- 3 months ago
Chapter 5 of The Book of The Thousand and One Nights
Stories:
Tale of the Wazir and the Sage Duban
Story of King Sindibad and His Falcon
Tale of the Husband and the Parrot
Stories:
Tale of the Wazir and the Sage Duban
Story of King Sindibad and His Falcon
Tale of the Husband and the Parrot
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FunTranscript
00:00THE TALE OF THE WAZIR AND THE SAGE DUBAN
00:12Know, O thou Ifrit, that in days of yore, and in ages long gone before, a king called
00:21Yunnan reigned over the city of Fars, of the land of Rum. He was a powerful ruler, and
00:27a wealthy, who had armies and guards and allies of all the nations of men, but his body was
00:34afflicted with a leprosy, which leeches and men of science failed to heal. He drank potions,
00:40and he swallowed powders, and he used unguents, but naught did him good, and none among the
00:46host of physicians availed to procure him a cure. At last there came to his city a mighty
00:53healer of men, and one well stricken in years, the SAGE DUBAN height. This man was a reader
01:01of books, Greek, Persian, Roman, Arabian, and Syrian, and he was skilled in astronomy and
01:07in leechcraft, the theoric as well as the practic. He was experienced in all that healeth and that
01:15hurteth the body, conversant with the virtues of every plant, grass, and herb, and their benefit
01:22and bane. And he understood philosophy, and had compassed the whole range of medical science,
01:28and other branches of the knowledge tree. Now this physician passed but few days in the city,
01:34ere he heard of the king's malady, and all his bodily sufferings, through the leprosy with which
01:40Allah had smitten him, and how all the doctors and wise men had failed to heal him. Upon this he sat
01:48up through the night in deep thought, and when broke the dawn, and appeared the morn, and light
01:53was again born, and the sun greeted the good whose beauties the world adorn, he donned his handsomest
02:00dress, and going in to King Yunnan, he kissed the ground before him. Then he prayed for the endurance
02:06of his honour and prosperity in fairest language, and made himself known, saying, O king, tidings have
02:14reached me of what befell thee through that which is in thy person, and how the host of physicians
02:19have proved themselves unavailing to abate it. And lo, I can cure thee, O king, and yet will I not make
02:27thee drink of draught, or anoint thee with ointment. Now when King Yunnan heard his words, he said in huge
02:35surprise, How wilt thou do this? By Allah, if thou make me whole, I will enrich thee even to thy son's
02:43son, and I will give thee sumptuous gifts, and whatso thou wishest shall be thine, and thou shalt
02:49be to me a cup companion, and a friend. The king then robed him with a dress of honour, and entreated
02:56him graciously, and asked him, Canst thou indeed cure me of this complaint without drug and unguent?
03:03And he answered, Yes, I will heal thee without the pains and penalties of medicine. The king
03:10marvelled with exceeding marvel, and said, O physician, when shall this be whereof thou speakest,
03:16and in how many days shall it take place? Haste thee, O my son. He replied, I hear, and I obey.
03:24The cure shall begin to-morrow. So saying, he went forth from the presence, and hired himself a house in the
03:31city, for the better storage of his books and scrolls, his medicines, and his aromatic roots.
03:38Then he set to work at choosing the fittest drugs and simples, and he fashioned a bat hollow within,
03:44and furnished with a handle without, for which he made a ball, the two being prepared with consummate
03:50art. On the next day, when both were ready for use, and wanted nothing more, he went up to the king,
03:57and kissing the ground between his hands, bat him ride forth on the parade-ground, there to play at
04:03pal and mal. He was accompanied by his suite, emirs and chamberlains, wazirs and lords of the realm,
04:11and ere he was seated, the sage Dubarn came up to him, and handing him the bat, said, Take this mal,
04:18and grip it as I do, so. And now push for the plane, and leaning well over thy horse, drive the ball with
04:25all thy might, until thy palm be moist, and thy body perspire. Then the medicine will penetrate through
04:31thy palm, and will permeate thy person. When thou hast done with playing, and thou feelest the effects
04:37of the medicine, return to thy palace, and make the ruzel ablation in the hammam bar, and lay thee down
04:45to sleep. So shalt thou become whole, and now peace be with thee. Thereupon King Yunnan took the bat from
04:53the sage, and grasped it firmly. Then, mounting steed, he drove the ball before him, and galloped
05:00after it, till he reached it, when he struck it with all his might, his palm gripping the bat-handle
05:05the while, and he ceased not malling the ball, till his hand waxed moist, and his skin perspiring,
05:12imbibed the medicine from the wood. Then the sage Dubar knew that the drugs had penetrated his person,
05:20and bade him return to the palace, and enter the hammam without stay or delay. So King Yunnan forthright
05:27returned, and ordered them to clear for him the bath. They did so, the carpet-spreaders making all haste,
05:34and the slaves all hurry, and got ready a change of raiment for the king. He entered the bath,
05:40and made the total ablution long and thoroughly, then donned his clothes within the hammam, and rode
05:47therefrom to his palace, where he lay down and slept. Such was the case with King Yunnan, but as regards
05:56the sage Dubarne, he returned home, and slept as usual, and when morning dawned, he repaired to the
06:03palace and craved audience. The king ordered him to be admitted. Then, having kissed the ground
06:09between his hands, in allusion to the king, he recited these couplets with solemn intonation.
