One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  The prince carried off Morhagian’s sword, which he thought would be useful to him in other encounters; and as he went, he passed a magnificent stable in which he saw a splendid horse. He returned to the fairy and related to her what he had done, and added that he would like to carry off the horse, but he feared it would be very difficult. “Not so difficult as you think,” said she. “Go and cut off some hair from his tail, and take care of it, and whenever you are in need, burn one or two of the hairs, and he will be with you immediately [and will bring you whatever you require].”

  After this the three fairies assembled together, and the prince promised that the two princes, his brothers, should marry the other two sisters. Each fairy reduced her palace to the size of a small ball, which she gave to the prince

  The prince then took the three fairies to the bottom of the well. His father, the Sultan, had long believed that he was dead, and had put on mourning for him. His two brothers often came to the well, and they happened to be there just at the time. Badialzaman attracted their attention by his shouts, told them what had happened, and added that he had brought the three fairies with him. He asked for a rope and fastened the eldest fairy to it, calling out, “Pull away, Prince Rostam, I send you your good fortune.” The rope was let down again, and he fastened the second fairy to it, calling out “Brother Gaiath Eddin, pull up your good fortune too.”

  The third fairy, who was to marry Badialzaman, begged him to allow himself to be drawn up before her [as she was distrustful of his brothers], but he would not listen to her. As soon as the two princes had drawn her up so high that they could see her, they began to dispute who should have her. Then the fairy cried out to Badialzaman, “Prince, did I not warn you of this ?”

  The princes were obliged to agree that the Sultan should settle their dispute. When the third fairy had been drawn out of the well, the three fairies endeavoured to persuade the two princes to draw up their youngest brother, but they refused, and compelled them to follow them. While they carried off the youngest princess, the other two asked leave to say adieu to Prince Badialzaman They cried out from the top of the well, “Prince have patience till Friday, when you will see six bulls pass by — three red ones and three black ones. Mount upon one of the red ones and he will bring you up to the earth, but take good care not to mount upon a black one, for he would carry you down to the Seventh Earth.”435

  The princes carried off the three fairies, and on Friday, three days afterwards, the six bulls appeared. Badialzaman was about to mount upon a red one, when a black one prevented him, and compelled him to mount his back, when he plunged through the earth till he stopped at a large town in another world. He entered the town, and took up his abode with an old woman, to whom he gave a piece of gold to provide him with something to eat, for he was almost famished. When he had eaten enough, he asked for something to drink. “You cannot be a native of this country,” said the old woman [“or you would not ask for drink”]. She then brought him a sponge, saying that she had no other water. She then informed him that the town was supplied with water from a very copious spring, the flow of which was interrupted by a monster. They were obliged to offer up a girl to be devoured by it on every Friday. To-day the princess, the Sultan’s daughter, was to be given up to him, and while the monster emerged from his lair to devour her, enough water would flow for everyone to supply himself until the following Friday.

  Badialzaman then requested the old woman to show him the way to the place where the princess was already exposed; but she was so much afraid that he had much trouble in persuading her to come out of her house to show him what direction to take. He went out of the town, and went on till he saw the princess, who made a sign to him from a distance to approach no nearer; and the nearer he came, the more anxiety she displayed. As soon as he was within hearing, he shouted to her not to be afraid; and he sat down beside her, and fell asleep, after having begged her to wake him as soon as the monster appeared. Presently a tear from the princess fell upon his face, and he woke up, and saw the monster, which he slew with the sword of Morhagian, and the water flowed in abundance The princess thanked her deliverer, and begged him to take her back to the Sultan her father, who would give proofs of his gratitude; but he excused himself. She then marked his shoulder with the blood of the monster without his noticing it. The princess then returned to the town, and was led back to the palace, where she related to the Sultan [all that had happened]. Then the Sultan commanded that all the men in the town should pass before himself and the princess under pain of death. Badialzaman tried to conceal himself in a khan, but he was compelled to come with the others. The princess recognised him, and threw an apple at him to point him out. He was seized, and brought before the Sultan, who demanded what he could do to serve him. The prince hesitated, but at length he requested the Sultan to show him the way to return to the world from whence he came. The Sultan was furious, and would have ordered him to be burned as a heretic [but the princess interceded for his life]. The Sultan then treated him as a madman, and drove him ignominiously from the town, and he wandered away without knowing where he was going. At length he arrived at a mountain of rock, where he saw a great serpent rising from his lair to prey on young Rokhs. He slew the serpent with the sword of Morhagian, and the father and mother of the Rokhs arrived at the moment, and asked him to demand whatever he desired in return. He hesitated awhile, but at length he asked them to show him the way to the upper world. The male Rokh then told him to prepare ten quarters of mutton, to mount on his back, and to give him some of the meat whenever he should turn his head either to one side or to the other on the journey.

