A plain and literal translation of the Arabian nights entertainments, now entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. Volume 7 (of 17)

Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sayf al-Muluk said to his sire King Asim, “Equip me a ship that I may fare therein to the China-land and search for the object of my desire. If I live I shall return to thee safe and sound.” The old King looked at his son and saw nothing for it but to do what he desired; so he gave him the leave he wanted and fitted him forty ships, manned with twenty thousand armed Mamelukes, besides servants, and presented him with great plenty of money and necessaries and warlike gear, as much as he required. When the ships were laden with water and victual, weapons and troops, Sayf al-Muluk’s father and mother farewelled him and King Asim said, “Depart, O my son, and travel in weal and health and safety. I commend thee to Him with Whom deposits are not lost.”393 So the Prince bade adieu to his parents and embarked, with his brother Sa’id, and they weighed anchor and sailed till they came to the City of China. When the Chinamen heard of the coming of forty ships, full of armed men and stores, weapons and hoards, they made sure that these were enemies come to battle with them and siege them; so they bolted the gates of the town and made ready the mangonels.394 But Sayf al-Muluk, hearing of this, sent two of his Chief Mamelukes to the King of China, bidding them say to him, “This is Sayf al-Muluk, son of King Asim of Egypt, who is come to thy city as a guest, to divert himself by viewing thy country awhile, and not for conquest or contention; wherefore, an thou wilt receive him, he will come ashore to thee; and if not he will return and will not disquiet thee nor the people of thy capital.” They presented themselves at the city gates and said, “We are messengers from King Sayf al-Muluk.” Whereupon the townsfolk opened the gates and carried them to their King, whose name was Faghfúr395 Sháh and between whom and King Asim there had erst been acquaintance. So, when he heard that the new-comer Prince was the son of King Asim, he bestowed robes of honour on the messengers and, bidding open the gates, made ready guest-gifts and went forth in person with the chief officers of his realm, to meet Sayf al-Muluk, and the two Kings embraced. Then Faghfur said to his guest, “Well come and welcome and fair cheer to him who cometh to us! I am thy slave and the slave of thy sire: my city is between thy hands to command and whatso thou seekest shall be brought before thee.” Then he presented him with the guest-gifts and victual for the folk at their stations; and they took horse, with the Wazir Sa’id and the chiefs of their officers and the rest of their troops, and rode from the sea-shore to the city, which they entered with cymbals clashing and drums beating in token of rejoicing. There they abode in the enjoyment of fair entertainment for forty days, at the end of which quoth the King of China to Sayf al-Muluk, “O son of my brother, how is thy case396? Doth my country please thee?”; and quoth Sayf al-Muluk, “May Allah Almighty long honour it with thee, O King!” Said Faghfur, “Naught hath brought thee hither save some need which hath occurred to thee; and whatso thou desirest of my country I will accomplish it to thee.” Replied Sayf al-Muluk, “O King, my case is a wondrous,” and told him how he had fallen in love with the portrait of Badi’a al-Jamal, and wept bitter tears. When the King of China heard his story, he wept for pity and solicitude for him and cried, “And what wouldst thou have now, O Sayf al-Muluk?”; and he rejoined, “I would have thee bring me all the wanderers and travellers, the seafarers and sea-captains, that I may question them of the original of this portrait; perhaps one of them may give me tidings of her.” So Faghfur Shah sent out his Nabobs and Chamberlains and body-guards to fetch all the wanderers and travellers in the land, and they brought them before the two Kings, and they were a numerous company. Then Sayf al-Muluk questioned them of the City of Babel and the Garden of Iram, but none of them returned him a reply, whereupon he was bewildered and wist not what to do; but one of the sea-captains said to him, “O auspicious King, an thou wouldst know of this city and that garden up and hie thee to the Islands of the Indian realm.”397 Thereupon Sayf al-Muluk bade bring the ships; which being done, they freighted them with vivers and water and all that they needed, and the Prince and his Wazir re-embarked, with all their men, after they had farewelled King Faghfur Shah. They sailed the seas four months with a fair wind, in safety and satisfaction till it chanced that one day of the days there came out upon them a wind and the billows buffeted them from all quarters. The