- 3 months ago
Chapter 6 of The Book of The Thousand and One Nights
Stories:
Tale of the Prince and the Ogress
Stories:
Tale of the Prince and the Ogress
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00:00THE TALE OF THE PRINCE AND THE OGRESS
00:11A certain king, who had a son overmuch given to hunting and coursing, ordered one of his wazirs to be in attendance upon him, whithersoever he might wend.
00:23One day the youth set out for the chase, accompanied by his father's minister, and as they jogged on together a big wild beast came in sight.
00:33Cried the wazir to the king's son, Up and at your noble quarry!
00:39So the prince followed it, until he was lost to every eye, and the chase got away from him in the waste, whereby he was confused, and knew not which way to turn, when, lo, a damsel appeared ahead, and she was in tears.
00:53The king's son asked, Who art thou? And she answered, I am daughter to a king among the kings of Hind, and I was travelling with a caravan in the desert, when drowsiness overcame me, and I fell from my beast unwittingly, whereby I am cut off from my people, and sore bewildered.
01:11The prince, hearing these words, pitied her case, and mounting her on his horse's crupper, travelled until he passed by an old ruin, when the damsel said to him, O my master, I wish to obey a call of nature.
01:25He therefore set her down at the ruin, where she delayed so long, that the king's son thought that she was only wasting time.
01:33So he followed her without her knowledge, and behold, she was a ghula, a wicked ogress, who was saying to her brood, O my children, this day I bring you a fine fat youth for dinner.
01:44Whereto, they answered, Bring him quick to us, O our mother, that we may browse upon him our bellies full.
01:52The prince, hearing their talk, made sure of death, and his side-muscles quivered in fear for his life, so he turned away and was about to fly.
02:01The ghula came out, and seeing him in sore affright, for he was trembling in every limb, cried, Wherefore art thou afraid?
02:10And he replied, I have hit upon an enemy whom I greatly fear.
02:15Asked the ghula, Diddest thou not say, I am a king's son?
02:19And he answered, Even so.
02:22Then quoth she, Why dost not give thine enemy something of money, and so satisfy him?
02:27Quoth he, He will not be satisfied with my purse, but only with my life, and I mortally fear him, and am a man under oppression.
02:36She replied, If thou be so distressed as thou deemest, ask aid against him from Allah, who will surely protect thee from his ill-doing, and from the evil whereof thou art afraid.
02:47Then the prince raised his eyes heavenwards, and cried, O thou who answerest the necessitous when he calleth upon thee, and dispellest his distress, O my God, grant me victory over my foe, and turn him from me, for thou, over all things, art almighty.
03:05The ghula, hearing his prayer, turned away from him, and the prince returned to his father, and told him the tale of the wazir, whereupon the king summoned the minister to his presence, and then and there slew him.
03:19Thou likewise, O king, if thou continue to trust this leech, shalt be made to die the worst of deaths.
03:28He, verily, thou madest much of, and whom thou entreatedest as an intimate, will work thy destruction.
03:35Seest thou not how he healed the disease from outside thy body by something grasped in thy hand?
03:40Be not assured that he will not destroy thee by something held in like manner, replied king Yunnan.
03:48Thou hast spoken sooth, O wazir.
03:51It may well be as thou hintest, O my well-advising minister.
03:55And belike this sage hath come as a spy searching to put me to death, for assuredly, if he cured me by a something held in my hand, he can kill me by a something given me to smell.
04:07Then asked king Yunnan, O minister, what must be done with him?
04:12And the wazir answered, Send after him this very instant, and summon him to thy presence, and when he shall come, strike him across the neck.
04:21And thus shalt thou rid thyself of him and his wickedness, and deceive him ere he can deceive thee.
04:27Thou hast again spoken sooth, O wazir, said the king, and sent one to call the sage, who came in joyful mood, for he knew not what had appointed for him the compassionate, as a certain poet saith by way of illustration,
04:42O thou who fearest fate, confiding fair, trust all to him who built the world, and wait.
04:50What fate saith be, perforce must be, my lord, and safe art thou from done decreed of fate.
04:58As Duban the physician entered, he addressed the king in these lines.
05:04And fail I of my thanks to thee, nor thank thee day by day, for whom composed I pros and verse, for whom I say and lay.
05:13Thou lavished'st thy generous gifts, ere they were craved by me, thou lavished'st thy boons unsought, sans pretext or delay.
05:23How shall I stint my praise of thee, how shall I cease to lord the grace of thee in secrecy and patentist display?
05:32Nay, I will thank thy benefits, for aye thy favours lie, light on my thought and tongue, though heavy on my back they weigh.
05:42And he said further on the same theme,
05:44Turn thee from grief, nor care a jot, commit thy needs to fate and lot, enjoy the present passing well, and let the past be clean forgot.
05:55For whatso haply seemeth worse, shall work thy wheel as Allah wot.
06:00Allah shall do whate'er he wills, and in his will oppose him not.
06:05And further still,
06:07To thou wise, subtle one, trust worldly things, rest thee from all whereto the worldling clings, learn wisely well, nought cometh by thy will, but e'en as willeth Allah, King of kings.
