One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  Now the king was seated at the lattice, hearkening to their talk, and Abou Sabir’s words angered him; so he bade bring him before him and they brought him forthright. Now there was in the king’s palace an underground dungeon and therein a vast deep pit, into which the king caused cast Abou Sabir, saying to him, ‘O lackwit, now shall we see how thou wilt come forth of the pit to the throne of the kingdom.’ Then he used to come and stand at the mouth of the pit and say, ‘O lackwit, O Abou Sabir, I see thee not come forth of the pit and sit down on the king’s throne!’ And he assigned him each day two cakes of bread, whilst Abou Sabir held his peace and spoke not, but bore with patience that which betided him.

  Now the king had a brother, whom he had imprisoned in that pit of old time, and he had died [there]; but the folk of the realm thought that he was alive, and when his [supposed] imprisonment grew long, the king’s officers used to talk of this and of the tyranny of the king, and the report spread abroad that the king was a tyrant, wherefore they fell upon him one day and slew him. Then they sought the well and brought out Abou Sabir therefrom, deeming him the king’s brother, for that he was the nearest of folk to him [in favour] and the likest, and he had been long in the prison. So they doubted not but that he was the prince in question and said to him, ‘Reign thou in thy brother’s room, for we have slain him and thou art king in his stead.’ But Abou Sabir was silent and spoke not a word; and he knew that this was the issue of his patience. Then he arose and sitting down on the king’s throne, donned the royal raiment and discovered justice and equity and the affairs [of the realm] prospered [in his hand]; wherefore the folk obeyed him and the people inclined to him and many were his troops.

  Now the king, who had plundered Abou Sabir[‘s goods] and driven him forth of his village, had an enemy; and the latter took horse against him and overcame him and captured his [capital] city; wherefore he addressed himself to flight and came to Abou Sabir’s city, craving protection of him and seeking that he should succour him. He knew not that the king of the city was the headman whom he had despoiled; so he presented himself before him and made complaint to him; but Abou Sabir knew him and said to him, ‘This is somewhat of the issue of patience. God the Most High hath given me power over thee.’ Then he bade his guards plunder the [unjust] king and his attendants; so they plundered them and stripping them of their clothes, put them forth of his country. When Abou Sabir’s troops saw this, they marvelled and said, ‘What is this deed that the king doth? There cometh a king to him, craving protection, and he despoileth him! This is not of the fashion of kings.’ But they dared not [be]speak [him] of this.

  After this, news came to the king of robbers in his land; so he set out in quest of them and ceased not to follow after them, till he seized on them all, and behold, they were the [very] thieves who had despoiled him [and his wife] by the way and taken his children. So he bade bring them before him, and when they came into his presence, he questioned them, saying, ‘Where are the two boys ye took on such a day?’ Quoth they, ‘They are with us and we will present them to our lord the king for slaves to serve him and give him wealth galore that we have gotten together and divest ourselves of all that we possess and repent from sin and fight in thy service.’ Abou Sabir, however, paid no heed to their speech, but took all their good and bade put them all to death. Moreover, he took the two boys and rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy, whereat the troops murmured among themselves, saying, ‘Verily, this is a greater tyrant than his brother! There come to him a sort of robbers and seek to repent and proffer two boys [by way of peace-offering], and he taketh the two boys and all their good and slayeth them!’