rain and hail398 descended on them and during twenty days the sea was troubled for the violence of the wind; wherefor the ships drave one against other and brake up, as did the carracks399 and all on board were drowned, except Sayf al-Muluk and some of his servants, who saved themselves in a little cock-boat. Then the wind fell by the decree of Allah Almighty and the sun shone out; whereupon Sayf al-Muluk opened his eyes and seeing no sign of the ships nor aught but sky and sea, said to the Mamelukes who were with him, “Where are the carracks and cock-boats and where is my brother Sa’id?” They replied, “O King of the Age, there remain nor ships nor boats nor those who were therein; for they are all drowned and become food for fishes.” Now when he heard this, he cried aloud and repeated the saying which whoso saith shall not be confounded, and it is, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great!” Then he fell to buffeting his face and would have cast himself into the sea, but his Mamelukes withheld him, saying, “O King, what will this profit thee? Thou hast brought all this on thyself; for, hadst thou hearkened to thy father’s words, naught thereof had betided thee. But this was written from all eternity by the will of the Creator of Souls.”–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night,

She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sayf al-Muluk would have cast himself into the main, his Mamelukes withheld him saying, “What will this profit thee? Thou hast done this deed by thyself, yet was it written from all eternity by the will of the Creator of Souls, that the creature might accomplish that which Allah hath decreed unto him. And indeed, at the time of thy birth, the astrologers assured thy sire that all manner troubles should befal thee. So there is naught for it but patience till Allah deliver us from this our strait.” Replied the Prince, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! Neither is there refuge nor fleeing from that which He decreeth!” And he sighed and recited these couplets:—

By the Compassionate, I’m dazed about my case, for lo! Troubles and griefs beset me sore; I know not whence they grow.I will be patient, so the folk, that I against a thing Bitt’rer than very aloes’ self,400 endurèd have, may know.Less bitter than my patience is the taste of aloes-juice; I’ve borne with patience what’s more hot than coals with fire aglow.In this my trouble what resource have I, save to commit My case to Him who orders all that is, for weal or woe?

Then he became drowned in the depth of thoughts and his tears ran down upon his cheeks like torrent-rain; and he slept a while of the day, after which he awoke and sought of food somewhat. So they set meat before him and he ate his sufficiency, till they removed the food from before him, whilst the boat drove on with them they knew not whither it was wandering. It drifted with them at the will of the winds and the waves, night and day a great while, till their victual was spent and they saw themselves shent and were reduced to extreme hunger and thirst and exhaustion, when behold, suddenly they sighted an island from afar and the breezes wafted them on, till they came thither. Then, making the cock-boat fast to the coast and leaving one therein to guard it, they fared on into the island, where they found abundance of fruits of all colours and ate of them till they were satisfied. Presently, they saw a person sitting among those trees and he was long-faced, of strange favour and white of beard and body. He called to one of the Mamelukes by his name, saying, “Eat not of these fruits, for they are unripe; but come hither to me, that I may give thee to eat of the best and the ripest.” The slave looked at him and thought that he was one of the shipwrecked, who had made his way to that island; so he joyed with exceeding joy at sight of him and went close up to him, knowing not what was decreed to him in the Secret Purpose nor what was writ upon his brow. But, when he drew near, the stranger in human shape leapt upon him, for he was a Marid,401 and riding upon his shoulder-blades and twisting one of his legs about his neck, let the other hang down upon his back, saying, “Walk on, fellow; for there is no escape for thee from me and thou art become mine ass.” Thereupon the Mameluke fell a-weeping and cried out to his comrades, “Alas, my lord! Flee ye forth of this wood and save yourselves, for one of the dwellers therein hath mounted on my shoulders, and the rest seek you, desiring to ride you like me.” When they heard these words, all fled down to the boat and pushed off to sea; whilst the islanders followed them into the water, saying, “Whither wend ye? Come, tarry with us and we will mount on your backs and give you meat and drink, and you shall be our donkeys.” Hearing this