The Thousand and One Nights Volume III Part 10

Then he put his hand to the ribbon of her trousers and drew it and loosed it, for that his soul l.u.s.ted after her, when he saw a jewel, red as dragon's blood,[FN#44] made fast to the band. He untied and examined it and seeing two lines of writing graven thereon, in a character not to be read, marvelled and said in himself, 'Except she set great store by this, she had not tied it to the ribbon of her trousers nor hidden it in the most private place about her person, that she might not be parted from it. I wonder what she doth with it and what is the secret that is in it.' So saying, he took it and went without the tent to look at it in the light; but as he was examining it, a bird swooped down on him and s.n.a.t.c.hing it from his hand, flew off with it and lighted on the ground at a little distance. Fearing to lose the talisman, he ran after the bird; but it flew on before him, keeping just out of his reach, and drew him on from place to place and from hill to hill, till the night came on and the air grew dark, when it roosted on a high tree. Kemerezzeman stopped under the tree, confounded and faint for hunger and weariness, and giving himself up for lost, would have turned back, but knew not the way, for the darkness had overtaken him. So he exclaimed, 'There is no power and no virtue but in G.o.d the Most High, the Supreme!' and lying down under the tree, slept till the morning, when he awoke and saw the bird also awake and fly away. He arose and walked after it, and it flew on little by little before him, after the measure of his going; at which he smiled and said, 'By Allah, this is a strange thing! Yesterday, the bird flew before me as fast as I could run; and to-day, knowing that I am tired and cannot run, it flieth after the measure of my walking. By Allah, this is wonderful! But, whether it lead me to my death or to my life, I must needs follow it, wherever it goeth, for it will surely not abide save in some inhabited land. So he followed the bird, eating of the fruits of the earth and drinking of its waters, for ten days' s.p.a.ce, and every night the bird roosted on a tree. At the end of this time, he came in sight of an inhabited city, whereupon the bird darted off like the glance of the eye and entering the town, was lost to view: and Kemerezzeman marvelled at this and exclaimed, 'Praised be G.o.d, who hath brought me hither in safety!' Then he sat down by a stream and washed his hands and feet and face and rested awhile: and recalling his late easy and pleasant life of union with his beloved and contrasting it with his present plight of trouble and weariness and hunger and strangerhood and severance, the tears streamed from his eyes and he repeated the following cinquains:

I strove to hide the load that love on me did lay; In vain, and sleep for me is changed to wake alway.

Whenas wanhope doth press my heart both night and day, I cry aloud, "O Fate, hold back thy hand, I pray.

For all my soul is sick with dolour and dismay!"

If but the Lord of Love were just indeed to me, Sleep had not fled mine eyes by his unkind decree.

Have pity, sweet, on one that is for love of thee Worn out and wasted sore; once rich and great was he, Now beggared and cast down by love from his array.

The railers chide at thee full sore; I heed not, I, But stop my ears to them and give them back the lie.

"Thou lov'st a slender one," say they; and I reply, "I've chosen her and left all else beneath the sky."

Enough; when fate descends, the eyes are blinded aye.

As soon as he was rested, he rose and walked on, little by little, till he came to the city-gate and entered, knowing not whither he should go. He traversed the city from end to end, without meeting any of the townsfolk, entering by the land-gate and faring on till he came out at the sea-gate, for the city stood on the sea-sh.o.r.e. Presently, he found himself among the orchards and gardens of the place and pa.s.sed among the trees, till he came to a garden-gate and stopped before it, whereupon the keeper came out to him and saluted him. The prince returned his greeting and the other bade him welcome, saying, 'Praised be G.o.d that thou hast come off safe from the people of the city!

Quick, come into the garden, ere any of the townsfolk see thee.'