06:23And lastly,
06:24Gladsome and gay, forget thine every grief, full often grief the wisest hearts outwore.
06:32Thought is but folly in the feeble slave, shun it, and so be saved evermore.
06:38Said the king, for sole return,
06:40Knowest thou why I have summoned thee?
06:42And the sage replied,
06:44Allah most highest alone kenneth hidden things.
06:47But the king rejoined,
06:49I summoned thee only to take thy life, and utterly to destroy thee.
06:54Dubarn the wise wondered at this strange address with exceeding wonder, and asked,
06:59O king, and wherefore wouldest thou slay me? And what ill have I done thee?
07:04And the king answered,
07:06Men tell me thou art a spy sent hither with intent to slay me, and lo, I will kill thee, ere I be killed by thee.
07:14Then he called to his order, and said,
07:17Strike me off the head of this traitor, and deliver us from his evil practices.
07:22Quoth the sage,
07:24Spare me, and Allah will spare thee.
07:26Slay me not, or Allah shall slay thee.
07:29And he repeated to him these very words,
07:31Even as I to thee, O Ifrit,
07:34And yet thou wouldst not let me go, being bent upon my death.
07:38King Yunnan only rejoined,
07:40I shall not be safe without slaying thee,
07:42For as thou healedest me by something held in hand,
07:45So am I not secure against thy killing me by something given me to smell, or otherwise.
07:51Said the physician,
07:53This then, O king, is thy requital and reward.
07:56Thou returnest only evil for good.
07:59The king replied,
08:01There is no help for it.
08:02Die thou must, and without delay.
08:05Now when the physician was certified that the king would slay him without waiting,
08:09He wept, and regretted the good he had done to other than the good.
08:14As one hath said on this subject,
08:17Of wit and wisdom is my Munah bear,
08:19Whose sire in wisdom all the wits outstrippeth.
08:23Man may not tread on mud, or dust, or clay,
08:26Save by good sense,
08:28Else trippeth he, and slippeth.
08:30Hereupon the sorder stepped forward,
08:33And bound the sage to barn's eyes,
08:35And bared his blade, saying to the king,
08:38By thy leave.
08:39While the physician wept, and cried,
08:41Spare me, and Allah will spare thee,
08:44And slay me not, or Allah shall slay thee,
08:47And began repeating,
08:48I was kind, and scaped not.
08:51They were cruel, and escaped.
08:53And my kindness only led me to Ruination Hall.
08:56If I live, I'll ne'er be kind.
08:58If I die, then all be damned who follow me,
09:01And curses their kindness befall.
09:05Is this, continued Daban,
09:07The return I meet from thee?
09:09Thou givest me, me seems, but crocodile boon.
09:12Quoth the king,
09:13What is the tale of the crocodile?
09:16And, quoth the physician,
09:17Impossible for me to tell it in this my state.
09:21Allah upon thee,
09:22Spare me as thou hopest,
09:24Allah shall spare thee.
09:25And he wept with exceeding weeping.
09:28Then one of the king's favourites stood up,
09:31And said,
09:31O king, grant me the blood of this physician.
09:34We have never seen him sin against thee,
09:37Or doing aught save healing thee,
09:38From a disease which baffled every leech
09:41And man of science.
09:43Said the king,
09:44Ye what not the cause of my putting to death
09:46This physician?
09:48And this it is.
09:49If I spare him,
09:50I doom myself to certain death,
09:52For one who healed me of such a malady,
09:54By something held in my hand,
09:56Surely can slay me by something held to my nose.
10:00And I fear lest he kill me for a price,
10:03Since happily he is some spy
10:04Whose sole purpose in coming hither
10:06Was to compass my destruction.
10:09So there is no help for it.
10:11Die he must,
10:12And then only shall I be sure of my own life.
10:14Again cried Duban,
10:18Spare me,
10:19And Allah shall spare thee,
10:20And slay me not,
10:21Or Allah shall slay thee.
10:23But it was in vain.
10:25Now when the physician,
10:26O Ifrit,
10:27Knew for certain that the king would kill him,
10:29He said,
10:30O king,
10:31If there be no help but I must die,
10:33Grant me some little delay,
10:35So that I may go down to my house,
10:37And release myself from mine obligations,
10:39And direct my folk and my neighbours
10:42Where to bury me,
10:43And distribute my books of medicine.
10:46Amongst these I have one,
10:48The rarest of rarities,
10:49Which I would present to thee as an offering.
10:52Keep it as a treasure in thy treasury.
10:55And what is in this book?
10:57Asked the king,
10:57And the sage answered,
10:59Things beyond Comte.
11:00And the least of secrets
11:02Is that if,
11:04Directly after thou hast cut off my head,
11:06Thou open three leaves,
11:08And read three lines of the page
11:09To thy left hand,
11:11My head shall speak,
11:12And answer every question
11:14Thou deignest ask of it.
11:16The king wondered with exceeding wonder,
11:19And shaking with delight at the novelty,
11:21Said,
11:22O physician,
11:23Dost thou really tell me
11:24That when I cut off thy head
11:26It will speak to me?