they hastened the more seawards till they left them in the distance and fared on, trusting in Allah Almighty; nor did they leave faring for a month, till another island rose before them and thereon they landed. Here they found fruits of various kinds and busied themselves with eating of them, when behold, they saw from afar, somewhat lying in the road, a hideous creature as it were a column of silver. So they went up to it and one of the men gave it a kick, when lo! it was a thing of human semblance, long of eyes and cloven of head and hidden under one of his ears, for he was wont, whenas he lay down to sleep, to spread one ear under his head and cover his face with the other ear.402 He snatched up the Mameluke who had kicked him and carried him off into the middle of the island, and behold, it was all full of Ghuls who eat the sons of Adam. The man cried out to his fellows, “Save yourselves, for this is the island of the man-eating Ghuls, and they mean to tear me to bits and devour me.” When they heard these words they fled back to the boat, without gathering any store of the fruits and, putting out to sea, fared on some days till it so happened that they came to another island, where they found a high mountain. So they climbed to the top and there saw a thick copse. Now they were sore anhungered; so they took to eating of the fruits; but, before they were aware, there came upon them from among the trees black men of terrible aspect, each fifty cubits high with eye-teeth403 protruding from their mouths like elephants’ tusks; and, laying hands on Sayf al-Muluk and his company, carried them to their King, whom they found seated on a piece of black felt laid on a rock, and about him a great company of Zanzibar-blacks, standing in his service. The blackamoors who had captured the Prince and his Mamelukes set them before the King and said to him, “We found these birds among the trees”; and the King was sharp-set; so he took two of the servants and cut their throats and ate them;–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Sixty-sixth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Zanzibar-blacks took Sayf al-Muluk and his Mamelukes and set them before the King, saying, “O King, we came upon these birds among the trees.” Thereupon the King seized two of the Mamelukes and cut their throats and ate them; which, when Sayf al-Muluk saw, he feared for himself and wept and repeated these verses:—

Familiar with my heart are woes and with them IWho shunned them; for familiar are great hearts and high.The woes I suffer are not all of single kindI have, thank Allah, varied thousands to aby!

Then he sighed and repeated these also:—

The World hath shot me with its sorrows tillMy heart is coverèd with shafts galore;And now, when strike me other shafts, must breakAgainst th’ old points the points that latest pour.

When the King heard his weeping and wailing, he said, “Verily these birds have sweet voices and their song pleaseth me: put them in cages.” So they set them each in his own cage and hung them up at the King’s head that he might listen to their warbling. On this wise Sayf al-Muluk and his Mamelukes abode and the blackamoors gave them to eat and drink: and now they wept and now laughed, now spake and now were hushed, whilst the King of the blacks delighted in the sound of their voices. And so they continued for a long time. Now this King had a daughter married in another island who, hearing that her father had birds with sweet voices, sent a messenger to him seeking of him some of them. So he sent her, by her Cossid,404 Sayf al-Muluk and three of his men in four cages; and, when she saw them, they pleased her and she bade hang them up in a place over her head. The Prince fell to marvelling at that which had befallen him and calling to mind his former high and honourable estate and weeping for himself; and the three servants wept for themselves; and the King’s daughter deemed that they sang. Now it was her wont, whenever any one from the land of Egypt or elsewhere fell into her hands and he pleased her, to advance him to great favour with her; and by the decree of Allah Almighty it befel that, when she saw Sayf al-Muluk she was charmed by his beauty and loveliness and symmetry and perfect grace, and she commanded to entreat him and his companions with honour and to loose them from their cages. Now one day she took the Prince apart and would have him enjoy her; but he refused, saying, “O my lady, I am a banisht wight and with passion for a beloved one in piteous plight, nor with other will I consent to love-delight.” Then she coaxed him and importuned him, but he held aloof from her, and she could not approach him nor get her desire of him by any ways and means. At last, when she was weary of courting him in vain, she waxed wroth with him and his Mamelukes, and