So Kemerezzeman entered the garden, amazed, and said to the keeper, 'Who and what then are the people of this city?' 'Know,'

answered the other,' that the people of this city are all Magians: but, G.o.d on thee, tell me how and why thou camest hither.' Accordingly, Kemerezzeman told him all that had befallen him, at which the gardener marvelled greatly and said, 'Know, O my son, that from this place to the cities of Islam is four months' journey by sea and a whole year by land. We have a s.h.i.+p that sails yearly hence with merchandise to the Ebony Islands, which are the nearest Muslim country, and thence to the Khalidan Islands, the dominions of King Shehriman.' Kemerezzeman considered awhile and concluding that he could not do better than abide with the gardener and become his a.s.sistant, said to him, 'Wilt thou take me into thy service, to help thee in this garden?' 'Willingly,' answered the gardener and clothing him in a short blue gown, that reached to his knees, taught him to lead the water to the roots of the trees. So Kemerezzeman abode with him, watering the trees and hoeing up the weeds and weeping floods of tears; for he had no rest day or night, by reason of his strangerhood and separation from his beloved, and he ceased not to repeat verses upon her, amongst others the following:

Ye made us a promise of yore; will ye not to your promise be true? Ye spoke us a word aforetime; as ye spoke to us, will ye not do?

We waken, whilst ye are asleep, according to pa.s.sion's decree; So have ye the vantage of us, for watchers and sleepers are two.

We vowed to each other, whilere, that we would keep secret our loves; But the breedbate possessed you to speak, and you spoke and revealed what none knew.

Beloved in pleasure and pain, chagrin and contentment alike, Whate'er may betide, ye alone are the goal that my wishes ensue.

There's one that still holdeth a heart, a heart sore tormented of mine; Ah, would she'd have ruth on my plight and pity the soul that she slew!

Not every one's eye is as mine, worn wounded and cankered with tears, And hearts that are, even as mine, the bondslaves of pa.s.sion, are few.

Ye acted the tyrant with me, saying, "Love is a tyrant, I trow."

Indeed, ye were right, and the case has proved what ye said to be true.

Alack! They've forgotten outright a pa.s.sion-distraught one, whose faith Time 'minisheth not, though the fires in his entrails rage ever anew.

If my foeman in love be my judge, to whom shall I make my complaint? To whom of injustice complain, to whom for redress shall I sue?

Were it not for my needing of love and the ardour that burns in my breast, I had not a heart love-enslaved and a soul that for pa.s.sion must rue.

To return to the princess Budour. When she awoke, she sought her husband and found him not: then she saw the ribbon of her trousers undone and the talisman missing and said to herself, 'By Allah, this is strange! Where is my husband? It would seem as if he had taken the talisman and gone away, knowing not the secret that is in it. Whither can he have gone? It must have been some extraordinary matter that drew him away, for he cannot brook to leave me an hour. May G.o.d curse the talisman and its hour!' Then she considered awhile and said in herself, 'If I go out and tell the servants that my husband is lost, they will covet me: I must use stratagem.' So she rose and donned some of her husband's clothes and boots and spurs and a turban like his, drawing the loose end across her face for a chin-band. Then setting a slave-girl in her litter, she went forth the tent and called to the servants, who brought her Kemerezzeman's horse; and she mounted and bade load the beasts and set forward. So they bound on the burdens and departed, none doubting but she was Kemerezzeman, for she resembled him in face and form; nor did they leave journeying, days and nights, till they came in sight of a city overlooking the sea, when they halted to rest and pitched their tents without the walls. The princess asked the name of the place and was told, 'It is called the City of Ebony: its king is named Armanous, and he hath a daughter called Heyat en Nufous.' Presently, the King sent to learn who it was that had encamped without his city; so the messenger, coming to the tents, enquired of Budour's servants and was told that she was a king's son, bound for the Khalidan Islands, who had strayed from his road; whereupon he returned and told the King, who straightway took horse and rode out, with his n.o.bles, to meet the strange prince. As he drew near the tents, the princess came to meet him on foot, whereupon the King alighted and they saluted each other. Then he carried her into the city and bringing her to the palace, let spread a banquet and bade transport her company and baggage to the guest-house, where they abode three days; at the end of which time the King came in to Budour (Now she had that day gone to the bath and her face shone as the moon at its full, enchanting all beholders, and she was clad in robes of silk, embroidered with gold and jewels) and said to her, 'Know, O my son, that I am a very old man and am grown unable for the conduct of the state. Now G.o.d has blessed me with no child save one daughter, who resembles thee in beauty and grace; so, O my son, if this my country please thee and thou be willing to make thine abode here, I will marry thee to my daughter and give thee my kingdom and so be at rest.' When Budour heard this, she bowed her head and her forehead sweated for shame, and she said to herself, 'How shall I do, and I a woman? If I refuse and depart, I cannot be safe but that he may send after me troops to kill me; and if I consent, belike I shall be put to shame. I have lost my beloved Kemerezzeman and know not what is come of him; wherefore I see nothing for it but to hold my peace and consent and abide here, till G.o.d accomplish what is to be.'

