Malayan Literature Part 25

"Chirine replied, 'Never mind, I know a way, and no one can say that you broke your promise.'

"'What is this way?' asked Khrosrou.

"Chirine answered: 'Put this question to the fisherman, "Is this a fresh-water or a salt-water fish?"

"'If he answers, "It is a fresh-water fish," say, "I want a salt-water one," and the contrary. Then he will go away and you will be released from your foolish promise.'"

"Khrosrou, who by love of Chirine could not help hearing her advice and following it, put the question to the fisherman. But the latter, suspecting a trap, said, 'It is both.' King Khrosrou began to laugh, and gave him 4,000 dirhems in addition.

"The fisherman, having received his 8,000 dirhems, put them in a sack and went away. On the journey, a dirhem fell to the ground, and the fisherman, lowering his sack, began to search for the dirhem that had fallen. When he found it, he placed it with the others and took up his march again.

"Khrosrou and Chirine had both been witnesses of his action. Chirine said to Khrosrou: 'Behold the baseness and the lack of judgment of the fisherman. He wearied himself to hunt for one dirhem when he had a sack full of them. Recall him and do him shame.'

"Khrosrou, who from his love for Chirine was incapable of resisting her words, and always obeyed them, recalled the fisherman and said to him: 'Of a truth, you have a low soul, and possess neither judgment nor dignity. What! One of your 8,000 dirhems was lost and you deferred your journey until you had found it? That shows the baseness of your soul and your lack of judgment.'

"The fisherman made obeisance and answered: 'May the prosperity of the king of the world increase! I sought not the dirhem on account of its money value, but only on account of the greatness and importance of the words engraved upon the coin. On one of its sides is written the name of G.o.d most high. On the other side is written the name of the King.

Had I not found the dirhem, and had left it on the ground, then people pa.s.sing would have trodden upon it, and the two names inscribed upon it, and which ought to be glorified by all men, would have been despised and disgraced, and I would have been the accomplice of all the pa.s.sers-by who trod upon it. That is why I took the trouble to find the dirhem.'

"Khrosrou was pleased with this answer and gave him still another 4,000 dirhems. The fisherman, filled with joy, took his 12,000 dirhems and returned to his home."

A man had committed a serious offence against King Haroun-er-Raschid.

Condemned to death, he succeeded in escaping. But he had a brother. The King summoned the latter and said to him: "Find your brother so that I may kill him. If you do not find him I will kill you in his place."

This man not finding his brother, the King Haroun-er-Raschid ordered one of his servants to bring him to be killed. But this servant said: "O prince of believers! if the one who received the command to put this man to death brings him for that purpose and at the same time a messenger comes from your Majesty with an order not to kill him, ought he not to release him?"

King Haroun-er-Raschid answered, "He certainly ought to release him, on account of my orders."

"O prince of believers," answered the servant, "the Koran says, 'He who has a burden shall not bear another's.'"

Then the King said: "Set the man free, for this must cover his case, and means that the innocent should not perish for the guilty."

They tell that, a pundit appearing one day before the Sultan Ismail Samani, King of the country of Khora.s.san, the Sultan received him with great distinction, and at his departure saluted him most respectfully and escorted him to the door, taking seven steps behind him.

The next night he dreamed that the glorious prophet (with whom be peace!) spoke thus to him: "O Ismail, because you honored one of my pundits, I will pray G.o.d that after you seven of your children and grandchildren shall become great and glorious kings." They say that for many years the kingdom of Khora.s.san flourished under the paternal government of the successors of this Sultan.

The Sultan Abdallah Tlahir, as soon as he had taken possession of the throne of Khora.s.san, received the homage of a large number of his subjects. At the end of several days he asked, "Is there anyone of distinction in the country who has not come to present himself before me?" They told him, "There are two persons that have not come, one named Ahmed Arab, and the other named Mahomet Islam. But these two men never present themselves before kings and ministers."

The Sultan replied, "Since they will not come to find kings and ministers, I must go to them." So one day the Sultan repaired to the house of Ahmed Arab. The latter, immediately arising, remained standing a long time facing the Sultan. Then regarding him fixedly he said to him: "O Sultan, I had heard tell of your beauty, and I now see that they spoke the truth. Make not of that body the embers of h.e.l.l."

