Tales from the Arabic Part 55

Let destiny with loosened rein its course appointed fare And lie thou down to sleep by night, with heart devoid of care; For 'twixt the closing of an eye and th'opening thereof, G.o.d hath it in His power to change a case from foul to fair.

When they heard me speak in Arabic, one of them came up to me and saluting me [in that language], questioned me of my case. Quoth I, 'What [manner of men] are ye and what country is this?' 'O my brother,' answered he, 'we are husbandmen and come to this river, to draw water, wherewithal to water our fields; and whilst we were thus engaged to-day, as of wont, this boat appeared to us on the surface of the water, issuing from the inward of yonder mountain. So we came to it and finding thee asleep therein, moored it to the sh.o.r.e, against thou shouldst awake.

Acquaint us, therefore, with thy history and tell us how thou camest hither and whence thou enteredst this river and what land is behind yonder mountain, for that we have never till now known any make his way thence to us.' But I said to them, 'Give me somewhat to eat and after question me.' So they brought me food and I ate and my spirits revived and I was refreshed. Then I related to them all that had befallen me, whereat they were amazed and confounded and said, 'By Allah, this is none other than a marvellous story, and needs must we carry thee to our king, that thou mayst acquaint him therewith.' So they carried me before their king, and I kissed his hand and saluted him.

Now he was the king of the land of Serendib,[FN#207] and he welcomed me and entreated me with kindness, bidding me be seated and admitting me to his table and converse. So I talked with him and called down blessings upon him and he took pleasure in my discourse and showed me satisfaction and said to me, 'What is thy name?' 'O my lord,' answered I, 'my name is Sindbad the Sailor;' and he said, 'And what countryman art thou?' Quoth I, 'I am of Baghdad.' 'And how earnest thou hither?' asked he. So I told him my story and he marvelled mightily thereat and said, 'By Allah, O Sindbad, this thy story is marvellous and it behoveth that it be written in characters of gold.'

Then they brought the raft before him and I said to him, 'O my lord, I am in thy hands, I and all my good.' He looked at the raft and seeing therein jacinths and emeralds and crude ambergris, the like whereof was not in his treasuries, marvelled and was amazed at this. Then said he, 'O Sindbad, G.o.d forbid that we should covet that which G.o.d the Most High hath vouchsafed unto thee! Nay, it behoveth us rather to further thee on thy return to thine own country.' So I called down blessings on him and thanked him. Then he signed to one of his attendants, who took me and established me in a goodly lodging, and the king a.s.signed me a daily allowance and pages to wait on me. And every day I used to go in to him and he entertained me and entreated me friendly and delighted in my converse; and as often as our a.s.sembly broke up, I went out and walked about the town and the island, diverting myself by viewing them.

Now this island is under the Equinoctial line; its night is still twelve hours and its day the like. Its length is fourscore parasangs and its breadth thirty, and it is a great island, stretching between a lofty mountain and a deep valley. This mountain is visible at a distance of three days' journey and therein are various kinds of jacinths and other precious stones and metals of all kinds and all manner spice-trees, and its soil is of emery, wherewith jewels are wrought. In its streams are diamonds, and pearls are in its rivers.[FN#208] I ascended to its summit and diverted myself by viewing all the marvels therein, which are such as beggar description; after which I returned to the king and sought of him permission to return to my own country. He gave me leave, after great pressure, and bestowed on me abundant largesse from his treasuries. Moreover, he gave me a present and a sealed letter and said to me, 'Carry this to the Khalif Haroun er Reshid and salute him for us with abundant salutation.' And I said, 'I hear and obey.'

Now this letter was written with ultramarine upon the skin of the hog-deer, the which is goodlier than parchment or paper and inclineth unto yellow, and was to the following effect: 'From the King of Hind, before whom are a thousand elephants and on the battlements of his palace a thousand jewels, [to the Khalif Haroun er Reshid, greeting]. To proceed:[FN#209] we send thee some small matter of presents, which do thou accept and be to us as a brother and a friend, for that the love of thee aboundeth in our heart and we would have thee to know that we look to thee for an answer. Indeed, we are sharers with thee in love and fear, ceasing[FN#210] never to do thee honour; and for a beginning, we send thee the Book of the Quintessence of Balms and a present after the measure of that which is fallen to our lot. Indeed, this is unworthy of thy rank, but we beseech thee, O brother, to favour us by accepting it, and peace be on thee!'

Now this present was a cup of ruby, a span high and a finger's length broad, full of fine pearls, each a mithcal[FN#211] in weight and a bed covered with the skin of the serpent that swalloweth the elephant, marked with spots, each the bigness of a dinar, whereon whoso sitteth shall never sicken; also an hundred thousand mithcals of Indian aloes-wood and thirty grains of camphor, each the bigness of a pistachio-nut, and a slave-girl with her paraphernalia, a charming creature, as she were the resplendent moon. Then the king took leave of me, commending me to the merchants and the captain of the ship, and I set out, with that which was entrusted to my charge and my own good, and we ceased not to pa.s.s from island to island and from country to country, till we came to Baghdad, when I entered my house and foregathered with my family and brethren.

