One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  The Three Hundred and Eighty-fifth Night,

  Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Princess in Mameluke’s habit said, “And I too have a strange history.” Then she fell to relating all that had betided her from the very beginning to that which hath before been described; and when her father heard it he felt assured that she was his daughter. So he arose and threw himself upon her and embraced her and after he veiled her face with a kerchief was with him, and her husband exclaimed, “Would to Heaven that I also could forgather with my wife.” Quoth she, “Inshallah, and that soon,” and she inclined to him after kindly fashion and said to herself, “Indeed this be my true husband.” Herewith all resolved to march from that stead and they departed, the Princess’s spouse still unknowing that she was his wife; and they stinted not faring till they entered the Sultan’s city and all made for the Palace. Then the Princess slipped privily into the Harem without the knowledge of her mate and changed her semblance, when her father said to her husband, “Hie thee to the women’s apartment: haply Allah may show to thee thy wife.” So he went in and found her sitting in her own apartment and he marvelled as he espied her and drew near her and threw his arms round her neck of his fond love to her and asked her concerning her absence. Thereupon she told him the truth saying, “I went forth seeking my sire and habited in a Mameluke’s habit and ’twas I slew the lion and roasted his flesh over the fire, but thou wouldest not eat thereof.” At these words the Sultan rejoiced and his rejoicings increased and all were in the highmost of joy and jolliment; he and her father with the two other sons-in-law, and this endured for a long while. But at last all deemed it suitable to revisit their countries and capitals and each farewelled his friends and the whole party returned safe and sound to their own homes.203 Now when it was the next night and that was

  The Three Hundred and Eighty-sixth Night,

  Shahrazad began to relate

  Richard Francis Burton’s translation: detailed table of contents

  THE STORY OF THE KAZI WHO BARE A BABE.204

  It hath been related that in Tarábulus-town205 of Syria was a Kází appointed under orders of the Caliph Hárún al-Rashíd to adjudge law-suits and dissolve contracts and cross-examine witnesses; and after taking seat in his Mahkamah206 his rigour and severity became well known to all men. Now this judge kept a black hand-maiden likest unto a buffalo-bull and she cohabited with him for a lengthened while; for his nature was ever niggardly nor could anyone wrest from him half a Faddah or any alms-gift or aught else; and his diet was of biscuit207 and onions. Moreover, he was ostentatious as he was miserly: he had an eating-cloth bordered with a fine bell fringe,208 and when any person entered about dinner-time or supper-tide he would cry out, “O handmaid, fetch the fringed table-cloth;” and all who heard his words would say to themselves, “By Allah, this must needs be a costly thing.” Presently one day of the days his assessors and officers said to him, “O our lord the Kazi, take to thyself a wife, for yon negress becometh not a dignitary of thy degree.” Said he, “An this need be, let any who hath a daughter give her to me in wedlock and I will espouse her.” Herewith quoth one present, “I have a fair daughter and a marriageable,” whereto quoth the Kazi, “An thou wouldst do me a favour this is the time.” So the bride was fitted out and the espousals took place forthright and that same night the Kazi’s father-in-law came to him and led him in to his bride saying in his heart, “I am now connected with the Kazi.” And he took pleasure in the thought for he knew naught of the judge’s stinginess and he could not suppose but that his daughter would be comfortable with her mate and well-to-do in the matter of diet and dress and furniture. Such were the fancies which occurred to him; but as for the Kazi, he lay with the maid and abated her maidenhead; and she in the morning awaited somewhat wherewith to break her fast and waited in vain. Presently the Kazi left her and repaired to his court- house whither the city folk came and gave him joy of his marriage and wished him good morning, saying in themselves, “Needs must he make a mighty fine bride feast.” But they sat there to no purpose until past noon when each went his own way privily damning the judge’s penuriousness. As soon as they were gone he returned to his Harem and cried out to his black wench, “O handmaiden, fetch the fringed table-cloth;” and his bride hearing this rejoiced, saying to herself, “By Allah, his calling for this cloth requireth a banquet which befitteth it, food suitable for the Kings.” The negress arose and faring forth for a short time returned with the cloth richly fringed and set upon it a Kursi- stool,209 and a tray of brass whereon were served three biscuits and three onions. When the bride saw this, she prayed in her heart saying, “Now may my Lord wreak my revenge upon my father!” but her husband cried to her, “Come hither, my girl,” and the three sat down to the tray wherefrom each took a biscuit and an onion. The Kazi and the negress ate all their portions, but the bride could not swallow even a third of the hard bread apportioned to her; so she rose up, heartily cursing her father’s ambition in her heart. At supper-tide it was the same till the state of things became longsome to her and this endured continuously for three days, when she was ready to sink with hunger. So she sent for her sire and cried aloud in his face. The Kazi hearing the outcries of his bride asked, “What is to do?” whereupon they informed him that the young woman was not in love with this style of living.?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

