- 3 months ago
Chapter 9 of The Book of The Thousand and One Nights
Stories:
* The First Kalandar’s Tale
* The Second Kalandar’s Tale
Stories:
* The First Kalandar’s Tale
* The Second Kalandar’s Tale
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FunTranscript
00:00THE FIRST CALENDAR'S TALE
00:11Know, O my lady, what the cause of my beard being shorn and my eye being torn was as follows.
00:20My father was a king, and he had a brother who was a king over another city,
00:26and it came to pass that I and my cousin, the son of my paternal uncle, were both born on one
00:32and the same day, and the years and days rolled on, and as we grew up I used to visit my uncle
00:39every now and then, and to spend a certain number of months with him. Now my cousin and I were sworn
00:47friends, for he ever treated me with exceeding kindness. He killed for me the fattest sheep,
00:53and strained the best of his wines, and we enjoyed long conversing and carousing.
00:59One day, when the wine had gotten the better of us, the son of my uncle said to me,
01:05O my cousin, I have a great service to ask of thee, and I desire that thou stay me not in whatso I
01:12desire to do. And I replied, With joy and goodly will. Then he made me swear the most binding oaths
01:20and left me, but after a little while he returned, leading a lady veiled and richly apparelled with
01:27ornaments worth a large sum of money. Presently he turned to me, the woman being still behind him,
01:34and said, Take this lady with thee, and go before me to such a burial-ground, describing it so that I
01:42knew the place, and enter with her into such a sepulchre, and there await my coming. The oaths I
01:50swore to him made me keep silence, and suffered me not to oppose him. So I led the woman to the
01:57cemetery, and both I and she took our seats in the sepulchre, and hardly had we sat down, when in came my
02:06uncle's son, with a bowl of water, a bag of mortar, and an adze, somewhat like a hole. He went straight
02:14to the tomb in the midst of the sepulchre, and breaking it open with the adze, set the stones
02:20on one side. Then he fell to digging into the earth of the tomb, till he came upon a large iron plate,
02:28the size of a wicket door, and on raising it there, appeared below it a staircase, vaulted and winding.
02:37Then he turned to the lady, and said to her, Come now, and take thy final choice.
02:44She at once went down by the staircase, and disappeared. Then quoth he to me, O son of my uncle,
02:52by way of completing thy kindness. When I shall have descended into this place, restore the trap
03:00door to where it was, and heap back the earth upon it as it lay before, and then of thy goodness,
03:07mix this unslaked lime which is in the bag with this water which is in the bowl, and after building
03:15up the stones, plaster the outside, so that none looking upon it shall say, This is a new
03:22opening in an old tomb. For a whole year have I worked at this place, whereof none knoweth but
03:28Allah. And this is the need I have of thee, presently adding, May Allah never bereave thy friends of thee,
03:37nor make them desolate by thine absence, O son of my uncle, O my dear cousin. And he went down the
03:44stairs, and disappeared for ever. When he was lost to sight, I replaced the iron plate, and did all
03:51his bidding, till the tomb became as it was before, and I worked almost unconsciously, for my head was
04:00heated with wine. Returning to the palace of my uncle, I was told that he had gone forth a-sporting
04:07and hunting. So I slept that night without seeing him. And when the morning dawned, I remembered the
04:14scenes of the past evening, and what happened between me and my cousin. And I repented of having
04:20obeyed him when penitence was of no avail. I still thought, however, that it was a dream. So I fell to
04:28asking for the son of my uncle, but there was none to answer me concerning him. And I went out to the
04:35graveyard and the sepulchres, and sought for the tomb under which he was, but could not find it. And I ceased
04:42not wandering about, from sepulchre to sepulchre, and tomb to tomb, all without success, till night set
04:50set in. So I returned to the city, yet I could neither eat nor drink, my thoughts being engrossed
04:58with my cousin, for that I knew not what was become of him. And I grieved with exceeding grief,
05:04and passed another sorrowful night, watching until morning. Then I went a second time to the cemetery,
05:10pondering over what the son of mine uncle had done, and sorely repenting my hearkening to him,
05:15went round among all the tombs, but could not find the tomb I sought. I mourned over the past,
05:21and remained in my mourning seven days, seeking the place, and ever missing the path.