Then I took the present and a token of service from myself to the Khalif and [presenting myself before him], kissed his hands and laid the whole before him, together with the King of Hind's letter. He read the letter and taking the present, rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and entreated me with the utmost honour. Then said he to me, 'O Sindbad, is this king, indeed, such as he avoucheth in this letter?' I kissed the earth and answered, saying, 'O my lord, I myself have seen the greatness of his kingship to be manifold that which he avoucheth in his letter. On the day of his audience,[FN#212] there is set up for him a throne on the back of a huge elephant, eleven cubits high, whereon he sitteth and with him are his officers and pages and session-mates, standing in two ranks on his right hand and on his left. At his head standeth a man, having in his hand a golden javelin, and behind him another, bearing a mace of the same metal, tipped with an emerald, a span long and an inch thick. When he mounteth, a thousand riders take horse with him, arrayed in gold and silk; and whenas he rideth forth, he who is before him proclaimeth and saith, "This is the king, mighty of estate and high of dominion!" And he proceedeth to praise him on this wise and endeth by saying, "This is the king, lord of the crown the like whereof nor Solomon[FN#213] nor Mihraj[FN#214] possessed!" Then is he silent, whilst he who is behind the king proclaimeth and saith, "He shall die! He shall die! And again I say, he shall die!" And the other rejoineth, saying, "Extolled be the perfection of the Living One who dieth not!" And by reason of his justice and judgment[FN#215] and understanding, there is no Cadi in his [capital]

city; but all the people of his realm distinguish truth from falsehood and know [and practise] truth and right for themselves.'

The Khalif marvelled at my speech and said, 'How great is this king! Indeed, his letter testifieth of him; and as for the magnificence of his dominion, thou hast acquainted us with that which thou hast seen; so, by Allah, he hath been given both wisdom and dominion.' Then he bestowed on me largesse and dismissed me, so I returned to my house and paid the poor-rate[FN#216] and gave alms and abode in my former easy and pleasant case, forgetting the grievous stresses I had suffered. Yea, I cast out from my heart the cares of travel and traffic and put away travail from my thought and gave myself up to eating and drinking and pleasure and delight."

SINDBAD THE SAILOR AND HINDBAD THE PORTER.

When Sindbad the Sailor had made an end of his story, all who were present marvelled at that which had befallen him. Then he bade his treasurer give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and dismissed him, charging him return on the morrow, with the rest of the folk, to hear the history of his seventh voyage. So the porter went away to his house, rejoicing; and on the morrow he presented himself with the rest of the guests, who sat down, as of their wont, and occupied themselves with eating and drinking and merry-making till the end of the day, when their host bade them hearken to the story of his seventh voyage. Quoth Sindbad the Sailor,

THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINDBAD THE SAILOR.

"When I [returned from my sixth voyage, I] forswore travel and renounced commerce, saying in myself, 'What hath befallen me sufficeth me.' So I abode at home and pa.s.sed my time in pleasance and delight, till, one day, as I sat at mine ease, plying the wine-cup [with my friends], there came a knocking at the door. The doorkeeper opened and found without one of the Khalif's pages, who came in to me and said, 'The Commander of the Faithful biddeth thee to him.' So I accompanied him to the presence of the Khalif and kissing the earth before him, saluted him. He bade me welcome and entreated me with honour and said to me, 'O Sindbad, I have an occasion with thee, which I would have thee accomplish for me.' So I kissed his hand and said, 'O my lord, what is the lord's occasion with the slave?' Quoth he, 'I would have thee go to the King of Serendib and carry him our letter and our present, even as he sent us a present and a letter.'

At this I trembled and replied, 'By the Most Great G.o.d, O my lord, I have taken a loathing to travel, and whenas any maketh mention to me of travel by sea or otherwise, I am like to swoon for affright, by reason of that which hath befallen me and what I have suffered of hardships and perils. Indeed, I have no jot of inclination left for this, and I have sworn never again to leave Baghdad.' And I related to him all that had befallen me, first and last; whereat he marvelled exceedingly and said, 'By the Most Great G.o.d, O Sindbad, never was heard from time immemorial of one whom there betided that which hath betided thee and well may it behove thee never again to mention travel! But for my sake go thou this once and carry my letter to the King of Serendib and return in haste, if it be the will of G.o.d the Most High, so we may not remain indebted to the king for favour and courtesy.' And I answered him with 'Hearkening and obedience,' for that I dared not gainsay his commandment

Then he gave me the present and letter and money for my expenses. So I kissed his hand and going out from before him, repaired to the sea-coast, where I took ship with many other merchants and we sailed days and nights, till, after a prosperous voyage, G.o.d vouchsafed us a safe arrival at the island of Serendib. We landed and went up to the city, where I carried the letter and present to the king and kissing the earth fell [prostrate before him], invoking blessings on him.

When he saw me, 'Welcome to thee, O Sindbad!' quoth he. 'By the Most Great G.o.d, we have longed for thy sight and the day is blessed on which we behold thee once more.' Then he took my hand and seating me by his side, welcomed me and entreated me friendly and rejoiced in me with an exceeding joy; after which he fell to conversing with me and caressing me and said, 'What brings thee to us, O Sindbad?' I kissed his hand and thanking him, said, 'O my lord, I bring thee a present and a letter from my lord the Khalif Haroun er Reshid.' Then I brought out to him the present and the letter and he read the latter and accepted the former, rejoicing therein with an exceeding joy.