  The prince mounted on the back of the Rokh, the Rokh stamped with his foot, and the earth opened before them wherever he turned. They reached the bottom of the well when the Rokh turned his head, but there was no more meat left, so the prince cut off the calf of his leg and gave it to him. When the Rokh arrived at the top of the well, the prince leaped to the ground, when the Rokh perceived [that he was lame, when he inquired the reason, and the prince explained what had happened]. The Rokh then disgorged the calf of the leg, and returned it to its place, when it grew fast, and the prince was cured immediately.

  As the prince left the well, he met a peasant, and changed clothes with him, but he kept the sword, the three balls, and the horse-hair. He went into the town, where he took lodgings with a tailor, and kept himself in retirement. The prince gradually rose in the tailor’s esteem by letting him perceive that he knew how to sew [and all the arts of an accomplished tailor]. Presently, preparations were made for the wedding of Prince Rostam, and the tailor with whom Badialzaman lodged was ordered to prepare the fairy’s robes. Badialzaman, who slept in the shop, took clothes from one of the balls similar to those which were already far advanced, and put them in the place of the others. The tailor was astonished [at their fine workmanship] and wished to take the prince with him to receive a present, but he refused, alleging as an excuse that he had so lately come to the town. When the fairies saw the clothes, they thought it a good omen.

  The wedding day arrived, and they threw the jaríd436 [and practised other martial exercises]. It was a grand festival, and all the shops were closed. The tailor wished to take the prince to see the spectacle, but he put him off with an excuse. However, he went to a retired part of the town, where he struck fire with a gun,437 and burned a little of the horse hair. The horse appeared, and he told him to bring him a complete outfit all in red, and that he should likewise appear with trappings, jewels, &c., and a reed (jaríd) of the same colour. The prince then mounted the horse, and proceeded to the race-course, where his appearance excited general admiration. At the close of the sports, he cut off the head of Prince Rostam, and the horsemen pursued him, but were unable to overtake him, and soon lost sight of him. He returned to the shop dressed as usual before the arrival of the tailor, who related to him what had happened, of which he pretended to be entirely ignorant. There was a great mourning at the court; but three months aft
erwards, fresh robes were ordered for the wedding of the second prince. The fairies were confirmed in their suspicions when they saw the fresh clothes [which Badialzaman sent them].

  On the wedding day they again assembled to throw the jaríd. Prince Badialzaman now presented himself on the white horse, robed in white, and with pearls and jewels to match, and again he attracted general admiration. He pushed himself into the midst of a guard of eight hundred horsemen, and slew Gaiath Eddin. They rushed upon him, and he allowed himself to be carried before the Sultan, who recognised him [and pronounced his decision]. “A brother who has been abandoned to die by his brothers has a right to kill them.”

  After this, Prince Badialzaman espoused the youngest princess, and the two others were given in marriage to two princes who were related to the Sultan.

  Cazotte’s Continuation, and the Composite Editions of

  the Arabian Nights (P-422).

  P. 422. — There is a small Dutch work, the title of which is as follows:

  Oostersche Vertellingen, uit de Duizend-en-cen-Nacht: Naar de Hoogduitsche

  Bewerking van M. Claudius,438 voor de Nederlandsche Jeugduiitgegeven door

  J. J. A. Gouverneur. Te Groningen, bij B. Wolters, n.d. 8vo., p, colt

  front. (illustrating No. 170).

  A composite juvenile edition, including Introduction (very short), and Nos. 251g, 36a 163 (complete form), 6ef, 4, 5, 1, 52, 170, 6ee, 223, 207c, 6, 194c, 206a, 204h, 2a, 174a and Introduction (a).

  Derived from at least four different sources.

  Translations of the Printed Texts (P-439).

  Under this heading I have to record Sir Richard and Lady Burton’s own works.