11:28He replied,
11:28Yes, O king.
11:29Quoth the king,
11:31This is indeed a strange matter.
11:34And forthwith sent him closely guarded
11:36To his house,
11:38And Dubarn then and there
11:39Settled all his obligations.
11:41Next day he went up
11:42To the king's audience hall,
11:44Where emirs and wazirs,
11:46Chamberlains and nabobs,
11:48Grandees and lords of estate
11:50Were gathered together,
11:51Making the presence chamber
11:52Gay as a garden of flower beds.
11:55And lo,
11:56The physician came up
11:57And stood before the king,
11:59Bearing a worn old volume,
12:01And a little etui of metal
12:03Full of powder,
12:04Like that used for the eyes.
12:06Now he sat down and said,
12:08Give me a tray.
12:09So they brought him one,
12:11And he poured the powder upon it,
12:12And levelled it,
12:13And lastly spake as follows,
12:15O king,
12:17Take this book,
12:17But do not open it
12:18Till my head falls,
12:19Then set it upon this tray,
12:22And bid press it down
12:23Upon the powder,
12:24When forthright the blood
12:26Will cease flowing.
12:28That is the time
12:29To open the book.
12:30The king thereupon
12:32Took the book
12:32And made a sign
12:33To the sworder,
12:34Who arose
12:35And struck off
12:36The physician's head,
12:37And placing it
12:38On the middle of the tray,
12:40Pressed it down
12:40Upon the powder.
12:42The blood stopped flowing,
12:44And the sage Dubarn
12:45Unclosed his eyes,
12:46And said,
12:47Now open the book,
12:48O king.
12:49The king opened the book,
12:51And found the leaves
12:52Stuck together,
12:53So he put his finger
12:54To his mouth,
12:55And by moistening it,
12:56He easily turned over
12:57The first leaf,
12:59And in like way
13:00The second,
13:00And the third,
13:01Each leaf opening
13:02With much trouble.
13:04And when he had unstuck
13:05Six leaves,
13:06He looked over them,
13:07And finding nothing
13:08Written thereon,
13:09Said,
13:10O physician,
13:11There is no writing here.
13:13Dubarn replied,
13:14Turn over yet more.
13:16And he turned over
13:17Three others
13:18In the same way.
13:20Now the book was poisoned,
13:21And before long
13:22The venom penetrated
13:23His system,
13:25And he fell into
13:25Strong convulsions,
13:27And cried out,
13:28The poison hath done
13:29Its work.
13:30Whereupon the sage Dubarn's
13:32Head began to improvise.
13:34There be rulers
13:35Who have ruled
13:36With a foul,
13:37Tyrannic sway,
13:38But they soon became
13:40As though
13:40They had never,
13:41Never been.
13:43Just they had won
13:44Justice,
13:45They oppressed,
13:45And were oppressed,
13:47By fortune,
13:48Who requited them
13:49With ban,
13:50And bane,
13:50And teen.
13:52So they faded
13:52Like the morn,
13:53And the tongue
13:54Of things repeats,
13:56Take this far that,
13:58Nor vent upon
13:59Fortune's ways
14:00Thy spleen.
14:01No sooner had the head
14:03Ceaseed speaking,
14:04Than the king
14:04Rolled over dead.
14:06Now I would have thee
14:07Know,
14:08O Ifrit,
14:08That if king Yunnan
14:10Had spared the sage Dubarn,
14:12Allah would have spared him,
14:13But he refused
14:14So to do,
14:15And decreed to do him dead,
14:18Wherefore Allah slew him.
14:20And thou too,
14:21O Ifrit,
14:21If thou hadst spared me,
14:23Allah would have spared thee.
14:24And Shahrazad
14:27Perceived the dawn of the day,
14:29And ceased saying
14:30Her permitted say,
14:31Then quoth Dunyazad,
14:33O my sister,
14:34How pleasant is thy tale,
14:35And how tasteful,
14:36How sweet,
14:37And how grateful.
14:38She replied,
14:40And where is this,
14:41Compared with what I could tell thee
14:42This coming night,
14:43If I live,
14:44And the king spare me?
14:46Said the king in himself,
14:48By Allah,
14:48I will not slay her
14:49Until I hear the rest of her story,
14:52For truly it is wondrous.
14:53They rested that night
14:55In mutual embrace until dawn.
14:58Then the king went forth
14:59To his darbar.
15:00The wazirs and troops came in,
15:02And the audience hall was crowded.
15:05So the king gave orders,
15:06And judged,
15:07And appointed,
15:08And deposed,
15:09And bad,
15:09And forbade,
15:10The rest of that day,
15:12When the court broke up,
15:13And king Shathjar
15:14Entered his palace.
15:17When it was the sixth night,
15:19Her sister,
15:20Dunyazad,
15:21Said to her,
15:22Pray finish for us
15:23Thy story.
15:25And she answered,
15:26I will,
15:27If the king give me leave.
15:29Say on,
15:29Quoth the king.