Now this present was a horse worth ten thousand dinars and all its housings and trappings of gold set with jewels, and a book and five different kinds of suits of apparel and an hundred pieces of fine white linen cloths of Egypt and silks of Suez and Cufa and Alexandria and a crimson carpet and another of Tebaristan[FN#217] make and an hundred pieces of cloth of silk and flax mingled and a goblet of gla.s.s of the time of the Pharaohs, a finger-breadth thick and a span wide, amiddleward which was the figure of a lion and before him an archer kneeling, with his arrow drawn to the head, and the table of Solomon son of David,[FN#218] on whom be peace; and the contents of the letter were as follows: 'From the Khalif Haroun er Reshid, unto whom and to his forefathers (on whom be peace) G.o.d hath vouchsafed the rank of the n.o.ble and exceeding glory, to the august, G.o.d-aided Sultan, greeting. Thy letter hath reached us and we rejoiced therein and have sent thee the book [called] "The Divan of Hearts and the Garden of Wits," of the translation whereof when thou hast taken cognizance, its excellence will be established in thine eyes; and the superscription of this book we have made unto thee. Moreover, we send thee divers other kingly presents;[FN#219] so do thou favour us by accepting them, and peace be on thee!'

When the king had read this letter, he rejoiced with an exceeding joy and bestowed on me great store of presents and entreated me with the utmost honour. Some days after this, I sought of him leave to depart, but he granted it not to me save after much pressing. So I took leave of him and shipped with divers merchants and others, intending for my own country and having no desire for travel or traffic. We sailed on, without ceasing, till we had pa.s.sed many islands; but, one day, as we fared on over a certain tract of the sea, there came forth upon us a mult.i.tude of boats full of men like devils, clad in chain-mail and armed with swords and daggers and bows and arrows, and surrounded us on every side. They entreated us after the cruellest fashion, smiting and wounding and slaying those who made head against them, and taking the ship, with the crew and all that were therein, carried us to an island, where they sold us all for a low price. A rich man bought me and taking me into his house, gave me to eat and drink and clothed me and entreated me kindly, till my heart was comforted and I was somewhat restored.

One day my master said to me, 'Knowest thou not some art or handicraft?' And I answered, saying, 'O my lord, I am a merchant and know nought but traffic.' Quoth he, 'Knowest thou how to shoot with a bow and arrows?' And I replied, 'Yes, I know that.' So he brought me a bow and arrows and mounting me behind him on an elephant, set out with me, at the last of the night, and fared on till we came to a forest of great trees; whereupon he made me climb a high and stout tree and giving me the bow and arrows, said to me, 'Sit here, and when the elephants come hither by day, shoot at them, so haply thou shalt hit one of them; and if any of them fall, come at nightfall and tell me.' Then he went away and left me trembling and fearful. I abode hidden in the tree till the sun rose, when the elephants came out and fared hither and thither among the trees, and I gave not over shooting at them with arrows, till I brought down one of them. So, at eventide, I went and told my master, who rejoiced in me and rewarded me; then he came and carried away the dead elephant.

On this wise I abode a while of time, every day shooting an elephant, whereupon my master came and carried it away, till, one day, as I sat hidden in the tree, there came up elephants without number, roaring and trumpeting, so that meseemed the earth trembled for the din. They all made for the tree whereon I was and the girth whereof was fifty cubits, and compa.s.sed it about. Then a huge elephant came up to the tree and winding his trunk about it, tugged at it, till he plucked it up by the roots and cast it to the ground. I fell among the elephants, and the great elephant, coming up to me, as I lay aswoon for affright, wound his trunk about me and tossing me on to his back, made off with me, accompanied by the others; nor did he leave faring on with me, and I absent from the world, till he brought me to a certain place and casting me down from off his back, went away, followed by the rest. I lay there awhile, till my trouble subsided and my senses returned to me, when I sat up, deeming myself in a dream, and found myself on a great hill, stretching far and wide and all of elephants' bones. So I knew that this was their burial-place and that they had brought me thither on account of the bones.

Then I arose and fared on a day and a night, till I came to the house of my master, who saw me pale and disfeatured for fear and hunger. He rejoiced in my return and said to me, 'By Allah, thou hast made my heart ache on thine account; for I went and finding the tree torn up by the roots, doubted not but the elephants had destroyed thee. Tell me then how it was with thee.' So I told him what had befallen me and he marvelled exceedingly and rejoiced, saying, 'Knowst thou where this hill is?' 'Yes, O my lord,' answered I. So he took me up with him on an elephant and we rode till we came to the elephants' burial-place.

When he saw those many bones, he rejoiced therein with an exceeding joy and carried away what he had a mind to thereof. Then we returned to his house and he entreated me with increased favour and said to me, 'Verily, O my son, thou hast directed us to a pa.s.sing great gain, may G.o.d requite thee with all good! Thou art free for the sake of G.o.d the Most High. Every year these elephants used to kill of us much people on account of these bones; but G.o.d delivered thee from them and thou hast done us good service in the matter of these bones, of which thou hast given us to know; wherefore thou meritest a great recompense, and thou art free.' 'O my lord,' answered I, 'may G.o.d free thy neck from the fire! I desire of thee that thou give me leave to return to my own country.' 'So be it,' replied he; 'but we have a fair, on occasion whereof the merchants come hither to us and take of us these elephants' bones. The time of the fair is now at hand, and when they come to us, I will send thee with them and give thee somewhat to bring thee to thine own country.'