commanded that they should serve her and fetch her wood and water. In such condition they abode four years till Sayf al-Muluk became weary of his life and sent to intercede with the Princess, so haply she might release them and let them wend their ways and be at rest from that their hard labour. So she sent for him and said to him, “If thou wilt do my desire, I will free thee from this thy durance vile and thou shalt go to thy country, safe and sound.” And she wept and ceased not to humble herself to him and wheedle him, but he would not hearken to her words; whereupon she turned from him, in anger, and he and his companions abode on the island in the same plight. The islanders knew them for “The Princess’s birds” and durst not work them any wrong; and her heart was at ease concerning them, being assured that they could not escape from the island. So they used to absent themselves from her two and three days at a time and go round about the desert parts in all directions, gathering firewood, which they brought to the Princess’s kitchen; and thus they abode five405 years. Now one day it so chanced that the Prince and his men were sitting on the sea-shore, devising of what had befallen, and Sayf al-Muluk, seeing himself and his men in such case, bethought him of his mother and father and his brother Sa’id and, calling to mind what high degree he had been in, fell a-weeping and lamenting passing sore, whilst his slaves wept likewise. Then said they to him, “O King of the Age, how long shall we weep? Weeping availeth not; for this thing was written on our brows by the ordinance of Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty. Indeed, the Pen runneth with that He decreeth and nought will serve us but patience: haply Allah (extolled and exalted be He!) who hath saddened us shall gladden us!” Quoth he, “O my brothers, how shall we win free from this accursed woman? I see no way of escape for us, save Allah of his grace deliver us from her; but methinks we may flee and be at rest from this hard labour.” And quoth they, “O King of the Age, whither shall we flee? For the whole island is full of Ghuls which devour the Sons of Adam, and whithersoever we go, they will find us there and either eat us or capture and carry us back to that accursed, the King’s daughter, who will be wroth with us.” Sayf al-Muluk rejoined, “I will contrive you somewhat, whereby peradventure Allah Almighty shall deliver us and help us to escape from this island.” They asked, “And how wilt thou do?”; and he answered, “Let us cut some of these long pieces of wood, and twist ropes of their bark and bind them one with another, and make of them a raft406 which we will launch and load with these fruits: then we will fashion us paddles and embark on the raft after breaking our bonds with the axe. It may be that Almighty Allah will make it the means of our deliverance from this accursed woman and vouchsafe us a fair wind to bring us to the land of Hind, for He over all things is Almighty!” Said they, “Right is thy rede,” and rejoiced thereat with exceeding joy. So they arose without stay or delay and cut with their axes wood for the raft and twisted ropes to bind the logs and at this they worked a whole month. Every day about evening they gathered somewhat of fuel and bore it to the Princess’s kitchen, and employed the rest of the twenty-four hours working at the raft.–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Sixty-seventh Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sayf al-Muluk and his Mamelukes, having cut the wood and twisted the ropes for their raft, made an end of it and launched it upon the sea; then, after breaking their bonds with the axe, and loading the craft with fruits plucked from the island-trees, they embarked at close of day; nor did any wot of their intent. They put out to sea in their raft and paddled on four months, knowing not whither the craft carried them, till their provaunt failed them and they were suffering the severest extreme of hunger and thirst, when behold, the sea waxed troubled and foamed and rose in high waves, and there came forth upon them a frightful crocodile,407 which put out its claw and catching up one of the Mamelukes swallowed him. At the sight of this horror Sayf al-Muluk wept bitterly and he and the two men408 that remained to him pushed off from the place where they had seen the crocodile, sore affrighted. After this they continued drifting on till one day they espied a mountain terrible tall and spiring high in air, whereat they rejoiced, when presently an island appeared. They made towards it with all their might congratulating one another on the prospect of making land; but hardly had they sighted the island on which was the mountain, when the sea changed face and boiled and rose in big waves and a second crocodile raised its