The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 14 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (the best books to read TXT) 📕

When he entered the highways he leant against the shop of an Oilman to whom he said, “The Peace be upon you,” and the other returned his salutation and seated him beside himself, and the two fell to conversing. Presently the Prince asked him, “O my lord, what canst thou tell me concerning a certain Bird and her owner?” and the other made answer, “I know nothing but of oil and of honey and of clarified butter, whereof whatever thou requirest I will give to thee.” Quoth the youth, “This is no reply to my question,” and quoth the oilman, “I know not nor regard aught save what is by me in my shop.” So the Prince rising from beside him left him and went forth to continue his search; but whenever he asked concerning the Bird and its owner, the folk changed the subject and returned him no reply save, “We know not.” This lasted until he accosted a man well stricken in years, whose age was nigh to an hundred; and he was sitting alone at one side of the city; so the Youth walked up to him and salam’d; and, and after the other returned his greeting and kindly welcomed him and seated him near him, the two fell a-talking together, and the Prince asked him, “O my uncle, what canst thou tell me concerning the Bird whose necklet is of precious stones, and what concerning the owner thereof?” The aged man held his peace for awhile and presently exclaimed, “O my son, why ask me of this? O my child,[FN#317] verily the Kings and sons of the Kings have sought her in marriage but could not avail; indeed and the lives of folks manifold have been wasted upon her. How, then, canst thou hope to win her? Nevertheless, O my son, go and buy thee seven lambs and slaughter them and skin them, after which do thou roast them and cut them in halves; for she hath seven doors at each whereof standeth as warder a rending Lion; and at the eighth which guardeth the maiden and the Bird are posted forty slaves who at all times are there lying. And now I leave thee to thy luck, O my son.” But when the Prince heard these words he asked his abidance of the Shaykh and went forth from him—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was, The Four Hundred and Thirty-second Night.

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the Prince craved for the prayers of the Shaykh, who blessed him. Then he went forth from him and bought of the lambs what he had been charged to buy, and these he slaughtered and skinned and roasted and he cut each and every into two halves. He waited until night descended with its darkness and ceased the to-ing and fro-ing of folk, when he arose and walked to the place pointed out and there he found the Lion whose shape and size equaled the stature of a full-grown bull. He threw to him half a lamb and the beast allowed him to pass through that door, and it was the same with the other entrances, all seven of them, until he reached the eighth. Here he found the forty slaves who were bestrewn on the ground bedrowned in sleep; so he went in with soft tread and presently he came upon the Bird Philomelet in a cage encrusted with pearls and precious stones and he saw the Princess who owned him lying asleep upon a couch. Hereat he wrote upon the palm of her hand, “I am Such-and-such, son to the King Such-and-such, of such a city; and I have come in upon thee and beheld thee bared whilst thou wast sleeping, and I have also taken away the Bird.

However, an thou love me and long for me, do thou come to me in mine own city.” Then he seized the Bird to his prize and fared forth and what he did with the Lions coming that he did when going out. The Veiler[FN#318] veiled him, and he went forth the city and met not a single soul, and he ceased not faring the livelong night till next morning did appear, when he hid in a place seeking repose and ate somewhat of victual. But as soon as the daylight shone bright, he arose and continued his journey, praying Allah for protection on his wayfare, till it was mid-afternoon: then he found, like an oasis in the middle of the waste, certain pastures of the wild Arabs and as he drew near the owner met him and salam’d to him and greeted him and blessed him.

So he lay that night with them till dawn when the Shaykh of the encampment who had heard of the stranger came to him and welcomed him and found him a youth fair of form and favour and saw by his side the Enchanting Bird in its cage. He recognised it and wondered at the young man’s derring-do and cried, “Subhana ‘lah-

-praise be to God-who hath committed his secret unto the weakliest of His creation![FN#319] Verily this Bird hath caused on its account to be slain many of the Wazirs and the Kings and the Sultans, yet hath yonder lad mastered it and carried it away.

This however is by virtue of his good fortune.” Then the old man had compassion on him and gave him a horse that he had by him together with somewhat of provaunt. The Prince took them from him and returning to his march traversed the wilds and the wolds for days and nights, all of them; and he continued in that case when he drew near his father’s capital which rose within eye-shot. And as he walked on without heed, behold, his brethren met him and confronted him and fell upon him and, having taken away the Enchanting Bird, reviled him and beat him and shook him off and drove him away. Then they entered the city and sought their sire who received them with fair reception and greeted them and rejoiced in them; after which they presented him with the Bird Philomelet, and said, “Here we bring him to thee and there befell us through his account much toil and trouble.” But their brother who had really won the prize went to his mother in sadness of heart—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I should relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was,

The Four Hundred and Thirty-third Night, Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the young Prince who had brought the Bird and whom his brothers had beaten and robbed of his prize, went to his mother in sadness of heart and shedding tears. Quoth she, “What is thy case and what hath befallen thee?” So he told her what had betided him and she said, “Sorrow not, O my son; the course of the right shall be made manifest.” Then she quieted him and soothed his heart. This is what happened to these persons; but as regards the Princess, the owner of the Bird, when she awoke at dawn of day and opened her eyes, she found her favourite gone and as her glance fell upon the things about her, suddenly she saw something written in the palm of her hand. But as soon as she had read it and comprehended its purport, she cried aloud with a mighty grievous cry which caused the palace-women to flock around,[FN#320] and her father to ask what was to do but none could explain it because no one knew. So the Sultan arose forthright and, going in to his daughter, found her buffeting her face for the sake of her Bird and asked her, “What is to do with thee?” So she informed him of what had befallen her, adding, “Verily he who came into my bower and discovered me bare and looked upon me and wrote upon the palm of my hand, him I am determined to have and none other save that one.” Quoth her father, “O my daughter, many sons of the Wazirs and the Kings have sought the bird and have failed; and now do thou suppose that he hath died;” but quoth the Princess, “I desire none save the man who found me in sleep and looked upon me, and he is the son of King So-and-so, reigning in such a capital.” Said her father, “Then how standeth the case?” and said she, “Needs must I thank him and seek his city and marry him, for assuredly amongst the sons of the Kings, all of them, none can be fairer or more delightsome than he who hath craftily devised this entrance to me in so guarded a stead as this. How then can anyone be his peer?”[FN#321] Hereupon her father bade muster the forces without the city and he brought out for his daughter rarities and presents and mule-litters, and they pitched the tents and after three days they loaded the loads for travel. Then they fared for whole days and nights until they drew near the city wherein the youth had slain the Elephant and had saved the daughter of the King. So the Sultan set up his encampment with its tents and pavilions hard by the walls, to the end that all might take their rest, but when the King of the City saw this he rode forth to visit the stranger, and after greeting asked him the cause of his coming with such a host. The Sultan apprised him of what had happened to his daughter, how she had lost the Enchanting Bird, also how the youth had come into her bower and had written a writ upon the palm of her hand. But when the King heard from him this account he knew and was certified that it was the same Prince who had also slain the Elephant and who had on such wise saved his daughter’s life; so he said to the Sultan, “Verily he who took the Bird belonging to thy Princess hath also married my daughter, for he hath done such-and-such deeds.” After which he related to him the slaughter of the Elephant and all that