06:16Happy is eloquence when thou art named her sire, but mourns she when, as other man, the title claim.
06:25O Lord of fairest presence, whose illumining rays clear off the fogs of doubt,
06:31I veiling deeds high-famed! Ne'er cease thy face to shine like dawn, and rise of morn,
06:39and never show time's face with heat of ire inflamed. Thy grace hath favoured us with gifts
06:47that worked such wise, as rain-clouds raining on the hills by words inframed. Freely thou lavishedst
06:56thy wealth to rise on high, till one from time the heights were at thy grandeur aim.
07:02Now, when the sage ceased reciting, the king rose quickly to his feet, and fell on his neck. Then,
07:11seating him by his side, he bade dress him in a sumptuous dress, for it had so happened that when
07:17the king left the hammam, he looked on his body and saw no trace of leprosy. The skin was all clean
07:24as virgin silver. He joyed thereat with exceeding joy, his breast broadened with delight, and he felt
07:32thoroughly happy. Presently, when it was full day, he entered his audience-hall, and sat upon the throne
07:39of his kingship, whereupon his chamberlains and grandees flocked to the presence, and with them
07:45the sage Dubarn. Seeing the leech, the king rose to him in honour, and seated him by his side. Then the
07:53food-trays, furnished with the daintiest viands, were brought, and the physician ate with the king,
07:58nor did he cease companying him all that day. Moreover, at nightfall, he gave the physician
08:05Dubarn two thousand gold pieces, besides the usual dress of honour, and other gifts galore,
08:12and sent him home on his own steed.
08:16After the sage had fared forth, King Yunnan again expressed his amazement at the leech's art,
08:21saying, This man medicined my body from without, nor anointed me with aught of ointments. By Allah,
08:29surely this is none other than consummate skill. I am bound to honour such a man with rewards and
08:35distinction, and take him to my companion and my friend during the remainder of my days.
08:42So King Yunnan passed the night in joy and gladness, for that his body had been made whole,
08:48and had thrown off so pernicious a malady. On the morrow the king went forth from his seraglio,
08:55and sat upon his throne, and the lords of his state stood about him, and the emirs and wazirs sat as
09:02was their wont on his right hand and on his left. Then he asked for the sage Dubarn, who came in and
09:08kissed the ground before him. When the king rose to greet him, and seating him by his side,
09:14ate with him, and wished him long life. Moreover he robed him and gave him gifts, and ceased not
09:21conversing with him until night approached. Then the king ordered him, by way of salary,
09:26five dresses of honour and a thousand dinars. The physician returned to his own house full of
09:32gratitude to the king. Now when next morning dawned, the king repaired to his audience hall,
09:39and his lords and nobles surrounded him, and his chamberlains and his ministers, as the white
09:44encloseth the black of the eye. Now the king had a wazir among his wazirs, unsightly to look upon,
09:52an ill-omened spectacle, sordid, ungenerous, full of envy and evil will. When this minister saw the
10:00king place the physician near him, and give him all these gifts, he jaloused him, and planned to do
10:06him harm, as in the saying on such subject, Envy lurks in everybody, and the saying, Oppression
10:14hideth in every heart, power revealeth it, and weakness concealeth it. Then the minister came
10:21before the king, and kissing the ground between his hands, said, O king of the age and of all time,
10:27thou in whose benefits I have grown to manhood, I have weighty advice to offer thee, and if I withhold
10:33it, I were a son of adultery, and no true-born man. Wherefore, an thou order me to disclose it,
10:40I will do so forthwith. Quoth the king, and he was troubled at the words of the minister,
10:46and what is this counsel of thine? Quoth he, O glorious monarch, the wise of old have said,
10:53Whoso regardeth not the end hath not fortune to friend, and indeed I have lately seen the king
10:59on far other than the right way, for he lavisheth largesse on his enemy, on one whose object is the
11:06decline and fall of his kingship. To this man he hath shown favour, honouring him with over honour,
11:13and making of him an intimate. Wherefore I fear for the king's life. The king, who was much troubled,
11:20and changed colour, asked, Whom dost thou suspect, and anent whom dost thou hint? And the minister
11:27answered, O king, and thou be asleep, wake up. I point to the physician Dubarn. Rejoined the king,
11:35Fie upon thee! This is a true friend, who is favoured by me above all men, because he cured me
11:41with some thing which I held in my hand, and he healed my leprosy, which had baffled all physicians.