05:26Then my torture of scruples grew upon me till I well-nigh went mad, and I found no way to dispel my
05:33grief save travel and return to my father. So I set out and journeyed homeward, but as I was entering
05:39my father's capital, a crowd of rioters sprang upon me and pinioned me. I wondered thereat with all
05:45wonderment, seeing that I am the son of the sultan, and these men were my father's subjects,
05:50and among them were some of my own slaves. A great fear fell upon me, and I said to my
05:55soul, would heaven I knew what hath happened to my father. I questioned those that bound me of the
06:02cause of their doing, but they returned me no answer. However, after a while one of them said
06:08to me, and he had been a hired servant in our house, Fortune has been false to thy father.
06:14His troops betrayed him, and the wazir who slew him now reigneth in his stead, and we lay in wait
06:19to seize thee by the bidding of him. I was well-nigh distraught, and felt ready to faint on
06:25hearing of my father's death, when they carried me off and placed me in the presence of the usurper.
06:31Now between me and him there was an olden grudge, the cause of which is this. I was fond of shooting
06:38with a stone bow, and it befell one day, as I was standing on the terrace roof of the palace,
06:43that a bird lighted on the top of the wazir's house, when he happened to be there. I shot at
06:49the bird, and missed the mark, but I hit the wazir's eye, and knocked it out as fate and fortune
06:54decreed. Even so, saith the poet, we tread the path where fate hath led, the path fate writ we fain must
07:01tread. And man in one land doomed to die, death nowhere else shall do him dead. And on the likewise
07:07saith another, Let fortune have her wanton way, take heart, and all her words obey. Nor joy nor
07:14mourn at anything, for all things pass, and no things stay. Now, when I knocked out the wazir's eye,
07:22he could not say a single word, for that my father was king of the city. But he hated me ever after,
07:28and dire was the grudge thus caused between us twain. So when I was set before him, hand-bound and
07:34pinioned, he straightway gave orders for me to be beheaded. I asked, For what crime wilt thou put me
07:40to death? Whereupon he answered, What crime is greater than this? Pointing the while to the place
07:46where his eye had been. Quoth I, This I did by accident, not of malice prepense. And quoth he,
07:53If thou didst it by accident, I will do the like to thee with intention. Then he cried,
08:00Bring him forward. And they brought me up to him, when he thrust his finger into my left eye,
08:05and gouged it out. Whereupon I became one-eyed, as ye see me. Then he made bind me hand and foot,
08:11and put me into a chest, and said to the sorter, Take charge of this fellow, and go off with him to
08:18the waste lands about the city. Then draw thy scimitar, and slay him, and leave him to feed
08:22the beasts and birds. So the headsman fared forth with me, and when he was in the midst of the desert,
08:28he took me out of the chest. And I, with both hands pinioned, and both feet fettered, and was
08:33about to bandage my eyes, before striking off my head. But I wept with exceeding weeping, until I
08:38had made him weep with me. And looking at him, I began to recite these couplets.
08:43I deemed you coat-a-mail, that should withstand the foemen's shafts, and you proved foemen's
08:49brand. I hoped your aidance in mine every chance, though fail my left to aid my dexter hand.
08:55Aloof you stand, and hear the railers jibe, while rain their shafts on me the gibber band.
09:00But an ye will not guard me from my foes, stand clear, and succor neither these nor those.
09:07And I also quoted,
09:08I deemed my brethren male of strongest steel, and so they were, from foes I fend my dart.
09:14I deemed their arrows surest of their aim, and so they were, when aiming at my heart.
09:20When the headsman heard my lines, he had been sordered to my sire, and he owed me a debt of
09:25gratitude. He cried,
09:27O my lord, what can I do, being but a slave under orders? Presently adding,
09:32Fly for thy life, and never more return to this land, or they will slay thee, and slay me with
09:37thee. Even as a poet said,
09:39Take thy life, and fly when as evil's threat. Let the ruined house tell its owner's fate.
09:45New land for the old thou shalt seek and find, but to find new life thou must not wait.
09:51Strange that men should sit in the stead of shame, when Allah's world is so wide and great.
09:57And trust no other in matters grave, life itself must act for a life beset.
10:02Ne'er would prowl the lion with maned neck, did he reckon on aid, or of others wreck.
