One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  When we had drunken of the wine awhile and it crept near The stead of secrets, “Hold,” quoth I thereunto, of my fear

  Lest its disordering influence should overcome my wit And to my boon-companions so my secrets should appear.

  When he hath told us the truth, we shall know his case and may do with him as we will; for I fear for thee the issues of this his now fashion, for it may be he will covet the kingship and win over the troops by generosity and the lavishment of money and so depose thee and take the kingdom from thee.’ ‘True,’ answered the king, and they passed the night on this agreement.

  On the morrow the king went forth and sat in the guest-chamber, when behold the grooms and serving-men came in to him in dismay. Quoth he, ‘What hath befallen you?’ And they answered, ‘O king of the age, the grooms curried the horses and foddered them and the mules that brought the baggage; but, when we arose in the morning, we found that [thy son-in-law’s] servants had stolen the horses and mules [and made off with them]. We searched the stables, but found neither horse nor mule; so we entered the servants’ lodging and saw none therein, nor know we how they fled.’ The king marvelled at this, knowing not that the mules and horses and servants were all Afrits, the subjects of the servant of the spell, and said to the grooms, ‘O accursed ones, how could a thousand beasts and five hundred slaves and servants, to boot, flee, without your knowledge?’ ‘We know not how it happened,’ answered they; and he said, ‘Go, and when your lord comes forth of the harem, tell him the case.’

  So they went out from before the king and abode bewildered, till Marouf came out and seeing them troubled, said to them, ‘What is to do?’ They told him what had happened and he said, ‘What is their worth that ye should be concerned for them? Go your ways.’ And he sat laughing and was neither angry nor troubled concerning the matter; whereupon the king looked in the vizier’s face and said to him, ‘What manner of man is this, with whom wealth is of no account? Needs must there be a reason for this.’ Then they talked with him awhile and the king said to him, ‘O my son-in-law, I have a mind to go, thou and I and the vizier, to a garden, where we may divert ourselves.’ ‘I will well,’ said Marouf. So they went forth to a garden, wherein were two kinds of every sort of fruit, and it was full of running waters and tall trees and carolling birds. There they entered a pavilion, whose sight did away sorrow from the heart, and sat talking, whilst the vizier entertained them with rare stories and merry jests and mirth-provoking sayings and Marouf listened, till the time of the noon-meal came, when they set on a tray of meats and a pitcher of wine.

  When they had eaten and washed their hands, the vizier filled the cup and gave it to the king, who drank it off; then he filled a second and gave it to Marouf, saying, ‘Take the cup of the drink to which the reason bows its neck in reverence.’ ‘What is this, O vizier?’ asked Marouf. Quoth he, ‘This is the hoary virgin and the old maid long kept in the house, the giver of joy to hearts, whereof saith the poet:

  The feet of the sturdy renegades went trampling it of yore, And so of the Arabs’ heads its wreak it taketh evermore.

  Let one of the sons of the infidels, a moon o’ the dark, whose looks To disobedience still invite, the grape-juice to thee pour.

  And gifted of God is he who saith:

  ’Tis as if wine and he, indeed, who doth the goblet bear, When to the boon-companions all he doth display it, were

  The dancing morning sun, whose face the full moon of the dark Had handselled with the Gemini, that shining starry pair.

  So clear and eke so subtle is its essence that, as ‘twere The life itself, through every vein and member it doth fare.

  And how excellent is the saying of the poet:

  The moon of the full of beauty lay the night in my embrace And the sun in the sphere of the cups was not eclipsed a moment’s space;

  And still I gazed on the fire, whereto the Magians them prostrate, As from the flagon it did prostrate itself before my face.

  And that of another:

  Through all the joints it runneth, as in one, Who hath been sick, the tides of healing run.

  And yet another:

  I marvel at those who first pressed it and tried, How they left us the water of life and yet died!

  And yet goodlier is the saying of Abou Nuwas:

  Have done and leave to blame me, for blame but angers me, And give me that, for med’cine, that caused my malady;

  A yellow one, whose precincts nor grief nor sorrow haunt, And if a stone but touch her, ’tis straightway moved to glee.

