Seest not that for their milky hue white pearls in price excel
And charcoal for a groat a load the folk do buy and sell?
And eke white faces, ’tis well known, do enter Paradise, Whilst
faces black appointed are to fill the halls of Hell.
And indeed it is told in certain histories, related on the authority of devout men, that Noah (on whom be peace) was sleeping one day, with his sons Ham and Shem seated at his head, when a wind sprang up and lifting his clothes, uncovered his nakedness; whereat Ham laughed and did not cover him; but Shem rose and covered him. Presently, Noah awoke and learning what had passed, blessed Shem and cursed Ham. So Shem’s face was whitened and from him sprang the prophets and the orthodox Khalifs and Kings; whilst Ham’s face was blackened and he fled forth to the land of Ethiopia, and of his lineage came the blacks. All people are of a mind in affirming the lack of understanding of the blacks, even as saith the adage, ‘How shall one find a black having understanding?’”
Quoth her master, “It sufficeth; sit down, thou hast been prodigal.” And he signed to the negress, who rose, and pointing at the blonde, said, “Doth thou not know that, in the Koran sent down to His prophet and apostle, is transmitted the saying of God the Most High, ‘By the night, when it veileth [the world with darkness], and by the day, when it appeareth in all its glory!’ If the night were not more illustrious than the day, why should God swear by it and give it precedence of the day? And indeed those of sense and understanding accept this. Knowst now that black [hair] is the ornament of youth and that, when whiteness descends upon the head, delights pass away and the hour of death draws nigh? Were not black the most illustrious of things, God had not set it in the kernel of the heart and the apple of the eye; and how excellent is the saying of the poet:
An if I cherish the dusky maids, this is the reason why; They
have the hue of the core of the heart and the apple of the
eye
And youth; nor in error I eschew the whiteness of the blondes;
For ’tis the colour of hoary hair and shrouds in them shun
I.
And that of another:
The brown, not the white, are first in my love And worthiest
eke to be loved of me,
For the colour of damask lips have they, Whilst the white have
the hue of leprosy.
And of a third:
Black women, white of deeds, are like indeed to eyne That, though
jet-black they be, with peerless splendours shine.
If I go mad for her, be not amazed; for black The source of
madness is, when in the feminine.
’Tis as my colour were the middle dark of night; For all no moon
it be, yet brings it light, in fine.
Moreover, is the companying together of lovers good but in the night? Let this quality and excellence suffice thee. What protects lovers from spies and censors like the blackness of the shadows? And nought gives them cause to fear discovery like the whiteness of the dawn. So, how many claims to honour are there not in blackness and how excellent is the saying of the poet:
I visit them, and the mirk of night doth help me to my will And seconds me, but the white of dawn is hostile to me still.
And that of another:
How many a night in joy I’ve passed with the beloved one, What
while the darkness curtained us about with tresses dun!
Whenas the light of morn appeared, it struck me with affright,
And I to him, ‘The Magians lie, who worship fire and sun.’
And saith a third:
He came forth to visit me, shrouding himself in the cloak of the
night, And hastened his steps, as he wended, for caution and
fear and affright.
Then rose I and laid in his pathway my cheek, as a carpet it
were, For abjection, and trailed o’er my traces my skirts,
to efface them from sight.
But lo, the new moon rose and shone, like a nail-paring cleft
from the nail, And all but discovered our loves with the
gleam of her meddlesome light.
And then there betided between us what I’ll not discover, i’
faith: So question no more of the matter and deem not of ill
or unright.
And a fourth:
Foregather with thy lover, whilst night your loves may screen;
For that the sun’s a telltale, the moon a go-between.
And a fifth:
I love not white women, with fat blown out and overlaid; The girl
of all girls for me is the slender dusky maid.
Let others the elephant mount, if it like them; as for me, I’ll
ride but the fine-trained colt on the day of the cavalcade.
And a sixth:
My loved one came to me by night And we did clip and interlace
And lay together through the dark; But, lo, the morning broke
apace.
To God, my Lord, I pray that He Will reunite us of His grace
And make night last to me, what while I hold my love in my
embrace.
Were I to set forth all the praise of blackness, I should be tedious; but little and enough is better than great plenty and too much. As for thee, O blonde, thy colour is that of leprosy and thine embrace is suffocat
ion; and it is of report that frost and intense cold are in Hell for the torment of the wicked. Again, of black things is ink, wherewith is written the word of God; and were is not for black ambergris and black musk, there would be no perfumes to carry to kings. How many glories are there not in blackness and how well saith the poet:
Dost thou not see that musk, indeed, is worth its weight in gold,
Whilst for a dirhem and no more a load of lime is sold?
Black eyes cast arrows at men’s hearts; but whiteness of the
eyes, In man, is judged of all to be unsightly to behold.”
“It sufficeth,” said her master. “Sit down.” So she sat down and he signed to the fat girl, who rose and pointing at the slim girl, uncovered her arms and legs and bared her stomach, showing its creases and the roundness of her navel. Then she donned a shift of fine stuff, that showed her whole body, and said, “Praised be God who created me, for that He beautified my face and made me fat and fair and likened me to branches laden with fruit and bestowed upon me abounding beauty and brightness; and praised be He no less, for that He hath given me the precedence and honoured me, when He speaks of me in His holy book! Quoth the Most High, ‘And he brought a fat calf.’ And indeed He hath made me like unto an orchard, full of peaches and pomegranates. Verily, the townsfolk long for fat birds and eat of them and love not lean birds; so do the sons of Adam desire fat meat and eat of it. How many precious attributes are there not in fatness, and how well saith the poet:
One Thousand and One Nights Page 279