10:07Hardly believing my escape, I kissed his hand, and thought the loss of my eye a light matter in
10:12consideration of my escaping from being slain. I arrived at my uncle's capital, and, going into
10:18him, told him of what had befallen my father and myself, whereat he wept with sore weeping,
10:23and said, Verily thou addest grief to my grief, and woe to my woe, for thy cousin hath been missing
10:30these many days. I wot not what hath happened to him, and none can give me news of him. And he
10:37wept till he fainted. I sorrowed and condoled with him, and he would have applied certain
10:43medicaments to my eye, but he saw that it was become as a walnut with the shell empty. Then he
10:48said, O my son, better to lose eye and keep life. After that I could no longer remain silent about
10:55my cousin, who was his only son and one dearly loved. So I told him all that had happened.
11:00He rejoiced with extreme joyance to hear the news of his son, and said, Come now, and show me the
11:06tomb. But I replied, By Allah, O my uncle, I know not its place, though I sought it carefully full
11:12many times, yet could not find the sight. However, I and my uncle went to the graveyard, and looked
11:18right and left, till at last I recognized the tomb, and we both rejoiced with exceeding joy.
11:23We entered the sepulchre, and loosened the earth about the grave. Then, up raising the trap-door,
11:29descended some fifty steps, till we came to the foot of the staircase, when, lo, we were
11:34stopped by a blinding smoke. Thereupon my uncle said that saying, whose sayer shall never come
11:39to shame, There is no majesty, and there is no might, save in Allah, the glorious, the great.
11:46And we advanced, till we suddenly came upon a saloon, whose floor was strewn with flour and
11:50grain, and provisions, and all manner of necessities, and in the midst of it stood a canopy sheltering
11:55a couch. Thereupon my uncle went up to the couch, and inspecting it, found his son, and
12:00the lady who had gone down with him into the tomb, lying in each other's embrace. But the
12:05twain had become black as charred soot. It was as if they had been cast into a pit of fire.
12:12When my uncle saw this spectacle, he spat in his son's face, and said, Thou hast thy desserts,
12:18O thou hog! This is thy judgment in the transitory world, and yet remaineth the judgment in the world
12:24to come, a durer and a more enduring. And Scheherazade perceived the dawn of day, and ceased saying her
12:31permitted say.
12:34When it was the twelfth night, she continued, It has reached me, O auspicious king, that the
12:42Kalendar thus went on with his story before the lady and the caliph of Jafar. My uncle struck
12:48his son with his slipper, as he lay there in a black heap of coal. I marveled at his hardness
12:53of heart, and grieving for my cousin and the lady, said, By Allah, O my uncle, calm down
12:59thy wrath! Dost thou not see that all my thoughts are occupied with this misfortune? And how
13:05sorrowful I am for what hath befallen thy son, and how horrible it is that naught of
13:10him remaineth but a black heap of charcoal? And is that not enough, but thou must smite
13:15him with thy slipper?
13:16Answered he, O son of my brother, this youth from his boyhood was madly in love with his
13:23own sister, and often and often I forbade him to her, saying to myself, They are but
13:29little ones. However, when they grew up, sin befell between them, and although I could
13:35hardly believe it, I confined him, and chided him, and threatened him with the severest threats,
13:40and the eunuchs and servants said to him, Beware of so foul a thing which none before thee ever
13:46did, and which none after thee will ever do, and have a care lest thou be dishonoured and
13:51disgraced among the kings of the day, even to the end of time. And I added, Such a report as this
13:57will be spread abroad by caravans, and take heed not to give them cause to talk, or I will assuredly
14:03curse thee and do thee to death. After that I lodged them apart and shut her up, but the accursed
14:09girl loved him with passionate love, for Satan had got the mastery of her as well as of him,
14:14and made their foul sin seem fair in their sight. Now when my son saw that I separated them,
14:20he secretly built his souterraine, and furnished it, and transported to it victuals, even as thou
14:26seest, and when I had gone out a-sporting, came here with his sister, and hid from me. Then his
14:34righteous judgment fell upon the twain, and consumed them with fire from heaven, and verily the
14:39last judgment will deal them durer pains, and more enduring. Then he wept, and I wept with
14:45him, and he looked at me, and said, Thou art my son in his stead. And I bethought me a while of the
14:51world, and of its chances, and how the wazir had slain my father, and had taken his place, and had
14:56put out my eye, and how my cousin had come to his death by the strangest chance. And I wept again,
15:01and my uncle wept with me. Then we mounted the steps, and let down the iron plate, and heaped up the earth
15:07over it, and after restoring the tomb to its former condition, we returned to the palace.