  She cometh in her flagon, midmost the darksome night, And by her light the dwelling illumined straight we see.

  From a kaze-owner take it, attired as if she had A yard; two lovers, wencher and sodomite, hath she; —

  She goeth round midst younglings, to whom Fate bows, submiss, And none with aught betideth, save that he hath in gree;

  And say to who pretendeth to excellence in love, “ One thing, thou’st learnt, but many are still concealed from thee.”

  But best of all is the saying of Ibn El Mutezz :

  God water the tree-shaded island and the convent Abdoun that hight With a constant dropping of rain-clouds, that cease not, day or night!

  How oft for the draught of the morning awakened me there of yore, In the forefront of dawn, when the swallow had not yet taken to flight,

  The voice of the monks of the convent, indeed, and the sound of their chant, As they crooned o’er their prayers in the gloaming, with their tunics of black bedight!

  How many a loveling among them, eye-painted with languor, abode, Whose eyelids on eyes shut that glittered with lustrous black and white,

  Who 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 nailparing cleft from the nail, And all but discovered our loves with the gleam of her meddlesome light;

  And then there betideth between us what I’ll not discover, i’ faith; So question no more of the matter and deem not of ill or upright.

  And gifted of God is he who saith:

  The richest of mortals am I; In gladness rejoiceth my soul.

  Liquid gold without stint I possess, And I measure it out by the bowl.

  And how goodly is the saying of the poet;

  By Allah, there’s no alchemy, except in this it be, And all is false that they avouch of other alchemy!

  Upon a hundredweight of woe a carat pour of wine And straight it is transformed and changed to gladness and to glee.

  And that of another:

  The glasses, when we’er empty, are heavy; but forthright When with pure wine we fill them, unblent, they grow as light

  As air and eke for transport they’re like to fly away; And bodies in like manner are lightened by the spright.

  And yet another:

  Wine and the cup to worship have claims more than can be said, Nor is it right in us to leave their claims unhonoured.

  Whenas I die, beside a vine I prithee bury me, So of its veins I still may drink, e’en after I am dead;

  Yea, in the desert waterless, I charge you, lay me not, For sore after my death to taste no more of wine I dread.’

  And he ceased not to incite him to drink, naming to him such of the virtues of wine as he thought well and repeating to him what occurred to him of verses and pleasant anecdotes on the subject, till Marouf addressed himself to sucking the lips of the cup and cared no longer for aught else. The vizier ceased not to fill for him and he to drink and enjoy himself and make merry, till he lost his reason and could not distinguish right from wrong. When the vizier saw that drunkenness had attained in him to utterance and overpassed the limit, he said to him, ‘By Allah, O merchant Marouf, it wonders me whence thou gottest these jewels whose like the kings of the Chos
roës possess not! In all our lives never saw we a merchant possessed of riches like unto shine or more generous than thou, for thy fashion is the fashion of kings and not the fashion of merchants. So, God on thee, do thou acquaint me with this, that I may know thy rank and condition.’ And he went on to ply him with questions and cajole him, till Marouf, being bereft of reason, said to him, ‘I am neither merchant nor king,’ and told him his whole story from first to last.

  Then said the vizier, ‘I conjure thee by Allah, O my lord Marouf, show us the ring, that we may see its fashion.’ So, in his drunkenness, he pulled off the ring and said, ‘Take it and look upon it.’ The vizier took it and turning it over, said, ‘If I rub it, will the genie appear?’ ‘Yes,’ replied Marouf. ‘Rub it and he will appear to thee, and do thou divert thyself with the sight of him.’ So the vizier rubbed the ring and immediately the genie appeared and said, ‘Here am I, at thy service, O my lord I Ask and it shall be given to thee. Wilt thou lay waste a town or build a city or slay a king? Whatsoever thou seekest, I will do for thee, without fail.’ The vizier pointed to Marouf and said, ‘Take up yonder knave and cast him down in the most desolate of desert lands, where he shall find nothing to eat nor drink, so he may die of hunger and perish miserably, and none know of him.’

