One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  On the morrow, the gamester came to him and summoned him to redeem his forfeit; so he said to him, “Give me the mouth of the sea and I will drink it up.” Whereupon he confessed himself beaten and redeemed his forfeit by paying a hundred dinars. Then came the cobbler and sought of him what should content him. Quoth the merchant, “Our lord the Sultan hath overcome his foes and put his enemies to nought and his children are multiplied. Art thou content or no?” “I am content,” replied the cobbler aud giving up the shoe without payment, went away. Next came the one-eyed man and demanded the price of his eye. “Pluck out thine eye,” said the merchant, “and I will pluck out one of mine. Then will we weigh them, and if they are equal in weight, I will acknowledge the truth of thine avouchment and pay thee the price ot thine eye; but, if they differ, thou liest and I will sue thee for the price of my eye.” Quoth the one-eyed man, “Grant me time;” but the merchant answered, saying, “I am a stranger and grant time to none, nor will I part from thee, [till thou satisfy me].” So the sharper ransomed his eye by paying him a hundred dinars and went away. Last of all came the buyer of the sandal-wood and said, “Take the price of thy ware.” “What wilt thou give me?” asked the merchant, and the other, “We agreed for a measure of whatever thou shouldst desire; so, if thou wilt, take it full of gold and silver.” “Not I,” answered the merchant. “Nothing will serve me but I must have it full of fleas, half male and half female.” “This is a thing none may avail unto,” said the sharper, and confessing himself beaten, returned him his sandal-wood and redeemed himself from him with a hundred dinars, to be off his bargain. Then the merchant sold the sandal-wood at his own price and returned to his own country.

  As for the three-year-old child,’ continued the prince, ‘I have heard tell that

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  The Debauchee and the Three-year-old Child.

  A certain profligate man, who was addicted to women, once heard of a beautiful and graceful woman who dwelt in a town other than his own. So he journeyed thither, taking with him a gift, and wrote her a letter, seeking access to her and setting out all that he suffered for longing and desire for her and how the love of her had driven him to forsake his native land and come to her. She gave him leave to visit her and received him with all honour and worship, kissing his hands and entertaining him with the best of meat and drink. Now she had a little three-year-old son, whom she left and busied herself in cooking rice. Presently the man said to her, “Come, let us go to bed;” and she, “My son is sitting looking at us.” Quoth the man, “He is a little child, understanding not neither knowing how to speak.” “Thou wouldst not say thus,” answered the woman, “if thou knewest his intelligence.” When the boy saw that the rice was done, he fell to weeping bitterly, and his mother said to him, “What ails thee to weep, O my son?” “Give me some rice,” answered he, “and put butter in it.” So she ladled him out somewhat of rice and put butter therein; and he ate a little, then began to weep again. Quoth she, “What ails thee now?” and he answered, saying, “O my mother, I want same sugar with my rice.” At this the man was angered and said to him, “Thou art none other than a curst child.” “It is thou who art curst,” answered the boy, “seeing thou weariest thyself and journeyest from city to city, in quest of lewdness. As for me, I wept because I had somewhat in my eye, and my weeping brought it out; and now I have eaten rice with butter and sugar and am content; so which is the curst of us twain?” The man was confounded at this rebuke from a little child and grace entered him and he repented. Wherefore he laid not a finger on the woman, but went out from her forthright and returned to his own country, where he lived a contrite life till he died.

  As for the story of the five-year-old child,’ continued the prince, ‘I have heard tell, O King, that

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  The Stolen Purse.

  Four merchants once owned a thousand dinars is common; so they laid them in one purse and set out to buy goods therewith. On their way, they happened on a beautiful garden; so they left the purse with a woman who kept the garden and entered. After they had walked about awhile and eaten and drunken and made merry, one of them said to the others, “I have with me scented fuller’s earth; come, let us wash our heads therewith in this running water.” Quoth another, “We lack a comb;” and a third, “Let us ask the keeper; belike she hath a comb.” Thereupon one of them arose and accosting the keeper, whereas his comrades could see him, but not hear what he said, maid to her, “Give me the purse.” Quoth she, “I will not give it up, except ye be all present or thy fellows bid me give it thee.” Then he called to his companions, saying, “She will not give it me.” And they said to her, “Give it him,” thinking he meant the comb. So she gave him the purse and he took it and made off.