15:13But hardly had we sat down, ere we heard the tom-toming of the kettle-drum, and the tantra of trumpets,
15:19and the clash of cymbals, and the rattling of warmen's lances, and the clamours of assailants,
15:24and the clanking of bits, and the neighing of steeds, while the world was canopied in dense dust and
15:29sand-clouds raised by the horses' hooves. We were amazed at the sight and sound, knowing not what could be
15:35the matter. So we asked, and were told us, that the wazir who usurped my father's kingdom had marched his
15:41men, and that after levying his soldiery, and taking a host of wild Arabs into his service, he had come
15:47down upon us with armies like the sands of the sea, their number none could tell, and against them none
15:53could prevail. They attacked the city unawares, and the citizens, being powerless to oppose them,
15:59surrendered the place. My uncle was slain, and I made for the suburbs, saying to myself,
16:05If thou fall into this villain's hands, he will assuredly kill thee. On this wise, all my troubles
16:10were renewed. And I pondered all that had betided my father and my uncle, and I knew not what to do,
16:16for if the city people or my father's troops had recognized me, they would have done their best to
16:21win favor by destroying me, and I could think of no way to escape save by shaving off my beard and my
16:27eyebrows. So I shore them off, and changing my fine clothes for a calendar's rags, I fared forth from
16:33my uncle's capital, and made for this city, hoping that peradventure some one would assist me to the
16:38presence of the Prince of the Faithful, and the Caliph, and the Caliph who is a Viseragint of Allah
16:43upon earth. Thus I come hither, that I might tell him my tale, and lay my case before him. I arrived here
16:50this very night, and was standing in doubt whither I should go, when suddenly I saw this second
16:55calendar. So I salomed to him, saying, I am a stranger, and he answered, I too am a stranger.
17:02And as we were conversing, up came our third companion, this third Calendar, who saluted us,
17:07saying, I am a stranger, and we answered, We too be strangers. Then we three walked on, and together,
17:14till darkness overtook us, and destiny crave us to your house. Such then is a cause of the shaving
17:19of my beard, and moustachios, and eyebrows, and the manner of my losing my right eye. They marveled
17:25much at this tale, and the Caliph said to Ja'afar, By Allah, I have not seen, nor have I heard the
17:31like of what hath happened to this calendar. Quoth the lady of the house, Rub thy head, and wend thy
17:36ways. But he replied, I will not go, till I hear the history of the two others. Thereupon the second
17:43calendar came forward, and, kissing the ground, began to tell the second calendar's tale.
17:50The second calendar's tale.
17:53Know, O my lady, that I was not born one-eyed, and mine is a strange story, and it were graven with
17:59needlegraver on the eye-corners, it were a warner to who so would be warned. I am a king, son of a king,
18:07and was brought up like a prince. I learned intoning of the Koran according to the seven schools.
18:13And I read all manner books, and held disputation on their contents with the doctors and men of
18:19science. Moreover, I studied star-lore, and the fair sayings of the poets, and I exercised myself
18:25in all branches of learning, until I surpassed the people of my time. My skill in calligraphy exceeded
18:31that of all the scribes, and my fame was bruited abroad over all climes and cities, and all the kings
18:37learned to know my name. Amongst others, the king of Hind heard of me, and sent to my father to invite
18:44me to his court, with offerings and presents and rarities such as befit royalties. So my father
18:50fitted out six ships for me and my people, and we put to sea and sailed for the space of a full month,
18:55till we made the land. Then we brought out the horses that were with us in the ships, and, after loading
19:01the camels with our presents for the prince, set forth inland. But we had marched only a little
19:07way, when, behold, a dust-cloud flew up, and grew until it walled the horizon from view.