  So the genie snatched him up and flew up with him betwixt heaven and earth, which when Marouf saw, he gave himself up for lost and wept and said, ‘O Aboussaadat, whither goest thou with me?’ ‘Dolt that thou art,’ replied the genie, ‘I go to cast thee down in the desert quarter of the world. Shall one have the like of this talisman and give it to the folk to look upon? Verily, thou deservest that which hath befallen thee; and but that I fear God, I would let thee fall from a height of a thousand fathoms, nor shouldst thou reach the earth, till the winds had torn thee in pieces.’ Marouf was silent and did not again bespeak him till he reached the desert quarter of the world and casting him down there, went away and left him in that horrible place.

  Meanwhile, the vizier said to the king, ‘How deemest thou now? Did I not tell thee that this fellow was a liar and an impostor, but thou wouldst not credit me?’ ‘Thou wast in the right, O my vizier,’ replied the king. ‘God grant thee health! But give me the ring, that I may look upon it.’ The vizier looked at him angrily and spat in his face, saying, ‘O dullard, how shall I give it to thee and abide thy servant, after I am become thy master? But I will spare thee no more.’ Then he rubbed the ring and said to the genie, ‘Take up this churl and cast him down by his son-in-law the impostor.’ So the genie took him up and flew off with him, whereupon quoth the king to him, ‘O creature of my Lord, what is my crime?’ ‘I know not,’ answered Aboussaadat; ‘but my lord hath commanded me unto this and I cannot disobey him who possesseth the enchanted ring.’ Then he flew on with him, till he came to the desert quarter and casting him down whereas he had cast Marouf, returned and left him. The king, hearing Marouf weeping, went up to him and acquainted him with his case; and they sat weeping over that which had befallen them and found neither meat nor drink.

  As for the vizier, he went forth from the garden and summoning all the troops, held a court and told them what he had done with the king and Marouf and acquainted them with the affair of the ring, adding, ‘Except ye make me Sultan over you, I will bid the servant of the ring take you all up and cast you down in the desert quarter of the world, where you shall die of hunger and thirst.’ ‘Do us no hurt,’ answered they; ‘for we accept thee to Sultan over us and will not any wise gainsay thy commandment.’ So they agreed, in their own despite, to his being Sultan over them, and he bestowed on them robes of honour, seeking all he had a mind to of Aboussaadat, who brought it to him forthright. Then he sat down on the throne and the troops made submission to him; and he sent to the king’s daughter, saying, ‘Make thee ready, for I mean to come in to thee this night, because I long for thee.’

  When she heard this, she wept, for [the loss of] her husband and father was grievous to her, and sent to him, saying, ‘Have patience with me till my days of widowhood are accomplished: then draw up thy contract of marriage with me and go in to me according to law.’ But he sent back to say to her, ‘I know neither days of widowhood nor delay, and I need not a contract nor know I lawful from unlawful; but needs must I go in to thee this night.’ So she answered him, saying, ‘So be it, then, and welcome to thee!’ But this was a trick on her part. When the answer reached the vizier, he rejoiced and his heart was gladdened, for that he was passionately enamoured of her. So he bade set food before all the folk. saying, ‘Eat; this is my bride-feast; for I purpose to go in to the princes this night.’ Quoth the Skeikh el Islam, ‘It is not lawful for thee to go in to her till her days of widowhood be accomplished and thou have drawn up thy contract of marriage with her.’ But he answered, ‘I know neither days of widowhood nor delay; so multiply not words on me.’ So the Sheikh was silent, fearing his mischief, and said to the troops, ‘Verily, this man is infidel and hath neither faith nor religion.’

  As soon as it was night, he went in to her and found her clad in her richest raiment and decked with her goodliest ornaments. When she saw him, she came to meet him, laughing, and said, ‘[This is] a blessed night! But, hadst thou slain my father and my husband, it had been better to my mind.’ And he said, ‘Needs must I slay them.’ Then she made him sit down and began to jest with him and make a show of love to him, caressing him and smiling in his face, whereupon his reason fled; but she did but cajole him on this wise that she might get possession of the ring and change his joy into calamity on his bead; nor did she deal thus with him but after the counsel of him who saith:

  Indeed, I have won by my sleight What swords had not compassed nor might,

  And with spoil I return, whose plucked fruits Are sweet to the taste and the sight.