So she raised her head and made submission to King Armanous, saying, 'I hear and obey,' whereat he rejoiced and bade make proclamation, throughout the Ebony Islands, to hold high festival and decorate the houses. Then he a.s.sembled his chamberlains and Amirs and Viziers and other officers of state and the Cadis of the city, and putting off the kings.h.i.+p, invested Budour therewith and clad her in the royal robes. Moreover, the Amirs and grandees went in to her and did her homage, nothing doubting but that she was a young man, and all who looked on her berayed their hose for the excess of her beauty and grace; then, after the lady Budour had been made Sultan and the drums had been beaten, in announcement of the joyful event, Armanous proceeded to equip his daughter for marriage, and in a few days, they brought Budour in to her, when they seemed as it were two moons risen at one time or two suns foregathering. So they entered the bridal-chamber and the doors were shut and the curtains let down upon them, after the attendants had lighted the candles and spread the bed for them. When Budour found herself alone with the princess Heyat en Nufous, she called to mind her beloved Kemerezzeman and grief was sore upon her. So she wept for his loss and absence and repeated the following verses:

O ye who went and left my heart to pine alone fore'er, No spark of life remains in me, since ye away did fare!

I have an eye that doth complain of sleeplessness alway; Tears have consumed it; would to G.o.d that sleeplessness would spare!

When ye departed, after you the lover did abide; But question of him what of pain in absence he doth bear.

But for the ceaseless flood of tears my eyes pour forth, the world Would at my burning all catch fire, yea, seas and lands and air.

To G.o.d Most High I make my moan of dear ones loved and lost, That on my pa.s.sion have no ruth nor pity my despair.

I never did them wrong, except my love for them were such; But into blest and curst in love men aye divided were.

When she had finished, she sat down beside the princess Heyat en Nufous and kissed her on the mouth. Then, rising abruptly, she made the ablution and betook herself to her devotions, nor did she leave praying till Heyat en Nufous was asleep, when she slipt into bed and lay with her back to her till morning; then rose and went out. Presently, the old king and queen came in to their daughter and asked her how she did, whereupon she told them what had pa.s.sed and repeated to them the verses she had heard.

Meanwhile, Budour seated herself upon the throne and all the Amirs and captains and officers of state came in to her and wished her joy of the kings.h.i.+p, kissing the earth before her and calling down blessings upon her. She smiled on them and clad them in robes of honour, augmenting the fiefs of the Amirs and giving largesse to the troops; wherefore all the people loved her and offered up prayers for the continuance of her reign, doubting not but that she was a man. She sat all day in the hall of audience, ordering and forbidding and dispensing justice, releasing those who were in prison and remitting the customs dues, till nightfall, when she withdrew to the apartment prepared for her. Here she found Heyat en Nufous seated; so she sat down by her and clapping her on the back, caressed her and kissed her between the eyes, repeating the following verses:

The secret that I cherished my tears have public made; The wasting of my body my pa.s.sion hath bewrayed.

I hid my love and longing; but on the parting-day My plight, alas! revealed it to spies; 'twas open laid.

O ye who have departed the camp, ye've left behind My body worn with languor and spirit all decayed.

Within my heart's recesses ye have your dwelling-place; My tears are ever running and lids with blood berayed.

For ever will I ransom the absent with my soul; Indeed, for them my yearnings are patent and displayed.

I have an eye, whose pupil, for love of them, rejects Sleep and whose tears flow ever, unceasing and unstayed.

My foes would have me patient for him; but G.o.d forbid That ever of my hearing should heed to them be paid!

I baulked their expectation. Of Kemerezzeman Sometime I did accomplish the joys for which I prayed.

He doth, as none before him, perfections all unite; No king of bygone ages was in the like arrayed.