  After this came the horseman, who had taken Abou Sabir’s wife, and complained of her to the king that she would not give him possession of herself, avouching that she was his wife. The king bade bring her before him, that he might hear her speech and pronounce judgment upon her. So the horseman came with her before him, and when the king saw her, he knew her and taking her from her ravisher, bade put the latter to death. Then he became aware of the troops, that they murmured against him and spoke of him as a tyrant; so he turned to his officers and viziers and said to them, ‘As for me, by God the Great, I am not the king’s brother! Nay, I am but one whom the king imprisoned upon a word he heard from me and used every day to taunt me therewith. Ye think that I am the king’s brother; but I am Abou Sabir and God hath given me the kingship in virtue of my patience. As for the king who sought protection of me and I despoiled him, it was he who first wronged me, for that he despoiled me aforetime and drove me forth of my native land and banished me, without due [cause]; wherefore I requited him with that which he had done to me, in the way of lawful vengeance. As for the thieves who proffered repentance, there was no repentance for them with me, for that they began upon me with foul [dealing] and waylaid me by the road and despoiled me and took my good and my sons. Now these two boys, that I took of them and whom ye deemed slaves, are my very sons; so I avenged myself on the thieves of that which they did with me aforetime and requited them with equity. As for the horseman whom I slew, the woman I took from him was my wife and he took her by force, but God the Most High hath restored her [to me]; so this was my right, and my deed that I have done was just, albeit ye, [judging] by the outward of the matter, deemed that I had done this by way of tyranny.’ When the folk heard this, they marvelled and fell prostrate before him; and they redoubled in esteem for him and exceeding affection and excused themselves to him, marvelling at that which God had done with him and how He had given him the kingship by reason of his longsuffering and his patience and how he had raised himself by his patience from the bottom of the pit to the throne of the kingdom, what while God cast down the [late] king from the throne into the pit. Then Abou Sabir foregathered with his wife and said to her, ‘How deemest thou of the fruit of patience and its sweetness and the fruit of haste and its bitterness? Verily, all that a man doth of good and evil, he shall assuredly abide.’ On like wise, O king,” continued the young treasurer, “it behoveth thee to practise patience, whenas it is possible to thee, for that patience is of the fashion of the noble, and it is the chiefest of their reliance, especially for kings.”

  When the king heard this from the youth, his anger subsided; so he bade restore him to the prison, and the folk dispersed that day.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  The Fourth Day.

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  OF THE ILL EFFECTS OF PRECIPITATION.

  When it was the fourth day, the fourth vizier, whose name was Zoushad, made his appearance and prostrating himself to the king, said to him, “O king, suffer not the talk of yonder youth to delude thee, for that he is not a truth-teller. So long as he abideth on life, the folk will not give over talking nor will thy heart cease to be occupied with him.” “By Allah,” cried the king, “thou sayst sooth and I will cause fetch him this day and slay him before me.” Then he commanded to bring the youth; so they brought him in shackles and he said to him, “Out on thee! Thinkest thou to appease my heart with thy prate, whereby the days are spent in talk? I mean to slay thee this day and be quit of thee.” “O king,” answered the youth, “it is in thy power to slay me whensoever thou wilt, but haste is of the fashion of the base and patience of that of the noble. If thou put me to death, thou wilt repent, and if thou desire to bring me back to life, thou wilt not be able thereunto. Indeed, whoso acteth hastily in an affair, there befalleth him what befell Bihzad, son of the king.” Quoth the king, “And what is his story?” “O king,” replied the young treasurer,

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  STORY OF PRINCE BIHZAD.

  “There was once, of old time, a king and he had a son [named Bihzad], there was not in his day a goodlier than he and he loved to consort with the folk and to sit with the merchants and converse with them. One day, as he sat in an assembly, amongst a number of folk, he heard them talking of his own go
odliness and grace and saying, ‘There is not in his time a goodlier than he.’ But one of the company said, ‘Indeed, the daughter of King Such-an-one is handsomer than he.’ When Bihzad heard this saying, his reason fled and his heart fluttered and he called the last speaker and said to him, ‘Repeat to me that which thou saidst and tell me the truth concerning her whom thou avouchest to be handsomer than I and whose daughter she is.’ Quoth the man, ‘She is the daughter of King Such-an-one;’ whereupon Bihzad’s heart clave to her and his colour changed.

  The news reached his father, who said to him, ‘O my son, this damsel to whom thy heart cleaveth is at thy commandment and we have power over her; so wait till I demand her [in marriage] for thee.’ But the prince said, ‘I will not wait.’ So his father hastened in the matter and sent to demand her of her father, who required of him a hundred thousand dinars to his daughter’s dowry. Quoth Bihzad’s father, ‘So be it,’ and paid down what was in his treasuries, and there remained to his charge but a little of the dower. So he said to his son, ‘Have patience, O my son, till we gather together the rest of the money and send to fetch her to thee, for that she is become thine.’ Therewith the prince waxed exceeding wroth and said, ‘I will not have patience;’ so he took his sword and his spear and mounting his horse, went forth and fell to stopping the way, [so haply that he might win what lacked of the dowry].