15:31And she continued,
15:33It hath reached me,
15:35O auspicious king,
15:36That when the fisherman
15:37Said to the Ifrit,
15:39If thou hadst spared me,
15:41I would have spared thee,
15:42But nothing would satisfy thee,
15:44Save my death.
15:46So now I will do thee die,
15:47By jailing thee in this jar,
15:49And I will hurl thee
15:50Into this sea.
15:52Then the marid
15:53Roared aloud,
15:54And cried,
15:55Allah upon thee,
15:56O fisherman,
15:57Don't!
15:58Spare me,
15:59And pardon my past doings,
16:01And,
16:02As I have been tyrannous,
16:04So be thou generous.
16:06For it is said,
16:07Among sayings that go current,
16:09O thou who dost good to him,
16:11Who hath done thee evil,
16:13Suffice for the ill-doer
16:14His ill-deeds,
16:16And do not deal with me,
16:17As did Umama to Atikah.
16:21Asked the fisherman,
16:22And what was their case?
16:25And the Ifrit answered,
16:26This is not the time
16:28For story-telling,
16:29And I in this prison,
16:30But set me free,
16:32And I will tell thee the tale.
16:34Quoth the fisherman,
16:36Leave this language.
16:37There is no help
16:38But that thou be thrown back
16:40Into the sea,
16:41Nor is there any way
16:42For thy getting out of it
16:43For ever and ever.
16:45Vainly I placed myself
16:47Under thy protection,
16:48And I humbled myself
16:49To thee with weeping,
16:51While thou soughtest
16:52Only to slay me,
16:54Who hath done thee
16:54No injury deserving this
16:56At thy hands?
16:58Nay,
16:58So far from injuring thee
17:00By any evil act,
17:01I work thee naught but weal
17:03In releasing thee
17:04From that jail of thine.
17:07Now I knew thee
17:08To be an evil-doer,
17:09When thou didst to me
17:10What thou didst,
17:11And know,
17:13That when I have cast thee
17:14Back into the sea,
17:15I will warn
17:16Whomsoever may fish thee up
17:18Of what hath perfallen me
17:20With thee,
17:20And I will advise him
17:22To toss thee back again.
17:24So shalt thou abide here
17:26Under these waters,
17:27Till the end of time
17:28Shall make an end of thee.
17:30But the Ifrit cried aloud,
17:33Set me free,
17:34This is a noble occasion
17:35For generosity,
17:37And I make covenant with thee,
17:38And vow never to do thee
17:40Hurt and harm.
17:41Nay,
17:42I will help thee
17:42To what shall put thee
17:44Out of want.
17:46The fisherman accepted
17:47His promises
17:48On both conditions,
17:49Not to trouble him
17:50As before,
17:51But on the contrary
17:52To do him service,
17:54And,
17:54After making firm
17:55The plight,
17:56And swearing him
17:57A solemn oath
17:58By Allah Most Highest,
18:00He opened the Kukubit.
18:02Thereupon the pillar of smoke
18:03Rose up
18:04Till all of it
18:05Was fully out.
18:06Then it thickened
18:07And once more
18:08Became an Ifrit
18:09Of hideous presence,
18:11Who forthright
18:12Administered a kick
18:13To the bottle,
18:14And sent it flying
18:15Into the sea.
18:17The fisherman,
18:18Seeing how the Kukubit
18:20Was treated,
18:21And making sure
18:21Of his own death,
18:23Piddled in his clothes,
18:24And said to himself,
18:26This promiseth badly.
18:28But he fortified his heart,
18:30And cried,
18:30O Ifrit,
18:32Allah hath said,
18:34Perform your covenant,
18:35For the performance
18:36Of your covenant
18:37Shall be inquired
18:38Into hereafter.
18:40Thou hast made a vow to me,
18:41And hast sworn
18:42An oath not to play me false,
18:45Lest Allah play thee false,
18:47For verily he is
18:48A jealous God,
18:49Who respiteth the sinner,
18:51But letteth him not escape.
18:54I say to thee,
18:55As said the sage Duban
18:56To King Yunnan,
18:58Spare me,
18:58So Allah may spare thee,
19:01The Ifrit burst into laughter,
19:03And stalked away,
19:05Saying to the fisherman,
19:06Follow me.
19:08And the man paced after him
19:09At a safe distance,
19:11For he was not assured of escape,
19:13Till they had passed round
19:15The suburbs of the city.
19:17Thence they struck
19:18Into the uncultivated grounds,
19:21And crossing them,
19:22Descended into a broad wilderness,
19:24And low,
19:25In the midst of it,
19:26Stood a mountain tarn.
19:28The Ifrit waded into the middle,
19:30And again cried,
19:31Follow me.
19:33And when this was done,
19:34He took his stand in the centre,
19:36And bade the man cast his net,
19:38And catch his fish.
19:40The fisherman looked into the water,
19:42And was much astonished,
19:44To see therein vary-coloured fishes,
19:46White and red,
19:47Blue and yellow.
19:49However,
19:49He cast his net,
19:50And hauling it in,
19:52Saw that he had netted four fishes,
19:54One of each colour.
