The Penguin Anthology of Classical Arabic Literature

by Robert Irwin

  THE THIRTEENTH NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, ‘Sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely little tales to while away the night.’ Shahrazad replied, ‘With the greatest pleasure’:

  I heard, O happy King who is praiseworthy by the Grace of God, that King Yunan bestowed favours on the sage, gave him robes of honour, and granted his wishes. At the end of the day he gave the sage a thousand dinars and sent him home. The king, who was amazed at the skill of the sage Duban, said to himself, ‘This man has treated me externally, without giving me any draught to drink or ointment to apply. His is indeed a great wisdom for which he deserves to be honoured and rewarded. He shall become my companion, confidant, and close friend.’ Then the king spent the night, happy at his recovery from his illness, at his good health, and at the soundness of his body. When morning came and it was light, the king went to the royal reception hall and sat on the throne, attended by his chief officers, while the princes, viziers, and lords of the realm sat to his right and left. Then the king called for the sage, and when the sage entered and kissed the ground before him, the king stood up to salute him, seated him beside him, and invited him to eat with him. The king treated him intimately, showed him favours, and bestowed on him robes of honour and many other gifts. Then he spent the whole day conversing with him, and at the end of the day he ordered that he be given a thousand dinars. The sage went home and spent the night with his wife, feeling happy and thankful to God the Arbiter.

  In the morning, the king went to the royal reception hall, and the princes and viziers came to stand in attendance. It happened that King Yunan had a vizier who was sinister, greedy, envious, and fretful, and when he saw that the sage had found favour with the king, who bestowed on him much money and many robes of honour, he feared that the king would dismiss him and appoint the sage in his place; therefore, he envied the sage and harboured ill-will against him, for ‘nobody is free from envy’. The envious vizier approached the king and, kissing the ground before him, said, ‘O excellent King and glorious Lord, it was by your kindness and with your blessing that I rose to prominence; therefore, if I fail to advise you on a grave matter, I am not my father’s son. If the great King and noble Lord commands, I shall disclose the matter to him.’ The king was upset and asked, ‘Damn you, what advice have you got?’ The vizier replied, ‘Your Majesty, “He who considers not the end, fortune is not his friend.” I have seen your Majesty make a mistake, for you have bestowed favours on your enemy who has come to destroy your power and steal your wealth. Indeed, you have pampered him and shown him many favours, but I fear that he will do you harm.’ The king asked, ‘Whom do you accuse, whom do you have in mind, and at whom do you point the finger?’ The vizier replied, ‘If you are asleep, wake up, for I point the finger at the sage Duban, who has come from Byzantium.’ The king replied, ‘Damn you, is he my enemy? To me he is the most faithful, the dearest, and the most favoured of people, for this sage has treated me simply by making me hold something in my hand and has cured me from the disease that had defied the physicians and the sages and rendered them helpless. In all the world, east and west, near and far, there is no one like him, yet you accuse him of such a thing. From this day onward, I will give him every month a thousand dinars, in addition to his rations and regular salary. Even if I were to share my wealth and my kingdom with him, it would be less than he deserves. I think that you have said what you said because you envy him. This is very much like the situation in the story told by the vizier of King Sindbad when the king wanted to kill his own son.’

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then her sister Dinarzad said, ‘Sister, what a lovely story!’ Shahrazad replied, ‘What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night! It will be stranger and more amazing.’

  THE FOURTEENTH NIGHT

  The following night, when the king got into bed and Shahrazad got in with him, her sister Dinarzad said, ‘Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely little tales to while away the night.’ Shahrazad replied, ‘Very well’:

  I heard, O happy King, that King Yunan’s vizier asked, ‘King of the age, I beg your pardon, but what did King Sindbad’s vizier tell the king when he wished to kill his own son?’ King Yunan said to the vizier, ‘When King Sindbad, provoked by an envious man, wanted to kill his own son, his vizier said to him, “Don’t do what you will regret afterward.” ‘