  When the three others were weary of waiting, they went to the keeper and said to her, “Why wilt thou not give him the comb?” “He asked me for nought but the purse,” answered she, “and I gave it not but with your consent, and he went his way with it.” When they heard this, they buffeted their faces and said to her, “We authorized thee only to give him the comb.” And she, “He named not a comb to me.” Then they laid hands on her and haled her before the Cadi, to whom they made their complaint, and he condemned her to make good the purse and bound a number of her debtors surety for her. So she went forth, confounded and knowing not what she should do.

  Presently, she met a five-year-old boy, who, seeing her troubled, said to her, “What ails thee, O my mother?” But she gave him no answer, making no account of him, because of his tender age, and he repeated his question a second and a third time, till, at last, she told him all that had passed. “Give me a dirhem, to buy sweetmeats withal,” said the boy; “and I will tell thee how thou mayst acquit thyself.” So she gave him a dirhem and said to him, “What hast thou to say?” “Return to the Cadi,” quoth he, “and say to him, ‘It was agreed between myself and them that I should not give them, back the purse, except all four of them were present. Let them all four come and I will give them the purse, as was agreed.”’ So she went back to the Cadi and said to him as the boy had counselled; and he said to the merchants, “Was it thus agreed between you?” “Yes,” answered they. “Then bring me your fellow,” said the Cadi, “and take the purse.” So they went in quest of their fellow, whilst the keeper came off scot free and went her way without hindrance.’

  When the King’s viziers and those who were present in the assembly heard the prince’s words, they said to his father, ‘O our Lord the King, of a truth thy son is the most accomplished man of his time,’ and they called down blessings upon the King and the prince. Then the King strained his son to his bosom and kissed him between the eyes and questioned him of what had passed between the favourite and himself; and the prince swore to him, by God the Supreme and by His Holy Prophet, that it was she who had required him of love and he refused. ‘Moreover,’ said he, ‘she promised me that she would give thee poison to drink and kill thee, so should the kingship be mine; whereupon I waxed wroth and said to her, [by signs] “O accursed one, when I can speak, I will requite thee.” So, in her fear of me, she did as thou hast seen.’ The King believed his words and sending for the damsel, said to those present, ‘How shall we put this damsel to death?’ Some counselled to cut out her tongue and other some to burn it with fire; but, when she came before the King, she said to him, ‘My case with thee is like unto the story of the fox and the folk.’ ‘How so?’ asked he; and she said, ‘I have heard tell, O King, that

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  Story of the Fox and the Folk.

  A fox once made his way into a city by the wall and entering a currier’s storehouse, played havoc with what was therein and spoiled the skins for the owner. One day, the currier set a trap for him and taking him, beat him with the hides, till he fell down senseless, whereupon the man, deeming him to be dead, cast him out into the road by the city
-gate. Presently, an old woman came up and seeing the fox, said, “A fox’s eye, hung about a child’s neck, is salutary against weeping.” So she pulled out his right eye and went away. Then came a boy, who said, “What does this tail on this fox?” and cut off his brush. After awhile, up came a man and saying, “A fox’s gall clears away dimness from the eyes, if they be anointed therewith,” [took out his knife and made to slit the fox’s paunch]; but the latter said in himself; “We bore with the pulling out of the eye and the cutting off of the tail; but, as for the slitting of the paunch, there is no putting up with that.” So saying, he sprang up and made off through the gate of the city.’

  Quoth the King, ‘I excuse her, and in my son’s hands be her doom. If he will, let him torture her, and if he will, let him put her to death.’ Quoth the prince, ‘Forgiveness is better than vengeance and it is of the fashion of the noble;’ and the King repeated, ‘It is for thee to decide, O my son.’ So the prince set her free, saying, ‘Depart from our neighbourhood and may God pardon what is past!’