11:47Indeed he is one whose like may not be found in these days, no, not in the whole world,
11:53from furthest east to utmost west, and it is of such a man thou sayest such hard sayings.
12:01Now from this day forward I allot him a settled sold and allowances, every month a thousand gold
12:07pieces, and were I to share with him my realm, twere but a little matter. Perforce I must suspect that
12:15thou speakest on this wise from mere envy and jealousy, as they relate of the king Sindibad.
12:22And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of the day, and ceased saying her permitted say.
12:28Then quoth Dunyazad, O my sister, how pleasant is thy tale, and how tasteful, how sweet, and how grateful!
12:35She replied, And where is this compared with what I could tell thee on the coming night,
12:41if the king deigns spare my life? Then said the king in himself, By Allah, I will not slay her
12:48until I hear the rest of her tale, for truly it is wondrous! So they rested that night in mutual
12:55embrace until the dawn. Then the king went forth to his hall of rule, and the wazir and the troops
13:02came in, and the audience chamber was thronged, and the king gave orders, and judged, and appointed,
13:08and deposed, and bade, and forbade, during the rest of that day, till the court broke up,
13:14and King Shehriar returned to his palace.
13:19When it was the fifth night, her sister said, Do you finish for us thy story, if thou be not sleepy?
13:26And she resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious king, and mighty monarch, that King Yunnan said to
13:34his minister, O wazir, thou art one whom the evil spirit of envy hath possessed because of this
13:41physician, and thou plottest for my putting him to death, after which I should repent me full sorely,
13:48even as repented King Sindibad for killing his falcon.
13:51Quoth the wazir, Pardon me, O king of the age, how was that? So the king began the story of
13:59King Sindibad and his falcon. It is said, but Allah is all-knowing, that there was a king of the king
14:08of Fars, who was fond of pleasuring and diversion, especially coursing and hunting. He had reared a
14:15falcon, which he carried all night on his fist, and whenever he went to chasing, he took with him this
14:21bird, and he bade make for her a golden couplet hung around her neck, to give her drink therefrom.
14:28One day, as the king was sitting quietly in his palace, behold, the high falconer of the household
14:34suddenly addressed him, O king of the age, this is indeed a day fit for birding.
14:40The king gave orders accordingly, and set out, taking the hawk on fist, and they fared merrily
14:46forwards, till they met a waddy, where they planted a circle of nets for the chase, when
14:52lo, a gazelle came within the toils, and the king cried, Whoso alloweth yon gazelle to spring
14:58over his head, and loseth her, that man will I surely slay.
15:02They narrowed the nets about the gazelle, when she drew near the king's station, and planting
15:08herself on her hind quarter, crossed her forehand over her breast, as if about to kiss the earth
15:14before the king. He bowed his brow low in acknowledgment to the beast, when she bounded high over his
15:21head, and took the way of the waist. Thereupon the king turned towards his troops, and seeing
15:26them winking and pointing at him, he asked, O wazir, what are my men saying? And the minister
15:33answered, They say thou didst proclaim that whoso alloweth the gazelle to spring over his
15:39head, that man shall be put to death. Quoth the king, Now, by the life of my head, I will
15:45follow her up till I bring her back. So he set off, galloping on the gazelle's trail, and
15:51gave not over tracking, till he reached the foothills of a mountain chain, where the quarry
15:56made for a cave. Then the king cast off at it the falcon, which presently caught it up,
16:02and swooping down, drove her talons into its eyes, bewildering and blinding it. And the
16:08king drew his mace, and struck a blow which rolled the game over. He then dismounted, and
16:14after cutting the antelope's throat and flaying the body, hung it to the pommel of his saddle.
16:19Now the time was that of the siesta, and the wold was parched and dry, nor was any water
16:26to be found anywhere. And the king thirsted, and his horse also. So he went about searching,
16:32till he saw a tree dropping water as it were melted butter from its boughs.