  The Tale of the Husband and the Parrot

  I have heard it told that there was once a very jealous man who had a wife so splendidly beautiful that she was perfection itself. The wife always refused to let her husband travel and leave her behind, until one day when he found it absolutely necessary to go on a journey. He went to the bird market, bought a parrot, and brought it home. The parrot was intelligent, knowledgeable, smart, and retentive. Then he went away on his journey, and when he finished his business and came back, he brought the parrot and inquired about his wife during his absence. The parrot gave him a day-by-day account of what his wife had done with her lover and how the two carried on in his absence. When the husband heard the account, he felt very angry, went to his wife, and gave her a sound beating. Thinking that one of her maids had informed her husband about what she did with her lover in her husband’s absence, the wife interrogated her maids one by one, and they all swore that they had heard the parrot inform the husband.

  When the wife heard that it was the parrot who had informed the husband, she ordered one of her maids to take the grinding stone and grind under the cage, ordered a second maid to sprinkle water over the cage, and ordered a third to carry a steel mirror and walk back and forth all night long. That night her husband stayed out, and when he came home in the morning, he brought the parrot, spoke with it, and asked about what had transpired in his absence that night. The parrot replied, ‘Master, forgive me, for last night, all night long, I was unable to hear or see very well because of the intense darkness, the rain, and the thunder and lightning.’ Seeing that it was summertime, during the month of July, the husband replied, ‘Woe unto you, this is no season for rain.’ The parrot said, ‘Yes, by God, all night long, I saw what I told you.’ The husband, concluding that the parrot had lied about his wife and had accused her falsely, got angry, and he grabbed the parrot and, taking it out of the cage, smote it on the ground and killed it. But after the parrot’s death, the husband heard from his neighbours that the parrot had told the truth about his wife, and he was full of regret that he had been tricked by his wife to kill the parrot.

  King Yunan concluded, ‘Vizier, the same will happen to me.’

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then her sister Dinarzad said, ‘What a strange and lovely story!’ Shahrazad replied, ‘What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night! If the king spares me and lets me live, I shall tell you something more amazing.’ The king thought to himself, ‘By God, this is indeed an amazing story.’

  THE FIFTEENTH NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said to her sister Shahrazad, ‘Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely little tales, for they entertain and help everyone to forget his cares and banish sorrow from the heart.’ Shahrazad replied, ‘With the greatest pleasure.’ King Shahriyar added, ‘Let it be the remainder of the story of King Yunan, his vizier, and the sage Duban, and of the fisherman, the demon, and the jar.’ Shahrazad replied, ‘With the greatest pleasure’:

  I heard, O happy King, that King Yunan said to his envious vizier, ‘After the husband killed the parrot and heard from his neighbours that the parrot had told him the truth, he was filled with remorse. You too, my vizier, being envious of this wise man, would like me to kill him and regret it afterward, as did the husband after he killed the parrot.’ When the vizier heard what King Yunan said, he replied, ‘O great king, what harm has this sage done to me? Why, he has not harmed me in any way. I am telling you all this out of love and fear
for you. If you don’t discover my veracity, let me perish like the vizier who deceived the son of the king.’ King Yunan asked his vizier, ‘How so?’ The vizier replied:

  The Tale of the King’s Son and the She-Ghoul

  It is said, O happy King, that there was once a king who had a son who was fond of hunting and trapping. The prince had with him a vizier appointed by his father the king to follow him wherever he went. One day the prince went with his men into the wilderness, and when he chanced to see a wild beast, the vizier urged him to go after it. The prince pursued the beast and continued to press in pursuit until he lost its track and found himself alone in the wilderness, not knowing which way to turn or where to go, when he came upon a girl, standing on the road, in tears. When the young prince asked her, ‘Where do you come from?’ she replied, ‘I am the daughter of an Indian king. I was riding in the wilderness when I dozed off and in my sleep fell off my horse and found myself alone and helpless.’ When the young prince heard what she said, he felt sorry for her, and he placed her behind him on his horse and rode on. As they passed by some ruins, she said, ‘O my lord, I wish to relieve myself here.’ He let her down and she went into the ruins. Then he went in after her, ignorant of what she was, and discovered that she was a she-ghoul, who was saying to her children, ‘I brought you a good, fat boy.’ They replied, ‘Mother, bring him to us, so that we may feed on his innards.’ When the young prince heard what they said, he shook with terror, and fearing for his life, ran outside. The she-ghoul followed him and asked, ‘Why are you afraid?’ and he told her about his situation and his predicament, concluding, ‘I have been unfairly treated.’ She replied, ‘If you have been unfairly treated, ask the Almighty God for help, and he will protect you from harm.’ The young prince raised his eyes to Heaven…