His clemency and bounty Ben Zadeh's[FN#45] largesse And Muawiyeh's[FN#46] mildness have cast into the shade.

But that it would be tedious and verse sufficeth not To picture forth his beauties, I'd leave no rhyme unmade.

Then she wiped away her tears and making the ablution, stood up to pray; nor did she give over praying, till drowsiness overcame Heyat en Nufous and she slept, whereupon Budour came and lay beside her till the morning. At daybreak, she arose and prayed the morning-prayer; then, going forth, seated herself on the throne and pa.s.sed the day in ordering and forbidding and administering justice. Meanwhile, King Armanous went in to his daughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had pa.s.sed and repeated to him the verses that Budour had recited, adding, 'O my father, never saw I one more abounding in sense and modesty than my husband, save that he doth nothing but weep and sigh.' 'O my daughter,' answered her father, 'have patience with him yet this third night, and if he go not in to thee and do away thy maidenhead, we will take order with him and oust him from the throne and banish him the country.' When the night came, the princess Budour rose from the throne and betaking herself to the bride-chamber, found the candles lighted and the princess Heyat en Nufous sitting awaiting her; whereupon she bethought her of her husband and recalling the early severance of their loves, wept and sighed and groaned groan upon groan, repeating the following verses:

I swear the tidings of my woes fills all the country-side, Like the sun s.h.i.+ning on the hills of Nejed far and wide.

His gesture speaks, but hard to tell the meaning of it is, And thus my yearning without end is ever magnified.

I hate fair patience since the hour I fell in love with thee.

Hast seen a lover hating love at any time or tide?

One, in whose glances sickness lies, hath smitten me to death, For looks are deadliest of the things, wherein doth sickness bide.

He shook his cl.u.s.tered ringlets down and laid his chin-band by, And beauty thus in him, at once both black and white, I spied.

Sickness and cure are in his hands; for, to the sick of love, By him alone who caused their dole can healing be applied.

The softness of his waist hath made his girdle mad for love And of his hips, for jealousy, to rise he is denied.

His forehead, covered with his curls, is as a mirky night; Unveiled, 'tis as a s.h.i.+ning moon that thrusts the dark aside.

When she had finished, she would have risen to pray, but Heyat en Nufous caught her by the skirt, saying, 'O my lord, art thou not ashamed to neglect me thus, after all the favour my father hath done thee?' When Budour heard this, she sat down again and said, 'O my beloved, what is this thou sayest?' 'What I say,' answered Heyat en Nufous, 'is that I never saw any so self-satisfied as thou. Is every fair one so disdainful? I say not this to incline thee to me, but only of my fear for thee from King Armanous; for he purposes, an thou go not in to me to-night and do away my maidenhead, to strip thee of the kings.h.i.+p on the morrow and banish thee the realm; and belike his much anger may lead him to kill thee. But I, O my lord, have compa.s.sion on thee and give thee fair warning; and it is thine to decide.' At this, Budour bowed her head in perplexity and said in herself, 'If I refuse, I am lost, and if I obey, I am shamed. I am now queen of all the Ebony Islands and they are under my rule and I shall never again foregather with Kemerezzeman except it be in this place; for there is no way for him to his native land but through the Ebony Islands. Verily, I know not what to do, for I am no man that I should arise and open this virgin girl; but I commit my case to G.o.d, who orders all for the best.' Then she said to Heyat en Nufous, 'O my beloved, it is in my own despite that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee.' And she discovered herself to her and told her her whole story, saying, 'I conjure thee by Allah to keep my counsel, till G.o.d reunite me with my beloved Kemerezzeman, and then let what will happen.' Her story moved Heyat en Nufous to wonder and pity, and she prayed G.o.d to reunite her with her beloved, saying, 'Fear nothing, O my sister, but have patience till G.o.d accomplish that which is to be.' And she repeated the following verses:

None keepeth counsel saving those who're trusty and discreet. A secret's ever safely placed with honest folk and leal; And secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house, Whose keys are lost and on whose door is set the Cadi's seal.