  It chanced one day that he fell in upon a company of folk and they overcame him by dint of numbers and taking him prisoner, pinioned him and carried him to the lord of that country. The latter saw his fashion and grace and misdoubting of him, said, ‘This is no robber’s favour. Tell me truly, O youth, who thou art.’ Bihzad thought shame to acquaint him with his condition and chose rather death for himself; so he answered, ‘I am nought but a thief and a bandit.’ Quoth the king, ‘It behoveth us not to act hastily in the matter of this youth, but that we look into his affair, for that haste still engendereth repentance.’ So he imprisoned him in his palace and assigned him one who should serve him.

  Meanwhile, the news spread abroad that Bihzad, son of the king, was lost, whereupon his father sent letters in quest of him [to all the kings and amongst others to him with whom he was imprisoned]. When the letter reached the latter, he praised God the Most High for that he had not anydele hastened in Bihzad’s affair and letting bring him before himself, said to him, ‘Art thou minded to destroy thyself?’ Quoth Bihzad, ‘[I did this] for fear of reproach;’ and the king said, ‘An thou fear reproach, thou shouldst not practise haste [in that thou dost]; knowest thou not that the fruit of haste is repentance? If we had hasted, we also, like unto thee, we had repented.’

  Then he conferred on him a dress of honour and engaged to him for the completion of the dowry and sent to his father, giving him the glad news and comforting his heart with [the tidings of] his son’s safety; after which he said to Bihzad, Arise, O my son, and go to thy father.’ ‘O king,’ rejoined the prince, ‘complete thy kindness to me by [hastening] my going-in to my wife; for, if I go back to my father, till he send a messenger and he return, promising me, the time will be long.’ The king laughed and marvelled at him and said to him, ‘I fear for thee from this haste, lest thou come to shame and attain not thy desire.’ Then he gave him wealth galore and wrote him letters, commending him to the father of the princess, and despatched him to them. When he drew near their country, the king came forth to meet him with the people of his realm and assigned him a handsome lodging and bade hasten the going-in of his daughter to him, in compliance with the other king’s letter. Moreover, he advised the prince’s father [of his son’s coming] and they busied themselves with the affair of the damsel.

  When it was the day of the going-in, Bihzad, of his haste and lack of patience, betook himself to the wall, which was between himself and the princess’s lodging and in which there was a hole pierced, and looked, so he might see his bride, of his haste. But the bride’s mother saw him and this was grievous to her; so she took from one of the servants two red-hot iron spits and thrust them into the hole through which the prince was looking. The spits ran into his eyes and put them out and he fell down aswoon and joyance was changed and became mourning and sore concern. See, then, O king,” continued the youth, “the issue of the prince’s haste and lack of deliberation, for indeed his haste bequeathed him long repentance and his joy was changed to mourning; and on like wise was it with the woman who hastened to put out his eyes and deliberated not. All this was the doing of haste; wherefore it behoveth the king not to be hasty in putting me to death, for that I am under the grasp of his hand, and what time soever thou desirest my slaughter, it shall not escape [thee].”

  When the king heard this, his anger subsided and he said, “Carry him back to prison till to-morrow, to we may look into his affair.”

  The Fifth Day

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  OF THE ISSUES OF GOOD AND EVIL ACTIONS.

  When it was the fifth day, the fifth Vizier, whose name was Jehrbaur, came in to the king and prostrating himself before him, said, “O king, it behoveth thee, if thou see or hear that one look on thy house, that thou put out his eyes. How then should it be with him whom thou sawest midmost thy house and on thy very bed, and he suspected with thy harem, and not of thy lineage nor of thy kindred? Wherefore do thou away this reproach by putting him to death. Indeed, we do but urge thee unto this for the assurance of thine empire and of our zeal for thy loyal counselling and of our love to thee. How can it be lawful that this youth should live for a single hour?”