19:13After an hour or so, the veil lifted, and discovered beneath it fifty horsemen, ravening lions to the
19:20sight, in steel armor dight. We observed them straightly, and, lo, they were cutters off of
19:26the highway, wild as wild Arabs. When they saw that we were only four, and had with us but the
19:32ten camels, carrying the presents, they dashed down upon us with lances at rest. We signed to them
19:38with our fingers, as it were, saying, We be messengers of the great king of Hind, so harm us
19:44not. But they answered, on likewise, We are not in his dominions to obey, nor are we subject to his
19:51sway. Then they set upon us, and slew some of my slaves, and put the lave to flight. And I also fled,
19:57after I had gotten a wound, a grievous hurt, whilst the Arabs were taken up with the money and the
20:02presents which were with us. I went forth, unknowing whither I went, having become mean as I was
20:08mighty, and fared on, until I came to the crest of a mountain, where I took shelter for the night
20:13in a cave. When day arose, I set out again, nor ceased after this fashion, till I arrived at a
20:19fair city, and a well filled. Now it was the season when winter was turning away with his rhyme,
20:25and to greet the world with his flowers came prime, and the young blooms were springing,
20:30and the streams flowed ringing, and the birds were sweetly singing, as saith the poet concerning a
20:35certain city, when describing it. A place secure from every thought of fear, safety and peace
20:41for ever lord it here. Its beauties seemed to beautify its suns, as in heaven its happy folk
20:47appear. I was glad of my arrival, for I was wearied with the way, and yellow of face for
20:54weakness and want. But my plight was pitiable, and I knew not whither to betake me. So I accosted a
21:01tailor, sitting in his little shop, and saluted him, and he returned my salome, and bade me kindly
21:06welcome, and wished me well, and entreated me gently, and asked me of the cause of my strangerhood.
21:13I told him all my past from first to last, and he was concerned on my account, and said,
21:19O youth, disclose not thy secret to any. The king of this city is the greatest enemy thy father hath,
21:25and there is blood wit between them, and thou hast cause to fear for thy life. Then he said to
21:31meet and drink before me, and I ate and drank, and he with me, and we conversed freely till nightfall,
21:38when he cleared me a place in a corner of his shop, and brought me a carpet and a coverlet.
21:42I tarried with him three days, at the end of which time he said to me, Knowest thou no calling whereby
21:49to win thy living, O my son? I am learned in the law, I replied, and a doctor of doctrine,
21:56an adept in art and science, a mathematician, and a notable penman. He rejoined, Thy calling is of no
22:03account in our city, where not a soul understandeth science, or even writing, or aught save money-making.
22:09Then said I, By Allah I know nothing but what I have mentioned. And he answered, Gird thy middle,
22:17and take thee a hatchet and a cord, and go and hew wood in the wold for thy daily bread,
22:22till Allah send thee relief, and tell none who thou art, lest they slay thee. Then he bought me an axe
22:28and a rope, and gave me in charge to certain wood-cutters. And with these guardians I went
22:33forth into the forest, where I cut fuel-wood the whole of my day, and came back in the evening,
22:38bearing my bundle on my head. I sold it for half a dinar, with part of which I bought provision,
22:43and laid by the rest. In such work I spent a whole year, and when this was ended I went out one day,
22:50as was my want, into the wilderness, and wandering away from my companions I chanced upon a thickly
22:55grown lowland, in which there was an abundance of wood. So I entered, and found the gnarled stump of
23:01a great tree, and loosened the ground around it, and shoveled away the earth. Presently my hatchet rang
23:07upon a copper ring. So I cleared away the soil, and, behold, the ring was attached to a wooden
23:13trap-door. This I raised, and there appeared beneath it a staircase. I descended the steps to
23:19the bottom, and came to a door, which I opened, and found myself in a noble hall, strong of structure,
23:25and beautifully built, where was a damsel like a pearl of great price, whose favour banished from
23:30my heart all grief and care, and whose soft speech healed the soul in despair, and captivated the
23:37wise and aware. Her figure measured five feet in height, her breasts were firm and upright,
23:42her cheek a very garden of delight, her colour lively bright, her face gleamed like dawn through
23:48curly tresses, which gloomed like night, and above the snows of her bosom glittered teeth of pearly white.
23:54As a poet said of one like her, slim-waisted, loveling jetty hair and crowned, a wand of willow on a
24:02sandy mound. And, as saith another, four things that meet not, save they here unite, to shed my heart
24:09blood, and to rape my sprite, brilliantest forehead, tresses jetty bright, cheeks rosy red, and stature
24:16beauty dight. When I looked upon her, I prostrated myself before him who had created her, for the
24:22beauty and loveliness he had shaped in her. And she looked at me, and said, Art thou man, or jennai?
24:29I am man, answered I. And she, Now who brought thee to this place, where I have abided five and twenty
24:35years, without even yet seeing man in it? Quoth I, and indeed I found her words wonder-sweet, and my
24:42heart was melted to the core by them. O my lady, my good fortune led me hither, for the dispelling of my
24:48clark and care. Then I related to her all my mishap, from first to last, and my case appeared
24:55to her exceeding grievous. So she wept, and said, I will tell thee my story in my turn.