'O my sister,' continued she, 'the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of the n.o.ble are the graves of secrets, and I will not discover thine.' Then they toyed and embraced and kissed and slept till near the call to morning-prayer, when Heyat en Nufous arose and slaughtering a young pigeon, besmeared herself and besprinkled her s.h.i.+ft with its blood. Then she put off her trousers and cried out, whereupon her waiting-women hastened to her and raised cries of joy. Presently, her mother came in to her aad asked her how she did and tended her and abode with her till evening; whilst the lady Budour repaired to the bath and after was.h.i.+ng herself, proceeded to the hall of audience, where she sat down on her throne and dispensed justice among the folk. When King Armanous heard the cries, he asked what was the matter and was informed of the consummation of his daughter's marriage; whereat he rejoiced and his breast dilated and he made a great banquet.

To return to King Shehriman. When Kemerezzeman and Merzewan returned not at the appointed time, he pa.s.sed the night without sleep, restless and consumed with anxiety. The night was long upon him and he thought the day would never dawn. He pa.s.sed the forenoon of the ensuing day in expectation of his son's coming, but he came not; whereat his heart forebode separation and he was distraught with fears for Kemerezzeman. He wept till his clothes were drenched, crying out, 'Alas, my son!' and repeating the following verses from an aching heart:

Unto the votaries of love I still was contrary, Till of its bitter and its sweet myself perforce must taste.

I quaffed its cup of rigours out, yea, even to the dregs, And to its freemen and its slaves myself therein abased.

Fortune aforetime made a vow to separate our loves; Now hath she kept her vow, alack! and made my life a waste.

Then he wiped away his tears and bade his troops make ready for a long journey. So they all mounted and set forth, headed by the Sultan, whose heart burnt with grief and anxiety for his son. He divided the troops into six bodies, whom he despatched in as many directions, giving them rendezvous for the morrow at the cross-roads. Accordingly they scoured the country diligently all that day and night, till at noon of the ensuing day they joined company at the cross-roads. Here four roads met and they knew not which the prince had followed, till they came to the torn clothes and found shreds of flesh and blood scattered by the way on all sides. When the King saw this, he cried out from his inmost heart, saying, 'Alas, my son!' and buffeted his face and tore his beard and rent his clothes, doubting not but his son was dead. Then he gave himself up to weeping and wailing, and the troops also wept for his weeping, being a.s.sured that the prince had perished. They wept and lamented and threw dust on their heads till they were nigh upon death, and the night surprised them whilst they were thus engaged. Then the King repeated the following verses, with a heart on fire for the torment of his despair:

Blame not the mourner for the grief to which he is a prey, For yearning sure sufficeth him, with all its drear dismay.

He weeps for dreariment and grief and stress of longing pain, And eke his transport doth the fires, that rage in him, bewray.

Alas, his fortune who's Love's slave, whom languishment hath bound Never to let his eyelids stint from weeping night and day!

He mourns the loss of one was like a bright and brilliant moon, That shone out over all his peers in glorious array.

But Death did proffer to his lips a br.i.m.m.i.n.g cup to drink, What time he left his native land, and now he's far away.

He left his home and went from us unto calamity; Nor to his brethren was it given to him farewell to say.

Indeed, his loss hath stricken me with anguish and with woe; Yea, for estrangement from his sight my wits are gone astray.

Whenas the Lord of all vouchsafed to him His Paradise, Upon his journey forth he fared and pa.s.sed from us for aye.

Then he returned with the troops to his capital, giving up his son for lost and deeming that wild beasts or highwaymen had set on him and torn him in pieces, and made proclamation that all in the Khalidan Islands should don black in mourning for him.

Moreover, he built a pavilion in his memory, naming it House of Lamentations, and here he was wont to spend his days, (with the exception of Mondays and Thursdays, which he devoted to the business of the state), mourning for his son and bewailing him with verses, of which the following are some:

My day of bliss is that whereon thou drawest near to me, And that, whereon thou turn'st away, my day of death and fear.

What though I tremble all the night and go in dread of death, Yet thine embraces are to me than safety far more dear.

And again:

My soul redeem the absent, whose going cast a blight On hearts and did afflict them with anguish and affright!

Let gladness then accomplish its purification-time,[FN#47] For, by a triple divorcement,[FN#48] I've put away delight.