Saying this he returned to his prayers. The Sultan Abdallah Tlahir went away from the sheik's house weeping.

He then betook himself to the house of Mahomet Islam. At the news that the Sultan was coming to see him, the sheik shut the door of his house, saying: "I ought not to see him. I ought not to speak to him."

The Sultan departed in tears and said: "Friday, when the sheik goes to the mosque I will go to him."

When Friday came he was on horseback, surrounded by soldiers, awaiting the arrival of the sheik. As soon as he perceived him, he dismounted, approached him on foot, and saluted him. The sheik asked: "Who are you?

What do you want of me?"

The Sultan answered: "It is I, Abdallah Tlahir. I have come to see the sheik."

The latter, turning away his face, said to the Sultan, "What connection is there between you and me?"

The Sultan fell at the feet of the sheik, in tears, in the middle of the highway, and, invoking G.o.d the most high, spoke as follows, "O Lord, forgive my faults, on account of the many virtues of this faithful sheik." And he was forgiven and became a good man.

The imam El-Chafei (may mercy be with him!), going from the city of Jerusalem to the country of Egypt, halted in a town called Ramla. One of the inhabitants of this town took him into his house and entertained him with many attentions. The companions of the imam El-Chafei perceived that he felt a certain inquietude, but none of them knew the reason for it. The more the master of the house showered his attentions and civilities, the more disturbed the imam seemed to be. Finally at the moment when the imam was mounting his horse to continue his journey, the master of the house arrived and put a writing into his hands. On reading this, the imam lost his worried air, and, giving orders to pay the man thirty dinars, he went on his way rejoicing. One of his companions asked him:

"Why were you so disturbed? What did the writing say? And why did you show so much joy in reading it?"

The imam El-Chafei answered: "When our host took us to his house I noticed that his face lacked the characteristic signs of honesty. But as he treated us so well I began to think perhaps I was mistaken in judging him. But when I read the writing he handed me I saw it was as follows: 'While the imam has been here I have spent on him ten dinars.

He ought therefore to pay me back twenty.' So then I knew that I had made no error in reading his character, and was pleased at my skill."

The story is told that one day as the prophet Solomon was seated on his royal throne, surrounded by men, spirits, and birds, two women came before him, each claiming possession of a child. These two women kept saying, "It is my child," but neither could give proof. All their arguments amounting to nothing, the prophet Solomon commanded that the child should be cut in two, and that each woman should take half. When the executioner advanced, drawing his sword, one of the women bursting into sobs cried out in anguish: "O Prophet Solomon, don't kill the child. Give it to this woman, it is all I ask!"

As the murder of the child never drew a tear nor a movement of anxiety from the other woman, Solomon commanded them to give it to the woman who had wept, because her tears proved her to be the true mother, and that the child belonged to her, and not to the other woman. Thus did King Solomon show his wisdom in judging character.

O you who are magnificent! listen, I pray you, and hear to what degree of sublimity generosity is lifted. In the Kitab Adab-is-Selathin it is said that two qualities were given by G.o.d in all their perfection to two men--justice to Sultan Nouchirvau, King of Persia, and generosity to a subject of an Arab sultan named Hatim-Thai. The author of that work says that in the time of Hatim-Thai there were three kings celebrated throughout the whole world, and rivals in showing the perfection of generosity--the King of Roum, the King of Syria, and the King of Yemen. But as none of them was as famous as Hatim-Thai, they became jealous of him and united in hostility toward him. They said: "We are the kings of vast countries, and shall we suffer a simple subject of an Arab sultan to be counted as more generous than we are?"

And each of these kings thought to try Hatim-Thai and destroy him.

The first of the three who attempted the undertaking was the King of Roum. This King said to one of his ministers: "O minister, I hear tell that there is among the Arabs a man named Hatim-Thai, and that he is reputed the most generous man in the world. I am displeased that my name is not as noted for generosity as his. I want to make a proof and see if his fame is true or false. I have heard that Hatim-Thai possesses a horse which he loves as he does his own soul. Well, we will ask him to give us this beloved horse."