25:01I am the daughter of the king Iphitamas, lord of the islands of Abnas, who married me to my cousin,
25:06the son of my paternal uncle. But on my wedding-night came an efreet, named Jirgis bin Rajmas,
25:12first cousin, that is, mother's sister's son, of Iblis the foul fiend, snatched me up, and flying away
25:19with me like a bird, set me down in this place. Whither he conveyed all I needed of fine stuffs,
25:25raiment, and jewels, and furniture, and meat, and drink, and other else. Once in every ten years he
25:30comes here, and lies a single night with me, and then wends his way, for he took me without the
25:35consent of his family. And he hath agreed with me that if ever I need him by night or by day,
25:40I have only to pass my hand over yon two lines engraved upon the alcove, and he will appear to me
25:45before my fingers cease touching. Four days have now passed since he was here, and, as there remain
25:52six days more before he come again, say me, Wilt thou abide with me five days, and go hence the day
25:58before his coming? I replied, Yes, and yes again! Oh, rare if all this be not a dream! Hereat she was
26:06glad, and springing to her feet, seized my hand, and carried me through an arched doorway, to a hammam
26:11bath. A fair hall, and richly decorate. I doffed my clothes, and she doffed hers, and we bathed,
26:18and she washed me. And when this was done, we left the bath, and she seated me by her side upon a
26:23high divan, and brought me sherbet scented with musk. When we felt cool after the bath, she set
26:29food before me, and we ate, and fell to talking, but presently she said to me, Lay thee down, and take
26:34thy rest, for surely thou must be weary. So I thanked her, my lady, and lay down, and slept soundly,
26:39forgetting all that had happened to me. When I awoke, I found her rubbing and shampooing my feet.
26:46So I again thanked her, and blessed her, and we sat for a while, talking. Said she, By Allah,
26:52I was sad at heart, for I have dwelt alone underground these five and twenty years, and
26:56praise be to Allah, who has sent me some one with whom I can converse. Then she asked, O youth,
27:02what sayest thou to wine? And I answered, Do as thou wilt. Whereupon she went to a cupboard,
27:07and took out a sealed flask of right old wine, and set off the table with flowers and scented
27:12herbs, and began to sing these lines. Had we known of thy coming, we fain had to spread
27:18the cores of our hearts and the balls of our eyes. Our cheeks as a carpet, to greet thee
27:23had thrown, and our eyelids had strewn for thy feet to be tread. Now when she had finished
27:29her verse, I thanked her, for indeed love of her had gotten hold of my heart, and my grief
27:34and anguish were gone. We sat at converse and carousel till nightfall, and with her I spent
27:40the night. Such night never spent I in all my life. On the morrow, delight followed delight till
27:46midday, by which time I had drunken wine so freely that I had lost my wits, and stood up,
27:51staggering to the right and to the left, and said, Come, O my charmer, and I will carry thee up from
27:56this underground vault, and deliver thee from the spell of thy genii. She laughed, and replied,
28:02Content thee, and hold thy peace. Of every ten days, one is for the Efreet, and the other nine
28:07are thine. Quoth I, and in good sooth drink had gotten the better of me, this very instant I will
28:14break down the alcove wherein is graven the talisman, and summon the Efreet, that I may slay him,
28:19for it is a practice of mine to slay Efreet's. When she heard my words, her color waxed wan,
28:24and she said, By Allah do not. And she began repeating, This is a thing wherein destruction
28:30lies. I read thee shun it, and thy wits be wise. And these also, O thou who seekest severance,
28:37draw the rein of thy swift steed, nor seek or much to advance. Ah, stay, for treachery is the
28:44rule of life, and sweets of meeting end in severance. I heard her verse, but paid no heed to
28:51her words. Nay, I raised my foot, and administered to the alcove a mighty kick. And Scheherazade
28:58perceived the dawn of day, and ceased to say her permitted say.