I blessed him and thanked him and abode with him in all honour and consideration, till, after a little, the merchants came, even as he had said, and bought and sold and bartered; and when they were about to depart, my master came to me and said, 'The merchants are about to depart; arise, that thou mayst go with them to thy country.' So I betook myself to the folk, and behold, they had bought great store of elephants' bones and bound up their loads and embarked in the ship; and my master took pa.s.sage for me with them and paid my hire and all that was chargeable upon me.[FN#220] Moreover, he gave me great store of goods and we set sail and pa.s.sed from island to island, till we traversed the sea and arrived at the port of our destination; whereupon the merchants brought out their goods and sold; and I also brought out that which was with me and sold it at a good profit.

Then I bought of the best and finest of the produce and rarities of the country and all I had a mind to and a good hackney[FN#221] and we set out again and traversed the deserts from country to country till we came to Baghdad. Then I went in to the Khalif and saluted him and kissed his hand; after which I acquainted him with all that had pa.s.sed and that which had befallen me. He rejoiced in my deliverance and thanked G.o.d the Most High; then he caused write my story in letters of gold and I betook myself to my house and foregathered with my brethren and family.

This, then," added Sindbad, "is the last of that which befell me in my travels, and praise be to G.o.d, the One, the Creator, the Maker!"

When Sindbad the Sailor had made an end of his story, he bade his servant give the porter an hundred mithcals of gold and said to him, "How now, my brother! Hast ever in the world heard of one whom such calamities have betided as have betided me and hath any suffered that which I have suffered of afflictions or undergone that which I have undergone of hardships? Wherefore it behoveth that I have these pleasures in requital of that which I have undergone of travail and humiliations." So the porter came forward and kissing the merchant's hands, said to him, "O my lord, thou hast indeed suffered grievous perils and hast well deserved these bounteous favours [that G.o.d hath vouchsafed thee]. Abide, then, O my lord, in thy delights and put away from thee [the remembrance of] thy troubles; and may G.o.d the Most High crown thine enjoyments with perfection and accomplish thy days in pleasance until the hour of thine admission [to His mercy]!"

Therewithal Sindbad the Sailor bestowed largesse upon him and made him his boon-companion, and he abode, leaving him not night or day, to the last of their lives. Praise be to G.o.d the Glorious, the Omnipotent, the Strong, the Exalted of estate, Creator of heaven and earth and land and sea, to whom belongeth glorification! Amen. Amen. Praise be to G.o.d, the Lord of the Worlds! Amen.

NOTE.

As stated In the Prefatory Note to my "Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night," four printed Editions (of which three are more or less complete) exist of the Arabic text of the original work, namely those of Calcutta (1839-42), Boulac (Cairo), Breslau (Tunis) and Calcutta (1814-18). The first two are, for purposes of tabulation, practically identical, one whole story only,[FN#222] of those that occur in the Calcutta (1839-42) Edition, (which is the most complete of all,) being omitted from that of Boulac; and I have, therefore, given but one Table of Contents for these two Editions. The Breslau Edition, though differing widely from those of Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac in contents, resembles them in containing the full number (a thousand and one) of Nights, whilst that of Calcutta (1814-18) is but a fragment, comprising only the first two hundred Nights and the Voyages of Sindbad, as a separate Tale.

The subscribers to my "Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night" and the present "Tales from the Arabic" have now before them a complete English rendering (the first ever made) of all the tales contained in the four printed (Arabic) Texts of the original work and I have, therefore, thought it well to add to this, the last Volume of my Translation, full Tables of Contents of these latter, a comparison of which will show the exact composition of the different Editions and the particulars in which they differ from one another, together with the manner in which the various stories that make up the respective collections are distributed over the Nights. In each Table, the t.i.tles of the stories occurring only in the Edition of which it gives the contents are printed in Italics and each Tale is referred to the number of the Night on which it is begun.

The Breslau Edition, which was printed from a Ma.n.u.script of the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night alleged to have been furnished to the Editor by a learned Arab of Tunis, whom he styles "Herr M. Annaggar" (Quaere En Nejjar, the Carpenter), the lacunes found in which were supplemented from various other MS. sources indicated by Silvestre de Sacy and other eminent Orientalists, is edited with a perfection of badness to which only German scholars (at once the best and worst editors in the world) can attain. The original Editor, Dr. Maximilian Habicht, was during the period (1825- 1839) of publication of the first eight Volumes, engaged in continual and somewhat acrimonious[FN#223] controversy concerning the details of his editorship with Prof.

H. L. Fleischer, who, after his death, undertook the completion of his task and approved himself a worthy successor of his whilom adversary, his laches and shortcomings in the matter of revision and collation of the text being at least equal in extent and gravity to those of his predecessor, whilst he omitted the one valuable feature of the latter's work, namely, the glossary of Arabic words, not occurring in the dictionaries, appended to the earlier volumes.