19:56Thereat he rejoiced greatly,
19:58And more,
19:58When the Ifrit said to him,
20:00Carry these to the Sultan,
20:02And set them in his presence,
20:04Then he will give thee
20:05What shall make thee
20:06A wealthy man.
20:07And now accept my excuse,
20:10For by Allah,
20:11At this time,
20:11I wot none other way
20:13Of benefiting thee,
20:14Inasmuch as I have lain
20:16In this sea
20:16Eighteen hundred years,
20:19And have not seen
20:19The face of the world,
20:21Save within this hour.
20:23But I would not have thee fish here,
20:25Save once a day.
20:26The Ifrit then gave him God's speed,
20:29Saying,
20:30Allah grant we meet again,
20:32And struck the earth with one foot,
20:35Whereupon the ground clove asunder,
20:37And swallowed him up.
20:39The fisherman,
20:40Much marvelling at what had happened to him
20:42With the Ifrit,
20:44Took the fish,
20:45And made for the city.
20:47And as soon as he reached home,
20:48He filled an earthen bowl with water,
20:50And therein threw the fish,
20:52Which began to struggle and wriggle about.
20:54Then he bore off the bowl upon his head,
20:57And repairing to the king's palace,
20:59Even as the Ifrit had bidden him,
21:02Laid the fish before the presence.
21:04And the king wondered
21:05With exceeding wonder at the sight,
21:08For never in his lifetime
21:10Had he seen fishes like these
21:11In quality or in confirmation.
21:14So he said,
21:16Give those fish to the stranger slave girl,
21:18Who now cooketh for us,
21:20Meaning the bond maiden,
21:21Whom the king of Rhum
21:22Had sent to him only three days,
21:24So that he had not yet
21:27Made trial of her talents
21:28In the dressing of meat.
21:31Thereupon the wazir
21:32Carried the fish to the cook,
21:34And bade her fry them,
21:35Saying,
21:36O damsel,
21:37The king sendeth this say to thee,
21:39I have not treasured thee,
21:41O tear of me,
21:42Save for stress time of me.
21:45Approve then to us this day
21:46Thy delicate handiwork,
21:48And thy savoury cooking,
21:50For this dish of fish
21:51Is a present sent to the sultan,
21:54And evidently a rarity.
21:57The wazir,
21:58After he had carefully charged her,
22:00Returned to the king,
22:02Who commanded him
22:03To give the fishermen
22:04Four hundred dinars.
22:06He gave them accordingly,
22:08And the man took them
22:08To his bosom,
22:10And ran off home,
22:11Stumbling and falling
22:12And rising again,
22:14And deeming the whole thing
22:15To be a dream.
22:16However he bought for his family
22:19All they wanted,
22:20And lastly he went to his wife
22:22In huge joy and gladness.
22:26So far concerning him,
22:28But as regards the cook-maid,
22:30She took the fish
22:31And cleansed them,
22:32And set them in the frying-pan,
22:34Basting them with oil,
22:35Till one side was dressed.
22:37Then she turned them over,
22:38And behold,
22:39The kitchen wall,
22:41Crave asunder,
22:42And therefrom came a young lady,
22:44Fair of form,
22:45Oval of face,
22:46Perfect in grace,
22:48With eyelids which
22:49Coal-lines in chase.
22:51Her dress was a silken head-kerchief,
22:54Fringed and tasseled with blue,
22:56A large ring hung from either ear,
22:58A pair of bracelets
23:00Adorned her wrists,
23:01Rings with bezels of priceless gems
23:04Were on her fingers,
23:05And she hent in hand
23:07A long rod of rat and cane,
23:09Which she thrust into the frying-pan,
23:11Saying,
23:11O fish,
23:13O fish,
23:14Be ye constant to your covenant.
23:16When the cook-maiden
23:18Saw this apparition,
23:19She swooned away.
23:21The young lady repeated her words
23:23A second time,
23:24And a third time,
23:26And at last the fishes
23:27Raised their heads from the pan,
23:29And saying in articulate speech,
23:32Yes, yes,
23:33Began with one voice to recite,
23:36Come back,
23:37And so will I,
23:38Keep faith,
23:39And so will I,
23:40And if she fain forsake,
23:42I'll requite till quits we cry.
23:46After this the young lady
23:47Upset the frying-pan,
23:49And went forth by the way she came in,
23:51And the kitchen wall closed upon her.
23:54When the cook-maiden
23:55Recovered from her fainting-fit,
23:57She saw the four fishes
23:58Charred black as charcoal,
24:01And crying out,
24:02His staff break in his first bout,
24:04She again fell swooning to the ground.
24:08Whilst she was in this case,
24:10The wazir came for the fish,
24:12And looking upon her
24:13As insensible she lay,
24:15Not knowing Sunday from Thursday,
24:17Shoved her with his foot,
24:19And said,
24:19Bring the fish for the sultan.
24:22Thereupon,
24:23Recovering from her fainting-fit,
24:25She wept,
24:26And informed him of her case,
24:28And all that had befallen her.
24:29The wazir marvelled greatly,
24:32And exclaiming,
24:33This is none other than
24:34A right strange matter.