  Therewith the King rose from his couch of estate and seating his son thereon, crowned him with his crown and bade the grandees of his realm swear fealty and do homage to him. And he said, ‘O folk, indeed, I am stricken in years and desire to withdraw apart and give myself up to the service of my Lord, and I call you to witness that divest myself of the royal dignity, even as I have divested myself of my crown, and set it on my son’s head.’ So the troops and officers swore fealty to the prince, and his father gave himself up to the worship of his Lord nor stinted from this, whilst his son abode in his kingship, doing justice and righteousness; and his power was magnified and his dominion strengthened and he abode in all delight and solace of life, till there came to him the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Companies.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  VOLUME VI.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  JOUDER AND HIS BROTHERS.

  There was once a merchant named Omar and he had three sons, the eldest of whom was called Salim, the second Selim and the third Jouder. He reared them all till they came to man’s estate, but the youngest he loved more than his brothers, who, seeing this, waxed jealous of Jouder and hated him. Now their father was a man stricken in years, and when he saw that his two eldest sons hated their brother, he feared lest trouble should befall him from them after his death. So he assembled a company of his kinsfolk, together with divers men of learning and assessors of the Cadi’s court, and letting bring all his money and stuff, said to them, ‘O folk, divide ye this money and stuff into four parts, according to the law.’ They did so, and he gave one part to each of his sons and kept the fourth himself, saying, “This was my good and I have divided it among them; and now they have no farther claim upon me nor upon each other; so, when I die, no difference shall arise between them, seeing that I have parted the inheritance among them in my lifetime; and this that I have kept shall be for my wife, their mother, wherewithal to provide for her subsistence [after my death].’

  A little while after this he died, and neither of the two elder brothers was content with his share, but sought more of Jouder, saying, ‘Our father’s good is in thy hands.’ So he appealed to the judges and those who had been present at the partition came and bore witness of that which they knew, wherefore the judge forbade them from each other; but Jouder and his brothers spent much money in bribes to him. After this, they left him awhile, but presently they began again to torment him and he again appealed to the magistrate, [who again gave judgment in his favour;] but all three once more lost much money in bribes. Nevertheless Salim and Selim forbore not to seek his hurt [and to carry the case] from court to court, losing, he and they, till they had given all their good for food to the oppressors and they became poor, all three. Then the two elder brothers went to their mother and took her money and beat her and laughed at her and drove her away. So she betook herself to her son Jouder and told him how his brothers had dealt with her and fell to cursing them. ‘O my mother,’ said he, ‘do not curse them, for God will requite each of them his deed. See, I am become poor, and so are my brethren, for contention begetteth loss of good, and we have contended amain, I and they, before the judges, and it hath profited us nothing: nay, we have wasted all our father left us and are disgraced among the folk by reason of our testimony, [one against the other]. Shall I then contend with them anew on thine account and shall we appeal to the judges? This may not be; rather do thou take up thine abode with me, and the cake of bread I eat I will share with thee. Do thou pray for me and God will give me the means of thy support. Leave them to receive of Him the recompense of their deed, and console thyself with the saying of the poet:

  If a lewd fellow should transgress against thee, let him be, And wait till God shall punish him who doth iniquity;

  Neither oppress, for if a mount another should oppress, The evil-doer would be crushed therefore, assuredly.

  And he comforted her till she consented and took up her dwelling with him. Then he got him a net and went a-fishing every day in the river or the lakes or some other place in which there was water; and one day he would earn ten paras, another twenty and another thirty, which he spent upon his mother and himself, and they ate and drank well. But, as for his brothers, they plied no craft and sold not neither bought; misery and ruin and overwhelming calamity overtook them and they wasted that which they had taken from their mother and became wretched naked beggars. Bytimes they would come to their mother, humbling themselves to her exceedingly and complaining of hunger; and she, a mother’s heart being pitiful, would give them some mouldy bread; or, if there were any cooked meat of the day before, she would say to them, ‘Eat it quickly and go, before your brother comes; for it would be grievous to him and he would harden his heart against me, and ye would disgrace me with him.’ So they would eat in haste and go.