As an instance of the extreme looseness with which the book was edited, I may observe that the first four Vols. were published without tables of contents, which were afterwards appended en bloc to the fifth Volume. The state of corruption and incoherence in which the printed Text was placed before the public by the two learned Editors, who were responsible for its production, is such as might well drive a translator to despair: the uncorrected errors of the press would alone fill a volume and the verse especially is so corrupt that one of the most laborious of English Arabic scholars p.r.o.nounced its translation a hopeless task. I have not, however, in any single instance, allowed myself to be discouraged by the difficulties presented by the condition of the text, but have, to the best of my ability, rendered into English, without abridgment or retrenchment, the whole of the tales, prose and verse, contained in the Breslau Edition, which are not found in those of Calcutta (1839-42) and Boulac. In this somewhat ungrateful task, I have again had the cordial a.s.sistance of Captain Burton, who has (as in the case of my "Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night") been kind enough to look over the proofs of my translation and to whom I beg once more to tender my warmest thanks.

Some misconception seems to exist as to the story of Seif dhoul Yezen, a fragment of which was translated by Dr. Habicht and included, with a number of tales from the Breslau Text, in the fourteenth Vol. of the extraordinary gallimaufry published by him in 1824-5 as a complete translation of the 1001 Nights[FN#224] and it has, under the mistaken impression that this long but interesting Romance forms part of the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, been suggested that a complete translation of it should be included in the present publication. The Romance in question does not, however, in any way, belong to my original and forms no part of the Breslau Text, as will be at once apparent from an examination of the Table of Contents of the latter (see post, p. 261), by which all the Nights are accounted for. Dr. Habicht himself tells us, in his preface to the first Vol. of the Arabic Text, that he found the fragment (undivided into Nights) at the end of the fifth Volume of his MS., into which other detached tales, having no connection with the Nights, appear to have also found their way. This being the case, it is evident that the Romance of Seif dhoul Yezen in no way comes within the scope of the present work and would (apart from the fact that its length would far overpa.s.s my limits) be a manifestly improper addition to it. It is, however, possible that, should I come across a suitable text of the work, I may make it the subject of a separate publication; but this is, of course, a matter for future consideration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE CALCUTTA (1839-42) AND BOULAC EDITIONS OF THE ARABIC TEXT OF THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND ONE NIGHT.

Night

INTRODUCTION.--Story of King Shehriyar and his Brother.