24:37He sent after the fisherman,
24:38And said to him,
24:40Thou, O fisherman,
24:41Must needs fetch us four fishes,
24:43Like those thou broughtest before.
24:46Thereupon the man
24:47Repaired to the tarn,
24:49And cast his net,
24:50And when he landed it,
24:51Lo! four fishes were therein,
24:53Exactly like the first.
24:56These he at once
24:57Carried to the wazir,
24:58Who went in with them
24:59To the cook-maiden,
25:00And said,
25:01Up with thee,
25:02And fry these in my presence,
25:04That I may see this business.
25:06The damsel arose,
25:08And cleansed the fish,
25:09And set them in the frying-pan
25:11Over the fire.
25:12However they remained there
25:13But a little while,
25:15Ere the wall
25:15Crave asunder,
25:17And the young lady appeared,
25:18Clad as before,
25:20And holding in hand
25:21The wand which she again
25:22Thrust into the frying-pan,
25:24Saying,
25:25O fish, O fish,
25:26Be ye constant
25:28To your olden covenant.
25:30And behold,
25:31The fish lifted their heads,
25:32And repeated,
25:33Yes, yes,
25:35And recited this couplet,
25:37Come back,
25:38And so will I,
25:39Keep faith,
25:40And so will I,
25:41But if ye fain forsake,
25:44I'll requite
25:44Till quits we cry.
25:47And Shahrazad
25:48Perceived the dawn of the day,
25:50And ceased saying
25:51Her permitted say.
25:53When it was the seventh night,
25:56She continued,
25:58It hath reached me,
25:59O auspicious king,
26:00That when the fishes spoke,
26:02And the young lady
26:03Upset the frying-pan
26:04With her rod,
26:05And went forth
26:06By the way she came,
26:07And the wall closed up,
26:09The wazir cried out,
26:11This is a thing
26:12Not to be hidden
26:13From the king.
26:14So he went,
26:16And told him
26:16What had happened,
26:17Whereupon,
26:18Quoth the king,
26:19There is no help for it,
26:20But that I see this
26:22With mine own eyes.
26:24Then he sent for the fisherman,
26:25And commanded him
26:26To bring four other fish,
26:28Like the first,
26:29And to take with him
26:30Three men as witnesses.
26:33The fisherman at once
26:34Brought the fish,
26:36And the king,
26:36After ordering them
26:37To give him
26:38Four hundred gold pieces,
26:40Turned to the wazir,
26:41And said,
26:42Up and fry me the fishes,
26:44Here before me.
26:45The minister,
26:46Replying,
26:47To hear is to obey,
26:48Bad bring the frying-pan,
26:52Threw therein
26:52The cleansed fish,
26:54And set it over the fire.
26:56When, lo,
26:57The wall craved asunder,
26:59And out burst a black slave,
27:01Like a huge rock,
27:02Or a remnant
27:03Of the tribe Ad,
27:05Bearing in hand
27:06A branch of a green tree,
27:08And he cried in loud
27:09And terrible tones,
27:11O fish,
27:11O fish,
27:13Be ye all constant
27:14To your antique covenant.
27:17Whereupon the fishes
27:18Lifted their heads
27:19From the frying-pan,
27:20And said,
27:21Yes, yes,
27:22We be true
27:23To our vow.
27:25And they again
27:25Recited the couplet,
27:27Come back,
27:28And so will I,
27:29Keep faith,
27:30And so will I,
27:31But if ye fain forsake,
27:33I'll requite till quits we cry.
27:37Then the huge blackamoor
27:38Approached the frying-pan,
27:40And upset it with the branch,
27:42And went forth
27:43By the way he came in.
27:45When he vanished
27:46From their sight,
27:47The king inspected the fish,
27:49And finding them all
27:50Charred black as charcoal,
27:52Was utterly bewildered,
27:54And said to the wazir,
27:56Verily this is a matter
27:57Where anent silence
27:58Cannot be kept,
27:59And as for the fishes,
28:01Assuredly some marvellous
28:03Adventure connects with them.
28:05So he bade bring the fisherman,
28:07And asked him, saying,
28:09Fie on thee, fellow,
28:10Whence came these fishes?
28:12And he answered,
28:13From a tarn between four heights,
28:16Lying behind this mountain
28:17Which is in sight of thy city.
28:20Quoth the king,
28:21How many days march?
28:23Quoth he,
28:24O our lord the sultan,
28:26A walk of half hour.
28:27The king wondered,
28:29And straightway ordering
28:31His men to march,
28:32And horsemen to mount,
28:33Led off the fishermen,
28:35Who went before as guide,
28:36Privily damning the Ifrit.
28:39They fared on,
28:40Till they had climbed the mountain,
28:42And descended unto a great desert,
28:44Which they had never seen
28:45During all their lives.
28:48And the sultan,
28:49And his merry men,
28:50Marvelled much at the wold
28:51Set in the midst of four mountains,
28:54And the tarn,
28:55And its fishes of four colours,
28:56Red and white,
28:58Yellow and blue.
29:00The king stood fixed
29:01To the spot in wonderment,
29:04And asked his troops
29:05And all present,
29:06Hath anyone among you
29:07Ever seen this piece of water
29:09Before now?