  But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she lapsed into silence. Then her sister Dinarzad said, ‘What a strange and lovely story!’ Shahrazad replied, ‘What is this compared with what I shall tell you tomorrow night! It will be even stranger and more amazing.’

  THE SIXTEENTH NIGHT

  The following night Dinarzad said, ‘Please, sister, if you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely little tales.’ Shahrazad replied, I shall with pleasure’:

  I heard, O King, that the vizier said to King Yunan:

  When the young prince said to the she-ghoul, ‘I have been unfairly treated,’ she replied, ‘Ask God for help, and He will protect you from harm.’ The young prince raised his eyes to Heaven and said, ‘O Lord, help me to prevail upon my enemy, for “everything is within your power”‘. When the she-ghoul heard his invocation, she gave up and departed, and he returned safely to his father and told him about the vizier and how it was he who had urged him to pursue the beast and drove him to his encounter with the she-ghoul. The king summoned the vizier and had him put to death.

  The vizier added, ‘You too, your Majesty, if you trust, befriend, and bestow favours on this sage, he will plot to destroy you and cause your death. Your Majesty should realize that I know for certain that he is a foreign agent who has come to destroy you. Haven’t you seen that he cured you externally, simply with something you held in your hand?’ King Yunan, who was beginning to feel angry, replied, ‘You are right, vizier. The sage may well be what you say and may have come to destroy me. He who has cured me with something to hold can kill me with something to smell.’ Then the king asked the vizier, ‘My vizier and good counsellor, how should I deal with him?’ The vizier replied, ‘Send for him now and have him brought before you, and when he arrives, strike off his head. In this way, you will attain your aim and fulfil your wish.’ The king said, ‘This is good and sound advice.’ Then he sent for the sage Duban, who came immediately, still feeling happy at the favours, the money, and the robes the king had bestowed on him. When he entered, he pointed with his hand toward the king and began to recite the following verses:

  If I have been remiss in thanking you,

  For whom then have I made my verse and prose?

  You granted me your gifts before I asked,

  Without deferment and without excuse.

  How can I fail to praise your noble deeds,

  Inspired in private and in public by my muse?

  I thank you for your deeds and for your gifts,

  Which, though they bend my back, my care reduce.

  The king asked, ‘Sage, do you know why I have had you brought before me?’ The sage replied, ‘No, your Majesty.’ The king said, ‘I brought you here to have you killed and to destroy the breath of life within you.’ In astonishment Duban asked, ‘Why does your Majesty wish to have me put to death, and for what crime?’ The king replied, ‘I have been told that you are a spy and that you have come to kill me. Today I will have you killed before you kill me. I will have you for lunch before you have me for dinner.’ Then the king called for the executioner and ordered him, saying, ‘Strike off the head of this sage and rid me of him! Strike!’

  When the sage heard what the king said, he knew that because he had been favoured by the king, someone had envied him, plotted against him, and lied to the king, in order to have him killed and get rid of him. The sage realized then that the king had little wisdom, judgment, or good sense, and he was filled with regret, when it was useless to regret. He said to himself, ‘There is no power and no strength, save in God the Almighty, the Magnificent. I did a good deed but was rewarded with an evil one.’ In the meantime, the king was shouting at the executioner, ‘Strike off his head.’ The sage implored, ‘Spare me, your Majesty, and God will spare you; destroy me, and God will destroy you.’ He repeated the statement, just as I did, O demon, but you too refused, insisting on killing me. King Yunan said to the sage, ‘Sage, you must die, for you have cured me with a mere handle, and I fear that you can kill me with anything.’ The sage replied, ‘This is my reward from your Majesty. You reward good with evil.’ The king said, ‘Don’t stall; you must die today without delay.’ When the sage Duban became convinced that he was going to die, he was filled with grief and sorrow, and his eyes overflowed with tears. He blamed himself for doing a favour for one who does not deserve it and for sowing seeds in a barren soil and recited the following verses:

  Maimuna was a foolish girl,

  Though from a sage descended,

  And many with pretence to skill

  Are e’en on dry land upended.