29:03When it was the thirteenth night, she said, It had reached me, O auspicious king, that the
29:09second calendar thus continued his tale to the lady. But when, O my mistress, I kicked that
29:15alcove with a mighty kick, behold! The air starkened, and darkened, and thundered, and lightened,
29:19the earth trembled and quaked, and the world became invisible. At once the fumes of wine
29:25left my head, and I cried to her, What is the matter? And she replied, The efreet is upon
29:30us. Did I not warn thee of this? By Allah thou hast brought ruin upon me. But fly for thy
29:35life, and go up by the way thou camest down. So I fled up the staircase. But, in the excess
29:42of my fear, I forgot sandals and hatchet. And when I mounted two steps, I turned to look
29:46for them, and lo, I saw the earth cleave asunder, and there rose from it an efreet, a monster
29:52of hideousness, who said to the damsel, What trouble and posture be this, wherewith thou
29:57disturbest me? What mishap hath betided thee? No mishap hath befallen me, she answered,
30:03save that my breast was straightened, and my heart heavy with sadness. So I drank a little
30:07wine to broaden it, and to hearten myself. Then I rose to obey a call of nature, but the
30:11wine had gotten into my head, and I fell against the alcove. Thou liest like the
30:15whore thou art, shrieked the efreet. And he looked around the hall, right and left, till
30:21he caught sight of my axe and sandals, and said to her, What be these but the belongings
30:26of some mortal, who hath been in thy society? She answered, I never set eyes upon them till
30:32this moment. They must have been brought by thee thither cleaving to thy garments, quoth
30:37the efreet. These words are absurd, thou harlot! Thou strop it! Then he stripped her stark
30:42naked, and, stretching her upon the floor, bound her hands and feet to four stakes, like
30:47one crucified, and set about torturing and trying to make her confess. I could not bear
30:52to stand listening to her cries and groan, so I climbed the stair on the quake with fear,
30:57and when I reached the top I replaced the trap-door and covered it with earth. Then I repented
31:02of what I had done, with penitence exceeding, and thought of the lady, and her beauty and
31:05loveliness, and the tortures she was suffering at the hands of the accursed efreet, after
31:09her quiet life of five and twenty years, and how all that had happened to her was for the
31:13cause of me. I bethought me of my father, and his kingly estate, and how I had become
31:19a wood-cutter, and how, after my time had been a while serene, the world had again waxed
31:25turbid and troubled to me. So I wept bitterly, and repeated this couplet. What time fate's tyranny
31:31shall most oppress thee? Prepend, one day shall joy thee, one distress thee. Then I walked till I
31:38reached the home of my friend, the tailor, whom I found most anxiously expecting me. Indeed he was,
31:44as the saying goes, on coals of fire for my account. And when he saw me, he said, All night long my
31:50heart hath been heavy, fearing for thee from wild beasts, or other mischances. Now praise me to
31:56Allah for thy safety. I thanked him for his friendly solicitude, and, retiring to my corner,
32:01sat pondering and musing on what had befallen me. And I blamed and chided myself for my meddlesome
32:07folly, and my forwardness in kicking the alcove. I was calling myself to account, when, behold,
32:13my friend the tailor came to me, and said, O youth, in the shop there is an old man, a Persian,
32:19who seeketh thee. He hath thy hatchet and thy sandals, which he had taken to the wood-cutter,
32:24saying, I was going out, at what time the muazin began to call the dawn prayer, when I chanced
32:29upon these things, and know not whose they are. So direct me to their owner. The wood-cutters
32:34recognized thy hatchet, and directed him to thee. He is sitting in my shop. So fare forth to him,
32:39and thank him, and take thine axe and sandals. When I heard these words, I turned yellow with fear,
32:44and felt stunned as by a blow. And before I could recover myself low, the floor of my private room
32:50clove asunder. And out of it rose the Persian, who was the Efreet. He had tortured the lady with
32:55exceeding tortures. Nevertheless she would not confess to him aught. So he took the hatchet and
33:00sandals, and said to her, As surely as I am Jurgis, of the seed of Iblis, I will bring thee back the
33:06owner of this and these. Then he went to the wood-cutters with the presence aforesaid, and,
33:12being directed to me, after waiting a while in the shop till the fact was confirmed, he suddenly
33:17snatched me up, as a hawk snatcheth a mouse, and drew high in air, but presently descended and
33:23plunged with me under the earth, I being a swoon the while, and lastly set me down in the subterranean
33:28palace wherein I had passed that blissful night. And there I saw the lady, stripped to the skin,
33:34her limbs bound to four stakes, and blood welling from her sides. At the sight my eyes ran over with
33:40tears, but the Efreet covered her person, and said, O wanton, is this man not thy lover? She looked upon
33:46me, and replied, I wot him not, nor have I ever seen him before this hour. Quoth the Efreet,
33:52What? This torture, and yet no confessing? And quoth she, I never saw this man in my born days,
33:59it is not lawful in Allah's sight to tell lies on him. If thou know him not, said the Efreet to her,
34:05take this sword, and strike off his head. She hinted the sword in hand, and came close up to me,
34:11and I signaled to her with my eyebrows, my tears the while flowing down my cheeks. She understood
34:17me, and made answer, also by signs, How couldst thou bring all this evil upon me? And I rejoined
34:24after the same fashion, This is a time for mercy and forgiveness. And the mute tongue of my case
34:30spake aloud, saying, Mine eyes were dragomans of my tongue betted, and told full clear the love I fain
34:36would hide. When last we met, the tears and torrents railed, for tongue struck dumb, my glances
34:41testified. She signed with eye-glance, while her lips were mute. I signed with fingers, and she
34:47kenned the implied. Our eyebrows did all duty twixt us twain, and being speechless, love spake loud and
34:53plain. Then, O my mistress, the lady threw away the sword, and said, How shall I strike the neck of
34:58one I wot not? And who hath done me no evil? Such deed were not lawful in my law. And she held her
35:05hand. Said the Efreet, Tis grievous to thee to slay thy lover. And because he hath lain with thee,
35:11thou endurest these torments, and obstinately refuseth to confess. After this it is clear to me,
35:18that only like loveth and pitieth like. And he turned to me, and asked me, O man,
35:23haply thou also dost not know this woman. Whereto I answered, And pray who may she be?