a. Story of the Ox and the a.s.s 1. The Merchant and the Genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i a. The First Old Man's Story . . . . . . . . . . . . .i b. The Second Old Man's Story. . . . . . . . . . . . ii c. The Third Old Man's Story . . . . . . . . . . . . ii 2. The Fisherman and the Genie. . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii a. Story of the Physician Douban . . . . . . . . . . iv aa. Story of King Sindbad and his Falcon. . . . .v ab. Story of the King's Son and the Ogress. . . .v b. Story of the Enchanted Youth. . . . . . . . . . .vii 3. The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad . . . . . . ix a. The First Calender's Story. . . . . . . . . . . . xi b. The Second Calender's Story . . . . . . . . . . .xii ba. Story of the Envier and the Envied[FN#225]xiii c. The Third Calender's Story. . . . . . . . . . . .xiv d. The Eldest Lady's Story . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii e. The Story of the Portress . . . . . . . . . . .xviii 4. The Three Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix 5. Noureddin Ali of Cairo and his Son Bedreddin Ha.s.san. . xx 6. Story of the Hunchback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxv a. The Christian Broker's Story. . . . . . . . . . .xxv b. The Controller's Story. . . . . . . . . . . . .xxvii c. The Jewish Physician's Story. . . . . . . . . xxviii d. The Tailor's Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix e. The Barber's Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x.x.xi ea. Story of the Barber's First Brother . . . x.x.xi eb. Story of the Barber's Second Brother. . . x.x.xi ec. Story of the Barber's Third Brother . . .x.x.xii ed. Story of the Barber's Fourth Brother. . .x.x.xii ee. Story of the Barber's Fifth Brother . . .x.x.xii ef. Story of the Barber's Sixth Brother . . x.x.xiii 7. Noureddin Ali and the Damsel Enis el Jelis . . . . .x.x.xiv 8. Ghanim ben Eyoub the Slave of Love . . . . . . . . .x.x.xix a. Story of the Eunuch Bekhit. . . . . . . . . . .x.x.xix b. Story of the Eunuch Kafour. . . . . . . . . . .x.x.xix 9. The History of King Omar ben Ennuman and his Sons Sherkan and Zoulmekanxlv a. Story of Taj el Mulouk and the Princess Dunya . cvii aa. Story of Aziz and Azizeh. . . . . . . . cxliii b. Bakoun's Story of the Hashish-Eater . . . . . cxliii c. Hemmad the Bedouin's Story. . . . . . . . . . .cxliv 10. The Birds and Beasts and the Son of Adam. . . . . .cxlvi 11. The Hermits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlviii 12. The Waterfowl and the Tortoise. . . . . . . . . .cxlviii 13. The Wolf and the Fox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cxlviii a. The Hawk and the Partridge. . . . . . . . . . .cxlix 14. The Mouse and the Weasel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl 15. The Cat and the Crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl 16. The Fox and the Crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cl a. The Mouse and the Flea. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cli b. The Falcon and the Birds. . . . . . . . . . . . clii c. The Sparrow and the Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . clii 17. The Hedgehog and the Pigeons. . . . . . . . . . . . clii a. The Merchant and the Two Sharpers . . . . . . . clii 18. The Thief and his Monkey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . clii a. The Foolish Weaver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clii 19. The Sparrow and the Peac.o.c.k . . . . . . . . . . . . clii 20. Ali ben Bekkar and Shemsennehar . . . . . . . . . .cliii 21. Kemerezzeman and Budour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . clxx a. Nimeh ben er Rebya and Num his Slave-girl . ccx.x.xvii 22. Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccl 23. Hatim et Tal; his Generosity after Death. . . . . .cclxx 24. Maan ben Zaideh and the three Girls . . . . . . . cclxxi 25. Maan ben Zaideh and the Bedouin . . . . . . . . . cclxxi 26. The City of Lebtait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cclxxii 27. The Khalif Hisham and the Arab Youth. . . . . . . cclxxi 28. Ibrahim ben el Mehdi and the Barber-surgeon . . cclxxiii 29. The City of Irem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cclxxvi 30. Isaac of Mosul's Story of Khedijeh and the Khalif Mamouncclxxix 31. The Scavenger and the n.o.ble Lady of Baghdad . . cclx.x.xii 32. The Mock Khalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cclx.x.xvi 33. Ali the Persian and the Kurd Sharper. . . . . . . ccxciv 34. The Imam Abou Yousuf with Haroun er Reshid and his Vizier Jaaferccxcvi 35. The Lover who feigned himself a Thief to save his Mistress's Honourccxcvii 36. Jaafer the Barmecide and the Bean-Seller. . . . . ccxcix 37. Abou Mohammed the Lazy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccc 38. Yehya ben Khalid and Mensour. . . . . . . . . . . . .ccv 39. Yehya ben Khalid and the Man who forged a Letter in his Nameccvi 40. The Khalif El Mamoun and the Strange Doctor . . . .cccvi 41. Ali Shar and Zumurrud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cccvii 42. The Loves of Jubeir ben Umeir and the Lady Budourcccxxvii 43. The Man of Yemen and his six Slave-girls. . . . cccx.x.xiv 44. Haroun er Reshid with the Damsel and Abou Nuwascccx.x.xviii 45. The Man who stole the Dog's Dish of Gold. . . . . .cccxl 46. The Sharper of Alexandria and the Master of Policecccxli 47. El Melik en Nasir and the three Masters of Policecccxliii a. Story of the Chief of the New Cairo Police. cccxliii b. Story of the Chief of the Boulac Police . . .cccxliv c. Story of the Chief of the Old Cairo Police. .cccxliv 48. The Thief and the Money-Changer . . . . . . . . . ccxliv 49. The Chief of the Cous Police and the Sharper. . . cccxlv 50. Ibrahim ben el Mehdi and the Merchant's Sister Night ccxlvi 51. The Woman whose Hands were cut off for Almsgivingcccxlviii 52. The Devout Israelite. . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccxlviii 53. Abou Ha.s.san es Ziyadi and the Man from Khora.s.san Night ccxlix 54. The Poor Man and his Generous Friend. . . . . . . .cccli 55. The Ruined Man who became Rich again through a Dreamcccli 56. El Mutawekkil and his Favourite Mehboubeh . . . . .cccli 57. Werdan the Butcher's Adventure with the Lady and the Bearcccliii 58. The King's Daughter and the Ape . . . . . . . . . .ccclv 59. The Enchanted Horse Night . . . . . . . . . . . cclvii 60. Uns el Wujoud and the Vizier's Daughter Rose-in-budccclxxi 61. Abou Nuwas with the three Boys and the Khalif Haroun er Reshidccclx.x.xi 62. Abdallah ben Maamer with the Man of Ba.s.sora and his Slave-girlccclx.x.xiii 63. The Lovers of the Benou Udhreh. . . . . . . . ccclx.x.xiii 64. Tht Vizier of Yemen and his young Brother . . .ccclx.x.xiv 65. The Loves of the Boy and Girl at School . . . . ccclx.x.xv 66. El Mutelemmis and his Wife Umeimeh. . . . . . . ccclx.x.xv 67. Haroun er Reshid and Zubeideh in the Bath . . . ccclx.x.xv 68. Haroun er Reshid and the three Poets. . . . . .ccclx.x.xvi 69. Musab ben ez Zubeir and Aaisheh his Wife. . . .ccclx.x.xvi 70. Aboulaswed and his squinting Slave-girl . . . ccclx.x.xvii 71. Haroun er Reshid and the two Girls. . . . . . ccclx.x.xvii 72. Haroun er Reshid and the three Girls. . . . . ccclx.x.xvii 73. The Miller and his Wife . . . . . . . . . . . ccclx.x.xvii 74. The Simpleton and the Sharper . . . . . . . .ccclx.x.xviii 75. The Imam Abou Yousuf with Haroun er Reshld and Zubeidehccclx.x.xviii 76. The Khalif El Hakim and the Merchant. . . . . .ccclx.x.xix 77. King Kisra Anoushirwan and the Village Damsel .ccclx.x.xix 78. The Water-Carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife. . . . .cccxc 79. Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman. . . . . . . cccxci 80. Yehya ben Khalid and the Poor Man . . . . . . . . cccxci 81. Mohammed el Amin and Jaafer ben el Hadi . . . . .cccxcii 82. Said ben Salim and the Barmecides . . . . . . . .cccxcii 83. The Woman's Trick against her Husband . . . . . cccxciii 84. The Devout Woman and the two Wicked Elders. . . .cccxciv 85. Jaafer the Barmecide and the Old Bedouin. . . . . cccxcv 86. Omar ben el Khettab and the Young Bedouin . . . . cccxcv 87. El Mamoun and the Pyramids of Egypt . . . . . .cccxcviii 88. The Thief turned Merchant and the other Thief .cccxcviii 89. Mesrour and Ibn el Caribi . . . . . . . . . . . .cccxcix 90. The Devout Prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .cccci 91. The Schoolmaster who Fell in Love by Report . . . ccccii 92. The Foolish Schoolmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . .cccciii 93. The Ignorant Man who set up for a Schoolmaster. .cccciii 94. The King and the Virtuous Wife. . . . . . . . . . cccciv 95. Abdurrehman the Moor's Story of the Roc . . . . . cccciv 96. Adi ben Zeid and the Princess Hind. . . . . . . . .ccccv 97. Dibil el Khuzai with the Lady and Muslin ben el Welidccccvii 98. Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant . . . . . . . . .ccccvii 99. The Three Unfortunate Lovers. . . . . . . . . . . ccccix 100. The Lovers of the Benou Tai. . . . . . . . . . . .ccccx 101. The Mad Lover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxi 102. The Apples of Paradise . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccccxii 103. The Loves of Abou Isa and Curret el Ain. . . . .ccccxiv 104. El Amin and his Uncle Ibrahim ben el Mehdi . .ccccxviii 105. El Feth ben Khacan and El Mutawekkil . . . . . .ccccxix 106. The Man's Dispute with the Learned Woman of the relative Excellence of the s.e.xes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ccccxix 107. Abou Suweid and the Handsome Old Woman . . . .ccccxxiii 108. Ali ben Tahir and the Girl Mounis. . . . . . . ccccxxiv 109. The Woman who had a Boy and the other who had a Man to Loverccccxxiv 110. The Haunted House in Baghdad . . . . . . . . . ccccxxiv 111. The Pilgrim and the Old Woman who dwelt in the Desertccccx.x.xiv 112. Aboulhusn and his Slave-girl Taweddud. . . . .ccccx.x.xvi 113. The Angel of Death with the Proud King and the Devout Mancccclxii 114. The Angel of Death and the Rich King . . . . . cccclxii 115. The Angel of Death and the King of the Children of Israelcccclxiii 116. Iskender Dhoulkernein and a certain Tribe of Poor Folkcccclxiv 117. The Righteousness of King Anoushirwan. . . . . cccclxiv 118. The Jewish Cadi and his Pious Wife . . . . . . .cccclxv 119. The Shipwrecked Woman and her Child. . . . . . cccclxvi 120. The Pious Black Slave. . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxvii 121. The Devout Platter-maker and his Wife. . . . cccclxviii 122. El Hejjaj ben Yousuf and the Pious Man . . . . .cccclxx 123. The Blacksmith who could Handle Fire without Hurtcccclxxi 124. The Saint to whom G.o.d gave a Cloud to serve him and the Devout Kingcccclxxiii 125. The Muslim Champion and the Christian Lady . .cccclxxiv 126. Ibrahim ben el Khawwas and the Christian King's Daughtercccclxxvii 127. The Justice of Providence. . . . . . . . . .cccclxxviii 128. The Ferryman of the Nile and the Hermit. . . .cccclxxix 129. The King of the Island . . . . . . . . . . . .cccclxxix 130. Abulhusn ed Durraj and Abou Jaafer the Leper .cccclx.x.xi 131. The Queen of the Serpents. . . . . . . . . . cccclx.x.xii a. The Adventures of Beloukiya . . . . . . . cccclx.x.xvi b. The Story of Janshah. . . . . . . . . . . . ccccxcix 132. Sindbad the Sailor and Sindbad the Porter. . . . dx.x.xvi a. The First Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor. . . dx.x.xviii b. The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor . . . dxliii c. The Third Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor. . . . .dxlvi d. The Fourth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor . . . . . dl e. The Fifth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor. . . . . dlvi f. The Sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor. . . . . dlix g. The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor. . . dlxiii 133. The City of Bra.s.s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlxvi 134. The Malice of Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dlxxviii a. The King and his Vizier's Wife. . . . . . . dlxxviii b. The Merchant's Wife and the Parrot. . . . . . dlxxix c. The Fuller and his Son. . . . . . . . . . . . dlxxix d. The Lover's Trick against the Chaste Wife . . .dlx.x.x e. The n.i.g.g.ard and the Loaves of Bread . . . . . .dlx.x.x f. The Lady and her Two Lovers . . . . . . . . . dlx.x.xi g. The King's Son and the Ogress . . . . . . . . dlx.x.xi h. The Drop of Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dlx.x.xii i. The Woman who made her Husband sift Dust. . .dlx.x.xii j. The Enchanted Springs . . . . . . . . . . . .dlx.x.xii k. The Vizier's Son and the Bathkeeper's Wife. .dlx.x.xiv l. The Wife's Device to Cheat her Husband. . . .dlx.x.xiv m. The Goldsmith and the Cashmere Singing- girl.dlx.x.xvi n. The Man who never Laughed again . . . . . . dlx.x.xvii o. The King's Son and the Merchant's Wife. . . . . dxci p. The Page who feigned to know the Speech of Birdsdxcii q. The Lady and her five Suitors . . . . . . . . dxciii r. The Man who saw the Night of Power. . . . . . .dxcvi s. The Stolen Necklace . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dxcvi t. The two Pigeons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dxcvii u. Prince Behram of Persia and the Princess Ed Detmadxcvii v. The House with the Belvedere. . . . . . . . .dxcviii w. The King's Son and the Afrit's Mistress . . . . dcii x. The Sandal-wood Merchant and the Sharpers . . .dciii y. The Debauchee and the Three-year-old Child. . . .dcv z. The Stolen Purse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcv 135. Jouder and his Brothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcvi 136. The History ot Gherib and his Brother Agib . . . dcxxiv 137. Otbeh and Reyya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dclx.x.x 138. Hind Daughter of En Numan and El Hejjaj. . . . .dclx.x.xi 139. Khuzeimeh ben Bishr and Ikrimeh el Feyyas. . . dclx.x.xii 140. Younus the Scribe and the Khalif Welid ben Sehldclx.x.xiv 141. Haroun er Reshid and the Arab Girl . . . . . . .dclx.x.xv 142. El Asmai and the three Girls of Ba.s.sora. . . . dclx.x.xvi 143. Ibrahim of Mosul and the Devil . . . . . . . .dclx.x.xvii 144. The Lovers of the Benou Udhreh . . . . . . . dclx.x.xviii 145. The Bedouin and his Wife . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxci 146. The Lovers of Ba.s.sora. . . . . . . . . . . . . .dcxciii 147. Isaac of Mosul and his Mistress and the Devil. . .dcxcr 148. The Lovers of Medina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcxcvi 149. El Melik en Nasir and his Vizier . . . . . . . .dcxcvii 150. The Rogueries of Delileh the Crafty and her Daughter Zeyneb the Trickstressdcxcviii 151. The Adventures of Quicksilver Ali of Cairo, a Sequel to the Rogueries of Delileh the Crafty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccviil 152. Ardeshir and Heyat en Nufous . . . . . . . . . . .dccxu 153. Julnar of the Sea and her Son King Bedr Basim of Persiaiccx.x.xviii 154. King Mohammed ben Sebaik and the Merchant Ha.s.san dcclvi a. Story of Prince Seif el Mulouk and the Princess Bediya el Jemal dcclviii 155. Ha.s.san of Ba.s.sora and the King's Daughter of the Jinndcclxxviii 156. Khelifeh the Fisherman of Baghdad. . . . . . . cccx.x.xii 157. Mesrour and Zein el Mewasif. . . . . . . . . . .dcccxlv 158. Ali Noureddin and the Frank King's Daughter. .dccclxiii 159. The Man of Upper Egypt and his Frank Wife. . . dcccxciv 160. The Ruined Man of Baghdad and his Slave-girl . dcccxcvi 161. King Jelyaad of Hind and his Vizier Shimas: whereafter ensueth the History of King Wird Khan son of King Jelyaad and his Women and Viziersdcccxciz a. The Cat and the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccoc b. The Fakir and his Pot of b.u.t.ter . . . . . . .dccccii c. The Fishes and the Crab . . . . . . . . . . dcccciii d. The Crow and the Serpent. . . . . . . . . . dcccciii e. The Fox and the Wild a.s.s. . . . . . . . . . .dcccciv f. The Unjust King and the Pilgrim Prince. . . . dccccv g. The Crows and the Hawk. . . . . . . . . . . .dccccvi k. The Serpent-Charmer and his Wife. . . . . . dccccvii i. The Spider and the Wind . . . . . . . . . .dccccviii j. The Two Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccix k. The Blind Man and the Cripple . . . . . . . . dccccx l. The Foolish Fisherman . . . . . . . . . . dccccxviii m. The Boy and the Thieves . . . . . . . . . dccccxviii n. The Man and his Wilful Wife . . . . . . . . dccccxix o. The Merchant and the Thieves. . . . . . . . .dccccxx p. The Foxes and the Wolf. . . . . . . . . . . dccccxxi q. The Shepherd and the Thief. . . . . . . . . dccccxxi r. The Heathc.o.c.k and the Tortoises . . . . . .dccccxxiv 162. Aboukir the Dyer and Abousir the Barber. . . . dccccx.x.x 163. Abdallah the Fisherman and Abdallah the Merman .dccccxl 164. The Merchant of Oman . . . . . . . . . . . . .dccccxlvi 165. Ibrahim and Jemileh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccciii 166. Aboulhusn of Khora.s.san . . . . . . . . . . . . dcccclix 167. Kemerezzeman and the Jeweller's Wife . . . . dcccclxiii 168. Abdallah ben Fasil and his Brothers. . . . dcccclixviii 169. Marouf the Cobbler and his Wife Fatimeh. dcccclx.x.xix-Mi Conclusion.