16:38Thereupon the king, who wore gauntlets of skin to guard him against poisons, took the cup
16:43from the hawk's neck, and filling it with the water, set it before the bird, and lo! the
16:48falcon struck it with her pounces, and upset the liquid. The king filled it a second time
16:55with the dripping drops, thinking his hawk was thirsty, but the bird again struck at
17:00the cup with her talons, and overturned it. Then the king waxed wroth with the hawk, and
17:06filling the cup a third time, offered it to his horse. But the hawk upset it with a flirt
17:11of wings. Quoth the king, Allah confound thee, thou unluckiest of flying things. Thou keepest
17:17me from drinking, and thou deprivest thyself also, and the horse. So he struck the falcon
17:23with his sword, and cut off her wing. But the bird raised her head, and said by signs,
17:29Look at that which hangeth on the tree.
17:32The king lifted up his eyes accordingly, and caught sight of a brood of vipers, whose poison
17:37drops he mistook for water. Thereupon he repented him of having struck off his falcon's wing,
17:43and mounting horse, fared on with the dead gazelle, till he arrived at the camp his starting
17:48place. He threw the quarry to the cook, saying, Take and broil it, and sat down on his chair,
17:54the falcon being still on his fist, when suddenly the bird gasped, and died.
17:59Whereupon the king cried out, in sorrow and remorse, for having slain that falcon, which
18:05had saved his life. Now this is what occurred in the case of King Sindibad, and I am assured
18:11that were I to do as thou desirest, I should repent, even as the man who killed his parrot.
18:18Quoth the wazir, and how was that? And the king began to tell.
18:22The Tale of the Husband and the Parrot
18:26A certain man, and a merchant to boot, had married a fair wife, a woman of perfect beauty
18:32and grace, symmetry and loveliness, of whom he was mad jealous, and who contrived successfully
18:39to keep him from travel. At last, an occasion compelling him to leave her, he went to the
18:45bird market, and bought him, for one hundred gold pieces, a she-parrot, which he set in
18:50his house to act as Duenna, expecting her to acquaint him on his return, with what had
18:56passed during the whole time of his absence, for the bird was kenning and cunning, and never
19:02forgot what she had seen and heard. Now his fair wife had fallen in love with a young Turk,
19:08who used to visit her, and she feasted him by day, and lay with him by night. When the
19:14man had made his journey, and won his wish, he came home, and at once causing the parrot
19:20to be brought to him, questioned her concerning the conduct of his consort, whilst he was in
19:25foreign parts. Quoth she, Thy wife hath a man-friend, who passed every night with her
19:31during thine absence. Thereupon the husband went to his wife in a violent rage, and bashed
19:36her with a bashing severe enough to satisfy any body. The woman, suspecting that one of
19:42the slave-girls had been tattling to the master, called them together, and questioned them upon
19:47their oaths, when all swore that they had kept the secret, but that the parrot had not,
19:53adding, And we heard her with our own ears. Upon this the woman bade one of the girls to
20:00set a hand-mill under the cage and grind therewith, and a second to sprinkle water through the cage
20:05roof, and a third to run about right and left, dashing a mirror of bright steel through the
20:11live-long night. Next morning, when the husband returned home after being entertained by one of
20:18his friends, he bade bring the parrot before him, and asked what had taken place whilst he was away.
20:25Pardon me, O my master, quoth the bird, I could neither hear nor see aught by reason of the exceeding
20:31murk, and the thunder and lightning which lasted throughout the night. As it happened to be the
20:37summer-tide, the master was astounded, and cried, For we are now in mid-Tammuz, and this is not the
20:43time for rains and storms.
20:46Ay, by Allah, rejoined the bird, I saw with these eyes what my tongue hath told thee.
20:52Upon this the man, not knowing the case, nor smoking the plot, waxed exceeding wrath, and holding that
20:58his wife had been wrongously accused, put forth his hand, and pulling the parrot from her cage,
21:03dashed her upon the ground with such force that he killed her on the spot. Some days afterwards one
21:11of his slave-girls confessed to him the whole truth, yet would he not believe it, till he saw
21:16the young Turk, his wife's lover, coming out of her chamber, when he bared his blade and slew him by a
21:23blow on the back of the neck, and he did the same by the adulteress, and thus the twain, laden with mortal
21:29sin, went straightways to eternal fire. Then the merchant knew that the parrot had told him the truth
21:36anent all she had seen, and he mourned grievously for her loss, when mourning availed him not.
21:44The minister, hearing the words of King Yunnan, rejoiced, O monarch high indignity, and what harm have I done
21:51him, or what evil have I seen from him, that I should compass his death? I would not do this thing,
21:57save to serve thee. And soon shalt thou cite that it is right, and if thou accept my advice, thou shalt
22:04be saved, otherwise thou shalt be destroyed, even as a certain wazir, who acted treacherously by the
22:10young prince. Asked the king, How was that? And the minister thus began.
22:16The tale of the prince and the ogress.
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