29:11And all made answer,
29:13O king of the age,
29:14Never did we set eyes upon it
29:16During all our days.
29:18They also questioned
29:20The oldest inhabitants they met,
29:22Men well stricken in years,
29:24But they replied,
29:26Each and every,
29:27A lakelet this,
29:28We never saw in this place.
29:32Thereupon quoth the king,
29:33By Allah,
29:34I will neither return to my capital,
29:37Nor sit upon the throne
29:38Of my forebears,
29:39Till I learn the truth
29:40About this tarn,
29:42And the fish therein.
29:43He then ordered his men
29:46To dismount and bivouac
29:47All around the mountain,
29:49Which they did,
29:50And summoning his wazir,
29:52A minister of much experience,
29:54Sergacious,
29:55Of penetrating wit,
29:56And well versed in affairs,
29:58Said to him,
30:00Tis in my mind
30:01To do a certain thing,
30:02Whereof I will inform thee.
30:04My heart telleth me
30:05To fare forth alone this night,
30:08And root out the mystery
30:09Of this tarn and its fishes.
30:11Do thou take thy seat
30:13At my tent door,
30:15And say to the emirs and wazirs,
30:18The nabobs and the chamberlains,
30:19In fine to all who ask thee,
30:22The sultan is ill at ease,
30:23And he hath ordered me
30:25To refuse all admittance,
30:27And be careful thou let none
30:29Know my design.
30:31And the wazir could not oppose him.
30:34Then the king changed his dress
30:36And ornaments,
30:37And slinging his sword
30:38Over his shoulder,
30:39Took a path which led up
30:41One of the mountains,
30:43And marched for the rest
30:44Of the night,
30:45Till morning dawned.
30:47Nor did he cease wayfaring
30:49Till the heat was too much
30:50For him.
30:51After his long walk,
30:53He rested a while,
30:54And then resumed his march,
30:56And fared on through
30:57The second night,
30:58Till dawn,
30:59When suddenly there appeared
31:01A black point in the far distance.
31:04Hereat he rejoiced,
31:05And said to himself,
31:06Haply someone here
31:08Shall acquaint me
31:09With the mystery
31:09Of the tarn
31:10And its fishes.
31:12Presently drawing near
31:14The dark object,
31:15He found it a palace
31:16Built of swart stone
31:18Plated with iron,
31:19And while one leaf
31:20Of the gate
31:21Stood wide open,
31:22The other was shut.
31:24The king's spirits
31:25Rose high
31:26As he stood before the gate,
31:28And rapped a light rap,
31:29But hearing no answer,
31:31He knocked a second knock,
31:33And a third,
31:34Yet there came no sign.
31:36Then he knocked his loudest,
31:38But still no answer.
31:39So he said,
31:41Doubtless tis empty.
31:43Thereupon he mustered up resolution,
31:45And boldly walked through
31:46The main gate
31:47Into the great hall,
31:49And there cried out aloud,
31:51Holla,
31:51Ye people of the palace!
31:53I am a stranger
31:54And a wayfarer.
31:56Have you aught here of vittle?
31:58He repeated his cry
32:00A second time,
32:01And a third,
32:02But still there came no reply.
32:05So, strengthening his heart,
32:07And making up his mind,
32:08He stalked through the vestibule,
32:10Into the very middle of the palace,
32:12And found no man in it.
32:14Yet it was furnished
32:16With silken stuffs gold-starred,
32:18And the hangings were let down
32:20Over the doorways.
32:22In the midst was a spacious court,
32:24Off which set four open saloons,
32:27Each with its raised dais,
32:29Saloon facing saloon.
32:32A canopy shaded the court,
32:33And in the centre
32:34Was a jetting fount
32:36With four figures of lions,
32:38Made of red gold,
32:39Spouting from their mouths
32:41Water clear as pearls,
32:43And diaphanous gems.
32:46Round about the palace
32:47Birds were let loose,
32:48And over it stretched a net
32:50Of golden wire,
32:51Hindering them from flying off.
32:53In brief there was
32:55Everything but human beings.
32:58The king marvelled
32:59Mightily thereat,
33:00Yet felt he sad at heart,
33:02For that he saw no one
33:04To give him account
33:05Of the waste and its tarn,
33:07The fishes,
33:08The mountains,
33:09And the palace itself.
33:11Presently,
33:11As he sat between the doors
33:13In deep thought,
33:14Behold,
33:15There came a voice of lament,
33:17As from a heart grief spent,
33:18And he heard the voice
33:20Chanting these verses.
33:23I hid what I endured of him,
33:25And yet it came to light,
33:27And nightly sleep
33:28Mine eyelids fled,
33:30And changed to sleepless night.
33:33O world, O fate,
33:34Withhold thy hand,
33:35And cease thy hurt and harm,
33:38Look and behold
33:39My hapless sprite,
33:40In colour and affright.
33:43Wilt ne'er show ruth
33:44To high-born youth,
33:45Who lost him on the way,
33:46Of love,
33:48And fell from wealth and fame,
33:50To lowest, basest white.