  Lady Burton’s Edition of her husband’s Arabian Nights, translated literally from the Arabic, prepared for household reading by Justin Huntly McCarthy, M.P., London, Waterlow and Sons, Roy. 8vo. 6 vols.

  In preparing this edition for the press, as much as possible has been retained, both of the translation and notes; and it has not been found necessary to omit altogether more than a very few of the least important tales. The contents of the 6 volumes are as follows: —

  Vol. I. (1886), Front’s piece (Portrait of Lady Burton), Preface, Translator’s

  Foreword Introduction 1-9 (pp. xxiii. 476).

  Vol. II. (1886), Front’s piece (Portrait of Sir Richard F. Burton), 9 (continued), 9a-29 (pp. ii. 526).

  Vol. III. (1887), 29 (continued)-133e (pp. viii. 511).

  Vol. IV. (1887), 133e (continued)-154a (pp. iv. 514).

  Vol. V. (1887), 154a (continued)-163 (pp. iv. 516).

  Vol. VI. (1886) [? 1888], 163 (continued)-169 (pp. ii. 486).

  Also includes Terminal Essay, Index to Tales and Proper Names, Contributions to Bibliography, as far as it relates to Galland’s MS. and Translations; Comparative Table of Tales; Opinions of the Press; and Letters from Scholars.

  Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, with notes anthropological and explanatory, by Richard F. Burton. Benares, printed by the Kamashastra Society for private subscribers only. Roy. 8vo.

  The contents of the 6 volumes are as follows:

  Vol. I. (1886) Translator’s Foreword, 170-181bb.

  Vol. II. (1886) 182-189. Appendix: Variants and analogues of some of the tales in vols. i. and ii., by Mr. W. A. Clouston.

  These two volumes contain the tales peculiar to the Breslau Text, and cover the same ground as Mr. Payne’s 3 vols. of “Tales from the Arabic.”

  Vol. III. (1887) Foreword, 191-198. Appendix: Variants and Analogues of the

  Tales in the Supplemental Nights, vol. iii., by Mr. W. A. Clouston.

  This volume, the bulkiest of the whole series, contains such of Galland’s tales as are not to be found in the ordinary texts of the Nights.

  Vol. IV. (1887) The Translator’s Foreword, 203-209; App. A. Ineptiæ

  Bodleianae; App. B., The three untranslated tales in Mr. E. J. W. Gibb’s

  “Forty Vezirs.”

  Vol. V. (1888) 210-241a, Translator’s Foreword; App. i. Catalogue of Wortley Montague Manuscript, Contents, App. ii. Notes on the Stories contained in vols. iv. and v. of Supplemental Nights, by Mr. W. F. Kirby.

  These two volumes contain tales translated from the Wortley Montague MS., used by Jonathan Scott, and now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The following tales, not in our table, are added: —

  Vol. IV. Story of the Limping Schoolmaster (between 204i and 204j).

  How Drummer Abu Kasim became a Kazi, and Story of the Kazi and his Slipper.

  (These two tales come between 206a and 206b.)

  Adventure of the Fruit-seller and the Concubine (between 207c and 207d).

  Tale of the third Larrikin concerning himself (between 208 and 209).

  On the other hand, a few tales in the MS. are omitted as repetitions, or as too unimportant to be worth translating: —

  Vol. VI. (1888) Translator’s Foreword: 248; 246; The Linguist-Dame, the

  Duenna, and the King’s Son; 247; The Pleasant History of the Cock and the Fox;

  History of what befel the Fowl-let with the Fowler; 249; 250.

  App. i. Index to the Tales and Proper Names; ii. Alphabetical Table of the Notes (Anthropological, &c.); iii. Notes on the Stories contained in vol. vi. of Supplementary Nights, by W. F. Kirby; iv. Additional Notes on the Bibliography of the Thousand and One Nights, by W. F. Kirby; v. The Biography of the Book and the Reviewers Reviewed, Opinions of the Press.

  This volume contains the originals of Chavis and Cazotte’s Tales, omitting the four doubtful ones (cf. Nights, x. App., p, 419).

  Collections of Selected Tales (P. 439).

  “We have also ‘Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp,’ ‘Sindbad the Sailor, or the Old

  Man of the Sea’ and ‘Ali Baba, or the Forty Thieves,’ revised by M. E.