  The executioner approached the sage, bandaged his eyes, bound his hands, and raised the sword, while the sage cried, expressed regret, and implored, ‘For God’s sake, your Majesty, spare me, and God will spare you; destroy me, and God will destroy you.’ Then he tearfully began to recite the following verses:

  They who deceive enjoy success,

  While I with my true counsel fail

  And am rewarded with disgrace.

  If I live, I’ll nothing unveil;

  If I die, then curse all the men,

  The men who counsel and prevail.

  Then the sage added, ‘Is this my reward from your Majesty? It is like the reward of the crocodile.’ The king asked, ‘What is the story of the crocodile?’ The sage replied, ‘I am in no condition to tell you a story. For God’s sake, spare me, and God will spare you. Destroy me, and God will destroy you,’ and he wept bitterly.

  Then several noblemen approached the king and said, ‘We beg your Majesty to forgive him for our sake, for in our view, he has done nothing to deserve this.’ The king replied, ‘You do not know the reason why I wish to have him killed. I tell you that if I spare him, I will surely perish, for I fear that he who has cured me externally from my affliction, which had defied the Greek sages, simply by having me hold a handle, can kill me with anything I touch. I must kill him, in order to protect myself from him.’ The sage Duban implored again, ‘For God’s sake, your Majesty, spare me, and God will spare you. Destroy me, and God will destroy you.’ The king insisted, ‘I must kill you.’

  Demon, when the sage realized that he was surely going to die, he said, ‘I beg your
Majesty to postpone my execution until I return home, leave instructions for my burial, discharge my obligations, distribute alms, and donate my scientific and medical books to one who deserves them. I have in particular a book entitled The Secret of Secrets, which I should like to give you for safekeeping in your library.’ The king asked, ‘What is the secret of this book?’ The sage replied, ‘It contains countless secrets, but the chief one is that if your Majesty has my head struck off, opens the book on the sixth leaf, reads three lines from the left page, and speaks to me, my head will speak and answer whatever you ask.’

  The king was greatly amazed and said, ‘Is it possible that if I cut off your head and, as you say, open the book, read the third line, and speak to your head, it will speak to me? This is the wonder of wonders.’ Then the king allowed the sage to go and sent him home under guard. The sage settled his affairs and on the following day returned to the royal palace and found assembled there the princes, viziers, chamberlains, lords of the realm, and military officers, as well as the king’s retinue, servants, and many of his citizens. The sage Duban entered, carrying an old book and a kohl jar containing powder. He sat down, ordered a platter, and poured out the powder and smoothed it on the platter. Then he said to the king, ‘Take this book, your Majesty, and don’t open it until after my execution. When my head is cut off, let it be placed on the platter and order that it be pressed on the powder. Then open the book and begin to ask my head a question, for it will then answer you. There is no power and no strength save in God, the Almighty, the Magnificent. For God’s sake, spare me, and God will spare you; destroy me, and God will destroy you.’ The king replied, ‘I must kill you, especially to see how your head will speak to me.’ Then the king took the book and ordered the executioner to strike off the sage’s head. The executioner drew his sword and, with one stroke, dropped the head in the middle of the platter, and when he pressed the head on the powder, the bleeding stopped. Then the sage Durban opened his eyes and said, ‘Now, your Majesty, open the book.’ When the king opened the book, he found the pages stuck. So he put his finger in his mouth, wetted it with his saliva, and opened the first page, and he kept opening the pages with difficulty until he turned seven leaves. But when he looked in the book, he found nothing written inside, and he exclaimed, ‘Sage, I see nothing written in this book.’ The sage replied, ‘Open more pages.’ The king opened some more pages but still found nothing, and while he was doing this, the drug spread through his body – for the book had been poisoned – and he began to heave, sway, and twitch.