  The Three Hundred and Eighty-seventh Night,

  Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the bride was not in love with the Kazi’s mode of living; so he took her and cut off her nose and divorced her, falsely declaring that she had behaved frowardly. On the next day he proposed for another wife and married her and entreated her in like fashion as the first; and when she demanded a divorce, he shredded off her nostrils and put her away; and whatever woman he espoused he starved by his stinginess and tortured with hunger, and when any demanded a divorce he would chop off her nose on false presences and put her away without paying aught either of her marriage settlement or of the contingent dowry. At last the report of that Kazi’s avarice came to the ears of a damsel of Mosul-city, a model of beauty and loveliness who had insight into things hidden and just judgment and skilful contrivance. Thereupon, resolved to avenge her sex, she left her native place and journeyed till she made Tarabulus; and by the decree of the Decreer at that very time the judge, after a day spent in his garden, purposed to return home so he mounted his mule and met her half-way between the pleasance and the town. He chanced to glance at her and saw that she was wondrous beautiful and lovely, symmetrical and graceful and the spittle ran from his mouth wetting his mustachios; and he advanced and accosting her said, “O thou noble one, whence comest thou hither?” “From behind me!” “Connu. I knew that; but from what city?” “From Mosul.” “Art thou single and secluded or femme couverte with a husband alive?” “Single I am still!” “Can it be that thou wilt take me and thou become to me mate and I become to thee man?” “If such be our fate ‘twill take place and I will give thee an answer to-morrow;” and so saying the damsel went on to Tarabulus. Now the Kazi after hearing her speech felt
his love for her increase; so next morning he sent to ask after her, and when they told him that she had alighted at a Khan, he despatched to her the negress his concubine with a party of friends to ask her in marriage, notifying that he was Kazi of the city. Thereupon she demanded a dower of fifty dinars and naming a deputy caused the knot be knotted and she came to him about evening time and he went in to her. But when it was the supper-hour he called as was his wont to his black handmaiden saying “Fetch the fringed table-cloth,” and she fared forth and fetched it bringing also three biscuits and three onions, and as soon as the meal was served up all three sat down to it, the Kazi, the slave-girl, and the new bride. Each took a biscuit and an onion and ate them up and the bride exclaimed “Allah requite thee with wealth. By Allah, this be a wholesome supper.” When the judge heard this he was delighted with her and cried out, “Extolled be the Almighty for that at last He hath vouchsafed to me a wife who thanketh the Lord for muchel or for little!” But he knew not what the Almighty had decreed to him through the wile and guile, the malice and mischief of women. Next morning the Kazi repaired to the Mahkamah and the bride arose and solaced herself with looking at the apartments, of which some lay open whilst others were closed. Presently she came to one which was made fast by a door with a wooden bolt and a padlock of iron: she considered it and found it strong but at the threshold was a fissure about the breadth of a finger; so she peeped through and espied gold and silver coins heaped up in trays of brass which stood upon Kursi-stools and the nearest about ten cubits from the door. She then arose and fetched a long wand, the mid-rib of a date-palm,210 and arming the end with a lump of leaven she pushed it through the chink under the door and turned it round and round upon the money-trays as if sewing or writing. At last two dinars stuck to the dough and she drew them through the fissure and returned to her own chamber; then, calling the negress, she gave her the ducats saying, “Go thou to the Bazar and buy us some mutton and rice and clarified butter; and do thou also bring us some fresh bread and spices and return with them without delay.” The negress took the gold and went to the market, where she bought all that her lady bade her buy and speedily came back, when the Kazi’s wife arose and cooked a notable meal, after which she and the black chattel ate whatso they wanted. Presently the slave brought basin and ewer to her lady and washed her hands and then fell to kissing her feet, saying, “Allah feed thee, O my lady, even as thou hast fed me, for ever since I belonged to this Kazi I have lacked the necessaries of life.” Replied the other, “Rejoice, O handmaiden, for henceforth thou shalt have every day naught but the bestest food of manifold kinds;” and the negress prayed Allah to preserve her and thanked her. At noon the Kazi entered and cried, “O handmaid fetch the fringed cloth,” and when she brought it he sat down and his wife arose and served up somewhat of the food she had cooked and he ate and rejoiced and was filled and at last he asked, “Whence this provision?” She answered, “I have in this city many kinsfolk who hearing of my coming sent me these meats and quoth I to myself, When my lord the Kazi shall return home he shall make his dinner thereof.” On the next day she did as before and drawing out three ducats called the slave-girl and gave her two of them bidding her go to the Bazar and buy a lamb ready skinned and a quantity of rice and clarified butter and greens and spices and whatso was required for dressing the dishes. So the handmaid went forth rejoicing, and bought all her lady had ordered and forthwith returned when her mistress fell to cooking meats of various kinds and lastly sent to invite all her neighbours, women and maidens. When they came she had got ready the trays garnished with dainty food211 and served up to them all that was suitable and they ate and enjoyed themselves and made merry. Now this was about mid-forenoon, but as mid-day drew near they went home carrying with them dishes full of dainties which they cleared and washed and sent back till everything was returned to its place.?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