  Braddon, author of ‘Lady Audley’s Secret,’ etc. Illustrated by Gustav Doré and

  other artists. London: J. & R. Maxwell.

  “Miss Braddon has contented herself with ‘Englishing’ the vulgar version, whose Gallicisms are so offensive to the national ear.” (Sir R. F. Burton, in litt.)

  Imitations and Miscellaneous Works Having More or less

  Connection with the Nights (P-453). B. English

  (P-453).

  13. History of Rhedi, the Hermit of Mount Ararat, an Oriental Tale. By — Mackenzie, 16mo., Dublin, 1781.

  I have not seen this little book.

  14. Miscellanies, consisting of classical extracts, and Oriental Epilogues. By William Beloe, F.S.A. Translator of Herodotus, &c. London, 1795.

  Includes some genuine Oriental tales, such as a version of that of Básim the

  Smith.

  15. The Orientalist, or Letters of a Rabbi, with Notes by James Noble, Oriental Master in the Scottish Nasal and Military Academy. Edinburgh, 1831.

  Noticed by Mr. W. A. Clouston, Suppl. Nights, iii., .

  16. The Adventures of the Caliph Haroun Al-raschid. Recounted by the Author of “Mary Powell” [Miss Manning]. 8vo., London, 1855; Arthur Hall, Virtue & Co.

  17. The 1001 Days, a Companion to the Arabian Nights, with introduction by Miss J.] Pardoe. 8vo., London 1857, woodcuts.

  A miscellaneous collection partly derived from “Les Mille et un Jours” (cf. Nights x., p, 500). I have also seen a similar miscellaneous collection in French under the latter title. The tales in the English work are as follows:

  I. Hassan Abdallah, or the Enchanted Keys Story of Hassan.

  Hassan Abdallah the Basket Maker.

  Hassan Abdallah the Dervise Abounader

  II. Soliman Bey and the Story Tellers

  The First Story Teller.

  The Second Story Teller.

  The Third Story Teller.

  III. Prince Khalaf and the Princess of China

  Story of Prince Al-Abbas.

  Story of Liri-in.

  IV. The Wise Dey.

  V. The Tunisian Sage.

  VI. The Nose for Gold. />
  VII. The Treasures of Basra.

  History of Aboulcassem.

  VIII. The Old Camel.

  IX. The Story of Medjeddin (Grimm’s “Haschem,” cf. Nights, x., ).

  X. King Bedreddin Lolo and his Vizier.

  Story of the Old Slippers.

  Story of Atalmulk, surnamed the Sorrowful Vizier, and the Princess

  Zelica.

  Story of Malek and the Princess Schirine

  18. The Modern Arabian Nights. By Arthur A’Beckett and Linley Sambourne. London: Bradbury, Agnew & Co., 1877, sm. 4to., with comic coloured frontispieces and woodcuts.

  Four clever satires (social and political) as follows:

  1. Alley Baber and Son, a Mock Exchange Story. 2. Ned Redding and the Beautiful Persian. 3. The Ride of Captain Alf Rashit to Ke-Vere-Street. 4. Mr. O’Laddin and the Wonderful Lamp.

  19. Tales of the Caliph. By Al Arawiyah, 8vo., London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1887.

  Belongs to Class 5 (Imitations). Consists of fictitious adventures supposed to have happened to Harun Al-Rashid, chiefly during his nocturnal rambles.

  Separate Editions of Single or Composite Tales (P

  441).

  P. 440. — No. 184 was published under the title of “Woman’s Wit” in the

  “Literary Souvenir” for 1831, pp.217-237.derived from Langles’ version (Mr.

  L.C. Smithers in litt.).

  Translation of Cognate Oriental Romances Illustrative

  of the Nights (P-443).

  P. 441, No. 1. Les Mille et un Jours.

  Mr. L. C. Smithers (in litt.) notes English editions published in 1781 and 1809, the latter under the title of “The Persian and Turkish Tales.”

  P. 443, No. 5. Recueil de Contes Populaires de la Kabylie du Djurdjura recueillis et traduits par J. Riviere. 12mo. Paris: Leroux. 1882.

  This collection is intended to illustrate the habits and ideas of the people. The tales are very short, and probably very much abridged, but many of them illustrate the Nights. I may note the following tales as specially interesting from their connection with the Nights, or with important tales in other collections, Oriental or otherwise.