  When he saw her caress him and smile upon him, desire stirred in him and he besought her of dalliance; but, when he drew near her, she started back from him, saying’ ‘O my lord, seest thou not the man looking at us? I conjure thee by Allah, screen me from his eyes! How canst thou have to do with me what while he looketh on us?’ When he heard this, he was angry and said, ‘Where is the man?’ ‘There he is, in the beazel of the ring,’ answered she, ‘putting out his head and looking at us.’ He thought that the genie was looking at them and said laughing, ‘Fear not; this is the servant of the ring, and he is at my commandment.’ Quoth she, ‘I am afraid of Afrits; pull it off and throw it afar from me.’ So he pulled it off and laying it on the cushion, drew near to her, but she dealt him a kick in the stomach and he fell over on his back, senseless: whereupon she cried out to her attendants, who came to her in haste, and said to them, ‘Lay hold on him.’

  So forty slave-girls seized him, whilst she snatched up the ring from the cushion and rubbed it; whereupon Aboussaadat presented himself, saying, ‘Here am I, at thy service, O my mistress.’ ‘Take up yonder infidel,’ said she, ‘and clap him in prison and shackle him heavily.’ So he took him and laying him in strait prison, returned and told her. Quoth she, ‘Whither wentest thou with my father and my husband?’ And he answered, ‘ I cast them down in the desert quarter of the world.’ Then said she, ‘I command thee to fetch them to me forthwith.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ replied he and taking flight at once, stayed not till he reached the desert quarter, where he lighted down upon them and found them sitting weeping and complaining to each other. Quoth he, ‘Fear not, for relief is come to you.’ And he told them what the vizier had done, adding, ‘Indeed I imprisoned him with my own hand, in obedience to her commandment, and she hath bidden me carry you back.’ And they rejoiced in his news. Then he took them up and flew back with them; nor was it more than an hour before he brought them in to the princess, who rose and saluted them. Then she made them sit down and brought them food and sweetmeats, and they passed the rest of the night [with her].

  On the morrow, she clad them in rich apparel and said to the king, ‘O my father, sit thou on thy throne and be king as before and make my husban
d thy Vizier of the Right and acquaint thy troops with that which hath happened. Then send for the vizier out of prison and slay him and after burn him, for that he is an infidel and would have gone in to me in the way of lewdness, without marriage-rites, and he hath testified against himself that he is an infidel and believeth in no religion. And do thou tender thy son-in law, whom thou makest thy Vizier of the Right.’ ‘I hear and obey, O my daughter,’ answered he. ‘But give me the ring or give it to thy husband.’ Quoth she, ‘It behoveth not that either thou or he have it. I will keep it myself, and belike I shall be more careful of it than you. Whatsoever ye want, seek it of me and I will demand it for you of the servant of the ring. So fear no harm so long as I live, and after my death, do as ye will with the ring.’ This is well seen, O my daughter,’ rejoined the king and taking Marouf, went forth to the divan.

  Now the troops had passed the night in sore concern for the princess and that which the vizier had done with her, in going in to her after the way of lewdness, without rite of marriage, and for his ill-usage of the king and Marouf, and they feared lest the law of Islam be dishonoured, because it was manifest to them that he was an infidel. So they assembled in the divan and fell to reproaching the Sheikh el Islam, saying, ‘Why didst thou not forbid him from going in to the princess in the way of lewdness?’ ‘O folk,’ answered he, ‘the man is an infidel and hath gotten possession of the ring and you and I can avail nothing against him. But God the Most High will requite him his deed, and be ye silent, lest he slay you.’ As they were thus engaged, in came the king and Marouf, and when the troops saw the former, they rejoiced in his return and rising to their feet, kissed the earth before him. He sat down on his throne and told them what had passed, whereupon their chagrin ceased from them.