  Therewith the king was filled with wrath and said, “Bring him forthright,” So they brought the youth before him, shackled, and the king said to him, “Out on thee! Thou hast sinned a great sin and the time of thy life hath been long; but needs must we put thee to death, for that there is for us no ease in thy life after this,” “O king,” answered he, “know that I, by Allah, am guiltless, and by reason of this I hope for life, for that he who is guiltless of offence goeth not in fear of punishment neither maketh great his mourning and his concern; but whoso hath sinned, needs must his sin be expiated upon him, though his life be prolonged, and it shall overtake him, even as it overtook Dadbin the king and his vizier.” “How was that?” asked Azadbekht, and the youth said,

  John Payne’s translation: detailed table of contents

  STORY OF KING DADBIN AND HIS VIZIERS.

  “There was once a king in the land of Teberistan, by name Dadbin, and he had two viziers, called one Zourkhan and the other Kardan. The Vizier Zourkhan had a daughter, there was not in her time a handsomer than she nor yet a chaster nor a more pious, for she was a faster, a prayer and a worshipper of God the Most High, and her name was Arwa. Now Dadbin heard tell of her charms; so his heart clave to her and he called the vizier [her father] and said to him, ‘I desire of thee that thou marry me to thy daughter.’ Quoth Zourkhan, ‘Allow me to consult her, and if she consent, I will marry thee with her.’ And the king said, ‘Hasten unto this.’

  So the vizier went in to his daughter and said to her, ‘O my daughter, the king seeketh thee of me and desireth to marry thee.’ ‘O my father,’ answered she ‘I desire not a husband and if thou wilt marry me, marry me not but with one who shall be below me in rank and I nobler than he, so he may not turn to other than myself nor lift his eyes upon me, and marry me not to one who is nobler than I, lest I be with him as a slave-girl and a serving-woman.’ So the vizier returned to the king and acquainted him with that which his daughter had said, whereat he redoubled in desire and love-liking for her and said to her father, ‘An thou marry me not to her of good grace, I will take her by force in thy despite.’ The vizier again betook himself to his daughter and repeated to her the king’s words, but she replied, ‘I desire not a husband.’ So he returned to the king and told him what she said, and he was wroth and threatened the vizier, whereupon the latter took his daughter and fled with her.

  When this came to the king’s knowledge, he despatched troops in pursu
it of Zourkhan, to stop the road upon him, whilst he himself went out and overtaking the vizier, smote him on the head with his mace and slew him. Then he took his daughter by force and returning to his dwelling-place, went in to her and married her. Arwa resigned herself with patience to that which betided her and committed her affair to God the Most High; and indeed she was used to serve Him day and night with a goodly service in the house of King Dabdin her husband.

  It befell one day that the king had occasion to make a journey; so he called his Vizier Kardan and said to him, ‘I have a trust to commit to thy care, and it is yonder damsel, my wife, the daughter of the Vizier [Zourkhan], and I desire that thou keep her and guard her thyself, for that there is not in the world aught dearer to me than she.’ Quoth Kardan in himself, ‘Of a truth, the king honoureth me with an exceeding honour [in entrusting me] with this damsel.’ And he answered ‘With all my heart.’

  When the king had departed on his journey, the vizier said in himself, ‘Needs must I look upon this damsel whom the king loveth with all this love.’ So he hid himself in a place, that he might look upon her, and saw her overpassing description; wherefore he was confounded at her and his wit was dazed and love got the mastery of him, so that he said to her, saying, ‘Have pity on me, for indeed I perish for the love of thee.’ She sent back to him, saying, ‘O vizier, thou art in the place of trust and confidence, so do not thou betray thy trust, but make thine inward like unto thine outward and occupy thyself with thy wife and that which is lawful to thee. As for this, it is lust and [women are all of] one taste. And if thou wilt not be forbidden from this talk, I will make thee a byword and a reproach among the folk.’ When the vizier heard her answer, he knew that she was chaste of soul and body; wherefore he repented with the utmost of repentance and feared for himself from the king and said, ‘Needs must I contrive a device wherewithal I may destroy her; else shall I be disgraced with the king.’