head and putting out its claw caught up the two remaining Mamelukes and swallowed them. So Sayf al-Muluk abode alone, and making his way to the island, toiled till he reached the mountain-top, where he looked about and found a copse, and walking among the trees fell to eating of the fruits. Presently, he saw among the branches more than twenty great apes, each bigger than a he-mule, whereat he was seized with exceeding fear. The apes came down and surrounded him;409 then they forewent him, signing to him to follow them, and walked on, and he too, till he came to a castle, tall of base and strong of build whose ordinance was one brick of gold and one of silver. The apes entered and he after them, and he saw in the castle all manner of rarities, jewels and precious metals such as tongue faileth to describe. Here also he found a young man, passing tall of stature with no hair on his cheeks, and Sayf al-Muluk was cheered by the sight for there was no human being but he in the castle. The stranger marvelled exceedingly at sight of the Prince and asked him, “What is thy name and of what land art thou and how camest thou hither? Tell me thy tale and hide from me naught thereof.” Answered the Prince, “By Allah, I came not hither of my own consent nor is this place of my intent; yet I cannot but go from place to place till I win my wish.” Quoth the youth, “And what is thy object?”; and quoth the other, “I am of the land of Egypt and my name is Sayf al-Muluk son of King Asim bin Safwan”; and told him all that had passed with him, from first to last. Whereupon the youth arose and stood in his service, saying, “O King of the Age, I was erst in Egypt and heard that thou hadst gone to the land of China; but where is this land and where lies China-land?410 Verily, this is a wondrous thing and marvellous matter!” Answered the Prince, “Sooth thou speakest but, when I left China-land, I set out, intending for the land of Hind and a stormy wind arose and the sea boiled and broke all my ships”; brief, he told him all that had befallen him till he came thither; whereupon quoth the other, “O King’s son, thou hast had enough of strangerhood and its sufferings; Alhamdolillah,—praised be Allah who hath brought thee hither! So now do thou abide with me, that I may enjoy thy company till I die, when thou shalt become King over this island, to which no bound is known, and these apes thou seest are indeed skilled in all manner of crafts; and whatso thou seekest here shalt thou find.” Replied Sayf al-Muluk, “O my brother, I may not tarry in any place till my wish be won, albeit I compass the whole world in pursuit thereof and make quest of every one so peradventure Allah may bring me to my desire or my course lead me to the place wherein is the appointed term of my days, and I shall die my death.” Then the youth turned with a sign to one of the apes, and he went out and was absent awhile, after which he returned with other apes girt with silken zones.411 They brought the trays and set on near412 an hundred chargers of gold and saucers of silver, containing all manner of meats. Then they stood, after the manner of servants between the hands of Kings, till the youth signalled to the Chamberlains, who sat down, and he whose wont it was to serve stood, whilst the two Princes ate their sufficiency. Then the apes cleared the table and brought basins and ewers of gold, and they washed their hands in rose water; after which they set on fine sugar and nigh forty flagons, in each a different kind of wine, and they drank and took their pleasure and made merry and had a fine time. And all the apes danced and gambolled before them, what while the eaters sat at meat; which when Sayf al-Muluk saw, he marvelled at them and forgot that which had befallen him of sufferings.–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Seven Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sayf al-Muluk saw the gestures and gambols of the apes, he marvelled thereat and forgot that which had betided him of strangerhood and its sufferings. At nightfall they lighted waxen candles in candlesticks of gold studded with gems and set on dishes of confections and fruits of sugar-candy. So they ate; and when the hour of rest was come, the apes spread them bedding and they slept. And when morning morrowed, the young man arose, as was his wont, before sunrise and waking Sayf al-Muluk said to him, “Put thy head forth of this lattice and see what standeth beneath it.” So he put out his head and saw the wide waste and all the wold filled with apes, whose number none knew save Allah Almighty. Quoth he, “Here be great plenty of apes, for they cover the whole country: but why are they assembled at this hour?” Quoth the youth, “This is their custom. Every Sabbath,413 all the apes in the island come hither, some from two and three days’ distance, and stand here till I awake from sleep and put forth my head from this lattice, when they kiss ground before me and go about their business.” So saying, he put his head out of the window; and when the apes saw him, they kissed the earth before him and went their way. Sayf al-Muluk abode with the young man a whole month when he farewelled him and departed, escorted by a party of nigh a hundred apes, which the young man bade escort him. They journeyed with him seven days, till they came to the limits of their islands,414 when they took leave of him and returned to their places, while Sayf al-Muluk fared on alone over mount and hill, desert and plain, four months’ journey, one day anhungered and the next satiated, now eating of the herbs of the earth and then of the fruits of the trees, till he repented him of the harm he had done himself by leaving the young man; and he was about to retrace his steps to him, when he saw a something black afar off and said to himself, “Is this a city or trees? But I will not turn back till I see what it is.” So he made towards it and when he drew near, he saw that it was a palace tall of base. Now he who built it was Japhet son of Noah (on whom be peace!) and it is of this palace that God the Most High speaketh in His precious Book, whenas He saith, “And an abandoned well and a high-builded palace.”415 Sayf al-Muluk sat down at the gate and said in his mind, “Would I knew what is within yonder palace and what King dwelleth there and who shall acquaint me whether its folk are men or Jinn? Who will tell me the truth of the case?” He sat considering awhile, but, seeing none go in or come out, he rose and committing himself to Allah Almighty entered the palace and walked on, till he had counted seven vestibules; yet saw no one. Presently looking to his right he beheld three doors, while before him was a fourth, over which hung a curtain. So he went up to this and raising the curtain, found himself in a great hall416 spread with silken carpets. At the upper end rose a throne of gold whereon sat a damsel, whose face was like the moon, arrayed in royal raiment and beautified as she were a bride on the night of her displaying; and at the foot of the throne was a table of forty trays spread with golden and silvern dishes full of dainty viands. The Prince went up and saluted her, and she returned his salam, saying, “Art thou of mankind or of the Jinn?” Replied he, “I am a man of the best of mankind;417 for I am a King, son of a King.” She rejoined, “What seekest thou? Up with thee and eat of yonder food, and after tell me thy past from first to last and how thou camest hither.” So he sat down at the table and removing the cover from a tray of meats (he being hungry) and ate till he was full; then washed his right hand and going up to the throne, sat down by the damsel who asked him, “Who art thou and what is thy name and whence comest thou and who brought thee hither?” He answered, “Indeed my story is a long but do thou first tell me who and what and whence thou art and why thou dwellest in this place alone.” She rejoined, “My name is Daulat Khátún418 and I am the daughter of the King of Hind. My father dwelleth in the Capital-city of Sarandíb and hath a great and goodly garden, there is no goodlier in all the land of Hind or its dependencies; and in this garden is a great tank. One day, I went out into the garden with my slave-women and I stripped me naked and they likewise and, entering the tank, fell to sporting and solacing ourselves therein. Presently, before I could be ware, a something as it were a cloud swooped down on me and snatching me up from amongst my handmaids, soared aloft with me betwixt heaven and earth, saying, “Fear not, O Daulat Khatun, but be of good heart.” Then he flew on with me a little while, after which he set me down in this palace and straightway without stay or delay became a handsome young man daintily apparelled, who said to me:—Now dost thou know me? Replied I:—No, O my lord; and he said:—I am the Blue King, Sovran of the Jann; my father dwelleth in the Castle Al-Kulzum419 hight, and hath under his hand six hundred thousand Jinn, flyers and divers. It chanced that while passing on my way I saw thee and fell in love with thee for thy lovely form: so I swooped down on thee and snatched thee up from among the slave-girls and brought thee to this the High-builded Castle, which is my dwelling-place. None may fare hither be he man or be he Jinni, and from Hind hither is a journey of an hundred and twenty years: wherefore do thou hold that thou wilt never again behold the land of thy father and thy mother; so abide with me here, in contentment of heart and peace, and I will bring to thy hands whatso thou seekest.” Then he embraced me and kissed me,–And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.