The minister sent an envoy, with suitable presents and a letter to give to Hatim-Thai. He arrived in a great storm of wind and rain which permitted no one to attend to his affairs abroad. It was already night, and Hatim-Thai had made no preparations to receive a guest, but he received the stranger with the marks of the highest respect and greatest cordiality.

"What need brings you here to-night?" he asked.

"Nothing but to visit you," replied the envoy, and he never mentioned that evening his mission from the King of Roum.

As there was nothing in the house to eat, Hatim-Thai killed his favorite horse and served it for his guest's supper. As soon as it was day, the envoy presented the gifts and the letter from the King of Roum. When he read the pa.s.sage in the letter where the King asked for the horse which had just been killed, Hatim-Thai turned pale and could not say a word. The envoy, observing him in this state, imagined that he regretted the gift of his horse, and said:

"O Hatim-Thai, if it is not with pleasure that you give your horse to my master, think no more about it, and let me return to my country."

Hatim-Thai answered: "O envoy of the King of Roum! if I had a thousand horses like that one I should give them all without a moment's hesitation. But last night I asked you the motive which brought you hither, and you said it was merely to visit me. So I killed the horse for your food, and that is why I am afflicted with sorrow at my lack of foresight." He sent the envoy back home with many other horses as a gift.

The envoy told the whole story and the King of Roum said: "The renown of Hatim-Thai is deserved; he is the most generous of men." He made an alliance of friendship with him, and the fame of Hatim-Thai grew apace.

The second one who tested Hatim-Thai's generosity was the King of Syria. He said: "How can Hatim-Thai, who lives in the woods and the plains, occupied in pasturing goats, camels, and horses, be more generous than so great a King as I? I will put him to the proof. I will ask rich presents that he cannot give, and he will be shamed and humiliated before kings and peoples."

So the King of Syria sent an envoy to Hatim-Thai to ask for 100 red camels with long manes, black eyes, and very tall. Camels of this sort are hard to find, only kings having four or five. When the envoy had arrived he told Hatim-Thai what the King of Syria asked of him. Hatim- Thai was full of joy hearing the words of the envoy, and hastened to regale him bountifully with food and drink. Then he searched among his camels, but found none such as the King of Syria desired. He ordered search to be made among the peoples of his nation, Arabs and Bedouins, offering a large price. By the will of G.o.d a Bedouin succeeded in finding 100, and Hatim-Thai asked only the delay of one month in payment. The envoy returned home with the red camels and many other presents. Seeing them, the King of Syria was struck with astonishment and cried: "Behold, we wished only to test Hatim-Thai, and now he has gone into debt to satisfy our desire. Yes, truly he is the most generous man in the world."

He commanded them to send back to Hatim-Thai the 100 red camels loaded with magnificent presents. As soon as they arrived, Hatim-Thai summoned the owner and gave him the camels with all their burden of riches, without keeping anything for himself. When the envoy, returning home again, recounted all these things, the King of Syria marvelled and exclaimed: "No one can equal Hatim-Thai. He is generosity itself, in all its perfection."

The third king, that is, the King of Yemen, was very generous, and wanted no one to rival him in this particular. So when he heard of the fame of Hatim-Thai for generosity, he was vexed and full of sorrow. He said: "How can that poor Hatim equal in generosity a great king like me? I give alms to the poor, I feed them, and every day I give them clothing. How is it possible that anyone can dare to mention the name of Hatim-Thai in my presence as the most generous of men?"

Now, at that time an amba.s.sador of the King of Maghreb arrived at the Court of the King of Yemen, who spoke of the wonderful generosity of Hatim-Thai. He felt as if his heart was burning, but did not let his grief appear, and said to himself:

"Everybody repeats the praises of Hatim, one after another, without knowing exactly who he is, of what birth, and what are the means which permit him thus to give hospitality. I shall cause him to perish."

The King of Yemen summoned a Bedouin, a bandit celebrated for his ferocity, without pity for the life of a man. The Bedouin arrived, and the King gave him gold, silver, and clothing. "O Bedouin," he said to him, "if you will perform an affair for us, we will give you whatever you ask."

The Bedouin answered: "O my lord, king of the world, what is your Majesty's will?"