35:30Assuredly I never saw her till this instant. Then take the sword, said he, and strike off her head,
35:36and I will believe that thou wottest her not, and I will leave thee free to go, and will not death
35:41hardly with thee. I replied, That I will do. And, taking the sword, went sharply forward, and raised my
35:48hand to smite. But she signed to me with her eyebrows. And is it thus that thou requirest
35:53me? I understood what her looks implied, and answered her with an eye-glance. I will sacrifice
35:59my soul for thee. And the tongue of the case wrote in our hearts these lines.
36:05How many a lover with his eyebrows speaketh, to his beloved as his passion pleadeth. With flashing
36:10eye his passion he inspireth. And well she seeth what kit's pleading needeth. How sweet the look,
36:17when on each other gazeth. And with what swiftness, and how sure it speedeth. And this with
36:23eyebrows all his passion writeth. And that with eyeballs all his passion readeth.
36:28Then my eyes filled with tears to overflowing, and I cast the sword from my hand, saying,
36:34O mighty Ifrit and Hero, if a woman lacking wits and faith deem it unlawful to strike off my head,
36:40how can it be lawful for me, a man, to smite her neck, whom I never saw in my whole life?
36:45I cannot do such misdeed, though thou cause me drink the cup of death and perdition.
36:50Then said the Ifrit, Ye twain show the good understanding between you, but I will let
36:56you see how such doings end. Then he took the sword, and struck off the lady's hands first with
37:02four strokes, and then her feet, while I looked on, and made sure of death. And she farewelled me
37:08with her dying eyes. So the Ifrit cried at her, Thou warrest, and makest me a witaw with thine eyes,
37:14and struck her so that her head went flying. Then he turned to me, and said, O mortal, we have it in
37:20our law, that, when the wife committeth adultery, it is lawful for us to slay her.
37:26As for this damsel, I snatched her away on her bride-night, when she was a girl of twelve,
37:31and she knew no one but myself. I used to come to her once every ten days, and lie with her the night,
37:36under the semblance of a man, a Persian. And when I was well assured that she had cuckold in me,
37:41I slew her. But as for thee, I am not well satisfied that thou hast wronged me in her.
37:48Nevertheless, I must not let thee go unharmed. So ask a boon of me, and I will grant it.
37:54Then I rejoiced, O my lady, with exceeding joy, and said, What boon shall I crave of thee? He replied,
38:01Ask me this boon, into what shape I shall bewitch thee? Wilt thou be a dog, or an ass, or an ape?
38:06I rejoined, and indeed I had hoped that mercy might be shown me. By Allah, spare me, that Allah spare
38:13thee for sparing a Muslim, and a man who never wronged thee. And I humbled myself before him,
38:18with exceeding humility, and remained standing in his presence, saying, I am sore oppressed by
38:23circumstance. He replied, Talk me no long, talk. It is in my power to slay thee. But I give thee instead
38:30thy choice. Quoth I, O thou Efreet, it would befit thee to pardon me, even as the envied pardoned the
38:37envier. Quoth he, and how was that? And I began to tell him, The tale of the envier and the envied.
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