  The Three Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,

  Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the guests of the Kazi’s wife fared from her before turn of sun; and, when it was noon, behold, the Kazi entered his Harem and said, “O hand-maiden, fetch the fringed tablecloth,” when the wife arose and set before him viands of various sorts. He asked whence they came and she answered saying, “This is from my maternal aunt who sent it as a present to me.” The judge ate and was delighted and abode in the Harem till set of sun. But his wife ceased not daily to draw money from his hoard and to expend it upon entertaining her friends and gossips, and this endured for a whole year. Now beside her mansion dwelt a poor woman in a mean dwelling and every day the wife would feed her and her husband and babes; moreover she would give them all that sufficed them. The woman was far gone with child and the other charged her saying, “As soon as ’tis thy time to be delivered, do thou come to me for I have a mind to play a prank upon this Kazi who feareth not Allah and who, whenever he taketh to himself a wife, first depriveth her of food till she is well nigh famished, then shreddeth off her nose under false pretences and putteth her away taking all her belongings and giving naught of dower either the precedent or the contingent.” And the poor woman replied, “To hear is to obey.” Then the wife persisted in her lavish expenditure till her neighbour came to her already overtaken by birth-pains, and these lasted but a little while when she was brought to bed of a boy. Hereupon the Kazi’s wife arose and prepared a savoury dish called a Baysárah,212 the base of which is composed of beans and gravied mallows213 seasoned with onions and garlic. It was noon when her husband came in and she served up the dish; and he being anhungered ate of it and ate greedily and at supper time he did likewise. But he was not accustomed to a Baysarah, so as soon as night came on his paunch began to swell; the wind bellowed in his bowels; his stress was such that he could not be more distressed and he roared out in his agony. Herewith his wife ran in and cried to him, “No harm shall befal thee, O my lord!” and so saying she passed her hand over his stomach and presently exclaimed “Extolled be He, O my lord; verily thou art pregnant and a babe is in thy belly.”?And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was