  One day they came in to their mother, and she set cooked meat and bread before them. As they were eating, in came their brother Jouder, at whose sight their mother hung her head in shame and confusion, fearing lest he should be wroth with her. But he smiled in their faces, saying, ‘Welcome, O my brothers! This is indeed a blessed day. How comes it that ye visit me this blessed day?’ Then he embraced them and entreated them lovingly, saying to them, ‘I thought not that ye would have deserted me nor that ye would have forborne to visit me and your mother.’ ‘By Allah, O my brother,’ said they, ‘we longed sore for thee and nought withheld us but shamefastness because of what befell between us and thee; but indeed we have repented amain. It was Satan’s doing, the curse of God the Most High be upon him! And now we have no blessing but thee and our mother.’ ‘And I,’ rejoined Jouder, ‘I have no blessing but you twain.’ And his mother exclaimed, ‘God whiten thy face, O my son, and increase thy prosperity, for thou art the best of us all!’ Then he said to his brothers, ‘Welcome to you both! Abide with me; for God is bountiful and good aboundeth with me.’ So he made peace with them and they ate the evening meal and passed the night with him.

  Next morning, after they had broken their fast, Jouder shouldered his net and went out, trusting in [God] the Opener [of the gates of sustenance,] whilst the two others also went forth and were absent till noon, when they returned and their mother set the midday meal before them. At nightfall, Jouder came home, bearing meat and vegetables, and they abode thus a month’s space, Jouder catching fish and spending their price on his mother and his brothers, and the latter eating and amusing themselves, till, one day, he went down to the river-bank and casting his net, brought it up empty. He cast it a second time, but again it came up empty and he said to himself, ‘There are no fish in this place.’ So he removed to another place and cast the net there, but with no better success. And he ceased not to remove from place to place till nightfall, but caught not a single gudgeon and said to himself, ‘Strange! Is the river drained of fish or what?’ Then he shouldered the net and made for home, chagrined and concerned for
his mother and brothers and knowing not how he should feed them that night.

  Presently he came to a baker’s oven and saw the folk crowding for bread, with money in their hands, whilst the baker took no note of them. So he stood there, sighing, and the baker said to him, ‘Welcome, O Jouder! Dost thou want bread?’ But he was silent and the baker continued, ‘If thou hast no money, take thy sufficiency and thou shalt have credit.’ So Jouder said, ‘Give me ten paras’ worth of bread and take this net in pledge.’ ‘Nay, good fellow,’ rejoined the baker, ‘the net is thy means of earning thy livelihood, and if I take it of thee, I shall close up against thee the door of thy subsistence. Take ten paras’ worth of bread and take these other ten paras, and to-morrow bring me fish for the twenty.’ ‘On my head and eyes be it,’ answered Jouder and took the bread and money, saying, ‘To-morrow God will provide me the means of acquittance.’ Then he bought meat and vegetables and carried them home to his mother, who cooked them, and they supped and went to bed.

  Next morning he arose at daybreak and took the net, and his mother said to him, ‘Sit down and break thy fast.’ But he said, ‘Do thou and my brothers breakfast,’ and went down to the river, where he ceased not to cast and shift about all day, without aught falling to him, till the hour of afternoon-prayer, when he shouldered his net and went away, sore dejected. His way led him perforce by the shop of the baker, who, when he saw him, counted out to him the loaves and the money, saying, ‘Come, take it and go; if it be not for to-day, it will be for to-morrow.’ Jouder would have excused himself, but the baker said to him, ‘There needs no excuse; if thou hadst caught aught, it would be with thee; so, when I saw thee empty-handed, I knew thou hadst gotten nought; and if to-morrow thou have no better luck, come and take bread and be not ashamed, for I will give thee credit.’ So Jouder took the bread and money and went home. Next day he sallied forth and fished from lake to lake until the time of afternoon-prayer, but caught nothing; so he went to the baker and took the bread and silver as usual.