33:52Jealous of Zephyr's breath
33:54Was I,
33:54As on your form he breathed,
33:56But when as destiny descends,
33:59She blindeth human sight.
34:01What shall the hapless archer do,
34:03Who when he fronts his foe,
34:05And bends his bow,
34:06To shoot the shaft,
34:08Shall find his string undight?
34:11When Kark and care so heavy bear
34:13On youth of generous soul,
34:15How shall he scape his lot,
34:17And where from fate
34:18His place of flight?
34:20Now when the Sultan
34:21Heard the mournful voice,
34:23He sprang to his feet,
34:25And following the sound,
34:26Found a curtain
34:27Let down over a chamber door.
34:30He raised it,
34:31And saw behind it
34:32A young man
34:32Sitting upon a couch,
34:34About a cubit above the ground.
34:36And he fair to the sight,
34:38A well-shaped white,
34:40With eloquence dight.
34:42His forehead was flower-white,
34:44His cheek rosy bright,
34:47And a mole on his cheek,
34:48Breadth like an ambergris mite,
34:51Even as the poet doth indight.
34:54A youth slim-waisted,
34:56From whose locks and brow,
34:58The world in blackness
34:59And in light is set.
35:01Throughout creation's round,
35:03No fairer show,
35:05No rarer sight,
35:06Thine eye hath ever met.
35:08A nut-brown mole sits
35:10Throned upon a cheek
35:12Of rosiest red
35:14Beneath an eye of jet.
35:16The king rejoiced
35:18And saluted him,
35:19But he remained
35:20Sitting in his caftan
35:21Of silken stuff
35:22Pureed with Egyptian gold,
35:25And his crown
35:26Studded with gems of sorts.
35:28But his face was sad
35:30With the traces of sorrow.
35:32He returned the royal salute,
35:34In most courteous wise,
35:36Adding,
35:36O my lord,
35:37Thy dignity demandeth
35:39My rising to thee,
35:40And my sole excuse
35:42Is to crave thy pardon.
35:44Quoth the king,
35:45Thou art excused,
35:47O youth,
35:47So look upon me
35:48As thy guest,
35:50Come hither
35:50On an especial object.
35:52I would thou acquaint me
35:54With the secrets
35:54Of this tarn
35:55And its fishes,
35:57And of this palace
35:58And thy loneliness therein,
36:00And the cause
36:00Of thy groaning
36:01And wailing.
36:02When the young man
36:05Heard these words,
36:05He wept with sore weeping,
36:08Till his bosom
36:08Was drenched with tears,
36:10And began reciting,
36:12Say him who
36:13Carely sleeps,
36:14What while the shaft
36:16Of fortune flies,
36:17How many doth
36:18This shifting world
36:19Lay low
36:20And raise to rise?
36:22Although thine eye
36:23Be sealed in sleep,
36:25Sleep not
36:25Th'almighty's eyes,
36:27And who hath found
36:28Time ever fair,
36:30Or fate in constant guise?
36:33Then he sighed
36:34A long-fetched sigh,
36:35And recited,
36:36Confide thy case
36:38To him,
36:38The Lord
36:39Who made mankind.
36:41Quit cark and care,
36:42And cultivate
36:43Content of mind.
36:45Ask not the past,
36:46Or how,
36:47Or why it came to pass.
36:49All human things
36:50By fate and destiny
36:52Were designed.
36:54The king marvelled,
36:56And asked him,
36:57What maketh thee weep,
36:58O young man?
37:00And he answered,
37:01How should I not weep
37:02When this is my case?
37:05Thereupon he put out
37:06His hand,
37:06And raised the skirt
37:07Of his garment,
37:09When, lo,
37:10The lower half of him
37:11Appeared stone
37:12Down to his feet,
37:14While from his navel
37:15To the hair of his head
37:16He was man.
37:18The king,
37:19Seeing this his plight,
37:20Grieved with sore grief,
37:22And of his compassion
37:23Cried,
37:24Alack and well away,
37:26In very sooth,
37:27O youth,
37:28Thou heapest sorrow
37:29Upon my sorrow.
37:31I was minded
37:31To ask thee
37:32The mystery
37:33Of the fishes only,
37:34Whereas now
37:35I am concerned
37:36To learn thy story
37:37As well as theirs.
37:39But there is no majesty,
37:40And there is no might,
37:41Save in Allah,
37:42The glorious,
37:43The great.
37:45Lose no time,
37:46O youth,
37:46But tell me forthright
37:47Thy whole tale.
37:50Quoth he,
37:50Lend me thine ears,
37:52Thy sight,
37:52And thine insight.
37:54And,
37:55Quoth the king,
37:55All are at thy service.
37:58Thereupon the youth began,
38:00Right wondrous and marvellous
38:02Is my case
38:03And that of these fishes,
38:04And were it graven
38:05With gravers
38:06Upon the eye-corners,
38:08It were a warner
38:09To whoso would be warned.
38:11How is that?
38:12Asked the king,
38:14And the young man
38:15Began to tell
38:16The tale
38:17Of the ensorcelled prince.
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